This weekend, I was flown in from Stockholm to Orlando by StomperNet to participate in the beginner fast track competition as a finalist!  I joined StomperNet in late October 2006 with the intention of gaining knowledge of SEO and other methods of gaining natural traffic. Since I am a non-technie kind of person, the creation of websites and blogs is quite an accomplishment in itself.

Although I live in Sweden, I was born and raised in a family from Louisiana that migrated to Los Angeles. I often feel I would like to move back home. My most immediate concern and goal with my business, of course, is to support my family, but I want to become hugely successful, too.   I sold my car and took out loans to go into business last fall, so I think that shows the degree of my commitment.

I am both emotional and passionate, and so I have poetically espressed the trials and tribulations of being the single mother of four children - one at university - with a large house note and of starting up a business from scratch.

A version of my presentation will be divided up in articles, where I may or may not expand concepts, on this blog, as well as the lyrics to the song that I wrote in connection to my application.  Hopefully, I will also successfully record the song and upload it. Earlier attempts weren't very promising. Not being a professional singer, I am self-conscious of uploading an inferior product.  I promised to give freebie info and products to my fellow Stompers and readers; and who better to do this than someone like me who has had to find all the free resources possible in order for my business to survive! I have collected this information over the past few years, and will soon re-organize my blog so that they are uploaded and more easily found and accessed.  More to come on this in the coming weeks.

Prior to the trip, my youngest son caught the flu and all of the others caught bad colds, so life was hectic before leaving. I was lucky to have escaped getting ill myself - just a sore throat.  After the 24 hours of travelling time, including layovers and missed planes, I finally arrived to the seminar, but only a few hours late.  I met a lot of fantastic people whom I admire; John Reese, who had a rare appearance as the Keynote Speaker, Andy Jenkins, Brad Fallon and Ben Mack, whose book I had just started reading, to name a few. It's surprising how gracious and generous these famous marketers are!  My camera was broken, but Sharon Odom Fling in the photos was so kind as to take a few with her camera.  Thanks Sharon!  Here are some of the photos from the seminar. 1st  photo: John Reese. 2nd photo: Andy Jenkins. 3rd photo: Brad Fallon. 4th photo: Ben Mack. Group photo with my new friend Sharon Odom Fling. I am Angela, the lady in red.

I didn't win the competition, Britt Taylor did, as well as the surprise gift of a BMW M5, presented by John Reese, but I had the chance to touch the hearts and minds of many others in my presentation and feel that, in a sense, I am also a winner in this competition and that my relationship to StomperNet is more than a mere passing fling.

Angela Wickenberg