A reader from Victoria is just getting started selling her artwork. She asks:

First, where is the best place to sell artwork?

How do I put a price on the items?

My experience: I have had the most success selling my artwork through displays at restaurants and other businesses, and at festivals. Yes, just approach a business that gets a lot of traffic and has some blank walls and offer to do an exhibit. Offer them a commission (say 30%) and make it easy for them.

Festivals – in Victoria try the Moss Street Market and the Moss Street Paint-In for sure! And be sure to join your local arts council so you get notices of opportunities.

Pricing – I look at what other artists at my skill level are charging and kind of guess. Definitely smaller works that are more affordable (and easier to find space for in a house) sell the fastest.

There's been speculation lately about whether Gmail email addresses will continue to be around. This concerns small business people who worry that the email address that they've given to customers might someday no longer be valid.

Writer and coach Ken Winston Caine details an easy workaround:

"Buy your own URL -- your own unique domain name that you will be happy to have representing you and your business for many many years. HotCoach.com, for example. And set up an email address of your choice, perhaps Chrissie@HotCoach.com. And set it up to
forward to your Gmail account.

Your clients never know the difference."

Why use Gmail if you have your own URL?

You might be wondering why use Gmail at all. Why not just give customers the Chrissie@HotCoach.com email address? Yes, you can do that. And as long as you don't have any trouble sending messages, you're fine. But...

Somehow I ended up installing the Google Desktop Search thingy on my computer. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know what it was when I installed it. But am I ever happy that I got it.

The Google Desktop Search thingy looks like this:

Or like this (depending on which version you choose):

And it sits ...where else? on your desktop. In my case, it is down in the bottom right by the clock.

What it does is find stuff that is stored on your computer. All you have to do is type in your best guess of the name of the thing. For instance, I just used it to find the transcript of an recording that I did. I remember the guy's name was Jim and that he talked about stress. For the life of me I couldn't remember what I called the file and where I saved it.

But I typed "jim stress" into my little Google Desktop Search box and this is what I got:

Trying to decide what kind of business to start? A career assessment can provide some clues. Career coach Patricia Soldati has done some pretty exhaustive research about what career assessment tools are the best. Here are her conclusions:

1. None provide answers, only clues - you are your own best filter for their accuracy and applicability

2. The Internet freebies and "for pennies" approach...well, you get what you pay for.

3. The experts unanimously agree that, for a true picture of your vocational landscape, it's important to take more than one assessment.

4. The most reliable tests are probably the MBTI, Strong, plus an entrepreneur assessment if you are considering starting your own business.

5. The real question for career coaches and their clients is "How can we use this info to create viable possibilities for you?"

I've been using aMember subscription management software for my online membership site for nearly 2 years.

I've come to appreciate aMember's great price, features and customer support. There are some limitations of aMember though.

Here are the pros and cons of aMember that I've discovered:

Pros of aMember subscription management software

• Excellent price ($139)
• No monthly fees
• Good tech support
• They do the initial install for free
• Products are easy to set up
• Folders are easy to protect
• Affiliate banners are easy to set up
• Password sharing prevention built-in
• Built-in 1-tier affiliate program with recurring commissions support
• Automated signups and mail to new and expired users
• Very little maintenance required once everything is set up

Cons of aMember subscription management software