Articles by: Hanna Brooks Olsen

[caption id="attachment_10079" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo via Flickr[/caption] In the broadest definition of the words, the difference between a professional and an amateur lies not in the action of doing a thing or performing a service, but rather, whether or not clients are willing to pay for that thing or service. An amateur does something for fun, and they don't get paid.

[caption id="attachment_10059" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo by Maria Elena via Flickr[/caption] Blogging in and of itself isn't a highly lucrative pursuit for most creative entrepreneurs -- instead, it's an important part of their overall marketing and SEO strategy, which is a great reason to do it. However, if you're very savvy and also have the potential to sell digital products, like ebooks, crafting patterns, MP3s, or other goods which can be delivered and consumed via the internet, it's not that difficult to put your blogging skills to real work and start turning a profit.

[caption id="attachment_10036" align="alignnone" width="608"] Photo via Sue Bryce/Instagram[/caption] As we approach the holiday season, if you're even remotely handy with a camera, you're probably already preparing for the inevitable moment when you wind up behind one, trying to get all seven of your aunts and uncles to smile like they mean it. Family photos, portraits of the kids in their new clothes, or candids of everyone bustling around -- during this time of year, your subjects are probably less likely to be professional models, and more likely to be related to you.

[caption id="attachment_10016" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo: Sal Cincotta[/caption] Terrible customer service experiences are so common -- and so commonly frustrating -- that websites like Yelp and Urban Spoon rely on them for their business. Because, of course, very few people have such blindingly good experiences that they merit a review.

It's my culture. It's where I come from.

[caption id="attachment_9959" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo via Flickr[/caption] This month, thousands of writers will commit to grinding out close to 2,000 words per day as they take part in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, a writing project-gone-internet obsession now in its 15th year. The point of NaNoWriMo?

[caption id="attachment_9938" align="alignnone" width="620"] Image via Flickr[/caption] Vulnerability, though it's often been historically viewed as weakness in business, has gotten a lot of attention lately. From the confessional nature of many successful CEO's blogs (think Richard Branson and Rand Fishkin) to Dr.