Whew – What a busy couple of weeks I’ve had! I’ve been to Wellington and back to Rotorua (where we’re doing a special screening of the first episode of Alive: New Zealand), and I’ve been clicking away on the internet….lots of exciting things going on. Please enjoy things I’ve written – and things that have been written about me(!) – in the last two weeks.

Wise Bread

Build Your Own Small Business Empire in One Year: Empire Building Kit

Do you have a small business you want to take to the next level? Or are you full of business ideas but lack the knowledge or motivation to execute them? Either way, if you’re ready to create your own small business empire, then the Empire Building Kit may be the tool to help you do it – and all in a year or less.

Now before you go eager clicking away to read the review and get your own kit, the sale was for 24 hours only (sorry!), but if you do read the review and want to get in on the action, you can still click through to be put on a waiting list. And knowing Chris and his limited sales offerings, I would suggest doing so if you’re serious so you don’t miss out next time too.

AmEx Open Forum

Insurance Overview for Small Businesses

Running your small business is a multi-faceted task, of which risk management plays a vital role. And insurance in turn is a crucial element to risk management. Following is an overview of the different types of insurance suitable for small business owners. Although you may not need every type of insurance outlined, you may be surprised (and initially overwhelmed) with the number of insurance policies you do need. Never fear: you’ll find some tips at the end of this article to make your search for insurance a little easier.

Profiles & Shout-Outs

Tripbase recently held a “competition” of sorts to challenge travel bloggers to share their “3 best kept travel secrets”. The most well known to the newest on the scene all participated in the challenge too. The best of the secrets got amalgamated into the Best Kept Travel Secrets E-Book – which I’m happy to say I’m a part of! I keep company with many other travel bloggers you know from various week-in-the-life entries, as well as well-known travel gurus like Rolf Potts.

Here’s where it gets interesting: first of all, it’s free! Secondly, downloading a copy of the e-book will help build freshwater wells to provide clean drinking water to developing communities. That’s right – it’s free, and it’s good for the world. For every e-book that gets downloaded, Tripbase will donate $1 to Charity Water. So go ahead: download a free copy and glean a few new travel secrets while doing some good!

Best Kept Travel Secrets E-book

Constructively Productive published a great (and huge!) roundup of tips for productivity that aren’t your average productivity tips. I managed to slip one in there too. Check it out:

36 Secrets the Productivity Gurus Won’t Tell Your (but Our Heretics Will)

Tours4Fun recently featured my article on White Island: New Zealand’s Most Active Volcanic Site here!  Thanks guys. Tours4Fun offers some pretty cool options for inexpensive vacation planning and “guilt-free” tours, and they just launched Asia Impressions to make China & Japan even more accessible to travelers. Check it out! They have rewards and affiliate programs too.

Simon Seeks did a post about Traveling on a Budget, where I get a mention for my financially-sustainable travel-prowess! Simonseeks is a community of travelers, journalists, and celebrities who share their reviews on certain destinations. For example, check out Lee Marshall’s page on Cheap Hotels in Rome for some great tips.

I’ve had an ongoing relationship with World Reviewer, who occasionally syndicates my posts to their blog. But they were especially enthralled with my post on the Tongariro Crossing, and added my recount to their list of top travel experiences! Thanks guys.

You may recall Dina & Ryan’s road trip through France in a recent week-in-the-life post. They’ve recently put together a few great roundups that I (and a number of other world travelers) had the pleasure of contributing to:

Top 3 pieces of Travel Gear (with some surprising mentions)

Top 3 Exotic Foods and Local Specialties

MatadorPulse put a call out to their readers to help bring in the votes and send me to the Galapagos! I was one of 10 finalists to win the trip, and the voting has just ended….thanks to all the help from Matador, I’m hoping to hear from the judges soon! Wish me luck…

Lastly, I’d like to announce a new installation for me here at The Professional Hobo: my very own product line! If you’d like some “I wanna be a Professional Hobo” swag, hop on over to my online store and see what’s on offer. T-shirts, mugs, mousepads, aprons, stickers – even doggy clothing is up for grabs.

I also have an array of posters for sale (in a variety of sizes – you can customize your poster to suit your wall), featuring a number of photos taken from around the world.

Check out my online store here!

Tags: Amex Open Forum, roundup, Wise Bread