There is certainly something to be said about capitalizing on your business opportunities. When there is a chance to make a lot of money, it makes perfect sense that you would think about how you would go about approaching that chance. At the same time, you also have to think about the long-term viability of your company.

That’s why you’d ideally want want a company that is profitable in all seasons. Let’s take the example of a landscaping company that mostly makes its money in the spring and summer. This company would go about mowing lawns, sowing seed, planting flowerbeds, and so forth. That’s fine and it can be quite profitable if done well, but what is this company supposed to do during the winter months?

Not too many people will need their lawns to be mowed in the dead of winter. Not too many people need new flowerbeds to be planted when the ground is covered in a couple feet of snow. However, the skills and expertise that this company brings to the table can still apply to a winter-focused set of services. They can offer to shovel walkways and driveways. They can offer to maintain greenhouses and indoor plants. In the fall, they can rake leaves and offer autumn-themed landscaping options.

Just because the main part of your business is largely focused on a certain time of the year does not mean that you should necessarily forget about the rest of the year. If your company caters to the Christmas crowd, it can also serve the Easter crowd, the Fourth of July crowd, and the Thanksgiving crowd. It’s about being versatile and adaptable.

Webcam. Surround sound speakers. External hard drive. We have a lot of gadgets populating our desks these days and it’s easy to run out of available USB ports on your computer. Let’s not forget about the need for USB ports to charge our smartphones, iPods, and other portable devices too.

If you have far too many knick-knacks for the number of ports your notebook PC or desktop computer has, then you may want to divert your attention to the 24-Port USB Monster Hub. The name pretty much says it all: this is a USB hub that puts no fewer than twenty-four USB ports at your disposal.

If you want to go even crazier, it is possible to daisy chain more than one of these hubs to gain access to up to 127 powered USB ports. Even on its lonesome, this product provides automatic over-current protection for each port, hot-swapping connections, and the ability to charge USB devices without the need for a computer. That’s because the hub can be powered by a USB cable or with the provided wall adapter.

The 24-Port USB Monster Hub is available through ThinkGeek for $49.99. That’s a little pricey for “just” a USB hub, but you are getting two dozen ports to power your digital lifestyle.

Many different people choose to use BlueFur for their web hosting needs. Some are just personal bloggers looking for their own piece of online real estate. Others are professional organizations who need reliable hosting for their sites. And then there are the creative types who need a platform to showcase their work.

Falling into this last category is Coco Love Alcorn. She is a musical artist who has been described by the Vancouver Provice, Canadian Musician, and Star Phoenix as a “sparkling alloy of jazz, soul and contemporary folk.” Her voice is “hailed as extraordinary, beautiful and stunning.”

From her website, you can preview some tracks from her new CD, Joyful. The album is available for sale through Maple Music and iTunes. You can learn more about Coco Love Alcorn through her bio page and check out the available merchandise in the shop.

Do you use BlueFur to host your websites? Let us know and we can feature you in a future blog post. Send an email message to blogfeature@bluefur.com with your name, website URL, and a brief description of what you’d like to see highlighted.

Want to add a dash of class to your WordPress blog? Purple, as a color, has always had a connection with prestige and royalty, so it only makes sense that a jewelry-inspired blog theme carries that color scheme through and through.

The PurpleSatin theme was developed by the kind folks at VistaBella, who usually focus on the business of discount diamond engagement rings and other discount jewelry. The theme is relatively simple in its approach, but it does provide a sense of elegance too.

It’s fundamentally a two-column theme, but the main content them is the only one with a white background. The sidebar does a good job of almost blending into the background, while still being clearly visible and accessible. It is fully compatible with WordPress 3.0+ blogs and does not require any additional plug-ins or modifications.

You can find the download link for PurpleSatin on VistaBella and the live demo at Lucky Pendants.

What do the bloggers have to say this week? Let’s go on another tour of the ‘sphere and find out!

Josh Rimer gets us started with a very interesting article on the business prospects of YouTube. It may be a good video sharing service for amateurs, but did you know that you can make a million dollars on YouTube? Some of the most profitable content producers on the site make six figures a month from the ad revenue alone!

Susan Gernhart shares a very powerful lesson that many of us have to learn and accept: skinny does not equal fit. A thin person isn’t necessarily “in good shape” when compared to a person who may be a little heavier. Don’t forget about things like cardiovascular health, muscle strength, flexibility, and even mental health!

Trent Hamm approaches a question posed by one of his readers. When it comes to children, what should allowance pay for? It’s good to give your children an allowance to help them learn about money management, but how should those funds be spent? What should be paid for outside of the allowance?

Darren Barefoot, possibly at the behest of his colleagues and friends, finally got around to watching The Social Network. While he believes that Aaron Sorkin did a fantastic job and it’s an “exceptional piece of movie craftsmanship,” the film ultimately comes up just a hair short. After all, it’s only about a soulless schizoid who makes tons of money.

Susan Johnston has some advice and guidance for all the writers in the audience. She discusses how to beef up or slim down your word counts as needed. Did you just write something and it’s not long enough? Maybe it’s too long? Take her advice and adjust your word counts appropriately without adding too much fluff or losing too much substance.

Nike may tell you that you should just do it, but that shouldn’t necessarily be the case when it comes to your marketing efforts. You may have noticed that an increasing number of companies are taking advantage of social media channels as a means to increase brand presence and reach out to customers, but perhaps you don’t feel comfortable with Facebook and Twitter.

If you, as the company owner, do not want to have anything to do with Facebook and Twitter, but you recognize the potential value that such channels can provide for your business, then you probably shouldn’t partake in these strategies yourself. Instead, you can take one of two suitable alternatives. First, you could hire a freelancer who can handle these tasks for you. Feed this person with the appropriate information and they can manage your Facebook and Twitter company accounts for you.

Alternatively, you can look for someone in-house who can manage them. All too often, these kinds of tasks fall on interns and co-op students, but they may not be the best people for the job. Realize that managing social media is just as important as the “main” jobs that your marketing department may handle. In this way, it is much better to hold an open call among your entire employee base to see if anyone wants to volunteer to do it. The ideal candidate is someone who already has an active personal account, since he or she will already be well-versed in the terminology and how the networks work.

The same idea applies to the various other marketing efforts that you may be exploring, from corporate blogging to podcasting to guerrilla marketing tactics. Don’t assume that these efforts are “secondary” to your primary marketing techniques. They’re just as valuable and can prove to be just as effective… when used appropriately.