7 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market Your Business
by Kathleen Gage
Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn’t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing.
Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns.
Some of my successes have included:
- Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books
- Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25
- One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees
- One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program
I don’t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results.
People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented.
With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales.
1. Business Cards
Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one’s marketing.
Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember.
Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself.
Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip.
If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service.
When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind.
2. Send a picture
A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer’s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you.
Put a picture of a buyer’s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days.
For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer.
Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see.
A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient’s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look.
3. Associations
Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available.
A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications.
Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website.
In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication.
They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website.
This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility.
Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing:
-Newsletters
-Internet listings
-Links to you website
-Discounted advertising rates
-Networking opportunities
-Business referral services
-Special recognition events
-Education seminars
-Business and membership directories
In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary.
4. Committee Involvement
Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet.
5. Contests and drawings
Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly.
You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest.
You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business.
Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity.
6. Cross-promoting
Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let’s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination.
This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone.
7. Bonuses
Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer buys a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase.
Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Investing the Profits from Your Home Based Business
Having made the bold and glorious decision to sack the boss and go it alone you are one of the few who have what it takes to succeed. You have an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong will and these are rare and valuable attributes that will guide you throughout your professional and personal life.
Now that your business is up and running and you’re profiting from your efforts, it’s time to turn your attentions to investing the profits from your home based business wisely and for maximum gain.
One of the most consistently returning asset classes over the long term and the one that the majority of us can profit from is real estate.
Understanding market cycles
Now, you’re most likely aware that property markets are cyclical – this is because there is a direct correlation between the underlying price of real estate in relation to individual buying power. Simply explained: when property prices rise above what first time buyers can afford to pay the market slows down, stagnates and sometimes readjusts – but as soon as purchasing power increases again, either with a drop in interest rates or an increase in GDP, so property prices begin rising again.
And there are even ways to make money from real estate during a market downturn!
Investing in real estate for income
Depending on the nature of your home based business your monthly income may be slightly erratic – some months being better than others! If you invest in property assets in a buy-to-let or even jet-to-let capacity you can secure yourself a consistent monthly income which may afford you an added degree of financial security.
Buy-to-let is when you purchase property for rental purposes – this make be an apartment you corporate let, it could be a house you student let or even a family home you rent out long term.
Jet-to-let is similar but it involves purchasing overseas property for short term weekly or fortnightly rental to tourists. This type of letting is usually very lucrative indeed during peak holiday periods but may mean you have a property that is empty for a few months out of season.
Both types of property investment return you a regular income and at the same time the physical real estate asset will grow in value over the long term and if ever you wish to release the profits from your investment you can sell on the property and take the gains you have accrued.
Investing in real estate for profit
The alternative to building up a property portfolio for income generation purposes is purchasing property and selling it on relatively quickly to realize the gains the asset has accrued.
You can do this in a number of ways…firstly you can purchase run down property in need of renovation, tidy up the property and turn it into a home before selling it on at a higher price and reaping the profits gained.
Alternatively you could seek to beat the curve by buying into up and coming areas, waiting for prices to boom and then selling on for profit. This is quite a risky strategy for a first time investor as timing the market is hard!
An alternative to this is looking overseas for the latest emerging property markets worldwide and buying properties to renovate or properties off plan and then flipping them on for maximum gains in the short term.
Financing your investment
As a self-employed individual it can be tricky to get a mortgage unless you have audited accounts, bank references etc., etc. If you don’t have all of these requisite documents there are other options available to you.
The main options are re-mortgaging your primary residence and releasing the equity that you have accrued already for reinvestment in another property project or taking out a self-certification mortgage where you make a large down payment and basically tell the lender how much you can afford to borrow!
A winning attitude
You’ve already proved you have what it takes to succeed against the odds by establishing a profitable home based business, now apply the same steely determination to your real estate investments and you will succeed in making the maximum gains. Start small, begin gently, test the market and your understanding of it and slowly build up a profitable real estate portfolio from the profits of your home based business for maximum financial gain.
Good luck in achieving your goals.
Now that your business is up and running and you’re profiting from your efforts, it’s time to turn your attentions to investing the profits from your home based business wisely and for maximum gain.
One of the most consistently returning asset classes over the long term and the one that the majority of us can profit from is real estate.
Understanding market cycles
Now, you’re most likely aware that property markets are cyclical – this is because there is a direct correlation between the underlying price of real estate in relation to individual buying power. Simply explained: when property prices rise above what first time buyers can afford to pay the market slows down, stagnates and sometimes readjusts – but as soon as purchasing power increases again, either with a drop in interest rates or an increase in GDP, so property prices begin rising again.
And there are even ways to make money from real estate during a market downturn!
Investing in real estate for income
Depending on the nature of your home based business your monthly income may be slightly erratic – some months being better than others! If you invest in property assets in a buy-to-let or even jet-to-let capacity you can secure yourself a consistent monthly income which may afford you an added degree of financial security.
Buy-to-let is when you purchase property for rental purposes – this make be an apartment you corporate let, it could be a house you student let or even a family home you rent out long term.
Jet-to-let is similar but it involves purchasing overseas property for short term weekly or fortnightly rental to tourists. This type of letting is usually very lucrative indeed during peak holiday periods but may mean you have a property that is empty for a few months out of season.
Both types of property investment return you a regular income and at the same time the physical real estate asset will grow in value over the long term and if ever you wish to release the profits from your investment you can sell on the property and take the gains you have accrued.
Investing in real estate for profit
The alternative to building up a property portfolio for income generation purposes is purchasing property and selling it on relatively quickly to realize the gains the asset has accrued.
You can do this in a number of ways…firstly you can purchase run down property in need of renovation, tidy up the property and turn it into a home before selling it on at a higher price and reaping the profits gained.
Alternatively you could seek to beat the curve by buying into up and coming areas, waiting for prices to boom and then selling on for profit. This is quite a risky strategy for a first time investor as timing the market is hard!
An alternative to this is looking overseas for the latest emerging property markets worldwide and buying properties to renovate or properties off plan and then flipping them on for maximum gains in the short term.
Financing your investment
As a self-employed individual it can be tricky to get a mortgage unless you have audited accounts, bank references etc., etc. If you don’t have all of these requisite documents there are other options available to you.
The main options are re-mortgaging your primary residence and releasing the equity that you have accrued already for reinvestment in another property project or taking out a self-certification mortgage where you make a large down payment and basically tell the lender how much you can afford to borrow!
A winning attitude
You’ve already proved you have what it takes to succeed against the odds by establishing a profitable home based business, now apply the same steely determination to your real estate investments and you will succeed in making the maximum gains. Start small, begin gently, test the market and your understanding of it and slowly build up a profitable real estate portfolio from the profits of your home based business for maximum financial gain.
Good luck in achieving your goals.
Choosing A Business Opportunity - Starting Your Own Business
Millions of people are desparate to escape the 9 to 5 grind. One popular alternative is to look for a business opportunity that turns you from an employee into a self-employed entrepreneur running your own business.
There are many good reasons why this can be a wise move. Being your own boss means you can set your own hours. This can be very important if you have small children, or simply want to spend more time at home. Working from home can also save valuable time, if the alternative is spending two or three hours every day commuting back and forth to your work place. And of course, working for yourself also gives you the opportunity to make a whole lot more money.
In other words, being your own boss gives you that valuable commodity called freedom. It sets you free from the limitations of being someone else's paid employee, and in return makes you responsible for your own future. As a self-employed entrepreneur you are free to set your own hours, establish your own work habits, choose what work you will do or will not do, create your own products, drum up your own customers, and do what you have to do to make those customers happy.
And perhaps most importantly, when you are self-employed you are free to set your own prices and make as much or as little income as you are able. You will not have to answer to anyone other than yourself, your suppliers, and of course, the ever-present taxman, after you become successful.
**How to get started -- Two Alternatives**
There are two obvious ways you can go about starting your own business. The first way is to quit your day job and launch full bore into your new business. We'll call this the "All or Nothing Approach". The second way is to continue on with your current employment and develop a business on the side, in your spare time. We'll call this the "Spare Time Approach".
Depending on your point of view, taking the All or Nothing Approach can be either an act of bravery or just plain recklessness. Unless you are independently wealthy, planning and timing are very important with this approach. That's because once you leave your previous employment your source of income will be gone and you will have a limited amount of time to make your business work. It is "sink or swim". And you can sink pretty quickly without a source of income.
So that means you should plan the changeover to self-employment very carefully. Every situation will be different. An acquantance of mine was able to step from his quasi-government job into a private consulting business because he spent the last few months of his employment developing leads and contacts within his industry. When he went on his own he had customers waiting in the wings and was able to more than double his income in his very first year.
But most of us are not so lucky. We do not have the quality leads or the specialized skills. Nor do most of us have the opportunity to use our present employment to build a launching pad of potential customers before we take off into the wild blue yonder of self-employment. Most of us are starting from scratch with a few vague ideas, a questionable set of yet-to-be-defined skills, and severly limited income. So our venture into self-employment had better take off within a few months or we're likely to crash and burn.
That is why the Spare Time Approach is best for most new self-employed entrepreneurs. The Spare Time Approach lets you test your ideas, develop your skills, and build your business slowly. If you are unsure about the products or services you intend to sell, the Spare Time Approach lets you try out different product lines and see how well they fit in with your overall objectives. Often new entrepreneurs find that their first ideas are not realistic, or there is no market for the services they want to provide. Or they find they cannot charge enough to make any money providing the products or services they have chosen.
**Choose your product carefully**
Like all new entrepreneurs, whether you take the "all or nothing approach" or the "spare time approach" you should be very tight-fisted with your limited resources. That means do not invest any serious money in a product or business idea until you have checked it out thoroughly. The best way to "check it out" is to:
- Talk to people who are already selling the product or service.
- Establish the credibility of the person or company providing the product or service.
- Make sure the company provides on-going support for their product(s).
- Make sure there are no hidden or unexpected costs (such as franchise fees) that will eat away your profits.
This applies whether you are looking at an online product such as an MLM or affiliate scheme, or a more traditional product or service aimed only at local customers.
For example, an associate of mine produces Business Card Displays. The idea behind this product is that it provides new entrepreneurs the opportunity to set up an advertising service for local businesses. With this product, the entrepreneur creates a network of displays placed in high traffic retail outlets like grocery stores, hair salons, and bowling alleys. Then local advertisers can place their business cards in one of the compartments in the displays across the network. If someone browsing one of the displays sees a service they are interested in, they just take a card for future reference.
Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea. But for someone willing to put in a few months of hard work at the beginning, it is a pretty easy way to create a business that will return a handsome income for years to come.
And this manufacturer stands behind his product. He can show you examples of successful advertising networks where his displays are used. He will also provide testimonials and contact information from real people whom you can ask how well the product is working for them. And to top it off, he uses the product himself in a network of over 40 displays, and can provide hands-on information about how it actually works in a real-life situations.
This is pretty rare in the world of "business opportunities". Many are run by "take the money and run" types who make wildly exaggerated claims about how successful you can be. But in many cases they have never actually made the idea work for themselves.
As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, your choice of products is crucial to your success or failure. Many products are simply bogus ideas with no hope of working. And many others are designed to produce maximum profits for their creators, and minimum profits for people like you and me who sell them. So no matter how hard you work, or how committed you are to being successful, if you choose the wrong product you will be operating with a millstone around your neck.
There are many good reasons why this can be a wise move. Being your own boss means you can set your own hours. This can be very important if you have small children, or simply want to spend more time at home. Working from home can also save valuable time, if the alternative is spending two or three hours every day commuting back and forth to your work place. And of course, working for yourself also gives you the opportunity to make a whole lot more money.
In other words, being your own boss gives you that valuable commodity called freedom. It sets you free from the limitations of being someone else's paid employee, and in return makes you responsible for your own future. As a self-employed entrepreneur you are free to set your own hours, establish your own work habits, choose what work you will do or will not do, create your own products, drum up your own customers, and do what you have to do to make those customers happy.
And perhaps most importantly, when you are self-employed you are free to set your own prices and make as much or as little income as you are able. You will not have to answer to anyone other than yourself, your suppliers, and of course, the ever-present taxman, after you become successful.
**How to get started -- Two Alternatives**
There are two obvious ways you can go about starting your own business. The first way is to quit your day job and launch full bore into your new business. We'll call this the "All or Nothing Approach". The second way is to continue on with your current employment and develop a business on the side, in your spare time. We'll call this the "Spare Time Approach".
Depending on your point of view, taking the All or Nothing Approach can be either an act of bravery or just plain recklessness. Unless you are independently wealthy, planning and timing are very important with this approach. That's because once you leave your previous employment your source of income will be gone and you will have a limited amount of time to make your business work. It is "sink or swim". And you can sink pretty quickly without a source of income.
So that means you should plan the changeover to self-employment very carefully. Every situation will be different. An acquantance of mine was able to step from his quasi-government job into a private consulting business because he spent the last few months of his employment developing leads and contacts within his industry. When he went on his own he had customers waiting in the wings and was able to more than double his income in his very first year.
But most of us are not so lucky. We do not have the quality leads or the specialized skills. Nor do most of us have the opportunity to use our present employment to build a launching pad of potential customers before we take off into the wild blue yonder of self-employment. Most of us are starting from scratch with a few vague ideas, a questionable set of yet-to-be-defined skills, and severly limited income. So our venture into self-employment had better take off within a few months or we're likely to crash and burn.
That is why the Spare Time Approach is best for most new self-employed entrepreneurs. The Spare Time Approach lets you test your ideas, develop your skills, and build your business slowly. If you are unsure about the products or services you intend to sell, the Spare Time Approach lets you try out different product lines and see how well they fit in with your overall objectives. Often new entrepreneurs find that their first ideas are not realistic, or there is no market for the services they want to provide. Or they find they cannot charge enough to make any money providing the products or services they have chosen.
**Choose your product carefully**
Like all new entrepreneurs, whether you take the "all or nothing approach" or the "spare time approach" you should be very tight-fisted with your limited resources. That means do not invest any serious money in a product or business idea until you have checked it out thoroughly. The best way to "check it out" is to:
- Talk to people who are already selling the product or service.
- Establish the credibility of the person or company providing the product or service.
- Make sure the company provides on-going support for their product(s).
- Make sure there are no hidden or unexpected costs (such as franchise fees) that will eat away your profits.
This applies whether you are looking at an online product such as an MLM or affiliate scheme, or a more traditional product or service aimed only at local customers.
For example, an associate of mine produces Business Card Displays. The idea behind this product is that it provides new entrepreneurs the opportunity to set up an advertising service for local businesses. With this product, the entrepreneur creates a network of displays placed in high traffic retail outlets like grocery stores, hair salons, and bowling alleys. Then local advertisers can place their business cards in one of the compartments in the displays across the network. If someone browsing one of the displays sees a service they are interested in, they just take a card for future reference.
Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea. But for someone willing to put in a few months of hard work at the beginning, it is a pretty easy way to create a business that will return a handsome income for years to come.
And this manufacturer stands behind his product. He can show you examples of successful advertising networks where his displays are used. He will also provide testimonials and contact information from real people whom you can ask how well the product is working for them. And to top it off, he uses the product himself in a network of over 40 displays, and can provide hands-on information about how it actually works in a real-life situations.
This is pretty rare in the world of "business opportunities". Many are run by "take the money and run" types who make wildly exaggerated claims about how successful you can be. But in many cases they have never actually made the idea work for themselves.
As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, your choice of products is crucial to your success or failure. Many products are simply bogus ideas with no hope of working. And many others are designed to produce maximum profits for their creators, and minimum profits for people like you and me who sell them. So no matter how hard you work, or how committed you are to being successful, if you choose the wrong product you will be operating with a millstone around your neck.
How To Get All The Traffic You Can Use?
The best traffic-generation ideas combine the better sources of free traffic with some paid advertising. I propose three methods that will boost your traffic. If you remain dedicated to these three methods of advertising, you will get all the traffic you need.
1. Writing and distributing articles
This is my favourite way of driving traffic to my sites. Articles have the ability to become viral, and that can be a huge plus for you, and a great reason to write articles. Focus on creating a 300 word article related to the theme of your site or business. Include a resource box at the end of your article that features a link back to your site. Then, distribute your article to article distribution sites (like EzineArticles.com) and email groups (like http://groups.yahoo.com/group/business_articles). You will see traffic from this method.
2. Contributing to forums
The key word here is “contributing.” Recently, too many good forums have been besieged by “marketers” posting ads. This is considered to be forum spam, and is not in good taste. Instead, visit forums, read posts, and when you have a good, well-thought-out question or reply, post it to the forum. This type of question or reply allows you to build credibility in that forum, and will earn interest in your business from other readers. Most forums allow you to post a link at the end of your post, or in a signature file, and you can promote your business there. As you build credibility, you will build traffic.
3. Buying ezine ads
This is a paid method of advertising, but it works, because it is the most targeted of these approaches. Write a concise ad for your business, then begin contacting ezines to place your ad. (Do a search for “ezine directories,” and you will find enough lists to keep you busy.) When you contact an ezine, look for rates for both classified ads and solo ads. The advantage to a solo ad is that your ad goes out by itself in a separate email, but they can be more expensive. Because these ads are targeted (you should NOT advertise in an unrelated ezine), you will definitely see traffic, but you will need to track your results to see which ezines bring you the most and best traffic.
These three sources of traffic will keep you busy and will bring you all the traffic you need.
1. Writing and distributing articles
This is my favourite way of driving traffic to my sites. Articles have the ability to become viral, and that can be a huge plus for you, and a great reason to write articles. Focus on creating a 300 word article related to the theme of your site or business. Include a resource box at the end of your article that features a link back to your site. Then, distribute your article to article distribution sites (like EzineArticles.com) and email groups (like http://groups.yahoo.com/group/business_articles). You will see traffic from this method.
2. Contributing to forums
The key word here is “contributing.” Recently, too many good forums have been besieged by “marketers” posting ads. This is considered to be forum spam, and is not in good taste. Instead, visit forums, read posts, and when you have a good, well-thought-out question or reply, post it to the forum. This type of question or reply allows you to build credibility in that forum, and will earn interest in your business from other readers. Most forums allow you to post a link at the end of your post, or in a signature file, and you can promote your business there. As you build credibility, you will build traffic.
3. Buying ezine ads
This is a paid method of advertising, but it works, because it is the most targeted of these approaches. Write a concise ad for your business, then begin contacting ezines to place your ad. (Do a search for “ezine directories,” and you will find enough lists to keep you busy.) When you contact an ezine, look for rates for both classified ads and solo ads. The advantage to a solo ad is that your ad goes out by itself in a separate email, but they can be more expensive. Because these ads are targeted (you should NOT advertise in an unrelated ezine), you will definitely see traffic, but you will need to track your results to see which ezines bring you the most and best traffic.
These three sources of traffic will keep you busy and will bring you all the traffic you need.
Internet Home Business Opportunity
Find an and start making money almost immediately. Getting started will not take a lot of time or money. You won't be sending out spam. Start making money as soon as you apply the techniques you learn. An Internet home business opportunity is a great way to earn extra money, or start a full-time business if you wish. This new field is wide open and expanding every day.
One thing to keep in mind when seeking new money-making opportunities is low start-up costs. An Internet home business opportunity does not require a huge investment of either time or money. Start with $10. and put in a couple of hours a week. Make big returns for very little start-up. In the recent past you would have had to spend at least six months getting into this niche but now you don't even have to spend time building a web site. You don't even need a web site. Internet home business opportunities are the low-hanging fruit of the Internet.
You won't need to send out spam. If you have a computer and an Internet connection you can start working immediately. An Internet home business opportunity will help you redefine what work means. Work where you want, when you want. Are you a late night-owl? Like working at the local Internet cafe? You decide. Maybe you want to put in a concentrated amount of effort in the evenings and be free during the day. Schedule your own time. An Internet home business opportunity is brilliant for people who want to be in charge of their own income, set their own hours and define their own professional goals.
There's no long down time before you start bringing in good money. You can be in operation and be making money within a very short frame of time. In the recent past it took six months to build a site and persistent work to get it noticed by the Search Engines. Making commissions didn't happen right away. Now those lengthy processes are unnecessary. If you have a computer and the Internet and you apply these techniques to an Internet home business opportunity, you can start bringing in cash now.
New products and services are constantly being added to the Internet. The number of products and services available far exceeds the number of advertisers for them. More products are added every day. This is where the unlimited opportunities are in business today. If you are a resourceful and creative thinker, even better. Whereas those personality traits that mark you as independent may not have worked for you in someone else's company, with an Internet home business opportunity they'll benefit you. Be your own boss. The more you learn about how these techniques work, the more fun it will be for you. You'll be able to expand your business as much as you want.
The Internet is the new frontier. Start an Internet home business opportunity and be a
One thing to keep in mind when seeking new money-making opportunities is low start-up costs. An Internet home business opportunity does not require a huge investment of either time or money. Start with $10. and put in a couple of hours a week. Make big returns for very little start-up. In the recent past you would have had to spend at least six months getting into this niche but now you don't even have to spend time building a web site. You don't even need a web site. Internet home business opportunities are the low-hanging fruit of the Internet.
You won't need to send out spam. If you have a computer and an Internet connection you can start working immediately. An Internet home business opportunity will help you redefine what work means. Work where you want, when you want. Are you a late night-owl? Like working at the local Internet cafe? You decide. Maybe you want to put in a concentrated amount of effort in the evenings and be free during the day. Schedule your own time. An Internet home business opportunity is brilliant for people who want to be in charge of their own income, set their own hours and define their own professional goals.
There's no long down time before you start bringing in good money. You can be in operation and be making money within a very short frame of time. In the recent past it took six months to build a site and persistent work to get it noticed by the Search Engines. Making commissions didn't happen right away. Now those lengthy processes are unnecessary. If you have a computer and the Internet and you apply these techniques to an Internet home business opportunity, you can start bringing in cash now.
New products and services are constantly being added to the Internet. The number of products and services available far exceeds the number of advertisers for them. More products are added every day. This is where the unlimited opportunities are in business today. If you are a resourceful and creative thinker, even better. Whereas those personality traits that mark you as independent may not have worked for you in someone else's company, with an Internet home business opportunity they'll benefit you. Be your own boss. The more you learn about how these techniques work, the more fun it will be for you. You'll be able to expand your business as much as you want.
The Internet is the new frontier. Start an Internet home business opportunity and be a
Internet Home Business Opportunity
Find an and start making money almost immediately. Getting started will not take a lot of time or money. You won't be sending out spam. Start making money as soon as you apply the techniques you learn. An Internet home business opportunity is a great way to earn extra money, or start a full-time business if you wish. This new field is wide open and expanding every day.
One thing to keep in mind when seeking new money-making opportunities is low start-up costs. An Internet home business opportunity does not require a huge investment of either time or money. Start with $10. and put in a couple of hours a week. Make big returns for very little start-up. In the recent past you would have had to spend at least six months getting into this niche but now you don't even have to spend time building a web site. You don't even need a web site. Internet home business opportunities are the low-hanging fruit of the Internet.
You won't need to send out spam. If you have a computer and an Internet connection you can start working immediately. An Internet home business opportunity will help you redefine what work means. Work where you want, when you want. Are you a late night-owl? Like working at the local Internet cafe? You decide. Maybe you want to put in a concentrated amount of effort in the evenings and be free during the day. Schedule your own time. An Internet home business opportunity is brilliant for people who want to be in charge of their own income, set their own hours and define their own professional goals.
There's no long down time before you start bringing in good money. You can be in operation and be making money within a very short frame of time. In the recent past it took six months to build a site and persistent work to get it noticed by the Search Engines. Making commissions didn't happen right away. Now those lengthy processes are unnecessary. If you have a computer and the Internet and you apply these techniques to an Internet home business opportunity, you can start bringing in cash now.
New products and services are constantly being added to the Internet. The number of products and services available far exceeds the number of advertisers for them. More products are added every day. This is where the unlimited opportunities are in business today. If you are a resourceful and creative thinker, even better. Whereas those personality traits that mark you as independent may not have worked for you in someone else's company, with an Internet home business opportunity they'll benefit you. Be your own boss. The more you learn about how these techniques work, the more fun it will be for you. You'll be able to expand your business as much as you want.
The Internet is the new frontier. Start an Internet home business opportunity and be a
One thing to keep in mind when seeking new money-making opportunities is low start-up costs. An Internet home business opportunity does not require a huge investment of either time or money. Start with $10. and put in a couple of hours a week. Make big returns for very little start-up. In the recent past you would have had to spend at least six months getting into this niche but now you don't even have to spend time building a web site. You don't even need a web site. Internet home business opportunities are the low-hanging fruit of the Internet.
You won't need to send out spam. If you have a computer and an Internet connection you can start working immediately. An Internet home business opportunity will help you redefine what work means. Work where you want, when you want. Are you a late night-owl? Like working at the local Internet cafe? You decide. Maybe you want to put in a concentrated amount of effort in the evenings and be free during the day. Schedule your own time. An Internet home business opportunity is brilliant for people who want to be in charge of their own income, set their own hours and define their own professional goals.
There's no long down time before you start bringing in good money. You can be in operation and be making money within a very short frame of time. In the recent past it took six months to build a site and persistent work to get it noticed by the Search Engines. Making commissions didn't happen right away. Now those lengthy processes are unnecessary. If you have a computer and the Internet and you apply these techniques to an Internet home business opportunity, you can start bringing in cash now.
New products and services are constantly being added to the Internet. The number of products and services available far exceeds the number of advertisers for them. More products are added every day. This is where the unlimited opportunities are in business today. If you are a resourceful and creative thinker, even better. Whereas those personality traits that mark you as independent may not have worked for you in someone else's company, with an Internet home business opportunity they'll benefit you. Be your own boss. The more you learn about how these techniques work, the more fun it will be for you. You'll be able to expand your business as much as you want.
The Internet is the new frontier. Start an Internet home business opportunity and be a
Interviewing Job Applicants Can Be Hazardous to Your Wealth
1st Fact: Interviewing applicants is the most common way companies decide whom to hire.
2nd Fact: Research proves most interviewers do lousy at predicting if an applicant will
succeed – or flop – if hired.
3rd Fact: Research shows that customized pre-employment tests do great at predicting if an applicant may succeed or fail on-the-job.
4th Fact: Since you must interview applicants, even if you use tests, you need to make better predictions based on interviews.
If you do not learn how to do this, it will prove hazardous to your wealth! When you hire the wrong person, you will pay a huge price. Your business financially suffers, and you can destroy your management career.
WHY MANAGERS DO ROTTEN INTERVIEWS
Unfortunately, most managers base hiring decisions on interviewing job applicants. But, most managers do not know what they are doing. They often do not know
1. talents the applicant needs to succeed on-the-job
2. questions to ask
3. how to take useful notes
4. ways to stop applicants from lying about work experience or skills
CUSTOMIZE INTERVIEWS FOR EACH JOB
Since you still must interview applicants, let’s pinpoint how you can conduct useful interviews. Start by listing key talents a productive employee needs in the job. I use a 35-item checklist to help managers identify crucial talents.
For example, one company desired to hire better salespeople. Using my checklist, the sales executives chose crucial seven talents their salespeople need to succeed:
1. Mental Abilities
2. Friendliness
3. Persuasiveness
4. Flexible about Following Rules &
Procedures
5. Optimism
6. Desire to Make Lots of Money
7. Desire to Control Sales
Situations
INTERVIEWING MADE VASTLY EASIER
With the job talents list, make a customized interview guide form. This helps you conduct an insightful interview. It includes these parts, as shown in the accompanying example:
1. Job-related talents, such as Friendliness and Desire to Make Lots of Money
2. Place to insert test scores, e.g., scores on the Forecaster™ test’s Money Motivation scale
3. Actions to look for in the interview. Example: Craves pay linked to his/her productivity
4. Questions to ask. Example: "What inspires you to do a good job?"
5. Note-taking space
6. Ratings:
Up arrow = positive rating
Sideways arrow = moderate rating
Downward arrow = negative rating
The accompanying example shows how the interview guide form section for one of the seven job talents: Desire To Make Lots of Money.
Example: Section of Interview Guide Form
DESIRE TO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY
___ Score on Forecaster™ test’s “Money Motivation” scale = _____
Note: Benchmark scores on Forecaster™ test: 7 - 11 = Up Arrow
___ Enthusiastic about earning commissions or incentive pay
___ Craves pay linked to his/her productivity
"When you work each day, what ingredient of your job that you feel most enthusiastic about?"
"What inspires you to do a good job?"
Rating:
Up arrow = positive rating
Sideways arrow = moderate rating
Downward arrow = negative rating
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
OPEN PANDORA’S BOX
Your goal is to ask questions that force the applicant to reveal how he or she would perform on-the-job.
But, most interviewers ask questions that elicit little worthwhile information. Why? Most interviewers ask closed-ended questions, like “Did you like your last job?” or “Can you do creative problem-solving?” Any applicant with an IQ above room temperature knows the ‘correct’ answer to closed-ended questions. For example, if you ask, “Can you do creative problem-solving?”, applicants will answer “Yes” – even if they have the creativity of a dead insect. Closed-ended questions start with words like “Do,” “Can,” “Would,” or “Is.”
In contrast, skilled interviewers ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions do not give away the ‘correct’ answers. Plus, they force applicants to reveal their thoughts, feelings, goals, and experiences. That juicy information enables the interviewer to predict if the applicant may succeed if hired. Open-ended questions start with “How,” “What,” “Describe,” and “Tell me.”
SECRET TIP
Few managers know it proves best for two people to simultaneously interview each applicant. This boosts the likelihood of making accurate predictions about the applicant. One interviewer asks 99% of the questions while the second interviewer takes notes on the interview guide form. Both interviewers discuss the applicant after the interview. You will be amazed at how this approach improves interview results.
2 WAYS TO HIRE THE BEST
When you buy expensive clothing, like a fine dress or suit, you take it to a tailor who makes the clothing fit perfectly. The same principle holds true when you hire employees. You increase your odds of hiring winners by custom-tailoring your two key prediction methods: (1) tests and (2) interviews. First, do a test “benchmarking study” on behavior tests and mental ability tests by having your superstar employees take the behavior tests and mental abilities tests. For instance, to hire
profitable salespeople, first have your superstar salespeople take the tests. Their scores are “benchmarks” which you compare against applicants’ test scores.
Second, devise a customized interview guide form for each job. If you are hiring salespeople, customize the interview guide form for your company’s salesperson job. Interviewers use the form to ask questions, take notes, and link test scores to interview observations.
Remember: Research proves you probably will not hire the best if you only interview applicants. So, customize your tests and interviews and – most importantly – only hire applicants who rate high on your interviews and tests.
2nd Fact: Research proves most interviewers do lousy at predicting if an applicant will
succeed – or flop – if hired.
3rd Fact: Research shows that customized pre-employment tests do great at predicting if an applicant may succeed or fail on-the-job.
4th Fact: Since you must interview applicants, even if you use tests, you need to make better predictions based on interviews.
If you do not learn how to do this, it will prove hazardous to your wealth! When you hire the wrong person, you will pay a huge price. Your business financially suffers, and you can destroy your management career.
WHY MANAGERS DO ROTTEN INTERVIEWS
Unfortunately, most managers base hiring decisions on interviewing job applicants. But, most managers do not know what they are doing. They often do not know
1. talents the applicant needs to succeed on-the-job
2. questions to ask
3. how to take useful notes
4. ways to stop applicants from lying about work experience or skills
CUSTOMIZE INTERVIEWS FOR EACH JOB
Since you still must interview applicants, let’s pinpoint how you can conduct useful interviews. Start by listing key talents a productive employee needs in the job. I use a 35-item checklist to help managers identify crucial talents.
For example, one company desired to hire better salespeople. Using my checklist, the sales executives chose crucial seven talents their salespeople need to succeed:
1. Mental Abilities
2. Friendliness
3. Persuasiveness
4. Flexible about Following Rules &
Procedures
5. Optimism
6. Desire to Make Lots of Money
7. Desire to Control Sales
Situations
INTERVIEWING MADE VASTLY EASIER
With the job talents list, make a customized interview guide form. This helps you conduct an insightful interview. It includes these parts, as shown in the accompanying example:
1. Job-related talents, such as Friendliness and Desire to Make Lots of Money
2. Place to insert test scores, e.g., scores on the Forecaster™ test’s Money Motivation scale
3. Actions to look for in the interview. Example: Craves pay linked to his/her productivity
4. Questions to ask. Example: "What inspires you to do a good job?"
5. Note-taking space
6. Ratings:
Up arrow = positive rating
Sideways arrow = moderate rating
Downward arrow = negative rating
The accompanying example shows how the interview guide form section for one of the seven job talents: Desire To Make Lots of Money.
Example: Section of Interview Guide Form
DESIRE TO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY
___ Score on Forecaster™ test’s “Money Motivation” scale = _____
Note: Benchmark scores on Forecaster™ test: 7 - 11 = Up Arrow
___ Enthusiastic about earning commissions or incentive pay
___ Craves pay linked to his/her productivity
"When you work each day, what ingredient of your job that you feel most enthusiastic about?"
"What inspires you to do a good job?"
Rating:
Up arrow = positive rating
Sideways arrow = moderate rating
Downward arrow = negative rating
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
OPEN PANDORA’S BOX
Your goal is to ask questions that force the applicant to reveal how he or she would perform on-the-job.
But, most interviewers ask questions that elicit little worthwhile information. Why? Most interviewers ask closed-ended questions, like “Did you like your last job?” or “Can you do creative problem-solving?” Any applicant with an IQ above room temperature knows the ‘correct’ answer to closed-ended questions. For example, if you ask, “Can you do creative problem-solving?”, applicants will answer “Yes” – even if they have the creativity of a dead insect. Closed-ended questions start with words like “Do,” “Can,” “Would,” or “Is.”
In contrast, skilled interviewers ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions do not give away the ‘correct’ answers. Plus, they force applicants to reveal their thoughts, feelings, goals, and experiences. That juicy information enables the interviewer to predict if the applicant may succeed if hired. Open-ended questions start with “How,” “What,” “Describe,” and “Tell me.”
SECRET TIP
Few managers know it proves best for two people to simultaneously interview each applicant. This boosts the likelihood of making accurate predictions about the applicant. One interviewer asks 99% of the questions while the second interviewer takes notes on the interview guide form. Both interviewers discuss the applicant after the interview. You will be amazed at how this approach improves interview results.
2 WAYS TO HIRE THE BEST
When you buy expensive clothing, like a fine dress or suit, you take it to a tailor who makes the clothing fit perfectly. The same principle holds true when you hire employees. You increase your odds of hiring winners by custom-tailoring your two key prediction methods: (1) tests and (2) interviews. First, do a test “benchmarking study” on behavior tests and mental ability tests by having your superstar employees take the behavior tests and mental abilities tests. For instance, to hire
profitable salespeople, first have your superstar salespeople take the tests. Their scores are “benchmarks” which you compare against applicants’ test scores.
Second, devise a customized interview guide form for each job. If you are hiring salespeople, customize the interview guide form for your company’s salesperson job. Interviewers use the form to ask questions, take notes, and link test scores to interview observations.
Remember: Research proves you probably will not hire the best if you only interview applicants. So, customize your tests and interviews and – most importantly – only hire applicants who rate high on your interviews and tests.
Creating a Business Strategy
On a scale of one to ten, having a good business strategy rates about a fifteen!
No matter what kind of business you have -- whether you sell products or a service, as the saying goes, "if you fail to plan, then you're really planning to fail."
Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 60 to 80 hours a week all year long -- and then breaking even, or worse, losing money.
On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money -- and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it.
So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it's the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan.
How do you create a strategic plan for you business?
1. First, know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could -- what would that look like?
2. Next, what are your company's core operating values? What are its guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business?
3. Now create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.
4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be "SMART" when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you've already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. And then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.
5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress.
6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination -- but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!
7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it's time to begin the journey.
8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you're still on the right road. If something isn't working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you'll be back on track.
9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).
Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.
No matter what kind of business you have -- whether you sell products or a service, as the saying goes, "if you fail to plan, then you're really planning to fail."
Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 60 to 80 hours a week all year long -- and then breaking even, or worse, losing money.
On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money -- and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it.
So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it's the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan.
How do you create a strategic plan for you business?
1. First, know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could -- what would that look like?
2. Next, what are your company's core operating values? What are its guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business?
3. Now create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.
4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be "SMART" when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you've already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. And then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.
5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress.
6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination -- but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!
7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it's time to begin the journey.
8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you're still on the right road. If something isn't working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you'll be back on track.
9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).
Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.
MLM Training - Don't Sell Your MLM Business Opportunity Short, Sort Your Way To MLM Success!
Have you ever fallen into the trap of trying to "sell" your MLM business opportunity to everyone you call? Or dread calling leads because you're wondering, how you're going to sell "all these" people on your MLM business opportunity?
I know alot of MLM Business Owners do this when they first start out!
In my early MLM days my goal at that time was to tell (sell) my prospects on what my opportunity could offer them if they joined or signed up.
But as I later learned, all I should be worrying about was what they (my prospects) could offer "MY" business if I decided to enroll them. Which should be your mindset as well. Because as you'll soon realize. . .
It's 10x Easier To "Sort" Than To Sell Prospects On Your MLM Business Opportunity.
And that's because, your job as an MLM prospector is not to sell your prospects anything. Your job is to simply weed out the "Looky lous" and "Tire Kickers" from your list.
And let's face it, not everyone is a Prime candidate for your MLM business opportunity. Because if that were the case, we'd all be making Six Figure Incomes lightning quick.
In fact, it's been said that more than 50% of the population are not fit to be in business for themselves. And what's even more frightening is that the majority of these people, "Don't Even Know It".
See, when you try to "sell" these types of people, they'll simply string you along, waste your time, your energy, plus your valuable effort simply for the both of you to "Painstakingly" find out later on down the line that they weren't fit to be in your MLM business opportunity or ANY Home Business Opportunity, for that matter.
But when you "sort", you weed these people out from the get-go. No guesswork, no wasted time, no wasted energy, and best of all no one to waste your time. And that's because when you sort these people out of your list, what you have left is worth it's weight in Gold. People who are ready to change their lives, not just some curious on looker who filled out a form.
So needless to say, the sooner you know how to "Sort" prospects, the easier your job as a prospector will be.
5 Key Attributes Your Prospect MUST HAVE Before You Show Them Your MLM Business Opportunity
1 .Desire - They must have some type of "Passion" for making a better life for themselves. They need to possess the drive to do "whatever it takes" in order to reach their goals. In other words, they have to want to be successful because no one else can force them.
2. Money - Money usually follows desire. If there is enough desire, money is typically not an issue. But let's face it, they need the money or be able to come up with the money in order to purchase your business kit or enroll in your MLM business opportunity.
3. Critical Thinking - Did your prospect review and understand the information? Did the information generate questions? If so, that's a good sign.
4. Decision Making - Can your prospect make the decision to get started if all her questions are answered properly? - If they can't make a Yes or No decision after evaluating your opportunity and getting their questions answered, they're just wasting your time.
5. Instructions - If your prospect has done what you've instructed, then it's fair to say that he or she can follow instructions. And if they can't follow simple instructions now, it'll be a big "Waste of time" working with these people later on.
Keep these 5 attributes in mind as you go through your monthly lead list. They'll save you a whole lot of time and will help you find MLM Business Owners that are less likely to be pulled and more likely to be motivated along the way.
When you prospect in this manner, you lead in with strength. It's not about you or your MLM business opportunity... its not about what the prospect said or didn't say in her survey form or pre-screen call... it's not about any of that. It's simply about whether the person is "wired" to be in business for themselves or not. If they are, then help them get the information that will allow them to make an educated decision.
It's as simple as that!
We're all looking for Heavy-Hitter MLM strategies that the Big Boys and Big Girls use. Well this is one of them. They don't waste their time trying to pull "everyone" into their business. They know who's right and they know who's wrong for their business.
They know all you have to do is find a few "Right" ones and they're business will kick off to a flying start.
So remember, "Don't Sell Your MLM Business Opportunity Short, Sort Your Way To MLM Success!". Your job isn't to "show" everyone your opportunity; it's to "sort" everyone who's right for your opportunity from those who are not.
I know alot of MLM Business Owners do this when they first start out!
In my early MLM days my goal at that time was to tell (sell) my prospects on what my opportunity could offer them if they joined or signed up.
But as I later learned, all I should be worrying about was what they (my prospects) could offer "MY" business if I decided to enroll them. Which should be your mindset as well. Because as you'll soon realize. . .
It's 10x Easier To "Sort" Than To Sell Prospects On Your MLM Business Opportunity.
And that's because, your job as an MLM prospector is not to sell your prospects anything. Your job is to simply weed out the "Looky lous" and "Tire Kickers" from your list.
And let's face it, not everyone is a Prime candidate for your MLM business opportunity. Because if that were the case, we'd all be making Six Figure Incomes lightning quick.
In fact, it's been said that more than 50% of the population are not fit to be in business for themselves. And what's even more frightening is that the majority of these people, "Don't Even Know It".
See, when you try to "sell" these types of people, they'll simply string you along, waste your time, your energy, plus your valuable effort simply for the both of you to "Painstakingly" find out later on down the line that they weren't fit to be in your MLM business opportunity or ANY Home Business Opportunity, for that matter.
But when you "sort", you weed these people out from the get-go. No guesswork, no wasted time, no wasted energy, and best of all no one to waste your time. And that's because when you sort these people out of your list, what you have left is worth it's weight in Gold. People who are ready to change their lives, not just some curious on looker who filled out a form.
So needless to say, the sooner you know how to "Sort" prospects, the easier your job as a prospector will be.
5 Key Attributes Your Prospect MUST HAVE Before You Show Them Your MLM Business Opportunity
1 .Desire - They must have some type of "Passion" for making a better life for themselves. They need to possess the drive to do "whatever it takes" in order to reach their goals. In other words, they have to want to be successful because no one else can force them.
2. Money - Money usually follows desire. If there is enough desire, money is typically not an issue. But let's face it, they need the money or be able to come up with the money in order to purchase your business kit or enroll in your MLM business opportunity.
3. Critical Thinking - Did your prospect review and understand the information? Did the information generate questions? If so, that's a good sign.
4. Decision Making - Can your prospect make the decision to get started if all her questions are answered properly? - If they can't make a Yes or No decision after evaluating your opportunity and getting their questions answered, they're just wasting your time.
5. Instructions - If your prospect has done what you've instructed, then it's fair to say that he or she can follow instructions. And if they can't follow simple instructions now, it'll be a big "Waste of time" working with these people later on.
Keep these 5 attributes in mind as you go through your monthly lead list. They'll save you a whole lot of time and will help you find MLM Business Owners that are less likely to be pulled and more likely to be motivated along the way.
When you prospect in this manner, you lead in with strength. It's not about you or your MLM business opportunity... its not about what the prospect said or didn't say in her survey form or pre-screen call... it's not about any of that. It's simply about whether the person is "wired" to be in business for themselves or not. If they are, then help them get the information that will allow them to make an educated decision.
It's as simple as that!
We're all looking for Heavy-Hitter MLM strategies that the Big Boys and Big Girls use. Well this is one of them. They don't waste their time trying to pull "everyone" into their business. They know who's right and they know who's wrong for their business.
They know all you have to do is find a few "Right" ones and they're business will kick off to a flying start.
So remember, "Don't Sell Your MLM Business Opportunity Short, Sort Your Way To MLM Success!". Your job isn't to "show" everyone your opportunity; it's to "sort" everyone who's right for your opportunity from those who are not.
Think Positive - Care for your Customers
You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on
your web site as long as the byline is included and the
article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you
activate any html links found in the article and in the
byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you
publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com
Think Positive - Care for your Customers
By Abe Cherian
Copyright ? 2005
Operating a business on a daily basis dealing with
customers can actually be frustrating and they often don't
make it easy for you and your employees to treat them
nicely.
You need to remember where all your revenue and sales come
from for your business. Every dollar in sales that your
business gets comes from these customers that can sometimes
be frustrating. You want to treat them well and hope that
maybe they'll return another day happy and satisfied and
bring family and mends.
The old saying, "The customer is always right", is really
not true. One unhappy customer, through word of mouth, can
translate into a lot of lost customers. Just because
customers aren't telling you how good you are, often times
you think, "Everything must be okay." They may not come to
you and say, "That was a horrible experience, but they
might tell their family and friends that." Silence is not
golden.
Each person really has different theories on this, but they
have the potential to tell just one or many other people
positive or negative things about your business. Look at a
happy customer as free advertising. You might already know
how much it costs for advertising.
It's been said that an unhappy customer will tell a minimum
of 1-10 people their negative experience. Think about that.
1-10 people automatically not doing business with you. That
might change the way you respond to someone. Just maybe a
receptionist having a bad day and being rude on the phone -
that person telling 1-10 people about that and they will
never do business with you.
The first step to a better relationship is to realize
customers aren't different from anyone else. They are
people with feelings, reactions, wants and desires. They've
been studied for the last 50 years and during that time,
more than any other time in history. It's your job to
understand human drive, passions, emotions, fears and
target those emotions.
You want to always be looking for a response from them good
and bad. Every bad response you get from a customer is an
opportunity to improve.
The second step is to reverse your "Money Plan" that is
always thinking of them as money machines. You want to
think, "How can you get them more - better - faster -
easier - less expensive - higher quality - longer service-
better benefits - more options - and more desirable things
that they want?"
In order for this to work you must think of your profit
will come as long as you are running the business properly.
You can't think like this for long without ending up with
more value in your business or product or service. A
greater number of customers that are doing more business
with you, doing it more frequently, and they're doing it
more often for a longer term and they're giving you
referrals. Treat your customers like you want to be treated.
your web site as long as the byline is included and the
article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you
activate any html links found in the article and in the
byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you
publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com
Think Positive - Care for your Customers
By Abe Cherian
Copyright ? 2005
Operating a business on a daily basis dealing with
customers can actually be frustrating and they often don't
make it easy for you and your employees to treat them
nicely.
You need to remember where all your revenue and sales come
from for your business. Every dollar in sales that your
business gets comes from these customers that can sometimes
be frustrating. You want to treat them well and hope that
maybe they'll return another day happy and satisfied and
bring family and mends.
The old saying, "The customer is always right", is really
not true. One unhappy customer, through word of mouth, can
translate into a lot of lost customers. Just because
customers aren't telling you how good you are, often times
you think, "Everything must be okay." They may not come to
you and say, "That was a horrible experience, but they
might tell their family and friends that." Silence is not
golden.
Each person really has different theories on this, but they
have the potential to tell just one or many other people
positive or negative things about your business. Look at a
happy customer as free advertising. You might already know
how much it costs for advertising.
It's been said that an unhappy customer will tell a minimum
of 1-10 people their negative experience. Think about that.
1-10 people automatically not doing business with you. That
might change the way you respond to someone. Just maybe a
receptionist having a bad day and being rude on the phone -
that person telling 1-10 people about that and they will
never do business with you.
The first step to a better relationship is to realize
customers aren't different from anyone else. They are
people with feelings, reactions, wants and desires. They've
been studied for the last 50 years and during that time,
more than any other time in history. It's your job to
understand human drive, passions, emotions, fears and
target those emotions.
You want to always be looking for a response from them good
and bad. Every bad response you get from a customer is an
opportunity to improve.
The second step is to reverse your "Money Plan" that is
always thinking of them as money machines. You want to
think, "How can you get them more - better - faster -
easier - less expensive - higher quality - longer service-
better benefits - more options - and more desirable things
that they want?"
In order for this to work you must think of your profit
will come as long as you are running the business properly.
You can't think like this for long without ending up with
more value in your business or product or service. A
greater number of customers that are doing more business
with you, doing it more frequently, and they're doing it
more often for a longer term and they're giving you
referrals. Treat your customers like you want to be treated.
Why Is Small Business Health Insurance Worth It?
If you’re looking for a guide to how to get health insurance and
what kind of health insurance is best for your small business,
then this is the article for you. Your business qualifies for
small business health insurance if you have anywhere between two
and fifty employees in it. If you are self employed then you’ll
want to look into getting self employed health insurance.
There are many benefits to getting small business health
insurance. A small business health insurance plan will help
spread the financial risk around to everyone and not just
yourself. As this is the case, this generally will bring lower
premiums and more extensive coverage. Along with this, the
health insurance provides medical care for you and all other
employees as well.
With a small business health insurance people often get group
insurance. This too has its advantages on several different
aspects. All contributions from the employers are 100% tax
deductible, and you’ll save on payroll taxes as well. Small
businesses will be eligible for group insurance just as long as
you have two or more full time employees working.
When setting up a group insurance plan for your small business,
all members will be set up with a coverage plan with rates
calculated using the group and individuals. After that it is up
to the separate employees themselves if they wish to add riders
and additional coverage to satisfy their needs. Keep in mind
that not all employees in the small business have to join the
group plan. Just as long as there is no fewer then two
employees in the business that have the group insurance plan,
then you will be fine.
The cost of the group insurance plan varies based on several
different characteristics. Some of these include age, health
status, business and/or residential location and so on. Like
everything in this world it’s not going to be cheap, but it will
be cheaper then having a bunch of separate health insurance
plans.
Most health plans are going to require employees to pay at least
half of the premium cost for covered employees. Some employees
will offer to pay 100% of the cost, white now there is a new
health plan giving employees the option to pay as little as 25%
of the cost. Just know that typically most types of coverage
will cost employees a minimum of $1,600-$2,500 per year per
employee. By clicking on the link below you can begin getting
quotes for your small business health insurance.
http://www.buyerzone.com/benefits/health_insurance/qz_questions_2.jhtml
Just remember that many times medical services are needed
unexpectedly. If you or other employees do not have health
insurance this could be a devastating blow to the wallet. The
cost of a hospital visit, depending on the circumstance, will
many times be much higher then the cost of health insurance.
You want to be able to live life knowing that you’re insured
just in case the unexpected happens. Nothing hurts to at least
look at some quotes and talk it over with other employees, but
you have the power to make the decision.
what kind of health insurance is best for your small business,
then this is the article for you. Your business qualifies for
small business health insurance if you have anywhere between two
and fifty employees in it. If you are self employed then you’ll
want to look into getting self employed health insurance.
There are many benefits to getting small business health
insurance. A small business health insurance plan will help
spread the financial risk around to everyone and not just
yourself. As this is the case, this generally will bring lower
premiums and more extensive coverage. Along with this, the
health insurance provides medical care for you and all other
employees as well.
With a small business health insurance people often get group
insurance. This too has its advantages on several different
aspects. All contributions from the employers are 100% tax
deductible, and you’ll save on payroll taxes as well. Small
businesses will be eligible for group insurance just as long as
you have two or more full time employees working.
When setting up a group insurance plan for your small business,
all members will be set up with a coverage plan with rates
calculated using the group and individuals. After that it is up
to the separate employees themselves if they wish to add riders
and additional coverage to satisfy their needs. Keep in mind
that not all employees in the small business have to join the
group plan. Just as long as there is no fewer then two
employees in the business that have the group insurance plan,
then you will be fine.
The cost of the group insurance plan varies based on several
different characteristics. Some of these include age, health
status, business and/or residential location and so on. Like
everything in this world it’s not going to be cheap, but it will
be cheaper then having a bunch of separate health insurance
plans.
Most health plans are going to require employees to pay at least
half of the premium cost for covered employees. Some employees
will offer to pay 100% of the cost, white now there is a new
health plan giving employees the option to pay as little as 25%
of the cost. Just know that typically most types of coverage
will cost employees a minimum of $1,600-$2,500 per year per
employee. By clicking on the link below you can begin getting
quotes for your small business health insurance.
http://www.buyerzone.com/benefits/health_insurance/qz_questions_2.jhtml
Just remember that many times medical services are needed
unexpectedly. If you or other employees do not have health
insurance this could be a devastating blow to the wallet. The
cost of a hospital visit, depending on the circumstance, will
many times be much higher then the cost of health insurance.
You want to be able to live life knowing that you’re insured
just in case the unexpected happens. Nothing hurts to at least
look at some quotes and talk it over with other employees, but
you have the power to make the decision.
How to Create Your Own Information Product Even If You Are a Hopeless Writer!
You have been longing to have your own information product in your own name. However, you learn that you are just plain hopeless when it comes to writing that you are ready to resign to accept the fact that you just don’t have the flair for writing!
Maybe writing is not your forte. Or maybe English is not your first language. Perhaps, you’ve been living the life of a jack of all trades; you have almost every skill but for once, you wish you were a master of something.
Whatever the reason is, creating your own information product is a plain mission impossible. Or is it? What if I tell you that you can still create your own information product even if you are NOT an expert of any kind and above all, you DON’T have to write?
No, I’m not talking about being an affiliate or reseller here. We are going to get you an information product with YOUR name on it. Comforting to know there is a door to possibility all wide open now?
Great! And I’m just about to tell you how you can do just that! Here are three fantastic ways you can have your own quality information product WITHOUT having to write and in some cases, not even a single word!
The first two ways cost money. The last way can be done free.
[1] Hire a ghostwriter.
Quite simply, you hire a ghostwriter to create the information product on a subject or topic of your choice (or more accurately, on demand!) but it the product would appear under your name. Normally, ghostwriters don’t take any credit at all and hence the term “ghostwriting”.
Hiring a ghostwriter to write for you can be costly. However, if you have the money to compensate your inability to write a good report, this is for you.
You can go to http://www.elance.com/ and search for a writer who can help with creating your own information product.
[2] Buy Private Label Rights to a collection of articles or product.
Quite simply, you buy raw contents (which can come in the form of articles or .doc files which you can edit in Word program) from the original authors or authorized resellers. You can then edit them anyway you like and most importantly, put your name on them and claim authorship!
Private Label Rights seem to be the “in-thing” in Internet Marketing now, though Private Label Rights, in nature, has been on Earth for a very long time, which I suspect dates way back to very long time ago.
This method costs money, too, but it does not cost near as much as hiring your own ghostwriter to get the task done in most cases.
The drawback however, is that if the Private Label Rights to the products or articles are being sold in large numbers, it can dilute the value and quality of the same products or articles as there would literally be many purchasers using the same content at the same time.
If you have limited writing skills, you can still make substantial changes to the raw contents. You will do well to also choose Private Label Right to articles or products on sale with limited copies on sale.
[3] Get someone else to write for you… through an interview!
The above two methods cost money on your part. Now, here’s the third and free method. You get someone else to create the product for you.
Sounds hard? No, it sounds impossible! Not only are you going to get other people to write for you, you are also not going to pay them! How? Easy. Conduct an interview. It’s free, and it puts your interviewees in the limelight. More often than not, people are glad to be interviewed, even if it’s free.
If you are planning to create an information product on copywriting, you can approach practicing copywriters for an interview. You can remind them that it won’t take much of their time and you may name some benefits from working with you on this project.
If you know of any experts offline, you can arrange for a verbal interview in person or by phone and sell your information product in BOTH text and audio format!
In return, you can thank your interview candidates for participating by giving them some free valuable gifts. Maybe you can get your interview candidates to strike up a Joint Venture with you in selling the complete information product created by everyone with you being the compiler and facilitator. Perhaps you can convey special Resell Rights to the information product just for your candidates if they are marketers.
At least and above all, you’d better be successful with marketing your product!
With three powerful methods to choose from, creating your own information product without having to write on your part is now possible, even for a hopeless writer like you!
When you make your first bucks from your Internet Business, you may want to take me out for a meal if we happen to be nearby.
Maybe writing is not your forte. Or maybe English is not your first language. Perhaps, you’ve been living the life of a jack of all trades; you have almost every skill but for once, you wish you were a master of something.
Whatever the reason is, creating your own information product is a plain mission impossible. Or is it? What if I tell you that you can still create your own information product even if you are NOT an expert of any kind and above all, you DON’T have to write?
No, I’m not talking about being an affiliate or reseller here. We are going to get you an information product with YOUR name on it. Comforting to know there is a door to possibility all wide open now?
Great! And I’m just about to tell you how you can do just that! Here are three fantastic ways you can have your own quality information product WITHOUT having to write and in some cases, not even a single word!
The first two ways cost money. The last way can be done free.
[1] Hire a ghostwriter.
Quite simply, you hire a ghostwriter to create the information product on a subject or topic of your choice (or more accurately, on demand!) but it the product would appear under your name. Normally, ghostwriters don’t take any credit at all and hence the term “ghostwriting”.
Hiring a ghostwriter to write for you can be costly. However, if you have the money to compensate your inability to write a good report, this is for you.
You can go to http://www.elance.com/ and search for a writer who can help with creating your own information product.
[2] Buy Private Label Rights to a collection of articles or product.
Quite simply, you buy raw contents (which can come in the form of articles or .doc files which you can edit in Word program) from the original authors or authorized resellers. You can then edit them anyway you like and most importantly, put your name on them and claim authorship!
Private Label Rights seem to be the “in-thing” in Internet Marketing now, though Private Label Rights, in nature, has been on Earth for a very long time, which I suspect dates way back to very long time ago.
This method costs money, too, but it does not cost near as much as hiring your own ghostwriter to get the task done in most cases.
The drawback however, is that if the Private Label Rights to the products or articles are being sold in large numbers, it can dilute the value and quality of the same products or articles as there would literally be many purchasers using the same content at the same time.
If you have limited writing skills, you can still make substantial changes to the raw contents. You will do well to also choose Private Label Right to articles or products on sale with limited copies on sale.
[3] Get someone else to write for you… through an interview!
The above two methods cost money on your part. Now, here’s the third and free method. You get someone else to create the product for you.
Sounds hard? No, it sounds impossible! Not only are you going to get other people to write for you, you are also not going to pay them! How? Easy. Conduct an interview. It’s free, and it puts your interviewees in the limelight. More often than not, people are glad to be interviewed, even if it’s free.
If you are planning to create an information product on copywriting, you can approach practicing copywriters for an interview. You can remind them that it won’t take much of their time and you may name some benefits from working with you on this project.
If you know of any experts offline, you can arrange for a verbal interview in person or by phone and sell your information product in BOTH text and audio format!
In return, you can thank your interview candidates for participating by giving them some free valuable gifts. Maybe you can get your interview candidates to strike up a Joint Venture with you in selling the complete information product created by everyone with you being the compiler and facilitator. Perhaps you can convey special Resell Rights to the information product just for your candidates if they are marketers.
At least and above all, you’d better be successful with marketing your product!
With three powerful methods to choose from, creating your own information product without having to write on your part is now possible, even for a hopeless writer like you!
When you make your first bucks from your Internet Business, you may want to take me out for a meal if we happen to be nearby.
Five Reasons to Incorporate a Company Offshore
When it comes to the term ‘offshore’ used in conjunction with company incorporation, the term ‘offshore’ generally refers to any jurisdiction other than one in which the company incorporated will conduct the majority of its activities.
Usually such a jurisdiction has some degree of taxation or reporting benefit attached that makes it attractive to the company owner, and the concept of incorporating a company offshore will bring at least one of the following five benefits to a business owner: -
1) Ease of Operations – depending on the jurisdiction and the type of business activity to be conducted under the company name to be incorporated, the operating restrictions, auditing and accounting requirements and standards to which the business and its employees and directors must adhere are often far less restrictive offshore than onshore.
Exceptions to this rule are financial services based companies in many jurisdictions for example, who have to comply with extra regulatory legislation for the protection of the company’s clientele.
The advantage of easing operations particularly for a small or start up company is a reduction in operating costs and in the amount of time a company’s directors have to dedicate to form filling and report filing.
2) Reporting Simplification – this ties in with the first benefit; in the majority of offshore jurisdictions favoured for company incorporation the company activity reporting requirements are often far fewer and simpler as the business activities entered into by the company are conducted outside of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.
Furthermore personal information relating to the company’s directors and shareholders need not be declared in all cases or the extent to which personal information is required is far less intrusive.
3) Taxation Reduction/Negation – the reduction in taxation liability is one of the main benefits associated with investing offshore, opening an offshore bank account or incorporating a company offshore.
If you set up your company in a low or no tax jurisdiction you could potentially save yourself substantial amounts of money legally. Often the rules are that if the company incorporated in a particular jurisdiction never derives an income from the local economy it can operate tax free.
It’s therefore possible to use an offshore company in an overall international business structure and ensure profits are posted in the offshore jurisdiction and so no tax is liable! Many international corporations operate in this way and actually negate their tax liability fully.
4) Asset Protection – by operating a company offshore, i.e., outside the jurisdiction in which the company operates, it is sometimes possible to position assets away from the reach of any potential litigious action and also to shield business transactions from the eyes’ of the competition.
5) Personal Privacy Protection – the level to which a director or shareholder’s personal information is required, held, visible or investigated offshore is likely to be far less invasive and intrusive than onshore. It is also possible to appoint nominee directors and secretaries for offshore companies in many jurisdictions thus keeping the true company owner’s identity shielded.
The information contained in this article cannot constitute advice. Each individual’s circumstances are unique and whether or not offshore company incorporation is something that could benefit your business can only be determined with personal advice.
Usually such a jurisdiction has some degree of taxation or reporting benefit attached that makes it attractive to the company owner, and the concept of incorporating a company offshore will bring at least one of the following five benefits to a business owner: -
1) Ease of Operations – depending on the jurisdiction and the type of business activity to be conducted under the company name to be incorporated, the operating restrictions, auditing and accounting requirements and standards to which the business and its employees and directors must adhere are often far less restrictive offshore than onshore.
Exceptions to this rule are financial services based companies in many jurisdictions for example, who have to comply with extra regulatory legislation for the protection of the company’s clientele.
The advantage of easing operations particularly for a small or start up company is a reduction in operating costs and in the amount of time a company’s directors have to dedicate to form filling and report filing.
2) Reporting Simplification – this ties in with the first benefit; in the majority of offshore jurisdictions favoured for company incorporation the company activity reporting requirements are often far fewer and simpler as the business activities entered into by the company are conducted outside of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.
Furthermore personal information relating to the company’s directors and shareholders need not be declared in all cases or the extent to which personal information is required is far less intrusive.
3) Taxation Reduction/Negation – the reduction in taxation liability is one of the main benefits associated with investing offshore, opening an offshore bank account or incorporating a company offshore.
If you set up your company in a low or no tax jurisdiction you could potentially save yourself substantial amounts of money legally. Often the rules are that if the company incorporated in a particular jurisdiction never derives an income from the local economy it can operate tax free.
It’s therefore possible to use an offshore company in an overall international business structure and ensure profits are posted in the offshore jurisdiction and so no tax is liable! Many international corporations operate in this way and actually negate their tax liability fully.
4) Asset Protection – by operating a company offshore, i.e., outside the jurisdiction in which the company operates, it is sometimes possible to position assets away from the reach of any potential litigious action and also to shield business transactions from the eyes’ of the competition.
5) Personal Privacy Protection – the level to which a director or shareholder’s personal information is required, held, visible or investigated offshore is likely to be far less invasive and intrusive than onshore. It is also possible to appoint nominee directors and secretaries for offshore companies in many jurisdictions thus keeping the true company owner’s identity shielded.
The information contained in this article cannot constitute advice. Each individual’s circumstances are unique and whether or not offshore company incorporation is something that could benefit your business can only be determined with personal advice.
Five Reasons to Incorporate a Company Offshore
When it comes to the term ‘offshore’ used in conjunction with company incorporation, the term ‘offshore’ generally refers to any jurisdiction other than one in which the company incorporated will conduct the majority of its activities.
Usually such a jurisdiction has some degree of taxation or reporting benefit attached that makes it attractive to the company owner, and the concept of incorporating a company offshore will bring at least one of the following five benefits to a business owner: -
1) Ease of Operations – depending on the jurisdiction and the type of business activity to be conducted under the company name to be incorporated, the operating restrictions, auditing and accounting requirements and standards to which the business and its employees and directors must adhere are often far less restrictive offshore than onshore.
Exceptions to this rule are financial services based companies in many jurisdictions for example, who have to comply with extra regulatory legislation for the protection of the company’s clientele.
The advantage of easing operations particularly for a small or start up company is a reduction in operating costs and in the amount of time a company’s directors have to dedicate to form filling and report filing.
2) Reporting Simplification – this ties in with the first benefit; in the majority of offshore jurisdictions favoured for company incorporation the company activity reporting requirements are often far fewer and simpler as the business activities entered into by the company are conducted outside of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.
Furthermore personal information relating to the company’s directors and shareholders need not be declared in all cases or the extent to which personal information is required is far less intrusive.
3) Taxation Reduction/Negation – the reduction in taxation liability is one of the main benefits associated with investing offshore, opening an offshore bank account or incorporating a company offshore.
If you set up your company in a low or no tax jurisdiction you could potentially save yourself substantial amounts of money legally. Often the rules are that if the company incorporated in a particular jurisdiction never derives an income from the local economy it can operate tax free.
It’s therefore possible to use an offshore company in an overall international business structure and ensure profits are posted in the offshore jurisdiction and so no tax is liable! Many international corporations operate in this way and actually negate their tax liability fully.
4) Asset Protection – by operating a company offshore, i.e., outside the jurisdiction in which the company operates, it is sometimes possible to position assets away from the reach of any potential litigious action and also to shield business transactions from the eyes’ of the competition.
5) Personal Privacy Protection – the level to which a director or shareholder’s personal information is required, held, visible or investigated offshore is likely to be far less invasive and intrusive than onshore. It is also possible to appoint nominee directors and secretaries for offshore companies in many jurisdictions thus keeping the true company owner’s identity shielded.
The information contained in this article cannot constitute advice. Each individual’s circumstances are unique and whether or not offshore company incorporation is something that could benefit your business can only be determined with personal advice.
Usually such a jurisdiction has some degree of taxation or reporting benefit attached that makes it attractive to the company owner, and the concept of incorporating a company offshore will bring at least one of the following five benefits to a business owner: -
1) Ease of Operations – depending on the jurisdiction and the type of business activity to be conducted under the company name to be incorporated, the operating restrictions, auditing and accounting requirements and standards to which the business and its employees and directors must adhere are often far less restrictive offshore than onshore.
Exceptions to this rule are financial services based companies in many jurisdictions for example, who have to comply with extra regulatory legislation for the protection of the company’s clientele.
The advantage of easing operations particularly for a small or start up company is a reduction in operating costs and in the amount of time a company’s directors have to dedicate to form filling and report filing.
2) Reporting Simplification – this ties in with the first benefit; in the majority of offshore jurisdictions favoured for company incorporation the company activity reporting requirements are often far fewer and simpler as the business activities entered into by the company are conducted outside of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated.
Furthermore personal information relating to the company’s directors and shareholders need not be declared in all cases or the extent to which personal information is required is far less intrusive.
3) Taxation Reduction/Negation – the reduction in taxation liability is one of the main benefits associated with investing offshore, opening an offshore bank account or incorporating a company offshore.
If you set up your company in a low or no tax jurisdiction you could potentially save yourself substantial amounts of money legally. Often the rules are that if the company incorporated in a particular jurisdiction never derives an income from the local economy it can operate tax free.
It’s therefore possible to use an offshore company in an overall international business structure and ensure profits are posted in the offshore jurisdiction and so no tax is liable! Many international corporations operate in this way and actually negate their tax liability fully.
4) Asset Protection – by operating a company offshore, i.e., outside the jurisdiction in which the company operates, it is sometimes possible to position assets away from the reach of any potential litigious action and also to shield business transactions from the eyes’ of the competition.
5) Personal Privacy Protection – the level to which a director or shareholder’s personal information is required, held, visible or investigated offshore is likely to be far less invasive and intrusive than onshore. It is also possible to appoint nominee directors and secretaries for offshore companies in many jurisdictions thus keeping the true company owner’s identity shielded.
The information contained in this article cannot constitute advice. Each individual’s circumstances are unique and whether or not offshore company incorporation is something that could benefit your business can only be determined with personal advice.
Succeed with your own Home Based Internet Business
Running your own home based internet business is a piece of cake. Right?
You've probably heard how easy it is to rake in tens of thousands of dollars practically over night, and how you can have all kinds of "free time" and extra cash for traveling and shopping at your favorite store...
Just throw up a web site, add a few affiliate links, post to some forums and presto - you're in the money!
But the reality is this. If you want to succeed in your own home based internet business, whether it's affiliate marketing or selling your own products, you will have to work at making it successful. You have to make it your job to succeed. You must treat it as your job, not as your hobby.
It's great to think that with just a few easy strokes you'll be running on auto-pilot, bringing in loads of cash and then on to the next venture. But without some simple planning and consistent effort you're setting yourself up for failure.
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
STAY ORGANIZED
Set up folders in your email client.
You should set up a folder for each contact and keep important correspondence while deleting what you don't need. If you belong to membership sites that require passwords, keep the "welcome" letters where you can find them.
Set up folders on your desktop.
If you download a lot of software, ebooks or PDF books from specific individuals simply name a folder on your desktop after the author or site owner. Then when you download something you can place it in their folder.
Make your own HTML home page.
For quick and easy access to all your important sites make up an HTML page with hyperlinks to your most frequently used sites along with a brief explanation of each site. Keep it on your desktop for easy access.
STAY FOCUSED
Set aside a specific time for work.
It could be from 7pm-9pm every day or whatever time's good for you. During this time do not get distracted from doing only what needs to be accomplished for your business. Try to use the same time slot every day so you get into a routine and get used to the working mindset. Save the surfing for another time.
Set aside a work space.
Make sure that all your friends and family know that when you're in your work area you're off limits! No one's to bother you.
Finish one task before starting another.
As the old saying goes, "Put one foot in front of the other." Don't start working on something new until the first task is completely finished.
BE CONSISTENT
Work the ideas that "work."
When you find something that works well for you work it hard and get as much out of it as possible. If you're submitting articles to a certain site and they're paying dividends, keep feeding the cycle.
Learn from failure.
Don't get discouraged. Each failure's just a learning process. Use any failure to your advantage by taking the lesson and applying it to your next venture.
Test, test, and more test.
Always test headlines and ad copy. A small change can reap huge rewards.
With these few simple steps you will stay organized, stay focused, be consistent in your efforts and build a solid foundation on which you can build your internet empire!
After all, you are the one who will ultimately determine the success or failure of your business!
You've probably heard how easy it is to rake in tens of thousands of dollars practically over night, and how you can have all kinds of "free time" and extra cash for traveling and shopping at your favorite store...
Just throw up a web site, add a few affiliate links, post to some forums and presto - you're in the money!
But the reality is this. If you want to succeed in your own home based internet business, whether it's affiliate marketing or selling your own products, you will have to work at making it successful. You have to make it your job to succeed. You must treat it as your job, not as your hobby.
It's great to think that with just a few easy strokes you'll be running on auto-pilot, bringing in loads of cash and then on to the next venture. But without some simple planning and consistent effort you're setting yourself up for failure.
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
STAY ORGANIZED
Set up folders in your email client.
You should set up a folder for each contact and keep important correspondence while deleting what you don't need. If you belong to membership sites that require passwords, keep the "welcome" letters where you can find them.
Set up folders on your desktop.
If you download a lot of software, ebooks or PDF books from specific individuals simply name a folder on your desktop after the author or site owner. Then when you download something you can place it in their folder.
Make your own HTML home page.
For quick and easy access to all your important sites make up an HTML page with hyperlinks to your most frequently used sites along with a brief explanation of each site. Keep it on your desktop for easy access.
STAY FOCUSED
Set aside a specific time for work.
It could be from 7pm-9pm every day or whatever time's good for you. During this time do not get distracted from doing only what needs to be accomplished for your business. Try to use the same time slot every day so you get into a routine and get used to the working mindset. Save the surfing for another time.
Set aside a work space.
Make sure that all your friends and family know that when you're in your work area you're off limits! No one's to bother you.
Finish one task before starting another.
As the old saying goes, "Put one foot in front of the other." Don't start working on something new until the first task is completely finished.
BE CONSISTENT
Work the ideas that "work."
When you find something that works well for you work it hard and get as much out of it as possible. If you're submitting articles to a certain site and they're paying dividends, keep feeding the cycle.
Learn from failure.
Don't get discouraged. Each failure's just a learning process. Use any failure to your advantage by taking the lesson and applying it to your next venture.
Test, test, and more test.
Always test headlines and ad copy. A small change can reap huge rewards.
With these few simple steps you will stay organized, stay focused, be consistent in your efforts and build a solid foundation on which you can build your internet empire!
After all, you are the one who will ultimately determine the success or failure of your business!
Succeed with your own Home Based Internet Business
Running your own home based internet business is a piece of cake. Right?
You've probably heard how easy it is to rake in tens of thousands of dollars practically over night, and how you can have all kinds of "free time" and extra cash for traveling and shopping at your favorite store...
Just throw up a web site, add a few affiliate links, post to some forums and presto - you're in the money!
But the reality is this. If you want to succeed in your own home based internet business, whether it's affiliate marketing or selling your own products, you will have to work at making it successful. You have to make it your job to succeed. You must treat it as your job, not as your hobby.
It's great to think that with just a few easy strokes you'll be running on auto-pilot, bringing in loads of cash and then on to the next venture. But without some simple planning and consistent effort you're setting yourself up for failure.
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
STAY ORGANIZED
Set up folders in your email client.
You should set up a folder for each contact and keep important correspondence while deleting what you don't need. If you belong to membership sites that require passwords, keep the "welcome" letters where you can find them.
Set up folders on your desktop.
If you download a lot of software, ebooks or PDF books from specific individuals simply name a folder on your desktop after the author or site owner. Then when you download something you can place it in their folder.
Make your own HTML home page.
For quick and easy access to all your important sites make up an HTML page with hyperlinks to your most frequently used sites along with a brief explanation of each site. Keep it on your desktop for easy access.
STAY FOCUSED
Set aside a specific time for work.
It could be from 7pm-9pm every day or whatever time's good for you. During this time do not get distracted from doing only what needs to be accomplished for your business. Try to use the same time slot every day so you get into a routine and get used to the working mindset. Save the surfing for another time.
Set aside a work space.
Make sure that all your friends and family know that when you're in your work area you're off limits! No one's to bother you.
Finish one task before starting another.
As the old saying goes, "Put one foot in front of the other." Don't start working on something new until the first task is completely finished.
BE CONSISTENT
Work the ideas that "work."
When you find something that works well for you work it hard and get as much out of it as possible. If you're submitting articles to a certain site and they're paying dividends, keep feeding the cycle.
Learn from failure.
Don't get discouraged. Each failure's just a learning process. Use any failure to your advantage by taking the lesson and applying it to your next venture.
Test, test, and more test.
Always test headlines and ad copy. A small change can reap huge rewards.
With these few simple steps you will stay organized, stay focused, be consistent in your efforts and build a solid foundation on which you can build your internet empire!
After all, you are the one who will ultimately determine the success or failure of your business!
You've probably heard how easy it is to rake in tens of thousands of dollars practically over night, and how you can have all kinds of "free time" and extra cash for traveling and shopping at your favorite store...
Just throw up a web site, add a few affiliate links, post to some forums and presto - you're in the money!
But the reality is this. If you want to succeed in your own home based internet business, whether it's affiliate marketing or selling your own products, you will have to work at making it successful. You have to make it your job to succeed. You must treat it as your job, not as your hobby.
It's great to think that with just a few easy strokes you'll be running on auto-pilot, bringing in loads of cash and then on to the next venture. But without some simple planning and consistent effort you're setting yourself up for failure.
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
STAY ORGANIZED
Set up folders in your email client.
You should set up a folder for each contact and keep important correspondence while deleting what you don't need. If you belong to membership sites that require passwords, keep the "welcome" letters where you can find them.
Set up folders on your desktop.
If you download a lot of software, ebooks or PDF books from specific individuals simply name a folder on your desktop after the author or site owner. Then when you download something you can place it in their folder.
Make your own HTML home page.
For quick and easy access to all your important sites make up an HTML page with hyperlinks to your most frequently used sites along with a brief explanation of each site. Keep it on your desktop for easy access.
STAY FOCUSED
Set aside a specific time for work.
It could be from 7pm-9pm every day or whatever time's good for you. During this time do not get distracted from doing only what needs to be accomplished for your business. Try to use the same time slot every day so you get into a routine and get used to the working mindset. Save the surfing for another time.
Set aside a work space.
Make sure that all your friends and family know that when you're in your work area you're off limits! No one's to bother you.
Finish one task before starting another.
As the old saying goes, "Put one foot in front of the other." Don't start working on something new until the first task is completely finished.
BE CONSISTENT
Work the ideas that "work."
When you find something that works well for you work it hard and get as much out of it as possible. If you're submitting articles to a certain site and they're paying dividends, keep feeding the cycle.
Learn from failure.
Don't get discouraged. Each failure's just a learning process. Use any failure to your advantage by taking the lesson and applying it to your next venture.
Test, test, and more test.
Always test headlines and ad copy. A small change can reap huge rewards.
With these few simple steps you will stay organized, stay focused, be consistent in your efforts and build a solid foundation on which you can build your internet empire!
After all, you are the one who will ultimately determine the success or failure of your business!
What are the benefits of blogging for small business?
Blogging has become quite popular for small businesses as of late. I have noticed on PR Leads that there are several story requests for experts to talk about the benefits of blogging for small businesses. So, I decided I better do my homework and see what this is all about. It turns out that there are several benefits to blogging for small businesses. Here are the most important ones:
1. Blogging Software is Super Easy to Use: Simply write your thoughts, link to resources, and publish to your blog, all at the push of a few buttons. I use the software blogger.com. It took me 2 minutes to set up my account and 3 minutes to publish my first blog. Check out my blog at: http://uplevelstrategies.blogspot.com/
2. Build Relationships Online: Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. You have the opportunity to share a piece of yourself with your community allowing them to get to know you better.
3. Higher Search Engine Rankings: Search engine marketing is hot. Business bloggers are achieving top search engine rankings because search engines rank based on link popularity and easy to index regular content among other factors. Learning the basic skills of search engine optimization and good content management are keys to better rankings for bloggers.
4. Easy Communication: The biggest benefit of Blogging or RSS (see definition below) for your web audience can prove to be a better solution for notification than websites themselves or email. As indicated by Bill Gates in a speech at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2004 in Redmond, Washington: “if you just put information on a Web site, then people don't know to come visit that Web site, and it's very painful to keep visiting somebody's Web site and it never changes. It's very typical that a lot of the Web sites you go to that are personal in nature just eventually go completely stale and you waste time looking at it… And so, getting away from the drawbacks of e-mail -- that it's too imposing -- and yet the drawbacks of the Web site -- that you don't know if there's something new and interesting there – this [blogs & RSS] is about solving that.”
Definitions:
RSS - RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, an XML format for distributing news headlines on the Web, also known as syndication. First started by Netscape as part of the My Netscape site, it expanded through Dave Winer and Userland.
Blog - Weblog, web log or simply a blog, is a web application which contains periodic posts on a common webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Such a website would typically be accessible to any Internet user.
1. Blogging Software is Super Easy to Use: Simply write your thoughts, link to resources, and publish to your blog, all at the push of a few buttons. I use the software blogger.com. It took me 2 minutes to set up my account and 3 minutes to publish my first blog. Check out my blog at: http://uplevelstrategies.blogspot.com/
2. Build Relationships Online: Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. You have the opportunity to share a piece of yourself with your community allowing them to get to know you better.
3. Higher Search Engine Rankings: Search engine marketing is hot. Business bloggers are achieving top search engine rankings because search engines rank based on link popularity and easy to index regular content among other factors. Learning the basic skills of search engine optimization and good content management are keys to better rankings for bloggers.
4. Easy Communication: The biggest benefit of Blogging or RSS (see definition below) for your web audience can prove to be a better solution for notification than websites themselves or email. As indicated by Bill Gates in a speech at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2004 in Redmond, Washington: “if you just put information on a Web site, then people don't know to come visit that Web site, and it's very painful to keep visiting somebody's Web site and it never changes. It's very typical that a lot of the Web sites you go to that are personal in nature just eventually go completely stale and you waste time looking at it… And so, getting away from the drawbacks of e-mail -- that it's too imposing -- and yet the drawbacks of the Web site -- that you don't know if there's something new and interesting there – this [blogs & RSS] is about solving that.”
Definitions:
RSS - RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, an XML format for distributing news headlines on the Web, also known as syndication. First started by Netscape as part of the My Netscape site, it expanded through Dave Winer and Userland.
Blog - Weblog, web log or simply a blog, is a web application which contains periodic posts on a common webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Such a website would typically be accessible to any Internet user.
Double Your Business Results Using The Penny Model
Doubling your business results is much easier than many you realize. Especially, when you can implement a simpler process, you CHANGE how you THINK. Before explaining how to double your business results, I would like to share with you the penny model. Using this approach YOUR business results DOUBLE in 30 days.
Beginning on Day 30, you now have a penny. By Day 60, your one penny has grown to 2. Within 3 months or 90 Days, you have 4 pennies. Are you starting to get the picture?
Continuing on with the Penny Model, your fortune starts to look something like this:
Day 120 – 8 pennies
Day 150 – 16 pennies
Day 180 – 32 pennies
Six months have now flown by and you have increased your penny 32 times. Wow! And you thought doubling your business was not possible.
Day 210 – 64 pennies
Day 240 – 128 pennies
Day 270 – 256 pennies
Day 300 – 512 pennies
Ten months later your efforts are now securing a 512 return from that initial first penny. Yet, the best is still to come.
Day 330 – 1024 pennies
Day 360 – 2048 pennies
A year has now passed and that one, single penny now has the value of 2,408 pennies, far more than doubled. And even if for some reason, you didn’t achieve 2,408 pennies, would you complain if you only had 128 or even 32? I think not.
Okay, “So what does that mean for my business?” you may be asking yourself right now? Plenty and let me explain why.
Let the penny represent your daily actions or activity. For example, you call 100 people, speak to 20 of them, schedule 5 appointments and receive one sale. By increasing your calls on a daily basis for the next two weeks to reach another 10 people each day, you will have another sale at the end of two weeks.
Or maybe you currently schedule only 3 appointments per week and it took you 50 dial ups (number of time attempting to contact a potential sales lead) from the previous week to secure those 3 appointments. By doubling your dial-ups to 100 per week, you would now have double the appointments to 6. Given your close ratio, you could easily double or triple your business within a very short time.
Even if you believe that you can’t double your phone calls (your belief system may be another reason why you can’t double your results and that’s an entirely different article), consider what would happen if you increased your performance by just 10%. A 10% increase in effort, which isn’t that much more, can be compared to a penny to a dime or a dime to a dollar.
If I am currently averaging $52,000 in sales per year, 10% would mean an additional $5,200 or just $100 more per week. Using your sales and tracking numbers, which I am sure that you have, you will know exactly how many calls you will have to make to increase your weekly sales. Maybe it is just a case of up-selling or even asking a good client for a referral.
The Penny Model is a very simple way to see how quickly your activity can double your business results. All you need to do is to keep an open mind and look to the possibilities instead of limitations. Of course, a proven goal setting and goal achievement action plan probably wouldn’t hurt either.
Beginning on Day 30, you now have a penny. By Day 60, your one penny has grown to 2. Within 3 months or 90 Days, you have 4 pennies. Are you starting to get the picture?
Continuing on with the Penny Model, your fortune starts to look something like this:
Day 120 – 8 pennies
Day 150 – 16 pennies
Day 180 – 32 pennies
Six months have now flown by and you have increased your penny 32 times. Wow! And you thought doubling your business was not possible.
Day 210 – 64 pennies
Day 240 – 128 pennies
Day 270 – 256 pennies
Day 300 – 512 pennies
Ten months later your efforts are now securing a 512 return from that initial first penny. Yet, the best is still to come.
Day 330 – 1024 pennies
Day 360 – 2048 pennies
A year has now passed and that one, single penny now has the value of 2,408 pennies, far more than doubled. And even if for some reason, you didn’t achieve 2,408 pennies, would you complain if you only had 128 or even 32? I think not.
Okay, “So what does that mean for my business?” you may be asking yourself right now? Plenty and let me explain why.
Let the penny represent your daily actions or activity. For example, you call 100 people, speak to 20 of them, schedule 5 appointments and receive one sale. By increasing your calls on a daily basis for the next two weeks to reach another 10 people each day, you will have another sale at the end of two weeks.
Or maybe you currently schedule only 3 appointments per week and it took you 50 dial ups (number of time attempting to contact a potential sales lead) from the previous week to secure those 3 appointments. By doubling your dial-ups to 100 per week, you would now have double the appointments to 6. Given your close ratio, you could easily double or triple your business within a very short time.
Even if you believe that you can’t double your phone calls (your belief system may be another reason why you can’t double your results and that’s an entirely different article), consider what would happen if you increased your performance by just 10%. A 10% increase in effort, which isn’t that much more, can be compared to a penny to a dime or a dime to a dollar.
If I am currently averaging $52,000 in sales per year, 10% would mean an additional $5,200 or just $100 more per week. Using your sales and tracking numbers, which I am sure that you have, you will know exactly how many calls you will have to make to increase your weekly sales. Maybe it is just a case of up-selling or even asking a good client for a referral.
The Penny Model is a very simple way to see how quickly your activity can double your business results. All you need to do is to keep an open mind and look to the possibilities instead of limitations. Of course, a proven goal setting and goal achievement action plan probably wouldn’t hurt either.
Getting a Small Business Loan
Are you in need of financial resources in order to start or even maintain your small business? Most of us are. The fist step is to take a look at the vast number of commercial loan sources that offer help in this area such as Chase, Citibank, etc. Also, with the Small Business Administration (SBA), you should be able to arrange a connection with one of these banks. This is one of many organizations that specialize in loans to small businesses.
Contrary to the belief that bankers actually look for reasons to turn down prospective clients in need of a loan, they are in the business to lend money. This means that every time a banker is sitting in front of a potential client, they are hoping to make the deal work just as much, if not more than the client wants it to work.
A bank’s primary role in the small business lending area is funding growth. An example of this would be to finance the expansion of small business with a proven track record. Most banks can offer a wide variety of loan packages designed to finance expansion of an already existing small business.
Below are a few examples bank loan packages :
1. Asset Based Financing. Asset Based Financing is a general term describing a transaction whereby a lender accepts collateral and assets of a company in exchange for a loan. Most asset based loans are collateral against other accounts receivable, inventory, or equipment. Accounts receivable is the most favored of the three because it can be converted into cash quickly. Banks will only advance funds on a percentage of receivable or inventory, typically being around 75% of the receivable and 50% inventory.
2. Line of Credit. A line of credit involves the bank’s setting aside designated funds for the business to draw against for the cash it needs. As the line of credit is used, the credit line is reduced and when payments are made the line is replenished. One major advantage of a line of credit is that no interest is accrued unless the funds are actually used.
3. Floor Planning. Floor Planning is another form of asset based lending in which the borrower’s inventory is used as collateral for the loan. Car dealerships are a prime example of a business that often uses floor planning as their primary financial tool.
Contrary to the belief that bankers actually look for reasons to turn down prospective clients in need of a loan, they are in the business to lend money. This means that every time a banker is sitting in front of a potential client, they are hoping to make the deal work just as much, if not more than the client wants it to work.
A bank’s primary role in the small business lending area is funding growth. An example of this would be to finance the expansion of small business with a proven track record. Most banks can offer a wide variety of loan packages designed to finance expansion of an already existing small business.
Below are a few examples bank loan packages :
1. Asset Based Financing. Asset Based Financing is a general term describing a transaction whereby a lender accepts collateral and assets of a company in exchange for a loan. Most asset based loans are collateral against other accounts receivable, inventory, or equipment. Accounts receivable is the most favored of the three because it can be converted into cash quickly. Banks will only advance funds on a percentage of receivable or inventory, typically being around 75% of the receivable and 50% inventory.
2. Line of Credit. A line of credit involves the bank’s setting aside designated funds for the business to draw against for the cash it needs. As the line of credit is used, the credit line is reduced and when payments are made the line is replenished. One major advantage of a line of credit is that no interest is accrued unless the funds are actually used.
3. Floor Planning. Floor Planning is another form of asset based lending in which the borrower’s inventory is used as collateral for the loan. Car dealerships are a prime example of a business that often uses floor planning as their primary financial tool.
Effective Public Speaking for Small Business Owners
Public speaking is comfortably the quickest and easiest way to improve your company visibility, establish yourself as an expert, get you face known and get businesses coming to you.
Most small business owners and managers fully recognise this yet even the thought of standing up in public to speak to a room full of strangers can evoke a somewhat nauseous feeling in many people.
Some of the most confident business people often do their best to avoid public speaking. But not taking advantage of every public speaking opportunity is a serious mistake.
Public speaking is great for your business in two main ways.
One - you gain face recognition, and
Two - it establishes you and your company as industry experts.
Let’s start with face recognition. This sounds like a simple thing, but don't discount its importance. Imagine you are at an industry trade show. You are side by side with another company in the exhibit hall. You sell basically the same product.
But you are delivering the keynote speech at the conference. Your picture, name and company is on each of the entry-way signs into the conference center.
Which company are attendees at the conference (who, by the way, are qualified prospects) likely to visit?
Odds are they will stop at your stand.
Even people who are just walking by may stop to talk to the person they saw speak at a conference session. Sometimes that's all the edge you need to make that lucrative sale.
The other reason they decide to stop is they recognise you as the industy expert. You must be. How else did you get invited to give the prestigious keynote speech? The prospects assume you know your business or you wouldn’t have been invited to speak at the conference.
This is true regardless of industry. If you are a psychologist with a local practice and people see you speak at a conference, or even at a local Rotary meeting, they will begin to see you as an industry expert. Should the occasion arise for that person to need to visit a psychologist, or to refer a colleague or friend, your name may come to mind simply because they’ve seen you before.
It is important, however, that if you decide to take public speaking engagements, that you deliver a good speech.
The good news is that you don't have to be perfect. In fact, usually public speakers do not have to be particularly good to be a great success. Your audience is usually more than half on your side. They want you to do well.
And providing you deliver good, solid content in a professional manner your audience will leave well satisfied.
But be prepared.
There is nothing worse than letting a prospect see you give a less than well prepared speech. If your lack of preparedness causes you to pause a lot, stumble over sections of presentation, or fumble with slides or other presentational aids, that will give you the air of incompetence just as surely as a well prepared and delivered presentation will give you the air of expertise.
Here are my top 7 tips for preparing presentations.
1. Choose 3 or 4 key topics - no more.
2. Make sure your have researched your content.
3. Write a script - you may not need to use it but the act of writing out a script is a great way for getting your thoughts and ideas straight.
4. Structure your speech around your core topics. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end.
5. Make sure your presentational aids are prepared well in advance. Test them in the conference hall.
6. Rehearse - words that look great on paper often don't flow well when spoken aloud.
7. Rehearse again.
Just as much as being seen and heard can gain you recognition and business, being seen and heard giving a poor presentation can lose you business.
So you may want to look into taking a few public speaking courses to brush up on your skills.
Public Speaking may well seem like a lot of effort and trouble. It might even cause you enormous personal anxiety. But there is not doubt that it is worth the time and energy it takes any manager or business owner to give public speaking presentations.
There are few better ways to gain recognition for your name, company and to establish yourself as the obvious expert in your industry.
Most small business owners and managers fully recognise this yet even the thought of standing up in public to speak to a room full of strangers can evoke a somewhat nauseous feeling in many people.
Some of the most confident business people often do their best to avoid public speaking. But not taking advantage of every public speaking opportunity is a serious mistake.
Public speaking is great for your business in two main ways.
One - you gain face recognition, and
Two - it establishes you and your company as industry experts.
Let’s start with face recognition. This sounds like a simple thing, but don't discount its importance. Imagine you are at an industry trade show. You are side by side with another company in the exhibit hall. You sell basically the same product.
But you are delivering the keynote speech at the conference. Your picture, name and company is on each of the entry-way signs into the conference center.
Which company are attendees at the conference (who, by the way, are qualified prospects) likely to visit?
Odds are they will stop at your stand.
Even people who are just walking by may stop to talk to the person they saw speak at a conference session. Sometimes that's all the edge you need to make that lucrative sale.
The other reason they decide to stop is they recognise you as the industy expert. You must be. How else did you get invited to give the prestigious keynote speech? The prospects assume you know your business or you wouldn’t have been invited to speak at the conference.
This is true regardless of industry. If you are a psychologist with a local practice and people see you speak at a conference, or even at a local Rotary meeting, they will begin to see you as an industry expert. Should the occasion arise for that person to need to visit a psychologist, or to refer a colleague or friend, your name may come to mind simply because they’ve seen you before.
It is important, however, that if you decide to take public speaking engagements, that you deliver a good speech.
The good news is that you don't have to be perfect. In fact, usually public speakers do not have to be particularly good to be a great success. Your audience is usually more than half on your side. They want you to do well.
And providing you deliver good, solid content in a professional manner your audience will leave well satisfied.
But be prepared.
There is nothing worse than letting a prospect see you give a less than well prepared speech. If your lack of preparedness causes you to pause a lot, stumble over sections of presentation, or fumble with slides or other presentational aids, that will give you the air of incompetence just as surely as a well prepared and delivered presentation will give you the air of expertise.
Here are my top 7 tips for preparing presentations.
1. Choose 3 or 4 key topics - no more.
2. Make sure your have researched your content.
3. Write a script - you may not need to use it but the act of writing out a script is a great way for getting your thoughts and ideas straight.
4. Structure your speech around your core topics. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end.
5. Make sure your presentational aids are prepared well in advance. Test them in the conference hall.
6. Rehearse - words that look great on paper often don't flow well when spoken aloud.
7. Rehearse again.
Just as much as being seen and heard can gain you recognition and business, being seen and heard giving a poor presentation can lose you business.
So you may want to look into taking a few public speaking courses to brush up on your skills.
Public Speaking may well seem like a lot of effort and trouble. It might even cause you enormous personal anxiety. But there is not doubt that it is worth the time and energy it takes any manager or business owner to give public speaking presentations.
There are few better ways to gain recognition for your name, company and to establish yourself as the obvious expert in your industry.
Making online networking work for your business
As modern life gets busier and work/life balance becomes more of an issue for everyone, the Internet has really come into its own. We shop online, we chat online – and, if you’re a business owner, there's even the opportunity to network online.
In terms of flexibility, online networking has traditional networking well and truly beat. No longer are business owners forced to take time out from their businesses to fend of the advances of a dozen, business-card-wielding serial networkers at some military-style event. Now we can just log on to one of the many discussion forums dedicated to entrepreneur ship and be winning friends and influencing people in the click of a mouse.
In this respect, online networking is truly good news. With the freedom offered by the Internet, however, comes a whole new set of rules, the flouting of which can end up doing your business more harm than good. Here are just a few of them:
1. Don't be too blatant
Online networking is far subtler than its offline counterpart. It's just not the done thing to blaze into a business forum trailing promises of instant riches and dropping your URL like a scud missile. The trick is to try and integrate yourself into the community, offering advice where it's required and joining in the discussion. By positioning yourself as an expert in your field you'll gain more business in the long-term than blatant self promotion. And speaking of blatant self-promotion…
2. Don't spam
In terms of Internet discussion boards, spamming is defined as posting the same message on more than one board. Just as annoying as the type of spam which clutters your email inbox every day, this type of behaviour is more likely to loose you business than gain it. Resit!
3. You only get back what you give
There are some business owners who shudder at the very thought of giving their advice or help for free. These are the business owners who aren't making much of a success of online networking. The rule is simple: what you get out of it is roughly proportional to what you put in. Show yourself willing to offer your expertise to those who need it, and you'll be repaid in terms of referrals and more business from the people who see your posts.
4. Don’t say anything you wouldn't be happy to say in front of your clients
Online networking differs from "normal" discussion board use in that it's rarely anonymous. If you want to make the most of the experience, you'll need to tell people who you are, and use your URL in your signature. What that means, though, is that anything you say on the discussion board can be traced back to you – and could be seen by your clients. Stick to the rule of never saying on a discussion board what you wouldn't say in the boardroom and this shouldn't be a problem.
5. Don't be rude
This one should really go without saying, but an unfortunate side-effect of Internet discussion boards is that they often make people feel braver than they really are. Protected by the relative anonymity of a screen name, some people will take the opportunity to show their true colours – even when those colours are less than flattering. Remember rule number 4, though: on this kind of forum, you're never anonymous. If your business is identified, then you are too. More importantly, your behaviour will be seen as a reflection on your business. When you come across people whose opinions and pronouncements anger you, then, take a deep breath and step away from the keyboard before you end up saying something you'll regret.
6. Use your signature
Although blatant promotion is a big no-no in the world of online business networking, you still need to promote your business somehow. The place to do that is in your signature file, with a subtle but informative description of your business, and link to your website.
In terms of flexibility, online networking has traditional networking well and truly beat. No longer are business owners forced to take time out from their businesses to fend of the advances of a dozen, business-card-wielding serial networkers at some military-style event. Now we can just log on to one of the many discussion forums dedicated to entrepreneur ship and be winning friends and influencing people in the click of a mouse.
In this respect, online networking is truly good news. With the freedom offered by the Internet, however, comes a whole new set of rules, the flouting of which can end up doing your business more harm than good. Here are just a few of them:
1. Don't be too blatant
Online networking is far subtler than its offline counterpart. It's just not the done thing to blaze into a business forum trailing promises of instant riches and dropping your URL like a scud missile. The trick is to try and integrate yourself into the community, offering advice where it's required and joining in the discussion. By positioning yourself as an expert in your field you'll gain more business in the long-term than blatant self promotion. And speaking of blatant self-promotion…
2. Don't spam
In terms of Internet discussion boards, spamming is defined as posting the same message on more than one board. Just as annoying as the type of spam which clutters your email inbox every day, this type of behaviour is more likely to loose you business than gain it. Resit!
3. You only get back what you give
There are some business owners who shudder at the very thought of giving their advice or help for free. These are the business owners who aren't making much of a success of online networking. The rule is simple: what you get out of it is roughly proportional to what you put in. Show yourself willing to offer your expertise to those who need it, and you'll be repaid in terms of referrals and more business from the people who see your posts.
4. Don’t say anything you wouldn't be happy to say in front of your clients
Online networking differs from "normal" discussion board use in that it's rarely anonymous. If you want to make the most of the experience, you'll need to tell people who you are, and use your URL in your signature. What that means, though, is that anything you say on the discussion board can be traced back to you – and could be seen by your clients. Stick to the rule of never saying on a discussion board what you wouldn't say in the boardroom and this shouldn't be a problem.
5. Don't be rude
This one should really go without saying, but an unfortunate side-effect of Internet discussion boards is that they often make people feel braver than they really are. Protected by the relative anonymity of a screen name, some people will take the opportunity to show their true colours – even when those colours are less than flattering. Remember rule number 4, though: on this kind of forum, you're never anonymous. If your business is identified, then you are too. More importantly, your behaviour will be seen as a reflection on your business. When you come across people whose opinions and pronouncements anger you, then, take a deep breath and step away from the keyboard before you end up saying something you'll regret.
6. Use your signature
Although blatant promotion is a big no-no in the world of online business networking, you still need to promote your business somehow. The place to do that is in your signature file, with a subtle but informative description of your business, and link to your website.
7 Keys to Internet Business Success
Starting an internet business can be as simple as opening a Yahoo Store. And as complicated as building your own dynamic e-commerce web site. But no matter how you go about it, you need 7 key ingredients to ensure the success of your internet business.
1. Demand
You can have the most awesome product and the most hi-tech web site, but if you can’t generate demand for your product, your business is doomed from the start. There are many ways to generate demand in the online world. You could advertise in ezines, start an affiliate program, encourage word of mouth, referrals, do joint ventures. Remember, without demand, there will be no sales. And without sales, where does that leave you?
2. Order
When you start getting visitors to your web site, it’s now just a matter of turning them into your customers. Okay, maybe it’s not as easy as it sounds. This is why, once your visitor has decided to become a customer, you have to make sure that it is easy for them to do so. Make sure that your ordering process is easy and straightforward. The less clicks to secure an order, the better.
3. Payment
This is one process of your internet business that you’d definitely not want to get wrong - how money is actually transferred from your customer to you. The most popular means of doing this online is through credit card transactions. Credit cards makes full use of a person’s ‘buy now think later’ attitude. So, your sales would be a lot higher if you accepted credit cards than if you didn’t. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have alternative methods. The more payment methods you offer, the easier your customer will find it to pay for your product.
4. Fulfillment
After payment has been made, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the coast is clear. There’s still the matter of delivering your products. If you sell digital products, it is now normal standard to have it delivered instantly. People now expect this, so make sure you set this up. If you sell physical products that needs physical delivery, make sure that you communicate with your customer every step of the way. Ensure them that their goods are on the way. If possible, send them a means to track the movement of their package. Your customers should never feel insecure.
5. Service and Support
Once the sale has been made, it doesn’t stop there. You have to provide excellent customer support. Your internet business customer support will determine, to some extent, whether your customer will request a refund and whether or not they will make repeat purchases. Support abilities of an internet business is getting more and more efficient. So don’t get caught behind. The least you should do is provide timely e-mail support. If you have a busier site, then consider other support methods - online helpdesk, FAQs, live chats, ticket system, knowledge base ….
6. Security
The Internet community is getting more aware of what to look out for in order to protect themselves from many of the net’s less desirable activities. One of which is e-commerce frauds. It is, therefore, up to you to prove to your visitors that they can trust you. Things like using secured server to process payments, can go a long way. Purchase a digital certificate, if you can. Add a physical mail address or a phone number where they can contact you. Anything at all, to give your visitors some peace of mind.
7. Community
Once you’ve received more than just a handful of sales, you should think about starting a community. Making your customers a part of a community, gives them a sense of belonging. Have your community be a part of your product development. Listen to their suggestions. Not only will you get product ideas for your internet business, your sales ratio will increase with every new product release and you will have a loyal customer base.
There you go. Work on these seven keys and you’ll be way ahead of most internet businesses out there on the net today.
1. Demand
You can have the most awesome product and the most hi-tech web site, but if you can’t generate demand for your product, your business is doomed from the start. There are many ways to generate demand in the online world. You could advertise in ezines, start an affiliate program, encourage word of mouth, referrals, do joint ventures. Remember, without demand, there will be no sales. And without sales, where does that leave you?
2. Order
When you start getting visitors to your web site, it’s now just a matter of turning them into your customers. Okay, maybe it’s not as easy as it sounds. This is why, once your visitor has decided to become a customer, you have to make sure that it is easy for them to do so. Make sure that your ordering process is easy and straightforward. The less clicks to secure an order, the better.
3. Payment
This is one process of your internet business that you’d definitely not want to get wrong - how money is actually transferred from your customer to you. The most popular means of doing this online is through credit card transactions. Credit cards makes full use of a person’s ‘buy now think later’ attitude. So, your sales would be a lot higher if you accepted credit cards than if you didn’t. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have alternative methods. The more payment methods you offer, the easier your customer will find it to pay for your product.
4. Fulfillment
After payment has been made, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the coast is clear. There’s still the matter of delivering your products. If you sell digital products, it is now normal standard to have it delivered instantly. People now expect this, so make sure you set this up. If you sell physical products that needs physical delivery, make sure that you communicate with your customer every step of the way. Ensure them that their goods are on the way. If possible, send them a means to track the movement of their package. Your customers should never feel insecure.
5. Service and Support
Once the sale has been made, it doesn’t stop there. You have to provide excellent customer support. Your internet business customer support will determine, to some extent, whether your customer will request a refund and whether or not they will make repeat purchases. Support abilities of an internet business is getting more and more efficient. So don’t get caught behind. The least you should do is provide timely e-mail support. If you have a busier site, then consider other support methods - online helpdesk, FAQs, live chats, ticket system, knowledge base ….
6. Security
The Internet community is getting more aware of what to look out for in order to protect themselves from many of the net’s less desirable activities. One of which is e-commerce frauds. It is, therefore, up to you to prove to your visitors that they can trust you. Things like using secured server to process payments, can go a long way. Purchase a digital certificate, if you can. Add a physical mail address or a phone number where they can contact you. Anything at all, to give your visitors some peace of mind.
7. Community
Once you’ve received more than just a handful of sales, you should think about starting a community. Making your customers a part of a community, gives them a sense of belonging. Have your community be a part of your product development. Listen to their suggestions. Not only will you get product ideas for your internet business, your sales ratio will increase with every new product release and you will have a loyal customer base.
There you go. Work on these seven keys and you’ll be way ahead of most internet businesses out there on the net today.
Who Cares What YOU Think?
"I hate pop-ups!"
"Audio that starts on a website without warning is annoying."
"What's with these 15-20 page sales letters that just go on and on? I would never buy anything from a site like that."
"I hate those websites that make me give their email address before giving me any information. When I see those, I click away immediately."
And the list of complaints goes on.
If we hate these things, plus our website visitors and marketing peers tell us they hate these things, we should stop using them, right?
Hold it right there. Basing your marketing decision completely on opinions and preferences is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. It doesn't matter if it's your opinion or if 10 people emailed you to tell you that your website annoys them. NEVER make a judgment based on an opinion. What we think and prefer has nothing to do with the RESULTS of our marketing.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying to ignore your gut feelings or disregard your potential customers. I'm saying - test it out.
We know everyone hates pop-ups, but the fact is they work when used effectively.
Audio that starts when you visit a website can be highly irritating, but many website owners report increased conversions when they do just that.
Long sales letters can be very effective when selling an individual product...just ask world-class copywriter Michel Fortin who has helped people sell millions online.
I also know someone who runs a 7-figure yearly business and has switched all his websites to the name-squeeze (you know, those idiotic pages that ask for your name and email before giving you any info?)...and he makes more money now.
Does this mean you must blindly use these "irritating techniques"? Nah...your business is unique and you need to base your decisions on cold hard facts (i.e. your testing data) so you can make more cold hard cash.
"Audio that starts on a website without warning is annoying."
"What's with these 15-20 page sales letters that just go on and on? I would never buy anything from a site like that."
"I hate those websites that make me give their email address before giving me any information. When I see those, I click away immediately."
And the list of complaints goes on.
If we hate these things, plus our website visitors and marketing peers tell us they hate these things, we should stop using them, right?
Hold it right there. Basing your marketing decision completely on opinions and preferences is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. It doesn't matter if it's your opinion or if 10 people emailed you to tell you that your website annoys them. NEVER make a judgment based on an opinion. What we think and prefer has nothing to do with the RESULTS of our marketing.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying to ignore your gut feelings or disregard your potential customers. I'm saying - test it out.
We know everyone hates pop-ups, but the fact is they work when used effectively.
Audio that starts when you visit a website can be highly irritating, but many website owners report increased conversions when they do just that.
Long sales letters can be very effective when selling an individual product...just ask world-class copywriter Michel Fortin who has helped people sell millions online.
I also know someone who runs a 7-figure yearly business and has switched all his websites to the name-squeeze (you know, those idiotic pages that ask for your name and email before giving you any info?)...and he makes more money now.
Does this mean you must blindly use these "irritating techniques"? Nah...your business is unique and you need to base your decisions on cold hard facts (i.e. your testing data) so you can make more cold hard cash.
The Top 5 Setting-Up Mistakes.
When you're starting a home business, it's all too easy to make mistakes -- after all, you've never done this before. Fortunately for you, though, you can learn from others' errors, by making sure you don't do any of these things.
Thinking Skills You Don't Have Aren't Important.
So you have no idea how to keep records and accounts, or you don't know how to maintain a mailing list. You need to learn these things! Too many home business owners just do the things that they know how to do, and assume that they can probably get by without everything else.
You need to realise that when you're running a home business, you're going to need to do as much as you can for yourself, especially when you're starting out. This means that you can't get by if your business skills are lacking. I always say that everyon'e who is thinking of starting a business should take an inexpensive and quick local business course, and I stand by it -- even if you think you'll be fine, it can't hurt, can it?
Not Managing Your Time.
When you're used to working nine to five, an easy trap to fall into is not managing your time effectively. Your home is full of distractions, and there won't be anyone there to tell you to get on with it. If you're prone to daydreaming or procrastinating then this can be disastrous -- whole days can go by with only tiny amounts of work getting done.
You need to be sure that you have a schedule, and you stick to it. Draw a clear line between work and non-work time, and don't cross the line in either direction. Apart from that, the word to remember is 'prioritise': appreciate that you won't always be able to do everything, but make sure you get at least the important things done.
Making Clients Think You're a Joke.
There are many home businesses where clients might need to visit your home -- but make sure it's fit for visiting! You can't lead them into a messy office, or be holding your dog back from barking at them when you first meet. Remember that professionalism is important, and it's too easy to end up looking silly if you don't plan how you're going to make a good impression when you invite people to your home.
If you can't afford a 'business annex' to your house, then consider hiring someone to look after your dog or children for a few hours while you have a business meeting there. It might also be worth paying a cleaner to give the place a quick once-over, if you haven't had time to clean up for a while.
Not Specialising.
Too many home businesses, when asked who their target market is, say 'well everyon'e, silly'. Your target market is never everyon'e -- if it is, you will fail. You can't just choose an industry and advertise your new-found profession to everyon'e, in the hope that someone will work out that the fact you're an electrician means maybe they should ask you about re-wiring their house.
The key to success is this: think about what you can do, and then market that to people who will want it. Advertise in places where these people are. If your business has no target market, then you have no business, period.
Making Start-Up Costs Too High.
Finally, too many people overestimate how much money it's going to take to start a home business. Do you really all brand-new equipment? If you're spending thousands of dollars before you've made any sales at all, you're setting yourself up for a disappointment.
Start your business on a shoestring, work hard, and expand gradually -- otherwise you're setting yourself up for a big fall. However much you might think you ought to do things 'properly', you need to make sure that you're minimising costs and maximising profit every step of the way, otherwise you're failing yourself as a home business owner. It's when you start to get some bigger clients and better cashflow that you can start paying a little extra to make your business life more comfortable.
Thinking Skills You Don't Have Aren't Important.
So you have no idea how to keep records and accounts, or you don't know how to maintain a mailing list. You need to learn these things! Too many home business owners just do the things that they know how to do, and assume that they can probably get by without everything else.
You need to realise that when you're running a home business, you're going to need to do as much as you can for yourself, especially when you're starting out. This means that you can't get by if your business skills are lacking. I always say that everyon'e who is thinking of starting a business should take an inexpensive and quick local business course, and I stand by it -- even if you think you'll be fine, it can't hurt, can it?
Not Managing Your Time.
When you're used to working nine to five, an easy trap to fall into is not managing your time effectively. Your home is full of distractions, and there won't be anyone there to tell you to get on with it. If you're prone to daydreaming or procrastinating then this can be disastrous -- whole days can go by with only tiny amounts of work getting done.
You need to be sure that you have a schedule, and you stick to it. Draw a clear line between work and non-work time, and don't cross the line in either direction. Apart from that, the word to remember is 'prioritise': appreciate that you won't always be able to do everything, but make sure you get at least the important things done.
Making Clients Think You're a Joke.
There are many home businesses where clients might need to visit your home -- but make sure it's fit for visiting! You can't lead them into a messy office, or be holding your dog back from barking at them when you first meet. Remember that professionalism is important, and it's too easy to end up looking silly if you don't plan how you're going to make a good impression when you invite people to your home.
If you can't afford a 'business annex' to your house, then consider hiring someone to look after your dog or children for a few hours while you have a business meeting there. It might also be worth paying a cleaner to give the place a quick once-over, if you haven't had time to clean up for a while.
Not Specialising.
Too many home businesses, when asked who their target market is, say 'well everyon'e, silly'. Your target market is never everyon'e -- if it is, you will fail. You can't just choose an industry and advertise your new-found profession to everyon'e, in the hope that someone will work out that the fact you're an electrician means maybe they should ask you about re-wiring their house.
The key to success is this: think about what you can do, and then market that to people who will want it. Advertise in places where these people are. If your business has no target market, then you have no business, period.
Making Start-Up Costs Too High.
Finally, too many people overestimate how much money it's going to take to start a home business. Do you really all brand-new equipment? If you're spending thousands of dollars before you've made any sales at all, you're setting yourself up for a disappointment.
Start your business on a shoestring, work hard, and expand gradually -- otherwise you're setting yourself up for a big fall. However much you might think you ought to do things 'properly', you need to make sure that you're minimising costs and maximising profit every step of the way, otherwise you're failing yourself as a home business owner. It's when you start to get some bigger clients and better cashflow that you can start paying a little extra to make your business life more comfortable.
Work Your Home Based Business Idea in Three Easy Steps
Create a Business Plan first
The primary necessity is to get a perfectly designed plan of action for a genuine business. A business plan on its own is useless. It is a mere reflection, but it will not suffice you also need an action plan. A business scheme is the first step in working out your idea into actions that you can follow. Well-illustrated business plans can be found online or at your library.
Begin now
• Do not be afraid of failure. Remember failure is the first stepping stone to success, if this home based business idea does not work out for you now do not let this deter you. Always remind yourself of the spider when you feel like losing hope.
• Do not let that wonderful home-based business idea gather dust. Start today.
• Waiting for the right time to start your business might make success elude you forever. If there is any specific right time, it is right now. Do not waste your precious time.
•
Put a figure on it
This is the greatest stumbling block for most home-based business owners. That is, they fail to evaluate their work. If you do not give proper attention to this, you may have to wrap up your business. You need to know that real figures and numbers are needed for you to stay in business. If this is not your agenda of work, you are probably going all wrong.
Large businesses usually set up balanced scorecards. The idea is to have a referring point to compare how successful your work is. For example, to get five customers in one month you could settle on free seminars but if you see that your plan is not getting you five clients, you need to reassess your plan. Change of plan prevents waste of energy and resources.
Entire contents copyright © 2005 Morpheus Institute.
The primary necessity is to get a perfectly designed plan of action for a genuine business. A business plan on its own is useless. It is a mere reflection, but it will not suffice you also need an action plan. A business scheme is the first step in working out your idea into actions that you can follow. Well-illustrated business plans can be found online or at your library.
Begin now
• Do not be afraid of failure. Remember failure is the first stepping stone to success, if this home based business idea does not work out for you now do not let this deter you. Always remind yourself of the spider when you feel like losing hope.
• Do not let that wonderful home-based business idea gather dust. Start today.
• Waiting for the right time to start your business might make success elude you forever. If there is any specific right time, it is right now. Do not waste your precious time.
•
Put a figure on it
This is the greatest stumbling block for most home-based business owners. That is, they fail to evaluate their work. If you do not give proper attention to this, you may have to wrap up your business. You need to know that real figures and numbers are needed for you to stay in business. If this is not your agenda of work, you are probably going all wrong.
Large businesses usually set up balanced scorecards. The idea is to have a referring point to compare how successful your work is. For example, to get five customers in one month you could settle on free seminars but if you see that your plan is not getting you five clients, you need to reassess your plan. Change of plan prevents waste of energy and resources.
Entire contents copyright © 2005 Morpheus Institute.
Smart Investment When Buying a Laptop
Have you priced a laptop computer lately? Buying a new laptop is a big investment; and just how big of an investment you want to make is entirely up to you. Look in your Sunday newspaper flyers to see countless models on sale each week. Initially selections were made by looking at the specifications and the general appearance. However that’s not the sole criteria any longer. Everyday more and more people are now stepping inside the mobile world. With so many models of laptops now available, how can you be sure about the choice you make? Below are several factors you should consider: CPU (Central Processing Unit), Video Card, hard disk, noise, battery life and RAM (Random Access Memory).
CPU is the main component which determines the performance of your computer and also the heating and the battery life. There is a trade-off between the CPU performance and the battery-life and power consumption (heating). If you want a laptop which would replace a desktop and if you are not planning to travel with it a lot then there are several different offers with desktop CPUs integrated in the laptop main board (such as a P4).
If you are fond of mobility and are going to use your new laptop for your business purposes or school, then you should consider buying a laptop with more suitable CPUs. AMD Athlon can be a solution: Athlon processors are designed for users who are looking for economical solutions, both purchase and usage. Older models of Athlon are no where near Intel Pentium products from the point of performance, and yet new models like 2800+ are potent enough to compete with P4 2.8 GHz.
There is one more model of CPU that many of the customers prefer: Centrino. Centrino is the new attempt of Intel to balance the tradeoff between the performance and mobility issues. With the 2 MB second level cash, the Pentium CPU is modified for the laptop which eases the burden of the CPU and implicitly pulls down the levels of heating and power consumption.
RAM and the graphic card are also two important factors for the quality of the laptop. There are two kinds of RAM on the market: SD RAM and DD RAM. In any case, there is no tradeoff, no comparison: DD RAM is better, and yet, you still have to be careful about the clock specification of the RAM. If you buy a RAM with 3.0 MHz clock speed, you will see the performance improvement it supplies to the whole system. Another thing to consider is that some computers have 512 MB RAM with two slots (256 x 2) which is not very good for the new laptop you are going to buy. Overall, if you want a good laptop, you should consider one equipped with a 3.0 MHz, 512 MB, DD RAM.
There are various video cards on the market today. The first thing you should check is the “ON-Board” specification in the video card. These cards are integrated into the main board and generally use your main RAM as for the video memory. If you are going to use your laptop for general purposes, not for gaming or 3-D design which would require 3D hardware acceleration, these laptops with onboard video card are for you. However, if you are a professional Counter Strike player, you would be disappointed with the screen delays and freezes.
The last technical detail is the hard disk. While buying a hard disk there is a detail which is much more important then the capacity: RPM. Rotation Per Minute determines how fast the data transfer rate is to the CPU to be processed so this specification also plays a huge role while dealing with multimedia stuff.
So if you’re in the market for a new laptop computer, one suggestion is to consider buying a Centrino laptop with an onboard video card with a big RAM if you are planning to use it for school or business purposes and also randomly for movies and music. Nevertheless, Pentium computers with AGP or PCI Express video off-board video cards would give you the performance of a desktop if you don’t mind the weight, noise and the heating of the laptop.
With so many decisions to make, take your time; do your homework and invest wisely.
CPU is the main component which determines the performance of your computer and also the heating and the battery life. There is a trade-off between the CPU performance and the battery-life and power consumption (heating). If you want a laptop which would replace a desktop and if you are not planning to travel with it a lot then there are several different offers with desktop CPUs integrated in the laptop main board (such as a P4).
If you are fond of mobility and are going to use your new laptop for your business purposes or school, then you should consider buying a laptop with more suitable CPUs. AMD Athlon can be a solution: Athlon processors are designed for users who are looking for economical solutions, both purchase and usage. Older models of Athlon are no where near Intel Pentium products from the point of performance, and yet new models like 2800+ are potent enough to compete with P4 2.8 GHz.
There is one more model of CPU that many of the customers prefer: Centrino. Centrino is the new attempt of Intel to balance the tradeoff between the performance and mobility issues. With the 2 MB second level cash, the Pentium CPU is modified for the laptop which eases the burden of the CPU and implicitly pulls down the levels of heating and power consumption.
RAM and the graphic card are also two important factors for the quality of the laptop. There are two kinds of RAM on the market: SD RAM and DD RAM. In any case, there is no tradeoff, no comparison: DD RAM is better, and yet, you still have to be careful about the clock specification of the RAM. If you buy a RAM with 3.0 MHz clock speed, you will see the performance improvement it supplies to the whole system. Another thing to consider is that some computers have 512 MB RAM with two slots (256 x 2) which is not very good for the new laptop you are going to buy. Overall, if you want a good laptop, you should consider one equipped with a 3.0 MHz, 512 MB, DD RAM.
There are various video cards on the market today. The first thing you should check is the “ON-Board” specification in the video card. These cards are integrated into the main board and generally use your main RAM as for the video memory. If you are going to use your laptop for general purposes, not for gaming or 3-D design which would require 3D hardware acceleration, these laptops with onboard video card are for you. However, if you are a professional Counter Strike player, you would be disappointed with the screen delays and freezes.
The last technical detail is the hard disk. While buying a hard disk there is a detail which is much more important then the capacity: RPM. Rotation Per Minute determines how fast the data transfer rate is to the CPU to be processed so this specification also plays a huge role while dealing with multimedia stuff.
So if you’re in the market for a new laptop computer, one suggestion is to consider buying a Centrino laptop with an onboard video card with a big RAM if you are planning to use it for school or business purposes and also randomly for movies and music. Nevertheless, Pentium computers with AGP or PCI Express video off-board video cards would give you the performance of a desktop if you don’t mind the weight, noise and the heating of the laptop.
With so many decisions to make, take your time; do your homework and invest wisely.
Banking Software: Do You Need It?
Whether you are considering the purchase of banking software for your personal use or for your business use, there are many reasons to consider this type of software. For one, you will reap many rewards. For another, it will relieve much work from your shoulders. But, do you need a banking software? You probably do not need a banking software if you maintain your checkbook accurately. You probably do not need it if you know how much you are spending on your various expenses each month. You also probably do not need it if you know how much of your income is going towards savings. But, then again, are any of us good at this type of organization?
Banking software really can help you manage your everyday and monthly expenses. It can help you to know what is happening in each function of your business as well. Who are you paying and how much are you paying them? What is your income to spending ratio? Are you saving enough? Are you investing well? These things are all things that a banking software can help you to manage.
Many banking software options allow you to connect right to the web so that your daily information can be downloaded and managed. No more balancing a check book when you can use the software instead. In fact, it will do that for you.
Another nice feature about a banking software is that it will allow you never miss another deadline for bills again. This is a great option because it allows you to know when you need to send out a payment so that you don?t have to deal with missing payments, late fees or even worse, bad credit reporting.
Banking software is exceptional when it comes to business use as well. It can organize just about any type of solution that you need it to and allow you to excel in your businesses' overall plans. Consider a banking software for all of your needs.
Banking software really can help you manage your everyday and monthly expenses. It can help you to know what is happening in each function of your business as well. Who are you paying and how much are you paying them? What is your income to spending ratio? Are you saving enough? Are you investing well? These things are all things that a banking software can help you to manage.
Many banking software options allow you to connect right to the web so that your daily information can be downloaded and managed. No more balancing a check book when you can use the software instead. In fact, it will do that for you.
Another nice feature about a banking software is that it will allow you never miss another deadline for bills again. This is a great option because it allows you to know when you need to send out a payment so that you don?t have to deal with missing payments, late fees or even worse, bad credit reporting.
Banking software is exceptional when it comes to business use as well. It can organize just about any type of solution that you need it to and allow you to excel in your businesses' overall plans. Consider a banking software for all of your needs.
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