The Best Home Business Ideas

Body Shop - Is This a Good Time to Sell?

2011-11-13T05:46:00.001+07:00

Have you ever asked yourself the question? “Is this a good time to sell my business?” That is a question every business owner asks himself, every time he has a bad day. I once received e-mail from the editor of the Auto Body News, asking me that key question. “What is happening in the market today? Is this a good time to sell? ” My quick answer was “These are very interesting times.”

Of course that answer doesn’t tell you anything that you can get your teeth into. So! Let me clarify my answer. Since I have been selling body shops for 10 years, I have seen many changes in the body shop industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there have always been an abundance of both sellers and buyers. The buyers have always been, and still are picky about what they were looking for.

The perfect shop in the eyes to the buyers is (A) one that has a customer base and a revenue stream that is reliable and isn’t dependent on the owner being there to retain each individual customer, and. (B) doing a volume of at least $100,000 per month, but really much more. Large volume sellers think that if they have a DRP (Direct Repair Program,) they have what body shop buyers’ want. A DRP is where the insurance companies set up a relationship with the body shop to do all insured’s body shop business, much like an HMO in the health insurance field.

This may be what buyers want, but the DRP contracts are not automatically transferable, and a buyer will be very unhappy if the DRP leaves, the buyer, after they have paid a lot money for this “reliable revenue stream.” Smaller volume sellers, on the other-hand, not having corporate accounts, dealerships or other contracts still have hope for getting lots of money for their shops. The average shop I run across is only doing about $300,000-$500,000 annual gross income. So what we have is a situation where a lot of buyers are looking to buy a shop, but there are not a lot of shops available, which fit what they are, interested in-$1,500,000 annual gross income or more.

This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.

As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.

Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that the buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get new business and therefore are too careful.

To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired about moving in to the So California market. Consolidators want shops that fit their model. That model sometimes changes but basically they will buy a shop if it fits their model.

If it doesn’t, they will not touch it. The price by itself doesn’t turn their interest on or off. We do not have enough space to discuss what this group will buy, in this article. It is enough to say, “ If your shop fits their criteria they would have contacted you and expressed interest. If they haven’t contacted you, they are not interested.” Period! They know their market place and who is in it.

By the way, if I owned a shop that a consolidator wanted, I would never sell to them. Being a professional negotiator for 20 years, I find the requested seller financing terms totally unacceptable. When I have discovered what the terms of the sale are, after the fact, amazed me. I had buyers for the same money, or more, without the seller being at risk, but no one asked me.

The second category is the multiple location shop owners. Usually with one or more DRP contracts shop that wants to expand into more areas. They are very interested in the sq. footage of the shop, and its ability to handle over $2 Million Gross Income per year. This buyer only looks in limited areas. The areas being where they have been offered a DRP contract. When they are looking, they need it now, while the window of opportunity is open to them. If they can’t find it quick, they will not need it at all. Recently I had a multiple shop buyer who had made an offer and was negotiating on a shop in West Los Angeles. By the time we finished the negotiations, the DRP contract was gone and consequentially, so was the buyer.

The third category is the buyers who have worked in the industry before, but do not currently own a shop. Also in this group are the buyers who have family in the industry; money is no problem. This buyer believes “ If it doesn’t have a DRP, forget it. If it has a DRP and isn’t making much money, also forget it”. If it has a DRP, and it is making money, they are interested but only at what they consider is a fair price (In their eyes). This group I have successfully changed their mind as to how they analyze what a good shop looks like and on occasion they have bought shops with “a steady reliable income”, instead of trying to find a shop with only a DRP insurance contract.

The fourth category is the person that just wants a shop. They will do what they have to, to afford a shop-that will work for them. This group is the working body man or auto repair shop mechanic. Because of their limited funds, this buyer will only pay what he or she feels the equipment is worth. They will pay nothing for goodwill because they believe that the seller’s customers are not stable and will leave when the ownership changes. Are they wrong?

In Conclusion: There are a lot of buyers out there. My database has over 250 current names of body shop buyers. There is currently a shortage of shops for sale but mostly in the properly priced category. Most days I feel like a marriage broker with a lot of plain brides and a few beauties. The dowry for the beauties is more than most good-looking boys will pay. The balance of the girls may not be pretty, but some of them can sure cook. Anyone want to get married? “Have I got a girl for you”

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If You Can't See It, You Can't Do It!

2011-11-13T05:32:00.001+07:00

You have to see the writing on the wall.
It is a must for Entrepreneurs to learn picturizaton if he/she is too achieve any kind of success. Goals must be seen in the mind's eye in order to stimulate progression. A person will not chase something he/she can't grasp or visualize. Most people don't believe in ghost and a goal without vision is just that. Goals without vision are only dreams, fantasies and illusions they're no more than wishful thinking. .

The belief system must have something to grasp and hold on to. It must see the goal in all its entirety and believe it can be accomplished. Visualization validates the possibility and turns it into a reality. If you can't see it, you can't do it. It's as simple as that. That's why so many people fail, their chasing an illusion that has not become a reality in their mind.

In order for the entrepreneur to do his/her best he/she must be able to look ahead and visualize the outcome. He/she must be able to project the outcome of their actions beforehand and act accordingly. To realize this, the entrepreneur must remember one all important thing and that is: the first business of any business, any organization, church, club, family, or individual is to not only survive, but to increase financially, mentally, spiritually, socially, and physically. Their goal must incorporate all the elements needed to bring it into focus and visualize it in the mind as completed. What a person can see ot he/she can achieve it.

Visualization also brings personalization to the goal or project. A person feels connected when he/she has painted a picture in the mind and is striving toward it. It's like seeing the light at the end of a tunnel. If you couldn't see the end, in only a short time you will give up. You will lose hope in the belief that the end is somewhere ahead. Without a clear picture of your goal, it is only a matter of time when the goal turns into desperation.

Entrepreneurs build a picture in their mind of their idea, turning it into an achievable reality. Their picture becomes a touchable thing that can be experienced. In their experience, they feel it, smell it, touch it and most of all, own it. It becomes theirs, as they embrace the reality of the visual influence.

Managers are the same in their responsibilities. They must also be able to visualize the outcome of a project before it begins. A good manager can convey or paint a picture to his/her team to motivate them into action. The team will only be motivated to the extent of the manager's ability to picturize their goal. If they can see the logic and realize the value in their project, then they will accomplish it.

The need for picturization applies to any profession or accomplishment. Goals need to be pictured as something real or they have no meaning to the mind. In today's world the saying is, “put your head around it”, which simply means, visualize it.

Because people are influenced by past events, the mind plays a huge part in future accomplishments. People look at anything they have no experience with as unobtainable. In order to break that notion they have to put up the argument of possibility in their mind. If they can see the possibility of success, they can move toward it. If they can't picturize success, they will abandon the idea altogether.

In sports, a football quarterback must bring a visualization of the play into the huddle in order for his teammates to be motivated into doing it. If they can see success they will fight to achieve it. The same goes for the man courting a woman. He sees her as his mate in a family setting, beside him for a lifetime. He can see the children, family outings and love she shares with him. He has a picture of peace and contentment in their marriage and he is motivated to see it through. It isn't the relationship, or possibilities, it's the picture he has in his head that drives him to make her his mate.

Picturization is not just a snap shot, but it is activating all the senses to form a complete experience of the coming event. You can feel it, smell it, taste it, see it and most of all bring it into an experience. Have you ever gone shopping for a new car? Oh the smell of that new interior, the feel of the new seats, the vibrations from the sound system, the sight of the shinny paint and chrome build a desire in the mind to own it. You can see yourself driving in the country or going to a friends house to show it off.

How about when you and your soul mate went looking for your first house. She loved the kitchen and the two of you talked about what you would change to make it yours. You could see the children running from room to room as you sat in the easy chair reading the evening paper. Smells drifting from the kitchen of that special dish you love. The wife is singing to herself and a peace falls over you that you embrace as real. It can't ever be real until you see it as real.

In conclusion:
Visualization turns goals into reality in the mind. See the world as a place of possibilities where you can see the future and have faith it can come true. At work, share your vision with coworkers. At home build shared visions of life and how you and your mate will spend it. Success comes to those who can and do visualize it.

Wealth Building Basics

2011-11-12T05:37:00.000+07:00

In this world there are those who achieve success and those who do not. I want you to be one of those that achieve. In this series of articles I will paint a picture of how you can build wealth without stepping on other peoples' toes.

Learning to build wealth requires one to learn to be counter-intuitive. Building wealth is not about pushing and dodging the thrusts of others. Sure that is one way to push (pun intended) ahead but, in the end, it leaves one cold and alone. Of course, you cannot be one who is constantly pushed either. Doormats seldom build significant wealth on their own. So what is the answer. If I can't push and I mustn't cave in to the bully what can I do?

The answer is really quite simple. Not only is it simple, it has been around foras long as man has thought about his place in the universe. The ancient Hebrew Sage Hillel told a follower who asked him to explain the whole Torah while standing on one foot, "What is hurtful to you you must abstain from doing to another. That is the entire Torah. Go and learn." The Koran teachers, "One cannot call himself a Muslum until he recognizes the needs of others before the needs of self." Jesus preached, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." What is common to these ideas is one simple concept. Success comes to those who recognize they are not alone but are obligated by some force to step outside of their own ego to be of service to others.

Being of service is an important concept. If you serve others without the anticipation of return, if you give a gift without expecting a gift in return, you will be amazed at how quickly the benefits will pour in. The Native Americans of the Northwest honored another by giving away all of their posessions. The giver was always rewarded for his selfless action by being presented by more than he ever gave away. But there was no expectation that there would be any community reciprocation.

Bob Burg, a noted sales trainer, points out that if you want to build your business you must seek out people to refer business to you. But, contrary to what most sales trainers preach, Berg turns the tables and suggests that you refer business to others before you can expect the favor to be returned.

Being of service will not produce immediate results. Because you refer business to someone there is no guarantee that business will be referred back to you. What is certain, however, is that if you have built a network of people that you are referring business to, like the potlatch of the Northwest, you will reap far more than you invested in the process.

This process takes patience. But anything worth having is worth investingtime and effort into developing.

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I'm A 25 Year Old Billionaire

2011-11-11T05:39:00.000+07:00

I'm 25 years old and I'm a billionaire. I own a beautiful mansion, that is considered by some to be a work of art, nestled among the mountains of Northern California. I own an Island in the Caribbean and another in the Persian Gulf.I'm the owner of an empire, which spans the globe and operates with the support of 50,000 loyal employees, every one of whom are a part of my family. The Crenshaw name is revered among anyone with even a hand in my industry.

Though I love what I do, I take vacations to balance my life between work and play, but I don't vacation like most people. When I go on a cruise around the world, it's on my 352 foot yacht called "Jane;" I named it after my mother because she has had such a major influence on my life; it's structural magnificence is only exceeded by the love and care my mother gave to me during my life. I have her to thank for what I've become.

I'm A 25 Year Old Billionaire

I own a jet called "Persistence" because that is what has brought me the life I enjoy so much.

On my path to becoming a billionaire, I realized that full enjoyment of wealth can only be realized when shared with others. Because of this, I donate millions each year to various charities and, as a result, am able to help shape these charities into more effective aid organizations.

However, of all my charitable contributions, nothing gives me greater joy than helping young people reach their potential. I see, in young people, the reflection of something larger than life; something they still believe they can be. They haven't allowed their dreams to become tainted by the pessimistic views of the world around them. All they see in their lives are possibilities. My goal is to help them reach a place in their lives from which they can look back and say, "Anything is possible." This is what now fulfills my life more than my yacht, my jet, the islands I own or the empire I've built.

But there's something I haven't told you...

In reality, I don't have a mansion in the mountains, or an island in the Caribbean. I'm not the head of a globe-trotting empire; I don't even own my own company. I work for someone else and make $5,500 a month. I'm $70,000 in debt from credit cards and student loans and, until recently, could not afford my minimum monthly payments. I don't have a yacht named Jane or a jet name Persistence. I don't have the time or money to devote to helping young people realize their dreams.

My empire, in all it's glory, exists only as a vision in my mind and, while it's existence is clear to me, such is not the case for others. No one knows about this empire, no one will know about it for some time, but they will know about it. It's a seemingly innocuous firing of neurons that, today, I decided to build in reality. In the physical world I will create a reflection of that which exists in my mind. It may take me forty years, forty years of many small failures interspersed with brilliant successes. By Tuesday, April 28th, 2047, my dream will be realized. I will be sixty-five.

But it's not the end that will make me what I've seen in my vision, but rather the journey; the journey to the incarnation of this dream will be my fulfillment.

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Home Business Success

2011-11-10T05:42:00.000+07:00

So I've been in the home business industry for a long time now. A lot of people who come into this industry stick around for a little while... they try it out and then go back to doing whatever it was they were doing and cry wolf that home businesses are a scam.

Why does that happen?

The #1 reason why I have found people fail in a home business is because they don't have a TRUE system to follow. Now, allow me to clarify. A system is something that takes the human being out of the equation. Here's an example - McDonald's will work the same if they have 50 year old CEO's working or 16 year old high school kids. Is that because they hire the best of the best high school kids in America? In my experience - NO. It will work either way because of the system in place.

So let's talk about this from the home business entrepreneur's perspective. Many home businesses claim to have a system. That system involves calling leads, interviewing them and bringing them to a conference call or meeting. This system works, but only if you are great on the phone. If you are nervous on the phone or not 100% confident in what you do, then guess what - you're results suffer.

A true system that will lead to home business success is one that takes YOU out of the equation. Once you are out of the equation, you cannot fail. If all you have to do is get people to visit your website, and the website takes care of the rest... then you cannot fail.

If you've been involved or are currently involved in a home business that has you right at the center of all the activity, you owe it to yourself to take a look at a true system. My Reverse Funnel System has effectively taken the human out of the equation so that failure is not an option.

If Mcdonald's can do it with 15 year olds, my system can do it with YOU. Take a look at my system by going to: http://www.thousanddollarprofits.com/2873.

Enjoy!

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Closing Escrow on Business Buying/Selling

2011-11-09T05:44:00.000+07:00

The final part of the whole deal is the escrow. The word is an old Anglo-French word which originally meant ‘piece of parchment or fabric’. In today’s parlance, the word describes the process whereby a property is deposited with a third party to be transferred to the grantee (buyer), when certain conditions are met.

There is a lot of paperwork involved in buying and selling a business. It can be a daunting task, just from the paperwork alone. It can also be very stressful. An escrow officer specializes in handling these things and ensures that the buyer gets everything he or she is buying, with no hidden debts on the business and that the seller gets their money.

The things to know about escrow procedures with regard to a business is that it differs from a real estate escrow in the following areas:

a) Date specified in escrow instructions for a business is ‘on or after’ the specified date. In real estate, the term used is ‘on or before’.

b) When the seller is paying all or a part of the escrow fee, a deposit from the seller is required as well as the buyer’s deposit. Usually the costs are split, but it is whatever the parties agree to.

c) If the sale in any way includes a liquor license, then all the money, including what is being paid for the liquor inventory must go through escrow. Also, no funds can be released before the escrow is closed.

d) Finally, Instructions must be written and signed by all parties along with all initial deposits before the notice of sale can be published. When the notice of sale has been published and recorded, there is a 12-day minimum period, which does not include holidays and weekends, in which, any creditors of the seller can file claims with the escrow company. If the business being sold includes the transfer of a liquor license, then the time is extended.

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How To Make Snacking Your Home Business Breakthrough Strategy

2011-11-07T05:13:00.003+07:00

By Sarah Clachar

Is your kitchen lurking down the hallway from your home office? Tempting you to fill up on unnecessary calories, break your focus and get less done?
Yes? It's something I struggle with too.
When I'm working hard, I get the munchies. I'll wander off to the kitchen, return to my desk with a snack. Before I know it, I've gone through half a loaf of banana bread. You probably know exactly what I mean.
However, you can turn this around. You can make the proximity to your kitchen an asset to your business while at the same time working on your waistline.
Your kitchen can ultimately become the source of many a biz breakthrough.
And in this article I'm going to show you how to do it.
But first let's back up a minute and look at some simple biology. Because in order to tap into the kitchen phenomenon, you need to know your enemy. You need to acknowledge the weakness programmed right into your DNA...
See, the truth of the matter is...
Your Brain Is A Pig
There's a reason brain-heavy work triggers your body to feel hungry. It's actually a biological response. Our brains, despite being pretty small, use up about one quarter of our energy intake. We use enormous amounts of calories whenever we put our mind to something.
This is why some paleoanthropologists speculate that when early hominids started getting more nutrients from their food by cooking it and eating meat, we were able to support a larger brain.
So if you get that craving for cookies when you sit down to really concentrate on a task, you can thank your biology.
However, this doesn't mean you have to succumb to your instincts. Like potty training, we can train ourselves to take actions that fit better with our goals and... er... socially accepted behavior.
So let's master your brain's instinctive behavior. And even make these instincts - and food itself - your ally in having a productive workday.
Here's what I mean:
Use Your Cravings To Help You Think
Most of us freelancers spend our time facing our computer. We're sucked into The World of Online.
Tragically, as a culture and as individuals we're losing something precious in this preoccupation - our ability to think and reflect.
Inundated with information, we rarely mull, muse, or ponder. Real problem solving has been replaced with Googling. Real creativity has been transplanted by spinning.
As part of having a healthier home business - and life - you need to find ways that encourage you to walk away from your screen and look up. And look inside.
Now, food isn't always the best way to do this. As I admitted earlier, I'm the first to go grab a bite to eat when I can't get a headline right.
On the other hand, this may not be so bad.
See, eating is a very real physical experience that can bring you back to this non-virtual world. It's something that many of us find hard to ignore for too long - no matter how good the discussion on Twitter is.
Eating can get your head out of your computer for a few minutes.
But it gets even more interesting...
Notice how many good ideas people come up with when they're in the shower? Why?
When you're performing a relaxing physical activity, you free up your mind to start thinking in a creative way.
When you're showering, your mind starts to wander a bit, deep thoughts percolate up and mix with all the different bits of consciousness you've squashed in there while poring through blogs and ezines. This reshuffling and merging is what spawns creativity and innovative problem solving.
In the shower, with the water running over your shoulders, you can't possibly look at a screen or scribble notes. Your mind is all yours. And it will go to work if you let it.
Eating can serve the same purpose.
However, unlike showering, while we're eating we too often preoccupy our minds with something else. Like reading or watching TV or cruising Facebook.
Which brings me to the next step to making your kitchen your ally...
Savor Your Food And Discover
The only way you can make food a positive force in your life is by respecting it and giving it your full attention.
I'm a foodie. I have a small farm. I love to cook. And I love to eat.
Lately I've been taking a quick break to pick some Kiwi gold raspberries, rolling their sweetness around in my mouth.
But I'll also confess even with all that love of good food, I usually eat like an express train. Maybe it's from days of cramming meals in when my kids were little. Probably it goes even farther back.
And I'm not alone in this.
In the U.S. we've lost the fine art of eating. This has contributed to our overeating epidemic.
One widely publicized study that came out this year noted that not only did people who ate cookies while they worked at the computer eat more cookies... but they also ate more cookies several hours later in the day!
In other words, by eating mindlessly, you start to tell your body to ignore its signals of satiation. You start to turn eating into an unremarkable event that you don't notice - so you keep doing it.
So the first advantage of conscious eating is that it will help you trim down.
But it also goes another step...
When you unlock the power or conscious eating, you create another place in your life to experience and really think. It's something all of us busy home biz owners could use.
Perhaps I'm a little biased as a writer. It certainly helps me to brush up my observation skills with a good mindful snack. But as I explained before with the showering example, taking a real snack break can help anyone tap into more of their mind power.
You've got this far. And hopefully this is making some sense to you.
But now comes the big question: How do you put this into play?
Here's how:
Practice
The best way to make eating a positive force is to practice at it. So here's your homework:
Next time you're stuck working on a gnarly project and you feel the urge to have a snack, do this.
1. Pause And Notice
Walk into your kitchen and look out the window. Take a deep breath and note what's going on outside. And inside your body.
Ask yourself, what do I really want? Do I want something refreshing like a glass of water or a little seltzer mixed with some juice?
Do I want something that satisfies my sweet tooth but doesn't leave me deflated in half an hour?
Or do I really need something to fill my belly - is it lunchtime?
Notice how you're feeling and what kind of nourishment your body really is looking for.
2. Choose Your Potion
Let's say you just need a little wakeup call. Perhaps something light because you're not that hungry. You just a little need a nibble. And something that makes your senses come alive - including that nagging sweet tooth.
A nice piece of fruit might do the trick.
Take a piece of fruit - let's say it's a well-ripened pear. Wash it carefully and take a sniff. Do you know what pear's smell like?
Savor how it looks.
Now - carefully avoiding your desk - go find a nice spot where you can really appreciate your pear. Maybe it's standing near the window. Or even stepping outside and enjoying some sun on your back.
And then take a bite. Let a little juice trickle down. It's okay to be a little messy (no office mates here to be shocked). And let your tongue savor the flavor.
Chew it slowly. Yes, really chew it before you swallow. Take a moment after that first bite and really think about how that bite was.
Now take the next bite. And savor it the same way.
Continue to eat the pear, noting the experience. As well as looking around you and noting your environment.
And here's where you get to the next step in becoming a productive eater...
3. Experience
Take note of your body too. How are you feeling as you eat.
When you're done, sigh with contentment. And take a moment to notice how your body feels. Do you feel good? Do you feel energized?
Just the other day, Prevention Magazine ran a short blog post titled "The #1 Way To Lose Weight."
And you know what it was?
Become an instinctive eater. Don't count calories. Don't worry about color wheels. Don't even pay attention to the new USDA chart.
None of that is as useful or important as learning to listen to your body.
When you listen to your body, you'll start to notice that eating food that's good for you makes you feel... well... good. Energized, alert, light, satisfied.
And food that's bad for you makes you feel bad. Draggy, craving more and often cranky.
It takes some time to override your original fixation with salty chips and chocolate delights. But over time you'll start to instinctively crave... prepare yourself... healthy food.
Scout's honor. I used to eat chocolate every day without fail. Now, on some occasions I'll feel for a little and have some. But it's in limited amounts. And more often than not, it's just not what I'm looking for.
When you start to pay attention to your body's reaction, you'll develop your own complex, personalized food prescription chart of what to eat based on how you're feeling.
Taking conscious eating breaks will help you drop pounds and boost your health.
4. Let Your Mind Go To Work
Now give your business a boost too. Notice your thoughts and ideas. Let them sift through and don't work to hard to force them into line. Just let your mind wander.
Eventually, when you've finished your snack (or meal), return to work.
Now's the time to jot down a few revelations.
Look at that project with truly fresh perspective.
Put that renewed energy to work in tackling that troublesome problem.
Even use these delightful snack breaks as an incentive to focus and get another good half an hour of work done.
Just Desserts
This won't be easy to do at first. Believe me, email has a powerfully seductive call when you're snacking.
But if you work at it for a week or two, trying to insert at least one conscious food break each day - maybe two - it will start to get easier.
By paying attention to how your body - and your biz - benefits from these breaks... by really experiencing the change in stress level, energy level and productivity... you'll start to reprogram even that stubborn brain.
And soon enough, your kitchen will no longer be that dangerous spot robbing you of your best intentions.
Instead, it will become a valuable ally in running your business and staying healthy while doing it.

Want A Sneaky Way To Fit Exercise Into Your Workday?
For a free guide on how to fit a workout into your home business workday, go to www.yourhealthyhomebiz.com.
About The Author
Sarah Clachar is a freelance professional health writer and healthy home business expert. Author of the ebook, The Healthy Home Business Guide, she provides tips, strategies and inspiration for home business owners on how to run your business without running yourself into the ground.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Clachar

Starting a Business From Home - How Becoming a Blogger Can Pay

2011-11-07T05:11:00.001+07:00

By Conrad Wysor

Anyone interested in starting a business from home should consider becoming a blogger. People who have a lot to say (or in this case, write) about a certain topic can find happiness as bloggers. This joy comes from publishing one's thoughts to the world and earning money while doing it. Blogs have come a long way since their inception and nearly anyone can use them as income generators.
The word blog is actually a shortened version of the term "Web log" and is so popular that it was dubbed the 2004 Word of the Year by Merriam-Webster. In January 1994, Swarthmore College student Justin Hall created the first blog. The earliest blogs were personal journals for the world to read. Some people went a bit too far - the notable firing of Heather Armstrong in 2002 for discussing her job on her Dooce blog is just one example.
By August 2002, the world of blogging was in full swing with the introduction of technology blog Gizmodo and blog advertising broker Blogads. By June 2003, even Google had caught the blogging bug, launching AdSense, a now wildly popular program that matches ads to the content of blog pages. The following year, Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs, Inc., sold his portfolio of 85 blogs to AOL for an impressive $25 million. The year 2005 also marked a milestone for blog advertising, with an estimated $100 million in ads sold.
Blogs have several distinguishing characteristics from other Internet content. It is frequently updated by the owner, providing fresh content on a regular basis. The tone of the writing is usually more personal than content on a website. Most will include links to other sites or pages that might clarify information or provide archived content on a related topic. Celebrities sometimes create their own sites to have their voices heard unfiltered by media editing.
Blogging is attractive to many people because little investment is required. Free blog space is available from blog providers or blog owners can make a small investment to self-host their blog. When a self-hosted blog is used, the blog owner retains rights to the content. Otherwise, the blog contents are lost if the blog provider goes out of business. In either case, blogging software is provided to streamline the setup process.
A blog should be equipped with images and freebies like guest books and maps, reader comment boxes, and buttons. By enrolling in Google AdSense, the blogger has advertisements for relevant products or services placed on their site. Each time an ad is clicked and a purchase is made, the blogger receives a commission. Some bloggers supplement these ads with affiliate programs that provide them with additional cash for selling other people's products or services.
Including the blog URL when commenting on other blogs or in forums, link swapping, and article writing are several ways to market the blog on an ongoing basis. When starting a business from home, a marketing plan should be developed, and blogging is no exception. A highly visible blog can earn substantial income for its owner.

Are you interested in learning more about starting a home business opportunities? All-Things-Medical-Billing.com offers information on starting a home business, educational requirements, job outlook, and salary expectations for the industry. Visit the site today for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Conrad_Wysor

Kicking Butt: Starting a Business From Home

2011-11-07T05:08:00.004+07:00

By Carl Orlafsky

Every parent knows that the most important thing in life is their children. From the first time you hold your newborn in your arms you know there will never be anything in life as valuable as this little seven-pound treasure. Our children are a part of us and we do everything within our power to keep them safe as they grow to be independent adults.

Many parents go through the selection process of who goes to work and who stays at home with the kids. The answer to who goes to work is usually the one that bring in the most money, since lots of it will be needed to raise those little darlings. Regardless of who has the responsibility of bringing home the bacon and whose job it is to maintain kids and home, each parent has a critical occupation.

Eventually our children grow up. In fact, from the minute they are born, they begin to grow up. When we have our first baby we hear everyone around us telling us to enjoy it, that it goes by faster than we could imagine. We think we understand because we've seen our nieces or nephews grow up, but then when we finally have our own children we begin to realize that we had no idea how fast time really flies by.

It seems like no time at all and our newborn baby is suddenly walking and talking. Then we blink and they are starting kindergarten. We've probably all heard it said that they slowly need us less and less and that it doesn't happen all at once, but the first day that they leave us for kindergarten sure feels like it came on all at once.

Before you have a chance to digest the little kindergartner, he has turned into a high school graduate and is out of your house and your care and he's on his own. Just like that.

Most of us find that being home all day by ourselves drives us crazy. Our first thought is probably to go back to work, but it's been so many years since we've held an actual job in the workforce that we don't really have a resume or much work experience. We interview for a job that has twenty other people applying, all younger than us with far more work experience than we have.

It's hard for anyone to find a job who has been out of the marketplace for so long, but in today's economy it's well nigh impossible. The answer does not lie in staying home doing nothing and heading for the therapist's couch every Wednesday. You need to do something valuable with your time and talents at least until your significant other retires and you can travel to exotic destinations together like you always wanted to do. Now, you have the ability to satisfy all your needs.

With cutting edge software and technology any one of us can start our own online business. We can earn money whether we have a college degree or not and with no specific experience in any field. We can do this by utilizing the same skill set we perfected raising our kids: Patience, hard work, tenacity and determination.

Raising our kids was a wonderful experience but they are gone now. Starting a business online allows us to put our talents to good use to earn an income and satisfy our souls. And, no resume or experience required. Don't go crazy when your children fly away and leave you and your nest empty. Fill it up with your innate skills and talents by using them well in your very own successful online business. You can do it!

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_Orlafsky

How to Find a Telecommute Job If You Are Currently Employed Full Time

2011-11-07T05:02:00.001+07:00

By Joseph A Stevenson

If you are interested in working from home that is great! Unfortunately if you already have a full time job it may be difficult to pull away, especially if you are trying to transition over from one to the other. Why is this a problem you may ask? Well work from home jobs often come in part time packages which is fine starting out but if you are trying to go from a full time out of the house job to a part time work from home job you may have some difficulties paying your bills at first.

So you might be wondering how to start working from home without killing all your time or your budget. Well I will try to explain how I would approach this interesting problem when looking to work from home.

First you need to decide what type of job you are going to look for when working from home. It is important that you find a job that will allow some flexibility for you. After all this is probably partially why you are working from home right? So let's say you want to work from home doing some accounting. So once you have decided on what it is you want to do then you need to try and find a position that is not only partime but maybe even a once a week job. This way you can work your full time job and then on Saturdays work from home for a few hours just to get the hang of things.

When you have gotten the hang of this you can move on to working part time at nights when you get home from work. At this point in your life you will probably hate your jobs and want to quit one but instead of quitting you should look into the possibility of working part time away from home so you can work part-time at home. If you can pull this off great because you are halfway there!

To finish up you now just need to upgrade your work at home to full time status and completely quit your out of house job. Transitioning like this is a great option for people who want to work from home but don't like the idea of transitioning way too quickly.

These are just a few ideas of what you can do to begin working from home. It may not be the best option but it should be good enough to at least get you going in the right direction. Good luck in your work at home goals.

Joseph Stevenson is a Web Developer and freelance writer for Las Vegas Website Designers http://www.las-vegas-website-designers.com/. Currently he is a SEO best practices advocate and professional nerd doing freelance work at Employed Online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_A_Stevenson

How to Make Money From Fiverr

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000+07:00

By Evelyn Y Vargas

Fiverr is the latest method in earning cash online. The name reveals it all - make $5 for each task that you have successfully completed. It's the simplest form of freelancing opportunity. You don't need to create a professional portfolio to join the site. You just have to write a compelling sales page to attract buyers.

How to earn profits from Fiverr?

First, you need to sign up and create an account.

Think of any service that you can offer. Never mind if your gig is ridiculous or outlandish because you can offer literally anything. Except, of course, illegal things like bombs, pirated copies of software, etc.

Think of a service that you can offer to customers over and over again. It has to be something that will not force you to work hard and will not consume a lot of your time. In other words, it should be super easy to accomplish.

Your seller's page should consist mainly of gigs which you can finish doing in 5 minutes or less. If it's going to take you an hour doing the gig, it's definitely not worth your time and effort. Observe the best offerings in Fiverr. They are usually delivered in an instant. Why? Because the seller probably didn't even lift a finger to deliver the job.

The smartest sellers offer digital products, tips and advice, fortune telling, decision making, licensed software, instant backlinks, Twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc. Take note that most of these gigs are easily done. When you sell eBooks, you just have to send the copy every time a new buyer places his order.

Define time frame. How many days will you be able to complete the order? You must be careful in making a decision regarding this matter. Buyers are allowed to cancel orders which sellers fail to deliver on time. To make it worse, they are going to leave a negative feedback on your seller's page and other buyers are going to see it. Bad record will certainly harm your online business.

Withdraw your payment via PayPal after your transactions are cleared. In general, it takes two weeks before your money is available for withdrawal. Clearance takes 14 days to be completed.

Make your offers stand out by giving freebies and bonuses. Buy 1 Take 1 is a very popular method to attract customers. For example, when someone buys your service, you can offer one of your other services for free.

Make Money Check is designed to give you honest reviews straight from the mouth of people who have tried and made money online themselves. Every single post aims to give you insight about the proven methods and techniques to earn online. Learn more about how to make money online by doing small jobs and other recommendations by visiting this link http://makemoneycheck.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Evelyn_Y_Vargas

Work From Home Careers in Healthcare

2011-11-07T04:51:00.003+07:00

By Nancy F Higgins

According to the Department of Labor (DOL), healthcare was one of the largest industries in the year 2008, providing 14.3 million jobs.*1 Furthermore, the sector is projected to add another 3.2 million new jobs until 2018. *2

If you are planning to start a work at home career, then healthcare is one field worth considering. Not only is the vertical brimming with jobs that offer the flexibility to telecommute, but also most of these opportunities don't require extensive schooling. In fact, it's possible to start a lot of healthcare home-based jobs with a vocational training program at a career school or college.

Here are some potential healthcare careers for stay at home moms, retired folk, working professionals looking for a side career, or just about anyone keen to spend less time on road traveling to work and more time with their family.

Medical Transcription: Those familiar with the healthcare industry would know that medical transcription has been around for a while. However, the profession has evolved a great deal over the years from the time manual typewriters were used by medical transcriptionists (MTs) to transcribe doctor dictations to now when most of them use top of the line, cutting-edge laptop computers to do the job.

Post-secondary training programs in medical transcription may provide candidates the skillset for this job. Such medical transcriptionist courses are available at career schools and colleges and many of them are self-paced online programs.

Voluntary certifications are offered to MTs by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity(AHDI) upon meeting certain requirements.

Medical Billing & Coding: It's one of the allied healthcare professions projected to grow at a much faster than average rate over the next few years, according to the DOL. To become a medical billing and coding specialist, one needs to be good with numbers as the job involves assigning standardized codes to various clinical procedures and using these codified documents for the billing process.

Medical coders and billers can perform their job independently from home and require only limited interaction with healthcare providers and health insurance companies.

Aspirants can gain the skills for this job through a vocational training program in medical billing and coding. Alternatively, Associate degrees in fields like Allied Health or Medical Specialties may also provide the required proficiencies to those keen to have some college experience.

Medical Writing: If you have decent writing skills and some clinical experience, freelance healthcare writing can prove to be an extremely lucrative work-at-home career. It will allow you to let your creative juices flow and provide an outlet to the writer in you. At the same time, you will be able to make more than decent money for it. According to payscale.com, freelance writers in the healthcare industry can earn up to $50 in hourly wages.3

There are plenty of avenues that medical writers or communicators can write for including textbooks, journals, white papers, websites, marketing collateral, etc. Joining organizations like the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) may help healthcare writers find freelance assignments.

Telephone Triage: This is a popular work at home profession amongst registered nurses (RNs). It involves RNs offering clinical advice to patients over the telephone. They listen to the symptoms that patients describe and use their clinical knowledge to provide a medical assessment.

Since telephone triage services are mostly offered by RNs, the training requirements for the job are the same as that of a registered nurse - a two-year or four-year college degree or a hospital-administered nursing diploma. Experience in nursing practice may also be necessary to become a telephone triage nurse.

Virtual Medical Assistant: The job of a medical assistant involves performing administrative tasks at a healthcare center. This includes scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, following up on insurance claims, and a range of other paperwork. A lot of these tasks can be handled virtually from a remote location and may prove more cost-effective, especially for small employers. That's why many independent physicians are trending towards hiring virtual assistants. It helps them trim their office staff and tighten their budgets.

Skills for this job can be acquired through a medical assistant training program from a career school or a two-year college degree.

Sources:

*http://bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm
*Ibid
*http://payscale.com/research/US/Job=Freelance_Writer%2c_Technical/Hourly_Rate/by_Industry

Nancy is a 35-year old stay at home mom of two. She worked as a medical assistant for five years before taking a break to be with her children. Her experience as a medical assistant gave her valuable insights in to the medical transcription industry, which she likes to share with others through her writing. Medical transcription training often finds mention in her writings. Being an SAHM, Nancy is a huge exponent of online vocational training programs that provide women like her the power to be their own boss.

Her other interests include gardening and baking. She stays in San Diego, CA with her husband and two daughters.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_F_Higgins

Your Online Business's Greatest Asset

2011-11-06T14:18:00.002+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner

One of the most common questions I get asked goes
something like this: "I've just signed up for your xyz program
and it's great. But now I want to start making money by
selling it to others. How do I find people to sell it to?"

The stock-standard reply goes like this (regular readers
of AHBBO will recognize the following words from last
week's Q&A segment):

"First off, what everyone needs to understand is that this
business is a numbers game. Something like 2-3%
(estimates vary) of all people who read your ad will respond
to it. Of these respondents, a similar percentage will
actually buy from you. So, as you can see, the name of the
game is to get your ad in front of as many pairs of eyes as
possible.

"It is for this reason that spamming is such a problem.
People come to the realization that this is a numbers game
and, when they do, the uninformed conclude that all they
have to do is bombard their message to as many people as
possible and 2-3% of 2-3% will yield sales in sufficient
numbers to make it worthwhile. This approach does have some
superficial logic to it, of course, which is why it seems to
appeal to so many.

"What the rest of us understand, however, is that this
approach simply doesn't work. Most people will not only not
even open your message (we all develop a spam radar very
early on) but won't deal with you in any shape, manner or
form because these tactics paint you as a charlatan. In
addition, of course, spamming is downright illegal in many
countries and parts of countries.

"So, how do you, legitimately, get your ad in front of the
numbers of eyes you need to generate a fair return on your
investment? One approach, certainly, is to post your ads in
the free classified sites. Superficial logic dictates that
it's sensible to see whether your free ad generates a
response before spending money for paid advertising. Well,
your free ad WILL generate a response. Unfortunately, it
probably won't be the kind of response you're hoping for.
Usually, you'll just wind up on some spammer's mailing list
or find your autoresponder bombarded with other people's
advertising messages.

"The reason for this is simple. Who do you know who goes to
the free classified sites when they're looking for a
business opportunity such as the one you're promoting? Not
many. The reality is that the vast majority of people who
frequent the free classified sites are those who are placing
their OWN free classified ads!

"So, what's the answer? It's threefold. The first is
something to get going with right now. The second and third
are longer term investments in your business that will yield
results over the longer term.

"Firstly, when you're just starting out, you're going to have
to rely on paid advertising to generate all your enquiry.
This means spending money on paid ads in ezines that target
your target market. You need to write a few different
classified ads and monitor the results, tweaking your ads,
one element at a time, until you have one ad (or a few) that
consistently generates good enquiry for you.

"Once you're at that point, you can begin to start
advertising aggressively, confident that your ad "pulls".
Be prepared, also, to reinvest your profits back into
advertising. This is how to build a serious business.

"Secondly, and longer-term, create your own website. The
traffic to your website is a rich source of prospects since
these people are already obviously highly interested in what
you have to offer since they've sought you out.

"Thirdly, develop your own list. This means capturing the
email addresses of your site visitors. You do this by
inviting them to leave their email address with you so you
can stay in contact with them about developments at your
site of interest to them.

"Also, supplement your website with a newsletter that people
can sign up for at your site. By establishing and developing
relationships with your site visitors and newsletter subscribers,
you are investing in your own highly targeted list of people
who are likely to be very interested in the programs you are
promoting not only now but in the future.

"This is the basic approach to running a business online.
Don't be concerned if you're not generating quick sales at
this stage. As you can see it takes a LOT of time, effort
and commitment. The good news is that your investment will
pay off over time."

The focus of this article is the third step of that process:
developing your own list. As suggested above, there are two
main ways to go about doing this. The first requires that you
have your own website. The second doesn't.

THE WEBSITE-GENERATED LIST

If you have your own website, you need a way to capture the
email addresses of your site visitors. Now, "capture" doesn't
mean using some devious means of tracking email addresses
without the knowledge of your hapless site visitor, if such a
thing is even possible. What it means is directly inviting your
website visitors to provide you their email address so you can stay
in contact with them, let them know about changes to your
site and let them know about new products and services that may
be of interest to them.

Your likelihood of success or otherwise in getting people to give
you their email address is directly related to one thing and one
thing only: the content value of your site. If your site is barely
more than a sales page for all of your various affiliate programs,
don't expect people to give you their email address. Why should
they? What have you given them of real value that would make
them think that you may have something of even more value to
talk to them about in the future?

To the contrary, your visitors are likely to be disappointed and
annoyed to find that, despite the promising description in your
search engine listing, your site is nothing more than a collection
of affiliate programs they could have found from any one of a
thousand or more sites they've been to this week.

So get the foundation right before you start to build your house
and way before you start inviting people over. Take the time
to create a website that is unique, that has REAL content
and which offers visitors something of genuine value. This
takes REAL work and REAL effort and REAL time. That's
because you're creating a REAL business!

Once you have created a real website with real content,
then, and only then, should you invite visitors to leave you
their email address for future contact purposes. You will, of
course, establish and adhere to a privacy policy for your
site to govern the uses to which any email addresses will
be put. In particular, you must keep those addresses secure
and confidential and never EVER reveal or otherwise make
them available to any third parties.

Over time you are going to amass a significant number
of email addresses. These addresses are your "list".
Once you have a "list", you have a ready-made group of
qualified prospects to whom to market your existing and
future product range.

THE EZINE OPTION

Publishing your own ezine is the other main way of
cultivating your own list. This option doesn't require that
you have a website (although it is recommended you do
both).

Although you may not have a website, the same comments
about quality of content that were made in the context of
websites apply equally in the case of an ezine.

It is only if you publish an ezine with quality content (and
this means a LOT more than publishing a couple of
articles written by other people with a few ads thrown in
for good measure) that you will attract and, more importantly,
retain, subscribers.

Your ezine then becomes the vehicle to communicate
any offers you want to make to your list. Because you
have been communicating with your readers week in, week
out, because you deliver consistent quality content, and
because you've been around for a while and seem to know
what you're talking about, your subscribers get to know you
and trust you. And that makes any purchasing decision
much easier.

Some publishers add anyone to their subscriber list who
makes contact with them. Others only add subscribers who
specifically request to be subscribed to the ezine. It is this
latter group who will cultivate the better quality list because
the average interest level of subscribers will be much higher.

If you intend to accept paid advertising in your ezine, you
should definitely stick to the strictly opt-in version. Advertisers
will only pay for highly targeted lists that get results. Sure,
you may make the first sale but what you want is repeat
advertising and this depends on your advertisers getting good
returns from the ads they place with you.

There are many ways to make a decent income from an
online business but none of them come with shortcuts.
Because online marketing is a numbers game, you must
somehow find a legitimate way to get your message before as
many pairs of eyes as possible. But as we've all heard
many, many times before, it takes an average of seven
exposures to your message before someone will make a
purchase decision.

Sure, if you spend sufficient money you can generate enough
exposures to make the sale. THAT sale that is. But then you
have to start all over again to make the next one. You lose your
investment of time, money and energy as soon as that one ad
campaign is over.

The point to take away with you is that, as well as being a
numbers game, internet marketing is as much a relationship
game. By cultivating your own opt-in list you have created an
established bank of pre-qualified, targeted, interested prospects
who know you and trust you. You'll find that your response rate
will be much higher than from a cold-start ad campaign in someone
else's ezine. But it's not easy. It takes a lot of work, time and
effort to create a quality list. And so it should. You're building a
business, after all.

So treat your list like gold. It's your online business's greatest
asset. Besides you, that is.

_________________________

Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

The Lure Of Easy Money

2011-11-06T14:17:00.001+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner

You might be forgiven for thinking that competition is
fierce if you run an online business. After all, every
day - day in, day out - you, me and everyone else is
constantly bombarded by offers from every man and
his dog for various programs that promise us the means
to earn an income from home.

After a while, of course, you begin to recognize that
these programs are not worth the paper they're written
on and the people pushing them are little more than con
artists (or worse).

A common theme in all of these offers is the lack of effort
required to begin making a significant income. Witness all
the "Make money while you sleep!", "We do all the work!",
"$3,000 per week for two hours work!", "Big money, no
experience required!" subject lines in your inbox this
morning.

The reason these types of offers are so prevalent, of
course, is that the notion of something for nothing is
seductive. Who on earth in their right mind would actually
choose to spend 40 hours per week working for $80,000 per
year when they can earn the same amount working only 2
hours each week? No one. The only problem is, working 2
hours a week and making $80K isn't going to happen unless
that two hours is spent managing your multi-million dollar
portfolio. And even then you'd most likely be spending
more than a lousy couple of hours a week.

Common sense tells us that this must be so. But common
sense is a rare commodity in the real world and even rarer
when it comes to anything to do with the Internet, an
unreal world if ever there was one.

There are a LOT of people running so-called "Internet
businesses". A goodly proportion of these people are the
ones touting the aforementioned "bizopp" pipedreams. This
is good news for you, believe it or not. Why? Because,
despite how it may sometimes seem, your REAL competition
is relatively small in number. After all, if 98% of those doing
business online are unsuccessful (and promoting get rich quick
schemes is the best way I know to make it into that elite
group of 98 percenters), that leaves the field wide open for
the 2% who are actually prepared to do some real work.

So don't for a minute think that the Internet playing
field is all sown up. It isn't. All that buzzing in the
background is the little kids down the other end of the
field playing make-believe. There's still plenty of room
to run on the field with the real players.

So, accept the fact that there's no such thing as something
for nothing and you really are going to have to work for a
living after all. Then create something original which meets
the needs of one or more target markets and get to work.

There's plenty of room for you on the field and plenty of
trophies to go around. You just have to keep your eye on
the ball.

_________________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

The 9-to-5/Home Business Tug o' War

2011-11-06T14:16:00.000+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner

Perhaps the scarcest commodity the new home-business
owner just starting out has is time. This is particularly
so if you are also working a traditional, full-time job and
building up your business "on the side" in your spare time.
This is a situation I am all too familiar with. I still
work a full-time 8:30 - 5:00 job while building my own
internet-based business in my spare time. So how do you
go about burning the candle at both ends without burning
yourself out in the process?

First off, let's think about priorities. Working a full-
time job while developing a business requires stamina and
endurance if other areas of your life are not to be
neglected. This means being fit and healthy. Make time to
exercise at least three times a week. Four or five is
better. I know how hard it can be to commit an hour to
working out when you've got an endless (and I mean ENDLESS!)
list of things you need to be doing NOW for your business.
But make the time. It pays BIG dividends in terms of stamina
and endurance. For me, this means getting up at 4:00 am on
workout days. If that's what it takes for you, do it!
Second, eat right. Don't just grab a McBurger on the way
home from work and scoff it down as you're driving. Take
the time to cook a proper meal and relax for a half hour
or an hour before getting down to business. This gives you
a break and time to unwind from the pressures of the day,
making you much more productive when you do get down to
work. Eating proper meals will keep you in good health and,
coupled with a regular exercise routine, will help keep
your energy levels high.
OK, so you're physically in shape and taking care of
yourself. The next major thing to think about is time
management. Every weekend, before the working week starts,
prepare a business plan for the coming week. This is
nothing more complicated that writing down the various
business-related activities you must do over the course of
the coming week and then scheduling them according to how much
time you know you are going to have on a particular day. By
planning out your time this way, you can schedule your
business activities alongside your other activities. Take
care of as many of them as you can through the course of the
day. Whether you are able to do this depends on the nature
of your 9 to 5 job but if you have even a little autonomy you
should be able to squeeze out a little time here and there.
Not huge chunks, just 10 minutes here and there.
The nature of your job may mean you don't have the luxury
of that sort of autonomy. If this is you, then there's
nothing for it but to free up time before and after work.
This may mean getting up an hour earlier every day, for example.
Whatever your personal situation, by planning ahead you will
at least have the peace of mind of knowing that time has
been allocated to all important business-related tasks.
By eliminating the "scatter gun" approach you will find that
the limited time you do have will be much more productive.
There are going to be some activities that you have to do
day in, day out. Decide what time of the day is best for
you to attend to these routine tasks. The more you can
integrate business activities into your daily routine the
more efficient will be your use of time. Let's take email,
for example. Anyone running an online business has to deal
with email on a daily basis. I use the time between when I
get up in the morning and when I start my workout for this.
It gives me time to wake up before I launch into physical
activity and it is a relatively undemanding task that does
not require precision concentration.
Make use of autoresponders for as much of your email
processing as possible. This will further reduce the amount
of time you have to spend on this aspect of your business.
Other routine activities include things like site promotion
and search engine position monitoring. Now there are a lot
of great tools to help webmasters with this part of their
business. For example, WebPosition Gold will automatically
review your position in all the major search engines and
report back to you with the results. It can also be
programmed to auto-submit at appropriate intervals. Be sure
to use quality automated tools wherever possible. They can
save you literally hours of work every week and as we all
know, time is money in this business.
Keep a journal for a week. Record in it everything you do
during the day from the moment you get up in the morning
to the moment you go to bed. What activities can you
eliminate in favour of freeing up some time for your
business? Maybe it means getting up an hour earlier.
Maybe it's forgoing the sleep-in on the weekend. Maybe it
means giving up those two hours of TV every night. You will
find even 15-20 minutes blocks here and there can add up to a
sizeable chunk of time over a week or a month.
If you travel, keep a copy of your website on your laptop
and work on it while you're in the air or waiting for a
flight. Or answer your email ready to send it when you get
plugged in again.
As you can see, the trick is to practice the "nibble"
technique. If you wait until you have a great chunk of time
in one block, such as the weekend, you'll only waste all of
those little bits of time you could have put to good use
during the week and fritter away your "quality" time on
routine tasks rather than business development.
One final piece of advice. Take time every week to just
relax and do something you want to do. Although the
pressures of a new business are demanding, failing to take
time out will only lead to burn out.
_________________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

Taxation 101: Hobby or Business?

2011-11-06T14:13:00.001+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner
For many of us it's tax time again. For others, tax time is
just around the corner. So, how was business this year? Did
you make a profit? If your business is very new, most likely
you made a loss. Oh well, at least you can write it off, right?
Well ... maybe. Whether you can write off your business losses
depends on whether your business really is a business or a
hobby. "Well, of course it's a business!", I hear you say. "I
don't put myself through this for the fun of it!".

In this article we look, first of all, at the things you need to be
doing in your business to make it very clear to the IRS that
you are, indeed, running a business and not merely indulging
in a hobby.
The reason this is so important is that although you
have to declare and therefore pay tax on the income you make
from a hobby, you can't write off your losses and may not even
be able to deduct your expenses at all. Secondly, we'll take
a look at some of the common business tax deductions you
should be thinking about in the context of your business. Even
if you didn't have your act together last year in terms of keeping
records and receipts for all this stuff, at least you can get your
house in order for when this year's tax return is due.

HOBBY vs. BUSINESS
The crucial distinction between a hobby and a business is
whether you engage in the activity with a profit motive. Now,
by profit motive, we don't mean that "gee, it's really great
that I can make money doing something I love", we mean "I'm
doing this with the intention of making a profit and if I can't make
a profit doing this then I'll find something else to do that will make
me a profit". The difference is one of motive. In the former, the
motive for the activity was the doing - the enjoyment inherent
in the activity itself. Making money was an incidental, albeit
most welcome, benefit. In the latter, the motive for the activity
was to make a profit. That's not to say that you can't enjoy
what you choose to do to make that profit, it's just that your
primary objective must be to make a profit such that if this
venture is inherently unprofitable, you would presumably choose
not to pursue it. With a hobby, on the other hand, even if the
activity was inherently unprofitable, it is something you would
choose to do anyway.

OK, so much for your own subjective intentions. How does the
IRS decide whether you truly have a profit motive? There are
two ways it goes about it. The first is an objective test. Quite
simply, the IRS will look at your tax returns for the last 5 years
and if you made a profit during at least 3 of those years, you
will satisfy the profit-motive test. If you don't meet this test or
if your business is new and you haven't filed 5 tax returns, then
the IRS will apply a subjective standard. In applying the
subjective standard, the IRS auditor considers and weighs
several factors, including:

=> Businesslike Manner of Carrying On Activity
The IRS will look at how you carry on your activity. Do you keep
a good set of books and records or do you chuck receipts into
a battered shoebox? Do you have separate bank accounts for
your business? Do you invest in advertising, marketing and
promotion?

=> Time and Effort Invested
Is your business a sideline or something you pursue more or
less full-time? Obviously if you devote substantially all of your
available time to the activity, the more likely it is that you have
a profit motive since that is your primary source of income.
Things can be trickier if you work full-time and your business
is something you pursue on the side. Just be sure you can
demonstrate an ability to devote substantial time and effort
to your business. Unlike a hobby, a real business in which
you have a profit motive demands time and effort. It's NOT
something you just don't get around to this week because
"things came up". With a hobby you can do that. With a
business you can't.

=> Track Record of Profit-Making Ventures
If you have a history of involvement in profit-making activities
in the past, this will be relevant to your ability to make a
profit in your current venture. Conversely, if you have no
track record at all of involvement in profit-motivated
pursuits, the IRS is going to be looking for evidence that
you know what you're about and have sufficient experience
and expertise to turn your activity into a profitable
sideline.

=> Nature of Losses
The nature of the losses you claim will also be a relevant
consideration. If you're a start-up, substantial first year
losses are to be expected. After that, however, you should
be demonstrating a shift towards profitability. Your second
year may still show a loss but it should be a smaller one
that your first and your third should be smaller again than
that, and so on.

=> Changes in Operations
If you continue doing things the same way, day in day out
even when they're clearly not working to make you a profit,
that's a strong indication that you're engaging in a hobby
and that you don't have a profit motive. On the other hand,
if you can demonstrate changes in operations to attempt
to fix what isn't working for you, this will lean towards a
profit motive.

=> Profit Patterns
The IRS will also be looking for profits in some years, even
if losses occur in others. A pattern of small profits and large
losses every year, year in, year out will raise suspicion.

This is just a sampling of the types of factors the IRS will
give weight to in adjudging whether your "business" is truly
a business or a hobby. For more information, visit the IRS
website at http://www.irs.gov.

COMMON DEDUCTIONS
OK, now that we all have healthy profit motives and are
therefore running serious businesses here, let's finish up with
a quick look at some of the common business deductions
for home-based businesses:

=> Home office deduction. For a complete article on this
deduction, read "Taxing Times ... The Home Office Deduction" at
http://www.ahbbo/homeofficetax.html .

=> First year expense deduction. You can deduct up to $20,000
worth of equipment as a current expense during your first year of
business with this deduction. Otherwise, you would have to
deduct it over a period of years depending on the depreciation
schedules for the assets concerned.

=> Auto expenses. If you use your car for business purposes,
you can claim mileage or depreciation. The mileage method allows
you to deduct the amount per mile the IRS allows for the particular
year. The depreciation method allows you to take a depreciation
deduction on the cost of your car and add to that all costs and
expenses associated with running your car including maintenance.

=> Health insurance payments (proportion).

=> Business insurance premiums.

=> Contributions to retirement plans.

=> Continuing education expenses related to your business.

=> Gifts valued at up to $25 per person per year.

=> Internet and email services - ISP, webhosting etc..

=> Interest on business credit.

=> Entertainment - 50% of ordinary and necessary business
expenses for entertaining clients, employees, etc..

=> Advertising, marketing and promotion expenses.

=> Membership dues for professional associations.

=> Subscription costs for professional and trade publications.

=> Local travel expenses e.g. taxis, trains etc..

=> Business travel expenses - airfare, accommodation, meals,
entertainment etc..

=> Postage.

=> Furniture and equipment.

=> Business cards, stationery and office supplies.

=> Parking fees.

=> Bank fees on business accounts.

For more detailed treatment of each of these deductions, as
well as many others, visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov.

Tax time is no fun for any of us but there is no reason to
make it any harder than it has to be. If you keep putting off
getting your tax return prepared because you just can't face the
thought of going through that shoebox at the back of your
closet to organize your receipts, make a vow that this is the
last year you will do this to yourself. It's still early enough in
the year to get your act together and by this time next year
you could be focusing on your business rather than stressing
out about something as unnecessary as tax-time hassles.

_________________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

How Do I Start A Home Business?

2011-11-06T14:10:00.005+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner

From time to time (at least once a day actually) I'll get an
impossible-to-respond-to email that says something like,
"How can I work from home?", or "I want to start my own
home business. Please send info." or even, "Please send
free info.". Naturally such vague, generalized requests are
not, for reasons of time (among others), going to elicit a
particularly helpful response but it does exemplify the
mindset of a proportion of my site visitors - they think they
want to start a home business but where on earth do they
start?

HOW DO I START A HOME BUSINESS?

The best advice I can give to someone who asks a question
as vague as this is that they're asking the wrong question.
The first question they should be asking themselves is:
"SHOULD I start a home business?", not HOW do they do so.

The person who asks how to start a home business has not
given much, if any, thought to what they might do as such
a business (otherwise, their question would be "How do I start
an errand service home business?" or "How do I start a gourmet
gift basket home business?").

So, first things first. Why do you want to start a home
business? What are the advantages as you see them?
What are the disadvantages? What entrepreneurial qualities
do you bring to the table that make you think you could
make a success of your own business? What is your plan?
What product or service will you market? Who are your
customers? When will you give up your day job? Are you
thinking about this because you just LOST your day job
(if so, warning bells should be ringing very loudly!)? A home
business is most definitely NOT for everyone and it's
certainly not a solution to unemployment per se.

There are financial considerations too, obviously. How will
you support yourself until you generate a profit? Where will
you obtain financing?

For more thought starters, read "Look Before You Leap ...
Is a Home-Based Business REALLY For You?" in the AHBBO
Articles Library at http://www.ahbbo.com/lookb4uleap.html .

Assuming you work your way through the above considerations
and conclude that you do, indeed, want to start your own
home business, then, and only then, should you ask "HOW do I
start a home business?"

There are as many answers to this question as there are
individuals who ask it. There is no one answer that fits all
sizes. Generally speaking, however, the process of starting
one's own home business can be broken down into seven
broad steps.

=> IDENTIFY YOUR PASSIONS If you're truly starting at ground zero and you don't already
do something on the side that you'd kind of like to see if
you could make fly, your first step is to decide what it is
you'd like to do as your business.

I'm a firm believer in following your passion, whether that
be for gardening (start a herb and spice business or
cultivate cuttings for distribution via mail order), lead-
lighting (design and create stained glass lampshades),
accounting (run a home-based small business accountancy
service) or website design. It doesn't matter whether
other people are equally as passionate about what
you're passionate about. It's YOUR passion that counts
and it's YOUR passion that will propel you towards
success. Do something you love to do in other words.
Make your work your joy and you won't be able to help
but succeed.

=> IDENTIFY A NICHE MARKET FOR YOUR PASSION Now, it's one thing to know what you're passionate
about, it's quite another to identify an unmet need in
that field. But that's what you must do if you want to
turn your passion into a truly profitable business venture.

Identifying your niche is a pretty straightforward
process:

1. Identify your general category and sub-category

Let's say your general passion is gardening. Gardening is
your general category. Let's also say that you're
particularly interested in growing herbs and how they
can be used for cooking and medicinal purposes. Herb
growing is your sub-category.

2. Hang out with people interested in your sub-category

In order to identify unmet needs in your sub-category
(step 3.), you must find out from people interested in
your sub-category what they're looking for that they
can't find. A good way to find out is to hang out where
they hang out - offline and on. Offline, you may belong
to a local gardening club or cooking class at which you
hear that so-and-so has been looking high and low for
a certain type of specialty herb that isn't commonly
grown in your country. Online, you may sign up for
mailing lists and hang out in newsgroups to listen to
what people are asking time and again.

3. Identify unmet or under-met needs in your sub-category

If you follow step 2, chances are, if you hear the same
things repeatedly, you've found potential unmet needs
or needs that aren't being adequately serviced by your
competition. After all, if the need is being met, it won't be
the subject of repeated questions.

4. Inventory your experience, interests and competencies

In order to decide what to focus on in particular out of
a group of potential unmet or under-met needs, take account
of your experience, interests and competencies. People are
generally good at what they enjoy and are interested in,
after all.

5. Fill the unmet or under-met need

Once you've identified the unmet need(s) in your
sub-category, you can start thinking about how your
business can fill that unmet need.

=> SURVEY THE MARKET AND YOUR COMPETITION At this stage, you need to take your business idea
and survey your niche market and your competition.
If you have competition, can you be better? If your
market is dominated by a few large, well-established
players and you really don't bring anything new or
different to the table, then the competition is probably
going to be too stiff. On the other hand, if that
competition is focused on the high end of the market
leaving the lower end largely uncatered for, then this
could well be an excellent niche for you.

The bottom line is to identify your best competition in
your niche and decide whether you can be better.
Only if you believe you can be the best in your
niche should you proceed. If not, keep looking until
you find a niche perfectly suited to your particular
blend of experience, interests and competencies in
which you can be the absolute best.

=> BUSINESS PLAN Once you've identified your niche and surveyed your
market and competition and are reasonably confident
you can be at least as good as your best competitor,
it's time to get down to brass tacks.

This is where you take your business idea and shape
it into a battle plan. Formulating a business plan is
goal-setting for your business. For a more detailed
treatment of writing a business plan, read
"Putting the Plan Back Into Your Business Plan"
at http://www.ahbbo.com/busplan.html .

Once you've thought through and recorded your
business plan you should have an extremely
thorough understanding of your industry and the
challenges you must overcome to make a success
of your business. Take your business plan and
establish objectives, goals (which support attainment
of the objectives) and tasks (which support attainment
of the goals).

Put your tasks and goals into action to achieve
your objectives. Decide where you want your business
to be in five years time and work backwards until
you have 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 year objectives and goals
to support them and tasks to support the goals. The
end result should be a daily to-do list of things that
will directly lead you closer to the achievement of
your goals and objectives.

=> ACTION Once you have your daily to-do list, DO IT! The best laid
plans of mice and men are useless if not translated into
action. It's action that will propel you and your business
towards success. Mere thoughts and plans are necessary
but insufficient. They must be translated into activity.

=> TRANSITION If possible, transition from whatever you're doing now
into your business. Test the waters, in other words.
If you're currently in a paid job, stay there and run
your business part-time, taking the risk on someone
else's nickel until you can be confident this thing's
going to float. Know when you're better off devoting
your full time and attention to your business (i.e.,
know when an hour of your time is worth more when
spent invested in your business than your job) for
that is the time to shift into full-time entrepreneurship.

=> MAKING THE LEAP Finally, make the leap with faith and courage. Sure,
you'll have moments of self-doubt, thoughts of
"can I do this?" when you're wondering where the next
order's going to come from and you think back to the
nice, safe, secure paycheck you used to be able to
count on in your job. But recognize these insecurities
for what they are. They are your mind playing tricks
on you. You can do anything you set your mind to.
You just have to want it badly enough. So, when the
time comes to make the leap, do it and hold nothing
back. Your success or failure is up to you alone.
There are no excuses.

So, in answer to the question "how do I start my own
home business?", it's quite simple really. You do what it
takes.

_________________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

Making Money From Affiliate Programs

2011-11-06T14:09:00.003+07:00

By: Elena Fawkner

Affiliate programs are a great way to generate income if you
don't have a product of your own to promote yet. You know
that already. But it's NOT, despite what you've heard, just a
simple matter of signing up for this or that affiliate program
and placing free and paid classified ads all over the place to
generate traffic to the website they give you or to get people
to click on your autoresponder link. There's more to it than
that. Much more.

When I started out in this business in May 1999, I signed up
for Cookie Cutter. Like many of you I thought that I could
simply absorb the information provided and then resell it to
others. I followed all the advice about advertising in other
people's ezines and all of that. I looked forward to some very
round numbers. Well, I got one alright. A big fat ZERO. And
that's how it stayed until I realized the truth. That if I was going
to make any money in this business I had to start from scratch.

In saying that, I don't want to take anything away from Cookie
Cutter. It was and is a marvellous product in terms of what it
can teach you in a very short period of time if you're starting
from ground zero. (Debate rages about its merits in terms of a
business opportunity but that's another story.)

In this article, I tell you what worked for me. It's nothing earth-
shattering or particularly profound. It's simply reality and
common sense. Here's what you need to do to make any
significant income from promoting other people's products.

YOU NEED A WEBSITE
Sorry, but yes, you do. A lot of people pushing their affiliate
program will tell you, if you ask the question "Do I need my
own website?", "No, you get this beautiful 25 page website
for free!" Great. How are you going to get people to visit it?
And how are you going to get people to visit YOUR
YouBeaut.com website in preference to everyone else's
YouBeaut.com website (all 50,000 of them)?

Well, let me tell you, the time, effort and expense you
would have to spend would be MUCH better invested in
your OWN unique and interesting website that will attract
traffic simply because it IS unique and interesting.

That said, you pick your affiliate programs to fit in with and
complement your website. Not the other way around. You do
NOT create your website to fit in with and complement your
affiliate programs. So, start with what you know, what interests
you, what you're passionate about. THAT should be the subject
matter of your website. Then, and only then, should you start
researching which affiliate programs out there fit in with the
website you have created. More about that later.

YOU NEED AN EZINE
You should support your website by publishing an ezine at
least on a monthly basis but preferably weekly. Why? A few
reasons:

First, it reminds your readers that your site exists (assuming
they signed up at your site in the first place) and hopefully
prompts them to visit again.

Second, you develop a targeted mailing list of subscribers
interested in the subject matter of your ezine and subscribers
that you can direct mail to (judiciously, of course).

Third, you can accept paid advertising in your ezine once it
hits 1000 subscribers or so and fourth, you can use it to
advertise your affiliate programs.

In addition, assuming you take your ezine publishing duties
seriously and it's not a mere regurgitation of other people's
articles without any purpose other than to keep your name in
front of an audience (and an ever-decreasing one it will be if that's
all you do), you can use it to develop your reputation as an
expert in your field by making the original articles you write for
your ezine available to a wider audience by submitting them to
other ezine publishers. Believe me, there's no shortage of ezine
publishers out there who rely exclusively on other people's work!

Establishing your own website and ezine takes serious time
and work. You can't build either in a weekend. It will take you
several weeks of effort to get it into good enough shape to take
it public (and even then you won't be satisfied but you have to
start at some point). And it will take several more weeks of
time and effort publicizing the fact that your website and ezine
exist and to start seeing some traffic trickling in.

SELECTING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Once you have an established website and ezine, you can start
using them to promote your affiliate programs in a serious way.
You can, of course, start promoting affiliate programs from day
one, it's just that you won't see any results until you reach what
I think of as the "established" stage. By this I mean you have
a few hundred subscribers to your ezine and maybe a hundred
unique daily visitors to your website. These numbers are on the
very low end and your sales will reflect that but you'll at least be
on your way by this point.

Once you reach the "established" stage, you need to be very
selective about the affiliate programs you choose because you
are only going to select a very few of them and they need to be
good performers. Some internet marketing so-called experts
will tell you to pick one or two programs and market them
exclusively for big returns. That's good advice on one level -
it keeps you focused, and that's important - but on the other hand
you're at the mercy of the owner of the affiliate program. If they
go out of business so do you.

So, pick a small handful of programs to promote but make sure
they complement each other (so that someone who is interested
in one program is likely to be equally interested in the others).
It should be obvious but it bears stating - don't pick programs
that have no relevance to the subject matter of your site! Your
chances of selling to your website visitors are much higher if
what you sell is closely related to the subject matter of your
site. It was the subject matter of your site that attracted them in
the first place. They are already a qualified prospect if what you
sell from your site is relevant to that subject matter.

COMMISSION STRUCTURES
If you have a mega traffic site, then you can make up for in
volume what a particular program's commission structure
may lack in terms of straight dollars.

But if you have a lower traffic site, then you need to make sure
your traffic is very targeted, but go for higher commission
programs.

In other words, if you're a mega traffic site, by all means sign
up with Amazon.com and make maybe three bucks a sale.
If you make a hundred sales this week you've got three
hundred bucks you didn't have before. But if you're a lower
traffic site, focus on making just three sales a week of a
product that pays a hundred bucks a pop and you're even with
your mega traffic brethren in the commission stakes.

My current best selling program earns me $90 a sale. I
don't do anything different to promote that than I do the
program that makes me $20 a sale. If it takes the same amount
of time and effort to make a sale from each program, why wouldn't
I focus my energies on the $90 commission product?

Contrary to what many believe, it is no harder to sell a $247
product than it is to sell a $50 product. Don't prejudge your
audience. Make sure you offer programs that are relevant to
their interests (and which you're proud to promote - that should
go without saying but just in case ...) and the mere fact that
you're bringing targeted buyers and highly relevant products
together will do the rest, statistically speaking. Never, never
forget - making money in an online business is a numbers game,
pure and simple. Generate enough traffic and you'll generate
sales. But if you generate traffic that doesn't match your product
line, forget about it.

MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS
To finish off, here's a few miscellaneous considerations to take
into account when selecting your affiliate programs.

=> How Long Do the Cookies Last?
Always go for programs that will credit you with the sale even
if the customer doesn't buy on the first visit. That high paying
program I mentioned above? 90% of the sales come from the
follow-up messages sent by the owner of the program once I
give him the lead.

That's pretty typical of all affiliate programs. You've heard that
it takes an average of seven exposures to a message before a
prospect will buy, right? Well, what happens to your
commissions if you only get paid for direct sales (i.e. where the
customer buys on the first visit following a direct link from your
site)? Right. You get maybe 10% of the commissions you
would have earned from the program if the customer was tagged
as yours for a period of time (and preferably for life).

Always read the terms and conditions of the affiliate program
carefully before investing your time and effort. If it says
anything like "if customer later makes a purchase on a repeat
visit that does not originate from your link, you will not qualify
for a commission on such sale" keep looking.

Some programs will place a cookie on the customer's hard disk
for 45 days or so which means that if that customer returns in
three weeks to eventually make a purchase, that customer will
be identified as "yours" and you will get the commission. Some
programs even offer "lifetime customers", that is, the customer is
yours for life even if they come back in three years time and buy
a completely different product.

=> Stats Reporting
Look for real-time reporting of statistics including hits and sales.
Then check to make sure that the hits the affiliate program
records are in line with your own stats tracking. This is easy
to do. I use Roibot to track all clicks I'm interested in
monitoring whether it's a program I'm promoting or whether I'm
just interested in how many people click on a particular link to
an article, for example. (To check out the Roibot suite of
marketing tools, click this (Roibot) link:
http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R5469_roibot ).

=> Frequency (and Amount) of Payments
Some programs will only pay once you accumulate a certain
amount of commission dollars. That's OK ... it keeps admin
costs down and therefore makes more of the profit available
for payment of generous commissions ... but if it's
disproportionately high compared to the amount of the base
commission, consider another program.

If it takes you a year to accumulate $50 in commissions, ask yourself how
likely is it that this particular company will still be around in one
year? Even if you have no concerns on that score, if it's
taking you a year to accumulate $50 worth of commissions,
this is not a program that's giving a particularly good return
on your investment of time and effort. Look for something
more productive.

=> How Long Established?
Related to the previous discussion, think twice before investing
too much time and effort on newly established programs. Add
these to your portfolio by all means, but make your staple
programs the tried and trues.

=> What is Their Policy on Spam?
Nothing irritates me more than to receive spam from someone
promoting one of the programs that I promote (well, OK, other
things do irritate me more but you get my point). Not because I
get into a tizz about spam per se (unlike apparently 90% of the
internet population I have more important things to worry about),
but such tactics bring the program into disrepute because it
suggests that the owner of the program condones spam and if
the owner of the program condones it, how much value does
he or she place on the program? Not much.

So look for programs with strict anti-spam policies.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
Finally, a word about patience. This is a slow and steady wins
the race game as well as a numbers game. Don't spit the
dummy, throw in the towel, chuck the Glomesh onto the shagpile
(or whatever your vernacular equivalent of a dummy spit is)
because you don't make a single sale in your first month with a
new program.

By all means take a closer look at how well the product fits in
with the demographics of your audience (website and ezine) but
if it's a good fit, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
(enough with the metaphors already, OK).

Instead, refine your marketing approach, tweak your ads,
brainstorm for more creative ways of promoting the program.
Don't just write the program off as bad until you're sure it's not
going to work for you. There may be some peculiar demographic
factor common to your group that you're not aware of but until
you've given it a good try, don't assume that's the case.

As a general rule, so long as you're sure that the product is a
good fit, work with it for a year to give it a real chance of
performing for you. The internet landscape is strewn with the
carcasses of would-be successful entrepreneurs whose only
mistake was giving up too soon. Don't be one of them.

_________________________

Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

The 10 Most Popular Myths About Running A Home-Based Business Online

2011-11-06T14:07:00.004+07:00

by: Elena Fawkner
Several weeks ago I finally took the plunge into the world
of network marketing. I had been running an online business
for almost three years by then but knew that I would
have to make the leap to network marketing at some point
since it was such an obvious fit with Internet marketing.
And I haven't been disappointed.

One thing did surprise me though -- the number of people
who approached me about my network marketing business,
interested in running their businesses exclusively online, but
with the mistaken belief that it would be somehow easier
and less expensive than establishing and running a home-
based business offline.

Well, let me tell you, there's nothing easy or inexpensive
about running a home-based business - online or off. The
Internet is just a different way of going about it. And that's
all.

Here's my top 10 myths about running an online business
(and in answer to the missing Myth#11, NO, you CANNOT
run a serious online business with WebTV - get a REAL
computer already).

MYTH#1 - It's Easy, Anyone Can Do It
FACT - It's not easy, by any stretch of the imagination,
and no, you may not be able to do it.

Reality is, establishing an Internet business is a long, slow,
frustrating process. Your first attempt at creating your
own web site will be an abomination. You'll look back
at it in 12 months and shudder. I know I did.

You'll feel utterly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of
information you need to absorb. And the fact that six
different "experts" each tell you six different things
doesn't help. (There are no "experts", by the way, just a
lot of people with a lot of opinions. Bottom line? Do what
works. For you.)

The only way to learn is by trial and error. Some days you'll
feel like you're on a roll, the next you'll feel like you're
backsliding and FAST. No sooner do you manage a
respectable ranking on Altavista, than your Yahoo listing
disappears altogether, and where the hell did that number 5
listing with Google go?

After spending an ENTIRE DAY trying to work out what's
going on with your search engine listings, giving up, going
searching for yet another "expert" to tell you what you're
doing wrong, finally realizing there is no such expert and
you're going to have to learn how to do it all yourself after
all (dammit to hell!) you suddenly realize that you've done
absolutely nothing all day to promote your business and you
still have to write the article for this week's ezine which has
to go out tomorrow but you can't work your business
tomorrow because you have to go work at your J.O.B. ....
AAAARGHHHH!!!!!

Many, many people, give it up. Most, probably. It's hard
work and it's frustrating. At the end of the day, most are
just not prepared to do what it takes.

MYTH#2 - I Can Get Wealthy Overnight
FACT - The only way to get wealthy overnight in this world
is to win the Lotto. Period. It will NOT happen on the
Internet. Not these days, anyway.

MYTH#3 - Once I Build My Website I Can Relax And
Let It Do the Work For Me
FACT - Hah. See Myth #4.

MYTH#4 - Once I Build My Website The World Will Beat
A Path To My Door

FACT - No. It won't.

Merely creating a web site and uploading it to your host's
server means that your web site is available for viewing by
*those who know it exists*. Only problem is, you and your
web host are the only ones who know. And even your web
host doesn't care (at least as long as you pay your monthly
hosting fees).

You now need to submit your site to the search engines
(no, they will not just find it automatically and no, your
web site is not just automatically added to some great
universal Index once it's uploaded). Then you have to wait
several weeks or months to find out whether it's been
indexed. And if by some miracle it has, where and for what
keywords. And then fix it.

In the meantime, you have to drive traffic to your site via
other means. You'll need to submit it to directories,
negotiate reciprocal links with other complementary web
sites, start publishing a weekly ezine (electronic newsletter)
and start promoting that to start developing your own
opt-in list, start writing articles and submitting them wherever
you can (including a link to your site in the resource box at
the end is good free advertising) and, shudder, advertising.
And not in the FFAs and free classifieds either. In other
people's ezines. On other people's websites. In the
classifieds section of newspapers (yes, the kind that leaves
black stuff on your fingers when you read it). All of this
costs money. Plenty of it. If you're running a network
marketing business, you're also going to need to pay for leads
during this period as well.

MYTH#5 - I Don't Have To Spend Money To Market My
Business

FACT - Yes, you do.

You wouldn't expect to be able to market an offline business
without financial outlay. Well, guess what? It's just the same
in your online business. See Myth #4.

Oh, and by the way, when you're re-reading Myth #4, keep
this in mind. You haven't made a dime yet.

MYTH#6 - I Can Put the Whole Thing On Autopilot And
Make Money While I Sleep (Or Vacation)

FACT - True. To a point.

By automating as many of your tasks as possible you
necessarily free up time to do other things. You COULD
use that time to sleep or vacation and you MAY make money
while you're sleeping or vacationing. THIS time. But you
must sow before you can reap and if you're not continually
planting and growing your business, the time will come in the
not too distant future when you have nothing left to
harvest. You'll wake up one morning and find that, far from
filling your inbox with overnight orders, your business has
bitten the dust.

So, instead of taking that freed up time and spending it
sleeping or vacationing, spend it working your business.

In other words, you'll get out of your business precisely
what you put into it. Just like anything else in this world.
Funny about that.

MYTH#7 - I Don't Have To Deal With People, I Can Do
Everything Via Email

FACT - Email is what you use to handle routine administrative
issues and a tool to get prospective customers or networking
partners to contact you. Once that happens, you take the
relationship OFFLINE. You get on the phone and actually
TALK to these people. The Internet is not an iron curtain
that protects you from having to have real life conversations
and relationships with people. It's just a tool that brings you
together so that the real work of establishing relationships
can begin. Offline.

MYTH#8 - I Will Be Able to Fire My Boss And Work Where
I Want, When I Want ... In Six Months Or Less

FACT - Don't give up your day job just yet.

MYTH#9 - When I'm Working For Myself From Home In
My Online Business I Will Be Able To Spend As Much Time
With My Children As I Want

FACT - When you're running a business you're running a
business. It's not a pleasant little hobby that you fit in
between the stuff of your REAL life. If you're not going
to run your business as a business, forggeddabouddit.

MYTH#10 - The Internet Is A Magic Wand

FACT - See Myths#1 through #9.
_________________________
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical ideas, resources and strategies for your home-based or online business. http://www.ahbbo.com

Increase your business ROI with a website designers company

2011-11-05T08:10:00.002+07:00


Written by: John Matin515 Web Site: www.webdesignisrael.com/

In this highly competitive world every invested penny means a lot for their investors. Every organization is trying very hard to reduce their operational and overhead cost so that they can become more competitive in the market. These organizations are taking many steps to deliver their customers premium quality products at most competitive price. They can’t take any chance because any missed opportunity for any organization is a gain for their competitors. Every investment made should help this organization in strengthening their brand value and also increase their business in the long run. This way any organization can remain competitive and get leading edge from their contemporaries.

Gone are the days when every organization used to spend a huge amount of money on the advertisement and marketing of their products and services. Now to target customers other unconventional platforms such as internet is being used. But to get maximum results from internet a very strong online presence is necessary. To get this online address one should use the services of any prominent, knowledgeable, and experienced website designers company.

Getting help from any website designers company will help you create a very strong online presence in the form of website for your organization. Using this website you can easily use other online advertising and marketing tools to target your customers and also advertise and market your products and services in the online world. This way you can save a lot of your money which will also help you get more competitive in your operations.

If you are looking for any website designers company for designing and developing your online presence then it’s better to keep some important points in mind. These points are very easy to follow and will help you select best website service providing organization. Points are as follows:-

• Find out about the authenticity of the organization. Know whether the information displayed on their websites is correct or not.
• Try to have a look at their previous work. If possible try to communicate with their earlier clients.
• Try to find out the credential and other details about the professionals who are working with the company. Have a look at their previous employers and if possible try to judge their knowledge according to their previous work.
• Ask the particular web based company about any references from where you can get more authentic details about them.
• Utilizing the web design and development services of a professional website design company is more preferable. So before availing the services inquire whether the concerned organization has any experience of online advertising and marketing or not.

How to Find a Top SEO Company

2011-11-05T08:09:00.000+07:00


Written by: Shon Marsh Web Site: SEO Outsourcing India

Anyone these days who needs to find something over the internet uses search engines, to increase the hits if your website and hence increase your business you need search engine optimization. This enhances the page ranks of your web page and eventually contributes to your benefits, SEO Outsourcing India is one of the top seo companies, we provide you with your desired services.
With local seo companies you will obviously not get equal benefits as you will with the top seo firms. SEO Outsourcing India being one of the top seo companies provides various benefits that you cannot expect out of local seo companies. Although we happen to be one of the best seo companies we are also an affordable seo company with very professional approach towards SEO.
Our services provide search optimization for websites like Google, MSN, and Yahoo etc. Since we are a professional seo company we have a workforce which is dedicated and updated with the latest trends on the internet and it’s on goings. To be a one of the top seo companies means that we provide you with services that most other companies don’t, our SEO services are ones you can only expect from a top seo company. Like the best seo companies we look into areas like
• Well written web content
• Organized designing of the web page
• Careful designing of Meta tags and HTML
• Proper linking from other sites
• Submission to search engines and directories
SEO Outsourcing India being a top seo company provides you with services like
• Keyword analysis
• Optimization strategy based on content of the website
• Makes the landing pages search engine friendly
• As a top seo company we make an effort to attain the top ten SEO rankings
• Being an affordable seo company we don’t have excessive charges
• Unlike many other professional seo company we make sure that the secondary pages are search engine friendly
• Link development and usage of relevant blogs
• Being a top seo company and at the same time an affordable seo company we have ample experience in this field of web development
To be one of the top seo companies is something that has been associated with us for a long time, thanks to our programmers and other professionals. SEO Outsourcing India in spite of being a professional seo company provides a very healthy relation between the client and the programmer so that the needs are easily communicated thus helping the website’s development.
Our services of optimizing your page rank are of global standards as can be expected from the best seo companies. Being one of the top seo companies we have experience with various kinds of websites thus expanding our knowledge and creativity.
We work relentlessly to help you reach out to the desired mass. We look into the latest SEO trends and come up with innovative methods to increase the visibility of your business and to help you target the segment you are looking to sell your product in.

Top SEO service and its importance in your business

2011-11-05T08:07:00.005+07:00


Written by: Shon Marsh Web Site: SEO Outsourcing India

Search engine optimization service is the process of increasing the popularity of any given website over the internet. It helps increase your business capacity and with proper Top SEO services you can give your business a start that is not possible with any other marketing or advertising strategy. You must make sure that your business gets Top SEO services which will provide it the best of clients and maximize your benefits.

Top SEO services offered by SEO Outsourcing India
You now know the importance a proper SEO service holds for your business, what you now need are these services at affordable rates. SEO Outsourcing India offers affordable SEO services for your business usage. Everybody wants Top SEO services in India and this is what we are excel at, our SEO optimization services comprise of
• On page optimization
• Off page optimization
The professional SEO services that we provide are strictly designed for your website optimization. Our process of providing top SEO services adopts the step by step procedure making your website search engine friendly and adopts two types of SEP packages
• Initial SEO package, useful for you if you have not achieved any ranking in SERP.
It is useful in the sense of new search engine optimization.
• Ongoing SEO package, advisable for you if your website is already optimized and you have already been listed among top ten rankings in SERP and want to maintain your status.
Benefits of Top SEO services from SEO Outsourcing India
SEO Outsourcing India provides top SEO services available for your business needs. We follow few steps to provide you with the most affordableservices
• Free analysis of your competition and recommendation of apt data for your website.
• We manage your links and make sure that your website features among the top list of search results.
Process of TOP SEO services at SEO Outsourcing India
• We provide you with weekly and monthly reports to ensure constant traffic.
• Our Organic SEO serviceshelps you attain proper rankings.
• Our back link analysis campaigns are integral to your website requirements.
• SEO Outsourcing India makes sure that your website is updated and provided guaranteed SEO services to increase the number of hits.
• In providing the most cost effective services we also provide the most effective ones and in minimal time.
Our SEO strategies for your business – TOP Rated SEO Services
In accordance with the change in market trends we do change our strategies but our basic working for your business format will involve
• Efficient capture of targeted audience.
• Harnessing of maximum benefits from search engine ranking.
• Increase your returns on investment.
Methods like these make us the one of the Top SEO companies
. Our services also provide you with marketing strategies like
• Internet Marketing
• Viral Marketing
• Pay per click advertising
• Search Engine marketing

Where can you search for reliable website hosting service providers?

2011-11-05T08:06:00.002+07:00


Written by: Ankit Kumar

Everyone is aware of the importance that web hosting carries for online business. We all know how hosting services play crucial role in keeping a website functioning all the time on Internet so that people in general and the targeted customers can visit the site for buying the products and services. However, a major question is where to find out one such website hosting company?

First of all have an extended conversation with your friends who are already having a web hosting service from a company. Talk to him about hosting requirements and see if he recommends you the same company or not. A word of mouth is a good way to get access to the reliable hosting service provider as you get the recommendations from many people.

If you do not want any such consultation with friends or still want to search for more in order to compare the packages, then internet is the most reliable source of the information. To get started, you should use Google to search for top web hosting service providers. Soon, you will come to know about top 5 to 10 companies who are known and talked about their expertise and experience in website hosting.

When you compare such top companies, jot down their hosting features, prices, payment methods and the freebies that they are offering. An extensive comparison of these companies will surely give you a view of what these top companies are capable of providing you in web hosting.

You should also ensure to look for ratings or client reviews. Go through most of these reviews that are easily available from experts. Read them carefully to assess the hosting features of different companies. For instance, the reviews and ratings enable you to know about the built-in marketing or promotion application within the hosting company so that you can save hours of work on the marketing. Opt for a website hosting company that is readily providing you a guide to maneuver through the site.

Instead of settling for cheap web hosting companies, you should prefer paid ones for their quality services. Give preference to the company that is offering you domain name and domain registration service. This step will save you money on domain name registration when you want to get a sub domain name for your website.

So, take advantage of internet and study the reviews and ratings to find out right web hosting company for your website.

For more information related to web hosting, web host, website hosting, website hosting service, domain name registration, domain name, website hosting services. Please visit: - http://www.linuxwebhost.com.au/.

Web Site: Linux Web Host

Top 10 SEO Ranking - Google Top 10 SEO Services

2011-11-05T08:04:00.004+07:00


	Written by: Shon Marsh

Top 10 SEO Ranking - Google Top 10 SEO Services
SEO Outsourcing India are the most effectual SEO organic ranking service supplier company in India. Being a specialized SEO Experts, we provide you with the best Top 10 SEO Services for your online portals. We focus on ranking solutions for the key search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing [MSN].
Top 10 Positioning/ Ranking in Search Engines
In order to attain Top 10 search engine placements you have to follow a systematic and authentic process. This entire task is a chain of regular research towards site improvement and there is no any shortcut. Some tools and SEO software programs available online or offline will never be sophisticated. Top search engine ranking can only be achieved through well-informed human power with SEO expertise.
Your search engine optimization and advertising campaigns will be in-line with your business goals and objectives, your website's purpose, your idea of success, and your budget. We'll work with you to increase your bottom line by improving your search engine rankings, driving more 'qualified' prospects to your site and converting your web traffic into sales.
Top 10 Ranking solutions in Google/ Yahoo/ Bing
Our SEO Ranking Solutions include:-
• Targeting the Right Keywords and density- We look into the right keywords and the density of the keywords with which your site will get ranked in the top10 search results in the major search engines.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - Our SEO expert optimize your web pages according to the theme of the site and make them more search engine friendly.
• Link Popularity Solutions- Your site is likely to gain better rank the more you are linked with the other sites. We create appropriate and relevant links to your site from other sites in order to attract relevant traffic to your site.
• Search Engine Submissions - Submit your site to the directories and major search engines.
• Emphasis on Good content- A good content is the route for leading your site to the topmost rank in the search engines ranking. We emphasis on the quality content and it should be original as to get it the highest priority.
• Time Frame of an SEO Project - The time frame for top 10 seo ranking can vary from a minimum of three months to ten months for any SEO project, depending on the challenges in the chosen business theme.
• Site supervision and Reporting - We will provide you progress report of your project in time to time. The Progress Report includes a ranking report as well as an optimization report of the Internet Marketing Project.
Online Web Promotion Consulting
• A detailed study of past rankings of your website in various search engines
• To understand the existing website with respect to Top Search Engine Ranking
• Capable of the website in achieving the Top Search Engine Ranking on Google
• Specifying future goals in top search engine marketing
• Create plan of action for the top search engine optimization.

Please see the numerous SEO Services, and various SEO Packages of our SEO Company and select the one most suitable for your requirements or Contact Us for a Custom Quote if none of the Packages suits your requirements.

Web Site: SEO Outsourcing India

The Secrets of a Successful Home Business

2011-11-04T07:51:00.004+07:00

By Gayle Brendan

A good entrepreneur is said to be experts in handling finances and means that makes them successful in their endeavor. As statics shows women are great in enterprising but are weak in handling money. Many women who owned a small home based business is in trouble now because they lack the ability to manage and separate their personal finances from business investments.

Online home business provides opportunities for everyone to earn big. Just like other business it requires effort and good planning.

1.Plan you business:

Organize your work and schedule well. Work discipline is necessary to materialize your goals. You can create time table, set your objectives and get done with your daily list of work. In no time you would be harvesting the fruits of your planning.

2. Become your own real boss:

You will become your own boss in your own home business. As they say great power comes with great responsibility. You are taking full responsibility of everything that is happening to your business. Leisure should never hinder the success of your business, working at home can be fun relaxing but you still need to work fervently.

3. Keep the Business:

You need to set your goals straight, understand the concept of the business, its tools and how it works. Be aware that not all business starts with rising figure in business charts, don't let those falling figures discourage you.

4. Keep motivated:

Always keep yourself motivated and learn from the success of other entrepreneurs. Be positive in everything you do.

5. Stay healthy:

Keep yourself in good shape and by doing so you're also increasing your competence. Take breaks and enjoy what you do best to avoid the feeling of boredom.

Taking time to plan for your business is a good sign of managerial attitude. You will need this to get your business working and income generating.

You'll never have to worry about income from home again! Visit us on the web at home business to learn more.

We scoured every corner of the internet to find everything you ever wanted to know about income from home. Here is the absolute best source we uncovered, home business

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gayle_Brendan