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2 Sure-Fire Methods Proven To Convert More Customers

If you're a marketer your number one concern is customers.  You've probably read and heard a million and one ideas about how to build relationships, retain customers, create a list of potential customers, and inspire consmer loyalty.  But the tough question is, "How do I convert prospects into customers?"

There are a lot of people out there who see your ads, think about them, and maybe even say, "I ought to..."  They're just waiting to be convinced to to do something about it.  There is something you can do to get them moving!

1.  Improve Your Offer
No on can pass up the deal that's "too good to resist."  Think about it... how often do your customers want your product, but just want something else a little more?  That leaves you with a long list of "almost sales" that have the potential to be converted into real sales and profit.  Sweeten the deal.  Make the offer so good they can't resist it.

Now, I'm in no way suggesting that you drop your prices to sweeten the deal.  You can just as easily load it up with bonuses to increase the perceived value without cutting away at your profit.  Bonuses motivate sales, maybe even more than cut prices.

Don't let them lollygag.  Yeah, get them into the store pronto with a deadline.  They may have to put a competitors purchase on hold to get your deal, but hey... what's wrong with that?


2.  Follow Up
How would you like to increase your sales by more than 50 percent?  Yeah, it sounds good!  There's really a very simple tactic that you can implement... follow ups.

Chances are, prospective customers aren't going to buy your product the first time they see or hear about it.  Maybe it'll be the third or fourth, but they have to hear from you that third or fourth time before they actually become a customer.  Do you have a follow up system in place?

Simply contact the "almost customer" every month with a new offer, or give them more information about the product they are showing interest in.  It doesn't have to be an intricate process.  Keeping the contact there goes a long way toward building trust... the key to finding life-long customers.

Internet Marketers experience a high number of customers who browse their site, then click away.  You can't follow up without some form of contact information.  A great way to gather the info you need is to offer a free ebook or informative report that consumers will find of interest.  Once they've given you the information to email them the product, you have what you need to keep in contact, and work on converting them into loyal customers.

Personalize as much as possible.  If you can get the firstname of your customer... great!  Personalized messages have greater appeal than "addressed to occupant" messages.


'Secret Report'

A lot of people give Marketing up after 3 months,Why?? ill never know ...
You must understand that you have to spend money to make money in this
Game,it's all about Traffic,
There are Great Ways to Get Free Traffic also But You Must Learn The Right
Way's ...

A lot of people are looking to make money on the internet today but they
only go for free stuff,
That's why people like me make Million's on the internet,You Have The Best
Free Gift You Can Get Today,

I personally work with the Best Marketer's in the business these Guy's and
Gal's are asking me for Tip's in their Marketing these day's,Even after them
given me Bad advice when i was starting out few years back,

Not telling me how they done it,so i would'nt have success,like them they
are very greedy People some of The Top Guru's ...
Just Remember You Can Make Money In Your Sleep, What more could You want
think about it you can't do that anywere apart from the internet,

I will show you how to use this Amazing System like i have with plenty of
other people this year ...

This is the Best of the Best to use for marketing with because you can link
this Secret Report up to any website you like,

You will see what i mean after you get the Report ...
There's People using this Amazing System today and making Million's ...

i want to Show You how i do Why??

Because the more You Make The More I make ...
Do not buy anymore junk on the internet and check this Baby out >>>>>

And get a Taste For The Marketing like i did few years Back,
Some of the top marketer's today don't even no about this Secret Report ...

Good Luck ...

Vincent Furey.


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Article Body:
Hi Vincent Furey Here At :»§«,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.»§«,¸ ¸,.·´¯`·.,

Sorry To Take Up Your Time Today,
This Secret Could Chance Your Life ...
The Secret Report this is a great way to start off in the internet Marketing
Game,for a first timer,
Most of the stuff out their is No Good These Day's ...
Everybody has a bad start,

Keep Going >>>>>

A lot of people give Marketing up after 3 months,Why?? ill never know ...
You must understand that you have to spend money to make money in this
Game,it's all about Traffic,
There are Great Ways to Get Free Traffic also But You Must Learn The Right
Way's ...

A lot of people are looking to make money on the internet today but they
only go for free stuff,
That's why people like me make Million's on the internet,You Have The Best
Free Gift You Can Get Today,

I personally work with the Best Marketer's in the business these Guy's and
Gal's are asking me for Tip's in their Marketing these day's,Even after them
given me Bad advice when i was starting out few years back,

Not telling me how they done it,so i would'nt have success,like them they
are very greedy People some of The Top Guru's ...
Just Remember You Can Make Money In Your Sleep, What more could You want
think about it you can't do that anywere apart from the internet,

I will show you how to use this Amazing System like i have with plenty of
other people this year ...

This is the Best of the Best to use for marketing with because you can link
this Secret Report up to any website you like,

You will see what i mean after you get the Report ...
There's People using this Amazing System today and making Million's ...

i want to Show You how i do Why??

Because the more You Make The More I make ...
Do not buy anymore junk on the internet and check this Baby out >>>>>

And get a Taste For The Marketing like i did few years Back,
Some of the top marketer's today don't even no about this Secret Report ...

Good Luck ...


[Emini Course] Market Order, Limit Order, Stop Order, Stop Limit Order Demystified!

Types of Orders
Placing orders is an art in itself. Beginners often do not know when to use market orders and limit orders. Different orders are used in different market conditions. But the limit order is the one that is most versatile. Understanding a limit order is essential to your trading success. I will only discuss the case for buying, the reasoning and mechanism is the same for shorting.

Market Order
In a market order, you are basically giving instructions to your broker to buy at the prevailing price. You cannot set what price you want to buy. Market orders might be prone to slippage in fast moving markets. For example, if you give a market order to buy 10 lots, 3 lots might be filled at $10, another 3 lots at $10.50 and the remaining 4 lots at $11.00. We usually use a market order when we need to get in or out of a market fast, such as when the market suddenly moves against you drastically.

Limit Order
A limit order is different from a market order in that you can specify the price at which you want to buy. For example, if you specify you want to buy 2 lots at $10, you will not get a fill at prices above $10. Hence a possible scenario is you get both 2 lots at $10, or 1 lot each at $10 and $9.50. The beauty for the limit order is that you will not get a fill unless the price is better than what you specified.

Stop Order
A stop order is better known as a stop loss order . In day trading stop loss is essential to your survivor. Some traders do not set a stop loss because they are monitoring their trades real-time. They feel that they can step in fast enough to close the position when the situation goes against them. However, in fast moving markets, you can very well lose $200 or more on a single contract in a matter of minutes. Setting a stop loss order removes the psychological hesitation to exit a position. From my experience, this is an absolute requirement, please master it and use it to your advantage.

Assume you are currently long at $10 and you set the stop loss at $8, you are giving instructions to your broker to sell at market price when the price falls down to $8. When the price is above $8, the stop loss order lays dormant, it will turn into a market order only when the price hits $8 to save you from further losses. Note that a stop loss order is always used to exit a position. Hence if you are long, the stop loss order will give instructions to sell. If you are short, the stop loss order will give instructions to buy.

Stop Limit Order
A stop limit order is similar to a stop loss order, except that it will turn into a limit order at the predetermined price. For example, assume you are long at $10 and you set a stop limit order to sell at $8, when price falls to $8, the order will become a limit order at $8. Recall that limit order will assure you of a fill better than the price you specified. Hence, a limit order at $8 means that you get a fill at $8 and above.


10 ways to make money online

1. Online advertising - On the Internet, a smartly organized small business may get excellent results, often competing side by side with larger corporations. Internet advertising is on an ascending trend, which shows plenty of potential for the near and distant future. As traditional media outlets struggle to keep costs down and become more attractive for potential advertisers, the virtual space offers any business the opportunity to achieve amazing results with a budget that is only a fraction of what an advertiser would pay to get the same ROI through traditional media. Using programs such as Google Adsense, placing affiliate banners on your site and making the most out of pixel advertising are all amazing ways to make some money.

2. Affiliate programs - You can choose affiliate hubs where different advertisers offer their banners and affiliate offers and you can manage them using a centralized system, or you can get a single affiliate website that will display their banners on your site. The potential profits that come from affiliate programs are strictly connected to how high your visitor counts are and how targeted those visitors are. This takes us a bit away from affiliate systems and highlights the importance of SEO in any online business. The web masters who invest money and energy into ethical SEO techniques often notice a very steady increase in traffic, which, in turn, enables them to make more profit from their online business.


3. Freelance jobs - Working as a freelancer on the Internet is one of the most popular ways of making money from home. You can try your luck at graphic design, copywriting, programming and several other dozens of ramifications and project types.

4. Electronic commerce – selling items on eBay is one of the hottest ways of making a lot of cash online. Not everyone is successful at it, of course, but those that are continue to increase their profits constantly. Auctions on eBay have a lot of potential – combine them with dropshipping and you can get a business that’s easy to run and very profitable at the same time.


5. Paid surfing and survey filling - There are a number of companies that pay you to surf the web. They display a small add on your desktop when you are connected to the Internet and give you a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive. The amount per hour is not very big, but there are ways to multiply it by referring other people. This is really the focus of all this programs. Tell everybody you know that they too, can get paid to surf, and get paid yourself for referring them. Paid surveys are also great, since they are easy to fill in and anyone can do that from the comfort of their own home.

6. Networking – while this is not actually a direct way of generating profit, you can use social networking and MLMs to generate leads and drive traffic to your online business.


7. Selling websites and domain names is becoming an extremely popular area, which still has a lot of room for development. If you bought a nice, short and relevant domain name a while ago, you can make a small fortune selling it today. If you don't believe me, check out these figures, for the top five most expensive domain sales in the last few years:
Business.com – $7.5 million
AsSeenOnTv.com – $5.1 million
Altavista.com – $3.3 million
Wine.com – $2.9 million
Autos.com – $2.2 million

8. Work at home jobs - Depending on how much time you are willing to put into a work at home opportunity, you could either do it in your spare time, or make it your main income source. Work at home jobs are suitable for everyone: from students, to retired people. You do not sign any documents or commit in writing to anything, thus you are not obliged to work if you do not feel like it. In a modern society, with parents spending more time at home raising their children and college students looking for a comfortable part time job, a work at home opportunity is the perfect answer.

9. Outsourcing – this is not a moneymaking opportunity, but a money saving one. Outsourcing is the best way to create a competitive business in countries like the United States, Canada and most of Europe.

10. Free stuff online – you will not get rich while taking advantage of all the free stuff you can get online, but it is fun and rewarding. If you are a webmaster and you wish to create a very popular website, do your best to offer lots of things for free – downloads, software, ebooks, wallpapers and so on.


10 Ways To Generate Highly Read Article Ideas

<p>1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted
audience. Watch what questions people are asking
and ask others what information they're interested in.
</p>
<p>
2. Examine what information in being broadcast on
tv, news and talk shows. That information is usually
hot topics.
</p>
<p>
3. Hang out in similar message boards. People leave
questions for information they're seeking. That is a
strong indicator of subjects to write about.
</p>
<p>
4. Survey your web site visitors or current customers.
Ask them what type of articles they would like to see
published on your web site or in your e-zine.
</p>
<p>
5. Regularly check your site's guest books. People
sometimes leave questions or comments that would
help you generate high readership articles.
</p>
<p>
6. Check online bookstore's best sellers list. They're
very good resources for finding winning topics and
ideas to write about.
</p>
<p>
7. Use the time of year to come up with good topics.
You could relate your content to the holiday, season,
things that happen years ago during that time, etc.
</p>
<p>
8. Join some related e-mail discussion lists. Explore
the question being asked and the subjects people are
discussing.
</p>
<p>
9. Relate your article to a current fad that's going
on in your specific industry. The topic is usually
interesting to your target audience.
</p>
<p>
10. Make a file of visitor or customer questions you
receive via e-mail or phone. Usually, others have the
same questions, but never ask.</p>


10 Tools A Work At Home Newbie Can Use to Leverage Your Way to Success

As a solo entrepreneur you can get overwhelmed trying to wear all the hats. If you are just starting out you are the CEO, the sales person, the book-keeper and the dish washer.  You know that I mean?  You might have heard the phrase create leverage and if so great. However, once you make that discovery you are now simply exposed to so many options it’s hard to know what to choose.

As a work at home business one of the goals is to create an experience for the customer that is as easy as if they were buying from a Fortune 500. So how do you make it happen?

One of the best things you can do is look for good products that can demonstrate value to the customer but involves little to no work on your part.

Here are 10 tools that are easy for the non techs but add great value to the customer.

1. www.Efax.com: EFax is an online fax service that eliminates the need for a traditional fax  machine, another line and all the associated expenses such as paper and ink cartridges. You get a real fax number that's tied to your email.
   

2. www.Aweber.com: If you want to keep in touch with your customers automatically and personalize the communication an auto responder can be an important tool.  For a small monthly fee you are able to create email campaigns or a single message and broadcast it to your customer list. There are a variety of ways to increase the personalization and as a result will help you develop a better relationship with the customer.


3. www.VoiceShot.com: How would you like to instantly send a voice mail broadcast message to one or thousands of customers at a time? Imagine the power of being able to send reminders, alerts, product announcements or even so interactive polls or surveys right from the web. There are no set up fees or monthly minimums. You simply pay for the calls that are delivered. You truly can call more than one person at a time.

4. www.SendOutCards.com: Have you ever wanted to send a thoughtful card to someone but forgot or it simply did not happen because you ran out of time? Well Kody Bateman CEO of send out cards has not only revolutionized the greeting card industry he has made it his mission to change peoples lives one card at a time. With over a couple of cards in the inventory you can send cards to anyone.

I love this product because in less than one minute you can choose a card, personalize it, even add a picture, write it with your own handwriting, put a stamp on it and hit send. This is no e-card that may never get opened. You can set yourself apart from the competition and touch the heart of people you care about with this revolutionary product.

     
5. www.AudioAcrobat.com: Audio Acrobat is easiest way to add audio to your website or email. Would you to create your own online radio show? Audio Acrobat helps you record conference calls, podcast, interviews, and more. You can also learn to create products such as marketable CD’s.


6. www.FreeConference.com: Have you ever wanted to give a tele-seminar but did not want have the money to get started? Or maybe, you wanted to put a group of your customers or support team on the line to mastermind. A great way to not only develop a bound with your customers but to develop your content to them is through tele-seminars or tele-classes as they are sometimes called.

If you are just starting try www.FreeConference.com . You will receive a phone number where up to 25 participates can call in and listen to your seminar, boot camp, book reading or whatever content you want to deliver.

As you grow in experience you can choose other companies that will allow a larger number of participates as well options such as recording and creating a MP3 file.

Conference calls are great leverage because you can speak to several people at one time from the comfort of your home.


7. www.freeonlinesurveys.com: Would you like to know what your customers are thinking? You should. It’s simple to do when survey them. You can use this free online service to tap in the heart and mind your customer and uncover what they want from you. In less than 10 minutes you can be up and running. It’s easy to use with no software to install.
 

8. www.ilovechecks.com: Current figures show that 20% of all online transactions are check-based and that more  than 75 million Americans do not have a credit card. Now your business can accept online checks and get fast verification of account status. You don't even need a shopping cart to process online checks with their virtual terminal and ATMVerify services. Don’t lose business because you don’t take checks.

9. www.EVoice.com or www.EVoicePlus.com: If you are a start up or home based business you may not want to miss your  customers calls or have them go to a voice mail. Providing a quick response gives your clients to assurance that you are a well run business.
     
The ability to answer a customer or get back to them quickly is a crucial part of customer service. There are several different ways to accomplish this. However, www.evoice.com and www.evoiceplus.com are two lost cost highly effective tools.  EVoice allows the messages to be send to your email and with EVoice Plus your messages can go right to your cell phone.
     
10. www.PDF995.com:  One of the keys to leverage your business is to create free reports, products, e-books and other publishing documents. The power of this strategy is once you develop a product you can either give it away or sell it over and over. You can even add free give-away rights which will allow someone to give your report away without changing any of the content. This can start a buzz and spread like a virus.

While there are only 24 hours in a day choosing the right tools can surely help you leverage the time. Think strategically when you are looking for products and service to help you build your business. Don’t just think about what you need right now. Always ask your self the question, “How can this tool help me grow into a million dollar business?”


10 Tips for Successful Ezine Advertising

When it comes to advertising, I've tried just about everything. I tried free classified ad sites, I tried FFA sites, I tried banner exchange programs.
The results? Not much.
I was tired of hearing that the Internet is the largest market in human history. Maybe so, but how could I reach those millions of people?
The answer, I discovered, is ezine advertising.
Ezines are sometimes called 'opt-in' lists because everyone who receives an ezine has chosen to do so.
And that's why ezine advertising gets results. People read ezines and they'll read your ad. And if you've matched the ezine to the product you're selling, you've reached your target audience.
There are currently around 90,000 ezines being published every month. So whatever you're selling, there's more than likely an ezine that will take your ad straight to the audience you want to reach.
Ezine advertising is not only effective, it's cheap as well. A 5 line ad in an ezine that goes to 3000 people will cost you between $5 and $20 per issue.
As a general rule, you'll always get back at least the cost of the ad, and usually much more. So there's very little risk.
But there are some tips for successful ezine advertising. Here they are:
1. The first and most important rule is: "Track your Ads!" Say you place an ad in 5 different ezines and get a hundred responses. If you don't track your ads, you won't know which ezines were pulling responses and which weren't.
But how do you track your ads?
Then, when you get a reply with 'ezineA' in the subject field, you'll know which ezine it came from.
For a URL, it's the same principle:
However, if you're going to code your URLs, you'll need a good webstats program to track the coded URLs. Here's another way to code your URLs: for every ezine ad, create a duplicate of your homepage and name the page after the ezine that your ad will appear in. So, if the ad is appearing in EzineA

2. Target your audience. It may seem obvious but some advertisers overlook this. If you're selling a web-marketing course, don't advertise in an ezine that deals with stock options; they probably won't be interested.
Use the 'subject categories' in any ezine directory to find ezines that relate to the product you're selling. You can find a list of 56 ezine directories in 'The Free Directory of Ezines' at:
3. Once you've chosen a number of ezines that target your audience, subscribe to them and examine the ads closely. If you see an ad that keeps repeating issue after issue, you can be pretty sure that it's getting results. You've found a good ezine to advertise in.
4. Check to see how many ads are in the ezine. You probably won't get much response from an ad in an ezine that has 15 or 20 ads per issue. Readers of those ezines have become hardened to the ads and have learnt to skip them.
5. Check to see if the ezine publisher has a policy of never running ads for two similar products in the same issue - your ad will be much more effective if it's the only one of its kind in that particular issue.
6. Small ezines Vs. Big ezines: bigger is not always better. The big ezines with 1000's of subscribers tend to have more ads than the small ezines. Also, small ezines with only a few hundred subscribers often have a much more targeted audience than the big ezines.
7. Repeat your ads. Research shows that off the Web, an ad has to be seen about 21 times before someone acts on it; on the Internet it's about 9 times. If your budget allows, try and have your ad repeated at least three times in a particular ezine. Most ezines offer discount packages for bulk advertising.
8. Email address Vs. URL. The advantage of giving an email address is that it gives you the opportunity to send a powerful sales letter to the person who responded to your ad. It's also much easier to track your ads with an email address than a URL.
9. Offer something free in your ad copy. It'll often tip the balance between a response and no response.
10. Keep your ads short, even if you're not using the number of words you're allowed. Short ads are more likely to be read. Keep your sentences short too; they pack much more power. Use the word 'You'. Don't describe your product but tell the reader what your product can do for them.


10 Things To Keep In Mind While Picking Office Furniture

Office furniture – the term usually conjures up images desks, cubicles and chairs. We rarely think beyond it. But these days, there is more to it than a single functional unit. Today, your office furniture has to do more for you; it has to multi-task just like you do. Moreover, it has to accommodate your stationary, your rolodex as well as your technology infrastructure!

Yes, now think of office furniture. Do you see something different? Thought you would! Now you have cubicles, chairs etc. and a desk with your laptop or PC, a printer, fax machine, headphones, phone(s), files, CDs, pictures, maybe even a coffee machine.  And it has to do this in style. So whether you are planning to buy office furniture for you home office, or a relatively bigger office where you are in charge of the décor, there are a few basic rules which are well kept in mind.

Identify the needs

The first thing to do when thinking of buying office furniture, is to keep work related requirements in mind. Do you use too many gadgets? Do you need a lot of space to store things? Do you doodle as you talk over the phone? These and many such questions will give you a good idea about how ‘functional’ your furniture needs to be.

All about logistics

Ask yourself logistical questions - How many employees do you have? Do you work from a home office or do you have a separate office space? How many hours do you plan to spend at work? Are you spending too much time sitting down? This will help you decide exactly what you need to spend on and what you can hold back on.

Create a list

Before buying furniture, make a list of what all you plan to buy and compare it with your needs. Further divide the list into “must have” and “nice to have” categories. This will save you a lot of trouble when you are picking things up and will let you stick to your core needs.

Stick to your budget

Identify a ceiling budget for your furniture shopping spree right at the onset. Else you may end up overshooting just because you had to have that overpriced and classy desk chair.

Functionality or style?

It is usually wise to purchase furniture which is more functional rather than just stylish. But this would largely depend on the reason for the purchase, and for what type of business you are purchasing it. If you need chairs for the reception area of your employer, you might want to invest in stylish furniture. However, if it is for your home business, you might reconsider doing that. But if you get both style and function, which is not so rare these days, go for it!

Purchasing the work desk

The work desk is by far the most important piece of furniture you shall purchase. And because you are going to be using it so often, it is well worth investing a little extra so as to purchase a nice, sturdy functional and comfortable work desk. Make sure the surfaces of the work desk are non-staining thought.

Storage areas and wall units

Every office needs storage space. Make sure you purchase storage cabinets and units can be installed nearby the desk and well within reach.  Also, make sure that they are sturdy and strong. Storage spaces are usually the first to fall apart from wear and tear caused by frequent opening and closing of the units.

Renting office furniture

Many big and small businesses consider renting furniture for their office space. This may not be the best option if you are planning to stay at the same place for the long haul. However, it is a great option for businesses which need to be mobile as it saves you heavy investments.

Health and safety

Whether you are purchasing furniture for yourself or your employees think about the ergonomics of your investments. Investing in good furniture is always profitable in the long run. You do not want to purchase a bad chair and have your employees stay at home because they developed a backache, do you? And nor do want to expose yourself to fatigue, eye strain, headaches etc. Buy furniture that is people friendly and made especially for work areas.

Furniture too has personality
All said and done, the most important thing to remember is to invest in furniture that goes with your personality. Yes, you want something functional, and comfortable, and within budget. But who says you cannot find the perfect style too? The style of the furniture you choose should compliment your personality. This is the furniture you will use day and in day out, 5 days a week more than 8-9 hours a day. You do not want to be stuck with something that is functional but will simply not inspire you to work!


10 Steps To Running A Home-Based Business

The failure or success of a business often relies on the most fundamental operations-the ones that often get overlooked as a tipping point process in the daily business cycle. Fortunately, one of the leading business sites, AllBusiness.com, offers advice and solutions that help businesses succeed. These 10 easy-to-follow steps will help your home-based business become a success.

1. Plan ahead. Take the time to make plans for every eventuality that may arise. From natural disasters to unexpected financial problems, you will need a plan that you can readily access to get you through a difficult time.

2. Put money aside. Don't begin your business with delusions of overnight success. You'll need funds to tide you over while your business grows. Put some money aside to tide you over until you do start earning revenue.

3. Organize your time. Being a responsible business owner means managing your time wisely. Initially you will need to spend extra time making your vision a reality.

4. Organize your space. You can't run a business effectively if you are wasting time looking for an important receipt under reams of loose paper. Take time to organize your home office and make sure you can function efficiently.

5. Stay focused. Family responsibilities, chores, TV and the warmth of your own bed can all distract you from the task at hand. Remove as many distractions as you can from your home office and stay focused.

6. Figure out tax laws now, before it is too late. Do your research now so you will be prepared come tax time.

7. Advertise. You can't afford to wait for your customers to come to you-you need to go out and get them. Advertising is an investment, and spending money now to market your business effectively can pay big dividends.

8. Get the proper equipment. Office equipment is an extra expense, but you need the hardware to run your business correctly. To compare features and prices, check out the Business Products comparison engine at AllBusiness.com.

9. Cover your assets. Don't wait for a natural disaster to destroy your entire inventory-now is the time to purchase the insurance you need.

10. Don't get discouraged. Success does not come overnight. It will require dedication, hard work and a lot of extra effort to make it a reality. This is your dream; do all you can to keep it alive.


10 Setup Secrets For Your Home Based Business - Ten Of Them!

Setting up a home based business doesn't have to be intimidating, expensive or time consuming. When you decide to make your living working from home, you simply need to go through a basic set up process to ensure you are ready.

Here are the steps for setting up your home business for success:

1. Attitude

- The key to your business success is your attitude.
- Treat your business like a business.

This is critical whether you are working part-time or full-time. For example, the mom who works from home around her family. She always puts her family first, at the same time developing her business. She says, "I may work part-time, but I have a full-time attitude." To put another way, "Have a hobby attitude, get a hobby income, have a business attitude get a business income."

You can be successful working part-time and you can be successful working full-time but it is unlikely that you will be successful just working in your "spare time".

2. Describe Your Business

Be able to describe your business concisely; a powerful one or two sentence description that someone can repeat in describing your business to others.

A unique and memorable tag line can also be invaluable for promoting your business. This is often referred to as your "elevator pitch" or "audio logo". Think about it, if you ask someone about their business and they describe it as "a errr, well, I kind of take care of, you know, well in as much as..." would you be impressed? Would you think that you should really hire that person? It's much better to be able to speak briefly, confidently and memorably about your business and what makes it unique.

3. Know Your Product or Service

Once you have chosen the product or service to sell you need to know your product intimately. If you are selling e-books for example, then know the content and its value. If you are selling software then use it and know it "inside out".

You will develop a reputation of providing quality information and because of your product knowledge, you can become the preferred supplier.

If it is not practical to use certain products (for example a woman may choose to sell man's shoes or vice versa) then you won't be using the product, however you can still know the benefits and features of the product intimately.

4. Get a Domain Name

Welcome to the twenty first century, you need a domain name for your business! You'll need an account with a reputable hosting company who will provide a "space" on the web for your domain name and site. The fees can be as low as $4.95 per month and go up from there. If you do not have any knowledge of HTML there are hosting companies that provide "site builder" software via the web. This can be a great option but be sure you like the application before you plunk down your money as you will probably be using it a lot!

5. Email

Once you have your own domain you will have one or more email accounts for that domain. This can assist in the promotion of your business and promotes a more professional business image.

Using email smartly can help you in the task of organizing your business communications. For example, sales can arrive via sales@your-company.com, support and help requests via support@your-company.com and so on.

By setting up some basic rules in Outlook or other email program you can have the mail conveniently sorted into folders for you as soon as it arrives.

6. Payment Processing

You will probably need a way to process credit cards. You could use services such as:

- PayPal https://www.paypal.com
- StormPay http://www.stormpay.com
- 2 Checkout http://www.2checkout.com
- Clickbank http://www.clickbank.com

Paypal now has a Pro level of service that includes a virtual terminal, helping to keep the costs low. Once your business picks up you may need to look into your own merchant account for credit card transactions but any of the sites listed will certainly get you started and may be all you need for the life of your business.

7. Computer Protection

Your computer is the lifeline to your business dealings and must be protected including the data that is stored. You will need a virus scanner, personal firewall, anti-spyware and anti-adware and preferably an email scanner with the ability to delete suspect of spam email from the server before it is downloaded to your computer.

Some suggestions are:

- AVG Anti-Virus: http://www.grisoft.com (free version available)
- Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org
- Microsoft Anti-Spyware: www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
- Adaware: http://www.lavasoft.com/
- Mailwasher Email Scanner: http://www.mailwasher.net

A good all-round selection is one of the Norton products as they are kept up to date and have many if not all the features mentioned.

8. Working Environment

Getting organized is highly important, to ensure that you complete projects on time but also pay your bills on time and even bill your clients on time!

Having a working environment that help rather than hinders you work is also highly important. It can be tough but you need to establish a definite workspace for both yourself and any other people that are around.

- A space that you can call your own, free from distractions for your scheduled time.
- A comfortable chair and organized desk.
- Stationery supplies as required.
- Ensure you have a good computer monitor if you will be staring at it for long periods of time.
- Consider the value of a broadband connection. Your time is valuable and a broadband connection can allow you to get more done in a given time frame.

9. Administration

Use good record keeping practices... please!

You may need to consult a tax advisor who can let you know about the best way to set up your financial records and what records need to be kept. Your advisor can recommend record keeping systems and software may simplify this aspect of your business.

Additionally you can obtain advice on the best arrangement for your bank accounts. You will most likely be advised to have a separate account. Many banks now offer free checking for small business so do your research in to the options available to you.

Keep track of your various logins, usernames and passwords. This can be quite a big deal once your have a number of business resources online.

There are other useful tools for this also from a simple paper notebook to free and commercial password keepers. One popular solution is PasswordSafe.com. They provide a free web based service for storing username / passwords so you can access them from anywhere with an internet connection. They've been around since 1998 so the service is both trustworthy and reliable.

10. Schedule

Develop a schedule that works for you, your family and your business. When you mark off a block of time for work, then use that time for work. Equally important is to schedule time for your other commitments - family time, self-education (reading, listening and viewing), "health time" (exercise, cooking and eating), and leisure time. During these other times don't work. Remember, one of the reasons to work from home is to spend more time with your family and you don't want your working at home time to consume your family time.

You are working for yourself and your schedule (by your choice) is your "boss". When you have people calling you or dropping around unexpectedly or maybe out-of-town visitors may want to catch up with you then you need to make a choice. Are you committed to your own business success? What will be your choice in these situations? Only you can decide what is important to you.

In a family environment you may need to negotiate with your family and have your business time agreed upon, during which you will not be interrupted. Put this schedule prominently somewhere so all family members are aware of your work schedule.

These are the ten basics of working at home. Some of these items may change a little depending on the type of business you choose but in essence, this is it. A home based business can be the most fun, most rewarding experience of your adult life as long as you realize there are a few simple rules to keeping everything on track along the way.


10 Reasons Why You Should Become A Virtual Assistant This Year

First of all, what is a virtual assistant (VA)? I like to explain it as a word processor gone wild. A VA is someone who works with clients, providing them with top quality support services without having to be physically present at a clients office. VA services are becoming more and more popular thanks to today’s technology such as email, the Internet, online instant messaging, fax, phone, and overnight delivery. Gone are the days of offices needing their support staff in the same building.


If you have a secretarial background or other support staff expertise and a love for computers and all the technology it offers, then here are ten very good reasons why you should start your own VA business this year.

1. Make An Income You Can Live On

It was reported by virtual assistant trade organizations that the average full-time VA working in the US would gross about $39,452 annually. Now that isn’t a bad income!
That is the type of money you can live on, even if you are a single mom.

2. The Need For VA’s Is Only Going To Get Greater

According to the George Washington University forecast of emerging technology, Virtual Assisting will become a  $130 Billion Industry by 2008. Thanks to our growing technology, and the fact that it’s easier to just source out work to a VA due to the fact that a business doesn’t have to pay for any benefits when they out-source, this type of service will only get bigger and more in demand.

3. Are you feeling unfulfilled, unchallenged, and unmotivated?  Is your current corporate job beginning to feel like a real drag?

Are you dreading getting dressed up, driving your commute to work, and working with a boss who is ungrateful and unappreciative? Do you love some parts of your job and despise other parts and wish you could do the parts you love more? Then becoming a VA might be something you need to look into.

4. Want to continue your professional working life without having to leave home?
Want the flexibility to work from home and have a better balance between work and life?

Maybe you’re thinking of having kids, or have had your first baby. You so want to continue your career, but you also want to spend more time with your children. Take a good hard look at the world of a VA. This type of home business will continue to give you the satisfaction of a career, while also offering you the ability to be there for your kids doctor appointments, their first step, school field trips, and running them around to after school events.

5. Gain the ability to work with people you want to work with.

Do you tend to click with certain types of people more than others? With a VA business, you can decide who you want your clients to be. Authors, salespeople, consultants, coaches, executives, entrepreneurs, and small business owners are just a few of the types of people you could work with.

6. The ability to do more than just one thing.

Looking for a little variety in your business? Don’t want to get stuck doing the same thing over and over again? Here is a list of just some of the things you can do as a VA.

Administration
Writing services (technical or creative)
Business/employee communications
Proofreading and editing, research (online or traditional)
Word-processing
Spreadsheets
Data entry
Database management
Message management
Scheduling
Bill paying
Simple website design
Newsletter distribution
Bulk mailing
Reminder services
Event planning
Special projects
Concierge services
Secretarial services
Research
Data processing/data management
Desktop publishing
Transcription services
Mail and email services
Telephone/fax services
Internet services
Bookkeeping
Purchasing services
Writing/editing services
Marketing services
Personal services
Santa letters
Proposal Writer

7. The ability to Niche yourself.

Choose just a few of the ideas above and take it one step further. Niche yourself. You might already possess knowledge in a certain area. You can contact those businesses you are already familiar with and work with them. Maybe in the past you had worked as support staff for a marketing company. If marketing is your thing, you can let businesses know that you can not only be their VA and take care of all their typing and database applications, but that you can also use your expertise to help them market their business.

8. Use the equipment you already have.

If you’re reading this article, then there’s a good chance you already have a computer, a printer, and fax capabilities. Why not start putting that equipment to good use and make some money?

9. The choice between working full-time or part-time.

Maybe you don’t want to work full time, but you need to do something to call your own. That’s great! You’ll be your own boss; you can decide how much or how little you want to work.

10. Being able to say you love the way you make money.

If just the thought of working with your computer and current technology makes you giddy, why not make money doing something you love? Grab hold of the opportunity to make as much money as you’d like and the ability to work from your home.  You have the opportunity to decide who you want to work with, the type of work you want to do or not do, and your niche area. If this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you visit *** to learn more about starting your own Virtual Assistant Business.

For More information on this business visit: http://www.bizymoms.com/cart/careers/va_kit.html


10 reasons for starting a profitable home business online.

It's possible to start a home business online with very little
outlay and you can easily earn from $100 to thousands per day.

1. You want to escape the rat race. You'd rather spend the 2 hours
you waste every day with your family, or on a hobby. Running your
own business online you can stop the commute, and you can feel good
because you are helping to cut pollution too.

2 You can work part time building your new home business online until
you see it taking off. You aren't giving up your bill paying regular
job to jump in without any income.

3 It's possible to start a home business online with very little
outlay. Webhosting is cheaper than a bricks and mortar shopfront.
You already have the pc to access the net, it can start working
for it's keep.

4 You can choose your own hours. If you have an appointment to keep
in the morning, start your online work in the afternoon. No one can
tell you "you can't have that week off in August, Bill got in first"

5 If you work harder you can benefit directly, you put more hours in
and your online business makes more profit, your wages go up. Your
salary isn't fixed by someone elses view of what you're worth.

6 A lot of online business tasks can be automated, using readily
available tools. Emails can be automatically sent by
autoresponders, even regularly asked questions can be sorted and
answered by software.

7 A website works 24 hours a day without complaining. Even if you're
on holiday your online business website can be working online for
you bringing in money.

8 Your online business can be as far reaching as you want, it can
offer something for your local community. It can equally sell to
people around the world, without penalty. It doesn't cost any extra
to send an email to Australia, or for your website to be used to
make a purchase by someone in Europe.

9 Starting a home business online means you have a continuously
growing market as more and more people come online everyday.

10 It's dress down day everyday. You can work in your pyjamas if you
want, nobody's going to stop you in your own home. No more suits and
ties unless you want to wear them, but that's your choice.


10 REAL AdSense Secrets

Get Rich Quick Scams Revealed
Read this article before you consider paying for a "get rich quick" program.
From: AdSense Secrets
Everybody would love to make lots of money quickly, working from home, and only doing a few hours of work per week. I've spent the past two years trying to find a great way of doing this. Only over the course of the past few months have I found any "get rich quick" programs worth buying. I've been trying to make money online for a long time. I had a few small websites, but they never made much more than a few hundred per month. It was easy money and didn't require much work on my part, but I knew there were people out there doing better than I was and I knew I could do as well as them.
Now, I've seen a lot of "get rich quick" programs. Most of these people make claims about earning $2000/day with Google or something similarly insane. Almost all of these people are complete liars. Even if they were making $2000/day with Google AdSense, it'd be because they had high- traffic websites with a lot of quality content. I'd know, because in one whole month, I never even made half of what they promised I'd make daily with their programs. Maybe you've already been scammed by one of these fraudsters. Anyway, I finally got sick of what was being offered.
I decided I'd look through the all of the "get rich quick" programs I could find and see if there were any that were actually legitimate. I found that there were owners selling their programs for well over $100, but the information in them could be found almost anywhere online for free. Additionally, they all contained out-of-date information, had no e-mail support, no money back guarantees, and broken links in the downloads section.
In conclusion, almost all of the programs I found were completely useless. The owners knew it, but they couldn't care less about their customers since they didn't offer refund policies! Amazingly, while looking through all of the programs, I actually did find a few legitimate programs. They were run by ordinary people like you and me, and they had found some great methods of making money from their home by doing very little work.
I spent some time working with those programs, and my income is now ten times what it used to be. These programs provided a large amount of great information on how to make extra money on your computer doing very little work. Numerous customers had provided great feedback and reviews for their products. Many of them have started to make money just days after buying!
Their programs have excellent prices, and the authors have a group of paid staff who are dedicating to helping you or providing assistance if you need any. I must say I was amazed! If you do decide to purchase any of the programs listed below, I recommend you join quickly. Most of the owners tell me they are getting an overwhelming number of sales and plan on raising prices in the near future, so order while prices are still low!
To Your Online Success,
  AdSense Secrets


10 Important Questions To Ask Web Developers Before Dishing Out the Dough

Assuming you already have a fairly good idea of what you want on your web site and will more than likely be writing your own copy or having it written for you, here are 10 questions you need answered to help you create an effective web site without breaking the bank or delaying your plans.

1.  Price by project or by the hour?  Accepting an hourly rate agreement gives you little control over costs unless you put a spending cap into effect.  If you have to exercise the spending cap, what if your site is only partially complete?  Inevitably, you will have to dish out more dough to get it finished and this is a strain you want to avoid as you start your new business.

2.  Once the site is complete who will maintain it?  If the developer offers this service, what are the costs and turn-around time?  If you'd rather assume modification control, do they offer access to and training on editing software?

3.  What is the expected completion date for the site?  You want to be in a position to plan ahead for the launch.  Having this information will allow you to organize your marketing efforts and prioritize all other plans that tie in to "going live".

4.  What is the payment structure?  Do they want all of the money up front?  Half now, half upon completion?  Make sure you hold back partial payment until your site is complete and you are fully satisfied with the results.

5.  Will your designer submit your site to the search engines or will this be your responsibility?  If this is your responsibility, do your homework to ensure you cover all the steps. (Keywords and META tags must be done prior to submission.)

6.  Who will be responsible for search engine optimization? This is usually an add-on service, so find out if your developer includes it with site development, offers it at an additional cost, or if you will have to contract it out to a third party.

7.  Who will hold the master key to your site? Make sure you do! Don't leave this critical component of your business and marketing strategy in the control of a third party.  Get all passwords and access to all data.

8.  Will your developer teach you how to read your web logs/stats so you can understand the how, what, where and why of your visitors?

9.  Has the developer designed other sites for your niche market?

10.  Has the web designer provided a portfolio, testimonials or references from others in your niche market?  Have you verified the references?

A web site is a major component of your marketing strategy and business success. Do your due diligence in selecting a web developer and don't hesitate to ask as many questions as it takes to fully understand both your and your developer's role in the process.

2006 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source


10 Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets

1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Write the ad on a piece of paper, scan it and publish the ad on your web page. Adding a personal touch will always increase your sales.

  2. Publish a list of famous and respected customers who have bought from you on your a copy. People will think that if these people bought from you, they should also trust your business and purchase your products. Make sure to get their permission first

  3. Show before and after photos for your products on your web page copy. Show the problem picture and then beside it, show the picture of the resolution to the problem when they use your product.

  4. Include an article or review that has been written about you or your business with your ad copy. This will show people that your business is respected and will increase your credibility.

  5. When you offer free bonuses in your ad copy, also list the dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they're getting a good deal and it will increase the value of your product.

  6. Hire a famous person to endorse your product or service. Make sure the person is well known to your target audience. Include their picture and statements on your ad copy.

  7. Include your own picture on your ad copy. This will show people that you're not hiding behind your ad copy and will increase their trust. Also, include your contact information below the picture and a brief statement or quote.

  8. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will donate a percentage of their purchase price to specific charity. This will show them you really care about the people. They may just buy your product to donate to the charity.

  9. Ask your potential customers plenty of yes and no questions in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their problem and make them think about what will happen if they don't purchase your product.

  10. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading your copy the greater chance of them purchasing.

Get a boatload of FREE proven headlines, articles, ad copy, viral marketing materials, FREE software, and a home business where YOU keep 100% of the profits!  www.freesoftware4life.com


9 Reasons To Do Joint Venture Deals On eBay

eBay is THE most popular home business in the USA, but it's not without its problems. Many have tried to succeed but have failed due to confusion over what products to sell, giant numbers of competitors, copy and picture theft from other sellers and eBay and Paypal that eat into profits.

One way to avoid this swamp, though, is to do a Joint Venture with established eBay sellers. This allows a JV partner to build her own mailing list and sell products off eBay.

There are multiple advantages to this way of doing business on eBay:

1. The biggest uncertainty for would-be eBay sellers is what products to sell. Sometimes vendors risk large sums of money on untried products, only to lose their investment, become sour and give up. With a Joint Venture there is no risk except for a few hours of time.

2. Since there are no auctions listed on eBay, no one can  steal copy or pictures from JV sellers - because there is nothing to copy. In effect, we become invisible - no one even knows we exist and this hidden aspect has many advantages.

3. eBay JVs are usually done with a digital product that can be instantly downloaded.  This is great for any entrepreneur because inexpensive autoresponders mean that her entire business is handled via autopilot. Contrast this with the usual way of doing business on eBay which involves mailing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of boxes.

4. eBay and Paypal have lots of rules. It's easy to break some unwittingly, and even the most honest seller does so from time to time. A JV merchant isn't answerable to eBay, however, but only to her customers.

5. A JV seller never directly lists on eBay, thus avoiding eBay and Paypal fees.

6. Successful Powersellers have large numbers of customers and there are lots of administrative details involved. Implementing a sales system can cost time and money because without attention to detail packages won't be mailed in a timely fashion, payments won't be accurate, items will be sent to the wrong buyers, and so on. A JV partner eliminates all of that because all transactions can be funneled through a hands-off system.

7. eBay selling lives or dies through the 'feedback' system. Negative feedback can kill sales instantly and lack of feedback causes buyers to hesitite and choose other sellers. Feedback is totally irrelevant to a Joint Venture seller because she is using the reputation of carefully chosen other sellers. She knows in advance that their feedback is high quality or she doesn't do deals with them.

8. Inexperienced sellers sometimes drag wiser merchants into price wars. In a panic over sales, they foolishly slash prices, beginning a chain reaction that results in bare bones bids that allow no one to make any money. A Joint Venture seller floats serenely above such hiccups in the marketplace.

9. Best of all, a JV seller doesn't settle for a one time sale. She concentrates her efforts on a mailing list of happy customers that she can sell to again and again and again. In this way, not only is she ensuring repeate profits, but she gets paid for creating this list, rather than having to pay someone else for names.

With its 147,000,000 registered users, eBay is the best source of targeted, Net-savvy buyers on the web. By putting together Joint Venture deals with established sellers, anyone can add large numbers of qualified buyers to their database efficiently and inexpensively.


7-tips to Work at Home Successfully

So, you've decided to start a home based business. Congratulations! and welcome to the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship. While there is a lot to learn, your effort will be worth it. The thrill of growing your business, the freedom and flexibility to set your own hours, and the possibilities of ever-increasing financial rewards are all wonderful reasons to start your home based business.

Now that you've decided to start your business, you might be wondering "How can I get it off to the strongest possible start?" These seven tips will help:

1) Set up a separate working space in your home. It doesn't matter if this is a small bedroom, one part of the garage, or a corner of the living room. The important thing is to have some space that you can designate as your working area. This will give you the space and room you need to craft your dream.

2) Stock your working space with materials. This sounds basic, perhaps, but one underlying element of success is that you have easy access to the tools, materials, and other resources you need. Gathering everything close by also keeps you from wasting time searching for it, so this step can be considered a time management strategy, too.

3) Speaking of time management, your third step is to define the parameters of your business. What days and hours will you work? When will you market? When will you provide services or products to clients? How will you keep all of this straight?

4) Balance action with planning. One of the most common pitfalls to successful entrepreneurship is getting too caught up in action without enough planning. Stated another way, this means that you confuse "being busy" with "working on important projects." The best approach is to plan your next couple of goals and then work backwards to create step by step action plans to reach them. Once you have the plan, then it's time to take the action.

5) Network like crazy. One of the fastest ways to grow any business is to make connections with other people. Be sure to share your passion and enthusiasm with others at every opportunity. Let people know who you are and what you offer. Remember, people can't buy if they don't know you're selling.

6) Present a professional image. If you want to be treated professionally, present a professional image. Set up a separate bank account for your business. Install a separate phone and fax line. Create professional marketing materials. Be courteous and pleasant in all your customer facing interactions. Basically, be someone people want to do business with.

7) Automate your business as much as possible. Granted, you are just one person (right now) and might have a lot of extra time to take care of all the details. This might work for now, but won't work into the future as you get busier and busier. It's best to set up automatic systems and processes right from the start to free up your time to concentrate on the most profitable activities.

These seven tips will get your home business started (and growing) in the right direction.


7 Ways to Manage Breaks As A Home-Based Business Owner

This week during a coaching session, one of my clients shared her ongoing struggle with managing "breaks" throughout the day. Whenever she felt the need to get up from her desk and stretch her legs, she found herself in the kitchen.

As a result of this habit, she is now 20 pounds heavier, very uncomfortable and extremely unhappy with herself.

Unfortunately this phenomenon is all too common among entrepreneurs who transition from the outside work world to working from home.

Home business presents challenges not normally experienced while working in the corporate or "outside" world and managing breaks is a big one.

When you work outside of the home, a break might be spent by a water cooler, in a lunchroom, or outside on a bench chatting with a co-worker.  When you do spend your break in the company lunchroom, you seldom find a fully stocked fridge and cupboards chock full of food at your disposal.

When you work from home, your break locations aren't quite as extensive and because it's very unlikely you would spend this time sitting in a bedroom or talking to yourself in the bathroom mirror, the kitchen is the most logical destination.

How you spend your breaks at home requires a little creativity and A LOT of discipline.  By giving yourself options, setting limits, and creating healthy habits, it won't take long for you to re-direct yourself when you find yourself drifting towards the kitchen.

Here are 7 simple options to get you started:

1. Grab your remote telephone, head outside for a lawn chair and call a friend. This not only addresses the "break" issue but also combats the feelings of isolation that often affect home-based business owners. The important thing to remember here is set limits for yourself.  Institute a 15-minute break rule and enforce it, otherwise you can lose an entire afternoon.

2. Pick up your mail.  Whether the mailbox is at the end of your driveway or just down the street, this is the perfect opportunity for you to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

3. Play your favorite CD and listen to song that takes your mind completely off your work. Enjoy a cool class of juice or a tasty cup of tea while you immerse yourself in the music. If you're feeling a little sluggish, pop a lively tune into your boom box and kick up your heels! There's no better energy boost than a good boogie!

4. Take a walk around the block. Take your puppy with you and light two candles with one flame.  Get to know your neighbors, keep your pet healthy, and enjoy the great outdoors.

5. Meditate. There's nothing like a midday meditation to free your mind and relax the body. The benefits are immense and impact all areas of your life and business.

6. Set kitchen hours. Establish certain times throughout the day when the kitchen is off limits and stick to them.

7. Sweep the entryway or vacuum the living room. It may not be exciting but it will give your mind the break it needs, and will save you time elsewhere so you can spend it with family and friends.  A few little cleaning breaks throughout the day really add up.

What other ideas come to mind for you?

Your success and wellness all boil down to discipline, creative thinking, and being gentle with yourself.  Don't beat yourself up if you've created habits that are counterproductive.  Instead, seek solutions and take appropriate action.

It's all about developing structures and processes and when you realize you have the power to design your own activities, you will create amazing results for yourself.


2006 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source


5 Great Reasons To Hire A Telecommuter

How would you like to hire someone that is more motivated and more qualified to do the work and costs you less than your average employee? No, I am not talking about hiring someone illegally. You can accomplish this simply by employing a telecommuter. Let’s take a look at 5 very good reasons, why it makes sense for you to consider telecommuting from an employer’s perspective.

1) Less Overhead
How much is all this office space, furniture, computer equipment along with your IT department to maintain them, utility bills etc. costing you? Telecommuters do not require any of the above, which will cut your overhead cost tremendously. Telecommuters use their own office, their own equipment from computers to paperclips; use their own power, phone and Internet connection. If their computer acts up, it’s up to them to get it up and running again.

2) Less Benefits To Pay
Most telecommuters are independent contractors. You do not have to provide for health care, workman’s compensation or paid vacation. Consider the tax benefits as well; there is no employer portion of federal and state tax to pay.

3) Hire Experts When Needed
Do you need someone to write the occasional press release and maybe come up with a revision to your brochure every once in a while? Instead of hiring someone fulltime as your marketing person, consider outsourcing the tasks to a freelance telecommuter. You will pay per project, or hire your freelancer for a few hours per month, instead of creating a marketing position. Freelancers give even small businesses the opportunity to hire an expert for almost any task.

4) On Demand Work
Do you expect a temporary increase in your workload, be it seasonal, or because you just landed a large project? Why not pick up a few telecommuters for the task instead of working with inexperienced temps, or hiring in-office personnel that you may not need three months down the road. Telecommuters combine the flexibility of temps with the on-the-job experience of permanent employees. You get the best of both worlds.

5) More Motivated Workers
Telecommuters have a very good reason why they want to work from home. Whether that reason is being able to stay home with the kids, a disability, or avoiding a long commute, being able to work from home makes them happy. As you well know, happy employees are more motivated, don’t count the minutes until they can leave the office and overall get more work done.

If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to give telecommuter a try the next time you need a highly motivated, experienced worker, but aren’t in a position to create a permanent onsite position. Once you have experienced all the benefits a telecommuter brings to your organization, you may even consider converting even more positions to telecommuting.


5 Action Ideas to Deal with Difficult People

When was the last time you had to deal with a difficult customer? It was probably and external customer but perhaps it was an internal customer, such as a member of your team, a colleague or even - your boss!

I'm sure that you always want to provide exceptional service to both your internal and external customers. However, in the real world, things go wrong and mistakes are made. These "customers" will often judge your level of service based on how you respond to a mistake. Do it well and they'll probably forgive you and possibly even say positive things about your business or your abilities to other people.

The important thing to realise when dealing with an upset customer, be they internal or external, is that you must -deal with their feelings, then deal with their problem. Upset customers are liable to have strong feelings when you, your product or service lets them down and they'll probably want to "dump" these feeling on you.

You don't deal with their feelings by concentrating on solving the problem, it takes more. Here are 5 action ideas that deal with the customers' human needs:

1 - Don't let them get to you - Stay out of it emotionally and concentrate on listening non-defensively and actively. Customers may make disparaging and emotional remarks - don't rise to the bait.

2 - Listen - listen - listen - Look and sound like your listening. The customer wants to know that you care and that you're interested in their problem.

3 - Stop saying sorry - Sorry is an overused word, everyone says it when something goes wrong and it's lost its value. How often have you heard - "Sorry 'bout that, give me the details and I'll sort this out for you". Far better to say "I apologise for ......" And if you really need to use the sorry word, make sure to include it as part of a full sentence. "I'm sorry you haven't received that information as promised Mr Smith". (It's also good practise to use the customers name in a difficult situation).

4 - Empathise - Using empathy is an effective way to deal with the customers feelings. Empathy isn't about agreement, only acceptance of what the customer is saying and feeling. Basically the message is - "I understand how you feel". Obviously this has to be a genuine response, the customer will realise if you're insincere and they'll feel patronised. Examples of empathy responses would be - "I can understand that you're angry", or "I see what you mean". Again, these responses need to be genuine.

5 - Build rapport - Sometimes it's useful to add another phrase to the empathy response, including yourself in the picture. - "I can understand how you feel, I don't like it either when I'm kept waiting". This has the effect of getting on the customer's side and builds rapport. Some customer service people get concerned with this response as they believe it'll lead to - "Why don't you do something about it then". The majority of people won't respond this way if they realise that you're a reasonable and caring person. If they do, then continue empathising and tell the customer what you'll do about the situation. "I'll report this to my manager" or "I'll do my best to ensure it doesn't happen in the future".

Make no mistake about it; customers, be they internal or external, are primarily driven by their emotions. It's therefore important to use human responses in any interaction particularly when a customer is upset or angry. If customers like you and feel that you care, then they're more likely to accept what you say and forgive your mistakes.


4 Tips To Ensure A Rewarding Experience When Hiring Others

Hiring an employee can be a big step for many small business owners. It means the end of doing EVERYTHING yourself and passing off some of the work!

In order to make the experience rewarding for both you and your employees there are a few things that every boss and leader should do…

1) Reward people for a job well done.  Its frustrating working for someone who enjoys all the financial rewards of the efforts put forth by the entire team, especially if they don't recognize what everyone has accomplished and contributed.

It doesn't take much to acknowledge the effort of your staff. It makes a HUGE difference in the working atmosphere when you take a few moments to acknowledge your team. People like to know that they've done a good job.

2) Always provide a balance between positive and negative comments. Your job as a leader is to recognize the talents of those around you and feed them with the motivation and positive energy to take YOUR ideas to entirely new levels. Help them serve you better by building up their confidence... not tearing it down.

3) Step up and accept responsibility for your projects. At the end of the day if things don't go according to plan, in my opinion, the responsibility falls onto the leader's shoulders. Stand up and accept the responsibility should anything ever go wrong.

If your staff always bear the burden of projects gone bad, it will drag people down and destroy your working environment. Start contributing to the emotional bank account of those around you.

If you acknowledge the behavior you want to see more of, you'll start seeing more of it. Be positive and accept some responsibility when things don't go according to plan.

4) When you have good people it's your responsibility as a leader to hold on to them. People with talent will take your company to entirely new levels but if they keep leaving, the growth of your company will be stinted.

People with skills know that they have options. Hanging the carrot of a potential big pay day will only work for a certain period of time. After a while it wears off and they start looking elsewhere. The last thing you want is for them to end up with your competition.

So the moral of the story is find good people, train them, treat them well, and your business will take off.