10 Incredibly important business basics EVERYONE needs to know BEFORE they start a business!

In my career, I have had a total of 3 businesses myself and a few others where I am in partnerships. Each time you start a business the basics are pretty well the same. Here are 10 things I believe are really important for anyone starting up a business....

1. Don't waste your dollars on things you don't need. This alone is one of the biggest reasons people go under. You simply won't need expensive office equipment, computers, phone systems etc when starting out. You'll be surprised at how well a computer of 2 years will perform in caparison to one that's brand new for triple the price! Be real with your $$$$. The basic here is that if it's not going to make money for you, build or protect your business then simply AND quickly look/walk away so you're not tempted to buy it - extravagance has no place when your starting a business on a budget. If you've got hundreds of thousands to splurge though, forget all of the above and go to point 2!

2. Develop a plan of where you wish for you AND your business to be this time next year. You will need to think about such things as a basic marketing plan to so you know what marketing you need to do to achieve that outcome. Starting and building a business is like building a house without the framework it's bound to crumble. Think of your business plan as your roadmap - without it you don't know where you're headed or how to get there. So take a couple of hours and give it some consideration, if you're serious about developing a successful business then I'm sure you can get serious enough to schedule some time in to do it.

3. Ask and get advise - this is huge! This one factor if not done or acted upon can send you under in a quick way! Ask professionals for help and guidance, they will steer you clear of known traps that you just won't know about starting out (I've learnt this one the hard way!). You don't need to be a hero and do everything, and think of everything, yourself. Hate to tell you this but, when you start out you DON'T know everything ok - so don't embarrass yourself by thinking you do, as the only one you'll fool will be yourself(indeed years down the track I'm still learning something everyday)

4. Make sure your business look is congruent. Have a business name that explains what you do so you're customers are buying or dealing from you rather than trying to figure out what you do. BEFORE you register the name, check that you can also get the website domain for it too. It's a real inconvenience and creates dramas for your customer AND you having to explain it to everyone! Colours, style etc need to be the same throughout your website, stationary, business cards etc

5. Hire right - if you are in the retail sector than hire a people person with personality plus over someone with the skills - you can teach practical skills such as taking money etc - but you can't teach people skills. If you need someone for accounts or admin where they aren't dealing with your customers then obviously the skills are more important.

6. Base your business on how you can add value to your customers. You'd be surprised how your business it will grow by suiting the needs of your 'ideal' client AND looking after them each and every time.

7. Know, understand and keep in contact with clients you WANT to deal with - it will not only make business more pleasurable for you and the clients will love dealing with you as you're always happy etc too - happy clients, more business, more referrals, less money spent on advertising and marketing!

8. Get organised - for goodness sake, NO ONE enjoys being stuffed around by someone always giving excuses for their mess, un-organisation, forgetting to follow through, not implementing, lack of communication, being late etc etc etc - get yourself some solid an effective systems to back you up in business so you can do it right EVERY time.

9. Work WITHIN your budget - never above it. It is disastrous to think "Oh we'll get more money in, it'll be right, or oh such as such is expected to pay this month" etc - it won't be - be conservative in your spend otherwise you will go under before you can blink! Don't sign leases or contracts on anything based on a projected income - you're playing with fire and you'll be busy enough without the stress and pressure of this to add to your lot.

10. Outsource what you're not good at or don't like. I'll admit it I do not enjoy any form of admin - yet I'm a perfectionist and need everything to be systemised so it frees me up to be creative. So instead of learning how to do accounts in MYOB and instead of procrastinating for days on filing etc (after I gave both a go time and again) it was easier, quicker and more productive for me and my business to outsource it to someone who WAS passionate about doing it. Not only do they do it in a fraction of the time - but they do it well because they love doing it!

Of course I could easily keep going on - there's always something you learn in business - however I'm sure these 10 will give you a great place to start...

And one more thing ENJOY what you're doing - if you're not, you're definitely in the wrong game and now is a good time to change careers!

Abundant Success To You!

By Rachael Bermingham

Top 7 Tips For Writing Your Marketing Plan

A lot of people are at a loss when it comes to deciding how to approach the marketing plan process and how to stay within time and budget constraints. To make for a less stressful marketing plan process, keep these 7 tips in mind:



Think Strategy First

An overall marketing strategy drives many decisions. If you first identify general goals, choosing appropriate marketing programs for a small business plan becomes much easier.

Decide Format

Putting together a general outline and deciding how you will publish the plan can help you better visualize steps you need to take. Examples are (a) a full, detailed report including Executive Summary, the plan itself, and back-up data, (b) a single summary sheet, or (c) something in between. Size and structure of the small business can help determine the scope of the plan.

Set Aside Time

A good, strategic marketing plan requires a certain amount of analysis. Early stages in the process go smoother with minimal interruptions. Make it easier for those working on the plan to concentrate by setting aside "closed" time during early planning stages. In a busy, small business environment, this can be accomplished by working during off hours or putting aside a short time - 30 minutes to an hour - each day.

Brainstorm

New, creative ideas flow more freely when people are not inhibited by preconceptions. Hold a brainstorming session, with two rules: (a) there are no bad ideas and (b) everyone's ideas carry equal weight.

Shorten The List

Implementation suffers severely when there is an overload of marketing projects, especially in small businesses with a small or one-person marketing department.. The list of potential projects generated in the brainstorming session can be shortened by concentrating on those likely to be the most profitable and those that take advantage of the company's internal strengths.

Make The Plan Flexible

Business does not operate in a vacuum, so your plan needn't exist in one. For example, the business environment may change during the year or additional marketing opportunities may arise. Building in flexibility to adjust throughout the year can avoid the pitfall of continuing down an unproductive path.

Have Measurements In Place

Knowing if and how well a program works can help you identify opportunities for improvement. In your marketing plan or in back-up documents, set explicit goals and measurements.

By Bobette Kyle

10 Tips for Effective Proofreading

Proofreading may not be terribly fun, but it's one of the most important parts of writing.

Have you ever read a web page or a document that had typos, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes? This reflects badly on you and your business, and you could easily lose a customer over a simple spelling mistake!

Here are some tips for quick and effective proofreading:

1. Wait several hours before proofreading. Otherwise you might be thinking about what you just wrote, rather than watching for typos and punctuation errors.

2. Eliminate distractions. This is very detailed work so you need to be focused.

3. Print out a copy of your work, rather than reading it on a computer screen. To make it even easier, print a double-spaced draft copy.

4. Read the document aloud. This helps to highlight punctuation errors and missing words.

5. Use a piece of colored paper as a guide. This will help to keep your eyes on the line you're working on. If you don't have any colored paper, use a ruler.

6. Read backwards for spelling mistakes. Yes, that's right! You'll find spelling errors much easier if you're going from right to left. Otherwise you might unconsciously start reading, and not "proof" reading.

7. Use a different colored pen such as green or red to make your correction marks. These colors are much easier to see than black or blue.

8. Carefully check numbers and totals. Refigure all calculations and look for misplaced commas and decimal points.

9. If you have a lengthy document to proofread, rest your eyes every 10 to 15 minutes.

10. When you're absolutely sure there are no mistakes, have a partner check your work. Sometimes all it takes is a second pair of eyes.

By Jean Hanson

Ten Ways to Manage a Rapidly Growing Business

While some new business owners face the issue of not enough customers, others face the issue of too many customers/clients. Both are serious issues and must be dealt with carefully. There are many lists on how to find new customers/clients. Here is a list of 10 ways to deal with a rapid influx of new customers. The goal is a steady flow of just the right customers/clients.

1. Know the customer/client that is right for your business.

Get really clear about your ideal client or customer so you can be selective when there are too many business opportunities and you do not have time to accept them all.

2. Have a specialty that you are known for.

Specialize so that you get really good at what you are doing. You can then service more customers/clients quickly.

3. Eliminate clients who drain you.

If a client/customer takes too much of your time, that client/customer is costing you money. Look for ways to predict who will be a time-consuming customer/ client and avoid them. Find ways to eliminate those customers/clients.

4. Create systems to support you.

Examples are: a good business development system* that provides you with the customers or clients you need, a good bookkeeping system to keep track of expenses and revenue, a customer/client tracking system with a database of customers/clients names, addresses, and other useful information. *Even though it may seem like you have too many customers at the moment, that flow will stop unless you keep marketing.

5. Off load routine tasks to others.

What are the repetitive tasks you hate to do but which you know are necessary to run your business? Many administrative tasks are easily taught to a support person and by doing so you make more time in your day to see customers/clients.

6. Leave time in your day for reflection and self-care.

Doing the tasks of the business is of course necessary. Many get so focused on their task lists that they never have time to take a strategic look at the business. Putting aside time every week helps you to find more ways to work with the customers/clients you want to. Leave some time too for taking care of you. This means making time for doctor's appointments, hair care, massage therapy, exercise, meditation and anything else that provides for your health and well being.

7. Set firm boundaries.

Don't allow a client/customer to play on your sympathies and convince you to do something you know you should refuse (i.e. too time consuming, not your specialty and/or for free). Doing favors for others is not a favor to you!

8. Raise fees.

If all the clients/customers coming to you are your ideal clients/customers then it is time to raise fees/prices. This will sort the clients/customer that are willing to pay more for your services and those who are not. Revisit your fee/price structure at least once a year.

9. Refer to others.

When clients/customers are not your ideal clients/customers or when your ideal clients/customers cannot afford your fee, have a list of other business owners to whom you can refer.

10. Hire someone to help you do the work.

Once you have off loaded all the repetitive tasks it may become necessary to hire another worker who does the work that you do to work with you.

By Alvah Parker

Media Training: Seven Ways to Instantly Improve Your Media Interviewing Skills

Imagine if you were going to address a stadium full of people. You'd probably spend hours (if not days or weeks) agonizing over every word you were going to say. You'd practice your gestures in the mirror. You'd carefully select your clothing. You might even rehearse with your family.

Surprisingly, though, many spokespeople don't give much thought to an interview before speaking to a reporter. "It's only one person," they may think, "Plus, I know my material cold."

Preparing for a media interview - during which you may reach many more people than could fit in a stadium - should be at least as important as preparing a speech for that rowdy crowd.

Here are seven ways you can help prepare before you speak to a member of the press:

1. Visualize An Audience of One -- Reporters are simply the conduit between you and the audience. Don't try to impress a journalist with the depth of your technical knowledge or envision an audience of thousands. Instead, visualize the woman listening to news radio on her drive home or the man sitting on his living room sofa reading the morning paper. That personal connection will help ensure that you're having a conversation with the audience instead of speaking at them.

2. Write Tomorrow's Headline -- Every time you give an interview, the reporter should walk away with a clear sense of what the headline will be - and you should be the person who gives it to her. Prior to each interview, write down your perfect headline. It should be short - no longer than a sentence - and completely compelling. During the interview, state your headline several times, and place as many of your other answers as possible within the context of that headline.

3. Play Bridge -- Reporters rarely ask the "perfect question" that allows you to deliver your ideal headline. Therefore, you'll have to seamlessly segue to your point. After answering a reporter's question directly, bridge to your headline by saying something such as, "But I think the most important thing here is..." or "The bigger picture is that...."

4. Help Them See It -- Since people are barraged with more information than they can retain, raw numbers and statistics rarely stick. Instead of just delivering information without context, develop a more user-friendly metaphor. For example, instead of saying that 4.5 million people have Alzheimer's disease, say that more Americans have Alzheimer's disease than Colorado does people.

5. Be a Layman -- Every profession has its own set of acronyms, specialized terms, and jargon that is not understood by the general public. Successful spokespeople know they have to express complicated thoughts simply to ensure their message resonates. Use metaphors, analogies and anecdotes to help make your point. If you're stuck, try explaining your topic in simple terms to your 12-year-old nephew until he understands it.

6. Accentuate the Positive -- If a reporter asks you an innocuous question, repeat back the question in the beginning of your answer. For example, "How is the weather today?" should be answered with, "The weather is beautiful today," instead of just, "Beautiful." Since a reporter's question is unlikely to be included in the story, speaking in complete sentences allows the journalist to quote an entire self-contained thought.

7. Eliminate the Negative -- If you are asked a negative question, such as, "Has your organization ever broken the law," do not answer by saying, "Our organization has never broken the law." Doing so connects illegal activity and your organization in the same sentence - something you never want to do. Instead, frame your answer in positive terms by saying, "We are confident that we have always complied with the law."

By Brad Phillips

Famous Business Strategies

Either simply a looker-on or a player in the world of business, you see millions piling into the accounts of world's most famous businessmen and naturally the question pops "How?", wondering what is the alchemy they've discovered? Yet, there is no magic here - it's mostly pure strategy. And what it takes to spot it and make it real.

Strategy

Identifying the best strategy for your business is the key to all success. It should give you the lift that makes a difference. The art for your strategy success is planning.

* settling a vision for your business
* defining a mission
* setting out objectives
* establishing values, goals and programs.

Vision

It is all there, it is all important, but first there is the vision. So, is vision a spark, is it a moment? How much is inspiration and how much hard work? Is it 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration? Can we all be geniuses?

According to Edison's theory I would say yes, if we are committed to hard working, as it is primarily the hard work that makes a genius. Inspiration comes on the way, when involved in as much action as you can handle. Contrary to the conceptual meaning, inspiration seems to be driven by propitious conditions - in this case, by work.

Hard work

So, what really happens behind the fairy-tale success stories is usually not what some would expect - a brilliant, extraordinary, never heard of discovery that changed the world, but, disappointingly enough, plain hard work. What these people have is what I would call "industry intelligence". How is it acquired? Working of course. That is, sharply aware of their industry environment, learning all the rules and deeply involved in their own businesses, success people have at some point of activity a vision for their business that proves to be a winner - the revelation naturally produced as a result of their work commitment.

Let's take the example of three American legends: Sam Walton, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. What do they have in common? The winning vision, the winning strategy.

Sam Walton

In the case of Sam Walton, no new, innovative business models were launched. He followed the existing low-price retailing pattern but the competitive successful strategic approach was that instead of focusing on large cities he took his business to small towns becoming the low-price leader in rural towns.

Warren Buffet

Warren Buffett's success resides in his different approach to value investing. While usually investors look for stocks they believe undervalued by the market, Buffett does not take into consideration the stock market aspects, such as for instance the supply and demand ratio. He analyzes the stocks on the basis of their potential as companies. He is interested in long-term results, such as ownership in companies with capacity of generating money, namely, companies with a strong name, great historical results, strong management and industry expertise.

Bill Gates

Neither is the case of Bill Gates to have made extraordinary innovations. Rather than innovation, he had the ability to put together other people's ideas, thus producing big hits and making a profit. He did that first when adjusting BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 (first PC) - neither of which was his original creation. Then, the same happened with DOS, which Microsoft bought (the original version was QDOS) and adjusted.

Business strategies implementation

Then, action comes. As the saying goes, planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal. It takes guts to act boldly and take whatever risks are necessary to put your vision into practice. It takes a great deal of tenacity to surpass obstacles and get over unfortunate happenings on the way. So, how did they implement their planned strategies? What was the outcome, what principles resulted for them to base their businesses on?

Warren Buffet

For the implementation of his strategy, Buffett has drawn his company choice principles, involving a great deal of analysis of business, management, financial aspects and a great deal of patience, waiting for the right price once the possible investment has been identified.

On businesses

* simple and understandable
* consistent operating history
* favorable long-term prospects

On management

* rationality in treatment of retained earnings and investment of company profits
* disclosure of all aspects of company performances
* capacity of thinking independently of other managers' way of thinking.

On financials

* look for return on equity, not earnings per share
* analysis of free cash flow growth
* unique niche companies with high profit margins
* look for companies with at least one dollar of market value for every dollar retained

On stock valuation

* reasonable price for the company
* stock valuation analysis followed by analysis of a possible significant discount, case in which it will be purchased.

Success depends on the investor's dedication to learn and follow the principles.

Sam Walton

He gives his ten rules for success in the book "Made in America, My Story":

1. commitment to business
2. profit sharing with partners
3. partners' motivation, competition encouragement
4. total communication with partners, trigerring their commitment
5. giving appreciation to what your partners do for the business
6. keeping spirits up in celebrating success but also in treating failures with a touch of humor
7. listening to everyone in the company, encouraging their talking
8. a sustained exceptional relationship with the customer - exceeding his expectations, showing appreciation, apologizing for mistakes
9. finding a competitive advantage in controlling expenses
10. originality, doing things differently there is a good chance to find unexplored niches.

Bill Gates

Microsoft's corporate mission "A computer on every desk and in every home" shortly became a reality. Offering an easily accessible operating system for computers, perceiving the importance of customizing their product to the ordinary client and not only to computer engineers and thus addressing masses, Bill Gates succeeded in putting together and promoting towards a tremendous popularity (and profit accordingly) the world's dominant operating system.

What these people have in common is nevertheless an extraordinary ingenuity: they innovated their industry domain, building their own strategy tailored for their own business particularities and went further to its implementation.

By Laura Ciocan

How to Apply the 12 Steps for Managment Conflict and Resolution

1. Admit there is a problem.

The very first step in dealing with any problem is to acknowledge that there is a problem. Surrendering to the idea that control is an illusion allows one to be proactive rather than reactive which creates opportunity for solution.

2. Recognize that a power other than yourself can restore you to sanity.

You do not have to do it alone. You can go to mentors, peer managers, a coach, or even business literature to tap into additional experience, tools and solutions.

3. Choose to turn it over.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle is you. There are times when the best thing you can do is to get out of the way and let others do their jobs.

4. Analyze the situation to determine the cause.

Where did you drop the ball or where could you have handled the situation differently? Look for specific situations, especially those where you can see you were part of the problem and not the solution. The question to ask: 'Have I truly set my people up to succeed in every area of their responsibilities?' Look for consistent patterns in which you are the liability. Remember, if it begins with you, it can end with you.

5. Create a successful plan of action with another person.

An objective view eliminates blind spots and also brings attention to what we do not see ourselves. This step must be taken with someone with integrity and who is concerned about both the business success and your success and has a proven track record of creating results.

6. Humbly get into action.

There is a reason servant leadership creates companies that thrive financially as well as in employee/management relationships. Become a servant-leader and reap the benefits, both personally and professionally.

7. Let your side of the street sparkle.

Take stock of your personal inventory and identify where and with whom you need resolution. Then, decide what action you will take in order to complete/restore relationships.

8. Be entirely ready to implement your plan of action.

Be committed to resolving the situation. Any second-guessing or conflicting intentions should be discussed and put to rest. Willingness is a state of being, not just an attitude. It may sometimes be necessary to modify your plan of action if you are not getting the results you looked for, but don't quit before the miracle.

9 Lead by example.

Be an active part of the solution and admit your piece of the problem. Show up as a leader who accepts personal responsibility and earn respect. You don't need to demand it. People will go where you lead them, so lead by example.

10. Create an outline for others.

Once you have increased productivity and have the trust, respect and loyalty of the people involved (up, down and across the board), write down these steps as guidlines for yourself and others to operate from.Be available to support other managers and MIT's through this process.

By Elizabeth Tull

Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively

We all are project managers. Some of us manage projects like vacations or reunions, while others run implementations of new software systems, consolidation divisions of companies, launch new products, or build buildings. While the scale changes for different kinds of projects, and complexity changes as more people are affected and involved; at the core there are questions you can answer to help get any project off to a better start.

Here are seven of those questions you should ask (and answer!) when initiating a project:

1. What can I do at this early stage to increase the likelihood of project success? This question gets you thinking about the key things to do now. Often at the beginning, especially of big projects, people focus all their effort on planning. While planning is certainly important, sometimes there are actions other than "to plan" that need to be done early.

2. What skills will I need to complete this project, and who are the right people for the team? Seldom can we do it alone - and on big projects this question will get asked several times during the course of the project. Getting the right people with the right skills on your team is critical and needs to be done as soon as you can.

3. How do I influence and persuade these people to be committed to this project? It is one thing to identify the people you want on your team. It is another to help them understand why you want them, the roles they can play, and influence them to choose to be involved when they have other competing interests and opportunities. Even in a corporate setting where people can be placed on or assigned to a team, we need to think about how we will gain their commitment, involvement and passion in the project outcomes.

4. What are the major deliverables for this project? A key part of any project plan is to outline what the outcomes will be. Answering this question is a critical part of your project planning, and sometimes overlooked as people focus only on the final end results, not considering the major deliverables along the way.

5. What are the major steps in my project plan? Actually that is the question you want to answer, but isn't where you want to start. Start by brainstorming on - "what are all the things that will need to be done in this project?" Don't worry that you won't think of all of them - you'll think of more later! Get down on paper everything that you can think of first, and then ask the second question - "what are the major steps?" From your big list you will be able to identify the key steps and then group the other steps "inside" the major steps.

6. How detailed does my plan need to be at this stage? Think about the complexity of the project, the number of people involved and the skill and experience of those people. All of these factors (and potentially many more) can play into the decision of how detailed to make your plan. Make your plan detailed enough that people are clear on the deliverables and know what is expected of them by when. Perhaps the plan will need greater detail later and you will leave that to team members responsible for those components or maybe you need to develop that detail up front. This is one of the things you should be considering and balancing at the start of the project.

7. What can I do at this early stage to ensure fewer risks and obstacles during the course of the project? Think about the end of the project for a few minutes. Imagine today what obstacles, stumbling points and hurdles have had to be beaten to get to this successful completion. Then step back and ask yourself how you can eliminate the obstacles, bridge the roadblocks, and clear the hurdles now. This is one of the best uses of your time at the start - to take steps to reduce or eliminate these things, before they can occur to stall or delay your project.

By Kevin

Why Clarity Is Essential To Building Massive Momentum In Your Business

Clarity is an absolutely essential ingredient for you to achieve your full potential in business. Napolean Hill, in his classic book Think & Grow Rich, said "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." He goes on to explain why having a clear definition of what you want to achieve is a critical factor in your success.

For business owners who truly want to be "on purpose" for success and take their business to the next level, I define "clarity" as follows:

Clarity is determining exactly what results you want to achieve and when you want to achieve them.

The key word in that definition is "exactly". If you don't make the time to define your goal in exact terms, you are not setting yourself up for success. Instead, you are setting yourself up for a guess.

That's right.

A goal that is not clearly defined will not be clearly achieved. Part of the goal may be achieved, but you will not be completely satisfied with the results unless you take the time to define the entire goal upfront.

So why is having clarity so important?

Without clarity, your business moves from place to place like a ship without a rudder. But with clarity, you run your business "on purpose" and you will create amazing results -- both for you and for your customers!

This may be best understood with an example. Several years ago I worked with a business manager named Dan who helped manage a company based in Massachusetts. Dan had some lofty ideas for what he wanted to achieve, but they were not defined in much detail. He also knew that he wanted to achieve a lot of results in a short period of time, but he didn't have a good idea of how he was going to do it.

In other words, Dan was just like many business owners and managers who I have met over the years. He wanted to accomplish a lot, but he needed help gaining clarity about his ultimate goal and his timeframe for achieving it.

The first thing I did with Dan was help coach him to identify his most important short-term goal. Once that was done, Dan and I worked together to figure out what timeframe was going to be our target for achieving this goal. And once we had clarity with our goal and the target timeline, both Dan and I felt much more confident about our chances for success.

In this case, Dan's timeframe happened to be pretty aggressive and we both were confronted with a lot of opposition from people who thought that it couldn't be done. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Dan reached his big goal and he reached it within the four month window that he had set for himself.

So how can you learn from Dan's success and develop clarity for your business goals? Here are some questions to get you started:

1. Remember in Step One ("Understanding") when you were asked how you measure success in your business today? Well, you need to use the answer to that question to fill in the blank below: What have you achieved in the last three months in your business in terms of _____________ ? (i.e. typical items to fill in this blank are money, profits, or new customers)

2. What one goal would you like to achieve in the next 90 days?

3. Once you achieve this goal, what do you want to do with the extra money and extra time? In other words, what do you personally get as a reward for achieving this goal?

4. Looking back, what was your best month you ever had in your business in terms of ______________? (insert your chosen measurement again in the blank, and then answer the question)

5. Can you summarize what happened that month (or that period)? In other words, what specific actions had you taken that led to those incredible results?

Let's use another example to show you just how easy this process can be. Let's pretend a woman named Cindy is the proud owner of Cindy's Teddy Bear Company, which makes custom teddy bears for children of celebrities and upper class families.

In last week's article on Understanding, Cindy wrote down that the two biggest reasons she is in business is to positively affect children's lives and to make enough money to be financially free. Cindy also thought about how she measures her success and determined that the number of customers she has is what is most important to her.

Cindy came up with the following answers to the five Clarity questions listed above:

1. In the last three months, I have gained 72 new customers.

2. I would like to get 100 new customers in the next 90 days. I have never done this before, so this is a very exciting goal for me!

3. When I reach my goal of 100 new customers, I will invest half of the profits into my personal financial freedom account and spend some of the profits on a one-week vacation to Mexico with my family.

4. In my best month ever, I gained 30 new customers.

5. During my best month, I think the biggest reason for my success was that I rolled out a marketing campaign to a local community and followed up on every lead that I received.

Great job with Step Two, Cindy! Now you're ready to move on to Step Three.

Are you starting to get the picture and see how easy it can be to develop clarity for yourself? When you focus on the above questions and answer them honestly, you will be laying the next brick in your momentum foundation.

Make some time in your schedule this week to think about your answers to these questions. And if you have a business coach today, also make the time to review your thoughts about these questions with him or her.

Getting very clear about what you want to accomplish in your business in the next 90 days is a very important step to catapult your business into massive momentum. Take action and get these questions answered today.

You'll be glad you did!

By Matt Zembruski

The Hidden Power Of Understanding: A Secret To Building Massive Momentum In Your Business

You're busy with your business today, aren't you?

You're pushing your mind and body to the limit just about everyday to handle all the activities that need to be done. But something's missing.

Something is not quite right with this picture. Didn't you get into business to have more time freedom and more money to do what you want to do whenever you want to do it?

Didn't you get into business thinking that once you get it organized and "up and running" you would be able to take some time off to vacation and enjoy your ever-increasing profits?

Well, if you happen to agree with any of these questions, then you'll be happy to hear that there is a solution to make things better for you and your business. There is a missing ingredient to this all-too-common situation which many business owners experience.

What's missing from your business today is momentum -- massive, powerful, profit-pumping momentum!

So what is momentum, anyway?

Webster's Dictionary defines "momentum" as a "strength or force that keeps growing". That means if you want to get your profits growing and start putting more money into your pocket month after month, you need to have the power of momentum working for you.

This might be best understood with an example.

Imagine that your business is a car, and you are driving on a small side road when you decide to turn up an onramp to go onto the highway. To get up the ramp, you need to push the pedal down a little more and keep pushing on that pedal until your car is past the onramp and moving forward at 65 MPH down the highway. (or 105 KPH for non-US drivers :)

Now for the magical part of the story. Once you are going this speed down the highway, you can let up on the accelerator a bit and still maintain your speed of 65 MPH. In other words, at this point you are actually using much less gas to travel much faster and further.

Do you know why your car can go faster with less effort on the highway as compared to the side streets?

The answer is momentum!

You can take your business from the crowded side roads of mediocrity to the fast-moving highways of greatness. You have all the ability and talent you need right now to catapult your business to amazing levels of success and profits.

All you need to do to take things to the next level is learn how to harness the power of positive momentum and get it working for you right away. Creating momentum helps small, entrepreneurial businesses all the way up to large multi-billion dollar corporations. And it can work for you and your business just the same.

The first step to creating positive momentum in your business is simply called "Understanding". Let's cover an overview of what I mean by "Understanding" and how you can take this first step right away.

It's important to understand where you're at today in your business. Thinking about and answering the following questions will help you to develop your foundation for massive momentum. Just as when you build a new house, it is always important to start with a strong, solid foundation. Here are some questions to get you thinking about the topic of Understanding:

1. How many years have you been involved in your trade or business?

2. What type of business are you in today? (i.e. direct sales, retail, etc.)

3. On a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best), where would you rank your current standing in business as compared to other companies or individuals in your industry?

4. How often do you read newsletters and/or trade publications in your industry?

5. Do you work part-time or full time? About how many hours per week?

6. What are the one or two biggest reasons why you are in this business today? (i.e. do you love the product or service, do you hope to make enough money to become financially free someday, do you love the interactions you have with your customers, etc.)

7. How do you measure success in your business today? (i.e. profits/money, number of customers, etc.)

Make some time in your schedule this week to think about your answers to these questions. And if you have a business coach today, also make the time to review your thoughts about these questions with him or her.

Understanding where you're at in your business today is the first step to laying a solid foundation and beginning to catapult your business into massive momentum. Take action and get these questions answered today. You'll be glad you did!

By Matt Zembruski

Seven Questions to Improve Your Business, Your Relationships, and Your Life

Seven Questions to Improve Your Business, Your Relationships, and Your Life

One of the most powerful tools we have as humans is our ability to ask questions. The more adept we are at asking them (and waiting for and listening to the answers), the more effective we will be. Here are seven great questions to use everyday.

1. Why? Asking "why?" is a powerful way to gain an understanding of the causes of problems we encounter. Ask the question again and again to uncover the root causes of your problems.


2. What did I learn? This most basic reflective question is key to progress in any phase of your life. Take the time to ask this question each day.


3. How can I help you? By focusing on attention on the needs of others you will be improving ourselves, as well as our relationships.


4. What if? This question helps you free your creativity to look for new solutions or just to see new possibilities for yourself.


5. How can this be improved? This question focuses you on improving your situation. It helps you focus on the current situation and how to take your results to a new level.


6. How can I show my gratitude? A spirit of thankfulness is key to long-term happiness. Thinking about how to show gratitude (and then doing it!) will also help strengthen your relationships.


7. What is the best use of my time now? Asking this classic question helps to refocus on what's most important to us, whenever we ask it.

By Kevin Eikenberry

Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Reading Habit

Most people wish they read more. It is an activity that is both fun and enlightening. It can help us be more knowledgeable and successful. However, it is an activity that many people don't engage in very much. According to the 1999 National Household Education Survey, 50% of the U.S. population aged 25 and over read a newspaper at least once a week, read one or more magazines regularly, and had read a book in the past 6 months. What does this mean? It means that 50% of the population hasn't read a book in the last six months! 

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, research shows that if you read ten books a year, you are in the top few percent of all people as readers. Simply stated, it doesn't take much to be well read, but we do need to know how to get started. The following are ten suggestions to help you strengthen your reading habit - ways to find and make more time for reading.

1. Always have a book around. Don't go anywhere without reading material. Keep magazines or short stories in your bathroom. Always have something in your briefcase to read. Keep a book(s) by your bed. Having things available makes it easier for you to steal otherwise lost moments.


2. Set a reading goal. Determine how much time you want to spend reading, or how many books you want to read over time. Your goal might be a book a month, one per week, or it might be to read 30 minutes a day. Start out with something attainable but still a stretch. As your habit builds, you might set higher goals. Setting a goal is the first step towards reading more. 


3. Keep a log. Keep a list of the books you have read, or keep track of how much time you read each day. You might keep these lists in your journal or your day planner. My son's log is on our refrigerator. My list and log are kept on my computer. It doesn't matter where you keep it, just do it.


4. Keep a list. Make a list of things you want to read in the future. Ask your friends and colleagues what they are reading. Watch for recommendations in the newspaper and magazines. Once you start looking for good books, you'll find them everywhere. This is a great way to keep your enthusiasm up. By knowing what great stuff you want to read, you will reinforce your reading habit.


5. Turn off the television. Many people say they just don't have enough time. Television is one of our major time consumers. Make your television watching more conscious and less habitual. There is nothing wrong with watching television shows you really enjoy. Where the time gets lost is turning it on, and scanning to find "something to watch." Those are the times to turn it off and pick up your book!


6. Listen when you can't read. Use your commute and other time spent in the car to listen! There are great audio versions of all sorts of books. Whether you want to "read" fiction, the latest self-help or diet book, it is probably available on tape. Don't get locked into the idea that you have to read it - listening to the book still gives you the experience, ideas, and imagination that reading a book can.


7. Join a reading group or book club. Reading groups typically meet once a month to discuss a book they have all decided to read. Committing to the group provides a bit more impetus to finish the book, and gives you a great forum for discussion and socialization around the book's themes.


8. Visit the library or bookstore often. You have your list, right? So you'll have some ideas of what you are looking for when you walk in. But there is more to be gained by walking through places where books reside than just to make a transaction. Take time to browse! Let your eyes find things of interest. Let serendipity happen. Browsing will feed your mental need to read, and give you plenty of new things to read.


9. Build your own strategy. Decide when reading fits your schedule. Some people read first thing in the morning, some before bed. Some decide to read as they eat their lunch. And there is more to your strategy than just timing. Make your own decisions about reading. It is ok to be reading more than one book at once. It is ok to stop reading something before you finish if it isn't holding your interest. It is ok to skim the book, getting what you want or need, without reading every page. Determine what works best for you, develop your own beliefs and ideas-then make them work for you.


10. Drop Everything and Read. My son's fourth grade class has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time. When the teacher calls for it, that's just what they do. They read now. That is my last piece of advice for you. Do it. Just get started. Make it DEAR time. Now.



By Kevin Eikenberry

Ten Tips for Cross Cultural Communication

Here are some simple tips to help you improve your cross cultural communication skills:

Slow Down

Even when English is the common language in a cross cultural situation, this does not mean you should speak at normal speed. Slow down, speak clearly and ensure your pronunciation is intelligible.

Separate Questions

Try not to ask double questions such as, "Do you want to carry on or shall we stop here?" In a cross cultural situation only the first or second question may have been comprehended. Let your listener answer one question at a time.

Avoid Negative Questions

Many cross cultural communication misunderstandings have been caused by the use of negative questions and answers. In English we answer 'yes' if the answer is affirmative and 'no' if it is negative. In other cultures a 'yes' or 'no' may only be indicating whether the questioner is right or wrong. For example, the response to "Are you not coming?" may be 'yes', meaning 'Yes, I am not coming.'

Take Turns

Cross cultural communication is enhanced through taking turns to talk, making a point and then listening to the response.

Write it Down

If you are unsure whether something has been understood write it down and check. This can be useful when using large figures. For example, a billion in the USA is 1,000,000,000,000 while in the UK it is 1,000,000,000.

Be Supportive

Effective cross cultural communication is in essence about being comfortable. Giving encouragement to those with weak English gives them confidence, support and a trust in you.

Check Meanings

When communicating across cultures never assume the other party has understood. Be an active listener. Summarise what has been said in order to verify it. This is a very effective way of ensuring accurate cross cultural communication has taken place.

Avoid Slang

Even the most well educated foreigner will not have a complete knowledge of slang, idioms and sayings. The danger is that the words will be understood but the meaning missed.


Watch the humour

In many cultures business is taken very seriously. Professionalism and protocol are constantly observed. Many cultures will not appreciate the use of humour and jokes in the business context. When using humour think whether it will be understood in the other culture. For example, British sarcasm usually has a negative effect abroad.

Maintain Etiquette

Many cultures have certain etiquette when communicating. It is always a good idea to undertake some cross cultural awareness training or at least do some research on the target culture.


Cross cultural communication is about dealing with people from other cultures in a way that minimises misunderstandings and maximises your potential to create strong cross cultural relationships. The above tips should be seen as a starting point to greater cross cultural awareness.


By Neil Payne

5 Things You Must Do Well When Buying a Business to Not Get Burned

Are you not sure what Business to buy? Need to know what is a fair deal?

Martin Smith thought he was buying an established business with good credit and collectable accounts receivable. The day after settlement the surprises began.

Inventory could not be used because expiration dates had past. Money shown as receivable had already been collected. Vendors that were only willing to ship COD. Over $100,000 of real problems that should have been detected during the business purchase process popped up and almost shut Martin down.

Can you afford to be surprised? Of course not.

You have the power to not end up like Martin.

Owning your own business is part of the American Dream. Buying a business has many advantages over starting one from scratch if you know how. Be prepared and get all the benefits of buying an existing business.

Tangible benefits such as existing cash flow, existing customer base, existing systems, knowledgeable employees, and locations can be obtained cheaper by buying an existing business than starting from scratch.

1. Understand and Know What You do Well and Like

You must really look at the activities you like to do and find a business that allows you to do them. For instance some people want customers to come to them. A retail store may work well for them. On the other hand some owners would loose their minds staying in a store all day; perhaps something with outside sales will work for them.

Are you a people person, a thinker, a leader, or a salesperson? Do you like steady hours, flexibility etc. How much money do you have to purchase with? How much money must you make every week?

Remember the process of buying the business is not the same as running one. Do everything possible to make sure you buy one you will love running.

2. Make a Comprehensive Search for a Business

Make sure you know how to look for a business. Don't just go to one source but really check multiple reliable sources to find the business that is right for you.

Systematize your notes so you know what you looked at. Make sure you compare your strengths and weaknesses with the day-to-day tasks of running the business.

3. Understand and Value the Business Properly

Understand the basic financial techniques to value a business; it's cash flow and other assets. Know how to prepare a basic business plan in order to make projections into the future.

Understand how the business is getting its customers. Know how it delivers goods and services. Know the cash flow and how you will keep the current cash flow and then grow the cash flow.

4. Know how to structure and finance a business

Have a basic understanding of how the business valuation and related cash flow tie together. Make sure you know a number of possible ways to put a transaction together to overcome different risks.

Understand what may be financed by a conventional bank loan, a SBA loan or seller take-back. Understand how to take your outline deal and put it into a final enforceable contract.

5. Perform Due Diligence Thoroughly and Correctly

Know what to look for when investigating a company. Know how to tie accounting records into source documents. Understand inventory, equipment, vehicle titling and other problems. Understand what should occur at settlement. Make sure you are getting what you have agreed to pay for.

Bonus Tip

Recognize that the Broker almost always represents the Seller. For most small business purchases you, the buyer, will go through most of the process on your own. Make sure you know enough to get select the right business and negotiate a fair deal.

By Gregory R. Caruso

Tips to Starting your Own Busniess

The 9-to-5 grind can make you feel like a just another cog in the corporate machine, constantly punching the clock for someone else's vision. One day, while dreaming of the world outside the cubicle, you have your big "Eureka!" moment-you've come across an idea so perfect that you need to start your own business around it. 

Coming up with the idea is the easy part. Now, you're thrown into an entrepreneurial world where even the experience businessperson can feel overwhelmed by all the details. 

It's hard to know where to even begin. So here are some tips to starting your own business:

- Craft a primitive budget: do you have enough capital to get this idea rolling? First things first, figure out roughly how much it'll cost you including all expenses, and where that money will be coming from. Call in favors from everyone you've even leant money to in the past in need be. 

- Does the business world need you?: is there a large enough demand for your product? Ask around before even attempting to start your business-check with similar businesses in the area, or around the country. Find out how they started, and what kinds of clients they target, to get an idea of where you'll fit in the market. 

- Create a strong management team: your team members should share your vision of the business, and a certain amount of proficiency and credibility. Rely on your connections to find the perfect people for the jobs that will bring their expertise to the business. Remember that you will eventually have to set aside your ego and let them control certain aspects of the company, so your have to feel comfortable around your management team. 

- Start small: instead of immediately trying to market your product to 5,000 companies at once, focus on a few dozen specialized local companies to network with. This way you can call them each personally, mail them your marketing materials, and then arrange a meeting. 

- Quality matters: you want to be able to set your self apart from all the other businesses similar to yours. Having an eye-catching yet simple to navigate web site and presentation material is key to succeeding in the modern business world. Creating quality marketing tools doesn't have to cost you a fortune either; consider hiring a design art or marketing student from a nearby university to help out. You never know, you could even meet your next Junior Executive. 

- Come up with a good business plan: keep it less than 25 pages, and include information about your management team, who your customers as, and most importantly, why the world needs your business. At this stage in the game, don't over-focus on the financial side of things yet. A business plan outline can be found at http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html.

For more tips, including an A-to-Z guide to starting your own business, and 21 ways to draw customers in, go to www.entrepreneur.com. 

By Jessica Klein

The Lazy Person Secrets To Overnight Wealth And Fame

There are so many simple, yet really sure-fire ways of acquiring wealth, it's a wonder everybody with even the least bit of ambition isn't already rich. When you come right down to it, the only things needed for anyone to make bundles of money are the long-range vision and the energy to put a money-making plan into force.

One of the easiest methods of building wealth, and the one most often used by the "smart" people, is to furnish the expertise, equipment or growth capital to promising beginning business. Basically, you buy in as either a part owner or limited partner; then, as the busines grows and propers with your help, you reap your share of rewards.

The beautiful part about this whole concept is that you can repeat this procedure over and over again. You can start out with, say marketing and sales leadership for small, garage-type business; then with your holdings and earnings from that business, invest in another, and keep doing this until you own a part of twenty-five to an unlimited number of businesses. Looking at the idea from a dollar return point of view, if you were getting $200 per month from 25 different business, your monthly income would amount to no less than $5,000 and that's not too bad for a fledgling millionaire.

Look around your own area. With just a little bit of business sense and perception, you're sure to find hundreds of small businesses that could do better--perhaps even become giants in their--with your help.

Most small businesses need, and would welcome marketing, promotional, advertising, and sales help. If a quick survey of business turns you on with enthusiasm about the potential profits to be made with just a few changes that you can suggest, then you are on your way.

Basically, you set up an appointment to see and talk with business owners about some ideas and help that could double or triple their profits. When you approach them in that manner, their almost certain to want to see you and hear want you have to say.

In prepartion for your meeting, set your ideas down on paper. Put them together in an impressive marketing or profit potential folio. Outline your ideas, the costs involvrd and the ultimate profit to be gained.

Then, when you arrive for the meeting, be sure to look nad act the part of a successful business person.A few pleasantries to break the ice, and begin with your presentation.

Through your proposal, you must instill confidence that you can do all you claim for him. Guide him through the presentation to the ultimate profits---- all for a 10 or 20 percent limited partnership in the business, which really won't cost him anything. Of course, if he is reluctant to give up any part of his ownership, you come back with the idea of being hired as a consultant.

Almost all small businesses need help of some kind. The owners get bogged down in a myraid of every day problems and things to do. They find there just are not enough hours in the day to handle everything that should be taken care of, and end up neglecting or putting off some of the things they should be doing to keep the business prosperous. As a result, the long struggle for business survival begins, with more than 60% of them selling out at a loss or just closing up shop.

The other way to " cut yourself in" on a piece of someone else's business is to supply needed money. If you can come up with 10 or 15 thousand dollars, you can easily "buy into" some small businesses. Be sure to look the business ( and its market potential) over; but once you spot one that can really be a winner with just a little bit of operating cash or money for expansion, then start figuring!

You can reach a never ending supply of such businesses to choose from, simply by running a small advertisement in your daily newspaper in the .Classified section under the heading of Business Opportunities Wanted. Such an ad might read:

SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE LOOKING FOR NEW BUSINESS VENTURES. WILL CONSIDER BUY OUT OR PARTNERSHIP. PO BOX 123, CITY

By the same token, make it a habit to look through the Business Opportunities Available on a regular basis. Mark a few each day and follow up. Check them out, And see what kind of a deal is being offered. Remember, proper management and planning are basically the ingredients to success in business; and most small businesses just do not have these ingredients in the proportions needed to attain their greatest profit potential.

Other people have done it, and more are starting up every day. There's no reason why you can't do it. In most cases little or no cash is needed. But with a little bit of action on your part, you could quickly become a multi-business owner, and very wealthy as well.

To brainstorm more good ideas, and learn how to promote business through Internet effectively in a revolutional way, you can visit http://www.best-internet-businesses.com


By Julia Tang

How To Make $20.00 For Every $1.00 Invested

It has been said you can lift the Rock of Gibraltar if you have a fulcrum point and long enough lever. When we refer to "financial leverage" we are talking about the same principle. If you buy a business building for $100,000 with $5,000 down, this is using leverage of 20 to 1. For a mere 1/20th of the purchase price, you actually own and control property that is 20 times more valuable than your cash investment.

If the income of the building is only sufficient to make the payments and expenses and you don't gain any cash flow, you are still getting the building paid for and perhaps in 5 years or so, with continuing inflation, you can sell the building for $200,000... a gain of $95,000 on a $5,000 investment. This is the potential result of proper use of leverage.

A good rule to follow in applying leverage, relevant to any business venture for that matter, is always provide a reserve. Hold back some cash for emergencies. Hold back additional capital so if you go under you will have a nest egg to start a new venture.

Sometimes when things go sour and there is no way out it is better to take the least loss possible, save what you can and get out...NOW! Use the remainder to again find financing, margin leases, mortgages, franchises and all the other manners of using money belonging to others for both their profits and yours.

Selling your property for cash then leasing back on a long term lease is an other form of leverage. If you sell for one million dollars cash and lease back at $10,000 per month, you have generated tremendous leverage. You now have $1,000,000 each with 10% down for each property, you now control 10 millions dollars worth of income producing properties. Sometimes it is possible to use options to hold property, with very little cash down, until you can obtain title and take possession. This can produce fantastic leverage if planned property.

Going public is an other method used to gain leverage by using other people's money. You receive money from the public for shares of your corporate stock and at the same time establish a market value for your unissued stock.

Before you apply leverage on any proposition, be sure know just what your are doing. There must be a continuous favorable cash flow to service your debt, pay all your costs and expenses and give you a reasonable profit. If weakness occurs in any one or several of your business entities, it could drag down your entire organization.

2. IN FRANCHISES

Franchising your business operation packet is another form of leverage. You are selling others your know-how and the right to use your system and/or product for a price, either a share of the profits, a bulk payment or a combination of both.

It is not as simple as it used to be to become a franchiser, due to controls and red tape established by the various state and governmental agencies. In some states it is just about impossible for the layman to proceed to wade through all the red tape required to satisfy the laws. However, if it were easy to do, it probably would not be profitable anyway.

When you have met all the requirements of the various agencies, you will have an operating manual and pro-forma accounting statement...You will have developed a turn-key package for your franchise offering

To get started right get revised statutes of the state from the Secretary of State and study the requirements for establishing and selling franchises.

As your franchises become better known and after you have a few locations, instead of selling one franchise at a time, offer area franchise to "master" franchise holders. Get a portion of the set-up charges for each area plus a continuing percentage of gross business from each operating unit.

3 IN THE STOCK MARKET

*BONDS

You can earn interest on non-existent money and buy bonds on a regular basis without ever paying for any of them except the first five bonds. You will need $500 in cash and a brokerage account in both the U.S. and Canada. Open an account with a canadian brokerage House and deposit a &500 check with them. On the same day, before your check clears, open a brokerage account in your home town. This one may be opened without any money.

You buy new issue bonds through your American Broker and state that they MUST be delivered to your Canadian Broker for payment. The very day that you purchase the bonds, you will start drawing interest. It will take 5 or 6 weeks for the bonds to be delivered, and all the time you will be earning interest.

With this plan, you can space your order so that you can have $1000,000 or more in bonds on order. and when they arrive at your Canadian Broker, it works like this:

The Broker accept the first five bonds of $1,000 each and place them in your account. When the second $5,000 worth arrives, (you must always order in $5,000 units), he then sells the first bonds to pay for the third, etc...

The results are BIG profits for non-cash existing money. You can actually earn up to 80% interest on money you don't even have.

Often the new bonds will have an increase in resale value to add to the interest earned. Thus a $5,000 bond at 8% interest rate that takes 60 days to deliver would earn $67.00 interest. If they go up in value, you may pick up an additional $200 to $500 or even more when they are sold.

* PENNY STOCK

Periodically a great deal of money has been made dealing in Penny Stock but it is highly speculative and is perhaps once in a lifetime that one is able to hit it right to cash in with a spectacularly high yield.

To take some of the speculation out of it, many investors purchase only 100 shares or so, of a number of different company's stock. In this way they may only $50 to $100 invested in each of 40 to 50 firms. This is one of the best ways to go when getting acquainted with this kind of investment.

The stock of one of the Nation's larger firms, which now has outlets in about every city in the United States, was selling at 60 cents a share in 1963. 100 shares at that time for a total of $60 is now valued at over $75,000!

$9,000 invested in 1948 in stock of what was then a small timber firm, was worth over $1,000,000 a few years ago, and in addition would have proceed average dividends over the years sufficient to equal a top salary each year. A person who invested at that time would have been able to "goof off" from that time forward, receive more money than working for a living and still have over a million dollars in the bank or for other investments.

There are various newsletters covering low priced stock. One should subscribe to several and analyse the information before investing.


By Julia Tang

The Benefits Of Helping An Online Business Newbie

Do your remember when you first ventured out in the online business world? You probably had questions and problems along the way. Wouldn't it have been easier if you had help? When a newbie asks for your advice, educate them; answer their questions and help them solve their online business problems. If you do not have the knowledge to help them out, point them in the right direction. You'll get many benefits from helping online business newbies. Below are eight possible benefits you could receive:

1. You will feel good knowing that you had a part in helping them build their business. You can sit back and say "I had a part in their success." 2. They may become one of your best friends. Most people can use new friends, even business owners. You may even become business partners and create a totally new business together. 3. You could end up being strategic business allies in the future. You could regularly do joint venture and cross promotion deals with each other.

4. They may help you out with your business. Maybe they will give you some testimonials or endorsements for your products or services. 5. You might gain some valuable referrals from them. They may also join your affiliate program and make sales for your business. 6. They might offer you some free advertising space on their web site or in their e-zine for your help. You could also exchange advertising with them. 7. You both could end up developing a new product or service together. The product or service could be a combination of your current ones.

8. They might purchase the products you sell and become one of your best customers. You could sell them many back end products or services in the future. You help them with your previous valuable experience, and help them to save time and save money if you tell them which marketing resources and business opportunities are effective and reliable, and which ones are just hype to avoid. You will get rewarded greatly if you are doing a great job to help online business newbie.

There are probably many other benefits you could get from helping a new online business owner. Always remember to help them out because it's the nice thing to do and not just to benefit your own business.



By Julia Tang

Bookkeeping Techniques For Morons

Please don't think I am calling you a "moron" to hurt your feelings in any way. I was a moron when I first started setting up my files. You have to force yourself to do it NOW -- right at the beginning! Many of a business has collapsed simply because they lacked organization in their basic accounting business practices. Don't be one of them!

As a small business you don't have to really do much in the beginning. Here is how to set up your files from ground zero:

1. Take out a hanging file folder and a label of any kind. (Hanging folders and labels for them can be purchased at K-Mart, Wal-Mart and any office supply store.)

2. Type or hand print "Receipts" on the label and place it on the hanging folder.

3. Now, place 5 MANILA file folders inside the hanging file folder (which you labeled "Receipts") and label each of the manila file folders with the following headings:

a. Advertising
b. Postage
c. Office Supplies
d. Utilities and Rent for the Office
e. Miscellaneous

You now have one large hanging file folder with 5 separate manila file folders inside it. Carefully place your hanging file folder in your metal file cabinet or cardboard banker's box. (A banker's box can be purchased at any office supply store also and normally cost around $4.)

Now, wasn't that easy? Some of you reading this will think that I am attempting to insult your intelligence. This is NOT my intention. This report is broken down in a simple, step-by-step way so everybody can understand it -- regardless of their previous knowledge and experience. Remember, some people have never worked in an office their entire life. What seems simple and accepted to some of us, may be something another person would never have known.

Okay, let's go back to where we were. You now have one master file completed and we're ready to make another just like it. This time we'll name the hanging file folder "Income" and label 3 manila folders inside it with the following headings: a. Completed and Shipped Orders b. Inquiries and Correspondence c. Open Orders Still Pending

See how easy? From now on, you simply make another folder as the need arrives and you're files will always be easy to maintain. (Once you get this concept down pat -- you can easily think about getting a computer. A computer organizes its information in the SAME manner. Believe me -- this same system works! You'll be amazed at how many mistakes it will help you prevent.)

Yes -- bookkeeping is a very simple process. All you have to do is keep the system going. For instance, every order that I process, I completely finish before moving on to the next order. Example:

1. Mail is received and opened. As each piece is opened it is placed into individual piles. Orders with pre-payment are placed in one pile, information and daily correspondence in another, and so forth.

2. Each order that has been pre-paid for is processed first -- with each one being processed individually to completion. (That means it is in an envelope, a label typed out and the completed order is ready to be mailed at the post office.)

3. During the process, the "date," "amount of check or payment" and "product ordered" is recorded on the outside of the envelope -- making sure the customer's full name, address and telephone number (if available) is on the envelope too.

4. Just before closing up the office for the evening, the envelopes are then keyed into the database on our computer (you can substitute a computer for the hanging files in the beginning.) We record all the information that was written on the envelopes during the processing of the order. (Don't think you will remember "what" the order was. That thinking will open you up to make human errors.)

If you operate an Internet business, you are going to use computer and email a lot. You need do following:

1. Create different folder in your computer, name it with different resources: marketing, search engine tools, articles and tips, ebooks, ezine lists, picture files...

2. Create folders in your email account, you can save useful emails for different purpose: training, sales, purchase receipt, new customers, prospects... As your business grows, your understanding and abilities will grow also. At that time you can grow into a more sophisticated means of keeping the books.

In the meantime -- keep good records. They are the lifeblood of any business and can eventually make or break you. You'll thank yourself in the long run.


By Julia Tang

Your Leadership Shopping List

'Tis the season to give. And finding the right gift to give the people on your team can be challenging. Oprah Winfrey once said, "It doesn't matter what the thing is; what matters is how much of yourself goes into the giving, so that when the gift is gone, the spirit of you lingers." This is especially true for leaders. When you give of yourself you build character and credibility both for you and your organization.

Below are ways you can give this Christmas that won't put a dent in your budget.

1. Acknowledge people everyday. A colleague of mine, Wayne Sellers, greets everyone with a handshake each morning. That few minutes he spends encouraging his staff is much more beneficial than one more cup of coffee or answering the emails waiting in his inbox. Too many people to make that work? Divide up by departments and appoint someone to be the morning greeter for each group.

2. Recognize important dates. Birthdays and company anniversaries matter. Add dates to your outlook calendar or palm pilot then set a reminder. Everyone likes to be recognized on their special day. And they will be impressed that you remembered.

3. Include people in decisions that affect their department. Listen to their concerns. Be open to their input. If it directly affects their department and you don't have their buy in, the decision will most likely be ineffective anyway. Even if it is a mandatory policy, let their voice be heard. Sometimes just venting their feelings is enough to get people on board.

4. Acknowledge their work. Be specific about the things they do well. A simple pat on the back or hand written note can be powerful at building an employee's professional esteem.

5. Leave your door open. This radiates an open door policy. When people believe they can come to you with any problems, issues or concerns, you open the door to know exactly what is going on in your organization.

6. Give people creative freedom. A team full of people who problem solve and brainstorm only your ideas will create a stagnate organization. Let them think 'out of the box' and watch your organization grow.

7. Be human. Admit when you make a mistake. Laugh at their jokes. Share stories about your family. People need a leader they can relate to.

You may be thinking a few of these 'gifts' are obvious. Perhaps you already give several of the 'gifts' on the list year. Or maybe you found a few new ones for your shopping list. At the core of all of these gifts is you. Whether it is the eleven gifts on this list or any of 100 others, give yourself this holiday season - and make it a habit the whole year through.

By Holly Powers

How To Make Money With Your Junk Mail

The term "junk mail" is a well-known term. To the common guy or gal on the street, "junk mail" to them is advertising flyers from the local grocery store and pizza shop that arrive in their mail every day. To the mail order dealer, it means something totally opposite because a mail order dealer in St Paul MN is not going to get a pizza ad for a shop in Jackson MS.

Therefore, "junk mail" refers to pyramid schemes, chain letters and other worthless information that you are inundated with as a newcomer. Often you will get so much of it that you will think this is all mail order has to offer and quit. THIS IS NOT TRUE. This is only one phase of the mail order industry -- and it's too bad that beginners get hit with the bulk of it. As you continue to grow in the mail order business, the amount of "junk mail" you receive will diminish compared to the legitimate offers and orders. This is how you know your business is growing in a successful direction.

But back to the matter at hand. How can you make money with this "junk"? One way is by studying and analyzing the piece of mail from a marketing standpoint. Since people obviously are making money with "junk mail" (it would have phased out long ago if it didn't) it's up to you to find out HOW they are doing it.

Is it the words they use? Normally, "junk mail" offers appeal to a person's emotional wants and desires. They claim to offer hidden secrets, untold wealth and quick cash. They make false claims by telling people they can now send their kids to college, buy their wife a beautiful diamond ring, take a well-deserved vacation to an exotic tropic island and pay off all their debts.

When the person reads this stuff and forms visions of sugarplums in their heads, they will rush right away and send away for the product immediately. What made them believe you? How was the "junk mail" written to cause a person to immediately react in this manner? These are things you have to study and determine. Then, use this new found knowledge to sell your own product.

The problem with "junk mail" is that if a person gets all hyped up and sends away for the product they have built it up to be bigger-than-life. And when the product or information they ordered arrives, it simply is a sheet of paper or another piece of "junk mail" trying to sell them something else. The person feels cheated, stupid, and taken advantage of.

People may always exist that will respond to this type of "junk mail." But you can use the same marketing concept to provide the people with something REAL. This way, they won't feel cheated, stupid and taken advantage of. This is where the "junk mail" authors who wrote this stuff in the first place overlook the true marketing potential.

More money could be made if the person buying something is satisfied and makes a repeat purchase. In fact, newcomers are eager to learn and will buy anything to get started learning. By taking advantage of them only means that you will make one sale in that person's lifetime. But if the product is good and worthwhile -- they will order from you again and again. Many newcomers today will be big businesses tomorrow. And I'm sure if a newcomer found a honest company that really helped them break into the mail order field they would continue to do business with them when they really did make millions of dollars. See what I mean? The back-end sales for a lifetime would be worth the investment.

I'm not saying that you can take a piece of "junk mail" claiming to make the person $1 million in 30 days or less and turn it into a valuable and worthwhile product. Since this is a downright lie, there is no way to market this honestly. However -- you can study the piece of "junk mail" to determine what words and phrases were used and how the ad is written so you can understand how to present a REAL product that people will be eager to buy.

Then, pass the word and tell every new person you come into contact with about these pie-in-the-sky-schemes. You might even want to try writing to some of the people listed on the chain letters. Explain how all this "junk mail" only appeals to their emotional needs and how the company who originally wrote these materials are USING them to only get their money. If everyone passed along this information -- it wouldn't take very many years before we could put a stop to all this nonsense.

If people slack off on buying it and see the scam for what it really is -- the cons will diminish!


By Julia Tang

How To Eliminate Your Competition Without Bloodshed

So how do you eliminate your competition without bloodshed? You must create a niche for your business. A niche is something that makes your business different from your competitors. To compete with other businesses nowadays (especially online) you need something that nobody else can copy. One of a kind!

First you must know who your competitors are. Is your business the only one of its type? I doubt it. If so, it won't be for long. Do you know your exact target audience? If not, you will have to find out this information before creating any kind of niche. Below are two ways to come up with a competition eliminating niche.

1. Just Ask! The first way to come up with a niche is to think like your target audience or customers. Know their exact needs, wants, goals, problems and interests. There're two ways to do this: The first way is to put yourself in their shoes, think like them. The second way is to give them polls and surveys to find out what they're thinking. Pick a niche that none of your competitors are using. If you can't find one that your competitors aren't using pick one to improve.

2. Just Think! The second way to come up with a niche is to use your brain power. Ask yourself questions like: How can I set myself apart from my competition? What could I offer that they can't? Imagine or daydream that your business is on top of all your competitors. What niche put your business at the top in your head? Now, if you keep asking these questions your mind will eventually start shooting out more ideas than you can handle. One of those ideas may be the niche you're searching for.

Now that you have your niche that's just half the battle. You must test it. Does your niche appeal to your target audience? Will it attract people away from your competition? If it does, you're done, until your competition comes up with a better niche. If your niche doesn't, than repeat the process above and test a new niche until it works. If you want to eliminate your competition and be successful you will use this process several times in your business life.


By Julia Tang

How To Use Bartering To Gain An Advantage Over Your Competition

If you have a business on the Internet you should be bartering goods and services with other businesses. You should always try to trade for something before you buy it. Barter deals usually require no money. Although sometimes you may need money to offset the value of the goods or services being traded.

Bartering will give you many advantages over your competition. It can save your business money. You can spend the extra money on a buying paid Internet advertising. It allows you to offer your products and services at a lower price than your competition. You can afford to get the higher priced goods and services to compete on the internet.

There are numerous ways to find barter deals online. Set up a barter message board or chat room on your web site to get more barter offers. Note on your web site or e-zine you are willing to barter for goods and services. Join newsgroups or e-mail discussion groups that are about bartering. Join an online barter club to meet other businesses that barter. Find web sites that barter by looking up the keywords barter, trade, or swap in your search engine of choice.

There are a few things you should do before bartering. Compile a list of your goods and services you are willing to barter. Make a list of goods and services you need or want for your online business. Know the approximate cash value of the things you are trying to trade and the value of the things you are seeking in return. All of this information can help you negotiate a successful barter deal.

When proposing a barter offer, tell the person the benefits of the barter deal. Explain to them why it would be a win/win situation. Give their business many compliments in your proposal. Prove to them why it would be a fair trade. This type of proposal can increase your chances off them saying "Yes, I will barter.

By Julia Tang

Shaking Your Money Tree: Seven Ways to Make Quick Cash

Does your business have a money tree you can shake when a little extra cash is needed? Every business should have one!

What I mean by a money tree is something you can do to quickly generate revenue when you need it. Where can you find a money tree? Although you can't buy one at your local garden store, they are more common than you might imagine. Just as in a forest, there are many species of money trees, so you need to find one that is right for you. Here are a few common varieties:

The Sale Tree brings in cash by making a discount offer to customers. Buy before June 30th, and you get a lower price. This creates a sense of urgency for customers to buy now in order to save money and can create a new flow of sales for you.

The Bonus Tree can work like the Sale, but instead of a discount, customers get a free item with purchase. Buy one, get one free, for example, or buy this item and get a free accessory. You might make the bonus item something only available as a bonus, and not available to buy. Booklets, books, audio programs and other items with a low production cost and high perceived value are great bonus items.

Generate cash with the New Product Tree by introducing a new product. Customers love new things, so announce it with a flourish. You might cross the New Product tree with the Sale or Bonus tree to get a hybrid with extra appeal.

Shake the Personal Touch Tree by contacting current or former customers and reminding them it may be time to do business with you again. Perhaps the supplies they bought from you a few months ago are running low, or it's time for a follow-up service.

The Referral Tree should be in bloom all the time, but you can get better results when you tend it. Do a mailing or phone campaign to ask current customers to refer their friends and colleagues. You may be able to generate lots of sales quickly this way.

The Cold Call Tree can be hard to shake, but the results can be worthwhile. Identify your best prospects and call or visit them.

One of my favorites is the Publicity Tree. It's an odd one, in that you never know when it is going to bloom, or what it will look like when it does; however, the results are often magnificent. Provide a jumpstart in its growth by regularly sending press releases and pitches to the media.

Decide which money tree is right for your business, then nurture it and keep it growing. And, every once in a while, shake the heck out of it and watch the dollars come floating down!

By Cathy Stucker

Get Your Mailing Noticed - Seven Tips for Effective Direct Mail Pieces

When sending mail to clients and potential clients, make your mailing stand out from the stacks of "junk mail" they receive. Here are a few easy ways to get their attention.

Hand address the envelope. Pre-printed labels scream "mass mailing." Addressing by hand adds a personal touch.

Use a bright post card or envelope.

Put stamps on the envelope, instead of using a meter.

Even better, use old stamps. Visit a stamp shop or show in your town to pick up old, unused postage stamps. You can often buy old sheets of stamps for face value or below. Look for stamps with themes that relate to your business.

Include "teaser copy" on the envelope. Get them to open and read it by promising startling news, an exciting offer, or other enticement. Then, deliver on your promise.

Send post cards instead of envelopes. With all the copy right there in front of them, recipients will have to read it.

Keep a consistent look for repeat mailings. Your audience should recognize your mailings, catalogs, newsletters, post cards or other communications on sight.

Some people believe that email has made "snail mail" communications obsolete, but that is certainly not true. Make your mailings interesting and attractive (and target the right audience), and you will discover how effective mail can be.

Cathy Stucker.

Top 7 Reasons You Should Back Up Your Data Online!

How much is your data worth to you? In this modern electronic-age we rely more than ever on our computers to supply us with the information we need. Chances are every piece of data you might ever rely on to make an important decision has been reduced to a digital format and resides somewhere on your computer's hard drive. Improved functionality and productivity are the benefits, however, on the flipside, one wrong click, one nasty virus, one untimely power surge or unhappy employee and that data is gone forever!
Online backups (also called offsite or remote backups) are a great solution for almost any small business or individual computer user.
1. The Statistics say you should.
a. Among the companies that experience data loss, 50% never re-open and 90% are out of business within two years.
b. 20MB of accounting data takes 21 days and costs $19,000 to reproduce.
c. Causes of data loss - 42% Hardware Failure, 30% Human Error, 13% Software Corruption, 7% Computer Viruses, 5% Theft.
2. Easy. Online backups are a simple way to protect your data. Online backup services provide the software application, server space and customer service in one turnkey solution. There are no additional software applications or equipment specifications to learn. The installation and set-up is quick and painless. Your backups can be scheduled to run automatically at any time you desire. There is no media, tapes or hardware to deal with.
3. Security. Believe it or not, online backups are generally more secure than in-house backup solutions. If your computers or data are affected by natural disaster, power failure/surges, viruses, vandalism, theft, human error, etc., your in-house backup will suffer the same consequences. Another unfortunate thing about tape backups is that they are not generally encrypted, and not very secure. Almost anyone can read them and gain access to your clients, sales, prospects, notes, billing records, payroll, tax info, and anything else on your computer.
Online backups encrypt (up to 448-bit) your data before transferring it to the remote server. Most backup servers are housed in secure locations with security guards, generators and the latest state-of-the-art security technology.
4. Inexpensive. Online backups give you more "bang for the buck." Setting up a traditional data protection plan requires software, hardware, media and the man-hours necessary to set-up and protect your data on a daily basis. Online backups combine all of these functions in one easy service for a low monthly or annual fee.
The cost? If you or your staff spends as little as 10 minutes per day running a tape backup or burning a CD, figure just the cost of labor at about $100 per month. Add on top of that, the cost of CDs, or tapes and you're spending 4 or 5 times the cost of the average online backup fee, which requires "no time" daily once your initial setup is done. You can start an online backup account for as little at $5 - $15 per month.
5. Quick File Restores. In the event you need to restore your lost data, you simply select the applicable files or volumes and with a click of the mouse all of your data is transferred to its original location. Your data is ALWAYS available 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. You can recover a single file or all of your files in a matter of minutes. 6. Peace of Mind. Knowing that your data is safe, secure and always available is enough reason to check out an online backup solution.
7. The Alternatives. You can't afford the alternatives! Computer users spend millions of dollars annually to recover lost data. The data recovery industry is HUGE and continues to grow. Assuming that your data is even recoverable - expect it to be an expensive and time consuming ordeal. Obviously, it is best to be prepared in the first place.
By Sol Spencer

7 Tips on How To Prepare for Business Events

Are you scratching your head after business events wondering why you aren't finding prospects? Whether it's your first or 100th event, here are some tips on how to prepare for your next event that can make the difference between scratching and smiling. These tips will help you save time, money, create memorable impressions, and increase connections.

1. Know your intention. Why are you attending? Listen to your self-truth. Are you attending to refine your skills, build relationships, make sales, or need to just get away from the office? Intentions work best when they are limited to one. The limitation clarifies and directions all your actions. When there are multiple intentions, you begin with confusion and convey the same to all at the function.

Does your intention match the type of event? If it's a Christmas party and your intention is to generate sales, there isn't a match. You don't want to give a negative first impression; they take too long to change. If you aren't sure what types attend the event, contact the event manager, and ask or use of the theme as your answer.

What does your business need? Maybe you need a referral, are looking for a new employees, or accountant, or image consultant. A need can be a secondary or first intention. If you decide to include a need into the equation, make sure you know what that need is, how to present it and to whom. After you ask, what is the next step? Clarity is necessary for success. You job is to be ready for when it appears.

Are you ready for the sale? I've met many people who want sales but aren't ready for the orders. If someone says yes at the event, are you ready with the next step? If not, reconsider your attendance. It is better investment to focus your time on finishing the preparation. A first impression of not knowing what you are doing isn't a good impression to give.

2. Continuing with the topic of needs...what are your short-term, medium-term, and long-term needs now? If you are seeking short-term funds and the event is about building relationships, medium to long-term, then it might be wise to pass it up for now and pursue endeavors that match.

For a new business, short-term is three months or less, medium-term from four or six to eight months, and long-term is anything over that. Short-term projects usually match short-term funds, and so on. It's like buying food and paying for it over a six-month period when the food only lasts 30 days. You are buying apples to pay off with oranges, and the two never mix well.

If there is a mixture, do you have something available to sell that will generate short-term funds? For coaches, whose prices do not fall into the short-term attraction range, selling coaching with the thought that it makes short-term funds is a mix match. Coaching falls into medium-term and long-term and seldom short-term unless your name is very recognizable.

3. It takes three contacts before people are aware that you exist. It doesn't matter if this is in person, an ad, or three ezines. What three do you use to create awareness for yourself? This is why the 60-second elevator speech is important. Yet, by itself, it's too lonely. Shaking hands and carrying on a discussion is another but that is still shy of three. If you write Internet articles, bring copies to the event. Don't place the articles on the general table, personally hand them out so people can connect the two.

4. Rehearse don't practice. Create a list of 10 opening questions, choose a few at a time from that list, and rehearse them with colleagues, friends, or family. Rehearsing is interacting with live people and is closer to what you will actually be doing. Practicing into a tape recorder is the next best thing because it allows you to hear the voice others will hear. If that makes you twinge, then maybe that is exactly what others are feeling as well. Work with a voice coach to refine your tone.

Here are ten story-opening questions to get your started. Pull from these and then create your own.

(1) What do you enjoy most about what you're doing?

(2) What is the strangest (or funniest) incident you've experienced in your business?

(3) What marketing have you found most effective in your business or industry?

(4) What is your key product (or service)?

(5) What do people like best about working with you?

(6) What is your number one need at the moment?

(7) What do you like most about coming here? If it's their first time, "What do they like most about the event thus far?"

(8)What business trends do you see affecting you right now (or next year)?

(9) If I had an ideal customer of yours in front of me right now, describe them.

(10) How do you see this event helping you in your business?

Know what actions you want to occur and what are their triggers. Rehearse until smooth, not strained. Are you going to ask them to become a subscriber for your newsletter? Visit your website? Sign up for a workshop? Set up a time for coffee? You will most likely have several calls to action, limit them to five, and never request more than one per person per event. Otherwise, you will come across as too pushy or confuse your listener.

Ask attendees to join you in the next step. "Ask and you shall receive." Ask if they are interested in having a call together. Ask if they would like to be a subscriber and mention the main benefit people tell you why they enjoy receiving it. Ask if they would like to register for your workshop. If they answer anything other than yes, they aren't interest, it's important to just move on. Never, never, never, promise to call and don't. The label will follow you.

5. Differentiate yourself from others in similar professionals. Even twins have differences. Leave the humbleness at home. How are you different from others in the same profession or selling the same type of product? Can you explain the differences in 2 minutes during any introduction if needed? Any longer and the listener zones out because the conversation is no longer about them.

Due to its importance, let me repeat this. If you don't know what you're selling, how you are different, or have a clear direction on your current prospect needs, then you aren't ready to attend any events yet. Spend the time defining these first.

6. A memorable moment includes several items. One of the items is your personal style. You can accomplish this in your selection of clothing, tone, or language. You can wear scarves or ties with themes, a comment-getting pin, hats, and the same color in shirts or shoes. I knew a man who always wore cowboy boots. He had a wide collection, they matched his accent, and people could spot him across the room. Did his style increase business? You bet. Create a style and treat it like your trademark or calling card.

7. Know what you're marketing strategy for attending this event -- all seven steps. What happens after yes, after they become a subscriber, or any other call to action you have? Always have the next step planned no matter which direction the conversation goes.

Be the leader and they will follow. Be the leader, inside and then out.

By Catherine Franz.