Make Your Business Succeed In A Location Where Others Have Failed

Every neighborhood has one--a particular retail store or restaurant location that seems to consistently fail. One business after another moves in, each succumbing to the same bleak fate. The location itself seems doomed to fail. Can any business succeed there, or is the spot just jinxed? The Portland, Oregon, location of entrepreneur Allen Tackett's coffee-house could certainly be considered jinxed. In the seven years prior to Underdog Coffee's residence, at least three businesses had come and gone--including another coffee shop that couldn't make it work. Not easily discouraged, Tackett bought the failing coffeehouse in early 2005 (it was being run under a different name) and completely revamped it. From giving it the Underdog Coffee moniker and sourcing higher-quality coffee to creating new, eye-catching, backlit signage to draw in crowds, Tackett, 29, set out to unequivocally break the curse. Change is the key to making previously failing locations succeed, says Richard Parker, a small-business expert and author of How to Buy a Good Business at a Great Price. A new business can't do the same thing as the old, failing business and expect to succeed. "As opposed to the location being wrong, the concept of the business is usually wrong," says Parker. "Maybe a restaurant isn't good for that location, but another business is." Even a seemingly small change to the business concept can make a huge difference. Parker cites a situation where restaurants continually failed due to a parking lot that customers perceived as unsafe. The restaurant that finally succeeded in that location offered free valet service. Parker also suggests using grassroots marketing to get the word out about your new business. New, more visible signage, local fliers, direct mail, radio spots and product giveaways will encourage people to give your business a chance--and hopefully, the quality will keep them coming back for more. Tackett proved extremely adept at marketing his new business. When he decided to give away free coffee during the week of his grand opening, he asked his local radio station to publicize it--and the DJs were more than happy to send listeners his way. The strategy worked, and now Tackett expects combined sales from that first store and a second location in Lebanon, Oregon, to gross over $250,000 in sales for 2005. This From a Magazine.

Starting An Online Business

Starting an online business requires an investment of your time and a willingness to acquire the necessary knowledge.

I receive lots of questions about starting a home-based business.

Many are along the lines of "How do I get started making money online? What should I sell that will make the most money? How do I get more traffic... more sales?"

Then there's the occasional question about stuffing envelopes from home.

First things first...

The Bottomless Money Pit

Envelope stuffing isn't a work-at-home business. It's a bottomless pit that sucks in people's hard earned money.

Don't throw your money into the pit. You can't buy a business for $29.95.

In fact, the Federal Trade Commission recently leveled charges against 77 different work-at-home operations in 17 states. A good portion of those charged were envelope stuffing operations.

Working At Home Is.... Work

Working at home requires an investment. Not so much an investment of money, but an investment of time.

Certainly, you'll need some money. Money buys the building blocks. But you don't necessarily need to invest lots in the beginning. In fact, you can start an online business with very little.

But you absolutely must invest your time.

When you first begin thinking about a home-based business, the initial excitement and giggles are very intoxicating.

After that wears off it begins to dawn on you... Man, this home business gig is work! Yes, it is work. Learning how to be proficient in any business takes work. With a little fortitude and stamina though, you begin see how all the dots connect together. As the dots connect the money flows.

Plant Your Flag

Truly, what you discover is that things get easier as your base of knowledge grows. The dots merge into a larger picture. You can accomplish more in less time and money flows in as a result.

Personally, I have a tendency to get really focused on a task to the exclusion of everything else. I pour everything into it until I've mastered it. One dot at a time. Plant my flag. Move on.

Where do you want to plant your flag first?

There is no other way than to first choose a path that you feel passionate about. Choose with the heart first and the money is more likely to follow.

Getting Started

Once you've got an idea, how do you get started?

For an online home business your best bet is to start small. For as little as $1 per month you can get a site going with Hostica.com. That's a bargain.

Once you've got a site, how do you turn blank pages into a viable website? How do you get orders? How do you build traffic? So many "how-do" questions!

Yanik Silver and Jim Edwards put out a great ebook at 33DayToOnlineProfits.com that tackles these questions. It's a guide for businesses wanting to get started online. It takes you through the specific steps of startup on a 33 day timetable.

Create Great Copy

Learning how to write great sales copy for your site and promotional materials is a business must. You need to attract sales with compelling headlines and dazzling offers.

This is important. You're just spinning your wheels and setting yourself up for disappointment if don't create a site that targets your visitors in specific ways.

Marlon Sander's has a great system available from AmazingFormula.com. This is a good resource to learn the skills of writing compelling headlines and sales copy. With his 14 step formula, you can pump out great sales copy just like a pro.

If you want to really turn up the heat try Joe Sugarman's techniques. You can get his guidebook at PsychologicalTriggers.com. You'll learn the triggers that cause people to enter a buying mode and increase the response you want from people.

Optimize Your Site For The Search Engines

Now optimize your site so people will find you when they search online and submit your pages to the major search engines. A good chunk of the traffic I receive each day comes through search engines. And it doesn't cost me anything.

A good way to start learning how to build a search engine friendly site is with Mike Grehan's marvelous book at http://www.searchengine-report.co.uk. It has the knowledge you need to get your site ranked high in the engines.

There you are. A few islands of knowledge you can explore. And you don't have to lick a single envelope.

Now go plant your flag.

This from http://www.HomeBizTools.com

Business Insurance - What You Need To Know

Getting your business up and running is exciting, challenging and hard work. You’re finally making money – and you are the driving force that is making your business grow. But have you taken care of the “What ifs”. Like – “What if I get sick, how do I pay my bills” or “What if I have a fire, how do I keep my business running”. Simply put, the one thing you do not want is to have the business that you have labored so tirelessly on, hit a financial snag. If you are a sole proprietor or a partnership – both your business and personal liabilities are at risk. Do you think you’re safe if you incorporate or have an LLC? Many are misled into believing this is so, however, you too can become personally liable if you sign a personal guarantee on a loan, personally injure someone or act irresponsibility. As you will see, owning business liability insurance can and does protects your business and personal life from financia ruin. My discussion here will be limited to Business Interruption,Overhead, Umbrella Liability and Liability Insurance – explaining what these four types of insurance are, and what they can offer you and your business. Business Interruption Insurance Business Interruption Insurance helps to insure against any economic losses that you may encounter if something should happen to close down your business. For example, you have a fire in your corner of the house – your business office. Your home is covered for property damage – thus, the rebuilding is covered, however, what about the lose income you’re losing while you rebuild? That’s where Business Interruption Insurance can come in to play. Overhead Insurance There is one type of business insurance that you may want to consider when your business is making a good profit, and that would be Overhead Insurance. Overhead Insurance covers rent, salaries, utilities, insurance premiums and/or interest payments that are related to the business – this type of insurance would cover you in case of a major illness or accident. Umbrella Liability InsuranceUmbrella Liability Insurance is used for catastrophic losses. This will protect you in the event someone wants to sue you. An umbrella policy will upgrade your basic auto, homeowners or business insurance to cover these unforeseen events. Liability Insurance If you have people coming to your home-based business, than liability insurance may be something you should look into it. Liability insurance will cover you against claims made by others against you for injuries or damages that occurred on your property. Yes, your homeowner’s policy includes some liability insurance, but it may not cover you for liability claims caused by your business. To conclude, life offers many unexpected turns in the road – and basically, that’s what all insurance does – it protects you against those unexpected bumps in the road – and keeps you moving toward your goals with only limited stales. Personally, I believe I can deal with a small bump in the road better than a complete halt in business. How about you? To your success. i got this from http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz/

20 Marketing Ideas

Marketing could make or break a small business. Successful marketing is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success of your small business. Here are 20 free marketing ideas:

1. If your marketing offends someone it will probably be a success
2. Get someone to tell a friend. Hopeful someone will tell another friend and it will become viral
3. Collect email addresses from prospects so that you can build a relationship (with permission, of course)
4. Everybody makes marketing mistakes, learn from yours
5. Give a sample away for free.
6. Perform an outrageous publicity stunt
7. In some instances it is better to co-operate with a competitor rather than compete
8. Create a company blog
9. Ask clients for written testimonials
10. Study the marketing techniques of your competitors. Do what works for them
11. Be seen as an expert in your field by writing Ezine articles
12. Write a press release and submit it to newspapers and magazines
13. Differentiate your product. Just know that your product also must be good. A different product that sucks is useless
14. Give something of value away for free via a contest
15. Put your logo and website URL on everything
16. Learn from the pros – read Seth Godin’s marketing blog, read the Guerrilla Marketing series of books
17. Don't just make a promise in your marketing message. Deliver on your promise or you will be seen as a liar
18. Sponsor a popular local event
19. Use the new media
20. Follow your gut instincts

I got this from Marketing Profs' Daily Fix.

Practise Good Manners In Business

Good Manner with customers :

Good manners are more than being “nice,” and they should be part of your fundamental business strategy. Everyone who makes up the company must always use their best manners which includes behavior, attitude, and grooming. Remember that your customers are judging you and your employees from the first moment they enter your business, and first impressions last.

Did you know that people look at your face first and your feet second? That is what the etiquette experts say, and they say that is why it so important to be well-groomed from head to toe. That is also why your first reaction to a customer must be a smile and eye contact. You must focus your attention on the other customer, listen to them, and let them know that you are interested in what they are saying. Use your customer’s name and thank them for doing business with you.

Communicate clearly and carefully. Carefully choose your words and how you say them. Be certain that you understand the customer and the customer understands you to avoid misunderstandings. Communicate intelligently and maturely. Always try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to see things from the customer’s perspective and let them know that you will do whatever is necessary to meet or exceed their expectation.

Customers appreciate it when you ask about their families and show an interest in their job and their interests. This makes them feel important, and they will like you for it. Use your sense of humor and positive attitude as an effective tool to lower barriers and gain people’s trust. Remember, customers do business with people they know, like, and trust. If your customer has a complaint, don’t dismiss it lightly and assure them that you will do everything possible to address their complaint. Also, thank them for bringing their complaint to your attention so that you can fix it. If a customer is upset and loud, take them to a private office, offer them a beverage, and ask what you can do to address their complaint. If their complaint involves an employee, try to involve the employee in resolving the complaint and be sure the employee offers a genuine apology.

Good Manners in the Workplace:

Good manners are also important in the workplace, and you should encourage a friendly, cheerful, and positive attitude. Recognize and reward good work and thank employees for their good work. Always be available if an employee has a question or needs guidance and make them feel welcome in your office.

Every employee wants to know that they are appreciated, and they want to have input regarding the work they do. Ask them for their opinions and listen to what they say. Encourage employees to express their point of view and offer suggestions, and create an environment that is comfortable and enjoyable. Follow up on employees’ suggestions or requests to make them feel appreciated and valuable.

You should never make any disparaging or sarcastic remarks about an employee, a customer, a vendor, or the company. Be sure your employees know that no one in your company should makes negative or disparaging comments. Put an end to gossip. The way you and your employees talk creates an atmosphere and an attitude. Be sure the workplace atmosphere and attitude are positive, supportive, and fair.

Treat all employees equally and don’t show any favoritism. Encourage everyone to do the same with the goal that your employees will be solid and fair. Be proactive in helping employees resolve conflicts when they arise and be an effective mediator. Set up a meeting where everyone can express their opinions, find middle ground, and sort out their differences. This is your responsibility as a leader, and your employees will respect you for your dedication to resolving conflicts.

i got this from Indigo Business Solutions,

Using Suggestive Selling To Increase Your Sales

Suggestive selling is a powerful tool that can increase your revenues—and your bottom line—significantly. We are all used to the order taker at a fast food place asking if we want fries with our burgers, or if we would like to "Jumbo-Size" our orders, but suggestive selling can work in any business.

Shoe stores suggest socks or polish to go with your new sneakers, hair salons recommend styling products, and stores selling electronics offer an extended warranty on the gadget you just bought. In each case, the business encourages the customer to add on to the purchase they are making.

Upselling can be done in person, on the phone or over the Internet. Many online shopping carts allow you to set up a product-specific upselling page. That means that when someone orders Product A, they get the suggestion that goes with that product. Someone who orders another product receives a recommendation appropriate to that product.

Here are some tips to make suggestive selling work for you:

Make the suggestion after the customer has made a commitment to buy. Don't try to add on to the sale before the customer has made a firm decision and is in the process of buying.

Upsells should be related to the original purchase. An upgrade, a warranty, accessories, or something else that adds on to what the customer is buying can be effective. The customer is more likely to see such a suggestion as helpful than as simply a sales ploy.

Consider making the upsell a "two-fer" offer. Because the customer bought one item at regular price, they are able to get a second at half price.

The add-on product should have a lesser cost than the base purchase. Suggesting batteries to go with a radio works. Recommending a radio to go with a battery purchase doesn't.

Don't hit customers with a lot of upsells. One (or possibly two) is enough. Badgering them to buy more can backfire and maybe even kill the sale completely.

Make sure employees and order takers are making upsell offers to customers. Remind them of the importance of doing so, and consider rewarding them for great results, or even when you "catch" them upselling. Give telephone order takers a script that includes a suggestive sales offer.

Done properly, an upsell is helpful to the customer and builds your profits as well.

i got this from http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

How To Write A Business Plan For Your Business

So you've reached that stage where you're ready to get your home business started in every way except one: you need money. Whether it comes from a loan or from investors doesn't really make too much difference, since there's one thing that they all need to see before they'll give you a cent. That thing is your business plan.

Think of your business plan as being like a list of answers to questions that people might have about your home business. You will not get outside funding without one, because the people giving you the funding want to know that you've thought through what you're doing. A business plan says to them 'I've considered this from every angle, and here's what I've come up with'.

What is Your Service? This is the first question every business plan should answer. Just what is it that you plan to do? Tell them which industry you're going to be in, and why you've chosen it.

Who are Your Customers? Once you know what you do, the next thing you need to know is who you're going to be doing it for, and so that's the next thing that should be written on the business plan. You should also include your area here.

What Makes You Different? You need to say what the 'key factors' are that make your business different to other businesses in its sector. What is it that you're planning to do to make the business succeed?

What are Your Expenses? Your start-up expenses include any equipment that you need before you can get up-and-running, while your day-to-day expenses are staff costs and supplies.

To finish it all off, you should include a breakdown of projected profit and loss per month for the first year of the business, in the form of a graph. You would work this out by working out a reasonable repayment of any one-off expenses and adding this repayment to the day-to-day expenses, before graphing day-to-day expenses against projected sales. Your business plan should show you making enough of a profit each month to live - if you doesn't, then it will be considered unfeasible by anyone you show it to.

The best way to figure out the dos and don'ts of business plans is to find real ones - they're out there on the Internet. Once you've seen a few, you can start to get some idea of how much work is going to be involved to write one of your own. Remember, until your business exists for real, the business plan is the only tool you have to show anyone how great it's going to be.

i got this from http://www.executivebusinessbooksummaries.com/

Top Five First Year Mistakes

Even once you've got past the starting-up stage, there are still plenty mistakes to be made, and most of them are going to be made in your make-or-break year -- the first one. Here are the top five things to avoid. Waiting for Customers to Come to You. Too many people wait for their customers to phone, or come to the door, or whatever. They get one or two customers through luck, but nothing like enough to even begin paying their costs. These people sit around, looking at their competitors doing lots of business, and wonder what they're doing wrong. You can't be like this. You have to go out there and actively try to find customers. Talk to people, call them, meet with them -- whatever you do, don't just sit there! Spending Too Much on Advertising. So everyon'e tells you that the only way to get ahead in business is to advertise. Well, that's true, but you need to make sure that you stick to inexpensive advertising methods when you're starting out. Spending hundreds of dollars for an a'd in the local newspaper might turn out to get you very few new customers, and you will have spent your entire advertising budget on it. Make your money go further with leaflets, direct mail or email -- these are easily targetable campaign methods with high response rates and low costs. Remember that it is always better to spend money on an offer than on an a'd, and always better to spend money on an a'd than on a delivery method. Being Too Nice. When you're running your own business, it can be tempting to be everyon'e's frien'd, giving discounts at the drop of a hat and making sure that you don't hassle or inconvenience anyone. That's all well and good, until you find that your Good Samaritan act has just halved your profit margin without lowering the cost to the customer by very much at all. Sometimes, you need to realise that you've got to be harsh to make a profit. Give people discounts to encourage them to bu'y or to come back, not because you like them or feel sorry for them. Don't be afraid to be ruthless in your pursuit of home business success. Nice guys don't finish last, but they are running in a different race -- one with much less prize money. If that doesn't bother you, of course, then feel FRE'E to go for it. Not Using the Phone. You'd be surprised just how common phone fears are -- if you're scared of the phone, you're not alone by any means. Many people are terrified of making phone calls, and avoid them wherever possible. I have seen more than one home business owner reduced to tears on the phone and trying desperately to hide it from the customer. You need to try your best to overcome your fears, as talking to customers on the phone is almost as good as meeting them for real. Letters and emails are useless by comparison. The best way to overcome phone fears varies from person to person, but it can often be as simple as making the phone fun, by calling friends and relatives often for a while and getting used to it. Alternatively, try working in telemarketing for a while -- if that doesn't make normal phone use look like a walk in the park by comparison, then nothing will. Hiring Professionals for Everything. It can be tempting to think that, since you're starting out, you should just find a company or person to do every little thing you need. People seem to especially overspend on design services. You might think it'd be great to have fancy graphics all over your website, but would it really increase sale's? If I saw it, it would put me right off. Likewise, a slick brochure often fails to say anything more than 'I'm going to charge you a premium to pay for my expensive brochures'. Don't hire someone unless you can demonstrate that the service they're going to provide will increase your profit's by more than the amount you're spending -- if you're not sure, try it yourself first, and you can always upgrade it later. i refer from http://first-steps-online.com/

6 F Words Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Start your own business, and soon enough, you find yourself in a situation where there are many things you want to say, all of them unprintable. It happens to every entrepreneur – a moment of extreme challenge that causes you to wonder why you started the (expletive) business in the first place. I’ve had my share of those moments since starting our public relations firm in March 2002. But while trading notes with a fellow entrepreneur recently, I started to think about all the moments of extreme challenge I left behind when I decided I no longer wanted to be somebody else’s employee. That got me thinking about what really matters to me as an entrepreneur. As I shared my thoughts with my friend, a new list developed – the “F” words I believe every entrepreneur should know. They’ve done the job for me so far, keeping me rooted, married and talking to my kids while we build a successful business. I hope they have the same effect for you.

1. Faith: I’m not a street corner preacher, but I have a deep and abiding faith that starting my business is what I was meant to do in life. I also have a strong faith that I’ve been given the tools to do the job – even in a moment of extreme challenge. Without faith in yourself, in your business and in your purpose, how can you succeed as an entrepreneur?

2. Family: My wife and daughters are the most important people in my life. Starting my business has enabled me to put them at the center of my life, where they belong. Oh yes, I work long and hard, but today, it’s with a clear purpose. The generations of entrepreneurs who built this country understood this principle. Their businesses often bore the family name, and generations of people who were born, lived and died together managed to build great businesses together.

3. Friends: Fortune 500 companies have boards of directors. Entrepreneurs have friends. When no one else will listen, friends will. When others fail to see the beauty of the product or solution, friends will. And when no one else will talk straight to you about a dumb business move, friends will. And they won’t send you a bill.

4. Focus: It’s nice to say you’re an entrepreneur, that you are your own boss. But do you have the commitment to turn that idea into true success? The ultimate measure is your ability not only to set a goal, but stick with it, despite those moments of extreme challenge. You may have to change course along the way, but like a good sailor, you focus, keeping your business pointed to the right shore.

5. Finances: Let’s face it – most of us strike out as entrepreneurs because we believe we can improve our financial situation. I know I have not missed the constraining limits and miniscule salary increases of corporate America. How much do I want to make this year? There is only one answer: How hard am I willing to work? And there is only one reason to ask that question: to make good on my commitment to all the “F” words that rank ahead of money on my list.

6. Freedom: This may be the greatest gift of entrepreneurship. But it is the one that comes only after you can act on all the other “F” words in your entrepreneurial vocabulary. So many entrepreneurs strike out to find success, which they define as freedom from all the things they hated about working for someone else. Unfortunately for these folks, they lack a true entrepreneurial vision – they’re merely running away from something. True entrepreneurial freedom comes from a vision that encompasses what’s really important to you.

Are these the only “F” words an entrepreneur needs to know? Obviously not. But in moments of extreme challenge, remembering these “F” words may help you weather a moment of extreme challenge without resorting to the unprintable variety. And if you’re like me, they may also help you remember why you started the business in the first place. By Paul Furiga is president of WordWrite Communications LLC, a Pittsburgh-based virtual agency. He is the former editor of the Pittsburgh Business Times, and has also covered Congress, the White House, edited magazines and written for publications ranging from Congressional Quarterly to Frequent Flyer magazine

Email - Maximise Your Reach

Have you ever made a phone call to another person and try to pitch your product? Email marketing can do it without the phones. When a person makes cold calls he or she should be prepared to face rejections - the same should be applied to email marketing. With low click-through rates of around 5-15% (click through rates are rates of people responding to your email) , prepare for lots of disappointment, but you shouldn't shun email marketing! You've definitely received many emails in your life, most of them unsolicited - you tend to not click and them ( you might even report them as spam! ). But have you ever read some of the emails that you found interesting? If you did , then so will millions of internet users out there who own email accounts! Before we charge head-on into drafting an e-mail marketing plan, be very aware of the risks involved - unsolicited email is a very sensitive issue - the recipient does not expect an email from you and if he/she finds it offensive, a report will be filed against you. Chances are you will be barred by your own mail servers from sending further emails. Not only that, you will also face consequences such as : - the loss of reputation - lower sales volume due to decreased confidence of the public - your Internet Service Provider shutting down your email account and also your website So, so stay on the safe side , avoid sending - emails with harmful content ( anything related to violence and sex must be refrained ) - emails with intention to deceive or cause misinformation - multiple emails to a recipient (this is considered spam) The benefits of email marketing should be clear to you by now - you'll have a large audience from which a percentage of it will respond positively to whatever it is you're offering to them. "But I don't know where to begin," you might say. For a start, it's best to get yourself aligned with a reputable company providing email marketing solutions. Some companies do price quotes, and some publish their sales plans on their website. But rest assured, you should allocate a budget of at least RM 500 to conduct an effective plan. The higher volume of emails that you want to send out per month, the bigger your budget should be. Some of these companies also provide optimization techniques - they'll give advice on your optimal email frequency (how often you should send out emails), how to improve the deliverability of your emails, and also provide you with a much needed basic marketing strategy. So you've already signed up with a reputable email marketing solutions provider. They guarantee you that your emails will reach the Inbox of your target audience. And you already have a huge list of people you're targetting - one group consists of your existing customers, while the other group does not have the slightest idea of what you will sell to them. Now you're going to compose your email pitch. To capture the attention of existing customers isn't a difficult task, but convincing second group requires more planning. You've only got one chance to make an impression , so it should be a lasting one.

A general on a battlefield is the person who can lead the army to victory. The email subject is like a general on a battlefield - without one you'll never be able to lead your army of products and services to victory.

Compose a very good email subject - make sure people would want to click on your email. A good method is to promise freebies to them - things like free cellphones or iPods are definitely going to make people want to read your email further. You could also touch on the emotional side of people - if you're selling handycraft for instance, you can compose subjects like "Bring this item back to your loved one" , or "When did you last buy your loved one a present?".

Assuming you've convinced people to click on your email subject - you're halfway through. Now you need a convincing pitch that has relevance to your subject and at the same time, tell them why they should consider your pitch seriously. Make it short, sweet, and limit the number of pictures that you want to place in the email (if people don't like slow loading websites, what makes you think they'd like slow loading emails?). Add a link to your website as clearly as possible. And try to be different - remember that these people have seen so many unsolicited emails these days that they can tell what's spam and what's not by simply giving a glance. Analyze other unsolicited emails and design the style of your email so as to not resemble theirs.

Lastly, always have a contingency plan - although the benefits are huge, email marketing is risky marketing. So you've got to have other forms of marketing as well - traditional, offline marketing should remain a viable option.

Wish you the best of luck with email marketing!!!

Why Forums Are Important

How important is having a forum on your website? Very important.

Just take a look at Cari.com.my - Malaysia's first search engine with over 27 million visitors per month. It's the place where people search for information and discuss the latest happenings. If Cari.com.my didn't have 27 million visitors per month they wouldn't be the biggest online community in Malaysia! Why is having a forum so important?

Communicating with your potential customers - let's say you're selling designer jeans and you've built an online community for that designer label. Need to promote your latest line of designer jeans? Do it through the forums!

Getting raw marketing data - almost all online communities have forums. At least that's how people communicate with one another. When people communicate, they use messages and it is from these messages that you can get your marketing information - you can know what people like and what people don't like.

Selling advertising space - once you've gotten yourself a thriving community - it's time to generate some side income by selling advertising space on your forums.

INCLUSION,you have nothing to lose, only everything to gain from forums

Getting The Word Out

In my research,it’s easy enough to start an online business, but the hard part is definitely getting the word out. And we’re talking about millions of visitors to your site per month.

Read on to learn a few tips that can come in handy for you!

1. You should have a registered website which can be your own or an affiliate to display your products or your services. Have a domain name that is relevant to your business.

2. A newsletter should be created to capture names and email addresses of the subscribers. The purpose is to build contacts and they are the candidates whom you will send sales offers to in the future.

3. Write articles in the newsletter to promote the your products and services.

4. Striking deals to link-exchange (i.e to let others link back to your site in exchange for you linking to them) can improve your website popularity.

5. Internet forums can be used as an effective marketing tool. Participate actively in these forums (by contributing, not spamming!) and remember to leave your signature pointing to your website.

6. By placing a banner add (or text links) , you are able to generate targeted traffic. But keep in mind the price for obtaining an advertising space – they do not come cheap on popular sites.

7. You can try advertising via Pay Per Click (PPC) search Google’s Adwords. Every time a visitor clicks on your ads, you’ll pay a small amount to Google, so it will not hurt your wallet too much.

GoDaddy’s 16 Rules to LIVE

If you haven’t know yet, BOB Parsons is the man behind GoDaddy - One of the most successful web hosting company in the United States, and most probably the world. Web hosting, as we all know it, is an ULTRA COMPETITIVE industry, being one of the best says something about this company and it’s founder (and of course, the very smart people behind the team). And we think that the rules he lives by might benefits any of our readers who adapt it!

Here’s BOB principle of life>> 1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”

2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”

6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”

The above 16 rules for survival is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright © 2004-2006 by Bob Parsons.

7 Important Business Lessons

Millions of people start new small businesses in the United States every day. Many fail at running a small business every day. What causes one business owner to succeed where another fails? There are seven key areas to focus your efforts for a successful small business. It starts with knowing oneself and ends with not being afraid to ask for help. 1.Know Yourself Having your own business is more than just creating a job for yourself. To be a successful small business owner, there are many personal sacrifices you will be required to make. You have to be willing to make them. By knowing yourself and what is truly important to you, you will be able to make these choices far easier than if you have never considered your priorities. Your basic roles in a small business are in marketing, planning, finance, and administration. To get the best results, it is rare for one person to play all these roles equally well. You must know which parts you can handle yourself and which parts you're going to need help with. That's why it's so important to be objective and take a close look at your overall strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you plan before you take action?
• Are you willing to hustle for the sale?
• How financially savvy are you?
• Do you have a well thought out plan? And, do you work the plan?
• Do you know how to make sales happen?
• Can you ask for the sale?

2.Ask For Help When You Need It

When you’re young and unseasoned, you tend to think you can do anything. This is a recipe for disaster for the small businessperson. If you insist on doing everything yourself, you will work 16 hours a day and not do some things well.

Remember, getting results is what counts! With outside advice and assistance, your quest for a successful business can be accomplished faster and with far fewer bruises than doing it yourself. When I started my first online business, I even created by own website. In retrospect, this was a big mistake. It took me far longer to create my site than having a more experienced person do it. Start equating every second of your time with money. Your time isn’t free. While you are trying to do everything, what’s falling through the crack?

Don't be too proud to ask for help, we all need help sometimes. With the Internet, the small business owner has a wealth of experience available to them. Why not take advantage of the many resources, paid and otherwise, available to you? Join a small business forum, like the Small Business Forum (www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/) where you can exchange knowledge with other small business owners. Access the millions of online articles on every business subject you can think of at ezinearticles.com

Qualified sources are also available from your local government offices and other professional services. It is important to recognize -- what you don't know can end up costing you money and greatly reduce the chance of achieving your business goals.

With all that knowledge, you need a plan of action.

3.Action Planning

like to call it “action planning” rather than “planning”. Action is the only element which turns a plan into reality. Many people are great at planning but they suffer when it comes to follow-through. Successful small business owners are action oriented. But that action starts with a plan.

According to leading authorities, the main reason 80% of all new businesses fail within the first five years is not money, but the lack of planning. If you want to succeed, the trick is to know how to make right the decisions by implementing an effective business plan. Remember, if you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail.

A business plan should include how you will finance the business, who will perform certain critical business functions, the license and permits required, accounting method, as well as what you know about your prospects and customers.

4.“Mind Meld” Your Customer

Just knowing your customer isn’t enough for long-term success in your small business. In Star Trek, the Vulcan race had the ability to perform a mind meld. At the time of the mind meld, they could see, think, and feel everything their partner was seeing, thinking, and feeling. This is how close you must come to understanding your customer. The closer you get, the more successful you will become.

Are you listing to your customers? Make it your business to give your customers what they want and they will buy from you. They are the reason you are in business, and your future depends on them. The products and services you provide should be a direct reflection of their needs. Think in your customers' terms; buy, show, sell, and say things that interest them, not you. Don't forget, it is the customer that determines whether or not you succeed. They vote every day by where they spend their money.

Reflect on the following questions:

• Do you know the reasons why customers shop at your store? (service, convenience, price) If not, ask!
• Do you seek suggestions from your customers on ways you can boost business?
• Do you use a store or online questionnaire to aid you in determining your customers' needs?
• Do you stay in contact with customers on a regular basis?
• Do you ever try to re-establish a relationship with lost or inactive customers?
• A key to success lies in knowing your customer. The other half of the equation is to know your industry.

5.Know Your Industry

You can gain the greatest competitive edge if you intimately understand your industry. You must know the ins and outs of your particular products and industry. You should know every competitor as well as their strengths and weaknesses. It’s in your competitor’s weaknesses where you will most frequently find your own success.

Your competitors size, services, location, marketing approach, type of customers, suppliers, and pricing strategies should be as well known to you as your own. Your local business climate, median household income, level of education, ethnic population, and the other demographics of your potential customers should be second nature to you. To prosper, you must know the game and the playing field intimately.

Many people focus upon these areas but still fail. Why? They focus more upon the product than the finances of the business.

6.Maintain Good Financial Records

Maintain Good Financial Records

If you don't know where your money is going, it will soon be gone. The "game of business" is played with products and customers, but the score is kept in dollars and cents. Good financial records are like the instrument panel on your car, they keep you posted of your speed, fuel level and engine condition. Without them you're flying blind trying to pace the other cars. If you know how much you're spending, buying and selling, you can take control and help your business make more money.

• Do you have basic accounting knowledge? Or, do you have someone you trust to keep the books?
• Do you maintain every receipt you obtain through the running of your business?
• Have you computerized your business to streamline everyday tasks and businessprocedures?
• Do you use sales forecasts, expense sheets, and financial statements on regular basis to assess the progress or your business?
• Do you evaluate your operating expenses and make necessary changes on a regular basis?

Many people erroneously believe good record keeping is for the government and those financial obligations. They are wrong! Good financial record keeping can help your business succeed. Use the financial information available to make improvements to the operation of the business and improve profits. Remember through it all, the old adage “cash is king” is true.

7.Manage Your Cash

It doesn't matter how unique your store is, your business can't survive without good cash flow. Cash is the lifeblood of your business. The money coming into or out of your store is the vital component that keeps your business financially healthy. For profitability, more cash must come into the business every day than goes out of the business. You can have the greatest sales in the world, but if it’s all in receivables, how will you pay your bills?

A monthly Cash Flow Statement is a critical business tool. It shows the amount of money at the start of a period and how much cash was received during the period. It identifies the various sources of incoming cash and the reasons for outgoing cash. Budget wisely. Know the sources of your monthly income and expenses. Then, you won't have to worry about running out of money. And that is a good thing.

Like any game, the game of business has rules and tools. Those who excel at the game, play it better than their competitors. Keep focused upon these seven critical areas and you will succeed. Remember, Albert Einstein once defined “insanity” as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Isn’t it time you changed the things you are doing so you can succeed? I think the time is now!

By Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a “Corporate Freedom Fighter” dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com).

Your Customers Don't Know How To Ask Good Questions - That's Your Job

Customers will ask you a question and you’ll proceed to talk about your product. That is why you are not making more sales. It is your product knowledge that keeps getting in the way. Not that you do not have enough product knowledge – trust me you have plenty. It is that you are not listening to what your customer is truly asking you. You are taking their questions or statements literally instead of trying to clarify what it is they are truly asking you. Customers do not know what questions to ask. So instead they ask a question that they are comfortable with hoping that you will find out what they truly want. By getting to the heart of the matter and finding out why they ask what they ask, you will unlock the key to the sale. If you are able to focus your presentation on the customer and how the customer will benefit from a product and your competition has focused their presentation on product knowledge; you will win the sale every time. Customers buy emotionally and they justify their purchase logically. This means that you have to sell emotionally and validate their decision with logic. It will never work the other way around. When you focus on the emotional reason that the person is listening to you today and speak in terms of how the product will benefit them, you are giving the customer what they want; solutions! Don’t get me wrong, product knowledge is necessary, but you are very likely bringing it up too soon in your presentation. Your customer does not care about you, your product, or your company. They only care about themselves and fulfilling the need that they have today. Therefore everything that you talk about should be in terms of them and how they are going to benefit from your product. So put your product knowledge aside for one second and focus on your customer’s needs. The only way to find out the customer’s needs is with good questions. If a customer immediately asks a specific technical question about your product, then you need to ask yourself why they are asking that question. Think about it for a minute. Most salespeople in your industry will immediately go into a product puke session about nuts, bolts, and widgets instead of asking the customer “why do you ask?” Remember, they are not having a conversation with you today to buy nuts, bolts, and widgets. They are having a conversation with you today for some other reason and it is your job to find out what that reason is. The next time you are getting ready to launch into a presentation about why your product’s specs are better than the product specs down the street; I challenge you to ask yourself, will this customer truly NOT benefit from the other product? By Tom Richard is the President of Tom Richard Marketing and specializes in both marketing and sales education. Visit his website at http://www.tomrichard.com/

Micro$oft Ultimate Salesman

bet everyone knows Microsoft Windows Operating System nowadays, but have you heard of Windows Version 1.0? I guess 99.9% of people never heard of it, neither do we.

However, Windows Version 1.0 did appear in the market, and guess who’s the super salesman appeared on the TV ad? It’s no other than the enthusiastic CEO of Microsoft - Steve Ballmer. After watching the clip, we cannot help but falling in love with Steve Ballmer.

If Steve Ballmer can sell Windows Version 1.0 (which 99.0% of people never heard of), then what’s stopping you from achieving the unimaginable? To all the folks who does software out there, it’s not enough just to build a solid(or good-enough) product, you gotta market it like Steve Ballmer. Then, even the skeptics will be convinced.

Check out the Clip below, it is one of the best clips we watch to motivate ourselves.

Think of it, laugh about it, make your day, and then take on your toughest challenge! BRING IT ON! Windows 1.0 was a flop, but Microsoft never gives up, they do Kaizen and stick to their gun more than anybody else. That’s why whatever market they are going after, they will eventually conquer it. Lesson learned: Ultimate success doesn’t come over night, persistency pays off.

DELL E-commerce Website Evolution

DELL, is famous for its DIRECT MODEL. If you are running a small and medium sized business, high chances you have bought at least a DELL machine for office use from it’s website. (Hey, even my 50-years old uncle bought his DELL PC online). We own a couple of Dell Machines, so far we are pretty satisfied with its performance. But do you realize when DELL first launched its website? It was way back in 1994. What were you doing back then? I was still a secondary school kiddo fooling around and I’m sitting for my PMR Exam! (oops, that tells you how old I am). So why bother about DELL website? DELL is the linchpin of e-commerce. They don’t sell via wholesalers or dealers, taking orders online is a perfect extension of their direct models. If you are wondering how well the DELL websites perform, here’s some stats to brighten up your days. Dell website by today standards:

- 16 Billion (mind you, it’s USD, not RM, please time 3.7) annual run rate, it’s as big as AMAZON + EBAY + YAHOO

-2.5 Billion Pages Request, 400 million visits, 120 Million Unique visitors in Q2 alone

- Localize website serving 174 countries

- 60,000 Premier Accounts of Corporate buyers

And mind you, their website is evolving from time to time, keep on improving to serve the customer better (just like our website, but we at a much much smaller scale). To those Malaysia Business who somehow just keep their web site static and unchanged for yearS, please learn something before complain that nobody buys from you online! they probably can’t even find you!

Dell has a manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia too. So, just like Intel who just retrenched people in Penang, they are one of the well known computer company invest in Penang, Malaysia. They are also big advertisers in local papers, now you can even see their ad on TV!

Want to know more? Download the official slide here.

Sam Walton 10 Rules of Building a Business

Sam Walton - The greatest merchant of all time. On money wise, If he were still alive today, he will be richer than bill gates - TWICE as much the wealth. But that’s not the point we feature him here. We have the greatest respect to what he had achieved, and how he achieved it.

For fellow Malaysians who have never heard of Wal-Mart, it’s just like TESCO, GIANT or CARREFOUR. But Wal-Mart is the biggest in the world. Just that it has not any presence in Malaysia, yet, at this time of publication.

Sam Walton is regarded as one of the greatest merchant of all time, and I think all of us, especially the online/offline/hybrid(multi-channel) retailers can learn a great deal from him. Sam Walton is to Retailing of what Bill Gates is to Software. We recommend the book “Made in America” for every merchants or would be merchants. Just check out his 10 RULES for building a business.

Rule 1 - Commit to your business.Believe in it more than anybody else. I think I overcame

every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don’t know if you’re born with this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it. If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you — like a fever.

Rule 2 - Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners.In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations. Remain a corporation and retain control if you like, but behave as a servant leader in a partnership. Encourage your associates to hold a stake in the company. Offer discounted stock, and grant them stock for their retirement. It’s the single best thing we ever did.

Rule 3 - Motivate your partners.Money and ownership alone aren’t enough. Constantly, day-by-day, think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs. If things get stale, cross-pollinate; have managers switch jobs with one another to stay challenged. Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be. Don’t become too predictable.

Rule 4 - Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners.The more they know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them. If you don’t trust your associates to know what’s going on, they’ll know you don’t really consider them partners. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.

Rule 5 - Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.A paycheck and a stock option will buy one kind of loyalty. But all of us like to be told how much somebody appreciates what we do for them. We like to hear it often, and especially when we have done something we’re really proud of. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free — and worth a fortune.

Rule 6 - Celebrate your successes.Find some humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm - always. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you. Don’t do a hula on Wall Street. It’s been done. Think up your own stunt. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools the competition. “Why should we take those cornballs at Wal-Mart seriously?”

Rule 7 - Listen to everyone in your company.And figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front lines — the ones who actually talk to the customer — are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there. You’d better find out what they know. This really is what total quality is all about. To push responsibility down in your organization, and to force good ideas to bubble up within it, you must listen to what your associates are trying to tell you.

Rule 8 - Exceed your customers’ expectations.If you do, they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want — and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don’t make excuses…apologize. Stand behind everything you do. The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” They’re still up there, and they have made all the difference.

Rule 9 - Control your expenses better than your competition.This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. For 25 years running — long before Wal-Mart was known as the nation’s largest retailer — we ranked No. 1 in our industry for the lowest ratio of expenses to sales. You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient.

Rule 10 - Swim upstream.Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction. But be prepared for a lot of folks to wave you down and tell you you’re headed the wrong way. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything was: A town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.

Fromhttp://www.walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=255

Top Ten Secrets To Fully Embrace Sales And Exceed Your Goals

Here are 10 secrets to increase your sales : 1.REMAIN VERY CLIENT FOCUSED! Not Company focused. Your clients are what is to be watched, monitored and known inside and out. Ask them questions about your service quality and listen by responding to their answers. They will continue to be your loyal client when they know you hear them and care. 2.IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE! Love your work and show your passion for what you do! Take the lead of Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and many others. Excitement sells! If you aren't thrilled with your product/service offering, why would anyone else be? Share your excitement! 3.GOAL SETTING KNOW-HOW IS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS! Revenue targets should be identified regularly with daily/weekly action plans put in place to ensure goals are met. If you don't have your own goals, you will most assuredly become a part of someone else's. Wouldn't you rather be working on your own goals than someone else's? 4.QUALIFY PROSPECTS, IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD, IT PROBABLY IS! Ask questions to ensure there is a genuine need for what you are offering and that the prospect is not simply shopping and/or wasting your time. 5.KEEP YOUR EYE ON YOUR SALES PIPELINE (FOLLOW UP WITH PROSPECTS IS ESSENTIAL!) According to Bob Leduc, Sales and Marketing Expert, you can increase your sales by 50% or more if you regularly follow up with prospects. If you give up after the first contact, you will lose significant potential sales! Patience is the key here. Do not be so naive to think that your prospects will be able to decide to move forward with you upon your first meeting. The average "touches" needed in order to close a sale is 7. Therefore, come up with a consistently regular follow up plan that communicates with your prospects (and existing clients) regularly. This will build your place in their mind as the top for whatever you are offering, be it product or service. When they decide to buy the category you offer, the one who is top of mind will win. Position yourself to be the top of mind winner. 6.THINK "SO WHAT"! Don't focus on selling, rather spend time stimulating the customers' natural urge to buy. Many entrepreneurs and salespeople love their products and services so much, they don't take time to step back and think about the many reasons someone would want to do business with them. When you come up with your list of reasons, ask yourself, "so what?" And then answer the question with how that will benefit the client. Then ask yourself that questions again and once again answer it with how that will benefit them. The more benefits you can demonstrate or speak to with your prospects, the higher your chances of closing the sale. 7.FOLLOW UP EVERY SALE WITH A FOLLOW UP OFFER! One that is related to their original purchase. Many salespeople are so happy for one sale, they would cringe at the thought of following up with yet another offer and I admit, there is a finesse to doing this correctly. 8.LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH YOUR CLIENTS' EYES AND NURTURE EXISTING CLIENTS! Align your business with your customers' goals. Remember it is key to WOW your existing and past clients regularly. This will take some creativity, but it is absolutely imperative to your success in sales. I had a client who outdid herself: She sat down and documented her top 25 clients and thought long and hard about each person in an attempt to capture something personal that she had learned about each (i.e. kids, favorite hobbies, sports, etc.) and she then went out and put together care packages for each of those top clients. I am sure you can figure out what happened... You guessed it! Many came back and either made another purchase and/OR sent referrals her way. You see, success in sales is not brain surgery. It actually falls into one main category: Relationships and making people feel important. Showing people that they matter! 9.SELECT YOUR CLIENTS CAREFULLY! Build long standing relationships with your clients who can help you as much as you help them. This may sound rather odd, but think about it. You know that as a sales professional or entrepreneur, it is up to you to continually broaden your sphere of influence, right? Well then, it follows that it would be most effective to form close bonds with those clients who will gladly refer additional business to you..... and to do business with those clients who will share a testimonial for your website or brochures....and to partner with in terms of events and the like which will be mutually beneficial. Instead of going after anyone, take the time to think about who you want to do business with. How old? What vocation? What special interests? Won't sales be much easier if you are seeking out and spending time with people you want to be around? Of course. 10.ENTER INTO A JOINT VENTURE WITH SOMEONE WHO SHARES YOUR IDEAL CLIENT! Share cost of a mailing and combine your lists-- to both win! Whether your sales is global or local, keep the idea of entering into joint ventures alive for you. The old saying, "two heads are better than one" has been around for thousands of years for good reason: The synergy of two can get much more done in a optimal way than one person could ever do. So, look around your next chamber meeting or networking event. Who serves a similar client to you? Then go and ask him/her how you can help him/her. It all starts with a smile and a good intentioned heart. You can do it! I know you can! By Janice M. Copeland, is the author of 15 No-nonsense SUCCESS Strategies for Women and self help CDs covering topics pertinent to sales, balance & life success, has over 20 years of combined corporate and entrepreneurial expertise. Climbing the corporate ladder to a senior level position with responsibility for a team of hundreds taught her many life lessons that she shares readily with her coaching and consulting clients. In turn, her clients experience unprecedented success AND enjoy the benefits of increased self esteeem and confidence. Visit her site at : http://www.unlimitedgrowthpotential.com/

Research, Research the Market!

Many people think they have done their share of research before setting up stall. But when the business starts, they find that they have little or no customers! Just because your spouse or your best friend told you that your business idea is good does not mean it is really good. Always do extensive research - get the hard-copy facts. Let's say you have a great recipe for making kaya balls. You plan to sell them in a nearby shopping mall, but you don't know how many potential customers you have. Take a day off from your routine, get a pen and a notebook, and spend the entire day in that mall observing people - count how many people go in and out of the mall, how many people near the site of your future kaya-ball stall. Categorise the people into their respective age groups (children, teenagers, adults, the elderly). Everyone loves kaya balls, but children and teenagers love them more. Now you have some real market research - for the cost of virtually nothing! Try to be more thorough - observe potential customers on the weekends ( this is the time when most people flock to shopping malls). From your research data, you can be more confident of your plan when you move forward.

Conduct your own Focus Group

You've just developed a new product, but you don't know if it matches people's expectations. So what do you do? Focus groups have been so under-utilised in small businesses that it's time to turn the tide around. What are focus groups? Focus groups are carefully assembled groups consisting of members that have a common interest related to your product. They will give first hand opinions on your product and advise you on how to improve it. Arranging for a focus group is easy if you follow the steps below: 1. Contact the right people A typical focus group consists of 6-10 people who are relevant to your product. They should be willing to express thoughts and emotions without restraint , because the main objective of the group is to bare the truth. If you're running women's apparel business, you should have at least 2 focus groups. The first should consist of potential customers (teenagers/adults depending on your product). The second should consist of your sales people - because they need to understand the product and be confident that they can sell the apparel. Depending on your objective, you can choose to expand your focus groups or even add more groups to include employees from other departments. 2. Arrange for the session Once you get the green light, plan for the meeting. E-mail them the meeting agenda 1-2 days before the session. What are you going to ask the focus groups? Get your questions ready and prepare for positive and negative feedback. Arrange for proper sitting and refreshments. Make the group feel appreciated to maximise your input. A typical focus group session would be introducing the product, giving the participants hands-on experience with it before asking them the prepared questions. Most importantly, get a good moderator that appeals to the focus group so that he/she can keep the positive energy flowing in the group. In every successful event there must be a very good emcee. The same applies to focus groups! 3. Don't overprepare A typical focus group session lasts 1 to 1.5 hours, but it does not mean you need to prepare every minute of the session. Instead, allow plenty of space for participants to voice their opinions, because the ultimate goal is to get feedback. 4. During the session Anything can happen in a focus group, so get someone to note everything down ( an audio/video recorder might help). You might not have noticed a member suggesting a brilliant improvement to your product during the session, but you might catch in on tape! 5. After the session Thank the participants of the focus group and tell them that a summary of their answers will be generated and sent to them. Follow-up with thank you gifts.

Business through B2B E-marketplaces

Take your products online and see the surge of visitors! Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing business on the Internet, should think seriously about their position! If you are one of them, chances are there, that you have to pay dearly for your indecision as you might lose significant market share to your more proactive competitors in a very short period of time. Apart from the fact that e-commerce is growing at the rate of more than 25 percent a year, the use of online features can bring efficiency to virtually every aspect of business process, be it supply chain management or customer support management. But, how can you build an e-commerce business and take advantages of all these great possibilities? After all, you are pretty sure that anything to do with new technology is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. Believe it or not, this is just a misconception that most business owners have about the Internet technology. The truth is – in order to run a business online and reap profits, like any new effort, you need to do a little homework, have patience and determination, and get going. Take the following steps seriously and in no time you will be able to embrace fascinating world of online business. Take your products online Getting your product online does not simply mean - having a nice picture and a product narration to go with it. Effective use of the Internet is based on standards. Standards, as you know, are created to facilitate common use of a technology. If you ever imported or exported a product or service, or if you registered your product with some kind of authorities ever; you certainly know that each product falls under certain subcategory according to the classification system that you encountered. Internet is the same thing. Since the emergence of Internet, several classification systems have been developed. If you think long term and would like to use same catalog with multiple e-marketplaces, you should adopt one of the prevailing classification system in the Internet. The best online catalog classification available from my point of view is UNSPSC. For one thing, many prominent e-marketplaces adopted this particular system, which allows you to post your products on multiple e-procurement systems and e-marketplaces. How do you do this? I would suggest you to become a member of one of the e-marketplaces, where you can aggregate your products using some kind of simple wizards or forms. E-marketplaces based on Commerce One’s the largest B2B e-marketplace enabler, have this facility. Our own Rusbiz e-catalog system, which is also based on UNSPSC, also allows you to integrate your products using a very simple but sophisticated form. If you do not have time to do it by your own, you can use the service of a B2B exchange. Rusbiz also provides with similar service. Get an online presence What should be your next step once you have all your products transformed into e-catalog? Naturally, you need to have an online presence to sell the products. There are number of options how to do this. Become a member of an e-marketplace This could be a large geography oriented fairly large horizontal market or a vertical e-marketplace specific to your industry. The membership fees are in most of the cases not so expensive. But many of them charge some percentage on your transactions, usually, from 1 to 3 percent. If you expect big sales volume, you may think this might not be the best choice for you. However, if you get new customers, thanks to your mere presence in an e-marketplace, the percentage that you have to pay on the transaction you should consider as customer acquiring cost. Under any circumstances, it is good to become a member of at least one e-marketplace as you -automatically get exposed to thousands of new prospective customers. Build a website There are several ways you can construct an e-commerce site to your need. You can build a website in house by employing developers or you can hire a web development company to do this for you. The advantage is you can have a website with the look, feel and functionality according to your given specification. However, both of these methods could be way costly for a small business. Average cost of building an e-commerce website runs starting from US$ 600 plus hosting and maintenance charges for a miniscule site with limited features to several hundred thousand US Dollars for a powerful e-commerce website. Another option that you have as a small business is to build an e-commerce site from prefabricated templates. While this is affordable and easy, you considerably lose flexibility and customization possibilities in comparison to building a site from scratch. Build a web store All these above mentioned cases do not allow you to have the potentials and advantages that come with an e-business website integrated with a B2B exchange. Which means, whether you are a business to consumer company with occasional sales to businesses or you are a pure play B2B company, a Web Store merged into an e-marketplace is what you need. A web store from a B2B exchange gives you the best of both worlds. You are having a professional e-commerce site which incorporates all the features that an e-marketplace has to offer. And you build a site from simple and easy to edit templates. For a detailed information about the features that come with a web store and benefits that you can get from them, follow this link: Powerful E-business Store. By Nowshade Kabir, Ph.D., is the founder, primary developer and present CEO, of Rusbiz.com, a global business to business e-commerce portal with feature like storefronts, aggregated catalog, e-marketplace, trade leads, internal messaging system supply chain solutions, etc. With a doctorate in Information Technology, Dr. Kabir has worked an advisor to government projects and has over 12 years experience in International Trade. www.submityourarticles.com

Fast And Fun Ways To Raise Money To Start Your Home Business

It might seem begging, borrowing and stealing are the options you have to funding your home business. However I suggest you not go through route. At first begging might seem like a good idea. The more pathetic you sound the better your chances of getting what your want, right? It works for three year olds usually, why not a 43 year old? It usually doesn't work for the three year old and it certainly isn't going to work at all for the 43 year old. Borrowing...yes but if your credit isn't as beautiful as you would like it to be, most banks will look at your loan application and all of a sudden you'll think you're a comic. Because whatever you wrote on that loan application has caused this individual reading it to get the best belly life of their life. Stealing just isn't something that is looked on too favorably in most if not all countries of the world. Depending on where you live you could have fingers and limbs cut off, you could be killed or you could spend some time in a very small cell giving you a lot of time to think that stealing probably wasn't the best idea you've ever had. There has GOT to be a better way to raising money to start your home business and me being the good news fairy that I am I'd like to tell you - you're right!Not only is there better ways to raise money, but there are fun ways to do it too and it doesn't have to take you all that long to raise the money you need. CUT THE EXTRAS To start most home businesses, it doesn't cost a lot of money. Many home businesses can be started for under $500.00 and some can be started for much less. One idea is to look at your current spending habits. Cable, phone/cell bills, going out to eat, daily coffee at the coffee shop. Let's take that last example of buying a daily coffee. Most specialty coffees you're paying on average of about $3.00 a cup. If you were to pass on that coffee five days a week for a month you will have saved $80. Do that for a few months and you could be very close to raising the money you need. What about your cable bill? Average cable bills are $50 to $75 a month. What if you were to cut out the cable? Not only would you be saving money and reaching the goal to finance your home biz, but think of all the time you can put into your home business idea? It's amazing the time we waste sitting in front of that little box. MAKE THE MONEY Maybe you don't like the idea of cutting anything out, or maybe you want to combine the above and raise the money yourself to put yourself on the fast track to getting your business started. The goal is to raise your money in just one to three months. The sooner the better. It's amazing what you can do for a few months if you want something bad enough. Think about something you already know a lot about.

• Gardening
• Art
• Music
• Health/Fitness
• Cooking
• Finance

These are just a few ideas. Think about what you like to do and have a lot of knowledge in. Remember, just because you know a lot about this area, others will not and they would love to pay you for your knowledge.

Think about teaching a 4 week workshop on your area of expertise. Offer a Health/Fitness program. It could be geared towards women who want to be ready to wear that itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini for the summer. Create for them a work-out plan along with a healthy diet. You could meet with them as a group or individually in their home and help motivate them to reach their goals.

If you're thumb can be described as the color of deep forest green you could think about putting in gardens and maintaining them through the summer for those people who will enjoy the fruits and vegetables of YOUR labor.

Kids are always raising money with car washing, why can't adults? Think about offering a mobile spring cleaning car service. If cleaning is your thing you could use that same theme and offer to spring clean or organize peoples home, kitchens or closets.

If it's around the holidays there are lights to be hung on houses (And taken down), there are homes and businesses to be decorated, parties to plan and money to be made.

Everyone is born with special gifts, talents and interests. Use them to make the money you need to get your home business off the ground.

TELL EVERYONE WHAT YOU'RE UP TO

People naturally like to help each other. At least most people I don't recommend asking any ex's. What your about to do is not begging either. You will be talking to your friends and family in a non-whinnying, very confident manner.

Explain to them what your goal is and how you plan to reach your goal. Ask them if they would like to help you reach your goal and this is what you can do to help them. It's a win win situation for everyone.

Whether your friends or family decide to help you reach your goal, ask them for referrals. This way you don't EVER have to make a cold call. You can contact these people, tell them so and so said to give them a call because they might be interested in the product or service you're offering. Again, give them your pre-practiced spiel.

HAVE FUN

Be sure you pick a way to make money that you naturally enjoy doing.

Once you reach the goal you’ve set for yourself you will have such a renewed sense of confidence for yourself. To create for yourself a goal, and reach, is such a wonderful way to give a personal power boost of good feelings.

By Liz Folger is the founder of http://www.bizymoms.com/. Bizymoms.com is the leading online resource for work-from-home ideas. The site offers home-based business start-up kits, online classes, e-books, chats and enthusiastic support for moms who want to have it all - a family and a career.

Home Based Business Financing Guide

There are several resources available to finance your home based business. You’ll have to do some research to find what’s available in your area, but this guide will show you several areas to begin looking to get the financing you need for your home based business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an excellent place to turn to for home based business financing. It doesn’t make grants that your home based business won’t have to pay back, nor does it make direct loans to small and home based businesses. Instead, the SBA guarantees loans given by private lenders. This reduces the risk associated with new business ventures and makes it easier to get lenders for your home based business. However, to get a SBA loan, your home based business must be a profit making one, and you will have to guarantee your loan personally. This means putting your personal assets at risk. Also, to be eligible for an SBA assistance and/or loan, your home based business has to be in the United States, and there’s other criteria that must be met. Still, if you’re looking for financial assistance to start your home based business, the SBA is a good place to start. Private grants are another type of financing you can look into for your home based business. There are many different types of grants, and there could likely be one for your home based business. The Internet is a great place to do your research. The grant process can take awhile, so if you decide this is the route you want to go for financing your home business, and your home based business meets the criteria of a grant, you will want to get started with the grant writing process as soon as possible. Also, you may need to hire a grant writer to help you. Grant requirements are strenuous, and there’s a great deal of competition for small and home based business grants. It’s well worth the time and effort to research grants, though, to try to get a grant for your home based business because the money given does not have to be paid back. Another type of home based business financing is through what’s called angel investors. These are investors who are willing to lend money to fledgling small and home based businesses, generally because they know a good thing when they see it and are willing to take some risks. Angel investors for home based businesses may not be that easy to find, but with some networking in your area, you’ll be able to locate several. Joining your local Chamber of Commerce is a good way to find angel investors. Also, talk to accountants who may be able to bring together several investors for your home based business. This happens a lot more often than you might think because investing in a small or home based business can provide a good tax break for many people. And then there are just some good souls out there who want to help others start home based businesses because they’ve been there themselves and managed to create successful home based businesses of their own. One final note. The only investors to be wary of for your home based business are those you might find in your own family. It just simply isn’t a good idea to borrow money for your home based business, or for anything else for that matter, from family members. There are just too many things that can go wrong in a financial obligation like this. A family member you borrow money from to start your home based business may pressure you to run the business their way, or worse, your home based business could go under and have to declare bankruptcy. It’s horrible to lose any investor’s money, but when it’s Uncle David’s, it’s much worse. So only borrow money for your home based business from family members as a last resort, and only if you’re certain you have a sure thing. By Charles Fuchs, President of Vision Management Enterprise Inc., is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Work at Home Based Business. Visit his site at http://www.charlesfuchs.com