OFW Biz Tips

Franchising Pros and Cons

2006-11-03T19:42:00.000+08:00

Last week's question from Anthony R. on how to choose the franchise that would best fulfill his life-long dream of owning his own business sparked a number of emails from other readers wanting to offer their two cents on the subject.

Some folks offered helpful insights and suggestions on how to pick a franchise and a few things to watch out for, while other emails came from current franchise owners asking me to help them sell their operations to Anthony R.

Hmm, sounds like it's time to update the old business card once again. Tim Knox: Franchise Broker At Large... Who knows, maybe I can franchise the concept.

Last week I promised we'd take a closer look at a few of the things you should look for when considering a franchise opportunity. Keep in mind that there are thousands of franchise opportunities that range from the low end opportunities available for a few thousand dollars to the high end franchises that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The difference in price is reflected in many ways: the viability of the opportunity, the level of training and support offered to the franchisee, the track record and financial stability of the franchisor, the success rate of the franchisees, and a dozen other factors.

All a lower end franchisor might offer is a training manual and the right to use their company name. Many also have very little interest in weeding out potential franchisees. The truth is many are in business just to collect franchise fees. They have little interest in whether or not a franchisee actually succeeds. If you have a pulse and a checkbook, you can become their franchisee. And your pulse does not have to be that strong.

The higher end franchisors have very strict franchisee requirements and will not allow just anyone to become a part of their franchise system. They also go to much greater lengths to ensure the success of their franchisees. They offer complete hand holding from start to finish and remain heavily involved in the business even after the doors open. Yes, you do pay dearly for their assistance, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Here are a few things to look for in a franchise opportunity:

Turnkey operation This is the most appealing feature of many franchise systems. Many of the top franchisors will scout the best location for the business, build and equip the facility, hire and train employees, put you through an extensive management training system, then toss you the keys. Furthermore, they will work closely with you for the first few months to help make certain that you know what to do with the keys once they've been tossed to you.

The majority of franchises don't offer such complete turnkey packages, so be prepared to do much of the upfront work yourself. Often it is up to you to find a location, negotiate the lease, build out the space or erect a building, install the equipment, hire and train a staff etc.

Proven track record and management system As mentioned earlier, many of the lesser-known franchise systems offer you a training manual, maybe a training video, and a few hours of telephone support. Not the best way to learn how to run a business. A good franchisor will provide you with thorough management training, either at their facility or onsite at yours. Since one of the reasons for buying into a franchise system is to tap into their expertise and know-how, thorough training should be a foremost consideration.

Customers waiting for the door to open I don't have the statistics in my pocket to back this up, of course, but I'd bet the farm that every time a new McDonald's opens its door, it's a mere matter of minutes before the first Happy Meal is sold. Many franchisors spend hundreds of millions of dollars on national ad campaigns to promote brand awareness. This works great for the franchisee who can literally have customers waiting for the doors to open on the first day of business.

Always consider the downsides There are downsides to franchising. Foremost is the high cost of entry. The top franchise opportunities require considerable investment on the front end, usually more of an investment than if the entrepreneur started a similar venture on his own. You could open an independent hamburger fast food restaurant for a fraction of the McDonald's franchise fee, but you probably won't sell as many hamburgers. What you're buying from McDonald's is not just a fast food restaurant that sells hamburgers. What you're buying is a brand, a reputation, and a proven business system with ready to eat customers. Be prepared to pay a premium for it.

Another downside is that when you buy into a franchise system you often have to pay a percentage of your revenues back to the franchisor. You might also be required to buy supplies from the franchisor, including inventory, paperwork, software, computer systems, and anything else the franchisor decides that they should supply to you.

And there in lies the biggest downside of all. When you buy into a franchise system you don't control your business, the franchisor does. You have very little say-so in running the business. You must follow their processes and procedures without variation. And should you decide to get out of the business you may not even be allowed to sell the franchise to just anyone. The new owner would have to be approved by the franchisor before a deal could be made final.

The bottomline, Anthony, is to do your homework and make sure the franchise you choose fits your personality, your lifestyle, and your pocket book.

About The Author
Andrew Adams writes for http://www.magfranchise.org where you can find out more about franchising and other topics.

Forex Broker

2006-10-09T19:46:00.000+08:00

Forex brokers are going to give you all types of information and advice about where you can invest and how you can invest with foreign companies. Forex systems are not available through all types of commercial investing companies but you can find a few Forex brokers in most all areas of the world. Forex brokers are found in large commercial investing firms, in most larger banks, and now with the help of the internet you can find many Forex brokers online. Use a Forex broker if you want to learn more about how to invest, where to invest, and how much money you need to invest in a Forex system right now.

Forex brokers are going to tell you what the minimums are. In some cases, you can invest as little as five dollars to open a Forex trading account. In some areas, and for some investment companies you must invest a minimum of $200 or even $500. It is important to remember that every investment firm is different, and will have set minimums for their business to take place.

Fees through a Forex broker will be based on the amount of the transaction and the type of transaction that you are completing. Moving from fund to fund or from Forex account to another Forex account you will incur the largest types of fees, but be sure to read the fine print on the Forex broker site where you intend to do business to be sure. Forex brokers make their money on the fees they bill when helping clients move money, and put money into investments.

A Forex broker should be a person you can trust, understand, and that you feel is honest with you. A Forex broker is one that you should not receive phone calls from, urging you to put large amounts of money into an account, right now. A Forex broker will present you with information about an investment, and then allow you time to make up your own mind if you are interested in the investment or not. A pushy broker is one that could be trying to earn a commission or could be trying to scam you. Again, your Forex broker is a broker you should feel comfortable in dealing with on a daily or weekly basis, but for many people, you may only talk to your Forex broker once a month or even less than that.

Investing money is a big decision. When deciding what broker Forex advice to take, or where to seek broker Forex advice you can use the links on these pages, or you can use your local yellow pages to find a possible Forex broker in your town or city. Not many Forex brokers are located in small towns or cities but in larger areas where the population is larger and more people have a need for such Forex and investing information.

About The Author
Kenneth Langlet is an independent writer and owner of the website http://www.brokers-and-traders.com/ where you can get more information about Forex broker.

How to Start a Retail Supermarket

2006-09-26T06:33:00.000+08:00

Everyone needs food in order to survive. And while many people have had to turn to restaurants and fast food in order to get food on the run, the retail supermarket industry is still thriving. People like to eat and they need to eat. However, getting into the retail supermarket business can be difficult, so here are some basic tips to get you started.

First of all, learn about the customers that you want to provide foods to. Are they looking for low prices or are they looking for a certain type of food – i.e. organic or local produce? Determining the kinds of customers you will cater to can help to limit the capital that you have to spend up front as well as the costs for buying products that you might not need. If you already have a location or area in mind, you might want to send out simple surveys to see what people are looking for and where they might like to see it. Include a discount coupon or some other freebie in order to get surveys returned to you – people like to be compensated for their time and their opinion.

Once you’ve determined the kind of supermarket that your customers want, you can begin to look at possible locations. People don’t like to drive too far for their food, so keeping stories in central locations is best, though you also don’t want to be somewhere that might cause traffic to become troublesome for locals as well. Look in the area to see where other popular retailers are. You might find that you can set up shop adjacent to them and help both locations out. If you have larger grocery chains in the vicinity, it can help to find a location that is at a distance so that locals can make their own choice, but that said, you will have to create some sort of incentive for them to choose you.

What’s the incentive for your customers? If you’re providing a particular product to your customers, that can be all the incentive that they need – in the beginning. Organic foods, for example, are a quite lucrative right now as people are more concerned about their health and eating right. However, these foods can be expensive to purchase, so you will want to research cheaper suppliers and farmers.

It can help to research and observe successful supermarkets in your area to see how they are creating profits for themselves. Look to see what kind of variety they offer, if they rotate their products or maintain the same items throughout the year. You may want to do everything completely differently as well, but it never hurts to see what’s working for someone else. You could also talk to other customers to see what else they’d like to see at popular stores in order to bring in their business to your own establishment.

Starting a retail supermarket requires capital to buy the space, products, and the employees to get everything running. But if you’ve secured your market and your products, you’re nearly ready to start cashing in on your ideas.

Copyright 2006 Jorge Olson

About The Author
Jorge Olson is a Business Consultant Entrepreneur. Visit his website for information on how to buy at the best Wholesale Prices for your Retail or Wholesale Business, or even how to go into business. Find free information at http://www.WholesaleTeacher.com.

Tips for Launching Your Own Business

2006-09-03T17:16:00.000+08:00

This November marks my two-year anniversary of starting my own human resources consulting business. As I look back on the years, I am amazed at what I accomplished and learned. If you are thinking about starting a business, read on!

I always dreamed about having my own business, talked to friends about it, and imagined how it might be. But it was only after two people in my life gave me a push, that I started doing instead of dreaming. First, my former boss said to me, when we were both thinking about moving on, "I never looked for a job, I always went out and created my own." Given her advice, I hired a business coach to help me map out my next career steps. My coach saw my entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged me to start a business. So I moved from dreaming to doing.

The first few months of my business I spent setting up a legal structure, registering the business name, implementing an easy accounting system, setting up a business checking account, establishing a line of credit and obtaining business insurance. Each item was time consuming but not difficult. The more difficult work was writing my business plan and marketing plan. I talked to professional colleagues and volunteers at the Small Business Administration and SCORE, and read books on marketing. The process was slow because I was learning along the way, but I now use both business and marketing plans as daily road maps to guide my actions. One of the easier and fun parts of the first few months – for me, was working with a designer to create a logo, business cards, stationery, brochure and Web site.

I also started networking - an activity that never ceases. There are many organizations to join. The trick is figuring out which ones to choose. I finally decided on being involved with a half a dozen organizations, which can either bring me business or help me learn more about building my business or both.

One of the activities I worked on for months was my "elevator pitch," which is answering the question, "What do you do?" so the listener understands and is interested. Now when people ask, I say, "I have a human resources consulting firm. We help organizations choose and grow talented people. And we help individuals choose and grow great careers."

I also spent a lot of time creating processes to make my business run like a well-oiled machine. I have processes for making sales calls, following up, writing proposals and evaluating the results of the work I do.

In addition, two wonderful students contacted me this year, both of whom wanted to work with me as interns to learn my business and to help them with their careers. Having two interns adds supervisory and coaching time, but their ideas and enthusiasm has paid off. In fact, my business tag line, Know-how. Right now, came out of a meeting in which the three of us reviewed my marketing plan.

At a networking meeting, a colleague suggested that I consider joining the Women’s Business Development Center. After looking into it, I had my business certified as a women’s business enterprise. In addition to meeting other women business owners, I gained access to a member directory of businesses that are interested in doing business with women business owners.

For me, the biggest risk of starting my own business was financial. I went from a steady paycheck to a roller coaster ride of payments. Before starting my business, I sat down with my family and asked for their support to ride out the slow months. My husband and youngest child were supportive; my teenager who loves new clothes and CDs, etc, needed convincing. But since my teenager is just a few years away from college and making her own career decisions, I see my move as a way to show her how to live your dreams.

The rewards are significant. I am passionate about what I do. For all every business decision, I get to decide. My newfound freedom has unleashed my creative talents. And there is new meaning in what I do. My advice after my first year: If you are passionate about a business idea, knuckle down and go for it!

About The Author

Judith Lindenberger MBA has a distinguished career in human resources consulting and is recognized for her innovation and excellence. The Lindenberger Group, LLC provides results-oriented human resources consulting, organization development, customized training workshops and personal career training to help individuals and organizations improve their productivity and performance. The Lindenberger Group is a two-time recipient of The Athena Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Contact them at 609.730.1049 or info@lindenbergergroup.com or www.lindenbergergroup.com

Blogs that Pay

2006-08-31T15:06:00.000+08:00

Making money with a blog is possible if you know how to attract the attention of prospects. It’s simply a matter of letting your customers know what you’re all about.

There are many ways that you can make money with a blog if you are interested. The following are some useful tips that you can keep in mind if you want to monetize a blog:

Sell advertising – This is the best way to make money with a blog. You can go about selling ads in two different ways. If you have a distinguished blog and it is set up in a popular niche you can sell ad space yourself. However, if you are not as fortunate, and are yet to have a successful blog, you can always rely on services such as AdSense or BlogAds. These services will help you monetize a blog through their pay-per-click program.

Affiliate programs – affiliate programs will help making money with a blog an easier process. By enabling your blog to link your readers to relevant online sites that provide services and products that may interest them, you can attract more attention.

Two of the best online companies you can affiliate with are Amazon.com and eBay. Remember, every time a reader clicks the affiliate link on your page and purchases a product from the merchant site, you receive a percentage of this profit, and a satisfied customer.

Market your products - Consider marketing your blog with the services or products you are selling. Of course, the point of your blog shouldn’t be to sell your stuff, but it never hurts to remind or offer prospects what you have for sale, and hear their opinions.

Grow your relationship with your customers – A blog is a great way to not only attract new customers, but also encourage repeat clients. Be an active part of your blog and use it to communicate with your existing and potential customers. Keep them up to date about your business. Tell them everything there is to know about your products and let them know that you care what they think.

You can make money with a blog where customers feel valued and can make there opinions count.

Making money with a blog is possible if you aren’t afraid to market your business. When it comes to your business website, you will want to do everything in your power to monetize as much as you can.

About The Author

Itay Paz is the founder of Internet Marketing Hype, an online newsletter that discusses the insights and excitement of today's internet marketing including: affiliate marketing, advertising, conferences, seminars, workshops, ebooks and other information products. Itay Paz is now sharing his knowledge with other Internet Marketers through his new Internet Marketing Hype Ezine. Itay’s online magazine will provide you with exceptional insights of Internet Marketing in a simple and easy way. Sign up for Itay Paz’s Internet Marketing Hype Ezine by visiting his website at http://www.internetmarketinghype.com.

Franchising

2006-08-27T00:19:00.000+08:00

If you are interested in starting a new business you might consider that of a franchise because of the perceived notion that it is a sure success. However, this is not always the case and before starting a franchise you should educate yourself on a significant amount of information in order to ensure you make the best, and ultimately most profitable, decision possible.

IF you simply buy a franchise because you like the food or product, then you could be setting yourself up for a variety of problems because you did not research the important information. Some of the basic things you should learn about before deciding to buy a franchise are what franchises are available in your area, what is the market demand for franchises, as well as a detailed comparison of all of the franchises you decide pass your first round of questions.

First of all, there are thousands of companies that sell franchises, so you need to narrow down the list a bit. The first thing you need to do is find what franchises are currently available in your proposed market. Hopefully, you will have considered a market or markets that are in need of a specific type of franchise and you will begin looking for these. The reason it is important to focus on the market and the franchise is because success of the franchise rests in the hands of the market.

Market saturation could be a huge problem for you if you open a cheeseburger franchises and there are already eight other similar franchises. In this instant, do not focus on what the market already has, but on what the market does not have. This is the type of franchise you want to buy because you will have a monopoly for the time being or at least until another competing business or franchise is opened.

However, when you are forming this list you need not decide on one right away. In fact, it is a better idea if you narrow the list down to the top five franchises that you think you fit best in your proposed market. Then, do some really detailed comparisons of advertising expenses, proposed profit and loss, training, financial status, financing, and all the other important aspects that apply to your opening a franchise. Then, pick the franchise that best meets your needs when it comes to buying a franchise.

Finally, make sure you conduct detailed research before deciding on a franchise because it costs a lot of money to start and their are certainly better franchises than others. Give yourself the best opportunity at success and do your homework. It will pay off in the future.

About The Author

Robert Michael is a writer for Firm Franchise which is an excellent place to find franchise links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.firmfranchise.com

Entrepreneurs Get Better with Age

2006-08-22T07:10:00.000+08:00

QUESTION:
I’m thinking about starting a business after I retire next month. I’ll be 65. Am I too old to start a business? -- Milton A.

ANSWER:
Milton, congratulations on your pending retirement. I find it admirable that after many years of hard work you are thinking about starting a business. While most men your age would be content to sit on the porch and watch the world go by, you are considering a ride on the entrepreneurial roller coaster. You’re certainly tall enough to ride this ride, but are you too old?

Here’s my standard answer: It depends. It depends on your health, your energy, your drive, your goals, and of course, your finances. If all those are in good shape and you have your spouse’s approval (that’s a biggie), then there is absolutely no reason why you should not start a business at your age.

In fact, the numbers are actually in your favor. According to recent studies 22 percent of men and 14 percent of women over 65 are self-employed. That’s compared to just 7 percent for other age groups.

According to a Vanderbilt University study the number of entrepreneurs age 45 to 64 will grow by 15 million by 2006. That’s compared to a 4 million decline for entrepreneurs age 25 to 44.

A 1998 survey of baby boomers conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) revealed that 80 percent of respondants planned to work beyond retirement age, and 17 percent of those planned to launch new businesses.

The study noted, "Self-employment among American workers increases with age, with the most dramatic jump occurring at age 65."

Older entrepreneurs may also find starting a business easier than their younger counterparts because older entrepreneurs tend to have more experience to draw from and more assets with which to finance a business.

Further evidence comes from a report released by Barclays Bank entitled Third Age Entrepreneurs – Profiting From Experience. The report shows that older entrepreneurs are responsible for 50 percent more business start-ups than 10 years ago. This amounts to around 60,000 business start-ups last year alone.

The survey also showed that today’s third age entrepreneurs (as the report calls entrepreneurs over the age of 50) don’t mind putting in the hours required to build their business. Nearly 49 percent work an average of 36 hours or more a week.

Third agers also rated holidays, lack of stress and a balance between work and home life more important than their younger counterparts.

The report further showed that only 27 percent run the business as the only source of household income, with 51 percent supplementing their pension.

Other key findings showed that third age start-ups account for 15 percent of all new businesses, and third age entrepreneurs are three times more likely to be male than female.

There is a downside (isn’t there always?). Many businesses fail within the first few years and older entrepreneurs may be less able to handle the financial loss than younger entrepreneurs. It’s one thing to lose everything at 25, but it’s a much bigger deal to be financially ruined at 65.

So my advice, Milton, is that if your health and finances allow (and the Mrs. gives the green light) by all means start your business.

Climb on the entrepreneurial roller coaster and hang on tight.

You get the senior discount, by the way.

Just try not to lose your lunch when things get bumpy and you’ll probably do just fine.

About The Author

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.

Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets" and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!"

Related Links:
www.smallbusinessqa.com
www.dropshipwholesale.net
http://www.30dayblueprint.com
http://www.timknox.com

Debt Elimination

2006-08-18T20:00:00.000+08:00

Debt seems to have become the buzz word in today’s world. We can’t blame it on people. After all it’s human to fall for it. However, it surely isn’t good for you. If you have fallen into a debt trap, you can take comfort from the fact that you are not the only one. Getting out of debt trap is not impossible either. You just need to have some patience and exercise restraint on the bad spending habits that you have developed over a period of time (assuming that the debt has not resulted due to some difficult circumstances).

Analyze the situation properly and prepare a strategy for debt elimination. Here is a list which you could reference to pave the path to debt elimination:

1. Controlled spending: The first thing to do is prevent the situation from getting worse i.e. stop the debt from growing further. So exercise control and try and remain within 70% of your credit limit. You might also resort to spending cash instead of plastic, just as a control mechanism.

2. Consolidation: Debt consolidation is another instrument which is very much in use as an important step towards debt elimination. This involves switching over to a new credit card which has a lower APR. However, if you intend to keep spending like mad, this will result in a debt trap and will not help you at all.

3. Negotiate: You might as well talk to your existing credit card company about the situation and check if they are able to help by reducing the APR for a period of time. This does work sometimes because these companies too want to retain their customers.

4. Pay off some debt: If you have some cash handy, you might as well pay off some debt, especially the one that is on higher APR credit cards.

5. Seek professional advice: If you are not able to find the way out by yourself, you should take professional advice. There are consultants who would not only give advice but also detail you about what offers are available in the market and which suit you the best.

6. Resist offers: Credit card companies keep putting up new offers to lure more customers. These could range from getting a discount if you shop with them, a free gift etc. Do not fall for such offers. Just treat them as ‘Not for me’, because these are really not for you until you come out of your current debt. These are more to induce spending than anything else. Moreover, this will just add to the annual fees that you pay on your credit cards.

7. Reduce the number of credit cards: If you have a large number of credit cards, you will always be tempted to using one or the other till the credit limit is reached on them. This creates a debt trap. So, if you can, then close off some of your credit card accounts.

The key to debt elimination, however, lies in ‘Restraint’. If you are able to control your spending then you are already moving in the right direction.

About The Author

Rudy Hadisentosa: CCN.com is a free online credit cards review and application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa, master cards, discover, american express and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. Apply for a credit card at CCN.com.

Real Estate Partners

2006-08-16T18:13:00.000+08:00

We were looking for real estate partners because we were new to the Tucson area. We found that two identical houses here can be $50,000 apart in price if they are three blocks apart. Also, the styles are different from anything we had in Michigan, so it would be good to have some help figuring value and what buyers want.

At the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association meeting I announced that we had money to invest in fixer upper real estate, and we were looking for partners. The host wrote our names and phone number down on the overhead projector along with the others. About three days later we got a call.

Sam and Nikki were nice people, and we got along well when we met. Their offer had been accepted on a house. Looking at the comparison sales they had found, it seemed like a good buy. They had done rough estimates of the rehab and remodeling costs, and it looked like we could make some money. There would be a third couple involved, so the expected $75,000 profit would be split three ways. Agreeing in principle to the deal, we arranged to meet the other partners at the house after closing.

Too Many Real Estate Partners

Six people with six opinions can be a problem. I never understood why the beautiful wood floors had to be torn up and replaced with carpet. For that matter, I never understood why they couldn't at least be carpeted over without the expense of tearing them out. Both my wife and I thought it was a crime to stucco and paint the beautiful brick exterior of the house, but were assured that buyers here would like that better. Raising the roof of one room seemed expensive and unpredictable, but the ceiling was a bit low.

There were plans and new plans, and weeks of stressful anticipation evolved into stressful worrying. We discovered that the houses in the area were selling for less than we initially thought, that the rehab cost would be more than we thought, and that all the other partners expected to do much of the labor, rather than hire it out. The profit projection dropped from $25,000 each to $10,000, and we felt there might actually be a loss.

We dropped out of the deal. Fortunately the other partners had procrastinated for several weeks on the signing of the joint venture agreement. They also were decent people, and had noticed our anxiety. Nikki called to suggest we let them find a way to finance it without us, about two minutes before I was going to call to say we were out. It ended amicably.

We learned a lot. I've had partners before, but I let the partner take my money and do his thing to make us a profit. This group decision-making, especially with so large a group, just doesn't work, at least not for my wife and I. One day, standing in a Home Depot hopelessly looking at carpeting samples, I also realized that non-financial contributions need to be clearly defined according to each persons knowledge and skills.

We truly hope they make a lot of money on the project. If they do, we may even be willing to be partners with one or the other of the couples. If so, though, we'll just look at the plan, put up the money, and let them do their thing. That's my idea of real estate partners.

About The Author

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com.

Triple your Business in Three Ways

2006-08-15T14:26:00.000+08:00

There really are only 3 marketing functions...once you master them, the rest of the game is pretty simple.

Every small business owner wants more business. So what do they do. They focus all of their marketing attention one thing - advertising, lead generation, making the phone ring.

Oh sure, without a steady flow of new leads most businesses are sunk. But, it does no good to have a bunch of leads unless you can turn them into clients. And, you are absolutely missing the boat if you don't have a systematic way to turn those clients into a bigger and bigger clients.

You can triple your business almost overnight if you will focus all of your marketing efforts on 3 functions.

Lead Generation, Lead Conversion, and Client Reselling. (I kind of made that last term but I rather like it.)

Lead Generation is finding ways to get "qualified prospects" to call, write, click, or otherwise act in a manner to find out more about your firm.

Lead Conversion is your firm's systematic approach to turning those leads into sales, customers, and clients.

Client Reselling is your method of taking your existing clients and getting larger, more frequent, and new purchases, or leveraging your relationship to get more clients and selling opportunities.

If you can create systems that help you do all three of these marketing functions then you are home free...and tripling your business is guaranteed. (guarantees are a tremendous lead conversion tool by the way)

All 3 of these marketing functions are intertwined, yet I rarely come across a small business owner that understands this.

Here's what I mean.

LGN -You must have multiple ways to target your best prospects and get the phone to ring. Your website, your Yellow Pages ad, direct mail, flyers, pizza box coupons, church bulletin ads, radio ads, airplane banners...just to mention a few.

LCN - You then must also have a set response when the phone rings. Presentation over the phone, send out an educational packet, direct them to a special page on your website, have them complete an evaluation, set an appointment (with a predetermined outcome) The point is that response must be predetermined and scripted. Everyone in the organization should be able to deliver it!

CRS - Once you land a client you must have a preplanned strategy to get them to buy again, more, bigger, faster, updated, upgraded, versions of your business. You should even look to create or add products for this purpose. In addition you must build referrals into your reselling efforts.

Look there are many things that fall under the heading of marketing but if you can just draw up a simple checklist of steps for perfecting these three functions (even if you do nothing else) then you will absolutely crush your competition.

Copyright 2004 John Jantsch

About The Author

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of “Duct Tape Marketing” a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php

How to Deal with a Difficult Boss

2006-08-13T17:14:00.000+08:00

Most people at some point in their lives have to deal with a difficult boss. Difficult supervisors vary in personality from being a little pushy or rude, all the way to being downright abusive. Many people feel that an abusive boss has control of their personal life outside of work by lowering their self-esteem and making them live in constant fear. The role of a supervisor sometimes attracts certain controlling-type personalities because they crave the power it gives them and because they lack such control in their own personal lives. A supervisor has complete control over your most basic human needs—your ability to put food on the table and a roof over your head. These are powerful motivating factors that allow a difficult supervisor to control people out of fear of losing these basic needs. We may not be able to always correct their behavior, but we should never have to live in fear and let our difficult boss control our lives.

Here are some strategies on handling a difficult boss situation.

Always have a plan B. Most people are scared about having a discussion with their boss concerning their abusive behavior because they fear reprimand or losing their job. Their fear is usually justified if the supervisor is a control-freak and feels that their subordinate is threatening their control. Before you deal with any type of conflict, you always need to have a plan B in case things don’t work out. A plan B is the best alternative that you can come up without having to negotiate anything with your boss. In this type of scenario, your best plan B would probably take the form of having an actual job offer in hand with another employer before you have your talk. By not having a back-up plan, you have given your abusive boss even more leverage over you because they know you have no where else to go. Having a plan B, however, empowers you with the ability to walk-away at any time should the negotiation not go right. Increase your power and have a plan B before you deal with the conflict.

Never react to verbal abuse or harsh criticism with emotion. This will always get you into more trouble than you started with because it will become a war between egos and chances are good that your boss has a bigger ego than you have—hence why he is difficult in the first place. When a personal attack is made on you, they are trying to bait you into reacting emotionally because once you react, you become an easy target for additional attacks. The key then is not to react, but to acknowledge and move on. By doing this, you effectively strip all of the power behind their verbal attacks away from your abusive boss, without creating conflict. If your boss happens to be an intimidator or a control freak, then the best way of dealing with their behavior is to remain calm and acknowledge their power by saying, "You're right, I'm sorry." By saying this, you take away any chance of them lashing back at you because you have sidestepped their verbal attack rather than meeting it head on.

Discuss rather than confront. When your boss criticizes you, don’t react out of emotion and become confrontational with them about it because that just breeds more conflict. Instead, use their criticism as a topic for discussion on interests, goals, and problem-solving and ask them for their advice. If they criticize your work, then that means that they have their own idea on how that work should be done, so ask them for their advice on how your work can be improved.

Manage the manager. A source of conflict usually occurs when a group of employees gets a new manager who demands that things run differently. These changes are usually reactionary in nature because the employees go about their regular duties until the manager comes by and criticizes the way it is being done. Instead of waiting for their criticism, take a proactive approach and be absolutely clear from the very beginning on how your boss wants things to be done so that there is no miscommunication later on. There are many ways of completing a task and having a discussion about them at the very beginning will allow you to see things from their perspective as well as sharing your own with them. Get to know their likes and dislikes inside and out so that you can avoid future criticisms.

Know that you can do little to change them. Being a difficult person is part of their personality and therefore it is a very difficult, if not impossible thing to change in a supervisor, so don’t think that you can change how they act. Instead, change the way that you view their behavior. Don’t label them as being a jerk--just merely label them as your boss. By avoiding derogatory labeling, you avoid making it easy on yourself to be angry with your boss.

Keep your professional face on. Know the difference between not liking your boss and not being professional. You don’t have to make your boss your friend or even like your boss as a person, but you do have to remain professional and get the job done and carry out their instructions dutifully as a subordinate, just as you would expect them to be professional as do their duties as a supervisor.

Evaluate your own performance. Before you go attacking your boss, examine your own performance and ask yourself if you are doing everything right. Get opinions from other coworkers about your performance and see if there is any warrant to the criticisms of your supervisor before you criticize their opinions.

Gather additional support. If others share in your concern, then you have the power of numbers behind you to give you additional persuasion power over your boss. It is often easy for a supervisor to ignore or attack one employee, but it becomes more difficult to attack all of his employees. He might be able to fire one of you, but he will look like an idiot (and probably get fired himself) if he tries to fire all of you. An interdepartment union is a good way of mustering power against an abusive employer.

Don’t go to up the chain of command unless it’s a last resort. Going straight up the chain of command is not an effective way of dealing with a difficult supervisor because it only increases conflict in the workplace. Your immediate supervisor will consider this a very serious backstabbing maneuver and might seek some sort of retribution in the future against you and your career. Also, other people in your workplace might brand you as a whistleblower because of your actions. Try to discuss issues with your supervisor first and only go up the chain of command as a last resort.

Encourage good behavior with praise. It is easy to criticize your superiors, but criticisms often lead towards resentment and hostile feelings. Everyone likes a pat on the back for good behavior, so you should strive to watch for good behaviors from your supervisor and compliment them on that. Proactive praising is much more effective than reactive criticisms.

Document everything. If you choose to stay with a toxic employer, then document everything. This will become your main ammunition should a complain ever be filed down the road. Document interactions with them as well as your own activities so that you can remind them of your own achievements at performance review time.

Leave work at work. Get into the habit of leaving work at home and not bringing it into your personal life because that will only add to your level of stress. Keep your professional life separate from your personal life as best as you can. This also includes having friends who you don’t work with so that you can detach yourself from your work life rather than bringing it home with you.

About The Author

The author gladly encourages you to reprint this article, provided that his bio text and website URL accompany this article.

Tristan Loo is an experienced negotiator and an expert in conflict resolution. He uses his law enforcement experience to train others in the prinicples of defusing conflict and reaching agreements. Visit his website at http://www.streetnegotiation.com.

tristan@streetnegotiation.com

Recovering from Debt

2006-08-12T21:21:00.000+08:00

OK, so you are up to your head in debt. You are stressed out, it is now affecting the way you function and absorbing most of your daily thoughts. You have no idea what to do.

OK, first things first. Take a step back and try and look at things with a clear head. Your debt is manageable. If you have many bills and just can't afford them all, the first thing you should consider is a debt consolidation loan.

A debt consolidation loan will help you out by consolidating all of your debt into one monthly payment that you can afford.

Second of all, figure out what is an affordable amount of money, that you can afford to pay monthly. You want this to be a fair amount of cash, however you still need to account for some money for yourself to prevent yourself from slipping further into debt.

The next step is to cut up your current credit cards. I know I've fallen into this trap on numerous occasions; I didn't cut up my credit cards and planned to use them for 'EMERGENCY ONLY'. Well, a few months roll by, and that new shirt, and that tank of gas add up to ANOTHER full credit card. If you no longer have credit cards, you can't be tempted to use them.

Finally, you need to correct the problem by killing it at the root. Start saving 5-10% of your income and start saving to purchase those things you want or need. The immediate gratification of making a purchase will wind up haunting you in the long run. Rationalize every purchase and try to take into consideration if this purchase is a rational one or one based on emotion. If it is based on emotion, think about how purchasing this item will make you feel, then imagine the stress of being in debt. If you managed to make your way out of debt at least once in your life, I'm sure your urge to purchase this item will quickly fade.

Follow this simple outline, and your journey to become debt free will be under way.

About The Author

Ryan McKenzie
For more debt recovery information check out my web site at http://www.debt-recovery-online.com

Earning Money on the Internet

2006-08-11T18:43:00.000+08:00

I am going to tell you some of the most closely guarded secrets on the internet, I am going to tell you how you can make a substantial amount of money on the internet. And I'm giving this away free for a limited time. Dont be surprised if this page is gone in the near future. I could easily charge for this information and I am considering doing so very soon.

Thirdly, understand that to make money you need to spend some, the great thing about internet marketing is that you don't need to spend it all at once, you can spread it over several months and cover it with your initial earnings. Some things you need to buy to get going are domain names, web hosting, traffic, automated content generation, search engine optimisation tools etc. My guide is really a library of all the products you need to get and a manual on how to use them to generate some good aditional income. I estimate about 400 dollars is the startup figure but you can offset this with your initial earnings. As I said, some of the services I am going to show you cost money however there is a good chance you can get a grant from your local government for starting a small business, that's exactly what I did. You'll get the info for these grants either here at Business Gateway if you are in Scotland, If you are in England then the assosiated sister organisation is Business Link. For those readers in the United States I have heard good things about SBA. They all can help you get the funding you need to get a small marketing business off the ground. Check them out but remember the juicy bits in this guide are still to come and the start up costs are small so dont worry too much about funding, this can easily be sorted out later..

OK, So I have some cash to get going where do I start?

Well the first thing you will need Is a good web hosting company and a webpage if you dont already have one. I recomend iPowerWeb I use them for my US hosted sites, they are very reliable, their customer support is excellent and their service top notch. They are also very reasonably priced and suit most startup budgets. For UK hosted Sites I strongly recomend 1&1 Internet They offer the best hosting service in the UK and again are extremely competetive in their pricing. You will need to choose a good domain name that is relevant to what you are going to be doing, you are going to be reviewing services and consumer goods, selling and promoting e-books and placing targeted advertising on your site. So as I said bookmark this page and go and get your domain name from one of these two providers. This is asuming you can write a basic page on your own, if not I'll cover another idiot proof option later. Alternatively, Just click the links to check them out just now, but remember those who succeed at this kind of marketing technique wont be reading this text you are reading now, they will be registering their domain name. By all means read this article in full but those who fail to earn from this type of work are those who dont follow the instructions and quickly give up. You must trust me, follow these instructions and you will make money.

About The Author

Andrew Lyall - Author and editor of www.reviewthebest.com/makingmoneyguide.html.

A Guide to Personal Loans

2006-08-10T15:33:00.000+08:00

Nowadays we no longer have to wait until we buy or do what we want. The personal loans sector in the UK today is packed full of many different types of loans that can be used for virtually any purpose. You can, for example, take out general loans to help you do or buy stuff whenever you feel like it. Alternatively, you can take out specialised personal loans to help you out with all kinds of stuff such as DIY projects, debt consolidation or buying a new car, for example.

Personal loans work in a very simple way at the end of the day. You will approach a lender and apply to borrow the money you need. Lenders can be big financial names such as banks or building societies or they can be smaller name specialist lenders. The lender you approach will do some checks on you to check out how your finances look – both now and in the past – and then will either approve you or reject you for finance. If approved, you simply sign up to the personal loans agreement and then they hand over your cash. You can do all this online nowadays if you prefer which can speed up the process and get some great rates or you can follow a traditional route if you’d rather do that.

Lenders don’t, however, let you borrow money for free. They do, after all, have to make some return on their investment so you’ll be charged for the money you borrow. This charge will take the form of the interest rate that you are given on the money you borrow. The aim here, at the end of the day, is for you to pay back personal loans with this interest added on top. In most cases you will pay the money back in instalments to make it easier to manage. So, you’ll usually have a commitment to repay a certain sum every month for the duration of your personal loans deal. This payment will be put towards paying back the sum of money you originally borrowed together with the interest that you owe on top.

The great thing about personal loans is that they can be used for just about any kind of purpose and, if you take out a general loan, you probably won’t even be asked what you want the money for. And, these kinds of loans are available just about everywhere nowadays and are quick and easy to arrange – whether you want to borrow just a few hundred or thousands.

The big advantage to the fact that there are so many personal loans choices out there for you is that this keeps loan rates low at the moment so now really is a good time to apply for this kind of finance. This also means that you should shop around as much as you can to find the lowest rates – this may well be best done online as the Internet has loads of great personal loans deals that could save you some serious cash.

About The Author

Micheal Reece is working at 1track personal loans http://www.1trackpersonalloans.co.uk and has been in the Personal Loans http://www.bridgehouse-personal-loans.co.uk industry for over 10 yrs.

Choosing A Home Based Business Opportunity

2006-07-27T22:32:00.000+08:00

Have you recently been giving serious consideration to starting a home business? Well join the club. Thousands of individuals just like yourself are starting home based businesses every month.

The market is wide open and the demand for working from home is getting more and more popular. With many people suddenly finding themselves unemployed because of changes in their work place, many more are also looking at the idea of working from home. This article will offer some suggestions in choosing a home based business opportunity.

Here are five things that will help you decide.

Write Down Some Ideas

Here is where you can be wild and creative. Make three separate lists. First, think about (and write down) everything you ever wanted to do, from home, as your own business. Now list everything that you know you have both interests and talents in. Make a third list of the talents that you have that others might have a need for (marketable).

Do Some Research

After you have that list, go to the internet, and begin to look up various sites that deal with home based businesses. Some of these sites will give you lists of many ideas. Find some of them, and then, using the list that you already made, get more ideas to either add to it, or refine some of your ideas into more specific categories. For instance, say that you have a desire to write. You will find a number of ideas for writers that are home based. You may find resume writer, copywriter, content writer for web articles, and maybe copyediting. You might add in some similar things that you will also see, like website design, or virtual assistant.

Select One Or Two Possibilities

From this list you should now be able to reduce your ideas to one or two that stand out and spark your interests. Do a little more research to do two things: get some ideas about what it will take to get started in that type of business; and, find out how much you might expect to realistically make from that kind of business.

Determine Your Budget

This will help you to see whether or not you should pursue that kind of business, and also what you have to work with for a budget. Some money should be kept aside in the event that things do not go as expected. Plainly speaking, not every home based business is a success.

Get Ready To "Open The Doors"

Once your business is selected, and you know what is needed, then preparation needs to be started. Of course you want to do it right, so, with your budget in mind, start getting ready to open those doors for business. Don't forget your website, and also the advertising.

Warm regards,

Kenny Anderson

Copyright © Kenny Anderson
http://www.TigerTradeLLC.com

About The Author

Mr. Kenny Anderson is a Principal at Tiger Trade, LLC a subsidiary of Goeins-Williams Associates, Inc. of Wilmington, DE and Aurora, CO. Kenny is a much sought after Speaker and Business Consultant on a myriad of Small Business, Internet Marketing and Entrepreneurial related issues. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, he is considered a “Netpreneur” with a primary focus in marketing and managing a number of successful home based affiliate programs. View five of the best affiliate programs at www.TigerTradeLLC.com.

Finding a Place to Make Your Investments

2006-07-23T16:59:00.000+08:00

Investing can be a wonderful way to get the most out of your money while supporting various businesses and industries that you know and trust. Unfortunately, investing usually requires more than just a desire to buy and sell share of your favorite stocks… unless you plan on purchasing all of your stocks and other investments directly from the issuers, you'll also need a broker of some sort to place trade orders for you and execute any buy or sell orders that you might have. In order to help you find the broker that will best meet your particular needs, here are some things to consider while searching for the right investment broker.

Considering your options

There are a lot of options available to you when looking for a broker for any investments that you want to make. You should consider the types of investments that you'd like to make, whether you'd like to make real-time trades or to set limits for the trades (meaning that the broker automatically buys or sells on your behalf when an investment reaches a certain price), and how you want to finance your trades. Depending upon your preferences, you might find a variety of real world and online brokers that might meet your needs.

Real world vs. online

If you're wanting to deal with a real person directly and seek their advice on different investments, there's a good chance that you'd be better off using a real world broker. Should you prefer to be able to have a more hands-on investment experience in which you can track your own investments and arrange your own orders, then an online broker will probably serve you better. Whichever you choose, it's important to keep in mind that there will be additional costs associated with your investments.

Comparing transaction fees

While looking at your investment broker options, it's important to see how much you're going to be charged for your trades and any other services that the broker may offer. Even online brokers have transaction fees, and they can very depending upon the investment plan that you choose and the types of transactions that you're making. These fees should factor into your decision, as well as any limitations that different brokers might have.

Realizing broker limitations

Take the time to look into what different brokers can and cannot do before making your final decision. Many online brokers do not offer certain investment options (such as margin trading), and there are physical brokers that only offer certain types of trades or certain investment services. Make sure that the broker that you're considering offers the types of trades and investment services that you want before making your final decision on a specific broker.

Choosing your broker

Once you've narrowed down the list of potential brokers, you should carefully consider exactly what each broker has to offer you and how well their offerings meet your investment needs. If you're wanting quick and easy access to your investments, you might want to look more carefully at online brokers. If you're wanting thorough and in-depth analysis of potential investments, you might want to look more carefully at physical brokers.

Compare the transaction fees and offered services of all of the brokers that you're considering, using all of the information available to you to help make sure that the decision that you finally make is the right one for you and your financial needs.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Make Money Doing Something You Love

2006-07-23T16:54:00.000+08:00

Are you a crafty person? If not, don't worry as you can learn to be. Arts and Crafts can be both exciting hobbies as well as money-makers. What's better than to earn some money doing something you love?

There are as many variations of crafts as there are crafters, so we obviously can't list them all here. But for starters here are a few to consider:

Candle making: Do you love burning beautiful, scented candles? Lots of people do, and will gladly buy candles for themselves or as gifts. They would especially love unique, handcrafted candles. This is one of the easier crafts to learn, that can be both fun and very profitable.

Beading: One of the arts and crafts that traverse the ages and cultures is that of beading. Beadworks can either be worn or displayed, and their popularity is continually growing. Beading can be overwhelming when starting out due to numerous techniques and patterns. But it can make a very satisfying as well as a money-spinner.

Quilting: A craft that also qualifies as an art foam, quilting is a method of stitching two layers of cloth with stuffing in between, while foaming a decorative design. Quilting can be done by hand or machine. Handmade quilts are very popular because they are both gorgeous and functional. This is a potentially highly profitable craft.

Soap making: As we become more aware of the harmful effects of chemicals on our bodies, we begin to seek out organic alternatives. Soap is one of these. Make refreshing, homemade soaps, add your own unique fragrances and you might find yourself unable to meet the demand.

Flower pressing: Items made from pressed flowers make great gifts, and you can create amazing pieces of art and home décor items. This is one of the easier crafts to learn, that can also earn you extra money from home.

Crocheting: This is a craft that can be both satisfying and profitable. Better still, it can be done at idle moments that we almost always let go to waste. Crochet products are popular and can make you a handsome side income.

Woodworking: This can be a highly profitable hobby, as woodcrafts can be both beautiful and functional. Specializing is advisable due to the overwhelmingly numerous different types, styles and wood types.

There you have a few potentially profitable hobbies. Just know to pick a craft that you know you will enjoy as opposed to one that makes most money. This will help see you through the learning curve, as well as lean times.

Build a better mousetrap and they will beat a path to your door? Not quite. You will still need to let the world know about your wonderful creation, in this case your arts and crafts. Some marketing skills are needed here, but that is subject of another article.

About The Author

David Kamau is webmaster of http://mercantilecentral.com. Need helpful resources about the arts and crafts featured here? Go to http://mercantilecentral.com/articles/arts_and_crafts.htm and look at bottom of reprinted article.

Forex Avenue: The Road to Riches

2006-07-23T08:31:00.000+08:00

In my continuing quest to provide visitors of my site with a large amount of options to chose from when considering working from home I have done some research on Forex trading. I first learned of Forex trading while pursuing my MBA program. For those of you who have never heard of this, Forex trading is the exchange of foreign currency.

I know I would have never even know this was an option for making money had I not found out in class. Most of the really big corporations have departments of people that do this for a living because it can be very lucrative if done correctly. The best news I have learned about this process of exchanging currencies is that many of the websites that you can sign up with to do this offer free trial accounts to help you learn before you invest your money into trying it. You won’t make any money in the trial accounts if you do well, it is just pretend money essentially but with the real market conditions. If you do well in the trial account you will know if this is something you want to try on your own.

Benefits to Forex trading are that is can be done 24/7 whereas the stock market is a business hours only exchange. It is 24/7 because it is done with countries around the world so clearly there are countries that are awake and working while we sleep. Another benefit is you are in control of the trading on your account. You do not need to hire a licensed broker to make your trades and charge you fees. Along those same lines, anyone who does any investing most likely knows that some funds require you to own then for a certain period of time or pay early withdrawal fees. You do not need to concern yourself with this either. One last benefit that I would like to point out is the fact that Forex is not really subject to the same kinds of swings in the market that stocks are subject to. Of course if you always buy and sell the same currencies then there will be market swings. But, because there are hundreds of currencies out there, there is always going to be something for you to make money on because while one currency is up in value another one is down and vice versa.

There are many resources available to someone interested in becoming involved in this type of training. The Federal Reserve Bank’s website is just one example of the information available, http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/foreignex.html. Here is another article that you will find helpful in starting out in this field. http://www.forex.com/pdf/pro2.pdf . I have also included one of the sites that does offer a free lesson. http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=44910&u=155496&m=8912 .

While there are many benefits to this type of training, as I mentioned above, there are certainly risks involved as well. There are risks with exchange rates, central banks in foreign countries, and risks involving interest rates and credit. Forex is quickly becoming a popular way to help diversify your investment portfolio. If you are good with understanding investing concepts and enjoy doing it this may be the home business opportunity for you. Just do your research and try to find one of the sites offering the free trial account to practice with and you are well on your way down the Road to Riches.

About The Author

Scott Bianchi operates www.best-internet-bargains.com. He writes on a variety of topics. If you would like to be added to his distribution list for his new articles when they are published just send an email to articles@bestinternetbargains.com.

Investing in Forex

2006-07-23T08:29:00.000+08:00

Investing in foreign currencies is a relatively new avenue of investing. There are considerably fewer people are aware of this market than there are people aware of several other avenues of investing. Trading foreign currency, also known as forex, is the most lucrative investment market that exists. There are several factors that make this true among which, successful forex traders earn realistic profits of one hundred plus percent each month. Compared to some of the better known investment markets such as corporate stocks, this is an unheard of return on investment. It's very necessary to mention here that a person who invests in forex must, without exception, make it a point to learn the detailed, but simple strategies and information surrounding the market. This very fact is what makes the difference between successful forex traders and other traders.

A few additional points, which create such powerful leverage for investors within the forex market are: The amount of capital required to begin investing in the market is only three hundred dollars. For the most part, any other investment market is going to demand thousands of dollars of the investor in the beginning. Also, the market offers opportunities to profit regardless what the direction of the market may be; In most commonly known markets investors sit and wait for the market to begin an up trend before entering a trade. Even then, investors, as a rule must sit and wait some more to be able to exit the trade with a nice profit. Given that the forex market produces several up, down, and sideways trends in a single day, it can easily be seen that forex stands head and shoulders above other markets. Additionally there are trading strategies, which are taught that provide for compounded profits; these are profits on top of profits. In addition, free demo accounts are available within the industry of forex trading, which facilitate the sharpening of skills without the risk losing any capital. And the advantage regarding the time factor in trading foreign currency is a very attractive point for any investor. Compared to one of the most sought after avenues of investing, which often requires forty or more hours each week, namely in the real-estate market, the forex market requires a much smaller demand on the investor's time. Forex trading requires approximately ten to fifteen hours each week to earn a full time income. It's easy to see that the advantages and great leverage that exist in the forex market, make it among the most lucrative, time liberating, and easy to enter by far.

I hope this information gives you a clear understanding of how you can turn your investing into a true method of making your money work harder for you.

Sincerely,

Joe Clinton.

About The Author

Hi. I'm Joe Clinton. I enjoy helping others learn valuable information that I've learned over the years.

To learn more about this incredible market and how you can position yourself among the most successful investors in the world visit www.joeforex.com. Don't forget to sign up for the free report "Forex Freedom" and get a foundation in forex lessons.