a SmashiA Mentor Can Make You ng Success

Thinking about a home business? Suddenly you're immersed in a whole new language: affiliate programs, residual income, leveraged income, pyramid scams, html, gateway websites. It's really not all that difficult and a mentor can be a trusted guide through the home business labyrinth.

There are only three main ways to work for yourself: sell your own product or service and keep all the profits; buy the rights to sell someone else's product and keep all the profits; and sell someone else's products and keep a commission. This article is all about the third way, which is affiliate marketing.

Residual income is income that keeps coming in month after month, year after year, from work you do just one time. You sell a membership or a customer places a standing order for monthly shipment of a product and you receive a commission every month thereafter. Leveraged income is earning money through other people's efforts. We choose to be affiliates because when we sign someone up under us to sell, we profit from their sales too.

There are many reasons why you may be interested in starting your own affiliate home business. Are you having difficulty finding a job? Are you afraid of being laid off? Are you worried about your retirement savings? Do you want to stay home to care for a loved one? Do you wish you could say goodbye to your boss forever?

Whatever the reason, and whatever your financial situation, a mentor can help you build an online income over time. It won't happen overnight and it will take hard work.

How do you know if being your own boss and working on the internet is for you? How do you choose what kind of business to start?

A mentor can help you decide if an internet home business is for you. If you're new to computers and the internet, he or she can suggest some great resources for learning the basics

How do you choose what affiliate programs to join? A good mentor only recommends products she uses herself and programs she uses. I made my choices based on products in which I have personal interest, the programs' track records, and recommendations from entrepreneurs I respect. Careful research is the key.

Once you have signed up for affiliate programs, you may want to start out simply promoting the affiliate gateway websites you are given within each program. Gateway websites are personalized websites given to you by an affiliate program. They are the same for every affiliate and you are not able to change them in any way. They include code that attributes all sales to you and they allow for your contact information to be included. A mentor will show you how to promote these websites. Directing visitors to them is how you make your sales and how you enroll others.

Eventually, you will want your own domain name and website. I unequivocally recommend Kiosk.ws as a web host. You can start out for as little as $1, and Kiosk has support that sets the industry standard. There are conference room trainings and meet-the-president sessions, online help desk, and of course your referrer. Your membership includes too many business tools to mention here, but it's everything you need to conduct business online. Plus Kiosk can eventually be a good moneymaker in itself.

Once you are the proud owner of your own website, you can add your own product pages, articles, testimonials...you're only limited by your imagination. A mentor can set you in the right direction and get your business profitable sooner than you might believe possible.

5 Fun Party Games For Direct Sales That Will Boost Your Business

If you are in direct sales, the money is all in the parties you do. You want your hostess and her guests to have as much fun as possible, but at the same time, you need to educate them on and interest them in your products. You may also want to plant the idea of one of them becoming a consultant. Party games can accomplish all of this while providing entertainment to the guests. Here are a few of our favorite games. Give them a try and watch your business grow.

1) Bingo

This is an easy all-time favorite and an easy way to introduce a wide variety of products to the group.

Create some bingo cards by drawing a 4 by 4 box grid on a piece of paper. Write "Free" on the center box. Then write the names of your products on the remaining boxes in random order on each of the bingo cards and make yourself a set of cards with just one of the products on each card. You will use this set of cards to draw the bingo "numbers". You may want to have a sample of each of the products with you and show it and talk about it when the product is drawn during the bingo game. As in ordinary bingo, the first person who has a row of items checked off wins a prize.

2) Get To Know Each Other Game

This game makes for a nice icebreaker, especially if most of the guests don't know each other. It can also provide you some clues about who may be a potential prospect.

Pass around a bag of M&Ms. Tell everyone to take as many as they would like. Quickly ask them to count the number of candies in their hand. Each person then takes a turn standing up and telling as many things about themselves and their family as they have M&M's. Of course no one is allowed to eat their M&Ms until they have had their turn.

3) How Well Do You Know Your Hostess?

Give a piece of paper to each of your guests and have them number it from 1 to 10. Then ask them to answer the following questions.

1) What is your hostess's favorite color?
2) If she could have any vehicle, what would it be?
3) How many kids does she have?
4) What is her favorite hobby?
5) Who is her favorite actor?
6) What is her favorite animal?
7) What is her favorite TV show?
8) What is her favorite food?
9) What is her favorite scent or smell?
10) If you were in need of something, would your hostess give it to you if she can?

After everyone writes down their answers (including the hostess), read the questions again and have the hostess tell everyone her answers. The other guests mark on their papers if they got it right or wrong. The person with the most write answers wins a small prize or discount on their purchase.

You can change and rearrange any of the questions, but leave the last one in place. It provides a nice lead- in to mention that the hostess will get free product if they purchase a certain amount, and/or book their own parties.

4) Left Right Game

This game is a great way to start a party, right before you go into your presentation. Pass out one or two small gifts. Tell your guests that you will read them a story and that they should pass the gift to the person to the right when they hear the word "right" and to the left when you mention "left. The person holding the gift at the end of the story gets to keep it.

Here is the story:

I left my house and was on my way to (insert hostess's name) house. But I soon discovered that I had left my directions at home, right by the phone! Well, I knew right away that I needed to have the right directions to (insert hostess's name) house, so I turned left and I turned left and I turned right and made my way back to my house for the right directions. Sure enough, there they were, right where I had left them, right next to the phone.

Finally, I was on the right track. I arrived right on time and set up my (insert your company name) presentation right over here. You all arrived and sat down. I'm going to get right down to work and tell you about (name of company). I hope nothing will be left out. In a moment I'll show you our new line of (insert your type of products) products. If you left home with the intention of shopping for gifts tonight, you'll find we have the right gift for everyone. Think about upcoming birthdays and holidays, we don't want anyone left out. I'd be happy to help you find the right gift for that special someone.

(Insert name of company) has a (insert number of days) –day return policy. When your merchandise comes in please check it right away. If something is not right please call me right away and you can be sure I will take care of it right away. You don't want to be left with something you are not 100% satisfied with, right? If you'd like to be a hostess and earn free and discounted merchandise, this is the right time for you to explore hosting a party.

I'm enjoying being here with all of you tonight and I hope you are having fun, too. I know you can't wait to see if we have that special item you have been looking for, so without further delay I will get right to the point of this party, which is showing you our great products! So, there is really nothing left for me to do except congratulate the winner, right?

5) Ask Me About My Job

This game is a great way to get your guests thinking about joining your company.
Get or make up some tickets.

Tell your guests that for the next 3 minutes you are going to play " Ask Me About My Job". The first person to come up with a question will get 3 tickets, the second person will get 2 and every question after that earns one ticket.

You will hear questions like "How long have you been doing this?" and "How many hours a week do you work?" Answer them as positively as possible. Good answers to the questions above would be "I've been doing this for 12 months and I've never had so much fun" and " I only work evenings and weekends because I want to be home with my kids".

After the three minutes are up, tell you guests to hang on to their tickets. You will have another short Q&A session towards the end of the party (your guests will have thought of some additional questions by then). After that have a drawing for a small prize.

This game is a great opportunity for you to teach your guests about your business and they may see how could benefit them.

Give a few of these games a try and put your own spin on them. All of these can easily be adapted and modified to work for you and the particular direct sales company that you represent. Go out there and have fun!

Powering Off" or "Power On?

Do you take your laptop on vacation? Do you sometimes "hate" your cell phone or your Blackberry? Harris Interactive recently reported that one-third of vacationers take their laptops on vacation. During a Sunday meal at a restaurant recently, I observed a man sitting with his family talking on his cell phone -- obviously about business. He was not happy – neither was his family!

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, "It is the best of times. It is the worst of times." Certainly that applies when it comes to "connectivity." Stories of 9-11 victims being able to communicate with family members in the last minutes of their lives warmed my heart, while the story my friend told of her mother answering her cell phone in the delivery room during the birth of her grandchild chilled my soul.

How grateful I was for my cell phone when I came across a young woman stalled on an interstate without one, and I could immediately get help. How convenient it is on vacation to use the Internet to explore the options for entertainment in the area on a rainy afternoon, and get directions to find it easily. How comforting to know that my family can reach me in case of an emergency – or something to celebrate! -- regardless of where I am in the world. The same can be said for my colleagues.

So here's the question: Should you take your laptop on vacation? Should your cell phone be on 24/7? Clients often ask, "What should I do?" My answer: "That's the wrong question. The question is "What will you do?" Maybe an even better question would be "What would you like to do?" Perhaps the best question of all is "What action will bring you the best results?" In order to answer that question, you have to take the time to answer "What ARE your best results?"

Repeatedly I have emphasized that one definition of "organization" is "controlling the things you can control, so you can cope with the things you can't." In the complex world in which we live, especially with the level of connectivity available, it's easy to fall into the trap of feeling that we are victims of other people. I cringe when someone complains about having to answer their cell phone. Says who? If you don't want to be reached, you can "power off." If you have to be reachable because your job requires it, then the question may be "Am I in the right job?" Or, have you simply trained people that you are "always available." Customer service is great, but it doesn't require 24/7 response. It requires good communication. It's highly frustrating to leave a message and get no response for days, but few situations would suffer if the response came one hour later so you could have lunch with a colleague without interruption.

Connectivity can be addictive. My daughter, who has her PhD in counseling, reminded me that an addiction is something that reduces the quality of your life and the people around you.

So what does all this have to do with productivity? My passion is helping individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so everyone can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. When used appropriately, connectivity does help you accomplish your work and enable you to play. It can also undermine your priorities at work, destroy your health, and poison your relationships when used inappropriately.

The issue is not whether you take your laptop on vacation or leave your cell phone on 24/7. For some people, the ability to check e-mail once a day on vacation brings peace of mind and can be done when others are sleeping or swimming. For others, the whole idea of a vacation is not taking your laptop. There is no "right" or "wrong." The question is whether your choice is enhancing or diminishing your life and the lives of the people around you.

So "Power Off" or "Power On?" – it's truly up to you!
P.S. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Your ability to make any connection more valuable is being able to find the information you need when you need it. Are you wasting valuable time looking for what you need? Could you find what other people in your office have if you needed it? If not, fill out our Productive Environment Scorecard, (www.ProductiveEnvironment.com) and we'll give you a free 30-minute phone consultation to identify specific steps you can take to make sure that everyone in your organization is taking the right action at the right time with the right information.

Upgrading Your Business Phone System

Upgrading a business phone system is, whenever possible, a much more cost effective alternative to replacing a business phone system. Replacing a business phone system can be an expensive and time consuming endeavor, to say the least. The biggest obstacle most businesses face when upgrading is that many business phone systems are expandable to a limited degree. Some systems have limitations that will force a business to completely replace their existing equipment. For this reason alone, it is essential that businesses consider both their current and future needs before making a phone system purchase.

If you or whoever originally purchased your equipment planned properly, upgrading your phone system could be as simple as adding a few new phones to your line structure. Some business phone systems, such as key systems, are limited in their expansion capabilities. They are lower in price than private branch exchange systems and are suitable for smaller businesses that don't expect to expand beyond the maximum number of lines and handsets. Private branch exchange systems, however, are extremely expandable and often offer more options, although the difference between the overall functionality of the two systems is disappearing.

In either case, it is imperative that you consider your present and future needs for terminals. Outgrowing a business phone system because you have reached its maximum expansion capability can be very costly. You should always contact your phone equipment provider for information on which systems are likely to be a good choice for your organization prior to purchasing. Most wholesalers and retailers of business phone equipment have worked in the field long enough to be able to give you solid advice that can keep you from making a mistake.

You should also consult your local or long distance phone service carriers for information on installation costs and upkeep. With a little research and planning, your business phone system should be an investment that saves you money.

When Fear Comes Calling

What happens when you want something really bad? Sometimes it feels like an ache or a hunger. We find that we are not satisfied until we have gotten whatever it is that we desire. What happens when we finally get what we want? Are we finally satisfied or do we find that our desires have moved on to bigger and better things?

Have you ever heard the saying, "be careful what you wish for", when describing to someone what it is that you want? This implies that there will be a negative outcome if you actually get what you want. This saying is actually a phrase that is steeped in fear.

Over the centuries there have been many stories written about people who wished for something and when they got it bad things happened to them. The unfortunate thing about these stories is that they are mostly circulated when we are children. We are told stories about people who wished for things that when they got them, the bad things started to happen. So let's dissect a theory on where these stories may have had their origin.
Have you ever noticed that the desires of children sometimes seem to be insatiable? When you take a child to a grocery store they always seem to ask for something. When they watch television, the commercials that they see are created to arouse desire within them to have the products that are advertised. You can often find yourself in a relentless battle with children telling them that they can not have everything that they want. So what would be an easy way to say no without actually using the word?

Please do not bail on me until you read past the next two paragraphs, I am going to tell a story as an example here....

One way would be to tell them the story about the little boy who wished for everything. One day he found a rock laying by the side of the road that seemed to be glowing. He cupped his hands around it to provide darkness and indeed it glowed in the dark. He put the stone in his pocket and headed home. When he arrived at home, he went to his room and removed the stone from his pocket. As he looked at it, he wished that he had a nice wooden box to keep his new treasure in.

Suddenly a wooden box appeared on the bed beside him. It was inlaid with ivory and fine wood. He picked up the box and stared at it in disbelief. He opened it and inside was a special place where the stone fit exactly. As he began to place the stone in the box, suddenly a small bird crashed into the window of his room.

He went to the window and looked at the small bird lying on the ground writhing in pain. He did not realize yet that the bird had been hurt as payment for his wish.

And on and on....

A negative consequence for a positive gain. Do you ever wonder why you feel anxious when a very large deal is pending, something that you have been wanting really bad? Could it be that as a child you were programmed to believe that if something very good was to happen, that something very bad would follow?

Could this be the reason that as we begin to reach the successes that we have always dreamed of that we sabotage ourselves and prevent them from happening? We begin to suffer from the "what if's" and the "unknowns". We begin to worry that if we actually achieve the success that we seek, that something bad is going to happen.

When you begin to experience success in any form, it is important to be prepared to experience the fear of failure, or the fear of something bad happening. When you are getting close to success you should try to notice the voices from your past that tell you something bad is coming and ignore them. You might even say out loud that it is not true, that nothing bad will happen if you succeed.

Reviewing positive attitude materials can help you in this process. In the same way that therapy helps us to overcome personal issues, positive attitude materials can help us to overcome our career issues. Listen to or read something motivational on a regular basis. Attend a seminar at least twice a year dedicated to overcoming limiting beliefs. It is important to exercise your abilities to fight against fear, just as important as it is to exercise the rest of your body.

By learning to overcome your fears you empower yourself to succeed and each success leads you to another and makes you more able to overcome more fears. Practice this regularly and you will find yourself achieving things that you never before thought possible.

15 Easy Steps to Starting Your Small Business

Yeah, sure it's easy, and of course, that title is a little tongue in cheek. It takes a lot of hard work to get a business off the ground. But, it's worth every hour I've spent getting to where I am now.
When I decided to start my communication and image consulting business, I tried hard to find a good startup guide. I couldn't find any that had all the steps. So, I decided to write one. So far, it's mostly just the bare-bones outline (which is long enough as it is) you see in this article.
I'll be adding to it every week or two, and writing more detailed articles on all the steps, so try to stop by and check it out from time to time. Let me know how I'm doing. Shoot off an email to me if I've forgotten something or you have questions.

Before you spend so much as a dollar, talk to a few experts. Go to the library or get on the internet and research, research, research. Take a little time to make sure entrepreneurship is right for you.

Make a pro and con list of business ownership, and evaluate yourself honestly. How many characteristics do you have in common with successful entrepreneurs? Is your financial position strong enough? Do you have the necessary technical and management skills?

You're not going to be the perfect entrepreneur. Nobody is. But in order to make yourself the best entrepreneur you can be, consider ways to compensate for any weaknesses you might have.

I'm from Canada, so the government agencies I've mentioned in this guide are Canadian, but really, it can be used by anyone. All you have to do, if you're from somewhere other than Canada, is find out where you need to find some of the things I'll talk about. Some of the steps might be slightly different, and you may not have to worry about things like GST for example, but I'm sure you'll find this discussion helpful all the same.

These steps to starting a business are in reasonably good order, but you might find yourself varying from it under your particular circumstances. That really isn't a big deal, as long as you get most of it done. There are some steps you'll be able to skip as well, but please don't skip any of the "big ones", which I'm sure you'll pretty much figure out from taking a look at the list.

So, assuming you've done your evaluation and you still want to start a business, take a deep breath, and let's get started.

1. Conduct a feasibility study of your business. Describe your typical customer, your product and your competitors. Who will your suppliers be? What will you charge for your product? How will you market your product? These are just a few of the questions you need to answer.

2. Write a complete business plan for your company, using the information you gathered from your feasibility study. This vitally important, often overlooked step needs to include a description of your company, its goals, competitors, market, financial information, and of course, how you intend to meet your goals.

3. Get your financing in place. There are many ways to finance your business, from your own savings to personal credit cards to bank loans. If you need credit, know your business plan from front to back and maybe even sideways.

4. Decide what kind of structure your company will have. From a legal standpoint, there are three basic choices, sole proprietorship, partnership and incorporation, each with advantages and disadvantages.

5. Choose a name for your company and check on name availability. Naming your company is highly individual, but it's the first thing associated with your business, so choose your name carefully. You'll need to do a NUANS (Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search) report, which checks your name choices for uniqueness against a database of other business names. A reserved name is valid for 90 days.

6. Decide whether you want to register federally or provincially and register your company. If you register federally, you'll also have to register provincially, which almost doubles the cost. You don't have to have a lawyer process them for you, but it might be a good idea to at least consult with one. You can get the forms from your local government office, have them faxed to you or download them. You can fax or email printed copies, or complete the forms online

7. Contact Canada Revenue Agency Business Window for your business number, and to register for GST/HST, payroll, corporate income tax and import/export (if applicable). You can also contact the CRA if you need general information about business expenses. Chances are you'll have to collect GST, but you may want to register for a GST number even if you don't have to collect it because of input tax credits.

8. Decide whether you need to collect PST. If you do, you need to submit "Registration as a Vendor" documents with your province.

9. Determine whether there are special permits or licenses in your municipality. It's highly unlikely that your municipality does not have special permits or licenses.

10. Develop the marketing materials you decided on in your business plan. They should include at least a company identity package, press kit and website. Your identity package is your logo, business card and letterhead. A press kit can include letters of introduction, biography sheets, press releases, articles and a brochure. In today's electronic age, printed materials aren't enough. You need a website that looks professional, matches your printed material and has great copy. You'll also want to make sure it's optimized for search engines.

11. Set up your business bank account and record-keeping system. Your banker will need to see your incorporation documents, and you should probably set up more than one account so you can keep track of your finances better. Record-keeping is required, and can be done manually or with a computer program.

12. Purchase insurance. There are many different types of insurance, but most probably your company will need at least one. For example, if you're going to have employees, you need to contact the Worker's Compensation Board. Depending on your type of business, you might want to contact them even if you don't have employees to insure yourself.

13. Contact potential creditors and set up credit terms. You should have researched suppliers when you were doing your feasibility study. Now is the time to contact them.

14. Decide where your business will be located. Lease your business' space. Alternatively, you could choose to start your business from home if it's feasible. There are advantages and disadvantages to starting your business from home. You have tax write-offs for example, but sometimes your image suffers.

15. Purchase supplies and office equipment. You'll need too many things to list here, and of course, each business has different needs. You might need a fax machine and printer. You'll probably need a computer. You'll definitely need paper, pens, pencils and a calculator.

Congratulations! Go out, buy yourself a bottle of champagne and celebrate. You're about to embark on a most exciting journey. And may I be the first to wish you good luck and prosperous times in your business venture.
As promised, here's my email address so you can ask questions, make comments or add steps to my list. Or, if you want, you could just drop me a line to let me know how your small business is doing. I'd really like to know.

Business Basics for Catalog Retailers

Catalog retail is a world all it's own. Many considerations that other retailers don't have to deal with are of utmost importance to a catalog retailer. To name a few, the ordering process, warehousing and shipping must be streamlined for maximum efficiency. Maintaining a top notch inventory control and receiving department is also very crucial to business success. Above all, however, a catalog retailer must have a quality business phone system.

Considering the fact that the majority of customers will reach you over the phone, it is paramount to be able to not only handle call volume during peak times, but also to provide your customers service representatives with the features they need to do their job well. Business phone systems should be capable of not only putting your customers in touch with you, but also offer routing flexibility, voicemail and forwarding options for the administrative side of your company. Often, the difference maker for catalog retailers is not the products they sell, but the service behind those products. People who want to buy will have questions regarding an item that a simple picture and brief description will not answer. Most companies have service reps who take orders and product specialists who are familiar with the inventory.

It is essential for the product specialists to have access to a phone system that will accurately and easily allow them to receive and transfer calls between departments. After the initial contact by the sales representatives, the most common transfer of waiting customers will be to product specialists and hopefully back to the sales reps. A customer who is dropped accidentally during this transfer is likely to not call back. Additionally, customers who are made to hold for extended periods of time without an automated message thanking them for their patience are a primary example of lost revenue that could be curtailed by the proper business phone system. All in all, a well thought out business phone system is an integral necessity for any company, but it is especially important for catalog retailers.

Forms Of Organizations

  
There are many types of organizations. We can separate them into two major divisions: organizations existing to create profits (profit organizations. Includes business entities) and organizations that exist primarily for another purpose (non-profit organizations. E.g: charity organizations).

3 Types of Business Entities and their common characteristics:

1. Sole Proprietorships.
Sole proprietorships are business that are owned and operated by one person: the sole proprietor. The owner and the business, is then the same. For tax purposes, a sole proprietorship is not a taxable entity, and any profits earned by the business are taxed on the return of the individual. The proprietor must develop an accounting system that distinguishes between his/her personal affairs and that of the business.

2. Partnerships.
Partnerships are businesses that are owned by two or more individuals. For small partnerships, the agreement is often an oral agreement between the partners but it is highly recommended that the agreement be formalized as is done in bigger partnerships like public accounting firms and most law firms. In partnering up with individuals in the past, I felt it was important to outline the division of profits and expenses, as well as the expected responsibilities of the partners in a written agreement.

3. Corporations.
A corporation is an entity organized under the laws of a particular state. That means that it can get into contractual agreements into its own name. They are identifiable by the existence of shares.

There are advantages and disadvantages of each of the above types of business entities. And each is suited to the same business under different stages of its growth. For most, arts and entertainment independent contractors, it is probably Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships that are most common for their use.

Non-Business Entities
Most non-business entities are organized to serve the needs of various segments of society. Examples of these non-business entities are public hospitals, public schools, the police and the army. All of these entities are distinguished by the lack of an identifiable owner. Because of this and the non-profit motive to these organizations, their accounting systems are modified to fit their activities. The type of accounting they use are referred to as fund accounting.

This article was written for OrangesAndLime.com, to help creative individuals - artists, musicians, designers, illustrators and entertainers - build their own freelance businesses. Please note that this article serves as a guideline only. You should still seek professional advice regarding the matter because laws and practices change over time and they differ from country to country.

My 5 Second Rule for Small Business Owners

Opening a new business in the real world or online in cyberspace requires thinking beyond all the money you will make. Most small business owners are clear on their ultimate goal, yet often many fail to spend time planning their marketing image. To succeed, first impressions are critical, or you may violate what I call My 5 Second Rule:

When a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to convince them to stay.

The rule applies in the physical world, also. Your printed materials may be dumped in the trash just as quickly, or a visitor to your company may browse briefly while in fact the no sale decision was made in those critical first few seconds.

Regardless of your business, your image as a professional and credible source for a product or service depends on making a positive first impression. While most people don't realize the subconscious dynamics that occur during an introduction, how you are perceived is clouded with prejudice.

In a face to face meeting, subconsciously your prospect will categorize you immediately by sex, age, and race. This fact may be hard to believe, however, individual life experiences connect your combination of these 3 characteristics into a fixed profile based on past encounters. Overcoming any negatives begins when you speak. A warm and friendly approach while being prepared to offer the benefits of doing business will help you succeed.

In print, your business card, ad, or brochure tells a similar story without the subconscious human preconceptions. The message will still elicit a reaction, good or bad, so how you present your company in print needs to get past My 5 Second Rule. This is equally true for the home page of your web site. Here's some advice.

Customers have a need (problem), and you provide a product or service (solution). Matching these 2 for a successful sale is easier than most people realize. Front door selling, printed ads, or online web offers should all address the benefits (solution, again) and not the features (it's about the customer, not about you).

Your marketing materials need to project a mental image in the mind of the viewer. Stimulate their imagination so they picture themselves enjoying the benefits of your offer, and you can overcome My 5 Second Rule. Here's an example that was created for a used car dealer. How do you glamorize a business that is the subject of so many disparaging jokes?

This client had a featured monthly special vehicle that they wanted to promote on their web site. The photos taken in a chain link enclosed parking lot didn't convey the excitement or mental picture necessary to stimulate the viewer. The chosen vehicle was an upscale Jeep, and the client specialized in exports to Puerto Rico. To add pizzazz, I did an edit of the photo to remove the background, and placed 2 views of the monthly special on a bluff overlooking a gorgeous beach in Puerto Rico. If my descriptions succeeded creating your mental image referring to the chain link and gorgeous beach, the subtle difference in presentation should be apparent.

Bonus Tip: What to Say When a Customer is Wrong
As a small business owner, you know your business and as an expert, reacting to an email or face to face comment that you know is absolutely wrong will work wonders if you answer with two magic words: "You're right!". This works for several reasons. Most importantly, your customer may be expecting an argument, so they will only hear half of what you have to say if you reply saying they are wrong. The listener will be busy mentally sorting comebacks and supporting evidence, and may not hear any of your expert advice.

Telling someone "You're right" will have them on the edge of their chair waiting for your next comment. Shifting your argument to what you know to be the truth is easy. With a brief pause after your magic two words, continue with "...and there are many people who feel the same way. From years of experience, I've found that in fact (insert the truth based on your expertise here)... etc." and you give them the opportunity to accept your slant on the subject without having their opinion challenged. It works. For those concerned about ethics, the phrase "You're right!" is simply an acknowledgement that they have one view, and it is valid because that's how they feel.

In summary, a professional image includes a wide range of materials for making a positive first impression. Consider the feelings of your prospect and how your product or service will benefit them, and you'll do well in converting first introductions into sales.

Why Small Organizations Mean Big Business

In the movie "You've Got Mail", the sub-plot aside from the love angle is that the heroine (played by Meg Ryan) was forced out of business when the big-time bookstore owner (played by Tom Hanks) moved into town.

Meg's character owned a quaint little bookstore which she inherited from her mother. Although the prices of her books were a little steep, she makes up for it in service. She packs the books in a specialized bag, and she knows all of her customers by name.

Tom's character, on the other hand, moved into town to build a branch of a big chain-bookstore which offered discounted prices and a huge building, as compared to Meg's little bookshop on one corner of the town's streets.

In the end, Meg was forced out of business because her customers went to Tom's monstrous bookshop.

Nowadays, this situation will not hold true anymore.

More and more small organizations are paving the way and giving big businesses a shot of their own medicine.

In the movie, the reason why Meg Ryan was forced out of business is because she cannot profit anymore. Her prices are steep as compared to the other big business' discounted rates.

Her only edge is that she gives personal service, she knows her customers by name and she has a very small staff, about 2 or 3 employees.

As a small organization you may turn around and have these qualities as your edge to compete against the big sharks in business.

Here are some tips on how you can hold your own against a big business:

1. Small businesses have big competition.

This means that you need to know how to survive out there.

No matter what nature of business you have, it is better to learn about the competition so that you will be able to survive.

Here are some tips on how you can survive the big competition:

>Keep your business alive.

When it seems as if your cash flow is in a downward slope, keep a tight rein on your budget.

Do not spend on unnecessary business purchases and always balance your books.

If you are one to buy on impulse or if you are the type to listen to those who sweet-talk you into purchasing "necessary" items, control yourself.

Get a second and third opinion if possible, as these impulsive buys may lead to the end of your small organization.

>Do not be afraid to seek professional help.

The fall of most small businesses start with decisions on problems which are not carefully analyzed.

Although you think that you already have a contingency plan, make sure that you have foreseen the results of a certain business decision.

In the long run, it is better to seek professional help rather than embark on a plan that could start the downfall of your business.

>Keep your books straight.

The better option is for you to hire a professional outside accountant to figure the returns of your investment and handle the other financial aspects of your business.

>Take advantage of every free business counseling whenever available.

This does not just help widen your knowledge, but it will also give you an idea of how other businesses are ran by small-scale owners.

>Know exactly where your business is headed.

In your day-to-day operation, make sure that you know where you want your company to be 5 or 10 years from now.

Be always aware of the trends in the industry that you are in, practice good money management and learn how to recognize potential problems before they arise.

2. Learn how to market your small organization.

Marketing is not about trying to sell your products and services to everyone.

It is about knowing who to market your products to.

In marketing, it is good to remember these fast facts:

> Know about your customers.

>Communicate with your customers.

>Build a good and personalized relationship with your customers.

This will be a great edge for you to have against the bigger companies.

They might offer discounted prices but it is harder for them to keep track of customers on a more personal basis.

>Do not stop the marketing process.

As a small organization, you need to routinely review the markets that you need to pursue so that you can better reach out to your customers.

Remember, small organizations are big businesses these days so do not be afraid to work hard for the company that you have - not matter how small.

If you work hard, make wise business decisions, learn how to market your small business and personalize your customer interaction, your small-scale business is sure to rise to the top.

Venture Capital - What Happens After The Due Diligence Process

If the venture capitalists are interested in your company after completing their due diligence, they will offer a binding term sheet. It will reflect the draft term sheet that has already been agreed to but this one will be a legal contractual agreement. Then the real negotiations start.

There are different types of financing to consider: debt, equity, and mezzanine.

Debt financing is the most objective and is therefore the easiest to negotiate. If you have the assets to support the debt and the income to support the interest payments, the negotiation period will be very short.

Equity financing negotiating is more complicated and revolves around agreeing on valuation and percentage ownership. Discussions usually requires several days.

Mezzanine financing involves a mix of equity, debt, convertible debentures and preferred shares. Negotiating the technical aspects of each so that an agreement can be reached between the investor and your company can be time consuming.

Another dictating factor is the number and variety of financing offers that you receive. It is the intermediary's role to help you bring more than one offer to the table and assist you in evaluating and negotiating which one is best suited to your company's needs based on their previous experience.

Venture capital term sheets are time limited. You have to quickly make up your mind if you want to accept or reject the offer. The short time period is in place to prevent you from using one term sheet to solicit new offers from other venture capitalists.

Easy Home Business Ideas For Finding Customers

What are best avenues to bring customers to you and increase your visibility? In this article, we will look at some methods that business owners have used for many years and have been very successful at increasing their customers and generating more revenue for their business.

A very effective way to generate business, thus increasing your profits, is to talk to people you know; friends, families, neighbours, hit the pavement, spread the word to everyone you know, especially those who like your business and the products you have to offer. Be creative; if for example one of your products is balloons consider going to all the restaurants in your area and make a deal to have your balloons given to the children who enter. When you visit businesses or friends take a few samples of your products to show them, leave your products with them so they can look at them while you are gone and then follow-up with them and find out what they think. Make them feel a part of your business.

Networking is a great way to make business contacts and you can do this almost anywhere that you go. Your local chamber of commerce often has networking functions where you can meet other business owners in your area. You can talk to them about their business and what works for them, exchange business cards. This is a great method for making contacts. After the social function make a point to go and visit their business,it is important to develop a relationship with them.<

Take a walk around your neighbourhood. This is a great way to meet new people in a casual environment and allows you to sell your product without really selling it. You will have an opportunity to find out what customers who are near you like. Will your product appeal to them? Should you tweak your products to match the potential customers that are near your area? Go into that coffee house that you may not frequent and spend sometime talking with the other customers. This gives you a good feel of the potential market near you.

If you do not have a web page yet, then it is high time to utilise this tool for marketing your business and the products you offer. If you are not comfortable creating your own page there are many professionals that can do this for you and you can use this as an opportunity to promote your business as well. As they get to know your product while they are creating a web page for you, they can also refer others to your site. Remember, when creating a web-page you want to provide the potential customers with information and keywords that are specific to your company.

Wealth Funnel System Two & Resort Marketing Consultants Promote GRN

Derrick Harper's Wealth Funnel System Two (WFS2) & Resort Marketing Consultants (RMC) Online Marketing Education EXPERTS team up to market the Global Resorts Network (GRN) travel products and the online marketing education of the Wealth Funnel System One (WFS1).

The online marketing "Experts" educate you in successful Web 2.0 strategies utilizing either the Consumer products or the Business Opportunity relating to the GRN travel products.

The Consumer products of GRN offer you the opportunity to travel the world staying at 4 and 5-Star resorts for a fraction of the cost; i.e. $4000 for a one-week stay vs. $298 for the same accommodations and length stay with the GRN product.

The Business Opportunity of the GRN product offers you $1000 commissions on every sale as well as another $1000 on every sale from the business associates you bring into your business.

With two sales per week at $1000 or $100,000 for the year, another 3 sales per week from business associates or, $150,000, your first year potential is around $250,000.

Every 6 seconds a new home-based business is started in the United States alone. The success rate for new businesses hovers around the 2% mark with lack of education in marketing the #1 reason for so many failures.

The WFS2 and RMC successful track record of online marketers success right out the gate is due to the education model and implementation of the Web 2.0 strategies early on in the process.

The success comes from: Live training &education, live one-on-one coaching, live group discussions as a team, live technical support, live call center & sales support, 70+ hours of pre-recorded live training sessions, custom-designed and highly converting websites, multiple "Brand-able" capture pages, and multiple retail capture pages for the GRN retail consumers.

As a home-based business owner take a look at WFS2 & RMC. The online marketing education along with the GRN products are the winning combination your home-based business has been
searching for!

10 Tips for Successful Ezine Advertising

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

2. Target your audience. It may seem obvious but some advertisers overlook this. If you're selling a web-marketing course, don't advertise in an ezine that deals with stock options; they probably won't be interested.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Poster Printing Domineering Influence

Posters are everywhere. When you walk through the alley, you see posters. When you pass by theatres and cinemas, you see posters. When your company promotes products or services, it uses posters. In your own room, chances are there are posters. What influence do posters have to have such a lasting effect on us?

Posters are widely used to advertise, announce or publicize anything worth knowing. They are pretty much in use in show business and the marketing world. These artsy works are sometimes made representations of a painting or photograph. They tickle our fantasies. They bring us back to reality. They make us think. They inspire. They condemn. They make us more relaxed. They trouble us. These are some of the domineering influences of posters. Without us knowing it, we are already captivated by its probing influence.

Posters are sure hit because of its effect to the viewers. In a just a short span of time your product or service can be made known to many. This is because of the enigmatic charm of posters. No wonder it is widely used to market movies all over the globe. Their enigma invites you to notice them and retain whatever you have read and seen. Harry Potter for instance used several posters to boost marketing. Even though the movie per se was already anticipated to go blockbuster still, posters are used to heighten the spirit of anticipation and intensify people's desire to watch it. These days, making movies is coupled with promotions. And one way to have quality promotions is by poster printing.

Poster printing nowadays, offers a wide array of services. In addition, they are offering customization where the customers can use their own pictures and images. They can also have the discretion to alter the shape and design of posters.

When you want poster printing services that are fabulous, be sure to get a reliable printing company. That way, you can be assured that you will be getting quality and flawless posters at the right time and at the right price.

If you have no idea what printing company to choose, you can ask your friends about their choice of printer. Another option is to go online. There are sample posters available in the Net. Browse then brose more to get the kind of posters that will suit your unique and delicate taste. Go for the printer that can fulfill your poster printing aim.

To Earn Extreme Wealth -- Offer Extreme Value

Everywhere you look people are trying to make money with new or existing businesses. Often you see somebody doing quite well with their business, obviously making some real money. But even more often, you see businesses of all sizes truly struggling. Some only stay in business for a few weeks or months before disappearing.

Let's get one thing clear. Just setting up shop won't guarantee you'll make money. This is a very competitive world and getting more competitive by the year. To earn extreme wealth, you've GOT to offer Extreme Value.

Customers everywhere LOVE Extreme Value. They'll line up and even offer to pay extra for it. Word of mouth will spread so quickly you may not even have to advertise.

That sounds good, but WHAT is extreme value? There are four simple ways most prospects and customers decide you're offering extreme value.

1. Your product, service, or opportunity must help people raise their standard of living. Folks have to be able to plainly see they will make more money or live better after they buy from you.

2. Make the learning curve as painless as possible. Goodness knows our world is complicated enough. With every new endeavor, it seems like you have to sit down and pour through an owner's manual or legal papers. These days people want and NEED products, services, and opportunities that are EASY to work. Show a prospect that it's easy and you'll often have a sale.

3. Help people relax and simplify. Most prospects are optimistic about their life and future, but they're frankly a bit tired and feel like the whole thing has gotten too complicated. What your offer should do is help them simplify, slow down, relax, and still maintain or improve their standard of living.

4. Show how buying from you helps people save. These days prices on just about everything are going up, up, up. Prospects everywhere are looking harder than ever for any opportunity to save a few dollars. If your product, service, or opportunity helps them save, you've got a winner.

Keep these four strategies in mind as you plan your next product or choose your next business opportunity. They're the keys to offering Extreme Value -- the surefire pathway to earning Extreme Profits.

Get paid For What You Think

Get Rich Quick Scams Revealed
Read this article before you consider paying for a "get rich quick" program.
From: Get paid

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

Multilevel Marketing

Multilevel marketing, also know as network marketing, is picking up a lot of steam. This is due in large part to the amount of people online that are hyping network marketing, and all of the profits that go along with it. And if you are interested in this type of marketing, you should not have any problem finding information online to help you get started. The bottom line is that MLM is here to stay. As soon as a decent amount of people started to cash the number of interested parties began to increase. And with this has come the notion that network marketing is not going anywhere. If you are not familiar with what multilevel marketing can do for you, you should bone up on the details as soon as possible.
Generally speaking, MLM is a way to make money when you sign people up for a certain service or product. And to take this a bit further, you can also make money when the people that you sign up recruit members of their own. So in general terms, you will make money with a pyramid type effect. For people that are interested in multilevel marketing, the best place to start searching is online. There are hundreds of companies that you can sign up with in order to make money. Just make sure that what you are doing is legal. There are many MLM schemes out there that are not legal in the majority of the states. You can avoid this without any complications by getting hooked up with a network marketing campaign that is run by a reputable company.

Look Into The Benefits

If you are not sure if a MLM business is right for you, look into the benefits that it offers.

Ask Questions
There are many online forums devoted to the industry. By becoming a member you can ask questions of more experienced multilevel marketers. They will be able to give you advice on where to start, and how to progress.

Read Upon MLM Industry

Simply put, you will want to read up as much as you can on the MLM industry before you get started. Just like anything else, the more that you know about something the better chance you have of being a success. Since network marketing is relatively new, it is very important that you are familiar with the industry as a whole. Multilevel marketing is definitely here to stay. There are enough people out there making money that the popularity will always be high. For people that are searching for a way to make cash online, multilevel marketing is always a good option. Overall, try out MLM if you are interested in a new way to make money online.

Whatever products they offer, MLM companies use essentially the same formula. They sign up sales representatives by offering them the opportunity to go into business for themselves with little or no start-up capital--and to make millions if
they're successful. How? Mainly by recruiting other salespeople. Unlike most businesses, an MLM company pays you a commission not only on your sales but also on the sales of all the people you've brought into the network, either directly
or indirectly. So if someone you recruit goes out and recruits a bunch of terrific salespeople--and they recruit more terrific salespeople--you stand to make a fortune. In fact, some people do.

B2B Indian importer portals fascinating results online!

Countries around the world choose Indian importers for a variety of commodity. Simple reason being the goods and services of India are not only cheap but most competitive and best in quality as well. Be it importers or wholesalers of black tiger, salt creek, microfeast products or silver jewelry with or with out stones such as pendants, spacers, tubes, clasps, hooks, ear wires, headpins, beadpins, silver links, etc.

If it's terracotta products you are looking for, find basket of products made out of terracotta such as terra cotta wall tiles, terra cotta pots, terra-cotta idols and other fascinating array of Indian terracotta crafts & craft items. Global traders are always on a look out for competitive Indian importers. As a result of it several b2b portals have sprung up to cater the needs of Indian manufacturers, Indian exporters as well importers from India and for other countries across the world. Online business to business portals offers you latest offers/leads of products/services of manufacturers & suppliers as well as service providers of India besides buyers from other countries. Indian importers are often sought after for Distribution of seafood such as fishes fillets, steaks, shrimps, prawns, crabs, dry fish, fresh water fishes, etc., from the leading brands. You can now find products of your choice from the Indian importers with just a click and order it in bulk too.

If you're finding it arduous to figure out Indian importers for your popular product, all that you have to do is reach out to a business portal which can offer you listings of the various Indian importers for a gamut of products and the rate of Indian imports and exports. Business directory offers complete Indian import export data with details of products and companies so that the information is exchanged at ease and with the result of business round the clock and in various countries of the world. Find apparel and accessories, automobiles and accessories, chemicals and plastics, gems and jewellery, plant and machinery, scientific instruments and other miscellaneous industries. Offers for all the products can be obtained on the various importer directory portals.

Ease out your burden simply with the help of a business to business portal. In other words, it facilitates all the business needs for all Indian importers and exporters. Try your online Indian importers directory for better results. Find online buyers and sellers for all your popular products ranging from accessories to automobiles, Gems to jewelry, apparel to machinery etc.

Growing the Leader in Us

"For what we've discovered, and rediscovered, is that leadership isn't the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It's a process ordinary people use when they're bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Liberate the leader in everyone, and extraordinary things happen."
- James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations

Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Leadership is action, not a position. Leadership is defined by what we do, not the role we are in. Some people in "leadership roles" are excellent leaders. But too many are bosses, "snoopervisors," technocrats, bureaucrats, managers, commanders, chiefs, and the like. Conversely, many people who have no formal leadership role are excellent leaders. In today's fast changing world, we all need to be leaders.

To lead is to show the way by going in advance. To lead is to guide or direct a course of action. To lead is to influence the behavior or opinion of others. We all need to be leaders, regardless of our formal title or role. This starts with inner self-leadership and moves outward to influence, guide, support, and lead others. The process of becoming a leader is the same as the process of becoming a highly effective human being. Leadership development is personal development. Leadership ultimately shows itself in what we do "out there." But it starts "in here."

It would be easy if we could all become leaders by following a simple set of steps. But the journey of personal growth means finding our own way. There are, however, critical areas of personal development based on timeless principles. The distance we need to grow along each leadership dimension will differ for each of us, but defining and continually growing along each of these paths is the way of the leader.

Strong leaders are well-rounded and constantly expanding their personal leadership across these key areas:

* Choose Not to Lose. Whether we choose to focus on our problems or our possibilities is a key leadership issue. When we are faced with obstacles and failure, those who can overcome adversity and learn from their experiences, turning them into opportunities, are the ones who will be truly successful.
* Focus and Context. THE CORE OF MY BEING: This is central to our growth along all the other dimensions. Our Focus and Context is shaped by three vital questions: Where am I going? (my vision); What do I believe in? (my principles and values) and; Why do I exist? (my purpose or mission).

* Responsibility For Choices. IF IT'S TO BE, IT'S UP TO ME: Leadership means accepting responsibility for our choices in life. Leaders realize that life accumulates, that choice more than chance determines their circumstances. They refuse to succumb to the "Victimitus Virus" ("it's all their fault" and "there's nothing I can do").
* Authenticity. GETTING REAL: Leadership isn't just what we do, it's something that we are, which then drives what we do. Genuine leadership comes from within. It's authentic, and based on honesty, integrity, and trust. We must ring true to ourselves by exploring our inner space, gathering feedback on our personal behavior, and ensuring consistency with our stated values and principles.
* Passion and Commitment. BEYOND NEAR-LIFE EXPERIENCES: Successful people are energized by a love for what they do because it brings them ever closer to who they are. They overcome apathy and cynicism, develop a burning commitment to their cause, and with discipline achieve their dreams and desires.
* Spirit and Meaning. WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL: What is the purpose of our work? Of our lives? Material success alone is not enough. Leaders seek within - and find something more. In what is too often a mad dash from cradle to grave, we need to take time - in work and life - to nourish our inner selves.
* Growing and Developing. FROM PHASE OF LIFE TO WAY OF LIFE: The popular goals of security, stability, and predictability are deadly. The closer we get to these dangerous goals, the more our growth is stunted. True and lasting security comes from constant growth and development, based on regular R&R (reflection and renewal).
* Mobilizing and Energizing. PUTTING EMOTIONS IN MOTION: Leaders don't motivate with rewards and punishments. Whether at home or in the workplace, they energize people to motivate themselves. Highly effective leaders boost the energy of others with their passion and appreciation. They engage people's hearts as well as their minds. They get them involved and participating. They actively nurture the "being" or culture of the group, not just the "doing."

The more the world changes, the more leadership principles stay the same. Leadership principles are timeless. And they apply to all of us, no matter what role we play in society or organizations.

What is slowing your PC?

It's always the same old story, you buy a brand new PC and everything seems to be working fine. After six months you find that everything is working a bit slower - applications take a few seconds to open, some windows freeze, and more. After a couple of years it becomes simply unbearable. Have you ever wondered what is slowing your PC?

Security software, constantly growing and slowing your PC
One of the biggest contributors to the constant decrease in the PCs performance is the security software that is trying to protect it. It is widely reported that security software installed on a PC can dramatically reduce its performance. In fact, PC World has recently revealed that one of the top selling security suites "may slow your PC unacceptably"*.

* PC World UK – May 2007

How security software slows the PC?
Processing by multiple engines – security packages include multiple engines and often these engines were developed by different vendors. These different engines often employ security methods that contradict each other, resulting in conflicts and memory leaks that may even generate blue screens and system errors and may slow your PC dramatically.

Constant updates – daily security updates make security software an ever growing strain on performance. These security updates include both signatures and new code that is added to the increasingly large footprint. As time goes by, the security software consumes more and more of your PC's CPU and memory.

The Solution – Yoggie Pico Offloads Security Tasks
Yoggie Pico offloads the security tasks from your PC, freeing your PC resources to maximize performance. Both processing and security updates reside on the Yoggie Pico itself, dramatically saving CPU and memory usage. All the security applications that you will need to completely protect your laptop work harmoniously inside Yoggie Pico. Furthermore, Yoggie Pico's patented Multi-Layer Security Agent™ coordinates between the different security components to provide early detection of new attacks as they begin their operation.

Thinking of using Anjouan as an offshore financial center?

Anjouan - This is a little island country located off the coast of Tanzania which is Africa. The Island is in the Straits of Mozambique. It is part of the Comoros Island geographically but in 1997 Anjouan broke away from the Comoros Islands and declared independence. Since the Comoros Islands independence from France in 1975 there have been 19 coups or attempts in the Comoros Islands. In 2002 they held elections and each of the 19 Comoros Islands has its own President. The country is 12 times the size of Washington, D.C. Their population is about 750,000. 98% of the people are Sunni Muslim. Alcohol is forbidden. Mosques are plentiful. They have four airports, five Internet providers. This is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Anjouan Corporations - They seem to have bearer share corporations. Their prices are very high when you get finished with resident agent, nominees, etc. It is unclear as to where they stand on cooperation. It is going to be extremely hard if not impossible to open a bank account with such a corporation. For one the banks will not know how to do the due diligence on the corporation.

Secondly this is not a recognized offshore jurisdiction, which will scare the bank.

Thirdly it would be most difficult if not impossible to execute a real estate transaction using such a corporation for reasons of due diligence and the general unfamiliarity with Anjouan as an offshore jurisdiction.

Anjouan Banking Licenses - No doubt Anjouan will sell you or anyone else with the requisite funds a banking license. Trying to operate an international bank with this license would be extremely difficult if not impossible in our opinion, we lean towards impossible. How are you going to get correspondent banks in the EU for Euro transactions, in the USA for USD transactions etc? FATF regulations call for the bank to have a brick and mortar presence. This means the bank needs to have offices with tellers, employees, guards, vault etc. It is doubtful that you would set up such an operation in Anjouan even if they even let you do so.

Next what bank is going to act as your correspondent and what would they charge you if they even accepted you? Correspondent fees can easily be $200,000 for the annual fee plus a percentage of the transactions, wire fees, etc. A correspondent bank can lose its banking license for allowing you to commit violations. So after a large expenditure of money you will have a banking license that you can probably do nothing practical with.

But consider what would happen if you actually got going and had $25,000,000 in deposits and the Anjouan government banking commissioner conducted an audit and found violations of their banking laws and practices, inconsistencies, loans they were not comfortable with, deposits where they did not like the due diligence and source of funds documentation, etc. Why they might have no choice other than to put your bank into receivership, appointing an accountant or lawyer on the island to liquidate the banks assets. This means close your bank, seize the assets, possibly investigate the source of funds, maybe charge you, and so forth. The legal fees might run into many millions of dollars. The depositors would do well if they got any money back.

One liquidation in Latvia a few years back netted the depositors 2% of their deposits. Bank liquidations in Grenada more recently got even less than 2% of their money back and in some cases the bank that was closed by Grenada had several hundred millions of dollars. If you did not know this Grenada shut down all of its offshore banks except for one in 2003. Your former depositors will get all sorts of international orders calling for all sorts of things to happen to you and your assets. Life might not be pleasant for the next five or ten years and there is no one to run to for help since this would be considered an Anjouan affair.

Anjouan Gaming and Insurance Licenses Are Also Available - See above.

Conclusion - Getting a bank or an insurance license is not so easy. If it were many would do it. Before you believe any of these obscure jurisdiction banks are real have them send you a wire for $50.00. First send them the wire. Make sure you understand wiring instructions. Do not be confused between having a regular bank account at a bank and a correspondent banking relationship. Trying to operate a bank through a regular bank account will be over in a few days or weeks at most and then the account will be closed and you may have trouble with the return of funds for pulling a move like this on a bank. The correspondent banks will surely complain and that will be the beginning of the end.

Over the years numerous jurisdictions have popped up selling all sorts of licenses, corporations etc. None of them survive. The real offshore jurisdictions are extremely tight regarding the issuance of banking licenses. Belize, BVI, Dominican Republic together have not issued any banking licenses in the last five years. Caveat Emptor.

Niche Marketing means different things to different people.

The term niche marketing means different things to different people.Generally it is known to mean the developing of websites in sub mainstream market segments to profit from selling products, generating advertising revenue or other forms of website monetization.

Niche marketing is effective because it allows you to operate in markets that are less competitive meaning you have the potential as a new or seasoned marketer to capitalize on big opportunities with relative ease and far less cost.

Particularly for new marketers, niche marketing can be the key to riches because it allows you to compete on a level playing field. You don't have to jump into the ring with the heavy weights, you can develop your skills in the junior divisions before moving into the big leagues.

If you pick the right niche you can build your site, extablish yourself as an expert, sell your own products, recommend other people's products, the opportunities can be endless and good money can certainly be made.

The trouble is that as niche marketing grows in popularity, many of the markets we called niche markets are now not so nichey at all, they're almost as bad as mainstream markets in terms of their competitiveness and difficulty to profit from.

The markets that spring to mind are things like acne, dog training, or anxiety. Markets like these, while they can still be profitable will not make the average web marketer alot of money at all. Even the more nichey versions, acne treatments, dog training videos or anxiety relief are difficult for most people to compete in and make money. <

Then there's the other extreme. You can go to the tiny tiny niches that get almost no search volume. You can find "long tail" keywords like 'pug training schools in atlanta" or "acne treatments that work in 2 days". The problem with these are, 1. that they often don't get enough traffic and 2. they are so specific that even if you can drive traffic, there isn't much you can do to serve those people except show them ads. Again this can be profitable if you know how to do it but it seems like there just has to be an easier way...

The niche marketers that really make the most money are those that know how to find the perfect balance between competition and search volume. Not only that but they know how to analyze the nature of a niche market to determine how much potential it really has before they enter it.

By doing this they find markets that can make them big money very quickly, faster than most people think possible.

Then when they do find markets they know how to make sites that will capitalize on them as effectively and efficiently as soon as possible. The result? Big profits, easily, and quickly.

There is no doubt that niche marketing although often a tricky game, can be wildly profitable when done right.

How Important Are Certificates of Authenticity?

Some publishers (and galleries) provide comprehensive Certificates of Authentication with the art they sell. These authentications give information that may include the name of the artist, title of the work, year the editions were issued, the total edition size, the number of proofs, the name of the publisher and/or the printer, information about paper quality, dimensions, the individual print number, etc.

Some publishers furnish "blank" certificates to galleries who are expected to fill them out themselves.

With today's printing technology, it certainly would be easy to duplicate a publisher's certificate and /or alter the original information. So what good are these certificates?

While they do provide worthwhile information, much of that can be obtained from the print itself and/or from the invoice.

Without a doubt, a collector's best safeguard is purchasing from a stable retail gallery - one with a solid history of reputability and with a retail location that you can visit.

Gallery One's suggestion: If furnished with paperwork relative to your art purchase, retain it. (You just might want to refer to it in the future!) You can make pertinent notes on the invoice - recording the print number, the correct spelling of the artist's first name (if that does not appear on your invoice) and any other information that you might want to refer to in the future. Keep the original paperwork in your "files" and make a copy to store in an envelope stapled or taped to the back of your frame.

An added note: We've been in business for 30+ years...and when we prepare to purchase art, we ask a lot of questions (and conduct meticulous inspections) to determine quality and condition. The one question we do not recall asking is: "Does a certificate of authentication accompany the print?"

5 Benefits Of Using Feeds - How Feeds Can Help Your Ebiz

What's a Feed?

Feeds are a way of sharing content. When you make material from your website available for publishing on other sites, you provide them with a feed. Basically, it's a code that lets them post your articles and blogs. There are different kinds of code-XML, RSS, Atom, etc.-but essentially they're all just different ways of accessing a feed.

According to internet expert Sydney Johnston, "The great thing about a feed is everybody wins." The article writer gains exposure, the reader learns about something of interest to them, and the online seller gets an endless source of pertinent content.

What Can a Feed Do for My Online Business?

Feeds are useful in a number of different ways:

• They Eliminate Spam-filters. They're 100% opt-in, so readers can subscribe and unsubscribe at will. Feeds are delivered directly to your subscribers, so you don't contend with filters knocking you out of their inboxes.

• They Provide Free Content. One of the best ways to differentiate your site is to supply readers with interesting material-educate them on topics relating to the product you're selling. If you sell preschool toys, chances are you don't want to study child development and write numerous articles on the subject-so find someone else who's already done that and make their feed available to your customers. The constantly updating, applicable subject matter gives your visitors a reason to keep coming back

• They Can Improve Your Search Engine Rankings. In the past, search engines were unable to read feeds, but software is now available to translate them into live links the engines can see. Search engines love fresh, dynamic content, so feeds are ideal. They provide relevant information that updates automatically. Not only do your customers get the facts they're looking for, but the search engines like your site and give it better position.

• For Affiliate Marketers, They're an Alternative to Banners. You not only give your customer valuable knowledge, but if they click through and purchase something, you get credit. And unlike with banners, you don't look like you're putting up junk ads or spam.

• They Can Increase Your Traffic. Anything you write, you should make available as a feed. When other sites pick it up, it's free advertising for you-all their traffic is able to click through the feed to your site. So you gain new potential customers you wouldn't have otherwise.

Feeds on any subject are easy to find. There's a whole collection of search engines just for feeds, like http://Plazoo.com and http://Feedster.com. Says Johnston, "The future of the internet for entrepreneurs is feeds. If people don't master them, they're going to get left behind, period."

10 Tips for Easy Fundraising with Memorial Bricks

So, you're looking for a fundraising project for a school, sports team or construction project and you're thinking about engraved bricks. Brick fundraising is pretty simple, but what are the pitfalls?

We talked to Larry Cannon , who's been engraving bricks for fundraisers since 1988. He offers the following advice before you embark on the campaign…..

1. First look at your donor database. How likely are they to contribute to your new cause? Take nothing for granted. Don't assume that people will donate without a good strategy.

2. Think about who you're targeting. You should expect about 20% of your database to contribute. But…how interested are they in your project? How committed are they? How are they doing financially?

4. Think about the best time to mail donation requests. Timing is everything in fundraising.

5. Think of the best way to word it. Should you play on their sympathies or emphasize that their name on a brick is a memorial will last beyond their life?

6. The project chair will make or break the project. Don't let just anyone do it…get volunteers with the time and energy to put into the project.

7. How much money do you want to raise? Come into the project with an established goal.

8. Decide how much money people will donate to purchase a brick. Subtract the costs from the brick manufacturer and the difference is direct profit..

9. What about donor level appreciation? Do you want to honor different levels of donor contribution? If so….how? Some options are brick placement, size of bricks, number of words on the brick, emblems or logos on the bricks….

10. Can you get services donated? Does someone in the group know a brick mason who'll donate their time to lay the brick, build the wall or whatever? If not, the cost for hiring one must come from the raised donations.