Freedom Lifestyle Team

Reducing Business Costs Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:36:00 +0000

Possibly one of the most over looked aspects of finding ways to increase bottom line profit is the cost of office supplies, office equipment, and services that the business uses every day without a second thought. The business owner and employees will some times just not pay attention to the costs of these things since they use them daily and feel that they can not operate the business without them. This is very true, however whether this is a new business or a well established one when it comes to increasing bottom line profits these things are a very large chunk of the companies operating expenses and they need to have strict controls and limits placed on them or they can quickly become overwhelming to the bottom line. Depending on the size of the business the owner should be the one keeping tabs on these things or in the case of a larger operation then an office manager should be responsible for these costs as well as reporting back to the owner directly on a regular basis to keep them inline with the business plan. With this in mind lets take a look at some ways in which these costs can be reduced and controlled.

As stated above these costs and a detailed list of needs should be in the company business plan. Plan not only for the things that the business needs now, but also for any future needs. For those anticipated future needs assign an employee or yourself if this is a sole proprietorship, to keep a close eye on those sale papers that are in the newspaper, e-mail, mail box, etc., when these things do need to be purchased get them at the lowest prices possible, even if the business does not need them for a short time.

Especially when setting up a new business try looking around for things on the list that can be purchased used, but in good condition. Look in places that used office equipment and supplies are usually advertised, such as, newsgroups, message boards, classifieds, thrift stores, and yes even those neighborhood garage sales.

Use the art of negotiation even in those office supply stores that you may think it to be a waste of time. It will only be a waste of time if you do not try to get a lower price. You would be surprised how often when you simply start a conversation with the sales-person or manager you will gain knowledge that most customers do not know. Like you may be looking at a piece of equipment or even supplies that when the store sells out their current inventory they are not going to stock that particular brand any longer and since they only have a small quantity left if you take the balance off their hands you can have them at half price or possibly even lower. Maybe they have a unit that is slightly damaged but works just fine and still comes with the full manufactures warranty and here again you will get this at a much reduced cost just so they do not have to send it back and wait for credit. I am sure you have heard of the old scratch and dent sales.

Another cost effective method is "never" be satisfied with just one supplier. Look at all the possibilities available to you and shop around. Again watch for those deep discounted sales as well as playing one against the other for better deals. While keeping in mind the level of quality as well as the price.

For those special projects which will require the business to get a particular piece of equipment that will be needed for a short time forget about buying it. Look for a rental store that has this equipment or better yet check around with other businesses or friends that you may be able to just borrow it for the time that is needed, even if you need to promise to lend something to them in the future if they should have that need.

Put your pride aside, and do not be ashamed or embarrassed to take advantage of all the "free" offers that are always floating around the on-line and off-line world today. Face it businesses are fighting for your money. They offer you "free" supplies or equipment just so your business will keep them in mind when your business needs what they have. There is also those "free trial" phases where you can try something for a length of time then say no thank you, unless of course that product or service is just what you need and theirs works great. Then all you will need to do is negotiate the best deal for your business.

The times are changing somewhat but those Bulk Wholesale Clubs/Stores are still out there, many have just started letting the general public in as members instead of just businesses. Yet they are still a great source for getting low prices on things that any business may need. You just need to be careful that the price is "really" as hot as they want you to believe since you are required to buy in bulk for those prices. The annual membership fees are generally low enough that if you make just a few purchases per year you can more than save the cost of joining.

Reducing business costs effectively can also be done with the many auctions that happen every day on-line, as well as offline. Watch for these auctions and before you pay retail for your needs go armed with the knowledge of the retail price and if you can bid on your needs at a much lower cost go for it. Also watch for those office supply stores that may be going out of business which happens often and you could get some fantastically low prices.

A trendy thing to do in this era is to network and barter with other businesses that are not competition but complement your product or service. Injecting either or both of these methods into your business plan can significantly lower your business costs in more than one way. Sharing in all marketing and advertising costs will immediately reduce your costs in half. You could share your trade leads and mailing lists which widens the customer base for both businesses. Exchanging products/services with each other will also reduce the costs significantly for both.

In closing as stated earlier whether your business is new or long standing and well established reducing business costs effectively is critical to any business. That is if that business wants to have a profitable bottom line consistently. As in any business plan you must be willing not only to make the plan but constantly monitor the plan and make changes as needed in order to keep costs down and profits up.

Copyright © 2006 Roy J. Keller (All Rights Reserved)

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Work Smart: Sharpen Your Business!

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:06:00 +0000

Have you ever cut down a tree? Did you use an axe or a chainsaw? Was the blade dull or sharp?

If the blade was dull, you undoubtedly found the project to be a lot of HARD WORK!
In contrast, if the blade was sharp, you accomplished your goal a lot faster and with much less effort.

No matter what the project, we use tools to help us get the job done faster and easier. A well designed and maintained tool will be much more efficient and will save us a great deal of effort and frustration. The tool will actually do most of the work for us. In other words, working smart is better than working too hard.

So it is with running a home business. Our work at home business is a tool to help us make money. How well it does that will depend on whether we are diligent at keeping it "sharp" and efficient.

Take a look at each component of your home business. Typically you have:

Product or Service--this is what you are promoting, possibly an affiliate program

Webhost--don't underestimate the value of a quality host for your site

Website--what everyone looks at, it represents your business

Advertising/promotional plan--may include email, autoresponders, classified ads, ezine advertising, traffic exchanges etc.

System for monitoring/tracking your website and promotional efforts--don't neglect this

All these components together constitute your home business. Why examine each part? Well, they say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

You can have a great product or service to sell, but if your advertising is "dull", not doing the job, your great product probably won't make you any money.

Now look at it from the other side. If you have a "dull" product, something that nobody wants or needs, you had better have a fantastic promotional campaign. Even then, you're going to work much harder to make money than you would if you had both a "sharp" product and a "sharp" promotional campaign.

How can you make sure your business is "sharp"? Fortunately, there's a lot of information available on all these subjects. I have a number of articles and ebooks by a variety of skilled marketers available on my website. Take time to learn from these sources.

One thing I strongly suggest as Step One in starting a work at home business is to carefully choose an affiliate program that not only gives you a great product or service to promote, but also provides an excellent program of training, support and marketing, thus helping you keep your business "sharp" and profitable.

Let me illustrate what I'm talking about with one of the 2 programs I feature on my home website--the Plug-In Profit Site™. Look carefully at everything you get with this program and you'll see what I mean.

This is a "sharp" home business program and well demonstrates the point that some affiliate programs will do much more for your business than others will. The quality of a program like this one will make it the strongest link in your business. Indeed, the Plug-in Profit system examines every aspect of operating a work at home business and will help to keep your entire business "sharp", making you money.

Working hard is truly essential to any business, but don't frustrate and exhaust yourself by working with a "dull" tool. Your home business will be more profitable and enjoyable if you put forth a little effort to learn how to "sharpen" it.

So if you want your work at home business to succeed, continue to work hard while striving real hard to WORK SMART!

Article written by Scott McGraw
Scott McGraw has 15 years experience operating a home business and currently owns http://www.work-at-home-a-better-life.com promoting a "Work Smart" approach to success.

Creating a Business Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan

You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable online business. Maybe it is an original idea that has not been marketed online before. Maybe you have come up with a new spin on the ordinary. Whatever it is that has influenced you to start your online business, be sure that you have a plan before you begin. This is not the time to “pick it up as you go”. These are some basic things that should be included in your business plan.

The business summary should give a brief description of the entire business and is an integral part of the overall business plan.

After you have completed the business summary you should begin to list the objectives or the goals that you want to accomplish through the business.

Next and perhaps most importantly, you should develop your marketing plan. The marketing plan will address all the specifics of the business. When developing the marketing strategy you should consider the following:

The target market. The target market is the customers that you expect to see visiting your site. For example will your product be more appealing to college students or those who are in retirement?

Consider the competition for your product when determining the marketing strategy. Choose a product that will be seen as unique and useful. Visit sites that are offering the same or similar products. Find out the cost, and how they are marketing their product. Finds out the pros and cons of their business and try to improve your product based on their flaws.

Research the various methods for advertising online. You should become educated about search engines and how they work since each one is different. Also be sure that you know how to submit your site to search engines. You should be prepared to spend a small amount of money on advertising, but the profits that you will gain from the advertisements will prove to be money well spent.

Think about pricing. Again, look at the competition and see what similar products are selling for. Pricing can play a big role in the success of your product since selling a product well below the average price may lead customer to think that there is a problem with the product or that it is not of the best quality. However, pricing items too high could also detour customers.

Determine the shipping method. Be sure that you know how products will be shipped so that you can have shipping details clearly posted on your site. If you are shipping things of great value, you should consider providing shipping insurance. Also think about shipping outside the country that you live in.

Think about the different methods of payment that you will accept. If your business does not accept credit cards, you should be ready to give up half if not more of your sales. If you decide to accept credit cards will you use a merchant account or will you use a third party credit card processing center? Both will help you get started and the third party processing center will handle all of the business so you don't have to. You should decide which you will use and also if you will accept checks or money orders. It is essential to have a secure server when taking credit cards.

These few things will help your online business to become a great success and also provide you with peace of mind knowing that you have thoroughly thought about and planned for the opening of your online business.

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Marketing - Small Business Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:28:00 +0000

Every owner of a small business owner prays that his marketing strategy will bring new customers throw the door who will in turn spend more money so that he or she can make an even greater profit. As a business owner yourself, your marketing plan should be organized so that it draws customers in based on their initial awareness that you offer a particular product or service.

If you are going to develop an effective marketing strategy then you need to understand the critical difference between advertising and promotions. Believe me, there are distinctions. While advertising and promotions should both be included in your marketing plan and both use similar mediums to communicate their messages, they actually do quite different things, so they need to be used in the right way to be truly effective.

Advertising is the means by which you promote your products and services. A marketing promotion does much more. Advertising is a way of keeping your business in the public~s eye.Your marketing promotion creates the image of your company and should bring positive attention to your business. One good example is having your business become involved in any type of positive community activity. This builds the image of your business as a concerned and committed portion of your community. It let~s your potential customers know you are a concerned entity. This will go a long way to build customer loyalty and repeat business.

Think about it like this, people are much more trusting of someone who gives, rather than someone who is constantly taking and never offering anything in return.

Advertising is much more than simply putting a display style image in your local newspaper or industry journal. You need to know what business you are running, what products and services you are offering and what benefits can you can provide to your customers. It's good to remember that many of your customers are fearful of something and it is that fear that usually drives them making purchases. If you can identify what these fears are and then customize products to suit their needs then sales will flourish and promotions to this group will then be very straightforward.

Doing promotions to generate goodwill in the community will foster an image of credibility and uniqueness for your company. These marketing promotions will keep the customer coming back.

Article written by Sharon Vondita
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Sharon Vondita is the manager of F.B.C. Marketing, which is an excellent collection of marketing information. To learn more, please visit us: http://www.fbcmarketing.com

DealDotCom

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:54:00 +0000

What do they sell at DealDotCom?

Well, just about anything and everything related to building an online business, increasing traffic, monetizing your websites, blogging, web design… in short, they sell all things Internet Marketing related.

This site will provide one product at a ridiculously low price for one day only. The product will only be available until it sells out, or until midnight the next night, when they pull it down and start selling a new product.

Affiliate Program

Earn some extra cash with the affiliate program they have in place, and it’s a good one. Any direct referrals of yours will earn you 35% commission for life. And any two-tier affiliates that you get will net you 15% commission, again for life. All affiliates are forever.

Get in on it early and start referring people over yourself, to reap the benefits of an early sign up.

Sign up now for dealdotcom

Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:17:00 +0000

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." — Brian Tracy

The average American rarely leaves his or her comfort zone. As a result

* The average American household is $8000 in debt.
* The average American spends more than they make.
* The average American will not be able to retire comfortably.

You don’t want to be average.

And the only way to move from ordinary to extraordinary is to leave your comfort zone TODAY! Brian Tracy will challenge your comfort zone and present millionaire habits.

How to Design an Effective Business Postcard

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Postcards have become one of the most priceless business tools for fresh marketers. A traditional business postcard in most cases is used to grab the attention and curiosity of the reader. Other printed product and medium of advertising pulls off the same advantage but postcards seems to be the easiest and least expensive form of sales bait. Postcards can produce a large amount of click-through for your site that can lead to a surge of high-quality sales leads.

Postcards usually comes in three basics sizes, the standard size which is 4 by 6 and the medium size which is 5 by 7 and the large size which is 5 1/2 by 8 1/2. Postcards are small in size so they are less expensive to produce and mail. Some postcards are built on a heavier stock so you should expect to pay a bit more for those kinds of postcards which lasts longer and more durable. Incorporating postcards into your marketing plan can help you collect more clients and broaden up your sales horizon.

You can include postcards in your subscription forms, survey and membership forms, coupons, products and newsletters. Traditional printed postcards are much easier to use for you can just fill it out and the clip-out orders forms can be easily sent back to you. Before calling your postcard printing company you should have to think first of what kind of postcard you want to be printed. Will it be an order form, mini newsletter or a general advertisement of your product?

If your postcards will be an ordering form, focus more on the simplicity of the design and use of words. Jumbling with too much graphics and sales pitched words might cause your readers to lose interest in your products. Choosing fonts for your postcards should also be well planned. Most postcards right now uses sans-serif fonts like Verdana or Arial because it has a smoother shape and a clearer look. Full color postcards give more attention grabbing glitz to your postcards compared to two color or one color postcards. The play of visuals and color in a full color postcard is the reason why it is a proven and tested attention grabbing marketing tool. So make sure to keep this in mind while doing your postcards designs. Give balance on your graphic and your words.

Another consideration that you should also take note is the kind of paper stock that you will be using for your postcard printing. You can choose between coated and uncoated paper stocks. For business postcards the widely use paper type is the coated card stock which gives a little bit of boost to presentation of your postcards due to the smooth and glossy finish of the stock. Traditional postcards are the most efficient, easiest and most economical way to stretch your sales and profits.

Postcards can increase response from your recipients and can provide brand name recognition that your company needs. Use postcards and make it easy for your prospective customers to buy and make inquiry about your products or services all the while giving a wide horizon to your sales. More Printing Topics can be found at My PostCard Printing : A Los Angeles Printing Company Services Online topics also include Brochure Printing, Catalog Printing and Full Color Printing

This article was written by Carmelo Jose Diaz under My Postcard Printing : Los Angeles Printing Services Company Online

20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People To Link To Your Web Site

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:15:00 +0000

Here's 20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People To Link To Your Web Site

1. Offer other web sites free content to post on their web site. Include your link on all of your content. The content should related to your web site because it will be in front of your target audience.

2. When you visit a web site you've enjoyed a lot, write a review for the site. Write about the benefits you gain from the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they link to your web site.

3. Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web site. Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine.

4. Market your web site as a free web book. Design your web site with a title page, table of contents, chapters, etc. Just allow other people to give away the web book by linking to your web site.

5. Give your visitors an instant article directory. Tell your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. Just
place your ad or banner ad on top of the article directory for your main web site.

6. Allow other web sites to use your discussion board for their web site visitors. Just have them link directly to the discussion board. Include your web sites ad or banner ad at the top of the discussion board.

7. Start a members only web site. Tell visitors what's in your members only site and what it costs to gain access. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

8. Offer your visitors a free sign up to your affiliate program. Pay them commission to sell your products or services. Just give them an affiliate link to track their sales. People will link to your web site to make extra money.

9. Create your own award site for other web sites. Give the winners a graphic or text link to place on their web site when they win. This will link your web site
to theirs and draw more traffic to your web site.

10. Are you an expert on a particular subject? Offer people free consulting via e-mail if, in exchange, they either link to your site. People will consider this a
huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive.

11. When you purchase a product and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Make sure your statement is detailed. Give them permission to publish it on their web site if they link to your site.

12. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business ad at the top of the directory's home page.

13. Exchange content with other web sites. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

14. Allow people to download software at no charge from your web site, if they link to your web site. The software could be freeware, shareware or demos.

15. Trade other forms of advertising to people that link to your web site. You could trade e-zine ads, print ads, autoresponder ads, classified ads, ebook ads, etc.

16. Give away web space to people for free. Since you are giving it away for f.ree, request they link to your site by placing your ad or banner to the site.

17. Join or create a web ring. A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords "web rings" into your search engine of choice.

18. Create an online club or association. Tell your visitors what's included in the membership and what it costs to join. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

19. Allow people to use an online service or utilities from your web site if, in exchange, they link to your web site. The online service could be an e-mail account, search engine submission, web page design, copywriting, proofreading, etc.

20. Offer a free e-book to your web site visitors. The ebook should be related to your target audience. Allow them to give the e-book to their own web site visitors by linking directly to your web site.

Finding a Good Idea for your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Because there are so many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you'll be able to build a lasting readership among web surfers. Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can't build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.

One way to discover an great model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart from your competition.

Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today's market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site's design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn't enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won't have a chance to shine.

Learn more about using WordPress as your blogging platform.

Relationship Marketing and Your Home Based Business

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Many entrepreneurs just starting out say that their one biggest fear is selling their business to others. In today's relationship marketing focus, much has been said about building the relationship that the sales side of this style of marketing has become a taboo in business owners' minds. However, you have a home based business to make money, and so developing a balance between both sides of the relationship marketing style will help you effectively build your business.

In being able to develop your sales approach, you must also know exactly what you are doing with your home based business. If you cannot articulate your business to others, then relationship marketing will do you know good. You have to know how your home based business is going to be able to help the consumer meet his or her needs. It is absolutely imperative that you list "making a profit" as one of your purposes. Trying to make a profit is not a sin, it is a necessity to stay in business, so no one should fault you for it as long as you are making a profit by honest means. And in relationship marketing, you promote your business through the relationship to enhance trust, so being honest is important.

Also, you need to be businesslike and professional when building your business through relationship marketing. The relationship side of this marketing style does not mean that your clients have to be your best friends, just that you need to develop a rapport with them that promotes communication - business communication. Other relationships could develop, but the relationship must start off as businesslike so that the sales side of relationship marketing is not compromised.

Your actions should always be in accordance with your business's best interests, too. Ask yourself that question when making decisions. In relationship marketing, you may believe that doing something special for a client will enhance your business and building that relationship and future sales. However, the act could be seen by the client as more of a personal favor. Always weigh the benefits of the action for your business before making a decision. Despite your ability to develop the sale through relationship marketing, though, understand that some clients will try to use the relationship to manipulate or take advantage of you. So always ask yourself the question before making any decisions

Read the rest of the article here: Relationship Marketing and Your Home Based Business.

Download the Free Quick Start Workbook (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He specializes in showing people the best way to Make Money at Home.

10 Ways Outsourcing Can Help Grow Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:46:00 +0000

Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to take on part of your business workload. You may want to outsource part of your work because you don't have the room, you need an expert, you have periodic busy periods, or you need more production to get orders out on time, etc. The following are ten ways outsourcing can save your business time and money.

1. You won't have to take the time to train employees. This will allow you to spend more time working on your marketing and advertising campaign.

2. You won't have to do time consuming tasks like adding on new equipment or learning new software to complete certain tasks. This will allow you to spend more time testing your advertisements.

3. You won't have to interview employee candidates. This will allow you to spend more time improving your customer service, in return you will get more repeat purchases.

4. You won't have to fill out all the employee paper work like tax forms, scheduling, retirement plans, etc. This will allow you to spend more time developing new products.

5. You won't have to buy extra office or work space to complete certain tasks. You can use all the money you save on other business expenses.

6. You won't have spend money on employee costs like taxes, medical, vacation time, holidays, workers comp., unemployment costs, etc. (These may vary depending on which country you do business in.)

7. You can speed up you order and delivery system with the extra help. Your customers will appreciate the fast service and you'll have a higher chance that they will buy from you again.

8. You could expand your market share by becoming a middleman and offering your subcontractors products or services. This will increase your business profits and give you multiple income streams.

9. You can take on extra or large orders your business couldn't handle before. This will expand your market share and you could also offer to take the work your competition can't handle.

10. You could get end up receiving orders from your subcontractors. Your subcontractors may also tell other people about your business.

Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Zig Ziglar, the motivational speaker who has galvanized audiences around the world and written more than a dozen perennially popular books, brings that same unbounded energy and clarity of vision to this candid, inspiring account of his own life and the forces that shaped it.

Click Here to Read more about Zig Ziglar

Realize Your Potential

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:02:00 +0000

In order to succeed at anything, you need to see that you have the potential to reach your goals.

For example, if you want to be a recording artist but have no singing ability, having success in this field is not likely.

However, if you love working on cars and have a real talent for fixing engines and transmissions, and to you, success would mean working for more...

TEN STEPS TO GOAL GETTING by Zig Ziglar

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

3. Build your life on a sold foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

5. Be prepared to change. You can’t control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully–but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they’re going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, Weekly Planner or Palm Pilot.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals–what you will become is the winner you were born to be! more...

Find your favorite Zig Ziglar books and audios at Zig Ziglar Success Bookstore

Are you too complicated?

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:39:00 +0000

I woke up this morning thinking about how often people don’t really know what they want. I mean, they have an idea about what they want, but it’s too fuzzy and they can’t easily explain it in detail. If you can’t explain your idea so another person can comprehend it, then it’s just too complicated. I am not saying to trash the idea, thought or goal… I’m saying you need to have a clear vision of what you want. Here’s what I mean..

Many times we tend to blend ideas together. By blending and combining objectives and task together we over complicate what it is we we want and now the task becomes too overwhelming to even attempt to achieve.

You need to breakdown your objective and your task. Look it over. Is it really one task? or is it two, three or four tasks? More times than not, you will find you have created multiple tasks instead of just one. That’s good. What this means is that we can now simply accomplish several smaller tasks instead. In the end, we still get what we want done, it’s just that we are thinking differently how to do it.

The human brain is amazing… let me give you an example. Which is easier? One task with 4 steps or one task with one step? Obviously, the one task with one step. You see by breaking your task, objective or goal into smaller steps, you tricking your brain into getting more done. If your brain sees a task and feels it is complicated, it will automatically figure out ways NOT to do the objective at hand.
Bottomline is you need to keep things simple. You need to know how YOU think. The more you know about yourself, the more you will get done. So keep it simple and break down you tasks into easy to get done steps. More steps are better if they are easy.

One way in which we can test to see if we have broken our task down properly is this… can you describe your taks in detail in 1 minute or less? If not, then chances are you have made it too complicated.
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Reverse Engineering Your Success

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:28:00 +0000

It’s always been interesting to me to me how everyone focuses with the end goal in mind. Mind you this is good, but it is not how you will accomplish your goal or task at hand. You need to reverse engineer what you want. Once you’ve mastered this one aspect, everything else will suddenly fall into place for you. Read on to see how…

What do I mean by reverse engineer?
As I said, you already know what you want to accomplish, that’s the easy part. In order to achieve your goals, you need to know how to get there. All the positive thinking in the world means absolutely nothing without proper and immediate implementation.

If your objective is to drive a car… what is the first step?

Many people will say you need to first start the engine. WRONG!
Some people will say you need to open the door. WRONG!

The first step to drive a car is first make the DECISION you want to drive the car and the the next action is to first have a car to drive… either one you own or someone elses. Once you have the car, you must then open the door, then sit down, now take the key put it into the ignition, turn the key, put the car into drive and then press the gas.

Remember.. the key was to drive a car.. not drive it well which takes a bit more explaining.

Just as I have broken down how to drive a car, you must break down what it is you want to accomplish. Nothing is too small to leave out and everything starts with one thing and that is a decision that you want to do whatever it is.

Start Reverse Engineering your life and your business today.
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Follow Our Lead

Affordable Advertising Agencies

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:09:00 +0000

Low cost internet advertising agencies are the ideal way and most recommended means to make your product or service known and for your web site to earn money. There is a very large range of affordable internet advertising agencies that can be found on the Net.

There are various Internet advertising agencies according to the kind of product or service they provide. Here is a list of a few of these kinds of online marketing agencies.

1. Web design agencies

These are focused on building web pages for a website. Many web developers are now offering affordable services if you just know how and where to find them.

Read more Affordable Advertising Agencies

10 Mind Altering Words That Make People Buy

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:37:00 +0000

1. Use the word "fast" in your ad.
People want fast results, fast delivery, fast ordering, etc. Nowadays, we usually value our time more than our money.

2. Use the word "guaranteed" in your ad.
People want to be assured they are not risking their hard earned money buying your product.

3. Use the word "limited" in your ad.
People want to own or receive things that are exclusive or rare because they are considered to be more valuable.

4. Use the word "easy/simple" in your ad.
People want easy ordering, easy instructions, easy to use, easy payments, etc.

5. Use the word "testimonial" in your ad.
People want to see believable proof before they buy your product. It should be reputable and specific proof.

6. Use the word "discount/sale" in your ad.
People want to find bargains. They could be rebates, one time sales, percentage offers, get one free offers, etc.

7. Use the word "free" in your ad.
People want free incentives before they do business with you. They could be free books, accessories, services, etc.

8. Use the word "you/your" in your ad. People want to know that you are talking them. This'll make them feel important and attract them to read the whole ad.

9. Use the word "important" in your ad. People do not want to miss important information that could effect their life. People will stop and take notice.

10. Use the word "new" in your ad. People want new products or services that will improve their life like new information, tastes, technology, results, etc.

What's Your Web Site Worth

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Affiliate programs are an exciting way for you to add content to your website and earn healthy commissions.

You can place advertising banners or text links on your sites and receive referral fees for all sales generated from the links.

As an affiliate, you benefit by sharing the revenue of any sales made through your link to the merchant without any of the fulfillment, management or bookkeeping costs.

Billed as the next evolutionary step in online advertising, affiliate marketing enables everyone to make money and benefit by building business together.

You may know about the phenomenal success of Robert Kiyosaki and the Rich Dad message... the best-selling books Rich Dad Poor Dad, the Rich Dad Advisor Series, and the newest book, Retire Young Retire Rich. Additionally Rich Dad offers Audio Sets and the educational games CASHFLOW 101 & 202 and CASHFLOW for Kids.

With the phenomenal success that Rich Dad is enjoying, we would like you to participate in spreading the message. Join the Rich Dad Affiliate Program and you can receive generous commissions on the sales you generate through your web site.

Join Today with no-cost

Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:48:00 +0000

10 Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

1. Barter
If you have a business you should be bartering goods and services with other businesses. You should try to trade for something before you buy it. Barter deals usually require little or no money.

2. Network
Try networking your business with other businesses. You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut down on your marketing and advertising costs. You may also try bartering goods and services with them.

3. Wholesale/Bulk
You'll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. You could get a membership at a wholesale warehouse or buy them through a mail order wholesaler. Buy the supplies you are always running out of.

4. Free Stuff
You should try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies. You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, online business services etc.

5. Borrow/Rent
Have you ever purchased business equipment you only needed for a small period of time? You could have just borrowed the equipment from someone else or rented the equipment from a "rent-all" store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions
You can find lower prices on business supplies and equipment at online and offline auctions. I'm not saying all the time, but before you go pay retail for these items try bidding on them first.

7. Plan Ahead
Make a list of business supplies or equipment you'll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used Stuff
If your business equipment and supplies don't need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.

9. Negotiate
You should always try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn't hurt to try. Pretend you are talking to a salesman at a car lot.

10. Search
You can always be searching for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. Don't just be satisfied with a few.

Planning Ahead in Your Home Based Business

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:03:00 +0000

When things are going well, planning ahead in your home based business for any difficulties is not necessarily what you really want to think about when you are riding high. However, planning ahead in your home based business is exactly what you should do at these high points. After all, you never know what is coming around the corner.

Read more about Planning Ahead in Your Home Based Business

Clearing Up Some Misconceptions About Multi-Level Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:15:00 +0000

Much has been said about multi-level marketing (MLM). While a lot of people claim that it is a marvelous way of earning an income, an equal number of people condemn it out of their misunderstanding about MLM programs.

Which of these fears are true, and which are false? Let's take a look at some of the issues raised against multi-level marketing programs.

1. Multi-level marketing is a “get rich quick” scheme. It is not. You will have to invest some time and effort to achieve the highest possible success in this field. MLM will not gain for you some passive income, at least not immediately. You will have to develop your network and fill it up with dedicated individuals from whose efforts you will earn lower tiered commissions.

2. Multi-level marketing is a pyramid scheme. It is not. Multi-level marketing is a creative kind of direct selling. Basically, a person is a customer of the MLM program, though unlike other setups, he is given the opportunity to earn because of his purchase.

3. Multi-level marketing is illegal. It is not. If MLM is illegal, direct selling should likewise be considered as unlawful. Multi-level marketing, after all, is a form of direct selling by its very nature.

4. Multi-level marketing is just as unstable as any pyramid scheme. This is a falsity. Pyramid schemes fail because they don’t have capital to rely on. They depend on the money they could derive from the multi-tiered “investors.” Legitimate MLM companies are based on real products that are actually sold to consumers. There is a real economy involved, hence ensuring the strength of the legs that support this kind of system.

5. Multi-level marketing requires recruiting. It does not. The term “recruiting” is quite misleading. You just have to pre-sell the MLM program’s products to earn some commissions. Consequently, the people you manage to refer will become members of your down line, and if they decide to pursue the earning opportunities presented by the MLM program itself, you could also earn from their activities.

6. Multi-level marketing requires steep financial investments. This is partly true, though the adjective “steep” is quite relative, as well as questionable. You will have to purchase a package prepared by the MLM program. But this is a condition precedent to the earning opportunities that you will gain access to. Consider it as your enrollment fee. The price of these packages vary, nonetheless, it’s a onetime fee which you are sure to recoup after referring three or more sales.

7. Multi-level marketing is just a fad. Multi-level marketing has been practiced by many enterprises since the 60’s. With the advent of the internet, an online variety is but the logical evolution of this strategy. Surely, something that has become a popular sales technique for such a long time cannot be considered as a mere fad.

8. Multi-level marketing programs are scams. Though some fraudulent companies use MLM programs to hide their devious schemes, most MLM programs are legit. The responsibility to determine credible MLM programs from dishonest ones would lie on the shoulders of the enrollee. Due diligence is required before committing to any undertaking, after all.

Multi-level marketing programs offer great opportunities for amazing income which you could savor and enjoy. Hesitations, of course, are always healthy in endeavors like this. But try to investigate on your fears and you’ll discover that online MLM programs are safe investments that hold so much promise.

Liberty or Death?

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:54:00 +0000

I don't care how good a job may be, there is no way a person can be truly happy working for somebody else. It's impossible to be truly happy when you cannot be with your family for important events in their lives, but rather have to be on the job at fixed times. You can't be really happy when you have to beg someone for time off to do things that are important for you. You can't be fully content when you have to follow someone else's rules or guidelines, even when they differ from your own values. You can't be completely satisfied with decisions that aren't your own.

Those who say they are happy with their JOBs are saying so out of lack of vision. They have become numb to the possibilities and have given up completely the vision of self-determination. They are slaves... and like complacent slaves, they don't even know there IS another way.

Gerry Spence, in his book, Give Me Liberty, says "By slavery, the old or the new, I mean that state in which the person has no effective control over the course of his or her life. Despite his freedom to jump from job to job or junket by jet from beach to beach, if no matter how he schemes or toils he cannot explore his boundless uniqueness, if he has lost his only power, the power of the self, then he is enslaved."

Take Responsibilty for Your Life

How To Build Your Home Business Mailing List As Quickly As Possible

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:56:00 +0000

You’ve heard many veteran internet marketers and established gurus preach “Gold is in your mailing list” time and time again, and for good reasons. It is well known that most of your sales will come after the 4th to the 8th contact. But before you can accomplish that you’ll need to be able to keep in touch with your prospects for a length of time. The key is you have to capture their contact details first.

This is accomplished through an opt-in list. Basically, an opt-in is a system that will allow you to capture the contact details of your visitors. The way it works is that your visitors would be presented the choice to leave their contact details (usually their email addresses) so that you could follow up on them later on. This is the reason why an opt-in list is also called as a follow-up system.

As I mentioned before, most of your sales won’t come after the first contact. Your prospects should be given time to warm up to your home business offer. You’d have to contact them again, and again, and again, to assure them of your credibility and to make them believe that your offer would be truly beneficial for them.

You may also find they are not interested with your current home business offer, but that doesn't mean they won’t be interested with what you could come up with in the future. An opt-in list would allow you to contact them for any future deals you will bring to the table.

There is no doubt that a follow-up system, or a mailing list, or an opt-in list, whatever you want to call it, would be very important for your success in the online home business arena.

But the question is: how do you build your home business opt-in list?

Read more How To Build Your Home Business Mailing List

Just Do Something!

noreply@blogger.com (Vic Bilson) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:36:00 +0000

At a seminar I heard a great statement... "Just DO Something"

I remember being frustrated when I started and when I first complained to my Father...he made me sit down and asked me a simple question...."Do you want to know the SECRET to success?" I said, "Absolutely!" He then told me to stand up and look under my chair. I did and found a $100 bill taped to it. He said, "The secret is to get off your (you know what) and go make some money!"

So I started to get ACTIVE...and found that even if I wasn't doing the BEST activity, it was better than what I call "PERFECT InAction" (which some of us may be categorized at one point in time or another!) It's amazing - when you STOP idling, and take yourself out of "neutral," something happens! I can tell you many stories WHY activity is important but here are a few to prove a point....

"The MORE activity you have, the LUCKIER you get!"

ACTION: Making Phone Calls

One day I was making local cold calls. At one point I tried to reach a marketing company and called the wrong phone number... a gentleman answered the phone. I was very "edgy" that day and really didn't feel like having any of my time wasted. He was very nice and proceeded to TRY and help me ... I became irritated UNTIL he started to become interested in what I did for a living. SO, I invited him to a local seminar the NEXT day and what do you know, he shows up and SIGNS up! I then helped him recruit a few of his "centers of influence" and
found an ACE. One of his buddies signed up and became one of the TOP recruiters in our state that year.

THE RESULT: Over $20,000 a year!

This gentleman and his team have put over $20,000 in my pocket every year and growing because I made an incorrect phone call! What if I decided to NOT make ANY calls that day? Ouch!

ACTION: Sending Emails

One day I was sending TONS of emails to build up a presence on the internet. I sent specific emails to companies searching for help on the Internet with my business opportunity.

An extremely successful Internet Marketer in Colorado happened to reply and then asked for an info packet. I had SO MANY replies that I FORGOT to send the information until he so kindly reminded me! Once I sent the info...I forgot to follow up! (Don't you hate that?) I thought he would not be interested ... I pre- judged him...

Thank god he didn't forget to follow up with me. Once he called me his objective was clear ... he wanted to sign up and meet my wife and I at a major event in Dallas, TX.

THE RESULT: Downline in 34 States!

We worked together day in and day out to build his business and became great friends! The income from this "Not-So- Perfect" scenario is closing in on $30,000 a year ... growing and growing. I am like many of you on the internet...still learning ... but the key is to always TRY something - and this takes ACTION!

ACTION: "Running Ads"

I have and always will love long-distance recruiting from ads. One day we received an inquiry from someone who was trying to HELP us reach more prospects. They were responding to SELL us and we, by accident, SOLD them! Because we were "open minded," we ended up bringing a major marketing company into our business. (In the past I would have NOT called them back. I wanted prospects, not to be prospected!) Always be networking - no matter what you are doing....

THE RESULT: "Almost $100,000 in 4 months!"

Once again, we worked with this new business partner and they had a few special gifts...a few magical business connections and their first four months they earned close to $100,000! We were happy too! :)) It's amazing what happens when you have an open mind...listening is another key to success! THE most important KEY is just getting ACTIVE in the game.

"You don't have to be the 'sharpest' TOOL in the shed, BUT...you have to be IN the shed!"

UNDERSTAND that these "imperfect activities" led to great results, BUT we had to WORK! The fact that we were doing something is what LED to these GREAT prospects. BUT you then have to put the TIME in. I am certainly NOT encouraging poor activities, but suggesting ACTION and the fact that when you just DO something you have good, bad, and even lucky results!

"LUCK seems to have a peculiar attachment to WORK"

SO get ACTIVE...no matter what, DO NOT sit by and wait...go out and GET...everyday...because you never KNOW who is out there and WHEN they will BE there. Just DO something...you will see good, bad and even lucky results....everyday! The cold call you make today... The emails you send today... The ads you run today.... Could it be that ONE of your activities will change you life? Today? Tomorrow? Next week?

The only way you will ever KNOW is to get ACTIVE!

(c) 2001, Reprinted with permission from Cutting Edge Media's MLM Marketing and Sponsoring Tips Newsletter.
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