Time Management: Tips to Help You See Success

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Are you a person who finds it difficult to stay focused and to stay on task? Are you regularly late for important events or do you turn in projects or homework after the deadline? If you do, you may need to improve your time management. The good news is that there are a number of tips that can help you do so. A few of these tips are outlined below for your convenience.

One of the first things that you will want to do is create time management goals for yourself. These goals can be for different things. For example, you can set a main goal of improving your time management in a specific period of time, like two weeks or a month. You can also set individual goals for yourself, like arriving to parties, social events, work, or important business meetings on time. No matter what goals you choose to set for yourself, they are important, as goals work to provide motivation.

Another way to improve your time management is to determine where you have the most problems. What exactly is it that causes you to waste time? Chances are you already know. If not, do a little test. Walk though a normal day and record what times you get distracted the most and what you are doing at those times. Do you find yourself wasting time when socializing with friends, using the internet, or watching television? If so, reduce or completely eliminate those distractions.

It is also important to note that there a number of time management tools available for your use as well. These tools should not be relied on daily, but they can be used to help you establish a routine. As for what time management tools you can use, you may be surprised with all of your options. To do lists, daily planners, and alarm clocks are all great ideas. Many modern computers and cell phones also come with time management tools, including alarm clocks, calendars, calendar alerts, and so forth.

As previously stated, a to do list is a time management tool that you can benefit from using. As helpful as a to do list can be, it is important to also prioritize. You will want to list your items in order of importance. For example, if your list focuses on tasks to do at home is it more important for you to do laundry, vacuum the house, or wash dishes? The order of your lists should all depend on importance and urgency.

One of the best ways to properly manage your time is to stay organized. In fact, poor organization is the leading cause of wasted time. If you are employed, be sure to keep your office desk clean and clutter free. When doing so, you are able to stay focused and on task better. You should be able to get more work done, as you should spend less time searching for misplaced or lost documents. Organization is not only important in the workplace, but other areas that you frequent, such as your home or your car.

The above mentioned time management tips should be able to help you better manage your time on your own. With that said, it is important to remember that sometimes help is needed. The last thing that you want to do is be overloaded, whether it be at work or at home. If you need to outsource some of your work to a coworker or if you need to hire the services of a professional housecleaner, go ahead and do so. Once you are caught back up, you can begin to properly manage your time. As much as we all want to complete our responsibilities on our own, it is important to remember that sometimes help is needed.

By taking the above mentioned points into consideration, you may be able to better improve the use of your time. There are a number of benefits to having effective time management both at home and at the workplace.

New Home Business Models

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If you are planning on opening a new home business, it
is key to have the proper home business model in place
before you begin.

A home business model will add to your chances of a
successful business. Creating a Home Business Model
may seem a daunting task, and such an important part
of your business may require you to seek outside help
when preparing your model.

There are many resources where you can get help, many
experts who are available to help you create your
model for a fee. There are even some experts who offer
their assistance for free.

There are many businesses that can be run from home
and with so many people wanting to leave the corporate
world to spend more time at home with their families
are choosing to instead start a business from home.

What many dont realize is that most home businesses
will take up more time than was ever spent in the
corporate office. But with a well-planned home
business model, you can easily plan your time, as well
as your finances among many other aspects of your
business.

Success in a home business depends on how dedicated
you are to your home business and how closely you
follow your business model.

Dedicate a space for just work. Make sure everything
you need is at your fingertips and try to avoid a
place that has many distractions, like the television
or the refrigerator.

Also it is important that you dress for success. Dress
as you would if you were going to any other job. Ditch
the bathrobe and pajamas for casual business attire.

You will be less likely to lounge around in your good
clothes while you are in your home.

Business Blogging For Profit

Remember the old ways of keeping in touch with your clients? You usually patch them through telephone; fax machines, direct mail marketing, and even personal meetings.

But now, entrepreneurs are just smart enough to use the existing Internet technology to be regularly updated of the latest trends in business and at the same time keeping in touch with their clients. There is now text and voice chat, exchanges of e-mail, website forums, and others.

One of the most online business innovation ever made is the transformation of the regular blog posting into an online business tool. Before, blogging is just used for showing different thoughts and ideas. Some are just for fun, while others are for promotion of something that others think is beneficial to other Internet users. In other words, it is just a bunch of personal diaries and bulletin board for those people who want to share their knowledge and thoughts to others.

But think again, it is not just for diary writing or whatever. It is now a promotion tool you can use to boost your business. You can set up blogs in your website and have it with an associated RSS feed. In other words, you can constantly keep in touch with your clients and potential customers as well. In addition, you do not have to e-mail them—your blogs will be responsible in getting the latest news without actually having to visit your website.

From Regular Blogs to Business Blogs

From regular blogs that you post for nothing, now it is called the business blog that can help you save thousands of dollar and providing you great business opportunity with just one click. Not only it is free to use but also it is user-friendly, can be customized, and can be a flexible medium for circulating useful information for effective positioning of your products in the market.

There are some noted advantages of entrepreneurs who engage in business blogging. Here are some of these advantages:

· There are more than hundred thousands of blogs posted in the Internet. Statistics shows that there are currently 14 million blogs posted in the Internet with an estimated 80,000 more being added everyday. In addition, 30 percent of 50 million Internet users are blog readers. Just think of the number of possible audiences you can attract if you will advertise your product through blogs.
· Through blogs, you allow your clients to post their comments with regards to the product that you are offering. It can be of great help in improving your product through the suggestions that they will be posting. In addition, you can take immediate actions to your client’s concerns.
· Since blogs are quite popular to most Internet users, it can be of easy access to your customers. All they have to do is to access to a blogging community, and they can read your latest product offering. Remember that these customers are just willing to create “blogosphere” of comments regarding your product.

How to make your business blogs as effective as other means of Internet advertising? You can submit your blogs to any blog search sites and directories. It will be a wise move especially if your site is just newly-constructed.

Never forget to paste in your blogs the URL back to your site. Your blogs must contain not only the information with regards to your product but only but also exclusive background information. Remember that your customers do not want to see pure figures—they also want context information.

Business blogs provides you marketing possibilities of your product. Maybe your potential clients are just around the corner waiting for you to post your business blog.

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Managing Your Money

by Ethan Cole

Are you the one that does the bills? Okay, if you're married or living with someone, typically one of you do the bills. Or at least that's my experience. Now, this is not a bad thing. It's actually rather important since there could be some mix ups if the both of you did it. You certainly don't want anything bouncing. I call this managing your money. Well, managing your money to a point anyway. While it's good to keep track of everything, it's also imperative to stick to a reasonable budget. You definitely do not want to spend beyond your means. We all have a certain income, and it's wise to stick within it and refrain from charging. I realize that there are exceptions to this rule, but a new toy, television, or CD probably isn't one of them.

Capital is always a pain; isn't it? It seems like we typically never have enough of it. Well, the key here is making the most of what we do have. This equals managing your money as best you can. Maybe you have a portion left over for a clever investment opprotunity. This is a good route to managing your money. You want to make investments for the future; however it's crucial to not go crazy. My wife and I recently began managing our money a little better. I believe our biggest weakness concerned food. We like to shop at that fancy grocery store. You know the one where the produce and meat are all organic, corn fed, no antibiotics, pesticides, bla bla bla. Well, the only dilemma is the cost. These places are expensive. What is the deal with health food? It's actually costly to eat well. Regardless, we spend far too much of our income on food each week. It was definitely time to start managing our money more wisely. This is why we created a weekly budget for groceries, and refuse to exceed it. So far so good. Who ever said managing your money can't be done? Are you managing your money so that you won't fall into severe debt? Remember, you'll want to retire one day and you'll most likely need all the money you can save. Those days of relaxing can come at you fast. You want to be ready when they do. If you need some tips on managing your money properly, I suggest you get online. The Internet has a whole universe of free data that will aid you in managing your money for the future. GOOD Luck! Now go & do something about it!!

5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs

Do an online research on your favorite Search Engine and you will understand what I mean.
In this article I'm going to show you the KEY to Home-Based Business entrepreneurs success; you'll find out what makes an entrepreneur succesful in the home-based business field.
Below are 5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs:
1. It's their mindset that brings success
Serious entrepreneurs have 'programmed' their mind to succeed no matter what. They don't lack focus on their home-based business and let nobody stop their plans in achieving what they want.
They know what they want and they have the DESIRE to succeed. If you don't know exactly what you want when it comes your home-based business, think about it again and re-consider your plans, what you want to achieve, a get-rick-quick or a profitable, long term business.
2. It's their start-up plan that brings success
Smart entrepreneurs know that it takes time to set-up and grow a profitable home-based business. They plan to succeed. They have a start-up plan that might fail but they never give up and start again with a better plan.
Serious entrepreneurs know that it takes discipline and time to build a strong and solid home-based business, which delivers ongoing income through many years to come.
3. It's their initial RESEARCH that brings success
Smart and serious entrepreneurs know the importance of market research. They know that in order, for a home-based business to succeed, they have to research their target market (their potential customers) and study their competitors.
Research your target market and study your competitors in order to have a long-term, profitable home-based business.
Know what your customers want and give it to them. Keep an eye on your competitors, study their offer(s) and make sure you come up with a better deal than them.
4. It's their marketing strategy that brings success
Study each successful entrepreneur in your marketing field and you'll notice how they market online / offline.
Each of them have their own 'unique' marketing strategy but they use the same basic principles.
Don't re-invent the wheel. Use the main marketing concepts that are proven to work but try to improve and adjust them to your own situation. Make them work for your home-based business. Make your offer better and unique than your competitiors if you want to WIN in this business, or simply quit (I know that's no what you really want!)
5. It's their investment that brings success
Smart entrepreneurs know that the KEY is to work SMART, not hard. If you don't have the required skills to develop a NEW marketing tactic for your home-based business why not hire a consultant who knows his stuff?
If you have 'enough' money why not invest in someone who can help you grow your home-based business and give me something to work at too?
What is more valuable to you, your time or your money?
A serious entrepreneur is ready to invest (both time and money). He knows that he will build a long-term successful business for him and the one he loves (friends, family, children, etc.)
The final (or first?) STEP you need to take in order to succeed is to act (take ACTION!). Yes, put into practice what I have told you above (the 5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs) and you'll succeed, no matter what. Trust me!
About the Author
STOP! Perry Gage publishes a NEW, Special *free* Ezine. It comes loaded with an eclectic Collection of Tips and Suggestions on Health, Finance, Goodies for you to Have Fun & Profit.

Article Source: http://interesting-articles.com

Looking for Online Business Opportunities?

by Ethan Cole

	If you are a budding entrepreneur or you are a seasoned business owner, online business opportunities may fit your needs perfectly. These businesses are home based and require very little to get started, some as low as $35 for the initial business membership fee. The advantages to owning a home based business are many, and all you really need is a well equipped computer system, a high speed internet connection, adequate work space, and commitment and dedication. A huge investment isn’t always required to take advantage of online business opportunities, as mentioned above, and those new to the whole thing should do their research, and speak with people who know something about what you want to do, before getting involved with something that is nothing more than a scam. Reputable online business opportunities are listed in a number of online publications that post reviews and ratings for home based businesses, and are a good place to get reliable information to get you started.
There is much more out there than stuffing envelopes and joining online affiliate programs, not to say that people cannot be successful in these ventures of course. Any type of home based online business opportunity must be right for the person who chooses to enter into the venture. Obviously you wouldn’t want to be a medical transcriptionist if you don’t have the necessary computer equipment and the skills and the knowledge to do the job. The internet has opened up a whole new world for people who are tired of the traditional Monday through Friday, nine to five gigs, and the commute from hell. More people now work from home than ever before thanks to online business opportunities and the World Wide Web. You would be surprised at the number of things people can now do to make money in the privacy of their own home, without the travel and daily headaches. Online business opportunities may be the answer for you if you want to be your own boss, to not have to be somewhere by a certain time, and conform to what someone else is telling you to do. If you are motivated and have a bit of cash to get going, then you are well on your way to becoming an entrepreneur and possibly making more cash than you could ever dream possible. It happens, it really does! Just be knowledgeable about the online business opportunities you are seriously considering, and when you choose the right one, go for it with all you’ve got! A large number of people make a full living from eBay auctions, Google AdSense programs, affiliate networks, selling other people's information products etc..... So Good Luck! Here's to your success and online research!

Work At Home Adsense Affiliates: Why They Are Having So Much Fun

By Christopher Kyalo

It is a proven fact that the number of work at home Adsense affiliates is on the increase. Most people who may not have known this, at least suspected it.

However what most may never have guessed about the sharply increasing numbers of work at home Adsense affiliates is that most of them are having the time of their lives even as they bring in the bacon without ever having to leave their front doors. Some of them hardly ever leave their bedrooms.

The single medium most responsible for helping this breed of new work at home Adsense affiliates have fun even as they make money is without doubt the blog. Blogs have made it possible for anybody with a PC and internet link to launch a global publishing empire based on their interests and hobby and what they love to do most. To start earning from this fun activity, the first thing they do is join a couple of affiliate programs including the popular Google Adsense affiliate program.

It has been proven time and again that people tend to do extremely well when they're involved in something that they love to do. So as these work at home Adsense affiliates have the time of their lives making posts and gathering information on their favorite past time, they tend to quickly pick up the traffic. One way of picking up blog traffic is by using your blog articles and content creatively.

The effect is that as targeted traffic grows, so does their income from their Google Adsense ads. And that is usually just the beginning of good things for the work at home Adsense affiliate.

Learn more about the best home business opportunity from a blogger who rakes in thousands of dollars... and growing from their home business. Also get the bloggers' amazing free report How I used only free articles marketing to get thousands of hits daily at my site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Kyalo

Make Money with Your Own Blog

By Joan Masterson

Well, basically, setting up a blog means that you are creating a little space of your own on the Internet where you can make posts about anything that interests you. Of course, if you are going to be blogging on a variety of topics, the best way to make money with it would be to have different blogs for different topics otherwise your blog will be just one big jumbled mess that nobody would want to read about.

So what topics should you blog on? Well, I would suggest blogging about your own interests or favourite hobbies. There are always people out there who could learn from your specific experience.

Let's say for instance your favourite passion is your love for dogs. You could blog about anything pertaining to dogs. Do you know how to potty train a dog in a week? Lots of people would love to know how to get their dogs not to do their potty work inside the house :) Or do you have a recipe for a dog biscuit that your dog absolutely adores? There are lots of people who absolutely adore their dogs - I am one! And they do a lot of searches on the topics of dogs, cats, puppies, kittens etc. So why not make some money out of sharing your own knowledge to help those people? Share your tips with them and they will just love you for it!

So, how would you make money out of having a blog even if you don't have a product to sell? One word: Adsense. Adsense is a program offered by Google that pays webmasters and blog owners to display Google ads called Adwords on their sites, and if you have a blog that gets many visitors, they will click on the ads which means that you will earn money from it. To learn more about how to apply for and start using Adsense on your own site, visit : Google Ads

Some tips before you apply for the Adsense program:

1. You have to have an existing blog or an existing site.

2. Your website has to have at least 10-15 pages of relevant content. If you have a blog that you want to apply adsense to, you have to have at least 5 or more posts on your blog.

3. Your blog or site must have a clean, easy to use interface. No under construction pages or broken links, or too many animated gifs, or pop ups.

4. You don't have to have a professionally designed website or blog. The simpler your site is the better for the search engines to spider, and the better it will be for your visitors to navigate.

How to get a blog? You can either have blog that you can host at your own website, like Wordpress Wordpress is an easy to set up php script that is free for download.

Alternatively, you could use any of the free blog services like: Blogger to set up a blog that will be hosted on their server.

So to recap: Select a topic that you would like to blog about, set up a blog, make a couple of posts a day on your blog, wait about 5 days, then apply for the Google Adsense program.

Once you have been approved for Adsense, you should submit your blog or website to the major search engines. If you don't know the major search engines, do a search for "free website submission". You will find that there are a lot of sites that will allow you to use their services for free to submit your site or blog to various search engines.

Their are various blog directories that you should also list your blog with. Once again, do a search for blog directories, and submit your site to all the the ones that you can find.

Tell others about your blog, your family and friends etc. Ask them to tell others about your blog. That way you will start getting instant traffic. Just a word of caution: do NOT ask family and friends to click on your adsense ads, and under no circumstances should you click on any of the ads yourself - that is a sure fire way of getting banned by Google and you will have lost a valuable income source!

Now that you know how to start your own blog, you have no excuse not to make money online! Happy blogging!

Joan Masterson is the owner of http://www.womenatwork.co.za - and http://www.set-4-success.com - sites that offer free work at home resources and information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joan_Masterson

An Introduction To Home Business Opportunity

By Kevin Stith

A home business opportunity is a chance to make money in the confines of your own house. There are many people who would like to work but are not comfortable or don’t have the time to be working outside the home. A lot of housewives look for means to occupy their time when they are not working around the house and taking care of the children. There are several ways on how they could earn money and at the same time not neglect their duties at home. Baking and selling baked goods is one good way to start earning from the home. Making gift items can also be a profitable way to be creative around the house. There are books that could give ideas on what businesses could be done at home and one could choose which one will be best for them according to their skills, capability, resources and available time.

If there is a problem about cash, there are ways to have the money to have capital for the business. A good way to start making money for a home business is just by clearing up the house of excess furniture, clothes and other items that are no longer in use and holding a garage sale. You could use the proceeds to start the business you wish to pursue.

There are also business opportunities offered by legitimate companies and websites that would allow you to earn money at home like buying and re-selling products (software, e-books with resale rights and the like). This would allow you to set the price of the product you are going to sell and earn money easier.

Any business requires patience and hard work, whether conducted in or out of your home. It is also important to keep in mind that you have to love what you are doing in order to be productive.

Business Opportunity provides detailed information on Business Opportunity, Internet Business Opportunity, Home Business Opportunity, Small Business Opportunity and more. Business Opportunity is affiliated with Business Valuation Software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Stith

Niche Marketing - Why It's So Important

By Kathryn Beach

"Say your target customers are everyone, and you will sell to no one."

If your website is not producing as much revenue as you'd like, chances are you're guilty of not targeting your audience sufficiently.

Today’s business environment is so competitive that a small business's best bet is to focus on developing niche products where there is less competition from large firms.

Take the online book market. Amazon.com dominates the field, so smaller start-ups are wise to focus on books in specific niches. There are sites for best sellers, out of print books, used books, Oprah's Books, teen books, 3-D popup books, e-books, Christian books, and so on and on. Imagine a small company trying to compete with Amazon's huge inventory and variety. Then imagine that same company aiming for more depth in a much smaller field.

Another reason for niche websites is because you want to get listed in the top 100 sites on any particular search engine. By making a website based around a highly focused niche you reduce considerably the number of competitors that you have. This makes it easier to rank well in the search engines (first 3 pages, or top 100 sites). Without a high Website ranking it is not possible to attract free search engine traffic and hence free visitors.

If you’re an affiliate that thinks big and joins dozens of programs, you’re in for a bit of a shock. Your site is indistinguishable from a myriad others, no one knows it exists, and you’re very lonely. Am I right?

You need to promote what you join, and it’s impossible to promote that many programs effectively. You won’t succeed at any of them, you’ll lose interest, and your business will disappear.

Instead, you need to focus on one thing that you love and create a lot of good content.

Everyone who has a website is constantly trying to improve their search engine rankings by carrying out optimization and getting inbound links etc. However one of the easiest ways is to create content that no one else has- unique content. Unique content written for an extremely focused niche market is a sure ticket to promotional success.

If your website contains your main keywords as well as a variety of related ones, used in a natural way throughout your pages, you will outperform your competition with fewer, less targeted pages. Using all these keywords throughout your pages also makes your content more interesting, rational, and satisfying. Imagine that...the question isn’t whether you simply occupy a niche, but how much obscure secret stuff you know about it, how much of an expert you are about it, how passionate you are about it, and if your site is interactive and fresh.

Yet another example of "build it and they will come."

Over 360 MILLION keywords are searched for daily, so there's plenty of room for everyone's niche!

Hop on over to Affiliate Marketing Tips where you'll find an expanding universe of small business promotional tools and tips you can use right away to build your business using smarter marketing. Plus a free Opt In Master Course to help you build your list, and so much more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Beach

4 Reasons Why Small Businesses Succeed (or Fail)

By Bob Normand

The American system of business management is admired and emulated around the world. The American system is characteristic of two positive traits in the American psyche: (1) enthusiasm for making things better for the future and (2) openness and willingness to change in order to achieve that end.

No society in the world is more prolific at creating new businesses than the United States capitalistic system. Often, however, as small businesses owners and managers, we are so busy starting new ventures and fighting daily fires that we don’t take the time to learn basic, successful management principles. These principles have been tested and proven by our larger companies over years of trial and error. They are readily available as a resource to the small business owner.

Many entrepreneurs are technical experts in the product or service they offer. The entrepreneur, however, often starts a business without any formal training or experience in the best management practices and principles. By “management” here we mean the business of successfully managing the non-technical side of the business, the “back room” activities. It is the “business of running the business”. As a result of inadequate or inattentive management, many small businesses fail in the early years. They fail not because of a weakness in their product or service concept, but because the business was not properly organized or managed.

Once a small business has emerged from the start-up phase, or grown to a certain level, management techniques must change or the business will inevitably run into trouble. Although situations vary widely, for many small businesses management crises start in the range of $1-3 million in annual sales or 5-15 employees. When management issue becomes critical, the owner or manager of a small business must evolve or change from a manager of things to a manager of people and from a technical expert to a strategic thinker.

Change is never easy, particularly for talented entrepreneurs who have ingrained habits developed over time. But failure to grow as a manager is a major, perhaps the major reason why a business will falter, stagnate or even collapse under its own weight.

But what have successful business owners developed have is missing in troubled businesses?

First of all, owners of successful businesses have developed personal characteristics that they were not necessarily born with and that reflect in their business organization:

• Invariably they have a positive attitude towards their business and life in general.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

• They are committed to their effort.

“The only place you’ll find success before work is in the dictionary.”
May B. Smith

• They are patient.

“Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage." Victor Kiam

• They are persistent.

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison

Secondly, the owners of successful businesses have developed a business blueprint called a Strategic Business Plan that clearly describes their business concept, their mission and their philosophy of business. In this document, they have set personal and corporate goals and set out specific time lines and strategies to achieve them.

Thirdly, successful business owners think of their employees as “associates”, a favorite descriptor used by Sam Walton and a more meaningful idea of a management/employee relationship. Successful owners view their associates as their most valuable asset and resource. Associates are gathered into an Organizational Structure that functions as a well-oiled machine. This structure, including all its policies and procedures, encourages associates to perform to their utmost capabilities and gives them the freedom to achieve, rewarding those who excel in proportion to their contributions and disciplining those who deviate from acceptable behavior. Positions, tasks, duties and responsibilities are defined and communicated routinely and performance is measured regularly. Training, job enrichment programs and incentive compensation plans are designed to encourage each associate to excel.

Fourth and last, the owners of successful businesses have developed Operational Support Systems. These may be financial or non-financial, manual or automated. The objective of these systems is to support and make efficient all the activities of the organization. Well structured, they also relieve management of many day to day routine activities, giving owners more time to be strategic thinkers. The information provided by these tracking systems provide critical information on sales, cash flow and other financial performance data so that senior management can take timely action as change occurs. Red flags appear early, before problems become unmanageable.

IN SUMMARY, THE FOUR KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ARE: (1) Owners have developed habits and traits that are Positive, Committed, Patient and Persistent. (2) A living Strategic Business Plan is in place. (3) An Organizational Structure has been developed that encourages people to be their best and allows them to do so. (4) Operational Support Systems are used that track performance and relieve senior management of daily detail yet supply them with critical data to manage the business.

Let’s go a littler deeper into what is meant by a Strategic Business Plan.

Successful businesses operate within a planned framework. A Strategic Business Plan is written for a minimum of three years or two years beyond the current budget year. The plan describes the company’s mission, analyzes corporate and marketing strengths, evaluates weaknesses and how they will be overcome. It identifies target markets and pricing strategies and describes strategic alliances that exist or will be pursued. The plan describes positions on any other issues seen as critical to the long term health or viability of the business.

“Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”
Effie Jones

Now let’s look a little deeper at what we mean by Organizational Structure.

The basic building blocks of organizational structure for a business are:

• An Organizational Chart, Job Descriptions, Task and Duty Lists, a Job Performance Evaluation System, an Employee Handbook, a Policies & Procedures Manual and an Incentive Compensation System.

When all of these organizational components are in place and being utilized routinely, the organization will have structure and purpose. Employees will feel they know where the company is going and what their role is in helping it get there. They will know the boundaries of what is expected as acceptable behavior and they will be aware that outstanding performance will be rewarded.

Now let’s look a little deeper at what we mean by Operating Support Systems.

Usually the most involved system for a small business is the Accounting System. This may be a relatively simple system such as QuickBooks® or Peachtree®. These systems are pre-designed and user-friendly and are particularly good for non-manufacturing businesses that simply buy and resell items. Also, they manage customers, vendors, accounts receivable and accounts payable very well. Finally, they have the capability of generating excellent managerial and financial reports, virtually in a minute or two.

No matter what the type of business, some type of accounting software package is needed that can capture daily transactions in a real-time environment and be easily operated by in-house personnel. In today’s fast paced business world, relying on an accountant to provide periodic statements of company performance several weeks or even months after the fact is not an acceptable strategy.

Other systems small businesses should have in place (typically these are automated Excel®-based systems):

• Cash Management, Annual/Monthly Budget with Variance Report, Labor Burden Tracking System, Job or Product Pricing System, Incentive Plan Distribution System, Break-Even Calculator and a Weekly Sales Reporter.

Even if you have none of these developed, the task is not as daunting as it may seem at first. Plug-in systems are available from a number of sources at modest cost and include backup training and support (one such source can be found at www.isbminc.com).

A business that has these four critical components in place stands a much higher probability of success than businesses that are not so equipped.

© Institute for Small Business Management, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Robert A. Normand is Executive Director of the Institute for Small Business Management (http://www.isbminc.com) and author of "Entreprenewal!, The Six Step Recovery Program for Small Business" (http://www.entreprenewal.com). Mr. Normand has served as principal management consultant for more than 100 businesses ranging from $500,000 to $50,000,000 in annual sales and has owned and operated several small businesses of his own in diverse industries. Mr. Normand’s small business philosophy is premised on the belief that small business management skills can be developed by busy entrepreneurs using readily available information, tools and procedures not found in business schools or formal degree programs. He can be reached by telephone at 941-330-0889 or by mail at 3751 Almeria Avenue, Suite A4, Sarasota, Florida 34239.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Normand

3 Reasons Why Internet Millionaires Make Money

By Jennifer Carter

Have you ever wondered “What would I do if I had a million dollars”? Would you be interested in learning from successful millionaires rather than taking your chances by buying a lottery ticket?

There are three success traits that you will find are the secrets behind successful millionaires.

Firstly, if you want to learn from the millionaires themselves, you will find a simple and easy to follow recipe for success. The best way to make a million dollars is to find a successful way to make one dollar – and do it again!

That’s right, most successful millionaires, and especially those who internet millionaires who make money, have done it by finding a successful formula and doing it again and again.

Take Brandon Dupsky, who reputedly earnt over $8 million by selling on eBay in 2005. He found a way to sell items of junk from his basement and applied that formula successfully to expand his business. Simple but clearly effective!

One of the reason's why he is so successful is because he didn't let his lack of knowledge stop him but started educating himself.

Secondly, another common trait amongst successful millionaires and the names of famous entrepreneurs, is that they find someone who believes in them and encourages them that they can succeed. They also are not deterred by apparent failure. For example, Edison tried and failed over 2000 times to find the right filament for his carbonized incandescant lightbulb.

Thirdly, they stopped dreaming, talking and wondering if it was possible and simply got started!

You can find out more on setting up your own successful home based internet business by signing up for a free 7 day course.

This article was submitted by Jennifer Carter, writer of How to become an Internet Millionaire.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Carter

Staying Positive When It Seems Impossible!

Allie Ochs

Staying Positive When It Seems Impossible
We all know the power of positive thinking. Yet, when the going gets tough, staying positive is a challenge. Your husband lost his job, your daughter failed her exams and the car needs a new transmission. That doesn�t even cover the migraine you had for days or your project deadline. Too much at once! You peak at this little book on your desk entitled: Pick Yourself Up And Go. Oh No! Not another book about positive thinking. This author has no idea what you are going through!

Why do once positive people fall victim to negativity when the forces work against them. Primarily, because they blame themselves when unfortunate circumstances pop up. We wonder how our thoughts and actions contributed to our present misery. If in fact our thoughts and actions were deciding factors, the more reason to stay positive from here on. We are what we think!

Thinking positively followed by positive actions is key to positive outcomes. Staying positive is a conscious decision and it is work. Staying positive is difficult when the world is caving in, but we must take the first step, even if we can�t see the whole stairway. Theorizing about being positive is never enough, instead we must act. Imagine you want to get in shape. Daydreaming about being on the treadmill, albeit a helpful vision, will not get you in shape. You must step up to the plate and do it! Staying positive is much the same. Turn the steps below into action. Don�t analyze - just do it and watch positive outcomes unfold:

Stay away from winners and complainers even if they are your best friends
Spend time with those who lift you up
Ask your friends and family for help
Make a list of 10 things that you like about yourself
If you can�t find sane people, go to a playground � children inspire like nothing else
Rescue a puppy from the pound � you won�t have time be negative
Avoid TV, in particular the news. Unless your life is in danger the world can wait
Read that little book on your desk and others (the authors do know)
Get in touch with God
Listen to inspiring music
Eat healthy food
Have fresh flowers
Keep up your exercise program or start one
Learn a new skill
Live in the now
No matter how terrible you feel, follow these steps. When you are at your worst do all of the above at once: Ask your best friend to clean your house, take your I-pod, roller-blade to the playground with your puppy behind you, build a sand castle with the kids. Return to a clean home, enjoy a healthy meal (don�t forget that glass of wine), download Spanish for dummies and get right into it. Call an inspiring friend, read the list of positives about you, and take an inspiring book to bed. You just did all in one day!

Staying positive is achieved by conditioning your mind with positive thoughts and actions. By being actively positive you will seek solutions instead of problems and increase your success rate at anything you do. Commit yourself to these steps above and allow the process to unfold.

Lines of trends, support and resistance

Tomas Anderson

The trendline. A trendline is a main initial element for the price chart analysis. While the market moves in any direction not along a straight line but along a zigzag, the mutual placement of upper and bottom points of those zigzags permits to plot a line connecting the significant highs (peaks) or the significant lows (troughs) of an appropriate zigzag using technical tools of the computer program.

To draw a trendline only two points are necessary and the third one is the contact point confirmation. On a bullish trend chart it should be drawn using troughs, on a bearish � using peaks. The trendline and a line which is about parallel to it and drawn on the opposite side (through peaks on a bullish trend and through troughs on a bearish) form the trade channel. Both lines are then channel�s borders.

Lines of support and resistance. The upper and the bottom borders of trade channels are called accordingly support and resistance lines. The peaks represent the price levels at which the selling pressure exceeds the buying pressure. They are known as resistance levels. The troughs, on the other hand, represent the levels at which the selling pressure succumbs to the buying pressure. They are called support levels. In an uptrend, the consecutive support and resistance levels must exceed each other respectively. The reverse is true in a downtrend. Although minor exceptions are acceptable, these failures should be considered as warning signals for trend changing.

The significance of trends is a function of time and volume. The longer the prices bounce off the support and resistance levels, the more significant the trend becomes. Trading volume is also very important, especially at the critical support and resistance levels. When the currency bounces off these levels under heavy volume, the significance of the trend increases.

The importance of support and resistance levels goes beyond their original functions. If these levels are convincingly penetrated, they tend to turn into just the opposite. A firm support level, once it is penetrated on heavy volume, will likely turn into a strong resistance level. Conversely, a strong resistance turns into a firm support after being penetrated. In general, to evaluate the reliability (that is the possibility of a break) of the trade channel borders taking a decision to close or to save an existing position one should govern himself with following rules:

1. A channel is the more reliable the longer it exists. Hence, the �solidity� of very old channels (e.g. existing more than 1 year) decreased sharply.
2. A channel is the more reliable the more is his width (�It takes time to break channel�).
3. The resistance may be broken if it is bounced on the background of a growing volume (�It takes volume to break resistance�).
4. A steep channel is less reliable in compare to a gentle one.
5. The support may be broken independent on the volume (�under own weight�).

The Meaning of Life

by: Keith McGregor

During my spiritual development process I have often asked during my guided meditations, what the meaning of life is.

While doing my meditation exercises using my downloadable meditations, spirit gave me lots of small ideas to put together. The messages I have been given have been spread apart but very easy to place together. I have taken this opportunity to gather them together completely for the first time and offer them to you as simply as I can.

Our journey begins before birth. We decide what lessons we are going to learn on the earth plane, what we are going to go through and what our objectives are.

You see, in spirit, our true home, when we are feeling or experiencing an emotion it takes only a split second. It is simply a thought; but here, on the earth plane, we feel everything so intensely. We experience pain and love, heartbreak and anger with such power it is felt through our organic body and it can last for years.

Once we have decided and agreed on our life path and which lessons we are going to endeavour to fulfill on the earth plane, we are ready for the most traumatic thing that will ever happen to us. WE ARE CONCEIVED. We start our new organic lives squashed into the 8 basics cells of life and then over the months we grow in a dark and wet place without understanding, as all our knowledge of the universe and past lives have been hidden from us in our primal cells of life. We begin a new journey.

Yet we have not got even close to taking the biggest step on the journey! One day, when we are extremely squashed and uncomfortable in our vessel that carries and nurtures us, the vessel begins to squeeze us and push us down a short tunnel. It pushes us over and over again until we explode out of our comfort zone into a cold, bright, noisy environment where we are very afraid and have to learn new things immediately. We need to learn how to breathe.

We have arrived, yet we are helpless and unable to do much. We have to learn it all. We have to learn everything again and over the next 7 years we learn the basics we need to proceed along our long journey. The lessons that we need to learn here on the earth plane are those of emotions and feelings. If we can master the way we deal with emotions and situations on the earth plane, then when we are back in the universe, we have far more understanding of our simplest thoughts and feelings.

So for those of you whose lives have had their ups and downs, (and I know it is all of you) those ups and downs are simply the lessons of life that you need to learn and experience. Don’t think of them as good and bad, but think of them as easy and difficult learning experiences. Remember the more you learn whilst here on the earth plane, the more you are going to give back to the universe and increase your spiritual vibration and universal understanding.

And don’t forget, although some of us will suffer long difficult lessons before we go back to our spirit home, when we pass over back to our normal state of existence in the spirit realms, it only takes a second to go from organically alive back to our spiritual selves.

Hence the meaning of life is to feel and deal with your emotions. What I have learnt from this is to accept my emotions and welcome them, no matter how difficult they may be. There seems to be lots of understanding when you work on your spiritual growth.

Ideal Marketing Methods for Home-Based Businesses

By Vishal P. Rao (c) 2003

What is the difference between a small business that makes it and one that does not? Most likely, the one that was successful engaged in some effective marketing. Wise marketing is critical for owners of home-based businesses for a number of reasons:

1. Marketing keeps you ahead of the competition
2. Marketing brings you a steady stream of revenue
3. Marketing provides leads for future sales
4. Marketing helps increase awareness about your business

Marketing is not something you just jump into, however. It requires careful examination and evaluation. Not every method, after all, will lead to the benefits mentioned above.

When it comes to selecting the methods you use with your business, remember to keep in mind your target audience and your budget, then start narrowing the list of possibilities. You may also want to try a few of these marketing methods which have been proven effective for other home-based businesses:

Affiliate Programs

Almost all home-based businesses can work with an affiliate program. With this type of program, you recruit other people to sell your products/services and reward them with a percentage of the revenue (usually 3 to 10%).

The mechanics of these programs works like a restaurant franchise. Because your recruits are now associated with your company's name, you want to be sure that they are maintaining your standards of quality and professionalism, so many affiliate programs include ready-made web sites, sales materials, and more.

These recruits then attempt to make sales on your behalf. The benefit is that all of their marketing efforts (beyond what you provide) are not part of your business's expenses, and they have the potential to reach new segments of potential clients and customers.

Giveaways

This type of marketing is one of the most popular with all businesses and can be handled in at least two ways: free gifts with a purchase and/or contests.

You have probably come across ads or web sites that sell e-books or other products and offer a number of free gifts with the purchase of the product. The lure of freebies helps people make the decision to purchase. You can do the same thing with your product or service. Keep in mind that whatever you offer as a free gift should be inexpensive to produce so that you don't lose money on the deal.


Contests

Contests can also be quite effective if done creatively. For example, if your business was selling e-books, you could hold a contest with the grand prize being a free copy of one of your top-selling e-books.

But what about second place? Many people don't realize that there's no rule or law against giving a prize to every person who enters your contest so why not reward all of the other people who entered with a significant discount on the price of that same e-book? Many of those second place winners will take the discount and make a purchase.

Search Engine Optimization

If you do any business online, an important part of your marketing efforts should be search engine optimization or SEO. SEO essentially means that you tweak your site so that it appears near the top of search engine results for certain keywords.

Generally this involves repeating those keywords frequently and placing keywords in headlines, meta tags, and introductory paragraphs. While it may sound easy, most businesses turn their SEO efforts over to professionals. If bringing an expert in fits your marketing budget, you may want to enlist their assistance.

Referral Reward Programs

Another type of program aimed at bringing people to your site is a type of referral reward program. During the Internet boom, many sites had these type of programs which paid a few cents for each person who visited a site from a link listed at your site or through some other means.

Now, however, they simply are not as popular, but they can still be beneficial. Instead of offering a cash reward, allow your customers to earn your products/services by referring new business to you.

For example, you may want to offer a free e-book to customers who refer five new customers to your site. These new customers may have to make a purchase, join the referral reward program, become a member, or sign up for the newsletter. People will do a great deal if the reward is right.

Whether you elect to use one of these marketing methods or choose one of your own, the key is to test its effectiveness. Try it out for awhile and see if the results are satisfactory. If not, return to the drawing board. If so, then implement it on a larger scale. With careful planning and testing, your business will experience the benefits of marketing firsthand.

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About The Author

Vishal P. Rao is the editor of Home Based Business Opportunities - A website dedicated to opportunities, ideas and resources to make money from home. Visit him at: http://Home-Based-Business-Opportunities.com

How to Get Started for Free?

By Audra Gehrke (DCW Member)

Is it really possible to start your own online business for free?

Absolutely!

When first starting out, you really should use all of the free resources that are available to you. Even if you do have money to spend, use the free stuff first.

Why?

Do you like to waste your hard earned money? I didn't think so.

Your walking into a whole new world and you need to learn about it before you start spending your money. Remember the term, try it then buy it? Use
this term before you spend one penny. In the long run this will save you Hundreds, if not Thousands of dollars.

So how can you get started for free?

1. First, you have to think of what it is you want to do on here. What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing? Don't be so quick as to come up with an answer. Give yourself a few days to really think about what you really want to do for the rest of your life. Then when you find your answer, you can begin your adventure.

2. Now that you know what you want to do, now you have to find other websites and ezines related to your topic. Go surfing around and look at other websites that are related to your content. As you get new ideas, write
them down the moment you think of them. Really focus on the content and not the design of the websites. Next you need to go to some ezine directories and subscribe to a few ezines related to your topic. Read these ezines as you receive them, take in the info they provide, go take a look at some of the links they provided for you, and keep writing down your ideas.

To search for a specific topic your looking for, go to any search engine and put in a keyword. Then a list of websites will popup and you can go surfing. Here's a few ezine directories I use to find ezines I'm looking
for.

http://www.ezinelocater.com/
http://ezinesplus.com/
http://www.zineadz.com/
http://www.makingprofit.com/
http://www.homeincome.com/
http://www.diysearch.com/

3. Now you have your topic and some related content. Next you need to make a web-page. Even if it's just one page, make it. Don't worry about what it looks like at first. This is your first time trying this so just add your content, upload it, then edit as necessary.

Tip: Don't use to many graphics, it slows down the loading process dramatically. Use text links instead of graphics where possible. And watch your colors. If you can, use the white background with black text. Don't use a light color for text and a dark color for your background. It really puts a strain on our eyes so try and stick with traditional colors.

If you need a free host for your page, I recommend using Tripod. Includes extras other free hosts don't offer. http://www.tripod.com No html required.

4. Now that you have your web-page up, you need to start advertising it to get some visitors. I don't care what anyone says, ezines are the best places for advertising. Not only can you target your market but you can get your ad seen by thousands for a very small cost. There are ezines that accept free ads so if your low on money, this will be your best bet. Participate in the contests provided for even more free advertising. Free ads do work but the paid ads work better. Once you learn the things you need to learn, then you can start buying some ads. Don't fret, ezines offer some incredible deals
to advertisers at incredible prices.

I really do Not recommend posting to hundreds of free classified and FFA sites. Yes, they used to work but just like in the real world, things do change. Don't waste your time on things that don't work. Use the tools that are Proven to work and then you'll see results. Your time is precious and you should treat it as such.

The only classified site I still use after 4 years is Adlandpro. You can submit your free ad and they also offer paid ads as low as $5. I also Highly suggest
signing up for their affiliate program. This gives you your own classifieds and now you can offer that to your visitors. You can signup for free here:
http://ecommerce-resources.org/adlandpro.html

5. I've seen some sites that say if you don't have anything to sell, then signup at Clickbank and resell their products. This goes against what I believe which is try it before you resell it. If your really serious about having your own business, save yourself a lot of headaches and just buy a product or 2. Go look for something you can use yourself and buy it. There's plenty of products out there that cost $20 or below. Give up just one night out and there's your money for the products. That's such a small sacrifice to pay but you would be surprised how many people Won't do that. We all have to sacrifice something to get what we want but if we want it bad enough, then a sacrifice is a small price to pay. Especially if it's one of your dreams. Don't
let Nothing hold you back.

6. If you really don't have a few bucks to spend then what I recommend is you learning about one specific topic. It can be anything you want, just learn it and understand it. Once you've learned about that one topic, then start writing about it. Open up Notepad and type away. Don't worry about errors, just write what your feeling. Let it flow out of you as it comes. Once your finished, read it from top to bottom. Did you understand it? Did it make sense to you? Do you know of anyone that can benefit from it? Of course you do! Now you have your Special Report to either sell, or giveaway and you now also have your Own product.

7. Now that your website is up and you've begun your advertising, it's time to think about how your going to start building your own opt-in list. Why do you need such a list? Well who exactly did you plan on selling your products and services to? What better way to keep your visitors updated on new products or services added? If you want this business to work for the long term for you, your going to need your own list. There's just no other way around this if you really want to be successful.

This is where your own ezine or newsletter comes in. There's not to much of a difference between the two other than, a newsletter is more of a way to keep visitors updated on the latest happening for that website. A ezine provides more resources and content. What do you base your ezine
around? The same thing your website is based around. It can be whatever your heart desires. Your job is to provide resourceful content to your visitors and readers. That's why I said go subscribe to a few ezines earlier. You can
get your ideas from reading others. Don't copycat, come up with your own. Experiment and try different things. Believe me, the more knowledgeable you become, the more changes you will make.

You can start your ezine for free using these services:

http://www.topica.com
http://www.yahoogroups.com

8. More stuff to do I hear you say. If you don't have anything to do, then your not working. There's Always something to do when it comes to online business. Feeling bored? Then go learn something new. There are No boundaries when it comes to the internet. The doors are wide open just waiting for you to walk through them and discover something new.

I just showed you how you can get started for free in this business. Now it's your choice what you do with this information. Are you really ready to do this? Are you afraid it might not work? Don't you think I was scared out of my wits when I first started? Man I was horrified! But look at me now. Now all I do is try and help others. Do you think I thought I would be here writing an article like this? I had no idea what was ahead. I just gave it a shot, stuck with it and here I am.

It's scary because it's something new to you. You've never done this before so being scared is a Normal feeling. What you must do if you want to move forward is overcome those fears. Instead of being afraid of something, look at it in a different perspective. Think of it as a new journey you really want to learn about. You are a strong person and you can do this if it's really what you want. The only thing holding you back is You. Don't let You stand in the way of what could be, let You walk through the doors and experience this awesome thing they call Life.

Last but not least, if you have a question then by all means, Ask it. I can't tell you how many people I've come across who just gave up all because of something simple they were afraid to ask. If we never asked anything, we would never learn anything. Believe me, there's plenty of people out there who would be more than willing to help you if you just take the time to ask. Ask and you shall receive!

Wishing you the Best,
Audra

********************************************************************

Audra Gehrke is the owner of Ecommerce Resources:
http://www.ecommerce-resources.org & she's also the
publisher of Ecommerce Resources Ezine:
http://www.ecommerce-resources.org/e-zine.html & the
Author of: http://www.ecommerce-resources.org/guide.html

*******************************************************************


 

Tips on Investing Small Amounts of Money

There are many different suggestions about how you should invest your money. Most of the advice that is given is based on professional experience and opinion. If you are new to investing, and if you have only a small amount of money to invest then you need to select an investment strategy that will maximize the value of your small investment capital and that will also minimize your risk.

Diversify Your Portfolio

One of the most commonly given piece of advice about investing is to diversify your portfolio. Diversification helps to reduce the risks of losing all of your money if a single industry takes a turn for the worse, or if a single company takes a turn for the worse. The easiest way to diversify your portfolio when investing in small amounts is to buy mutual funds. Mutual funds come pre-diversified.
Know Your Investment Style

Knowing your investment style is another important factor that you will want to take into consideration when investing your small investment capital. If you want to play it safe then you may want to consider investing in bonds. On the other hand, if you want to take more risks with your investment capital then you may want to try investing in penny stocks.
Find Affordable Investment Methods

In addition to taking into consideration the type of investment that you should make, small time investors also need to find an affordable method of investing. Most brokers and online investment services require minimum orders and charge commissions or per trade fees that exceed $15 per trade. These fees can really cut into your investment capital, especially when you may only have $100 to work with at any one time. If you will be investing in small amounts then you will want to use an online investment service like Sharebuilder that doesn’t require a minimum account balance, and that also charges a reasonable per trade fee.

http://www.dotcomwomen.com/biz/money/investing-small-amounts.shtml

3 Simple Principles of Financial Decision Making

Tracy Piercy

A successful investor friend of mine recently invited me to hear a well-known tax professional speak on strategies to minimize your tax bill. The presenter spoke for an hour about simple strategies, and then he offered the audience an opportunity to purchase what he described as a "no brainer" strategy. The detailed overview of the program (complete with video footage) seemed fabulous - particularly when he included the added incentive "if we signed up before Friday".

A sales pitch with information attached

This situation is repeated over and over again - sometimes in financial terms, sometimes in retail, or other similar environments (ever watched an infomercial?) Basically, it's a sales pitch, with some good information attached. This time it was a group setting, but it can also be found in a one-on-one with a financial professional, or even with your neighbour. It could also be offered to you in written or other media format by an unknown third party. These opportunities come up almost every day, but the bottom line is always the same: how do we decide if this is really the answer to our prayers, the road to riches, or simply a sales pitch and someone's opinion?

Take the stress out of financial decisions

I am not going to offer an evaluation of this specific opportunity; rather I'll use it as an example to help you take the stress out of making financial decisions. I originally developed these principles while working with securities regulators to update their program on avoiding investment fraud. They are: KNOW YOURSELF; KNOW YOUR ADVISOR; KNOW YOUR INVESTMENT.

Know Yourself

Your most important decision making criteria is to understand your motivation for being interested in the first place. What do you expect to learn? What are your hopes, desires, and incentives that you want this strategy to address? You must know what you expect, and then you must know why you have that expectation!

I went to this presentation because I am looking for ways to save tax; because I am always on the lookout for different and creative financial strategies; because I respect my friend's position as a professional investor and wanted to learn more about something he believed in; and I wanted to hear the speaker. My motivation was simple: I really, really, really don't want to end up with a big tax bill this year. Also, in my profession I am frequently asked about different investment strategies - not just ones that I recommend, but others that are available in the marketplace. I feel I have a professional responsibility to learn what I can about what's available - good or bad.

Know Your Advisor

The next check point in making financial decisions is to learn about the person making the offer to you: How do they get paid? What is their background? What is their expertise and experience? How well do they know you, your goals, your situation, and your background?

In my example, I knew of the speaker, and my friend is someone I can talk with openly about our personal finances. He has a strong investment background and I am a professional advisor. But, if my husband and I had gone by ourselves, then we would have wanted to ask someone else what they thought of the strategy for us, and if our advisor wasn't at the meeting, or had no previous experience with this type of program, then we would be left on our own to make the decision or left to interpret his opinion of the strategy, and our goals.

Know Your Investment

Finally, the financial decision process moves to the specific investment or strategy itself. This is always where people get bogged down because they focus on one aspect of the program: usually rate of return or tax. This is where presenters can bring in emotional elements into the discussion. Yes, we all know that a higher return is better than a lower one, and less tax is better than more, but�there are many more important considerations to make first!!! The return and tax aspects become important only after everything else is in place. First, consider your overall investment philosophy, what the product is, what your exit strategy will be, and how long you plan to hold the investment.

Not every solution will work for you

For us, the strategy could work with our situation, goals and experience. However, many people who attended the meeting feeling likely felt that this was something they "should" do but weren't sure. There would also have been people there who decided to participate in the program because they were caught up in the excitement, without being fully aware of all the details. The presenter used smooth presentation skills to convey the strategy and given the circumstances, he could have raised some red flags for people hearing the message for the first time. He certainly created a feeling of pressure to act right away, emphasized the great tax advantages, and introduced a concept that would be new and different for most people.

Remember to "do your homework"

That doesn't mean that the strategy or investment is automatically bad, it simply means you have to do some homework before you make your decision. In fact, the sort of due diligence that you would perform in making a decision to participate in something new is really the same criteria you need to consider in all financial decisions. It is so easy to get complacent and comfortable with the same message, and therefore forge ahead because it is familiar - not necessarily because it is right, good, or even appropriate - only because it is familiar.

Be aware of your emotions

The point to this example is to learn to become aware of your emotions when making decisions. There are many simple, practical strategies that can be used to make logical, sound, strategic financial decisions. When you take out your emotions and put it some "real" criteria, then you can make decisions confidently and be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that can really make a difference in your financial life!!

You can learn how to make profitable financial decisions, and as your knowledge increases so will the opportunities. Start with the knowledge you have and make a commitment to learn. There are so many resources available - the alternative is to continue to second guess or struggle financially, when it is absolutely not necessary!!

7 Ways To Educate Yourself

Trudy Van Buskirk

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." � Henry Ford

Educating yourself is probably something you did to start your business and don�t do now. You may think you don�t have time for it since you�re too �busy� with your existing clients or finding new ones. The truth is that you should never stop learning (whether you own a business or not) because it has been shown in countless studies that it keeps you young.

Research and Development or education doesn�t have to take much time nor even be formal like courses that give you letters. It doesn�t have to cost a lot either. Like marketing, a little bit can be done every day.

Here�s the way you can educate yourself � painfree.

1. Learn to read and understand your financials and all analysis (your website and your newsletter) of your business. You don�t have to become an accountant or a web designer or any kind of �techie� to do this.

2. Read magazines for small business. These always have an article to teach you something. Look at the ads and see what others are doing. They could be your competition or even your clients. If the writer or advertiser is a client then you have a reason to email them and stay in touch.

3. Subscribe to and read email newsletters. There are at least three kinds � those with topics you want to learn about, your competition�s, and your client�s. You always want to be learning or keeping up. You want to see what your competitors are doing. You want to learn what your client is doing. Remember that these can be just online versions of the magazine. Do similar things here but check out the links they suggest, too.

4. Read newspapers. Many of these are going away and being made available online, you never know what you�ll learn in them. Do the same things as you did in #2 with magazines.

5. Read books. This may seem like using �old� technology but it really works. Some people (like me) love to read. In fact, we are even known to read the cereal box in the morning! You can buy or borrow books in countless ways. Go into a bookstore to browse, get a book from one of the online bookstores, borrow from someone else (just be sure you return it) or go to the library. Yes, they still exist and people use them.

6. Participate in teleclasses. These are seminars by phone. Be sure of two things � have cheap long distance and know what kind of teleclass you�re taking. Some are at no charge but have advertisements in them and some cost money. Decide if it�s something you want to learn and it�s at a time you can listen.

Many teleclasses are recorded so even if you have something else at the same time, you can download the recording to your computer� if you sign up.

7. Attend live seminars to get new ideas and skills and to network with the others present. You may or may not have the time or money so put one in your budget for next year and go.

All of these activities can take up a lot of your time so know how much you�ll do of each one daily.

Put time and money in your plan under R&D (or education). Do some every week.

2008 � Trudy Van Buskirk � Smallbizbuilder

Trudy Van Buskirk, entrepreneur and founder of Smallbizbuilder, has been helping small business owners be better marketers since 1980 and publishes a free ezine full of valuable marketing tips, resources, and books designed to create business success. Go to her website at www.smallbizbuilder.com to sign up and learn more!