Real Entrepreneur

the CEO of Women From India No 1 in America

2011-01-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

It uses the sari at the job interview, not being able to buy work clothes.

Not a new thing for a woman running a business. But a 'businesswoman'influential certainly not many women can achieve it.
One influential woman is Indra Nooyi, who ranked first of 50 most powerfulwomen in business by Fortune Magazine. He beat the other influential womenbusiness executives in the United States.
So, who really Indra Nooyi?

Indra Nooyi is Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, food and beverage companies of the world. Some business units namely Quaker Pepsi, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana, and Gatorade, and making food packaging in 200 countries. With revenues of U.S. $ 60 billion, Pepsi Co. employs 285 thousand people around the world.

Nooyi was the primary architect of PepsiCo's growth strategy. He served as Chairman and CEO on October 1, 2006. She designed the company's global strategy more than a decade and led the restructuring, including the divestment of restaurants YUM! be successful, the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats.

Before becoming CEO, he became president and Chief Financial Officer from 2001. He is responsible for starting of finance, strategy, business processes, enterprise and innovation platform.

He graduated from Madras Christian Colleh, menapat an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, and a Master of Public and Private Management from Yale University.

But the real struggle of the mother of two daughters is truly extraordinary.Nooyi was born in Madras India 1955 is growing among the middle class and mendobarak conservative rule.
He joined the women's cricket team, he also even play the guitar in his band who are all women at the time studying at Madras Christian College. After earning his bachelor degree in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, he went to register at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta.

After working at several companies in India, he then moved to America to study in the United States, and was accepted at Yale University Graduate School of Management in New Haven. Surprisingly, her parents agreed and let her move to America. In fact, in 1978, never heard that an Indian girl studying to fly far across the country.

To fight in America, he had worked as a receptionist at night. He claimed to do all the work in the summer by using sari cloth not being able to buy clothes. Even when he went to interview at a prestigious business consulting firm, he uses the sari fabric because it can not afford a suit of clothes.

In America he worked for a prestigious consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group in 1980, and various projects for international companies, he worked to Motorola in 1986 and became a senior executive. Leadership makes it ogled by the Head of General Electric CEO Jack Welch and PepsiCo's Wayne Calloway, but he chose to work at Pepsi.

He then became the main determinant of Pepsi's strategy. He is not simply urging PepsiCo rebuild their identity and assets, but he was also influential in a number of important decisions. He made a deal negotiator with a high level. Pepsi then decided to separate the restaurant division in 1997, and make KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell into a separate company.

He also became the chief deal maker for two important acquisitions of Tropicana orange juice companies buy U.S. $ 3.3 billion in 1998 and Quaker Oats for U.S. $ 14 billion.

With that success, Nooyi was promoted to chief financial officer in 2000.That is the highest position among Indian women in American companies. A year later, he was given the title president.

Sutardja, U.S. billionaire Indonesian Origin

2011-01-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Sehat Sutardja regarded as one of the pioneers of the modernsemiconductor era.

Chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association, Erwin Aksa,was inspired by a number of Indonesian businessmen who are in the UnitedStates. Erwin said that one of the Indonesian-born businessman was able to build a business empire in the U.S. until beromzet tens of trillions of rupiah.

"We did not expect that many Indonesian citizens who become entrepreneursin America," said Erwin Aksa in Jakarta, late last week.Is Sehat Sutardja, which meant that businessmen. He is one of the founders of Marvell Technology Group Ltd., which manufactures semi-conductor company in Silicon Valley, California, United States. Current position as president and chief corporate executive (CEO) of the company.

The man was born in Jakarta 49 years ago was regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern semiconductor era. Breakthrough has a lot to change the electronics industry. The chip that used to only store data, now turned into a high-performance chips. Chip with low power, the central control of the global market for mobile computing devices and telephone communication devices.

Spirits in the electronic world started small. At age 13, he has become a certified radio technician. At that time, he also has succeeded in designing components and radio systems.
The spirit of relentless innovation, he has provided more than 150 patents.Now his name has been registered as a member at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a non-profit professional organization whose members include experts telecommunications, computer networks, electrical, aerospace, and electronics. In 2006, the Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association recognizes Sutardja as Inventor of the Year.

Sutardja has been a proponent of energy efficiency standards for electrical goods home. She has even worked with the government of the United States and China to establish performance standards of efficiency which can result in significant cost savings and carbon reduction.

Sutardja received a Master of Science degree and a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State.
In 2007, Forbes placed him as the world's richest people to 891. Her wealth at that time amounted to U.S. $ 1 billion, or about Rp 9 trillion.

Personal Branding

2010-11-26T06:12:00.001-08:00

We will start this article with a word "branding". One word that has a very broad sense. Not many people understand what the meaning of branding and the process of its formation.

According to the dictionary, "brand" means a brand, but branding is a process that is more than just a brand. "Branding" is the process of forming a perception that without us knowing it, our everyday life with the brand, even closer than we think. Visual is one important element in branding. Usually done by a visual stage designer. Just like us, using software tools (software) computer, manually using drawing tools or use other supporting equipment. But, in fact everyone-not just graphic designers, interior, buildings, landscaping, even you are a designer. Why is that? "Work design" what ever we earn?

Even maybe some of us can not use computer design software or draw well.The work is us sendiri.Setiap person is the brand, visual stage of the process brandingnya starts from what we wear, dresses, pants, hairstyles, glasses, big body. Up to things that are not related to visual as said words, speech, behavior, thought patterns, the way we eat, and so forth. This is called personal branding.

Then what affect personal branding? At least there are two things that we can see: the internal aspect (ourselves), that is what we want others to think about when seeing this and know ourselves kita.Hal can be very personal, could also have a specific goal to achieve something. External aspects (environment around us), that is what the perception that comes to mind when people see and know ourselves.

If the internal and external aspects can we synchronize, personal branding success with sukses.Tetapi if what other people think is not the same as what we want, nothing wrong with personal branding process in which we live.

Personal Branding in Business World

In the business world, the perception we want to create (internal) must be appropriate and relevant to the market segment that we want to go (external). This means may be perceptions that we create our identity is not real, but part of a strategy for the market segment.

For example, the pronunciation of certain words or phrases that became a trademark (trade mark) we are in the business world even though in everyday we never say a word or phrase. Some examples of cases of personal branding in the business world:

1. The use of individual name as a brand. When someone has a very strong perception in the public mind, the name of the person there who made a name brand such as the television show "The Oprah", "Kick Andy", or "Dorce Show"; and Paris Hilton perfume brand.

2. Use the name or the figure of the individual as a brand endorser. This was mostly done by the sports industry such as Nike and Adidas by hiring famous sports stars in their communication. Or in other brand products, this certainly has a certain period.

3. Building trust in an industry. Although individual names not be used as a brand name or endorser, by hearing the name alone, can establish a trust without seeing that person is on which company. Excess personal branding becomes the name of or endorser of a brand is if the individual has a good perception, which represented the brand will also increase its strength, of course, also applies vice versa.

Personal branding as an endorser is more secure because it has a contract period, but requires investment to continue to seek endorseryang appropriate. (*)

Scooping Lucky Seven Ways of Gold Investment

2010-11-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Gold Investments offers an excellent way for investors to store wealth during difficult economic times. Gold metal is much more stable than other forms of investment.

Currently, gold prices surged after investor concerns center on the economy of the United States. Demand for gold continues to rise because investors are more confident to hold gold rather than cash.

See, in the past year, gold prices soared to 30 percent. In September 2009, the price of gold is still below U.S. $ 1000 per ounce (28.35 grams), is now approaching U.S. $ 1,300. In fact this is the highest figure of all time.

Shaun Connell, a blogger who also wrote seven financial investors how to invest in this precious metal. This paper is published DoughRoller.net, site management companies and financial investment in the United States.Referring to the article, VIVAnews reformulate the gold investment tips tailored to conditions in Indonesia.

1. Gold bullion
Investors who invest in gold would choose gold bullion. Gold bullion is considered valid if its purity reached 22-24 carats. In Indonesia, gold can be purchased at PT Aneka Tambang Tbk and the Precious Metals division Pawnshop. You can transact online through logammulia.com or contact phone number 021-299 80 900.

Gold bullion consists of various sizes, ranging from 25 grams, 50 grams, 100 grams, and 1 kilogram. Gold in this form is suitable for facilities investment. Wherever whenever we want to sell, its value is still adhering to international standards.

2. Gold deposits
You may not want to store the physical gold in the house because of the risk of theft. For this reason, gold can be stored in safety box at a bank or another. Or if you see bullionvault.com, this company provides gold transactions at once to save it.

3. Mutual fund gold
Gold mutual funds are another way to invest in this precious metal. You need not actually holding physical gold, but you can take the benefits.

Mutual funds are not only gold is usually invested in physical gold trading, but also transactions involving shares of gold mining companies. Before determining the investment in this fund, management fees, fund expenses, and net asset value should be considered.
Consult with financial advisors mutual fund providers. Mutual funds may provide stability of gold in your investment, but physical gold is much more stable. However, in Indonesia, gold mutual funds seems not quite popular.

4. Shares of gold mining
Investors who want to invest in gold without having the physical metals can also choose this type. You can buy shares in gold mining companies.Investors expect stock prices rise because of gold mining companies gold prices rose. However, these two events are not always congruent.

Investors can determine the success of the stock by examining the cost of gold production costs versus the price of gold. If the gold price is U.S. $ 700 per ounce and the cost to produce gold is U.S. $ 300, then the gold mine of profit margin is $ 400.

If the price of gold rose 10 percent, there will be increasing profits bonanza that about 20 percent. Conversely, falling prices will also result in a decrease of 20 percent. Therefore, some gold mining companies protect their investment with the gold price hedging the next 18 months. In Indonesia, one of the issuers in the gold mines are PT Aneka Tambang Tbk.

5. Gold ETF
Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) are mutual funds traded on stock exchanges.You can do this transaction with gold-based mutual funds. Unfortunately ETF investment in Indonesia is not going well.

6. Gold futures
Gold futures is another way of investing in gold without having physical gold.Buying and selling gold-term contract with a specific need. The price is also stated in the contract. If the gold price on the date the contract is higher than the gold price when the contract is made, then the investor will make a profit.However, if the price is lower, the investor will lose money.

Investing in gold futures may be a risky investment, because investors have to predict the movement of gold prices in the future.

7. Jewelry and gold coins
Gold coins, especially the rare, highly valued in the investment. It's not just because the value of gold but also because of the scarcity value. Meanwhile, gold jewelry is a common way of investing in this metal. Gold jewelry to choose from as well as investment and lifestyle.

Unfortunately, very little advantage of this investment. Because when you buy jewelry, money that you pay is made up for the price of gold, the cost of manufacture, design, and brand. Meanwhile, when sold, you only get the value of gold alone.

Opprah Winfrey : Wanita Kaya Dunia Bermodal "Dengkul"

2010-11-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

This is a big year for talk show queen Oprah Winfrey who announced it would end his talk show this season. Oprah will launch its own television network featuring top celebrities such as Rosie O'Donnell, Julia Roberts, Sarah Ferguson, and Gayle King.

In the midst of plans to end his talk show, Oprah's wealth would increasingly accumulate. Forbes Magazine, Monday, October 25, 2010, stated in the past year Oprah receive revenues of U.S. $ 315 million and U.S. $ 1.35 billion in the last five years.
Oprah's wealth Forbes estimates is worth U.S. $ 2.7 billion, up U.S. $ 400 million from last year. No wonder if Oprah became one of the 42 women included in the list of world's 400 richest people.

Indeed, Oprah is ranked 15th among American women, but he was rich by building a capital "knee". Achieving that is difficult because only four of 42 women, or 1 percent of the world's 400 richest people.

Term capital "knee" is often used for business or business practitioners who start a business from scratch. Not the family legacy business.

The three other women who pioneered the business with a capital "knee" is the owner of the Gap Doris Fisher, owner of ABC Supply Diane Hendricks, and eBay founder Meg Whitman. Diane Hendricks was originally started the business with her husband, but her husband died before they succeed.

The rest, 38 of the world's richest woman is the heir of the family business empires. Family giant retailer Wal-Mart for example, could produce four of the world's richest women, one of which Christy Walton.

Wife of John Walton, who died in a plane crash in 2005 is the richest woman with a net worth of $ 24 billion (Rp216 trillion). He was ranked the world's fourth-richest man after Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Larry Ellison

Marissa Mayer: Young Executive, Beautiful, Brilliant from Google

2010-11-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

SUCCSES SOTRY OF: MARISSA MAYER
He was only 35 years. However, this beautiful woman has a remarkable achievement is amazing. Recently, Fortune magazine crowned him in the ranks of 40 young business stars of the most shining.

He's not a normal woman. Although he was only three chief, Marissa Mayer - its complete name - has a job and a pretty big responsibility on Google, the largest search engine in cyberspace.

Marissa began to join in 1999 as the first female engineer. Now, Marissa occupy a new position focusing on new product development related to the location search service and local business booming.
This effort could help Google to attract more advertising from the shops and restaurants. Moreover, more than 90 percent of company revenue comes from online advertising.

Previously, he served as vice president of Google to Search Products & User Experience. He led the division related to the products web search, images, news, books, products, maps, Google Earth, Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Health, Google Labs, to Google Chrome, internet browser and operating system is challenging Microsoft's Windows.

"Marissa has provided extraordinary kontrobusi search product in a decade. We are pleased with the variety of input," said Google's official statement as quoted by Bloomberg recently.

Now, Marissa is developing a new product that is more focused on search services and the location of local business booming. This effort could help Google to attract more advertising from the shops and restaurants.Moreover, more than 90 percent of company revenue comes from online advertising.

According to Google's records, this energetic young woman is not just direct the appearance and function of the Google search engine, but also play a role in more than 100 products through Google. His efforts have included designing and developing Google's search engine, translation sites more than 100 languages, and in charge of Google News and Gmail. Several patents have been filed on the product.

In the midst of busy life, Marissa had time to teach introductory computer programming classes at Stanford for more than 3,000 students. In his spare time, Marissa organizes Google Movies.

Marissa has been widely known figure and is often featured in various media. He entered the top 10 leaders of the future versions of Newsweek and a list of 50 Most Powerful Women Fortune. New York Times said he was the figure of a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy, successful, fashionable, and friendly.

Marissa received a bachelor's degree in symbolic systems and a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University. He also holds an honorary doctorate of engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

8 Advise from Warren Buffet, the world's richest man

2010-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

The following is an interview she had done with CNBC. In the interview some very interesting aspects of his life: He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
1. Encourage your children to invest

2. Encourage your children to start some kind of business

3. Don’t buy more than what you “really need” and encourage your children to do and think the same

4. You are what you are

5. Always think how you can accomplish things economically

6. Assign the right people to the right jobs

7. Set goals and make sure people focus on them

8. Don’t try to show off, just be your self and do what you enjoy doing

40 Mans Who Inspired Changed The Internet

2010-11-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

The world has become tightly connected since the internet. The web itself has replaced the practice of reading newspaper. Most of us now communicate through e-mails instead of paper and pen. We now watch networks or movies online, it has even become a wide business venture, so much so we can now make purchase and pay our bills through the internet. The web has also transformed friendships through various social media. It also provides us the possibility to reconnect with people from our childhood and it can be a life changing event.

Read more: Having a great idea is one thing. Turning that idea into a booming company through innovation and execution is what that matters most. Here, these are the people who have the biggest impact on the direction of the web: past, present, and future. They changed the internet and revolutionized the way we lead our lives today. Just imagine the world without internet. You can’t because it has become our daily life.

Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn

Father of the Internet.

The Father of Internet Vint Cerf, together with Bob Kahn created the TCP/IP suite of communication protocols. a language used by computers to talk to each other in a network. Vint Cerf once said that the internet is just a mirror of the population and spam is a side effect of a free service.

Tim Berners-Lee

Inventor of WWW.

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. He wrote the first web client and server and designed a way to create links, or hypertext, amid different pieces of online information. He now maintains standards for the web and continues to refine its design as a director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Ray Tomlinson

Father of Email.

Programmer Ray Tomlinson, the Father of Email made it possible to exchange messages between machines in diverse locations; between universities, across continents, and oceans. He came up with the “@” symbol format for e-mail addresses. Today, more than a billion people around the world type @ sign every day.

Michael Hart

The birth of eBooks.

Michael Hart started the birth of eBooks and breaks down the bars of ignorance and illiteracy. He created the Project Gutenberg and was considered world’s first electronic library that changed the way we read. The collection includes public domain works and copyrighted works with express permission.

Gary Thuerk

The first Email spam.

Spamming is an old marketing technique. Gary Thuerk, sent his first mass e-mailing to customers over the Arpanet for Digital’s new T-series of VAX systems. What he didn’t realize at the time was that he had sent the world’s first spam.

Scott Fahlman

The first emoticon.

Scott Fahlman is credited with originating the first ASCII-based smiley emoticon, which he thought would help to distinguish between posts that should be taken humorously and those of a more serious nature. Now, everybody uses them in messenger programs, chat rooms, and e-mail.

Marc Andreessen

Netscape Navigator. (wikipedia)

Marc Andreessen revolutionized Internet navigation. He came up with first widely used Web browser called Mosaic which was later commercialised as the Netscape Navigator. Marc Andreessen is also co-founder and chairman of Ning and an investor in several startups including Digg, Plazes, and Twitter.

Jarkko Oikarinen

Internet Relay Chat, IRC. (wikipedia)

Jarkko Oikarinen developed the first real-time online chat tool in Finland known as Internet Relay Chat. IRC’s fame took off in 1991. When Iraq invaded Kuwait and radio and TV signals were shut down, thanks to IRC though up-to-date information was able to be distribute.

Robert Tappan Morris

First Worm Virus.

The concept of a worm virus is unique compare to the conventional hacking. Instead of getting into a network themselves, they send a small program they have coded to do the job. From this concept, Robert Tappan Morris created the Morris Worm. It’s one of the very first worm viruses to be sent out over the internet that inadvertently caused many thousands of dollars worth of damage and “loss of productivity” when it was released in the late 80s.

David Bohnett

Geocities. (wikipedia)

David Bohnett founded GeoCities in 1994, together with John Rezner. It grew to become the largest community on the Internet. He pioneered and championed the concept of providing free home pages to everyone on the web. The company shut down the service on October 27, 2009.

Ward Cunningham

The first Wiki.

American programmer Ward Cunningham developed the first wiki as a way to let people collaborate, create and edit online pages together. Cunningham named the wiki after the Hawaiian word for “quick.”

Sabeer Bhatia

Hotmail. (wikipedia)

Sabeer Bhatia founded Hotmail in which the uppercase letters spelling out HTML-the language used to write the base of a webpage. He got in the news when he sold the free e-mailing service , Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million. He was awarded the “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Draper Fisher Jurvertson in 1998 and was noted by TIME as one of the “People to Watch” in international business in 2002. His most exciting acquisition of 2009 was Jaxtyr which he believes is set to overtake Skype in terms of free global calling.

Matt Drudge

The Drudge Report. (wikipedia)

Matt Drudge started the news aggregation website The Drudge Report. It gained popularity when he was the first outlet to break the news that later became the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Google. (wikipedia)

Larry Page and Sergey Brin changed the way we search and use the Internet. They worked as a seamless team at the top of the search giant. Their company grew rapidly every year since it began. Page and Brin started with their own funds, but the site quickly outgrew their own existing resources. They later obtain private investments through Stanford. Larry Page, Sergey Brin and their company Google, continue to favor engineering over business.

Bill Gates

Microsoft. (wikipedia)

Bill Gates founded the software company called “Micro-Soft”. a combination of “microcomputer software.” Later on, Bill Gates developed a new GUI (Graphical User Interface) for a disk operating system. He called this new style Windows. He has all but accomplished his famous mission statement, to put “a computer on every desk and in every home”. at least in developed countries.

Steve Jobs

Apple. (wikipedia)

Steve Jobs innovative idea of a personal computer led him into revolutionizing the computer hardware and software industry. The Apple founder changed the way we work, play and communicate. He made simple and uncluttered web design stylish. The story of Apple and Steve Jobs is about determination, creative genius, pursuit of innovation with passion and purpose.

David Filo and Jerry Yang

Yahoo. (wikipedia)

David Filo and Jerry Yang started Yahoo! as a pastime and evolved into a universal brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information and purchase things. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle,” but Filo and Yang insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: “rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.”

Brad Fitzpatrick

LiveJournal. (wikipedia)

Brad Fitzpatrick created LiveJournal, one of the earliest blogging platforms. He is seen on the Internet under the nickname bradfitz. He is also the author of a variety of free software projects such as memcached, used on LiveJournal, Facebook and YouTube. LiveJournal continues today as an online community where people can share updates on their lives via diaries and blogs. Members connect by creating a “friends list” that links to their pals’ recent entries.

Shawn Fanning

Napster. (wikipedia)

Shawn Fanning developed Napster, a peer-to-peer file-sharing program designed to let music fans find and trade music. Users put whatever files they were willing to share with others into special directories on their hard drives. The service had more than 25 million users at its peak in 2001, and was shut down after a series of high-profile lawsuits, not before helping to spark the digital music revolution now dominated by Apple. Napster has since been rebranded and acquired by Roxio.

Peter Thiel

Paypal. (wikipedia)

Peter Thiel is one of many Web luminaries associated with PayPal. PayPal had enabled people to transfer money to each other instantly. PayPal began giving a small group of developers access to its code, allowing them to work with its super-sophisticated transaction framework. Peter Thiel cofounded PayPal at age 31 and sold it to eBay four years later for $1.5 billion.

Pierre Morad Omidyar

Ebay. (wikipedia)

Pierre Omidyar set up an online marketplace that brought buyers and sellers together as never before, and pioneered the concept of quantifying the trustworthiness of an anonymous user. In building his auction empire, Omidyar counted on the power of the individual. Omidyar’s greatest strength is his insight into human nature. He understood that people would buy just about anything. one man’s junk is, in fact, another’s treasure.

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia. (wikipedia)

Jimmy Wales founded the world’s largest encyclopaedia which carries articles that can easily be edited by anyone who can access the website. It was launched in 2001 and is currently the most popular general reference work on the Internet.

Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake.

Flickr. (wikipedia)

Photosharing website has become a part of everyday online life for millions of people. Stewart Butterfield, who with his wife Caterina Fake created Flickr that was born out of an online multi-player game that seemed to sum up everything the Web 2.0 people were trying to do. Flickr came along with an idea that you no longer had an album. Instead, you had a photo stream. Yahoo later on acquired Flickr in 2005.

Jonathan Abrams

Friendster. (wikipedia)

Jonathan Abrams built Friendster, together with Cris Emmanuel, offering many tools to help members find dates. He took the idea from Match.com. It’s the first social network to hit the big time and go mainstream. Members create profiles listing favorite movies and books (and dating status) and link up to friends, who linked to their friends, and so on.

Niklas Zennstrom

Skype. (wikipedia)

Niklas Zennstrom co-founded the fastest growing communications trend in history called Skype. It offered consumers worldwide a free software for making superior-quality calls using their computer and expanded its offering for Linux, MAC & PC and mobile/ handheld devices.

Bram Cohen

Bit Torrent. (wikipedia)

If Napster started the first generation of file sharing , Bram Cohen changed the face of file sharing by developing BitTorrent which has a massive following of users almost instantly. It uses the Golden Rule principle: the faster you upload, the faster you are allowed to download. BitTorrent breaks up files into many little portions, and as soon as a user has a piece, they instantly start uploading that part to other users. So almost everybody who is sharing a given file is simultaneously uploading and downloading pieces of the same file.

Reid Hoffman

LinkedIn. (wikipedia)

Reid Hoffman, a former executive vice president at PayPal, created LinkedIn as a professional social network allowing registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. Members can search for jobs, trade resumes, find new hires and keep up with the competition.

Matt Mullenweg

WordPress. (wikipedia)

Matt Mullenweg founded the world’s most used open source blogging and the greatest boon to freedom of expression known as WordPress. Some of the most popular websites run on WordPress are Techcrunch, Huffingtonpost, Mashable and more.

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim

Youtube. (wikipedia)

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim met as early employees at PayPal. They later started the internet’s most popular video-sharing site YouTube which is broadcasting more than 100 million short videos daily on myriad subjects. When creating YouTube, the three divided work based on skills: Chad Hurley designed the site’s interface and logo. Steve Chen and Jawed Karim divide technical duties making the site work. They later split management tasks, based on strengths and interests: Chad Hurley became CEO; Steve Chen, Chief Technology Officer. A year and a half later, Google acquired YouTube for a deal worth $1.65 billion in stock.

Craig Newmark

Craigslist. (wikipedia)

Craig Newmark started a site that dramatically altered the classified advertising universe called Craiglist. It was an object of fear for newspapers who felt threatened by the free-for-all classified advertising site. It began as an e-mail list for Newmark’s friends in the Bay Area. Since then, it has grown into an online database for classified ads for those seeking everything from housing to romance.

Julian Assange

WikiLeaks. (wikipedia)

Julian Assange founded a website dedicated to publishing classified documents stolen from around the world. He designed an advanced software for the Wikileaks shielding the identities of the thieves who steal these documents by completely erasing their identities before spreading the stolen documents to servers ‘all over the world’. As a result, no one can trace who’s given him what or when. The site depicts itself as the “uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis” and has developed to be regarded as the most extensive and safest stage for whistleblowers to leak to.

Dick Costolo

FeedBurner. (wikipedia)

People generally check their preferred sites every now and then to see if there’s anything new. FeedBurner founder Dick Costolo created a news aggregator that automatically downloads an update that is visible in the places that interest you. An RSS feed, short for Really Simple Syndication, delivers those latest bits of media from their creator’s website to your computer. FeedBurner was later acquired by Google in 2007. Currently, Dick Costolo is Twitter’s Chief Operating Officer making twitter the next generation RSS.

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook. (wikipedia)

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook to help students in universities keep in touch with friends. The “status update” started its rebirth in Facebook, where user after user tell their extended network of trusted friends what they’re doing. They also show off photos, upload videos, chat, make friends, meet old ones, join causes, groups, have fun and throw virtual sheep at one another. The site, which is believed to have 500 million registered users worldwide, has only four remaining countries left to conquer: Russia, Japan, China and Korea, according to Zuckerberg. Facebook is now twice as huge as Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace.

Jack Dorsey

Twitter. (wikipedia)

Jack Dorsey created Twitter to allow friends and family know what he was doing. The world’s fastest-growing communications medium let users broadcast their thoughts in 140 characters or less and repost someone else’s informative or amusing message to their own Twitter followers by Retweeting. No one thought people would want to follow strangers, or that celebrities would use Twitter to tell fans of their activities, or that businesses would use Twitter to announce discounts or launch new products.

Bonus: 3 More…

Christopher Poole

4chan message board. (wikipedia)

Christopher Poole, known online as “Moot,” started a message board called 4chan where people are free to be wrong. Unlike most web forums, 4chan does not have a registration system, allowing users to post anonymously. Moot believes in the value of multiple identities, including anonymity, in contrast to the merge of online and real-world identities occurring on Facebook and many other social networking sites.

Joshua Schachter

Delicious. (wikipedia)

Del.icio.us is a more sophisticated multiuser version of Muxway, wherein his first implementation of tags. Joshua Schachter began del.icio.us as a way for people to store and share their favorite Web-browsing bookmarks online. Instead of organizing them himself, or even creating a standard taxonomy of categories, Schachter used something called user tagging-people simply labeled the bookmarks by any name they wanted, and eventually the group as a whole effectively voted on them by either adopting those tags themselves or rejecting them. And now del.icio.us has been gobbled up by Yahoo, which hopes to extend the tagging principle to all sorts of its services.

Jeff Bezos

Amazon. (wikipedia)

Jeff Bezos founded the world’s biggest online store known as Amazon, which was originally named Cadabra Inc. He made online shopping faster and more personal than a trip to the local store. The company now introduced Kindle allowing readers to download books and other written materials and read them on this handheld device.

Top 10 Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

2009-11-14T22:18:00.001-08:00

If you are looking to become that next successful entrepreneur, consider what other entrepreneurs have found as they worked through their transformation into a successful business person. Not every entrepreneur has used all of the following ideas, but most will acknowledge their importance in getting to where you would like to be in business.

Set goals

This idea may sound a bit obvious but it is ignored quite often in the excitement of getting a business started. You need to have an idea of where you would like to end-up with your business idea. In this way, you can begin to set intermediate goals that will get you to the end goal. Your intermediate goals may start with a daily task list that ends with the successful completion of a more prominent goal a few weeks down the road. As these intermediate goal successes pile up your ultimate goal is one step closer. Baby steps are the words here.

Know your market

Education is power can be taken to heart in building a business. You are sure to attract and recruit good people along the way, but you still need to have a good idea about how things in the market you are tapping work and why. Take classes, talk to others in the field and fall down a few times on your own so you learn the "hard way."

Look through the clutter for good ideas

One of the skills that you will need to learn is how to sift through all the clutter that you will inevitably run into during your busy days. Some people just have the knacks of sorting through the static, but starting out, keep your baby steps in mind and what is needed to meet them. If the clutter is getting in the way of achieving that baby step ignore it, but keep it in mind for future reference.

Build relationships and tap the pain

If people are not helping you along your path they are potential sales. Understanding why these people want to buy your product or service is critical (how will this product make a persons life easier or better?) What pain drives them to need the product or service you are offering? Developing a pain list is a real priority even before you get going.

Taking a leap of faith

When it comes right down to it, you are going to need a bottle of aspirin. At some point every entrepreneur needs to be able to step off the edge and go-for-it. In some instances this may entail money commitment, in others time commitment. At some point all successful business people make that fatal decision of "all or nothing."

Spend wisely

Making the "all or nothing" leap of faith does not mean that successful business people are foolish with their hard earned capital. Every successful entrepreneur has a different perception of how to go about allocating capital, but all indicate that money is not water. If a large capital expenditure is needed they say that they are prepared to make it, but only after prudent research.

Reinvest in yourself

As business begins to take off most successful business people indicate that putting profits back into the business before paying yourself a kings ransom is the way to go. You want to make sure to pay yourself but make sure you pay the company until a fairly stable financial structure has been formed. After this has been achieved, pay yourself a bit better understanding that expansion of the business will also take capital.

Passion, focus and sticking at it

Belief goes a very long way in starting a new business. If you believe in your ideas others will tend to follow. Passion will sustain you as well, during those dark times when more things then you would like aren't going well. Unless you are extremely lucky, the process of getting a business off the ground is tough so you need to be able to stick with it.

Use smart people

Every single successful person in the world today will tell you that having smart people around you is the only way to go when starting and maintaining a new business. In most cases, these same people will also indicate that the people around them are smarter then they are. Remember also that this idea works all along the manufacturing and management spectrum. A shipping clerk will undoubtedly have a few good ideas that you had never thought of. Hiring wisely and being able to listen to those you are paying is a good idea.

Recognize the perception of the customer

Being able to understand the customer is a very important part of starting a new business. You are, after all, selling to them. If you do not recognize their needs how are you to sell to them? Once you recognize these needs working at communicating at their level is important. This takes time, but it is a necessity.

10 Ways to Discover if You are an Entrepreneur

2009-11-14T22:17:00.001-08:00

Take The Entrepreneurial Challenge:

Have you ever wondered if you would make a great entrepreneur? If so, then I want you to take the Entrepreneurial Challenge. In this test you will discover the characteristic that entrepreneurs have that make us successful in life, and remember that most of us started out by just recognizing that we where different or desired a change from the normal boring and unstable lives that we were living.

Take the challenge, but I am warning you if you rank 90-100% on this test and discover that you are a born entrepreneur, you will never be the same again. This awareness of your true calling will change your life forever, and until you do something about it you will crave entrepreneurial freedom even if it is the last thing you do!

Complete The Entrepreneurial Challenge At Your Own Risk

Yes or No.

Are you a self starter?

Yes or No.

Do you enjoy the feeling of success?

Yes or No.

Can you lead others on subjects that you know well?

Yes or No.

Can you take charge and be the person who always gets things done?

Yes or No.

Do you feel that you are not being challenged enough and/or that you have more to offer?

6. Yes or No.

Do you always wonder if there is more to life than your job, and/or cannot see yourself working as an employee forever?

7. Yes or No.

Do you ever wish that you had more money to spend and/or want to live a better lifestyle?

8. Yes or No.

Can you finish what you have started if you are passionate about the things that you are doing?

9. Yes or No.

Are you a person of your word, and always follow through with what you commit to?

10. Yes or No.

Are you ready for a change and sick and tired of making other people wealthy?

Add up the number of Yes answers in the Entrepreneurial Challenge.

If you have scored less than 5, you are not quite ready to move forward and need some more time to discover your desires.

If you have scored between 6 and 8, but answered Yes on question 10, then you are ready to move forward slowly with proper guidance.

If you have scored 9 or higher than you are ready right now to change your life, get educated on the opportunities that are out there for you, and swiftly begin transforming into an entrepreneur.

Remember that being an entrepreneur is only a decision of character for someone who wants a better life.

5 Qualities Of A Good Entrepreneur

2009-11-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

All over the Internet there are entrepreneurs looking to make riches with their own business. While there is tremendous potential to have success online, it is not the type of industry that everyone can succeed with. Here are five qualities of a good entrepreneur.

1. Determination
Running an online business is certainly more difficult than most people understand. Many believe they can get online and start making money instantly. While there are some opportunities that give you the chance to make a few bucks here and there instantly, it takes a great deal of effort and determination to actually start a career online. You have to be willing to devote your time and energy toward the business.

2. Focus
One of the most difficult things to get used to as an Internet newbie is the endless amount of freedom you are given. You have no one to tell you what to do, when to do it by or how to do it. It is up to you to remain focused and put aside the countless distractions you will face from working at home.

3. Excitement
Next on the list for qualities of a good entrepreneur is excitement. The wonderful thing about the Internet is you get to do something you have an interest in and enjoy. Therefore, show it in how you run your business. People are much more willing to listen to you and pursue your business if they see how excited you really are to be running it.

4. Eagerness
Part of determination is being eager to succeed. You have to want to make money online in order to actually succeed. Be willing to do anything and everything you can to generate that first sell and reach your goals. The more eager you are, the harder you will find yourself working to achieve your goals.

5. Patience
When first starting out, there is nothing more difficult than investing a great deal of time and seeing little results. What you have to understand is that it takes time to generate traffic. It takes time to create that first sell. And it certainly takes time to create a regular flow of traffic and customers. Whatever you do, do not give up just because you are not rich after the first month. You have to be patient.

When it comes to having success on the Internet, these are a few qualities of a good entrepreneur. Not everyone has what it takes to make money online and get rich; in fact, not even half of those who try actually succeed. If you want to make it in the Internet industry, you have to possess the true qualities of an Internet marketer.

21 Internet Marketing Success Steps

2009-11-14T22:12:00.000-08:00

Like others in the upper echelons of Internet marketing and affiliate marketing, I'm asked one question by Internet marketing and affiliate marketing 'newbies' more often than any other:

"I can't seem to make money online - What am I doing wrong?"

When my Internet marketing mentoring students ask me that, I can give them a detailed breakdown specific to their online operations - but they're paying top dollars for my time investment, and I only mentor those who already have a viable presence online. So what about those new to Internet marketing - what advice can we offer them?

Time constraints prevent anyone from checking into the current operations of everyone starting out in Internet marketing, and after 11 years of being online full time it's easy to forget how frustrating even the simplest of Internet marketing activities can be to the neophyte.

So in response I put together this list of '21 Internet Marketing Success Steps' to try and help guide both those new to Internet marketing and those with some Internet marketing experience who find their online marketing profits stalled or declining.

Pretty much ALL Internet Marketing success breaks down very similar to:

Basics:

1) Choose affiliate or your own products;
2) Build some type of web presence for it;
3) Get targeted eyeballs to that page or blog post;
4) Start building your list from those targeted visitors;
5) Use every free method to bring more people to the site;
6) Use your list to bring people back to the site and to new sites;

Intermediate:

7) Add related backend offers to your site;
8) Set up an affiliate program and get others pushing your site;
9) Put about 30% of what's coming in back into getting more visitors;
10) Participate in giveaways to build your list and visitor numbers;
11) Find related products for new sites and do 1 - 10 with them too;
12) Attend live IM events, for knowledge but mostly for networking;
13) Convert related PLR resources to unique products to put online;

Advanced:

14) Set up a backend linking all your sites together & automate the processes;
15) Build e-mail e-courses to make available in each niche/area you cover;
16) Outsource much of your visitor acquisition;
17) Do Joint Ventures with other advanced Internet Marketers;
18) Outsource your product creation;
19) Evaluate and improve your automated backend efforts;
20) Speak at industry events & seminars;
21) Give back - mentor others to help them achieve their dreams.

For most people starting out it's safe to assume the following as averages other Internet marketing newbies have achieved...

First sale: 2 - 6 months.
First steady trickle of sales: 4 - 12 months.
Full Time Earnings: 2 - 5 years.

Those Internet marketing timelines can be influenced up or down by the amount of time and money you can put in, your background experience, your focus, and mostly by the amount of concentrated, continual effort you put into following your plan in a tightly-focused manner.

The 3 Biggest Biz-Killers...

1) Lack of focus (too many different, unrelated activities).
2) Giving up too soon (lack of perseverance).
3) Half-hearted effort (It takes a lot of time and/or a lot of money - you have to be willing to invest one or the other (or both) on a constant basis for the first few years at least. Everyone I've met at our level or above has a passionate commitment to their Internet marketing business.)

Do an honest appraisal of your Internet marketing efforts to date. Are you following the above steps in order, or jumping around? Starting at #1, how far into the list can you go, confident you're performing that task diligently?

Re-evaluate your plans based on what that tells you, and use that current limitation as the guide to what you need to learn more about, to focus on more, to put more effort into - and to eliminate anything else you're doing that is straining your focus and your money and time constraints.

Decide what your goals are online. A few extra bucks? A steady inflow to help with the mortgage or to get a new car or a cottage? Enough to do this full time? Or sustaining a level that lets you achieve all your dreams and desires?

Each level is being achieved right now by people online - just know which you're after so you can gauge the amount of time and effort you have to commit to your desired level of Internet marketing success.

Don't be swayed by stories of meteorical rises online - while they do happen, they're extremely rare. Usually they don't make all the details public - I know a lot of 'overnight successes' who spent 3-5 or more years in the trenches first - just no one knows that. And others who put 6 or 7 figures into their Internet marketing businesses before you first heard of them.

And watch out for people who had one or two big launches 3, 5 or 10 years ago and are still teaching that same system - Internet marketing practices change too quickly and too drastically for that info to still be accurate. When evaluating advice you get on Internet marketing, always think to yourself:

"Yes, but what have they done lately?"

If the answer is 'nothing new in the last 6 months', take the advice with a grain of salt and stay focused on your own path, only using the bits from it that fit in with your own Internet marketing strategy.

After all, only YOU know where YOUR biz is right now, and what YOUR end goals are, right?

The best advice I've seen in this biz is to focus on making your first buck. Not a lot, just your first buck. Achieving that shows it can be done. Then focus on making one more. That shows it wasn't a fluke - it can be repeated over and over successfully.

That eliminates one of the biggest stumbling blocks to building your own Internet marketing business by showing that a) it can be done, and b) YOU can do it. Then just use the 21 Internet marketing Success Steps above to build your business by continually repeating that process in larger volume for larger returns, and you're on your way!

Can I build a work-at-home career if I'm unemployed?

2009-11-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

We've all seen the figures. Right now in our country we're facing a 10.2% unemployment rate. That number speaks volumes. What happens when income that you had coming in every week suddenly stops? Sure, we all know we should have saved for such an event, but many Americans are barely getting by. And experts say that the 10.2% is really just the icing on the cake. Many more have faced having their hours cut, having to take more days off, etc. So, what are your options? Can working from home somehow help?

First, consider if this is the time to start a home-based business. Perhaps you have been thinking about this for a while and just never had the opportunity. God might just be opening the door for you and telling you the time is right. Explore the options available to you. Remember the key to success: Match your skills, experience and passion with a business that allows you to use these. Do something that you enjoy doing and feel that you can be good at.

Second, think through what can you do to earn a second income. Take into consideration the things that you already have work experience or skills in. What hobbies do you enjoy? Can one of them be turned into a business? For example, look into virtual assisting. If you excel at administrative tasks, web design, bookkeeping, publicity, social networking, etc., this could be a fabulous business for you or a great second income.

Third, honestly evaluate your situation. Make a plan that allows you to work during the time you have available. If you still need to be searching for full-time employment, build that into your schedule. Think through the hours that you will have available each day. If you have small children at home you will need to decide if you will work around their schedule or try to find someone to help care for them. If your children are school-age try to make the most of the hours they are away from home.

Fourth, make task lists for each day or week and work through them to help keep you on track. Distractions abound when you work from home. You will need to be self-motivated and a self-starter. With no boss to keep you accountable and no one to assign tasks, it will all be up to you. For many this spells freedom, but for others it's a struggle. It may help to find some way to reward yourself at the end of the day for a job well done.

All of these options can be useful when trying to build an income from home or begin a home-based businesses. Consider ideas that you have quickly discounted in the past. How about direct sales? Especially with the holidays approaching consider contacting some companies and seeing what they offer. How about an online shop? Remember, this can just be a temporary thing. Yes, you might have to work harder now, but the peace of mind of paying the bills will far outweigh having to put in those extra hours.

Take heart. The unemployment rate will get better and soon be a distant memory. But in the meantime, hopefully these tips will help you make extra money for you and your family.

Ideas to Help You Start a Business

2009-11-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

As a business owner, I know how frustrating it can be to have a strong desire to run your own successful business, but not know where to start. You might have a picture in your head of working at home on your own schedule and not working the usual nine-to-five like most other Americans. But how do you get there? How can you start a company which will provide enough income where you can quit your current job and focus on your own company? While there is not a simple answer to any of these questions, provided in this article are ideas which can help you think of ideas for a successful business.

The first idea is to look at products around you and think about if any of them can be improved. For example, many people have made millions of dollars by improving every day items which most people do not pay much attention to. For example, look at your common desk items such as scissors, pencils and pens, and the computer mouse. I never thought scissors and pencils could really be improved upon their current designs, but recently I have seen scissors which fit into the palm of your hand and pencils which have finger grips and shapes which mold into the palm of the hand to make writing and cutting paper easier. Computer mice have also undergone much development since their introduction decades ago. Originally mice were just rounded pieces of plastic with an annoying cord attached. Now, mice have shapes which fit nicely into the underside of your hand with rubber grips and use wireless USB ports to eliminate the use of cords. Take a look around; maybe your cooking utensils or your remote controls are not designed with ergonomics in mind.

Another way to start a company is to look at a successful product on the market and create your own version of it. There are thousands of products that are highly profitable and control a large portion of the market, but there is always room for another competitor. Take candles for example, maybe there is a company which is responsible for twenty percent of the market’s sales of candles. Twenty percent could mean that the company sells ten million candles a year. If you have an idea for a different type of candle or even a candle which comes in a unique container, then you could still produce it and make money. If you only sell 10,000 candles a year, then you can still make a nice profit. You may not be able to quit your day job, but you can legitimately say that you have your own successful business. Maybe you only control 0.5 percent of the market, but you are starting to make a name for your company and making money too. Plus, if the larger company notices that you are making a name, maybe they will make an offer to buy your company! The possibilities are limitless.

A third way to start your own business, and perhaps the most interesting, is to think of a way in which your life is lacking, and fix it. To clarify, think of something annoying or difficult in your life that you wish could be different. Maybe you dislike how your universal remote control is extremely confusing or how you can never see where your key inserts into your car door when it is dark outside. If you see these situations as problematic, then you can be assured that thousands if not millions of other people are in the same situation. If everyone is experiencing the problem and there is no current solution available, then you should get to work on it. Try making a remote with the fewest number of buttons possible that people old and young can use. Or create a key with a push button light built into the side so you can see where to put the key late at night. There are millions of simple problems that have simple solutions; all you need to do is think about how your life could be better and you could make millions in the process.

While there are numerous ways to make large sums of money, it is up to you to be creative and do something no one else has done before. Whether you improve on a current product, create a product similar to an existing one, or think of a product to improve your life and lives across the world, there are tons of possibilities waiting on you. If you turn on your television sometime and watch a money channel, chances are you will see success stories of ordinary people who have become millionaires by creating and selling silly products. If these people can make millions off selling such ridiculous products which there was no market for before, then you can too. It does not take overwhelming brains to make tons of money; it just takes a good idea and the desire to never quit until you find success.

5 traits of a successful entrepreneur

2009-11-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

If you brought ten entrepreneurs together to ask them to make a list of the five most important traits of a successful entrepreneur they would probably finish up with eleven lists. Entrepreneurs don’t like predictability and arriving at simplistic answers. However, if you read each of those eleven lists, I think you would find the following traits on a lot of those lists.

1. Vision
One of the first attributes of all successful entrepreneurs is having a clear vision. The evidence of that is easy to see from the most successful companies – Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson and Johnson, and so it goes on. If you’re an existing entrepreneur, what made you start the journey of being a business owner? Make sure you haven’t moved away from that. If you have, find it again and re-focus your long term goals.

2. Plan
When was the last time you revisited your business plan, sales and marketing plan, communication plan and productivity plan. Too many plans? Most businesses take seven to 10 years to be “successful.” Success is not an overnight event. It may arrive quickly but it may arrive quickly because of the blood, sweat and tears it took to get there.

3. Keep it real
… and in perspective. It’s not your imagination that sales are down, customers don’t seem as happy as they used to be, employees are worried but as an entrepreneur “keep it real” till the dust settles and you can get back to it.

4. People
I would suggest that no entrepreneur has been successful on their own. It would be equally true, that all successful entrepreneurs developed to a very high degree, the ability to communicate and inspire a team that they led. I would suggest this is even truer today because of the many layers to running a successful business. The many layers of legal, accounting, sales, marketing and technology prevent one person from doing them all. However, they do not prevent one person from hiring the brightest and best and building them into a powerful team.

5. No is a word – not a destination
Keep looking for people to buy your product or service. In a challenged economy they will be less and you are going to have to ask more people to get a yes. That’s what sales is all about so keep selling.

And probably the one trait you will see on all the lists is – never give up.

Earning Money With Passive Income

2009-11-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

The economy is in bad shape at the moment. Unemployment is up, the stock market is down and the financial credit crisis and housing markets are in turmoil.

Now the good news.

There are a few different ways for you to make money and the best part about it is that you won't have to do much after the initial set up. This type of income is called passive income. or residual income.

What is passive income? It's income that you earn without have to do anything, or a limited amount, once the initial work is done. It's your money working for you instead of the other way around. Most people think of passive income as in the stock market with your money growing over time without you really doing anything. Interest on any bank accounts or investment vehicle is also considered passive income.

Another type of passive income is owning and operating vending machines. Granted, there is some involvement from you in regards to reloading the machines, but basically you don't have to be involved to have someone buy merchandise and make money from the sale.

Many people looking for passive income are looking toward the internet for ideas. The internet has become such a money maker for so many people. John Chow, Darren Rowse and Courtney Tuttle are just a few that have made their living from passive income in the form of the internet. Building a website around a particular theme where you can get a steady flow of traffic from, can attract companies to advertise on your site. Amazon.com has an affiliate program that you can add on to your site where you can make passive income.

One of the best ways that I've been able to make an income from is real estate. My wife and I have bought several rental properties at a great price that have been bringing in income since day one. At this time we are looking for some more great deals since the housing market has been beaten up and the prices have come down so much more. With a lot of people losing their homes to foreclosure, the need for rental properties have hit an unbelievable level.

So if you're one of the many that are struggling to make ends meet and are not able to get another job or even a decent raise, then you might want to think about passive income.

make $700-1000 per day from your home

2009-11-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

Starting the Smartphone and 3G

Smartphones were introduced just a few years ago, and are now considered as a staple device in 3G among individuals from all over the globe. There are several features and applications that you have to know about to invest in the right product. There are so many gadgets now available in stores and web sites. Prices will vary depending on the brand, tools and manufacturer. Here are more details about the smartphone.

Describing the Phone,.. Read more @ http://www.3giphone-aps.com

A smartphone is a mobile phone unit that provides advanced and modern capabilities, usually with PC-like functions. The smartphone has no industry standard definition. For a number of people, a smartphone is a cellular unit that operates a full operating system software, giving a standard platform and interface for developers of applications.

For other people, a smartphone is just a regular cellular phone with very modern features such as the internet, email and ebook reader capacities. There are also other features such as external USB keyboard, a built-in full keyboard and VGA connector. It is simply a small computer with a 3G phone capacity. The rest of the mobile phone market has been outgrown by smartphones. These gadgets have big screens, open operating systems, powerful processors and abundant memories.

Agreements in the Industry

There is truly no real meaning or definition of the smartphone in the industry. The descriptions have changed significantly over time. Smartphones according to a number of experts are a lot different from regular mobile units in a couple of basic ways, namely what these can do and how these are built. Other meanings apply various stresses on the two factors.

As far as smartphones are concerned, it is only a matter of evolving from one phone to the most recent. The real device at a certain period may even become smaller in size, thereby losing its essence or being as a phone. The device might be referred to as integrated. The device may be considered as invisible as possible between the things the consumer has and what he or she wants to do.

The Operating System

A lot of devices that consider smartphones at present use a very identifiable operating system, usually with the capacity to add applications for the purposes of entertainment, enhanced data processing and connectivity. These are significantly better compared to regular phones that only support starter applications such as Java games. The 3G smartphone applications may be enhanced by the creators of the tool, via the network operator or by other software developers from the third party, because the operating system is open.

On the Features @ http://www.3giphone-aps.com

In the case of features, a lot of smartphones back up full featured email capacities having the functionality of a full personal organizer. Other functionalities may involve an added interface like a small QWERTY keyboard, a built-in camera, a D-pad or touch screen, an accelerometer, contact management, the capacity to read business documents in different formats like Microsoft Office and PDF, a touch screen or a D-pad, media software for playing music, viewing video clips and photos, internet browsers and even just safe access to company mail.

A basic feature among many 3G smartphones is a contact list with the ability to keep as many contacts as possible that the memory permits, compared to standard phones with a limit to the highest number of contacts that can be kept.

The Truth Behind the entrepreneur

2009-11-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

If you are about to start off in business you will have no doubt heard these comments:

“So many businesses fail. Why are you doing this?”

“I hear that you need a large amount of money to get a business off the ground these days.”

“Why are you throwing away the security of your job?”

These, and more of the same, are typical of the barriers that so called friends and advisors, put in your way if you are thinking of starting a business. These barriers are built on the back of myths about the pitfalls and challenges which surround running your own business.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of these myths and reveal them to be exactly that … just myths! Don’t get me wrong, being an entrepreneur can be tough and there are hurdles to cross, but let’s bring some common sense into the debate!

You Don’t Have a Personal Life

Yes you will! It can be hard juggling the responsibilities of running your own business and spending time with the family, but at the end of the day, you are going to have far more flexibility with your personal life, than any employee will ever have. The real issue is, do you have the time management and planning skills to get things done, thereby allowing you time to spend with your family.

You Have To Be Cunning and Ruthless To Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Ok, it may help you in the short term but this is not a sound, long term strategy. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to build relationships with both customers and suppliers who will stick by you during the rough times. Being ruthless over pricing may get you one or two good deals but you are unlikely to build a lasting and profitable relationship. Your aim should be to strike a balance between what you want and what your customer or supplier wants.

You Won’t Have To Work As Hard

Your current job may be stressful and subject you to long hours. The idea of running your own business is appealing because you can slow down and take life at your own pace. To a degree this is true but there’s no getting away from the fact that it will be hard work. Most small businesses don’t achieve profitability until year 3 and so it’s a long slog. Remember, if was easy, everyone would be doing it!

What does make the difference though, is that you are finally doing something you love and so the hours and the struggles don’t seem like hard work at all. So perhaps this myth may be true after all!

You Have To Have an Original Idea

No you don’t. Most businesses are built around a central idea. The difference is usually how it’s delivered. The core products of all fast food places are the same, as are clothes shops, newsagents etc. You can make a decent living effectively copying someone else’s idea but done in a slightly different way. Don’t be put off by the doomsayers who will gleefully point out that “it’s been done before”. Your response should be, ‘Great! That shows the idea works!”

You Will Be Your Own Boss

No way! There’s only one boss in your new business … the customer. They are essential to your success. When you were working for that large, faceless Corporation, the loss of the odd client wasn’t that big a deal - plenty more where they came from.

In your new world you have to do whatever it takes to keep your customers and keep them happy. The customer is the one who calls the tunes. You have to listen and take note, before someone else does. However, at the end of the day, when all their demands are met, then perhaps you can have some time to yourself and enjoy the pleasures of being your own boss after all!

You Need A lot Of Money To Get a Business Off The Ground

Some businesses do need a fair bit of cash to get moving but there are many areas you can go into without the need to invest in a large amount of stock, machinery or equipment. The low-capital businesses involve the use of three very cheap commodities – your brain power, your knowledge and your time.

A business where you sell your expertise, not actual goods, to other people can be cheaply set up and carry high profit margins. All you may need is a PC, a desk and a telephone line. What’s stopping you?

You Only Have To Do What You Want To Do

Unfortunately this myth is wrong. We all have areas or skills in which we excel and it’s this expertise which usually forms the basis of your business. Your dedication to paperwork, bank statements and the VAT man may not be that high, but branching out on your own doesn’t mean you have the choice to avoid these terrible tasks.

Whilst you were able to do this when you were sitting in the big corporate office, you can no longer hide. These tasks have to be done otherwise the deck of cards can start to collapse.

If you do have serious misgivings on certain areas, marketing for example, then consider taking a course to improve your skills. If it’s something you seriously can’t do, then go and find someone to do it for you – don’t hope it will go away because it won’t.

You will have seen that some of the myths not being true is good news and others not so good news! Be sensible in considering the myths which are thrown at you. See it for what they are - comments from people who don’t know what they are talking about!

If You Are a Budding Entrepreneur and You Want to Grow Fast? Fake It 'Till You Make it

2009-11-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

If you have entrepreneurial dreams, a business model, and a plan for growth, but you have just started at getting your business of the ground, it can be very intimidating to get your first customers or clients. You may have all kinds of self-doubt questions, but if you believe in your mind that you are successful, you will be. Read on to find out how you can fake it until you make it.

Now, before we go any further, I want to be clear that I am not advocating lying for any reason. I am not saying that you should fleece your customers into believing something that you are not, but you don't always have to reveal the whole truth either. Confidence goes a long way in these new situations. When you are working with your first few clients, NEVER let on that this is your first sale. If you have to practice your speech a thousand times in the mirror before you hit the pavement then do it.

The look of your business is critical as well. It needs to look like the level of the other professionals in your arena. If you have a home-made business image and the customer expects a professional, then you are in trouble. Of course you will make mistakes. If you cannot answer the client's question at that moment, tell them you will find out and then follow up with them. This second follow up will also give you the benefit of an additional contact with the client.

Act as if you are already successful. If the client asks about previous customers tell them that you have a privacy policy where you don't discuss the dealings of another customer with anyone else. Whatever it takes to help them understand that you are a professional and you are serious. Don't just walk in the business and say "thank you so much, you are my very first customer." This is almost a guarantee that they will not do business with you. Be sure of yourself. Imagine in your head that this is the 450th business encounter that you have had.

If you act confident enough and you act as if you know what you are doing, then the customer will believe you. They will probably be relieved that you know more than they do, so you can solve their problem. People like to believe what they want to believe and if they see a successful, confident person come in the room they will just assume that your business is in the same shape.

Joshua Black is an on-line infopreneur, marketing consultant, small business owner and copywriter dedicated to helping the bootstrapping small business owner succeed.

What it Takes to Become a Successful Entrepreneur With the Freedom to Do Whatever You Want in Life

2009-11-11T23:02:00.000-08:00

Action creates opportunities. Have you ever noticed how those who get on in this world, those who seem to fall into the best opportunities, those who always seem to be in the right place at the right time - they are usually the same people who take action? They are not just dreamers, talkers, "wannabies", or observers - they are the movers and shakers and achievers who MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!

They are the entrepreneurs; people who seek out opportunities. They are inquisitive, inquiring, always searching for positive ideas.

The dictionary definition of an entrepreneur implies some form of "daring" activity, but in reality, most successful entrepreneurs prefer to avoid risks. They like to reduce, eliminate, or at least control the risks in any business undertaking. They plan thoughtfully, taking carefully calculated risks as and when required.

Few entrepreneurs would regard themselves as "risk takers." To them -well, they are just doing the obvious. They have the vision, clarity and conviction to take on new challenges. If success means getting involved with unproven ventures or dramatically changing the way things are done - the true entrepreneur will just get on with it and do it.

If they are to succeed, successful entrepreneurs do what is required, and what to them, seems logical. They have done their homework and know they can succeed even if the task is harder than they thought. Results will not necessarily happen over night and successful entrepreneurs will not always expect them to.

The true entrepreneur has the attitude of - it can work, it will work, we can make it work! They have the strength and commitment to overcome obstacles and turn their vision a reality.

Yes, entrepreneurs do take risks, but they are not usually half-witted or stupid. The difference is - successful entrepreneurs think through the possible outcomes and prepare to deal with problems and risks as they happen. They are persistent and work hard to ensure a positive result every time. These people bring about their own good fortune.

To most entrepreneurs, change means opportunity. Change is inevitable and so the entrepreneur accepts it and get on with it.

To others, change of any kind may seem unnecessary and risky. Most people do not like uncertainty and volatility. They do not like it when someone "rocks the boat" and forces them to think, or do, things differently. It is human nature - we are happy in our comfort zone. We often do not understand why such changes are necessary and so we resist, or avoid, the unfamiliar. We have all done it.

Perhaps that is why there is still a bit of a stigma associated with the word 'entrepreneur.' Ask people in a street what the word entrepreneur means to them and you may get answers like "a bold risk taker", or "a ruthless business person who sets out on their own with the hope of striking it rich." Some people will associate the term with nothing more than "gambling." Others may see an entrepreneur, as someone who has enormous debt, hires lots of employees and constantly burns the midnight oil.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Entrepreneurship is simply the art and science of starting and managing your own profit-motivated business venture. It is an important and dynamic force in the world economy. Yet oddly enough, it is not generally taught in schools. Since entrepreneurship does not involve working for someone else, it is usually not looked upon as a career option. What a shame!

An Entrepreneur's Guide to Incorporating Your Business

2009-11-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

One of the most important steps in starting up a business is the incorporation process. Your corporation as an entity receives its legitimacy from the state you incorporate in. The most obvious advantage in forming a corporation is that it shields its owners from personal liability. It guarantees that if something goes wrong in the business, the owners won't be wiped out personally.

There are several options when it comes to incorporating your new business. You will need to know your business objectives in order to determine which one is right for you. Many entrepreneurs rush into this process, incorporate with the least appropriate entity and then regret it later. By reading this guide, you are avoiding this common pitfall.

One reason people do not incorporate is that in order to do so, you must file paperwork with the state. To be an S-Corp, LLC, or a Limited Partnership, you have to file papers. What do you have to do to be a General Partnership? Nothing. All you have to do is pursue a business together. That is the default under the law. If you just start working together to try and create something, you are considered general partners, unless you legally change the status of your business.From a liability standpoint, you are also toast, because you're liable for everything personally. Your personal assets are completely exposed.

Here's the differences between each entity followed by a quick reference table:

C-Corporations:

C-Corps work for that narrow locus of company that Venture Capitalists are interested in. They're interested in high growth, generating cash, and reinvesting it (not distributing it). They're not interested in dividends. They want a high growth rate. They want to sell out, either through a public offer or through an acquisition transaction, earning a high price. This is how they get there: hustle the cash, keep it, grow fast, and use all the cash. This is why VCs almost exclusively invest in C-Corps. You can actually set up a C-Corp and file a form saying that you want to be taxed as an S-Corp (flow-through entity that is taxed once). Later, when you are ready to raise money or bring in new investors, you can change your election to be a C-Corp. It is very hard to do it the other way around.

Limited Liability Company:

LLCs are remarkably flexible. You can do almost anything with them. You can have multiple classes of stock, and multiple classes of interests. You can have foreign investors. You can have an unlimited number of investors. There's almost nothing that an LLC structure won't accommodate. In an LLC, I can do a 90/10 distribution of dividends, and not be tied to the distribution of ownership. It protects your assets like assets like a corporation without the burden of corporate maintenance. With a LLC, you can elect to be taxed as a corporation, or avoid "double taxation" by choosing to be a "pass-through" entity.

S-Corporation:

A S-Corp structure is very limiting. There are limitations on the number of shareholders and on who can be a shareholder. You can only have one class of stock (there are minor exceptions to that). The S-Corps are very, very inflexible, but they are really cheap to setup. With increased flexibility comes complexity. That's why LLCs are much more expensive to set up.

We can map this out very simply. If you know you're not going to have multiple classes of investors, you should go S-Corp just to save money.For example, if you have a situation where two brothers or two sisters starting a business, sometimes an S-Corp is the best bet; nevertheless, they are really inflexible.

Ask a tax person who is used accustomed to figuring out the problems with an S-Corp. He or she will tell you that if you think there is any chance that something will change down the road, you should incorporate as an LLC from the start. It's much harder to fix a problem later than it is to plan for different situations in the beginning.

Doing Business As:

DBA, or Fictitious business name as it is also sometimes called, is another type of organizational arrangement. If you are an individual, you want to do business under your own name, and you don't want to incorporate, you could use a DBA. Local jurisdictions have their own requirements of how to start a DBA. It doesn't really get you very much in the way of liability protection, but it can allow your company to do business as a new name, and open bank accounts with that name.

Furthermore, it sometimes happens that a company is incorporated in one state with a certain name. Then they go into a different state, and that name is already taken. They have to do business under a different name in that state. That is where it is more legitimate to use a DBA.

Five Things You Must Have to Succeed As an Entrepreneur When Most People Fail

2009-11-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

It is a fact that 97% of all entrepreneurs fail and nine out of ten businesses fail before reaching the three year mark. What will make you different? What will give you the edge? How will you succeed when those around you fail?

There are five basic steps which will lead you to success.

1. You must have a burning desire to succeed. Decide now to succeed no matter what it takes and your success is inevitable. You must never give up. If your reason for success is big enough it will drive you forward even when everything seems hopeless and you feel like quitting.

2. You must have a plan, not just an idea in your head, a real written step by step plan which details where you are now, where you will be in a year, five years and ten years from now and what steps you will take to get there.

3. You need a mentor. The fastest way to get what you want is to find someone who already has it and copy what they do. Model their thoughts, beliefs, and actions and you will get the same results they have. This is a law of nature. It is called the law of cause and effect. If you do a certain thing, you will get a certain result. If you do exactly what successful people do, you will also be successful.

4. You need a system. All successful businesses use systems that deliver duplicable results. If you get the results you want occasionally but can't duplicate it, you don't have a business. A business must be able to produce the same results over and over, that is what produces continuing profits.

5. You must have a team. Business is a team sport. If you try to do everything yourself, you will fail. No one is good at everything. Develop the talents and strengths that you have. Spend as much time as possible doing the profit producing tasks you are best at. Find others to do the things that you are not good at, and delegate as much as possible.

These are my top five keys to success, burning desire, a plan, a mentor, a system and a team. If you have these five things, you will succeed against all odds.

The Main Key Attribute in Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur in Your Chosen Niche!

2009-11-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Lets face it, we all had people around in our lives that have said "I would love to start my own business" but sadly most of them never really follow through or have given up with the idea. If you ever want to start you own business, you absolutely need to have one thing in place: The right mindset! Having the expertise and the know how of whatever your niche might be is not enough for you to be successful in business!

Now, there are different ways for you to develop the right mindset. It can be your determination or your focus on the big picture. It might be your work ethics or your motivation to succeed. All these key attributes are correct in different respect. But the one key attribute that surpass all these is: YOUR TRUE PASSION

What is your passion? Better yet, what does passion means to you? The dictionary defines the word passion as:

"The state of the mind when it is powerfully acted upon and influenced by something external to itself; the state of any particular faculty which, under such conditions, becomes extremely sensitive or uncontrollably excited; any emotion or sentiment (specifically, love or anger) in a state of abnormal or controlling activity; an extreme or inordinate desire; also, the capacity or susceptibility of being so affected; as, to be in a passion; the passions of love, hate, jealously, wrath, ambition, avarice, fear, etc"

With that said, Being able to center your true passion with your true goal in life is your key in setting the right mindset for yourself. Whenever you love what you do for a living, you will never let anything take that focus away. You will keep moving forward and keep fighting for it until eventually accomplish your goal. Combining both your passion and your goal is the most powerful combination to achieve anything you put your mind into.

My true passion is helping people. I am an Entrepreneur to the core. Being able to work for myself and making a positive impact in peoples lives is my goal! The work I put in everyday to whatever projects it may be are all done with my full capacity. I don't consider it work because I enjoy what I do. Internet Marketing, Offline business projects, investing, or whatever new venture I get myself involve in is not work to me because its what I love to do.

Let's look at all the successful entrepreneurs in our age: Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or Donald Trump. They have enough money to live there lives at least 5 fold! Why are they still working? Money? Money is a factor to some of these successful people but its not there passion. I'm sure they don't mind having it but its not the reason why they keep going to work everyday. They go to work because they are passionate about what they do.

If you haven't done so already, I want you to sit down and write down what you think your true passion might be. To help you out, think of your talents or hobbies. Do you enjoy any of them? Your childhood dreams? What did you want to be? Look deeper to even what you daydream about. When your done putting all these down, say to yourself if you would do any of these if you don't get paid a single cent!

This might take time for some of you but always keep it in mind whenever you feel lost. Watch a movie or read a book. Something in those media sources might spark something inside you. The thing is sometimes we completely miss what we are truly looking for in life.

If you don't know where to start with your business then you know the reason. Find your passion first, then get your mindset right. Remember, if its not something you enjoy doing then you will never achieve the success you've always wanted.

You are the only one who can create your reality. True passion intertwines with success. Follow through with that in mind and you will be rewarded at the end.

If you enjoy this post, please donate what you can to help me keep this blog running smoothly at my site

Corporate Crisis Management Tools

2009-11-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Those in corporate management will inevitably be involved to some extent in crisis management. Since that is the case, crisis management education of corporate management is vital. Only those that are adequately trained will have the ability to remain calm and logically handle the necessary tasks in the midst of a crisis.

What Are Crisis Management Tools?

Crisis management tools can include a wide variety of education, software, communication devices, handbooks, and various other necessary items. Let's look at some of the tools that should be considered.

* Education - As mentioned, only those that are properly trained will respond in an appropriate manner during a crisis.

This is why those that will be responsible for leading others must be properly educated. This may involve attending internal or external crisis management seminars, training on appropriate crisis communication devices, software training, and simple leadership training.

* Software - Without exception, crisis management plans involve software of some kind. This may be email software or programs specifically designed for crisis communication that will notify a multitude of people of the impending circumstances with a couple clicks of the mouse.

* Communication Devices - The variety of communication devices that are available today seem to be infinite. These devices are important tools in the midst of a crisis. Cell phones, texting devices, two-way radios, telephones, email, instant messaging, radio and television broadcasts, streaming video and audio communication, and simple sirens are all communication devices that can prove helpful in a crisis.

* Policy - A good crisis management program will always include a written policy. This policy must be clear and should not be over complicated. The policy must detail the other tools that are to be implemented in the case of a crisis.

Because emotions often run high in the middle of a crisis, it is imperative to have a well-written policy that can be easily followed when minds may not be functioning at their optimum.

* People - While there are numerous forms of technology and training that are valuable tools in a crisis, good managers know that the most valuable resource any company has are people. Without people there is no one to educate and no one to use the communication devices available. People are the first thing that should be protected in a crisis and are the most valuable tool to handle any crisis.

The number of tools available for corporate crisis management is growing daily. Those that are used are also constantly being improved. It is important to stay informed of the updates and new items that may be incorporated into your crisis management policy. It is always a good idea to attend professional crisis management training and to enlist the advice of a consultant to review and revise your current policies and programs. This will help to ensure that you are informed of recently released technologies and modern methods that have become available. While all of this is imperative, never lose site of people being your most vital and irreplaceable asset for every aspect of business.

Biography Book Review - Bill Gates - The Founder of Microsoft

2009-11-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

Perhaps there has been more written about Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates, than just about any other business person in history, and that stands to reason considering what he created and how he brought personal computing into the homes and small businesses of every person in America. The story is truly incredible, but most people do not know the full story, as it spans many decades.

To help you better understand some of it, the years prior to 1993, you might wish to do a little reading. So, let me recommend and interesting book to you, one which I am sure you'll enjoy:

"Gates; How Microsoft Mogul Reinvented an Industry and Made Himself the Greatest Man in America by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews; Touchstone Books, a Simon Schuster Book Publishing subsidiary; New York, NY 1984. ISBN: 0-671-88074-8.

Gates' story is a cool one from the time he was a boy playing with computers and his days in college. The early years in Albuquerque and the deal with IBM; indeed, there is so much to this story that you are going to have opened your horizon and your mind to exactly what this phenomenal person has given to the human race. And remember this book was written in 1994, before all his foundation work, or his real success. Of course, all that is another chapter for another book.

After reading this book, I recommend Business at The Speed of Thought, which will really help you get to know Bill Gates, his vision, leadership and our future, thanks to his hard work. Think on this.

Biography and History of Bill Gates

2009-11-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

Bill gates- the man who introduced the world to Microsoft is the one of the best known entrepreneurs of the world. More than Microsoft, Bill gates is better known for his money. The man held the title of the 'richest person in the world' for 15 years in a row. Even as of February 2008, bill stood to be the third richest person in the world.

At Microsoft, Bill gates worked as a CEO and a chief software architect. To date, Bill is the largest individual shareholder with more than 8 percent of the common stock. The business entrepreneur gave away the position of the CEO in January 2000. However, he continued to act as a non executive chairman for the company. He held part time responsibilities with Microsoft and took over full time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in June 2006.

If Bill Gates knew how to earn money, he also knew how to use that money well. The man opted for a philanthropist character and donated huge sums of money. He gave away money to various charitable and research organizations.

Bill's successful stint as a businessman earned him worldwide recognition. He was recognized as one of the most influential people of the twentieth century by the Times magazine. He was also recognized as the most influential people for the year 2004, 2005 and 2006. He also stood at the eighth rank in the 'Heroes of our time' in the year 2006.

If business entrepreneurs have to look up to some one then it has to be Bill Gates undoubtedly.

Best Teen Jobs Advice From Bill Gates Best Teen Jobs Advice From Bill Gates

2009-11-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

Whether you love or hate Bill Gates...he sure hit the nail on the head when he recently gave a speech at a high school graduation.

Here Are 11 Job Advice Rules Your Teens Are NOT Learning in School:

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Life is especially not fair at work. Some work harder than others for less pay...some work less for more pay.

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.

Neither does your boss. He wants the job to get done - and done well.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. Or become a vice president out of college.

If you don't believe me, just ask any recent graduate.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Or obnoxious co-workers you're stuck working with 8 hours a day.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.

I think every teen should be required to work at a fast food restaurant. They'll learn the meaning of hard work and be motivated to further their education!

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault. So don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

The best thing you can do for your kids is let them make their own mistakes. And not make excuses for them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.

They got that way from paying your bills, doing your laundry, and listening to you talk about how cool you are.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT.

In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

There's no extra credit at work if you screw something up. And if you don't do your job - you'll be fired.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and
few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

There's no spring break either. You'll be lucky if you get 2 weeks of paid vacation.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and to to jobs.

And you won't be able to surf the internet or listen to your iPod either.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Your boss doesn't care if you were popular in high school. No one does.

If you agree with these rules...pass it on. If you can read these rules...THANK a teacher!

Persone of an Entrepreneur

2009-11-11T22:44:00.000-08:00

One of the qualities you need is persistence. Although money making systems do give you the ability to pocket your profit in a very short time frame, you do have to be able to keep working the system. Some systems require a lot of initial persistence and then you are able to sit back and maintain your system. Do you have what it takes to do this?

Along with persistence is the intense time and energy are required in the beginning. Excitement over your plan should provide the initial energy to implement your plan. The intensity is something you either have or you do not have. Look at other activities in your life. Are you a fast starter? Do you get so excited that it is hard to keep quiet about what you are doing? Not that being quiet about what you are doing is a requirement, but you will want to be able to get through the initial start up first!

Probably one of the most important qualities is to be able to ignore the naysayers. Friends and relatives at times will be quick to tell you what will and will not work. Although everyone has people they consult for good advice sometimes you just have to trust your gut. The ability to hear, use, or ignore advice when working on your goals is paramount to your success. Some of those people will be people in your own family.

Another surprise it that you need to be able to follow directions. Many money making systems have taken a long time to develop. The reason for this is the testing that the owner has done. The owner has tested every possible part of the system before making it available to you. At least initially when you do not know enough you need to be able to follow the directions you are given, in detail.

Although this sounds like a lot of work you can have fun while you are doing it. It is exhilarating to work with a system that others have used and you to meet with success. It is also fun to be able to keep your mouth shut while others are trying to convince you that your system will not work. Initially you will be working with secrets that people with a huge amount of experience have described. It will be important to not give those secrets away.

The ability to be self motivated goes along with persistence and at times ignoring people. Self motivation to keep going, when you have real doubts, is a true test of your character. Think about times when you were not sure about what you were doing. What did you say to yourself or who did you go to when trying to get past that point? Most people do not have the ability to figure out what to do. Do you?

Part of that self motivation is the correct mindset. The correct positive mindset to use a money making system is critical. It is a core belief that you can do whatever you put your mind to doing. It is the certainty that if other people have been able to make money in a business venture or online marketing business, there is no reason you can not do it too.

How to be a Successful As an Entrepreneur

2009-11-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

Starting a business for many entrepreneurs has proven to be difficult due to lack of capital and fear that the venture may not succeed. There are some tips, which can help investors to have a fruitful venture. One of them is that do not follow fashion trends, instead do a business that you enjoy. Your idea should also be unique where this will make an expert in that particular field.

One should have perseverance, since the first time one engages in business it is hard and there are ups and downs. You need to keep trying even when it fails until when you will succeed. You also need to have a research on that particular venture that you are willing to undertake because it is necessary to have that kind of information. You ought to have a business plan or else your venture will not be successful.

It is also important to note that if you have a day job, you should just keep it until the enterprise has paid off. In case the business fails, this will act as a shield. It also depends on how hardworking that entrepreneur is. It is also advisable to undertake all positions in the venture for example the managerial, secretary and even the accountant posts. When it comes to loans, most money laundering institutions will decline giving you help financially, so you need to be able to provide for your financial needs. You also need to save as much as you can so that when you approach a bank they can be able to cater for your needs.

Being an entrepreneur also comes with privileges. One is entitled to enjoy all the profits generated from the firm. Concerning decision making in the venture, you are the one who decides on what to happen. Finally, take heart and pursue your dream and you will be successful.

An Entrepreneur Are You?

2008-12-14T01:14:00.000-08:00

If you were to look up the word entrepreneur in the dictionary you would find that it means "a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, a business usually with considerable initiative and risk." These days the term entrepreneur is used so much that it seems like everybody from stay at home moms, to the local tattoo artist, are claiming to be such. The truth is that as fancy as this word maybe, anyone can be an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs can be any shape, size, age, race or religion. What makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur is commitment, the willingness to lead and the passion to succeed. There are certain characteristics that many of the world's most successful entrepreneurs share. Listed below are a few traits that can help you determine if you truly are an entrepreneur.

Great Focus - True entrepreneurs have great focus. These are individuals that once they have a goal set, no one or nothing can stop them from accomplishing that goal.

Creative - Most entrepreneurs have a seemingly effortless way of being creative. Thinking outside the box; that characteristic alone creates a greater earning potential for their business.

Good With Money - Being able to keep track and manage money wisely is another well-known characteristic of an entrepreneur. Knowing where every dollar and cent is and where they are going is very important to entrepreneurs.

Decision Maker - One who can make big decisions on their own without worrying about others opinions. Being able to stand behind their decision without any doubt whatsoever.

The Ability To Lead - Most entrepreneurs put themselves in the position of being the boss. This may mean that this person has employees under him/her. In this instance, the individual must be able to lead and give direction to others in a clear and productive manner.

Always Learning - True entrepreneurs never stop learning. They are always eager to discover new, more efficient ways to make their business more successful. Learning is a desire, not a necessity for these people.

Fearless - Having no fear is definitely a characteristic of a entrepreneur. Not fearing critics, competitors, consumers and most of all, not fearing failure. Not fearing these things is automatic for any real entrepreneur.

The list above will help you determine if you are indeed an entrepreneur. If you are not an entrepreneur, but aspire to be one you will need to develop most if not all of these traits. If you take the time to embrace and practice these traits; you will be well on your way to becoming a successful entrepreneur!

Be An Entrepreneur there are 10 Benefits you must knew

2008-12-14T01:11:00.000-08:00

1. Being in control:

The best thing about an entrepreneur is that he is in absolute control of his life. He does not have to report to anybody. He can take a vacation any time he feels he needs one. He gets to decide what can happen in his venture. Best of all, nobody can fire him. It totally rocks to be your own boss and to create your own destiny.

2. Work becomes Fun:

Now, most people who work in 9 to 5 jobs always get exhausted at the end of the day and they dread the morning of the next day. Especially, after the weekends. Some call them "Monday Morning Blues". Now, an entrepreneur works 24/7 and thus puts all of his energy into his work. By working this hard, he enjoys whatever he does and because of this, whatever venture he puts his effort into, will eventually turn out to be a great success. Work is what one is obliged to do while fun consists of what one is not obliged to do. (From Tom Sawyer-Mark Twain.) So now the equation is WORK=FUN.

3. Free from Boredom:

Arthur Schopenhauer, the great German thinker and philosopher says that there are two kinds of misery. One is the misery of the working class another is the ennui of the born-rich, the fashionable society.

Misery of the working class: Because these people are busy generating wealth for others, the only thing they crave for everyday is REST. They wish to enjoy life to its limits but they can't. They are constrained by their work.

Misery of the fashionable society: Now, these are the few individuals most people desire to become. It really is a wonderful thing to be rich and do all the things that a typical "working class" person dreams of doing. Now let us look from a celebrities' perspective. Because these "filthy rich" people get to do any thing they desire, they actually come to a state where, nothing much else gives them a "high". Parties sound like fun and having physical pleasures very tempting. Now imagine doing the same things over and over again in a dull monotony. Then you come to a state of "ennui", a state of absolute boredom. The other end where the "pendulum" of life swings to, according to Schopenhauer. So, to stimulate their senses further than that which is natural, the typical celebrity resorts to drugs, which is just the beginning of a complete destruction for them.

Now, an entrepreneur, though gets to be really rich, is not in this primarily for enjoying the pleasures of the rich. Getting to execute his ideas is what satisfies him. For a true entrepreneur, work is not a means to an end. It is an end in itself. The process is as rewarding to him as is the end product. Because an entrepreneur is consumed by his desire to work hard, he gets really no time to engage in trivialities of everyday life. Now, how can he get bored?

4. Better relations with other people:

Because an entrepreneur is very busy, he will have very little time for others. Because of this, he will not become "Over Familiar" with others, which is the root cause for finding faults in others resulting in mischievous gossips. He will have only contact with people of his own caliber and usually this kind of friendship lasts for life.

For example, take George Washington Carver, the great American scientist. He was self educated and was the man behind peanut butter. It was he who discovered natures secrets by the hundreds. He singlehandedly changed the course of many agriculture based industries through his hard work and dedication. And the more familiar Henry Ford. These two great men who worked hard all their life, forged a great relationship and were there for each other till the end. Or take the case of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Bill Gates thought he had nothing in common with Warren Buffet who was an Investor.Bill Gates had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for Ten Hours! Such is the power of those who work hard on their own free sweet will!

5. Self Confidence:

Because an entrepreneur trusts in himself more than anything else, it unlocks the Giant that is present within himself. Coupled with the tremendous effort that goes with the task of getting an enterprise up and running, an entrepreneur is sure of success. This success breeds more success which in return instills greater faith in himself. After all, who does not wish to be self confident.

6. Giving back to the Society:

It is truly a great privilege to be given an opportunity to give back to the society. Entrepreneurs create wealth and job opportunities for others. This way, many lives are touched and changed for the better. By giving back to the society an entrepreneur experiences a sense of meaning and purpose in his life, which others, merely by accumulating wealth will never get to feel. Money to a real entrepreneur is merely a tool and never an end in itself.

7. Free from wants:

A passionate entrepreneur will not have the desire for any thing material because he has so little time for frivolities. Because he is completely immersed in his work, he is satisfied with whatever physical comforts he already has.

8. Being original and true to oneself:

Most people do things to please others. They do not have any thoughts of their own. Instead, they live the lives that others dream up for them. They want to please their children or friends or their parents and sincerely do what is expected of them to do. They live double lives all the time. Doing things they don't want to do, talking stuff they don't believe in just so as to fall in line with others. As the saying goes, "No man is an island unto himself". Entrepreneurs however are a rare breed. They do exactly what they want and say precisely what they believe in. You may criticize them, show them their defects or mock at them, but the one thing you cannot do is influence them. Entrepreneurs are whole souled beings who think their own thoughts and live their own lives. Thus they are not split in their minds between their inner and outer lives.

9. Enjoying time-out:

An entrepreneur will in all likelihood enjoy every second of the time they spend outside of their work. Events like movies, trekking or simply chatting with friends become very special because of the little time they get. They understand that they might not get an opportunity for indulging in these activities frequently and so enjoy every moment of it.

10. The Exhilaration of Success:

Very few get to experience the sweet taste of success. An entrepreneur accepts the challenges, works hard to overcome them and when victory results, he savors the moment. Even when he fails in the beginning, he does not lower his head nor does he give up because he believes in the essence of what Theodore Roosevelt once quoted

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."An Entrepreneur is, by his very innate constitution poised only for success.

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Employee Vs Entrepreneur - Which One Are You?

2008-12-14T01:10:00.000-08:00

here is a crucial difference in the mindsets of an entrepreneur and an employee.

The difference in these mindsets absolutely shapes what work we will do in our lives.

An employee, really just wants security. Often times they lack the self-confidence required to go after their dreams and will trade their true goals in life for a steady paycheck.

That is OK with me, there is nothing wrong with that.

If the vast majority of people on the planet were not like that, our planet would not function.

However, if there were not entrepreneurs to be the ones to go after their dreams, their goals, their ideas... then no business would exist at all!

In addition, clearly, there are far more incredible rewards in being an entrepreneur then you will ever find in being an employee.

Just ask the YouTube kids or the many entrepreneurs who have chosen to follow a dream and go for it rather then take the safer easier road out.

If you are willing to put in the work it takes to be an entrepreneur in the beginning... it can reward you for the rest of your life in ways being an employee never can.

I have chosen to walk down this path of entrepreneurship and already my life has drastically changed.

It is amazing how many possibilities open up for you once you open up to them.

In addition, in our world it is literally limitless. There is no end to what we can create.

Therefore, with that, I invite you to look, maybe for the first time, at being an entrepreneur today.

I assure you once you start walking down the path of freedom rather then security it is tough to go back.

Glenn Mosser is an expert Online Marketer, known as "The Meetings Millionaire". He and his team have produced in the excess of $10,000,000 in revenue in the home-business industry combined. Glenn is a very sought after speaker and trainer to some of the biggest earners in the Home Business and Online Industry. To see what Glenn is up to visit http://www.ActualSuccess.net

Being Fake and Two-Faced in the Real World Vs Being

2008-12-14T01:07:00.000-08:00

This is what I consider to be a huge "trap" that many of us can avoid when becoming and Entrepreneur.

"The notion that you can run your own business lets say in direct sales or network marketing with the same attitude you had while at your job in the working world. That you don't have to make some changes within yourself to get better results. Being fake is almost always required of you when climbing the corporate latter to anything! Vs. being real and authentic in your business endeavor. It's called self-sabotage and it happens to people all the time."

I woke up early to begin my meditation and by 9am PST I received a long awaited phone call, about the results from an accident I was involved in a little over a month ago. The woman, insurance agent, whom I had been working with since the incident occurred would act very polite each time we spoke--but only to tell me that the accident was my fault and not the other drivers. To make a long story short, I was hit on the side of my car by a van backing out of a parking space. I couldn't even open my driver side door because his van hit the side fender of my door and pushed the fender in. He claims I was moving my car and ran into his bumper. The funny thing is, I was willing to take 50% fault because I seriously didn't see him, but because his insurance company is adamant about not paying out a dime...and thus lying and saying he said he was stopped even though my car has a huge dent on the side...and cars don't move sideways! But now, I have decided take them to court, knowing that my case is sound and the damage is obvious that his car was in motion when it hit me not the other way around.

This lesson, reminded me of how inauthentic people can be in the working world. When is it that we become the worst version of ourselves by choosing to lie and manipulate just to protect a company's interest? Not even her own interest but who knows, maybe she thinks she IS the company in some way. And why would anyone want to work these types of jobs? No wonder so many people are miserable at work and can't wait till Friday! I know that this woman probably doesn't even know she's not being inauthentic but at the same time, I refuse to support the idea that we should go out into the world of insurance adjusters, lawyers, doctors, police--I don't care if you're blue-collar worker or white-collar, and are taught to be inauthentic in the real world. It's how we have come to believe is the only way to survive in this "dog eat dog world. "

The way to avoid this "trap" or escape from it, requires that you engage your MIND in knowing who you are including what your deepest heartfelt desires are. Become a student of personal-growth, read books like "Think and Grow Rich," or "Power of Your Subconscious Mind" classics that still apply a century later! Do this, and you will never fall into this trap again! Your new beliefs and attitudes about yourself will warn you every time you are about to say something inauthentic. And you'll turn your "saboteur" into your ally--with the power of CHOICE. Instead of thinking you are at the whim of what the 'boss' or corporation says.

Here again is the TRAP that we can get into as entrepreneurs coming out of the "working world," it's called being inauthentic to save our own butts (or that of the company) and then getting burned in the end. This is a trap many new business owners, especially network marketers can fall into when they first begin being their own boss. They take the road of least resistance which ends up costing them a heck of a lot more in the end.

We have to dig deep to uncover our own humanity to really be successful and feel good about what we do as entrepreneurs leading others to create more joy and happiness in their lives. If we do this from a place of loving kindness and authenticity, we will reap such rich rewards in all areas of our lives. Today, go out and tell someone how you really feel, be authentic and trust yourself.

Thanks for reading! Till next time.

After many years of struggling, being broke and living off the kindness of strangers, to working pay-check to pay-check, thinking some day MY LUCK will come--Cynthia Farsadi made the bold decision to get started in her own Direct Sales business and never LOOK back.

Three years later, she is now retired from the makeup world and spends her days assisting others with setting up their own part-time business to create REAL results in their lives. She now makes more in ONE month than most make in a year. She loves meeting people who are PASSIONATE about living their dreams in this life, and want nothing more than to be self-empowered and living a life of PURPOSE!

to find out more go to: http://www.ARealOpportunityForWealth.com

or visit her blog for FREE information at: http://www.arealopportunitynow.blogspot.com

Remember, "You cannot discover new oceans, unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

7 Signs That You Are a Real Entrepreneur

2008-12-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

1. You are extremely resourceful.
Entrepreneurs are exceedingly resourceful at finding the help they need to succeed in their businesses. They seek out training, support, network with others in their industry and take classes in order to keep moving ahead. Nor are they afraid to delegate.

2. You possess a specific talent, or specialized knowledge of some kind.
Do you know how to do something uncommonly well? Have you received specialized education of some kind? All entrepreneurs possess either one or the other. Either they are very good at doing something (i.e. painting, drawing, writing, cooking, organizing, designing) or they have technical knowledge, such as computer programming, medical or legal knowledge, IT certifications, administrative tasks, real estate, etc.

3. You are creative.
A real, bonafide entrepreneur has a creative spirit, meaning that they are the innovators of their own business. They are the real thinkers and designers of industry. An entrepreneur creates new systems and ways of doing things, using their own specific talents and knowledge to help improve the lives of others. They are not fulfilled simply by copying the systems of others.

4. You are courageous.
Your are not afraid to take a challenge, or if you are, that does not stop you from pursuing them. Even in the face of adversity, and disagreement you have belief that it will happen. You believe that there is always a solution. Most essentially, you believe and have confidence in yourself.

5. You are very disciplined, determined and highly motivated most of the time.
Entrepreneurs have a strong sense of what to say or show themselves in order to produce the kind of results they desire. They know what kind of thinking is necessary to get things done, which if done correctly leads to focused, concentrated action. Entrepreneurs also understand the different modes of communication and are themselves great communicators in that they listen and observe intently. They know how to effectively get their messages across to others in order to affect behavior.

6. You have a strong desire to help others.
You are not in the game just to make a buck. What you do must have a very useful, meaningful purpose. You will not say yes to any and everything or everyone simply because the money is supposed to be good.

7. You not only have a daily plan; you have a life plan.
When you awaken each morning, you know exactly what you are going to get done. You know what needs to happen for that particular day. Not only that, but you know what the rest of your life is going to look like. You know that you can't predict the future, but what you do know, is what specifically you are going to do with the rest of your life. If nothing else, you have a general concept of this.

So there you have it; 7 signs that you are a real entrepreneur. If you are lacking in either one of these, my challenge to you is to actively seek out the resources that you need to develop and improve those areas. I can guarantee that you will notice a significant difference and be glad you did.

Talent

2008-10-28T03:13:00.001-07:00

One thing that you should know is that everybody has a talent. Just like I have one, you have one too. My talent is music. I can write music and I can also sing to it. I know it is my talent because it is what I do best and love doing. Some of you really have a hard time trying to discover your talents and you do that by fitting yourselves into other peoples talents, you try to do what other people do, simply because you believe it is what you were meant to do and not what you can do.

Your beliefs mislead you. It is very easy to discover your talent. There must be something that you love doing, that gives you peace that you hardly get when you do other things and finally you are good at it, and you don’t have to put too much energy into it, you just sharpen it a little bit and you end up doing it better than everybody else.

Lets take an example of Tiger Woods, I am sure that all of you have watched him playing golf. He is so at peace and has no tension at all while hitting that ball. If there is something similar that you experience in your life then your talent is right in front of your eyes. Upgrade what you do best from grade six to grade nine, and if you are able to do it then that is your talent and you don’t have to live your life convincing yourself that you have no talent.

My talent as I said is singing, I love music. You should drink, eat and dream what you love, like I do music. I have gone through ups and downs with my music career but I have not given up yet. You will be able to read the whole story and what I have gone through, you will be surprised what those who have made it in music have to go through before they get where they are.

My book about music is known as MORE THAN A MILE. The title signifies how somebody thinks that getting what he /she wants is as easy as walking for just a mile but on the way the person comes to discover that its not only one mile it’s a long way that one cannot even see the end from a far.

Written by Wallace Ngige (jnr)
A piece from the book (Wallace Diary) which is written by Wallace Ngige (jnr)

Philosophies of the Ant

2008-10-28T03:12:00.002-07:00

What does it truly mean to know your objective and do just that? First off, you must clearly define your objective, or your goals. This means you must know what it is, where it will come from, when you are going to accomplish it, and the steps that will lead you to that end.

Let’s use the ant as an example. An ants objective is to gather food for the entire colony. That is objective number one. Objective number two is to protect the colony. There isn’t much lolly gagging around. To an ant, getting food is primary until threatened. Then protection is primary. It is about survival.

Let’s relate this to running a successful business or becoming an entrepreneur. Your first objective is to gather food, or income, or raise. Nothing else should step in the way of that. Make it a priority. Set apart your “income producing” time. Get that time done before moving on to anything else. In Network Marketing or a Home Based Business, it is very easy to be distracted by other things. While working from home, there are kids to play with, wife or husband to help out, things to clean or build, babies crying and activities that do not add to the “income producing” ones. Do not let these get in the way. Set your priorities and tackle them in order of importance.

Get clear on your objective. Operate as you are already there and as though it is happening. This comes about through visualizing your goals. Once already at the end goal or the final destination, it is easier to see the steps you must take to arrive there. You can begin to work backwards and figure things out that might not be otherwise anticipated.

And always, always, always be a master of one. In other words, don’t be a jack of all trades and a master of none. When you start a business, project, or job, finish that one first or make that one the most successful first before you attempt to look elsewhere. I have known people who have started three Home Based Businesses all at once! Guess which ones failed? All of them failed! There is power behind concentrated and channeled focus. When directed to one objective, success happens!

So let us be more and think more like the ant. Even though it is pure instinct and the nature of the ant, I have not doubt that the ant is thinking “food, food, food, food” the entire time it is looking for it. It definitely isn’t thinking about the sexy queen ant it met the other day. It is extremely focused on the objective, and thus, extremely successful!

Joan Miller Celebrates Five Years With Directbuy of Vancouver

2008-10-28T03:12:00.001-07:00

VANCOUVER, COQUITLAM, VICTORIA, AND OKANAGAN, BC…

“The five years has really gone by fast, but that’s what happens when you enjoy what you do and the people you do it with,” said Miller, a Delta resident. “The best part about this job is you’re always learning something.”

A Delta resident and mother of three grown children, Miller worked for CDI Corporate Education and holds a bookkeeping certificate from CompuCollege.

“We took over ownership of DirectBuy of Vancouver about a year ago. Trust me, in that scenario, you want as many experienced folks on board as you can have. Joan is a pro’s pro and we hope to have her as part of our DirectBuy family for years to come,” said Jade Allen, owner of DirectBuy of Vancouver.

Since 1971, DirectBuy franchises have offered members the opportunity to enjoy enormous savings on home furnishings, home improvement items, entertainment and outdoor products and accessories by buying wholesale, directly from the manufacturer. With four convenient locations in the greater Vancouver area (Victoria, Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Kelowna), consumers can enjoy a comfortable, country-club setting, where they finally have the financial control of buying direct.

For more information on a DirectBuy membership, visit www.DirectBuyBC.ca.

About DirectBuy

Since 1971, DirectBuy has helped hundreds of thousands of families enjoy a better quality of life, enabling them to buy directly from more than 500 manufacturers and their authorized suppliers. Buying direct makes members’ hard-earned money to go much further, while having the selection and choice not available at any retail store. DirectBuy has been serving the greater Vancouver area since 1997. Access to confidential prices, local suppliers, and unparalleled selection helps make members' dream projects a reality. It's a comfortable setting, where you finally have the financial control of buying direct. The four DirectBuy showrooms serving the greater Vancouver area are part of more than 160 franchise locations throughout North America.

Consumers interested in becoming members may obtain a Visitor’s Pass to attend an Open House by contacting DirectBuy at 604-552-5255, or visiting www.DirectBuyBC.ca.

Locations of the four DirectBuy showrooms serving the greater Vancouver area are: DirectBuy of Vancouver, 2659 Lillooet St., Vancouver, British Columbia V5M 4P7; DirectBuy of Greater Vancouver, 91 Golden Drive Unit #1, Coquitlam, British Columbia V3K 6R2; DirectBuy of Central Okanagan, #5 2260 Hunter Rd., Kelowna, British Columbia V1X 7J8; and DirectBuy of Greater Victoria, 350B Bay Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8T 1P7.

To learn more about the superior value and benefits of a DirectBuy membership, visit www.directbuycares.com.

Masters Touch Offers Homeowners Key Ways to Save Energy This Winter

2008-10-28T03:11:00.000-07:00

MA…
Replace your windows. If the windows in your home are 15 years old or more, chances are they are not very efficient. At least 30 percent of heat in your home is lost through the windows. Even if your home was built in the 80’s, it’s time to replace the windows. There are certainly more energy efficient windows on the market than those available 20-plus years ago.

Replace your doors. Amazingly enough, many people will replace all their windows and save creaky old doors. The same rule that applies to windows, applies to doors that are 15 years old. Consider replacing your main front door and back door; the doors to the basement, and the door between your home and the garage.

Inspect and install insulation. Have all your visible insulation inspected to make sure it is installed correctly and that there is enough. And if you have an old home that doesn't have any insulation between the inner and outer wall, by all means hire an insulation company and have some installed soon!

Check your heating system. It’s imperative to have your heating system checked annually. Contact a local company to service your burner and consider an upgrade if it is an old system. The technician who performs the service can make recommendations.

Replace all your thermostats. Replace all your thermostats with digital, programmable units and set them to lower the temperature at night or when you are not home during the day. This will help to save on energy bills.

Add Energy Efficient window treatments. You can easily increase the R-value, or insulation value of your home by installing energy efficient window treatments throughout your house. From insulated and thermal shades to blinds, draperies and more, the right window treatments can prevent heat loss in during the winter as well as help block the heat from entering your home during the summer.

Add a pellet stove. With the price of oil these days, consider a pellet stove or other alternative heating source. A pellet or wood stove is much more efficient at generating heat than an open fireplace.

“Just one 275 gallon tank of oil can cost up to $1,300. On average, homeowners with oil heat fill their tanks at least six times during the winter. The costs for electric and gas have also increased significantly. That being said, the fall is the time to incorporate measures to reduce those energy bills,” explained Doug Masters, founder of Masters Touch.

He continued, “The changes you invest in now should see you through at least the next 20 years and the cost of upgrading will be offset by rising energy costs.”

The Masters Touch
Masters Touch is a full service design/build and remodeling contractor. With a team of more than 50, including architects, interior designers and project managers all working together, Masters Touch can handle all of a client's home building or improvement projects and provide expert guidance to DIY folks. The company was recently named #249 in the “2008 Top

500 Contractors List” in Qualified Remodeler magazine.

Masters Touch was founded by Doug Masters in 1997. From high-end design and build projects; kitchen and bath renovations; exterior painting, roofing and siding projects to flooring, interior painting and decorating projects, Masters Touch caters to homeowners throughout the Metrowest area.

Masters Touch is a Showcase Priority Dealer for Hunter Douglas and offers professional design and installation service. The one-stop interior design and home improvement shop also offers Marvin and Harvey windows; six lines of custom and semi-custom cabinetry; over 150 types of granite and Corian countertops; paint; carpet; hardwood and tile flooring; home theater design and installation and much more.

The company offers written warrantees on all their work. Masters Touch is located on Route 109 in Medfield, MA. For more information contact 508-359-5900, e-mail info@masterstouchweb.com or visit masterstouchweb.com.

The Magical Business Card

2008-10-28T03:10:00.002-07:00

Business cards may be very limited but they are one of the most important tools that a millionaire uses to get to his clients. A business card is a very easy thing to have but the question is why don’t all of us have business cards?

A business card gives you an identity of who you are and your position in the company that you work for. I have had a business card do magic for me and its time that it does the magic for you. My first business card was made out of a dream. I always liked music and I always said that one day I would build a build so big that people would wonder what it was. This building was going to be my entertainment company.

This card had my names on it and it described me as the founder, president and C.E.O of the company. The only thing that was missing was the company. The card motivated me and gave me an identity. It made me realize that I was meant to become that, all I had to do was bring up the company so that I could now be the head of it.

All this was happening when I was in college. We used to hold tournaments where people would compete for the best looking lady and best looking guy. Our campus was so small that the tournament had to be held somewhere else and not in the school campus. We got this newsletter that explained where the tournament was going to be held and there was my chance.
It was going to be held in one of the big hotels in the country and it was my time to meet some big and important business men since I knew for sure that that was where they stayed, the tournament was important to me because I would use it as a bridge to cross me to the next level, the level of big business men. I had about four cards in my pocket and I needed at least thirty cards so that I could distribute them when we got to the hotel. I had about five hours to get my cards ready. I went ahead and prepared more cards that had the title of my company. The cards described me as the president, chairman and C.E.O of the company which was yet to exist. I just had cards that barely explained anything. When we got to the tournament I had at least thirty-six cards. Those were enough to get me going.

When the tournament started, I found a way of sneaking out of the hall to go and stand beside the door of the restaurant where all the V.I.Ps used to eat; I just had to make sure that I gave out all the cards. I know you are wondering why I was giving out cards that described a company that never existed! The company existed in my mind and the cards were motivating me to bring it to life.
I had given out thirty five cards and had only one to go. I saw this guy that came out of the elevator and as he was heading into the restaurant I just gave him the card and started walking away. After walking for about a minute, the guy called me and asked me what my company dealt with and this was my response, “my company is a component of college students and all we do is look for business opportunities and then implement them.” He looked a bit surprised but the card made him book an appointment the following day.

The next day I met with the guy and this was what he said to me “hello Wallace, three years ago I gave somebody a business card just like you gave me one and now I run businesses all over the world. I am going to give you a business plan and I will teach you how to make a lot of money that you will be driving nice cars to school that will look ten times better than your teacher’s”. That was what the business card that explained a non-existing company did for me…………………….

Make Money Blogging - is it Possible?

2008-10-28T03:10:00.001-07:00

This is my first quest when I started blogging about a year ago. Can I really make money by just ramblings about anything? I’ve got so many question circling around my head. Questions like how did AdSense works, is Yahoo part of Google, are those John Chow’s cars? What the hell is blog? How to setup a blog? These are questions that came out from my head when I looked at John Chow’s monthly income report.

This is a question that most of the people wanted to know about. Let’s get back to the question, is it possible to make money blogging? Well, the answers are yes and no, and it is all depend on what your blog is all about. If you want to make big money blogging, you’ve got to be different in all aspects. More specifically:

Blog aspects..

* Good SEO Optimized (On & Off Page)

* A lot of subscribers

* Highly Page Viewed

* Huge UV

* Content is King

Self aspects..

* Patient (HUGE)

* Braveness

* Interest

* Creativity

These are essential and compulsory things-to-have to attract advertisers to buy your services which include space for advertising, pay per post or link selling. I made myself some money by blogging, you can check them here: September Online Income, the highest so far is: April Online Income

Sometimes, “self aspects” is much more important than SEO. John Chow’s blog is not “SEO’ly” good (though he managed to land on the first page of Google SERP way back ago). He ranked on the 5th page for “make money online” key phrase, but still he managed to get thousands of subscribers (mine is on the 18th which is technically more worse) from his braveness to be different. For those who didn’t know what Chow did, you can always check out his blog.

Being not so good in SERP doesn’t mean that he can’t get a lot of money from blogging. Instead he managed to get approximately 30,000USD monthly for just sitting in front of his computer typing things that he prefer. And this result does not come in a night, he started his blog in December 2005. With simple calculation :) that is 3 long years time. I mention John Chow a lot in this post, he inspired me and I learned a lot from his blog.

So, if you ask me, is it possible to make money blogging? It depends on how much longer can you wait :)

Top 10 Free Press Release Submission Sites

2008-10-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

A PR submission site differs from an Article submission site in that you are not submitting an article. Duh. I know it sounds retarded, but soooo many people screw it up and end up just wasting their time and effort.

An example of an article might be: "Top 10 Tricks for Covering Genital Herpes."

In contrast, in a Press Release, you are submitting some sort of an announcement that you feel is newsworthy in hopes that it will get picked up somewhere and shared. Web 2.0 has kind of blurred the lines between everything, so the distinction is a bit more fuzzy than it used to be.

A complimentary Press Release might be: "Zolcor announces Weenie Paste -Subhead -Cure Embarrasing Herpes Breakout in just 10 days."

The next step would be to proceed to tell people about your revolutionary product, how it works, and where to get it. Got it? So below is the list of Top 10 PR Submission sites I had created. I have already paid to have the legwork done, so I thought I would pass the list and rankings to you folks so you don't have to go through the tiresome process of finding and ranking hundreds of submissions sites.

What you need to know about this list: The rankings listed are from Alexa. The number next to it represents the traffic rank. The lower the number the better. Traffic rank is a combination of of it's reach (number of users as a percentage of all users on the internet during that period) and page views (how many pages people view on their site on average). I have been using Alexa for a long time for both online and offline research, and their numbers are pretty sound.

2 Paths for Bringing a New Product to Market

2008-10-28T03:07:00.000-07:00

There is a huge debate on the "best" way to decide what product/service to create and a LOT of people including the gurus not eating their own dog food. I know. I've seen it first hand. Basically in comes down to two different models. The first I'll call the reactive model. This is when you poll the market to find out what customers are actually willing to buy at the moment and give it to them, whatever it is. The second is the proactive model. (not to be confused with Jessica Simpson who IS a Proactive model...and her skin has never looked better) In this model you build a product that you "think" the market would want, and then find people to buy it from you.

The current guru wisdom states that you should follow the reactive model. This is by definition, opportunity seeking. After all, that is what people are looking for, so selling it to them becomes much easier. And this does make sense to an extent. Kern's niche marketing is a perfect example of this.

However, most people ..especially those just starting out... instinctively follow the proactive model. They figure out what they are good at, build some information product based on what they know, and then proceed to spend a buttload of money on guru courses that teach them how to bring their masses to their door.

Ok. I admit there are strengths and weaknesses to both models. And there really is a place for each. What I would like to do in this article is dissect each in a little more detail and highlight what is good or bad in each.

The Reactive Model
As I said earlier, this is by definition, opportunity seeking. And even though that term has gotten a bad rap lately, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's actually a pretty smart strategy. So how does it work? Well, you poll a potential audience. If you don't have your own list you can do this a number of ways. One quick and dirty approach is to use Google Adwords or Hexatrack to find out what people are searching for. Just brainstorm a bunch of niches where there might be hungry buyers and start looking for ones with high traffic. Google Adwords will tell you how often phrases are searched for how much competition for that keyword, Hexatrack will tell you how much you can expect to pay for a click. Even if you aren't spending money yet, these methods will show you how much demand there is for a particular solution you can provide to a particular problem.

Now assuming you build a product to solve a particular need, you are golden from there right? Well not really. Here is the rub. First, by the time people get to a point of searching for a particular solution to a problem, they are pretty far down the buying curve in the "evaluate alternatives" stage. And that's good right? Well not necessarily. It also means that they are actively searching for OPTIONS. The will look at what you have, they will look at what your competition has, and if they are similar, let the price war begin!

Secondly, if you are really trying to build a business, you will soon discover that marketing a product that you are not really into will just about kill you. It usually took me about 2 months to truly hate something. The level of involvement required to build a product, never mind keeping up with current trends, and overcoming daily obstacles will REALY make this feel like WORK really fast.

The good
• built in demand. less time and money to convince audience
The bad
• You will always have competition and margins will be low.
• If you are interested in building a business, doing crap you don't like is not a long term strategy

The proactive model
People follow this model for two reasons. First, because they are brand new and it just comes as instinct. I would guess that the reasoning is that they already know a bit about something, so the easiest way to get productive is to just build what you know.

The second reason is far more interesting to me from a strategic viewpoint. In this case, you know your market exceptionally well, and have a way to educate them early in buying process. Remember how I said that in the reactive model, you are finding the buyers late in the decision making lifecycle? Well in the proactive model, you can grab them right at the begging. Rich Schefren is brilliant at this. He does this by periodically releasing new reports. Rich's unique gift is that he can synthesize a LOT of information and make connections that other people don't make. So what he does is research current trends, puts them together, and creates a report that makes you realize that you have a need or pain point that you never did before. By doing do, he puts you in square one of the decision process ..recognition of need. Because he was the one who made you realize, he is also the one who framed the need. And you can bet that the way that he framed it, he is the ONLY possible solution to that need. In addition, there is no competition at this point. Blamo! Say hello to decreased price sensitivity, and higher margins.

Now there is a HUGE risk associated with this model. It assumes that you know your market better than they know themselves...literally!. You need to know their problems so well that you can determine problems that they don't realize they even have yet. The other caveat is that you need some way to educate the market both of their need and why they should listen to you. You will either need a big list, lots of traffic partners, or be willing to spend some serious time writing articles, posting blogs, and in general building your buzz and credibility.

The good
• better long term strategic fit
• allows you to "create" a need or want, thus no competition and higher margins

The bad
• you really need to know market well
• it will cost a lot more to educate and convince the market

You Can Make a Million Overnight, if You’re a Moron

2008-10-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

I get probably fifty emails every day about some new-fangled way to make millions literally overnight. For just $50 to $600 a month (or worse, just a one-time payment of $6500!), you too could have these secrets! Puh-lease! These guys are just scamming people and it's about to make me sick. There is no fast track way to millions. Sure, if you get lucky with the new Tickle-Me Elmo you might hit it big real fast, but the honest to God truth is that it takes more than fifteen minutes a day and it sure takes more than one night to make it big. It just does. Google doesn’t even crawl that fast.

The latest scoundrel about blew my mind. A fifteen page sales letter, fancy car pictures, and the man was posing by his fifty-foot catamaran. Overnight, supposedly, he made nearly half a million dollars. The check came in the mail the day before his home was to go into foreclosure, and minutes before the repo guy was coming for his car. Sound believable? Not to me.

The thing is, every “guru” has a rags to riches story to tell and they are all starting to sound the same. Some poor schmoe who has no internet knowledge whatsoever, turns on his computer, and poof! he’s a millionaire. The next day he’s buying a big new home and is posing for his sales letter to tell everyone else how he made his fortune.

The truth is that these gurus are full of bunk. There are real ways to make money out there, but they do not give you ten websites for free, and they do not have some magic program where you just press a button and whammo, you’re rolling in the cabbages. Doesn’t happen and never will.

If you want to make money online, you have to do it right and not fall for the scammers. Otherwise, you’ll just spend a lot of money and end up right where you started, looking for a real, legit solution. And why waste that kind of time?

Not Getting Results Online? It’s Time to Stop Cooking With the Microwave

2008-10-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what to think any more. For a while, it seemed that everyone was making a million online and now it seems that everyone is trying to sell everyone on how to make a million online, but no one is getting results anymore.

This trend began to happen when eBay stopped allowing ebooks on their auction website. Why? Ebooks are mostly crap. Plus, they can be copied and turned into extra versions of crap. Basically, no new information has been presented in an ebook for the past five years. It’s all been re-hashed and re-worked to the point of insanity. eBay was so sick of having crap (mind you, hundreds of thousands of ebooks were on their site) that they took everything down. Now, the only way to sell an ebook on eBay is to burn it to a CD and ship it to your customer. No more instant information.

But that’s the thing with instant anything. The quality is much lower than it would be if you had to wait. Take dinner for example (just go with me here…). Would you rather have a frozen dinner that cooks in two minutes in your microwave, or would you rather have a creamy, scalloped potato and roasted rosemary and garlic chicken stove-top feast?

I choose the chicken and potatoes, because I had them for dinner tonight, but also because of that word, quality. While the microwave meal was “nearly” instant, the quality ends there. Why put that in your body when the feast, though it sounds extravagant, only takes twenty minutes more?

That’s what went wrong online too, and eBay knew it. And I’m glad they made this change because it gives real online courses with real information to share a chance, once more. Instant information is only worth what you get out of it in that instant. But information that is bound in a book that has been published, or a course that has been taught to real students, is like the chicken and potatoes and is worth the wait.

I’m so Sick of “make Money Online” Crap-- Aren’t You? Just Start a Legit Business

2008-10-28T03:04:00.002-07:00

’m the kind of person that likes to check people out on Rip Off Report before I’ll buy from them. Usually, you can tell from the sales letter whether that “guru” is worth anything by the sweeping claims that they make. Make a million over-night, okay that’s a sales pitch that won’t amount to anything. Make a million using my simple one-button program, obviously that’s a sales pitch that will just waste your time and money. The more grand the claims, the more the scale tips on the scam-o-meter.

And what about those ads that promise you one (or ten!) free websites? All you have to do is sign up for their monthly contract, press one button, and wham, ten web businesses just waiting for management. You know that’s a scam, right?

You know this, you feel it in your gut too. It might sound nice, but you’re past the point of an easy fool.

First of all, anyone that can pump out ten websites for each customer is either a genius that spends their life making websites 24 hours a day or has a program that can create simple cookie-cutter websites at the press of a button. A cookie-cutter website, if you don’t already know, is basically a website that looks like all the others, like a cookie cut from a mold.

From a strictly professional standpoint, whether these sites even look good doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that they are all the same that really hurts. To Google, you know the top dog who ranks websites professionally, websites that look alike are a very bad thing indeed. And hundreds (let alone thousands) of websites that look alike is just a death sentence, a pure waste of money.

Why bother with “money making” opportunities when you know they sound a little too good to be true?

If you’re anything like me, you want to make a living online because of the freedom that can grant. Sure, the money has the potential to be great, but spending only a few hours doing something for your successful online business is sure a heck of a lot easier than 8 hours a day at someone else’s business—for the rest of your life.

So, my thing is this: stop spending your money and stop wasting your time. Take the course that will change your life for the better. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but it sure will give you the tools to make your business happen, realistically, and grant you the freedom you’re looking for. And there’s nothing sales-pitchy about it.

Going Direct to the Customer

2008-10-28T03:04:00.001-07:00

Making a memorable personal impression with a variety of people is critical to gaining attention for your new business. If you are persistent and persuasive these contacts will turn into customers. And your new customers will provide cash (hopefully) to propel your business from the survival phase into the growth phase.

Once you are enjoying a steady stream of income you can consider new promotional tools, which if used effectively, can boost your sales dramatically. But you should proceed with caution because direct response marketing can consume a significant amount of your money in a very short time period. The key is to wait to use these tools until you are clear about whom you really want to sell, why they buy and what you want to say to them.

Experiment in your networking and publicity with different stories about your company and its products and services. Try out different groups of prospects with slightly different selling stories. Note carefully what seems to gain attention and stir interest and what seems to be ignored. At this point you not be investing a lot of money to find out what works.

Once you are confident that you understand what approach can achieve the success of the AIDA formula -- Gain attention, create interest, stimulate desire and ask for action -- then you will want to do more of it as quickly as you can. Direct response marketing and advertising can produce impressive results quickly.

Direct Response Marketing

Direct response marketing refers to techniques where you go directly to customers, asking them send you money and orders through the mail or over a telephone order line. You don't need a factory or store, just an attractive product, some money and some knowledge.

There are a number of ways to use direct response marketing:

* Build sales leads. By responding, people qualify themselves as good prospects for your product or service.

* Boost store traffic. A personal invitation to visit will attract buyers to your store.

* Get new business from old customers. Direct response marketing reminds them that you exist.

* Keep current customers. Let your customers know you appreciate them -- drop them a note regularly.

* Introduce new products. Going directly to a potential buyer first can tell you whether you should proceed with other marketing.

Your intent when using direct response marketing is not to just attract prospective buyers, but to get them to buy -- right now, right here!

Ways to go direct to the customer

There are a number of ways used to produce interest and orders directly from customers:

* Sampling. When you offer the first half-hour of consultation free, you are providing a sample. Of course, sampling is done extensively by marketers of consumer products such as food.

* Price incentives. You cannot compete day to day by cutting your prices below your competition. But you can effectively attract customers by offering special pricing deals. For example, an annual sales, offering something free along with your product, or grouping several products together at a price lower than they would sell separately.

* Giveaways. A whole industry exists to provide you with personalized giveaways -- the advertising specialty business. To be effective your giveaway should be something useful and something that relates to the nature of your business.

* Flyers and brochures. These sales promotion pieces represent the most commonly used form of direct response marketing for small businesses, for example passing out flyers for your home cleaning service.

* Trade shows. There are thousands of gatherings of buyers and sellers each year. In a typical two-day trade show your company's story can be seen by more than one thousand potential customers. Beware:Trade shows can be very expensive. You must have a very clear idea of what you hope to achieve.

* Seminars and demonstrations. When you are selling a service it is difficult to deliver a sample once person at a time. An alternative is to attract 50 to 100 people at one time by offering them a free or low-cost seminar demonstrating what your service will do for them.

* Direct mail and telemarketing. These two techniques are sufficiently involved to deserve their own discussion.

Direct Mail

There are three main types of direct mail marketing:

1. Offers and catalogs sent through the mail

2. Offer made over the telephone

3. Offers through magazine and newspaper ads

For most new businesses, catalogs are far too expensive to produce and mail. Selling over the phone is getting harder to do each year. This technique often works better with business prospects than with consumers. The most common direct mail techniques for small businesses are direct mail packages and newspaper and magazine ads.

The New Generation of Direct Mail

Traditionally, direct mail has involved mailing out massive numbers of envelopes to broadly defined groups of customers, hoping that one or two in a hundred will buy. Small business cannot afford such extravagance. instead small businesses today use very focused communications materials sent a very select list of prospects.

Personal computers allow great flexibility in composing direct mail selling materials and professional creation and management of mailing lists. This automation allows a one person business to create and prepare to mail 200 to 300 pieces of direct mail in just one day.

There are two keys to successful direct mail marketing, particularly when you are on a tight budget:

1. An offer that is simple but persuasive and asks for action that will be convenient to take;

2. A mailing list that provides as specifically as possible just the kind of people you want to buy from you.

Finding the right mailing list

Even the most creative mailing piece can go to waste if it mailed to people who don't care about your product or service.

Before you start to look for a list you need to have done your market research to discover who are your target customers. The more specifically you can describe them, the more accurately you can find a mailing list that matches them.

There are thousands of lists of names available to rent. They usually come in the form of pressure-sensitive labels and their cost is quoted as $/M which is dollars per thousand names. One of the most comprehensive listings of mailing lists is the SRDS Direct Mail Lists, Rates and Data, available in larger libraries.

We like to develop our own mailing lists, although it takes longer than buying someone else's list. We do this by offering a 20-page booklet we have written through press releases and small classified ads. Everyone who buys has their name and address recorded in a computer program known as a database. We have our computer hooked up to a small label printed to create our own mailing labels whenever we want them.

Successful Direct Mail Ads

There is probably no area of marketing that has been researched more completely than direct mail. This is particularly true of direct mail ads. Some of the keys that the experts site are:

* Use a friendly, but catchy headline at the top

* Keep copy short and be sure to list a lot of benefits

* Make a promise with ad, such as: "learn Spanish in 15 days"

* Put a time limit on your ad, such as: "order today, quantities are limited"

* Ask the reader to take some action, for example: "call today to place your order"

Most larger libraries have several books on the fine points of direct mail advertising.

Particularly study the chapters that describe how to estimate the cost of a mailing and its likely return.

Telemarketing

You already know how to use the phone to transmit information, but do you know how to use it to make money? There are several key results you can attain with telemarketing:

* Qualify prospects without expensive in-person sales calls

* Obtain sales appointments

* Measure the response of your customers immediately

* Communicate more personally than you can through the mail

* Provide highly personalized response to the customers needs

Just as when you are preparing to take part in a play, professional telemarketers create a "script" of what they want to say and rehearse it before they start to make calls. Before you start to write down what you want to communicate decide which primary goal you want to achieve:

* To get a sales appointment

* To get a response to a survey

* To get the prospect to request more information

* To get an order on the spot

Once you have gotten customers, telemarketing can be very valuable in obtaining repeat sales, making your customers feel more special, announcing "specials" and getting feed back on new product ideas.

How Can You be Passionate in Bed, if You are not Passionate in Life?

2008-10-28T03:03:00.001-07:00

Being passionate is all about enjoying the moment in an extraordinary way. It’s when you do something and have a feeling that rarely comes around or a feeling that is rarely felt. You would do just about anything to experience the feeling.

Most of us go through all sorts of things in life, some are there to lift us up and some are there to let us down in an extraordinary manner. Some make us bitter and some make us feel like we don’t want to live again. Life is made of challenges and without them we cannot harden and learn to deal with it. Life takes us through experiences that we never even thought would come our way.

Once in a while we go through a moment that rarely comes around and the moment is a moment of happiness. Most of us are not happy with what we do or what life takes us through. Most of us do what we do because we are forced by circumstances. Life is not supposed to be like that. We are supposed to love our life so that we can be able to love everything that comes our way. The worst day you can ever have is the day that you have not laughed and most of us have those.

If you can’t be happy with what you don’t have now, do you really think that you can be happy with more. You have to be happy with what you have now; you have to be happy with your life so that it can move forward positively. When we are not passionate about what we do we all end up hating ourselves and seeing ourselves as failures. It’s all in the mind you think like a failure and then you become one but you think like a winner and then you end up becoming a winner.

Being passionate about life doesn’t mean that you should be comfortable with where you are. We are not born to be average, we are born to be victorious and being victorious is the best gift that you can ever give to God, becoming what he made you to be is the best gift that you can ever give him
We all have our ups and downs but try taking the downs as the bridge that will cross you to the ups. Everything that happens in our life happens so that it can elevate us to the next level. Never think that bad things happen to you because you were a mistake. Nobody in this world was a mistake. Be passionate with your life, love what you do. Love your friend and your enemy too. Make all that surrounds you feels comfortable around you and vice versa.

We all have our responsibilities in this world; we all have a reason for being here. If you have not yet found your reason try being positive in life. Try doing everything as if it’s your last day. Whenever you do good things you do them to yourself because they always come back to you. Love your life and respect it, it will love you too and bring all the goodness to you.
Written by
Wallace Ngige (jnr)

Big Doors / Big Opportunities Swing on Little Hinges

2008-10-28T03:01:00.000-07:00

In everything that we do, there is some little amount of fear that we all have. This fear tries to show us that we won’t make it or something will probably go wrong on the way. This amount of fear is normal but there is always a way that we can control it.

In business most ideas that are born sound absurd in some way, they make the people who come up with them look as if they are going crazy but the fact is, if the idea doesn’t not sound absurd then there is no hope for it. There is a probability that the consumers will not go for it or there is a probability that almost everybody in the world knows about it and that makes it not that interesting and amazing.

The great entrepreneurs go for those drowning ideas, the ones that only he knows how he will go about it and make it all happen for him. Big business opportunities swing on little hinges meaning that good ideas may seem to have a lot of obstacles and challenges. You might have an idea that everyone is discouraging you on but you have your way to make it happen. That is what you should evaluate and go for.

A good idea is full of challenges and there is a high possibility that not anybody will support you simply because they have never heard of it. This is the good time to keep your secrets and ideas to yourself, when you go telling everybody about your ideas, all that you will find is opposition.

Treasure your ideas and make them work, it feels very good to bring up something that everybody else thought was drowning. Prove them wrong and prove yourself right. Great ideas experience the greatest number of obstacles. Think of Edison when he discovered electricity, he called people to dig up roads and pull buildings apart so that he could put his special wires. People were not unhappy with gas but most of them asked him how he felt after having lost ten thousand times but his reply was that him having failed ten thousand times had brought him ten thousand times closer to discovering electricity, he knew ten thousand things that he was not supposed to do.

What I am trying to say is no matter how many times you try something and it fails, there is always a way that you can do it and make it happen for you. So many challenges might come your way, so many people might discourage you and tell you how hard it is but you are the idea carrier and nobody can do it better than you should always know that.

It’s very easy to give up when you are almost done, most people give up when they are one step away from the victory, don’t be one of them. Work your way to the end. If you have a feeling that your idea will work then there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. That is the greatest feeling one can ever have. Ideas are born out of the need to change something. Make sure that all your ideas come to life so that you can change all that you were meant to.

Written by
Wallace Ngige (jnr)

Young Entrepreneur: The Future Looks Very Bright

2008-10-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

Today young entrepreneurs have come a long way from delivering newspapers, walking dogs, babysitting or running lemonade stands. In fact children as small as 12 have started to run full fledged manufacturing businesses and services. Research shows that an increasing number of youngsters these days want to start and run their own business.

So why does a person want to become a young entrepreneur? Well, this article talks about these very idea so read on to know more.

Most often than not it is the thrill of the accomplishment that drives a person to start their own business. This gets precedence over fame and money.

It is exhilarating for a young entrepreneur to see his or her plan grow into something big and successful.

Added to this is the advantage of the freedom that is experienced. There is a sense of fulfillment that a young entrepreneur enjoys more than profits and money. This sort of a fulfillment is often referred to as psychic income.

Security is another thing that motivates youngsters to start their own business. A survey shows that youngsters love the feeling of being financially secure and independent. It is a big thing not to depend on parents for allowance.

In fact one study shows that young people would prefer to start their own business than spend time and energy working in mindless summer jobs. In fact starting young means a person can acquire business and financial skills and is more than ready when he or she enters the actual world of business.

A young entrepreneur also has the added advantage of knowing the tricks of money management. In fact when a person starts at a younger age, he or she has a greater appreciation for money. Youngsters who start a venture at an early stage in fact have sharper business acumen and they are also more than ready to meet the real world because they have already experienced failure in some way.

Starting a business at a young age has another benefit, like all other walks of life a person is more open to learning and absorbing knowledge at a younger age. The mind is like a fresh sponge that absorbs all the information and puts it into good use.

A young entrepreneur will definitely have a head start over his or her peers. With a vast experience under their belt these people will be better equipped to run a successful business when they are adults.

No matter how young you are, if you think you can start a successful business out of something you should go ahead and take the plunge. At this stage no business is big enough to incur great losses nor do they need a lot of capital to be set up.

The expenditures are also low. So if you think you have a certain skill or a creative aspect that can be utilized you should give serious thought to becoming a young entrepreneur yourself. It will definitely be a great preparation guide to meet the tribulations of the real business world later.

Network Marketing and Direct Sales - a Powerful Combo for Serious Entrepreneurs

2008-10-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

If you've done your research, you've probably found that many so-called "home based business opportunities" are in the network marketing industry and essentially involve some form of direct selling. There are, however, many businesses that revolve around multi-level marketing models, and those are quite different primarily due to the compensation structure (how you get paid). By finding a business that enables you to leverage the benefits of both network marketing AND direct sales, you will find that your ability to build substantial income streams from your home office in a relatively short period of time is much better.

So how is it that someone can leave the traditional business world, have the luxury of working from home, and earn a six or seven figure income, and not have to worry about the hustle and bustle of traffic, office politics and managing employees?

A Brief History On Network Marketing

For thousands of years, successful business people goods and services at the lowest price possible and sold them at the highest price for maximum profit. In the old days, haggling over price was expected in the negotiation process and the transaction culminated in a handshake deal which left both parties, give or take, mutually satisfied. This simple process of transferring goods and services was most lucrative for the small minority of entrepreneurs who knew the secret to success: network marketing!

Although the concept has been around from the very beginning of trade, the network marketing industry as a recognized industry has only been around for a few decades, and the explosive growth this industry has been experiencing has been phenomenal for both the companies and the entrepreneurs (distributors). So what is network marketing?

Network Marketing Defined

Very simply, network marketing leverages the concept of developing a network of like-minded individuals who, together, market various goods and services to others. The power of a network is actually scientifically proven to have a compounding effect on various factors of success. This is primarily due to the two primary components of any network: the node and the link.

For example, in a telecommunications network, the basic "network" is comprised of nodes and links that work together to transfer communication around the globe. The larger nodes tend to have more traffic, which is primarily due to the fact that they have more links connecting them to other nodes.

Another example: The human mind is an interrelationship of knowledge structures, which is essentially a network of nodes and links. When you think about money, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is an image of a $100 bill and maybe the second thought is what that $100 can buy you, let's say a dinner for two. "Money" is one node, the image of that $100 bill is another node, the dinner for two is yet another node, and they are all interconnected by links (associations). If you know more about money than you do about dinners, then your "money" node is probably larger than your "dinner" node and therefore you're most likely going to have more associations with money than with dinner!

To bring this concept back to network marketing, if you create links with other like-minded people (ideally, other serious entrepreneurs who want to build successful million-dollar enterprises), then your income will grow in proportion to the number of links you have. Furthermore, your income will also be significantly impacted by the number and size of nodes that you're linked to (that is, the caliber of entrepreneurs you're working with). It is this very fundamental worldly and scientific concept that this industry is build on.

So how does direct sales fit into the picture?

Direct Sales Defined

The direct sales industry is a bit more direct (no pun intended). Quite simply, direct sales is the process of selling goods and services directly to the end consumer. Your favorite brand of soda is probably not distributed via direct sales because it is first sold by the manufacturer to the wholesaler, from the wholesaler to the retailer, and then from the retailer to the consumer. But if you were to come up with your own brand of soda and then use distributors to sell your product directly to consumers, then you'd be leveraging direct sales. You'll notice that many companies use this model all over the world.

"One-Two Punch!" A Powerful Combo

If you are a boxer, and your left hand is network marketing and your right hand is direct sales, which hand do you think your trainer would instruct you to use more often in the boxing ring? Whichever is your stronger hand? No, both! Why? Because it's the most efficient and productive combination for success.

You see, there are a few companies in North America that have built their organizations from the ground up on top-tier products and have embraced a distribution model that takes the best of network marketing and direct sales and blended the benefits of both into a win-win business opportunity for professional business owners.

Top-Tier Business Opportunities Blend

(1) Excellent products that have strong demand in their respective marketplaces

(2) A powerful compensation plan that rewards entrepreneurs very well for their efforts

(3) A duplicable system that helps the entrepreneur eliminate 90-95% of the variables that cause most startup businesses to fail

(4) Training and support via a community of other successful entrepreneurs who are willing to share their secrets to success in the business. I've underlined that last part for a very good reason: this is the critical variable that is hardest to find. But if you do find it, hold on because you are going to enjoy the ride!

To wrap up, network marketing is the basis for explosive growth in your business. Direct sales is the mechanism by which you will earn the most income, primarily due to the fact that there is no middle tier in the distribution chain to suck out a large chunk of the profit margins. Find a company that can provide you with the benefits of both models and you will find the most efficient vehicle for building up to a millionaire status within 2-5 years.

Final Thought

Do your due diligence before selecting a home business. You want to find a reputable company that has top-tier products that are standalone (can be placed for sale on a brick-and-mortar store shelf), has an excellent compensation plan, offers a supportive community to help you build your business, and has industry leaders building their businesses with this organization (this shows you that the best of the best are there, which means you probably are selecting a very good organization to work with).

The Treadmill Vs. Ladder Entrepreneur

2008-10-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

My two favorite definitions of "entrepreneur" are from a 19th-century French economist and a present-day American capitalist.

"The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield." - Jean-Baptiste Say. "An entrepreneur solves problems for a profit." - T. Harv Eker.

Entrepreneurs are the producers of the world. They create something from nothing. They take ideas and dreams, and they bring them to reality. They are the innovators and the risk takers. They are the ones who make our lives better, and a lot more fun.

Mindset and action
What differentiates an entrepreneur from a non-entrepreneur is mindset and action. It's the mindset that you know you are absolutely and solely responsible for the results that you produce.

My friend Dan Sullivan talks about this in terms of two economies: The results economy and the time and effort economy. The time and effort economy is where you get paid for the hours that you put in, and the results economy is where you get paid for your results.
However, as an entrepreneur, you cannot confuse activity with accomplishment.

There are people out there who work really, really hard but do not make any money. And there are some people out there who don't work hard at all and are very wealthy.

And a lot of that is just having the right capabilities, the right resources, and the right understanding.

Entrepreneurs who achieve the greatest level of success are not necessarily the hardest workers; they are the smartest workers. They are the ones who believe, for one thing, that when it comes to selling, the best prospect to be in front of you is someone who is pre-interested, pre-motivated, pre-qualified, and pre-disposed to doing business with you.

Are you a treadmill or a ladder? There are two types of business owners: Treadmill entrepreneurs and ladder entrepreneurs. Treadmill entrepreneurs work extremely hard. They are constantly running, but ultimately they end up exhausted and not really getting anywhere. Ladder entrepreneurs are those who use that same effort to get themselves up to a new, higher level in business.

Dr. Ed Hallowell, the author of "CrazyBusy," shares his research about ADD/ADHD (attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and how most overworked entrepreneurs exhibit the symptoms of these conditions. And just as with those who truly have ADHD and go untreated, the "untreated" entrepreneurs go about running their businesses and lives like they are driving around with square wheels.

This is much harder than it really needs to be. Once a treadmill entrepreneur can round those wheels out, his/her life starts working better. It runs smoother, and you get much farther with less effort.

So the question is: Do you feel like you are running on square wheels? Moving forward, but it sure takes a heck of a lot of effort!

Get off the treadmill
There are solid procedures you can follow in order to get off the treadmill and onto the ladder, finding true success.

Here are three strategies you must implement in your business.
1. Measure and track results
Everything measured improves. And everything measured and reported improves exponentially. This is a universal law that applies to business and personal growth, that when you actively track "data"that you want to improve, you will make it better with that consistent focus.

But when you get more serious and make yourself accountable to others, your results improve even more. For instance, someone who really wants to quit smoking will tell others he is quitting. The peer pressure and support helps to motivate and monitor him.

An entrepreneur can use this law to his advantage by tracking the results he wants to improve, and finding someone to "report" to. This includes revenue, expenses, profit margins, referrals, testimonials, complaints, and "lifestyle" results like days off, family time, and personal income.

Sit down and ask yourself what areas of your business (or personal) life you would like to see improvement in. What "data" can you measure and track on a regular basis that gives you a snapshot of how you are doing in these areas?
Whom can you "report" to on a consistent basis to hold yourself accountable?

2. Master new knowledge
No matter how hard you try, you cannot build a million-dollar company with $100,000 skills.
This is the trap that many treadmill entrepreneurs fall into. Many blame the industry, the economy, or where they live as reasons their company is not succeeding. In most cases, though, it's not outside factors that are keeping them down, but inside ones.

When I was struggling in my 20s with my cleaning company, I believed it was not possible to be really successful in this business. I was living off credit cards and going to stockbroker school at night because I wanted to go into another business where I could make more money.

Then, a friend from high school invited me to go jet-skiing with a rich friend of his. My main goal was not to spend the day jet-skiing but to hang around someone who could teach me something about building success in a better industry than cleaning.

This guy had made millions in real estate, and I knew he could point me in the right direction. I told him about my carpet cleaning business and that it wasn't doing well and I wanted to do something else and I wondered if he had any suggestions. He asked if there was anyone else in the carpet cleaning business who was making money. I said there were a couple of companies in the Phoenix area that do over $1 million a year; to me, that was a lot of money. But that these companies had been around a long time and were established and much bigger than I was.

I told him there was a lot of competition and all customers cared about was price, and that I worked hard, was trained and IICRC-certified, and did everything right, but I was broke and tired. So I must just be in the wrong business. His reply was one of those defining moments that changed my life.

He said: "If there are other people in the industry who are making money and you are not, there is nothing wrong with the business. There is something wrong with you." Not exactly what I wanted to hear. He explained that I didn't own a business; I owned a job, and that if I changed to a new industry I'd spend a few years learning the technical side, and then I'd continue to repeat the same bad business habits that caused me to be failing in the cleaning industry.

The answer was to learn fundamental business knowledge to make my cleaning business work, and then I could take those fundamental skills to any industry I wanted to and create success. I felt it in my gut when I heard that advice, so I knew it was hitting on the truth.

I made a decision that I was not going to get out of my carpet cleaning business until I figured how to make it work. I put a challenge to myself that I would figure it out. I had a lot of goals and dreams, but I lacked the skills to get me there. I didn't even understand what skills exactly I needed to be looking for. I set out on a quest to transform my company, to learn what I needed to learn. And through books, seminars and advice from other successful people, I became a student of business success.

Getting off the treadmill starts with a mindset shift. My belief system was wrong. I believed that circumstances outside of me were limiting my business success, and that I was a victim of those circumstances. Once I changed my mindset from the problem being outside of me to inside of me and took complete responsibility, my situation changed dramatically. I worked to master the skills to climb up to the next level, and the next, and am still climbing. Ask yourself: Which skills, resources, or talents would your business need to become two, three, or four times its current size or income? Where can you acquire that knowledge?

3. Multiply your effort
Many business owners get stuck on the treadmill because they are dead-set on being in control of everything, or even worse, being entirely a one-man (or woman) show. That's a certain recipe for a life-draining job. The mindset shift is from being "in control" to being "in charge." That shift from treadmill to ladder; from working harder to working smarter; comes down to boosting productivity and leverage. Productivity is maximum results with the least amount of time. Leverage is maximum results with the least amount of effort.

Business survival or business success?
"Work" has two different meanings.
It either means hard effort: "I have to work." Or, it has a flow to it: "This just works." The word changes based on how you want to look at it. Business isn't any different. It can be hard, or it can flow, depending on how you decide to look at it. Many business owners are in business just to survive, instead of to succeed. The treadmills run on negative, fear-based energy, and the ladders are propelled by positive, goal-based energy. Once you make that shift, you have the power to take your business from ground level to as high as you want it to go.

How not to Succeed in Business

2008-10-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here it is: the absolutely guaranteed secret of success in business...

Identify what people want and provide it to them efficiently.

Honestly. It really is that simple.

This, of course, begs the question, “If it really is that simple, why it is that there are so few successful people?”

So the real issue is not so much how to succeed in business as how not to succeed. There are three basic methods of failing to succeed in business.

Method One is to fail to identify accurately what people want. Most failed businesses make the mistake of trying to sell what the entrepreneur thinks the customer wants rather than what the customer actually wants. This is an easy mistake to make, given that customers are often unclear, not least in their own minds, what they really want. The lack of clarity may deceive the entrepreneur into thinking that he can exploit the uncertainty by clever marketing. This is a classic error because, although clever selling may be deceptively successful in the short term, it cannot build a viable business if what is being sold is essentially unwanted.

Method Two is to fail to deliver what it wanted in an efficient way. This covers both relative inefficiency – where one is simply not as efficient as one’s competitors – and absolute inefficiency – where one is so inefficient that one cannot even turn a profit even if one has no competitors! Inefficiency can take many forms – inefficient marketing, inefficient financing, inefficient strategy, inefficient cost control, inefficient management, inefficient operations, inefficient pricing, inefficient administration, etc – any one of which can destroy a company with a sound business idea to serve an accurately identified customer want.

Method Three, however, is by far the most common.

It is, quite simply, not to try – or, at least, not to try properly.

The vast majority of people do not try at all. This is not necessarily to their discredit. They define success by standards other than financial. They have other priorities – perhaps their families, or a hobby, or a political or a charitable cause – and money is only a means to an end to them. They may well be right.

Yet there are others who do try, but try so half-heartedly that they would have been better off not trying at all.

Although commitment does not guarantee success, it is a necessary precondition. Anyone setting out to succeed in business must understand that it demands focus – at least in the key phases. It demands that one works when others are idle, and that one invests when others are spending. One must accept that enterprise is risk – and risk means being prepared to sacrifice.

All sorts of people have found success in business. Private enterprise is the only true meritocracy. Yes, it helps to be intelligent or good-looking or socially skilled or born into money or well-connected, but there are people who have succeeded without any of those advantages – and people who failed despite having them all.

Many multi-millionaires are people from a poor background with little education and little in the way of social sparkle. Some are plodders. What they had was a commitment to their businesses, based on a commitment to succeed.

While it is true that many with a similar commitment still fail – either because they make mistakes or because the ball bounces the wrong way or, most commonly, through a combination of both – it is unlikely that one will ever succeed without it.

Michael Cappetta : Professional Entrepenuer!

2008-10-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

Parents are always concerned whether the toys they purchase anytime are safe for their children. There's even more concern during the holiday season when kids see all the latest toys advertised everywhere they look. One Internet-based retailer, Kids Idol Music, has always provided safe, educational toys for children. Kids Idol Music is the leading re-seller of personalized products for children, with thousands of sales around the world.

Kids Idol has personalized music and video products for children. They market personalized music CD albums and personalized videos. The Kids Idol product line includes personalized music CD's -- CDs where your child's name is actually sung into the audio and video -- and are available for all ages. They range from a Barney Personalized Music CD, a Disney Princess Personalized CD, a Mickey Mouse Personalized Music CD, Veggie Tales Personalized Music CD, and a Wiggles Personalized Music CD.

Kids Idol is also the place to find the Dora The Explorer Personalized Video. It also has a great line of non-licensed, character-personalized music including, a beautiful personalized lullaby album and personalized Christian music.

In 2008, Kids Idol introduced the "You Can Do Anything" personalized DVD. The personalized video contains the child's name in 8 original songs more than 105 times.

"When my daughter Allie heard her name in the song, she couldn't believe it. She had the biggest smile on her face!" says customer Patty Cox. "It was a great value for what I paid and the on-line transaction was really easy." Patty adds that the personalized DVD has a permanent home inside the family minivan. She plays it for her daughter whenever they are out for a drive.

Michael Cappetta is the founder and developer of Kids Idol. "I love getting e-mails from my customers telling me how much they love the product and, more importantly, the child loves the product. It makes my day."

Cappetta started Kids Idol with a single, freestanding kiosk inside a major shopping mall in Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 17. It has grown to a cross-platform Internet and retail based business.

"Sales are consistently strong throughout the year. When you have a solid product, and provide exceptional customer service, people return to buy other products, and eventually spread the word."

Cappetta has been featured on WKYC-TV, the NBC network affiliate in Cleveland, and in various print media for his founding and success of Kids Idol.

Kids Idol Music is based just outside Cleveland in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and now has mall kiosks around the country. For more information, visit www.kidsidolmusic.com.

Work at Home - How Utilizing Your Own Unique Skills Can Pay Off With Assembly Jobs

2008-10-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

What can you do to get a little extra money into your pocket without quitting your day job? Maybe plugging into the Internet and researching the vast and endless opportunities available for Assembly workers, is the perfect alternative to answering that very question. One of the best aspects of this secondary income - generating opportunity, is that you can decide for yourself what areas that you are skilled or interested in that can lend themselves to the additional funds you may currently be pursuing.

Like sewing? Then maybe quilting or doll making is the right thing for you to consider. What about beading? You could utilize your talents for giving that extra - added touch to clothing, picture frames, key chains or even jewelry. If you love to work with wood, you could enhance this medium with a joy of painting. Want to create a Country Home appeal? Why not think about making candles or fragrant soaps? Gift Baskets are used for all sorts of occasions from Baby Showers to House Warming presents. Is this something you could help create?

Once you know what you want to assemble you can begin to locate a company that will work in union with your specialized skills and talents. All this can be done in the comfort of your own home and can fit around your schedule. That way you can meet all of your other demands and current responsibilities as well. Thereby creating the beginning infrastructure of your own home based business.

One word of caution: to those who are not aware of how many of these companies work, often you will be required to send in a fee to receive a sample item of what it is that you will be assembling, so make sure to narrow down your field of interest to avoid spending money on things that you are not skilled at or willing to learn. Also make sure that the company is legit. If you know the city and state that they are located in, it is always a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau and the Internet to see if there have been any complaints relating to their workers and/or paying practices.

Always try to reach a customer service representative to get a feel of how they operate relating to any questions or concerns you may want to address before you join their business opportunity. You don't want you spend your money and time on a company that really does not have your best interest at heart. By doing this first you'll have a better knowledge of what you can expect to run into if and when you may need to contact them for any reason in the future. You can learn a lot about a company by calling their Customer Service Reps.

Review of Ez Wealth Solution

2008-10-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of multi level marketing so I was especially curious when I heard of the EZ Wealth Solution program. EZ Wealth Solution uses the 1up and 2up system that most cash gifting opportunities use. From what I was told by my sponsor, EZ Wealth Solution is very much unlike your typical cash leverage opportunity. Being that EZ Wealth Solution was offering a free tour of the program; I took my sponsor up on his offer and decided to take a comprehensive review of the EZ Wealth Solution program.

EZ Wealth Solution is a “Get Paid Today” program so it does not utilize the pyramid structure that is synonymous with network marketing programs. They also use the pay it forward system which allows your sponsor to pay your way into level one, a $47 dollar value. I like the pay it forward system because it gave me the opportunity to get into the program without any outer pocket cost, except for the $10 reseller rights package.The reseller right gives you resell rights to 100 products that you can market and keep all the profits. EZ Wealth Solution has 5 levels which give you the option to decide at which level you would like to join. I started at level one which my sponsor paid for me.

After reviewing the EZ Wealth opportunity the major difference I found between EZ Wealth and other cash leveraging programs is that it’s not really a cash gifting program.The products offered are legitimate products of value that you can actually put to good use or sell to internet marketers. Each level has different products, the higher package you purchase, the more quality products you will receive.

While reviewing the compensation plan I began to understand the power of 1up system which is used in the first level and the 2 up system which is used in each additional level. Everything is explained thoroughly by several videos that cover every aspect of the program in stages. If you ever get confused, you can rewind the video to view it again. Overall the videos were informative and easy to understand.

In closing I’d like to say that my review of the EZ Wealth Solution program is a definite thumb up. I also recommend reading “The Painful Truth”, also referred to as the “Coffee House Letter’. It is a letter explaining the fall of network marketing and why internet prelaunches make it hard to maintain your mlm downlines. I hope I was able to shed some light on this program, but the only way you will know for sure is the take the free tour yourself.

Money Making Systems Are The New Craze!

2008-10-07T05:33:00.002-07:00

f you are an Internet marketer or you make money online, you know there is a new program, service, or website coming out almost every single hour boasting about how you can make millions of dollars without working for even a second. Now, most of the time (sorry to burst your bubble) this are schemes or scams. If you make money online you're going to have to do at least some work, even if the program is automated, you are still going to have to set it up, or read the e-book it comes with, or advertise, or "watch" the program (computers make mistakes). But, don't be getting all disappointed on me yet, there are ways to make money online that are legit, in fact I can name 50 ways right now off the top of my head. What I'm going to do is make a list below of three products I have either had really good luck with or that I know are legit and do work. Some of these are generators, some are systems, some are just plain old programs, but they do work, so pay attention!

Fortune Makers Biz -
This most definitely is a money system, but its one that works, or so I hear anyway. People all over the place are raving about how well this program works and how easy it is. It's absolutely incredible. With this program there are no e-books, no software, no pills, potions or lotions. It is what it says it is. A money making system. Another great thing about this system is there are two optional upgrades you can choose from, both are awesome, but of course one is better than the other! So what exactly are they selling on this site? It's a luxury resort membership club backed by a full service travel agency that offers high end luxury travel at private member-only rates, as well as access to owner based timeshare resort properties. Hopefully by now most of us know what popular and what unpopular things to sell online are. Travel equals money maker!

The Rich Jerk -
This guy really is a... jerk and that's putting it nicely. However, he does have a program that works. And if you can get over his arrogance and lack of manners, you too could be making the money everyone else is with his system. It's easy, as he says. He hardest part is the selling but, if you know how to sell, if you have a great product to sell, and you know what to say, you can be a great salesperson! This system comes with a free website, plus some advice from RJ himself about how to get people to buy the things your selling on the free site. Pretty simple stuff, price isn't bad either, check it out for yourself and see what I mean!

My Great Empire -
This is a site related to the GDI system, now I have never personally tried the GDI system but, I know of friends who have and it has worked for them, so don't count this site out just yet. Go take a look at it and at least sign up for the free information. Building a massive action driven GDI team beneath you has never been easier. Not only will you notice a much higher opt in ratio, but an increased GDI sign up ratio as well. Every opt in you get through your MyGreatEmpire affiliate link, will receive approximately 12 followup emails in a period of 30 days. This is a website made for users that want to receive opt-in leads with the system.

There Is Always Money To Be Made On The Internet

2008-10-07T05:33:00.001-07:00

You just have to know where to look, who to talk to and what processes to use. Now if you look on the Internet right now for money systems or money generators, chances are you will see about 20 million results. But which is the best? Which is the worst? Do these things really work? First and foremost an important part of joining any business, service, company or system, is to look up reviews on the site. This can easily be done by going to your favorite search engine and looking for the site at hand and ending that link with the word "reviews." Now remember when looking up a site be sure to add the http:// and the extension as well. Now some of the sites I'm going to list below aren't "systems" so to speak but, they are ways to generate income online, or even better yet residual income, which is something all of us are shooting for!

My Great Empire -
This is a site related to the GDI system, now I have never personally tried the GDI system but, I know of friends who have and it has worked for them, so don't count this site out just yet. Go take a look at it and at least sign up for the free information. Building a massive action driven GDI team beneath you has never been easier. Not only will you notice a much higher opt in ratio, but an increased GDI sign up ratio as well. Every opt in you get through your MyGreatEmpire affiliate link, will receive approximately 12 followup emails in a period of 30 days. This is a website made for users that want to receive opt-in leads with the system.

Cash Making Power Sites -
Another great money maker, this site is a program you can purchase and you will in turn receive some really great information about the top 5 sites you can earn money from, easily and quickly. This is another very legit site, and I have actually tried this one and it has worked for me quite well. Now this might either be a pro or a con for you personally, for me it was a pro, but the more I learn and the more I read, the more I earn each month. The first month it was just a few hundred bucks, but now I'm on month 2 and the highest I earned was a little over $1500. Another great thing about this system is its automated, and who doesn't love automated sites! I know I do!

Instant Cash Generators -
This site is a little contradicting, it says you can earn "instant" cash. This isn't really the case, but its pretty darn close to instant. This is a more of a "advice" type site. You buy their program and they teach you all kinds of different ways to earn money such as flipping websites, selling domain names, profit from outsourcing, creating niche websites, getting traffic to your sites and much more. These advice reports come in articles, emails, videos, etc. Nice little site I found a few weeks ago, haven't made the jump yet but, I have heard really good things about it, so go check it out!

Of course there's hundreds if not thousands more to check out, but these are definitely my top three for being honest, legit and having good reviews. Another nice thing about the last two sites is once you pay, you get immediate access in the members area. The first site I listed, doesn't have a members area but you will be sent emails with tons of information! I haven't signed up with GDI as said earlier but, I did sign up for the free information and I gotta say the guy who owns that site K.Braun should be charging people like me for information like that because it's incredibly valuable to both you and me.

Are You Using Social Media?

2008-10-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

A recent conversation with a friend reminded me just how important marketing can be. As business owners we often approach things from the standpoint of trying to create things for our market. This is the wrong approach to take.

Instead of creating we need to find out what our customers want and provide that for them. In talking with my friend we both agreed that services like Facebook and Twitter are pretty stupid.

Here is the thing though. It does not matter what he and I think, or even what you think. If our customers and clients demand something, we need to be there to deliver it.

My clients demand LinkedIn. They also demand that I have a blog. You need to stop thinking like you and start thinking like your customers. Just because I think something is worthless has no meaning or merit to it. LukasCoaching.com does not receive over 10,000 hits per month simply because I created a website. It receives those hits because of all the other things I do to support it.

There is one big caveat here. If you do any of these things, you have to do them well. Do not start doing it and stop after 3 weeks. If a customer sees your most recent blog as December, 2007 you are in big trouble. You just lost them.

Do it right or not at all. Almost every time without fail, I will update a status and get an email from someone that wants to do business with me. Give it a try; it may work for you too.

What Do You Struggle With in Business?

2008-10-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

I recently posted this question openly on LinkedIn. While the responses varied, the overwhelming majority of business folks who answered said the downturn in the economy was the biggest problem holding their company back from being great.

Mary answered simply "UM...the economy! :P".

A few nights ago my family and I were leaving a friend's home around 7 pm. As we drove down the interstate our 2-year old daughter said "Mommy; Target." Sure enough, there along the interstate was the side of Target. What is interesting about this story is that at two years old our daughter cannot read. Even more interesting is the fact that the word "Target" could not even be seen from the road; only the graphical part of their bull's eye.

My first reaction was to ask my wife how much time she honestly spends there each day. Then I wondered what it would look like if kids recognized other businesses as much as my daughter recognized Target.

Our economy is changing, I do not deny that. Ask Best Buy how much they are hurting and they will quickly tell you that big-screen TVs are at an all-time high for sales. As much as we want to blame our problems on the economy, as business owners, the problem often falls on us.

How have you adapted your business to the changing economy? The businesses I coach with have not noticed a downturn in business simply because the economy has changed. Many of them have actually noticed an increase in their business.

You must continually be adapting to the changing market. If not, you are being left behind. Target has done a great job of branding itself to its market. My guess is "the economy" is not hurting their business model. How could you benefit from adapting to the marketplace rather than complaining about it?

Have You Installed Esd Benches Yet ?

2008-10-07T05:26:00.002-07:00

How would you want your furniture or storage equipments to be if you were running your own little industry? As strong as they come to withstand the pressure of time and the amount of machinery that they would hold, I'm sure. But that's not all that you need to take care of if you are into the manufacture of highly delicate technological equipments in the likes of silicon chips and disc drives; for now you would have to tackle such probable issues as contamination and static charges. The solution lies in the form of ESD (electrostatic dissipation) furniture that is specially designed to attune to the safety requirements of cleanrooms and thereby ensure the manufacturing of high quality products without any problems.

Running an industry would require you to make a sizeable investment of your capital on the right cleanroom furniture, failing which, consequences that are hazardous to both your business and the production process are most likely show up someday. It therefore, becomes quite impertinent that you make the right decision and choose your chairs, tables, and benches with precaution. ESD benches, almost immediately, sum up as an impromptu solution as they are designed to dissipate electrostatic charge to the ground and eliminate the risk there itself. Owing to this noble characteristic, this category of benches is used in a lot of industries like computers, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals and aerospace.

As a vital member of the industrial work benches category, ESD benches are ergonomically designed and built to sustain heavy machinery with much ease due to their heavy duty frames. These benches even come with height adjustment abilities to ensure ease of use while running various machineries during the manufacturing process. Look out for bench accessories, such as steel drawers, laminate drawers, adjustable uprights, riser shelves, leg extensions and casters that would go on to increase the efficiency and performance of the benches.

When it comes to ensuring the safety and the long run of cleanrooms, an extra investment on the purchase of quality work benches go a long way in ensuring good business as well. Since the workers and the equipment themselves are the major sources of contaminants, there is no better way than to utilise ESD benches to keep such unwanted hazards at bay. A piece of good news for people who are on the verge of being convinced in the efficiency of such benches is the room for customisation that has been made available by the makers of industrial work benches. Now, you can choose benches with footrests towards the front or the rear, the height and dimension of the benches, and so on.

Accounting Help – a Boon for Business Empires

2008-10-07T05:26:00.001-07:00

If you run a firm of your own you must have been through the difficult maze of maintaining the accounts. The accounting work is very complicated yet is very crucial; therefore you can not afford to be careless about it. Since, the whole process can be really taxing, it could be very helpful, if you sought some accounting help for completing the accounting work, it can take off a lot of burden of your shoulders.

There are various professional organizations that provide efficient and affordable accounting help. These organizations hire trained professionals who are very good at maintaining the accounts and other related data. These professionals help to complete the bookkeeping and accounting tasks on time as well as tracking the related data.

The organizations providing accounting help also tend to assist in processing the non-operational information which is absolutely necessary for any business. The professionals at these organizations ensure the proper preparation of data sheets. They maintain the accounting data sought by the managers of a firm as well as shareholders. They also prepare the data to be presented to the creditors, the banks and the government, that can be easily shared between them. The professionals working in these organizations help to form the right organizational structure of the accounts department. The information related to your firm's accounts is kept securely and confidentially. Also you are given a privilege to monitor the information on a periodic basis. These organizations also install the latest software in your firm's premises that can help you to monitor your accounting records.

Taking Accounting help from these organizations has many benefits. It helps to reduce the large manpower. It also minimizes the loss of time and efforts needed to maintain accounts sheets as well as other crucial data. Also if an error occurs due to lack of time, the professionals help by covering it properly and completely. The professionals working in these organizations use wonderful accounting software that helps to finish the projects timely and easily. The professionals working for these organizations will update your financial records on a regular basis. This will help you to know about your company's status in the market from time to time.

You do not have to worry about the fee as it is easily affordable. Usually such organizations will demand a minimal amount for their services. The fee is much less than the monetary losses which otherwise you have to incur on hiring an extra in-house staff.

There are so many organizations to choose from. A simple search on the internet can help you come across a large number of companies. These companies will offer you a variety of deals to help you with your accounting tasks. Once you will choose the right company for your tasks, the accounting help provided by that company will help to ease out the complex process of accounting. It will help you gain a complete control over your non-operational services.

A Review of the United First Financial Income Opportunity

2008-10-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

United First Financial is a company that provides a program to help the typical homeowner. The average person that is paying a mortgage payment that is too high with an even higher interest rate.

They are a company that has a goal to help the American homeowner reach their financial goals of getting out of debt. The company has a plan that will enable the homeowner to reduce interest and will pay their home off at a much faster pace. They do this by utilizing banking strategies, which have been used for years.

The way it works in a brief summary is a qualified homeowner will use a Money Merge Account System that can pay off their 30-year mortgage within 1/3 to ½ the time of a traditional 30-year mortgage. And they do without the customer having to change their spending habits and they do it without increasing the monthly mortgage payment.

Sound too good to be true? Most of us know that when we are paying a monthly mortgage payment, we are paying mainly the interest and will be doing so for the first half of the term, and we end up paying so much more than our purchase price.

But this company is providing a way to change that. The Money Merge Account was developed by a team of financial experts with years of experience in the mortgage industry. Their plan is to reduce the principal on the mortgage, therefore reducing the interest on the loan. The 30-year mortgage can then be paid off in as little as 8 to 11 years.

There are 5 steps to becoming mortgage free with United First Financial. They are listed below:

1. Complete and turn in your Money Merge Account work sheet

2. Activate your new Money Merge Account

3. Set up your Paycheck transfer: You will deposit you paycheck in your regular account. When it is cleared, you will then have it transferred to your new Money Merge Account, which is a managed line of credit. Due to the line of credit being connected to your home, the money being transferred from your checking decreases your mortgage balance, which is the whole basis of this plan.

4. Use your Money Merge Account to pay your bills: Your account will now be used to pay your bills. You will have checks, debit cards and ATMs. The amount that you have left after your bills are paid will remain again the balance of your mortgage until it is needed. This keeps your mortgage balance as low as possible. Again this reduces your interest charges.

5. Use the Money Merge system to increase your savings and pay your mortgage off as quickly as possible

In summary, United First Financial believes that when repaying a mortgage, it is not the rate that really matters; it is the total amount of interest that you are paying over the term of your loan. They are helping you to reposition your income and your unused money that normally sits in your checking account, to be used to reduce your interest paid.
There is not any information as to any fees in setting this up or becoming an agent with this company.

Is The Future of Your Ecommerce Promising?

2008-10-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

Ecommerce sales have been ballooning for the past few years. It is growing and proving how profitable the market is as long as you know how to advertise and make your product known for them. People now still love to shop, but they are much wiser too. In buying over the internet they are able to have an overview of the product to other websites, who have an opinion to share about the particular item or service that they are eyeing for. Aside from that many busy business persons tend to go to the internet for their needs, this is because there is no need for them to pause for their work just to buy a particular product they can easily slip one look over the web and make a purchase.

This growing market also convinced a lot of people of the potential income that they can get from trying out ecommerce. But then there are a lot of people who thought of the same thing and now the question is how you could make your ecommerce promising in terms of sales and income in spite of the competition.

Since the competition in this business is very steep, you have to always put in mind that you have to do a great deal of effort to make it in the internet business. If you want to reach the top of this career, better be prepared with right skills and motivation. This will help you push forward to a successful business.

As much as hard is the competition you should not lose hope and be satisfied with only what you can get in the ecommerce. To make it big furnish yourselves with a well planned goal and business structure and a good quality advertising materials. The first thing to consider is your target market, then let all your advertising methods work your way towards them. Then the better your plan is means that you are more prepared towards achieving your goals. With a good plan it is better for you to make the right decisions needed for your ecommerce.

Also do not stop with what you are offering or doing. Always look for the small nooks of improvements that you can do, either add new products or services or research for new skills in marketing. It is good to be always on the flow of what is in, so that you won’t be left behind.

The success that you can achieve in this business could only be an inch away from the failure. With the right preparation and determination, you will be prepared for the challenge that this can bring for you. As long as there is a growing market, ecommerce is here to stay and so should your business.

The Best Work At Home Opportunity Revealed

2008-10-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

o successfully use the word best, we have to apply the word to the common denominator of the internet. Not everyone is a financial expert, or an accomplished writer, nor does everyone have the same qualifications.

A million people are a million different and distinct individuals, each with his or her own talents and aptitudes. Revealing the best work at home opportunity means catering to many factors - ease of entry, learning curve, universality, level of expertise required and how attractive the job is in the first place.

It isn’t as hard a task as you think - the internet has provided work at home opportunities for a long time, and just looking at the popularity of a certain method - with numbers reaching hundreds of thousands proponents - we can then identify the best work at home opportunity.

Affiliate marketing programmes have been THE method of the digital age to make money at home.

A quick search on the internet will reveal thousands of affiliate networks, affiliate programmes and corporations recruiting affiliate managers to handle their range of merchants (and their products/services).

I rate it higher than direct marketing (tele, fax, digital, web) because after spending years dabbling in both, I’ve found that affiliate marketing requires the same tools, hard work, an eye for design and copy that sells and attracts and knowledge of the product. Direct marketing is great, don’t make the mistake of thinking it isn’t, but since affiliate marketing allows for multiple streams of incomes, a greater product representation and a wide range of payment methods that you can utilise depending on your comfort and support levels, I would call it the best work at home opportunity.

It is simple in theory, though its application requires work and constant back checks. You are the proxy between the merchant and his product/service. Either by driving volumes of customers to your own website (which sells the merchant’s products), or driving traffic to the merchant’s website (where you can get paid per sale, for example), this is the essence of affiliate marketing.

How you do it is entirely up to you, and the internet is filled with channels that can be utilised to advertise and drive traffic.

Action forms, list building, websites, article marketing, blogs, forums, newsgroups, viral marketing - the list is literally endless and a good affiliate manager will use as many channels as possible. Pay per click is also available, and can generate large amounts of traffic, but remember it is an added overhead, so ensure that your balance sheets are in favour of profit rather than expenses.

Payment can come in many forms, but the most common is profit sharing, where a percentage of the product’s sale goes to you.

I wouldn’t say it is the EASIEST work at home opportunity. But with its potential to open multiple revenue streams with a range of product representation, the dynamic and distinct ways anyone can use the internet to drive their affiliate marketing efforts, the proliferation of more and more products going ‘virtual’ and the fact that anyone with some sense of selling can enter - makes it the best work at home opportunity in the 21st century.

Are Mutual Funds a Good Way to Invest for Your Future?

2008-09-18T03:14:00.014-07:00

For individuals just getting involved in the game of investing, there is a lot of wonder circulating around mutual funds. Certain questions such as, “What are the risks associated with mutual funds?” and “Are they a good investment?” are questions that are frequently asked amongst investors. However, it is good to ask these questions because asking questions about mutual funds shows that a person means serious business when it comes to investing. All investors want the best return they can possibly get on their investment, so exploring the many options available are important. When it comes to mutual funds, there are many options. That is why it is good to know at least the basics.

The basics

Mutual funds consists of money from many different investors that is pooled together and invested into short-term money markets, stocks, bonds, various other assets or securities, or maybe even a combination of any of these. Each investor owns a portion of the holdings that the fund possesses and the income that is generated from these holdings.

There are several factors that distinguish mutual funds from other types of funds. Those factors are:

- The shares are purchased from the actual fund instead of from other investors via such avenues as NASDAQ or NYSE.

- The purchase price is the price per share plus any fees imposed by the fund at the time. These are commonly referred to as shareholder fees.

- When selling the shares, you are selling them back to the fund.

- New investors are accommodated through the creation of new funds that can be sold to them.

- Investment advisors that are registered with the SEC are typically who takes care of mutual funds.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are advantages and disadvantages to mutual funds. The advantages include:

- Diversification of your portfolio - This is important in investing because a diversified portfolio has better earning potential.

- They are affordable - There is a high degree of affordability when it comes to mutual funds. Dollar amounts can be set low for purchases, giving lower income individuals the ability to invest.

- Managed professionally - There are professionals who are constantly monitoring the performance of these mutual funds and always looking for the best investments for the fund in order to maximize its return to its investors.

- Liquidity - Investors are able to redeem their shares at the current NAV. This is in addition to any fees or charges assessed at that time.

The advantages make it clear that a mutual fund can be a great investment, but like any type of investment there are some disadvantages that come along with them as well. Those disadvantages include:

- There are annual fees, charges for sales, and other fees associated with them. It doesn’t matter how the fund performs. These costs still apply. Taxes also have to be paid on gains. This refers to any distributions received even if the fund performed poorly.

- Investors do not control their shares. The make-up of the portfolio is decided by the manager of the fund.

- There is uncertainty that surrounds the price of shares. It isn’t like how you can follow regular shares of stock in real-time during trading hours. There is a delay in you finding out what your share is within a mutual fund since you are sharing the fund with other investors.

So now that you see the advantages and the disadvantages, you can decide which way to go. However, you have to weigh them against each other. An example: Although you don’t have control, the fund is under professional control. Mutual funds have helped put money in people’s pockets, so mutual funds can be a great way to invest for your future. Just make sure you find a fund that performs well.

Established offshore investment firms provides offshore bank accounts, offshore mutual funds and offshore QROPS - a Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Scheme to those that qualify.

Town Home Leasing- an Affordable Living Plan

2008-09-18T03:14:00.013-07:00

When the idea of buying a town home comes into question, it certainly accentuates deep frowns in the faces of many first time buyers. It is a popular notion that a town home is never a first class living choice and is an option for buyers of low financial means. Contrary to this opinion, buying a town home is now a preference of many affluent families and according to many townhomes offer one of the most comfortable living style within a reasonable price. The most advantageous part of living in a town home is that the owners are relieved of the responsibility of maintaining the household. Buying a town home offers additional benefits apart from the apartment. The town home owners are entitled to use the extended properties like the parking lounge, swimming pool, and gymnasium and the like. In a way, town home offers an ideal living style with features of both a single family home and that of a condominium.

The entire maintenance of these extensions is carried out by the Home Owners Association. In consideration of these services you are required to provide a monthly rental. So if you are a retired person, and are tired of daily household chores, town homes many provide you a peaceful abode. However the properties adjacent to town homes are shared with other inmates. The home owners association requires you to follow certain norms and regulations as far as maintenance of the town home is concerned. You would better go through the CCR (convent, Conventions and Restrictions) document before you make up your mind of buying a town home.

Town homes offer one of the most comfortable living styles in a moderate budget.
Moreover several financing options make it easier for you to acquire your dream home and that too in easily payable installments. Among the most affordable home loans, home equity loans are quite popular. It gives you the option of mortgaging the home itself as a collateral and extend you credit at low interest rate. It is interesting to note that the amount you pay as interest on loans can be claimed as deductible benefit while filing your income tax retune. So, in a nutshell, buying a town home actually costs you very little. You are entitled to ownership of an entire impartment with minimum risk and price.

Town home living is ideally suited for people who wish to be surrounded in groups. It is a place that fosters community Lifestyle and harnesses fellow feelings among members of Community. A good number of people simple enjoy the company of neighbors and indulge themselves together in social activities that simply spice up their spirit.
However, it should be borne in mind that sometimes a boring neighbor or someone too much interfering in your privacy may make your life a living hell. So, while you make up your mind about buying or leasing a townhome; do have a talk with the other inmates. This would certainly help you develop an idea about the culture and lifestyle of your prospective future home.

What Type of Person Should Invest?

2008-09-18T03:14:00.012-07:00

Questions about stock investments and its many terminologies will often include a query about who might be the best candidate to be involved in this business called stock investing.

It’s a sensible question that often people from the outside will usually ask. So who can do well in this kind of business? Well, this kind of business knows no social class, age and sex. This is open for everyone who wants to know more about the business and of course open to people and would-be investors who may want to earn money thru a series of stock investing decisions.
Picking up stocks and investing in stocks is one of the best things that can happen to any person.

This is the avenue that a person can take in order to reach his financial goals and in order to safeguard the future of his family as well. Here is another reason why interested persons should invest; stock investing means that a person may need to work for the rest of his life. And in order to make this happen, money shouldn’t remain in the pocket rather it should be invested in many stocks.

By making this money move for you makes sure that your money will earn more money from you. It usually doesn’t matter where a person places its money; a person can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options and futures. A person can also invest in precious metals, real estate or a person can start his own small business. Or these can be done in combination, or what is known as the diversification of assets or portfolio.

Actually there are a number of portfolio types out there and someone who should invest in these different types of portfolios should learn to match his strengths, objectives and motivations. For example if it’s about money market portfolios, the personality that should invest is the ones seeking a stable share price and interest income.

This is also great for investors who may want a parking place for cash while waiting for other opportunities for long term investments. If it’s all about short term bond portfolios, then the personality that should invest here is the one that seeks a high level of interest income, and someone who may accept moderate fluctuations in the share price. If the opportunity is the intermediate-term bond portfolios, then someone who is seeking the high and relatively stable income. This should also meet the needs and the capabilities of those people who are willing to accept the moderate fluctuations in the share price.

If the opportunity in front is about long-term bond portfolios, then the person that should make the investment move is someone who is seeking a stable level of interest income, the one who is seeking a significant fluctuations in the share price and the investor who wants to balance the risk of the portfolio containing the stocks. Stock investing is open to all; yet it is suggested as well that the prospective investor should ask himself what he really wants so that the proper match may be made in the market.

Justin DeMerchant is the founder of ensign windows, market speculator, and top investment club where information on stocks and investing can be found.

Getting The Ideal Home Design And Living Style

2008-09-18T03:14:00.011-07:00

As far as getting the actual home design you want, all it takes is to tinker around with it in your mind. Some people will come up with tons of ideas and assembling them in mind and eventually laying them out will become one of the most fulfilling things you can do.

It is not easy though. With lots of magazines and current design trends to choose from, all of these will surely make a person bind them into one great home design that many will surely envy. Just don't overdo it because your home may look too artistic to depict.

Choosing a real estate property is easy. It is really the payment part the becomes a pain for most people. In the initial stages, it may not be felt. But once the lending institutions start debiting the dues, that is when all people will start feeling the ill-effects of the investment that they have done.

Some condition their minds that this investment for the future. We all know that it takes a lot of sacrifice to make dreams come true. In this case, just look at mortgages and payments as helping aids that have to be taken care of. Otherwise you lose both in the end.

Property investment can be a one shot deal for some. We all want that place where we can eventually retire and something that will surely be our one and last stop towards respite. But while many of us find them supposedly, we find ourselves checking out other properties as well considering new properties spaces being developed one after the other.

So the next time you think that it may be your last stop, think again. You may end up biting your lip and finding something better. With all the people getting into real estate, you can imagine the various designs offered in the world today.

There are a lot of things that can prevent you from investing in the house of your dreams. Leading the pack is financial capacity. Not all people can instantly secure a property to invest in since we all know how hard it is to save and survive in the world today.

Loans can help, but for sure, it will be the same thing and you may eventually end up paying more due to interest. And to top it all off, you have to make sure you religiously pay for your monthly amortization. With that in mind, you just have to either bite the bullet or leave them as dreams.

If we will recall the trends of the real estate biz, we will find that through the years, it has been an up and down cycle that occurs. Much of this stems from the fact that it all depends on the demand for properties and people who invest in them. With millions of dollars needed to make it all work out, people from all over the world are now wiser on when to invest and when not to.

But as the cycle shows us, real estate will once again be at the helm. It is at a stage of recession in some ways and if we analyze it properly, we will note that this is only a temporary reprieve and that it will once again rise to the occasion.

How To Handle Disgruntled Customers

2008-09-18T03:14:00.010-07:00

n any business situation, it is never easy to please every customer. Even with a mass-selling product and a great team of customer service individuals, you will always encounter one customer whom you cannot please.

The downside is that unhappy customers are quicker to share their bad experience with other people, which will hurt your business in return. However, there are ways to please the customer in order to make sure that they do not stay disgruntled with your business.

The key to keeping a customer happy is to understand how to satisfy all of their needs in order to help them forget that they were unhappy to begin with. It is not difficult, and it simply involves using a few common sense tactics. Continue reading for a few ways to guarantee that the customer stays pleased with your business:

Listen to the Customer

As humans, when we receive a complaint or criticism, our first instinct is to get defensive. Many times we start to do this before the other person is even able to finish what they are trying to tell us.

When this happens in the customer service industry, it is common for people to offer resolutions that are inappropriate or appear insensitive to the customers’ feelings. Instead, it is important that we work to become good listeners when it comes to the customers. If we seem distracted or annoyed, this will upset the customer even more.

It is important that you listen to what is being said, and not how the customer is saying it. This will help you avoid getting disturbed by what the customer is saying. Even if the customer has a sufficient complaint, many people are not able to express their feelings as calmly as other people. If you listen patiently and try to be observant to what they are saying, you can help them more efficiently.

Do Not Let the Customer Leave Unhappy

If you believe enough in the quality of your business or the effectiveness of your product, then you need to help the customer feel the same way. Even if the customer is unsatisfied, you do not have to give up and let them continue to feel that way.

Take the appropriate steps to help resolve the situation. In most situations, customers who have a complaint only want you to take their complaints seriously and handle it in a professional and quick manner. If you do that, then you should be able to receive another permanent customer.

Fix the Problem to Meet Their Satisfaction

In many circumstances, the business or company will try to right their wrong in a way that will still benefit them as far as costs are concerned. This will not satisfy the customer and it will result in another customer leaving unhappy.

For example, at some fast food restaurants, if the employee gets the customer’s order wrong, they will offer a coupon instead of reimbursing the customer their money or trying another tactic. The customer does not want a coupon just to keep them quiet.

The reality of the situation is that customers usually have a different idea of how to resolve the issue. Some have more drastic ideas, such as wanting the employee fired or punished for giving bad service. Other customers seek a financial resolution, while others want assurance that it will not happen again.

It can be difficult to determine what the customer is wanting in return, so the best thing to do is to ask them what you can do to make it right. If you do this, it will make the customer feel important and in control, and it will show them how much you want to please them.

While it is not always possible to mend every relationship with a customer, you will be amazed at how a few simple acts of kindness can help. Always try to put yourself in their shoes, and remember how you feel when you are the customer.

Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home and home based business opportunities. Find a legitimate work at home opportunity and start working from home today at: http://www.HomeNetPro.com

Successful Entrepreneurs are Doer’s - not Dreamers - Too Many Inventors are Confused About the Difference

2008-09-18T03:14:00.009-07:00

For many years I felt that if you scratched any American you were scratching an entrepreneur. This is the country where entrepreneurial activity is most possible and seemingly every citizen has an idea with commercial potential. Sadly, over time, I realized I was wrong. If you scratch most Americans you are most likely scratching a dreamer.

The difference between a dreamer and a doer is profound. Successful entrepreneurs might have initially dreamt of success, but they will not stop there. The drive to accomplish necessary tasks to insure successful outcomes separates them from the dreamy class, which includes most people. Success is a goal that requires drive, determination, courage, fearlessness, planning, discipline, sacrifice and passion. It is not easy, or everyone would be successful.

What makes one opportunity succeed while another, even more promising idea, fails? It always comes down to the individual and their makeup. A few no’s and the dreamer folds their tent. The successful entrepreneur recognizes no as a hurdle, not a deal closer. The opportunity to overcome the objection represented by the word no is an absolute necessity for any individual seeking success as an entrepreneur.

Dreamers take shortcuts. Dreamers make guesses. Dreamers defer tedious research. Dreamers hope somebody else will do the work for them. Dreamers cannot succeed. And, most unfortunately, many perfectly wonderful commercial opportunities are lost because of this dreamscape approach.

Successful entrepreneurs are always doers! They overcome the often seemingly endless obstacles placed in their path. The road to success is a curvy one, very seldom taking a linear approach. Doers find a way to hurdle each obstacle and move ahead in the process. Doers do not fear criticism, but see this as an opportunity to improve their business model. Doers are realists, no fantasy allowed.

Most importantly, doers are positive realists. Most dreamers are negative. Dreamers see hurdles as absolute barriers. Doers find a way, trying any legal, available strategy to achieve success.

Why do most people work at jobs they really do not enjoy? They need income of course. Most of us have some level of a work ethic. However, the work itself is often not rewarding. Many employees feel underpaid, undervalued, under-challenged. They want to do more, be more valuable and contribute more. But it usually does not happen. They are stuck and will stay so, usually. Often, they dream of the one big idea for a get rich quick widget that will change the course of their empty life. But it is just a dream.

Many entrepreneurs I have worked with came from dead end jobs. However, they possessed the drive and desire to change the course of their lives for the better. Their widget was a vehicle for a great change and lifestyle adjustment. The opportunity presented by modern American capitalism is available for any entrepreneur to seize by the throat and hold on for an amazing ride.

I look at hundreds of commercial presentations every year. Less than one per cent will ever make it to market. And yet, about 30% of the submissions we review have some level of commercial potential, sometimes exceedingly high potential. It is sad to see so many dreamers lacking the cocktail of traits and qualities necessary for successful outcomes. This is a great loss for the dreamer, our economy and society at large, as many of these ideas have real merit and utility.

After many years of teaching, coaching and consulting with would-be entrepreneurs, I can instinctively judge the potentially successful person. There is always an air of passion about the opportunity, knowledge of the competition, belief in the product and themselves. This is obvious whether the initial meeting is in person, by phone or e-mail.

The dreamer invariably comes across as a tire kicker. Hoping, unsure, cloying in a manner that underlines the shortcuts they have taken in approaching an exceedingly competitive commercial market. "Let’s make a million dollars together", is an entrée we often receive. Another losing approach, "I don’t know costs (or competition, or target demographic, etc.) I just know we will make millions on this, my Aunt Hattie loves it". There are many more similar vacuous introductions accompanying otherwise interesting submissions. The predictable result is that opportunity is immediately torpedoed.

Doers have an air of strength. They do not kick tires, but appear ready to repair the whole car. They have answers to most questions and are open to coaching. They are realists and flexible. Dreamers often state they will sell their project for a million dollars. Doers recognize that a good deal is a deal where every party is fairly compensated. Doers will do everything within reason to make a deal happen.

It is a shame that success as an entrepreneur cannot be taught or bought. It can’t! Personal make-up, energy, positive attitude and drive have no retail price. People are either achievement driven or they are content to be average, or less. Entrepreneurs have the essential traits and elements necessary for success hard wired into their being. Why is unknown, I just know it when I see it.

Many inventors recognize that they are creative, not entrepreneurial. They possess the ability to create, design, or invent, but not the ability to project their inventions into the commercial marketplace. These creators are smart to seek professional assistance in securing placement or sale of their work. As Dirty Harry said, "A man has to know his limitations". Not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur, but there are alternative ways to approach the market. This approach is practical for many creative people.

Dreamers unfortunately are doomed to fail. They will waste time, make mistakes, lose money and ultimately implode psychologically when the inevitable failure is at hand.

Armando Montelongo Entrepreneur Flipthishouse Success

2008-09-18T03:14:00.008-07:00

Real Estate is a popular industry. Today, there are more people than ever before getting into this arena. There are many examples of how Real Estate is bought and sold.

In the past, the general thought was to buy a property and then let it sit and grow in worth and then sell the property for profit. Today, there is a new trend which is to buy a property and fix or repair any problem areas and then put it back on the market without waiting and see how much profit you can get in a short turn around time.

Either way works. Its a situation that allows a buyer when they originally buy a property, to choose what’s best for them. If they have no reason to wait, they don’t have to because they can move forward.

It's a smart move to recognize your situation and see what's the correct way you want to proceed. If you feel that you have the money now to make the repairs and handle all the other financial obligations, then its ok to go down the path of the type of process that your comfortable with.

This method of a quick sale has been made popular by a television show called Flip this House. On this show, which is lead by real estate entrepreneur Armando Montelongo, you see his real estate process of how to buy and sell a house and to try to be fast and efficient.

If you attempt to buy and sell real estate and want to increase your wealth, and also want to flip properties, it's important to look at the numbers in advance clearly and make sure you have some exit plan b and c moves if the house doesn’t sell.

Ask questions or get advice or obtain a real estate coach or tutor or an actual real estate agent. There are many resources on House flipping on the internet. Even in low market times, you should still be able to find good deals.

Five Reasons All Entrepreneurs Should Join Toastmasters

2008-09-18T03:14:00.007-07:00

When I went home for Christmas last December, the first thing my parents said when I got off the plane was "It looks like you've grown, did you get taller?"

I hadn't grown at all, not one inch. So why was this their first reaction after not seeing me for sixth months? One word: I had become more confident.

Confidence is a funny thing in human beings. When you're feeling confident you tend to stand taller, hold your head up, and walk differently. It affects all areas of your body (eye contact, breath, stride, voice tone, etc).

What my parents were picking up on was not a change in my height, it was a change in confidence, and I believe Toastmasters was one important contributor to that improvement.

For those who don't know, Toastmasters is an international non-profit organization that helps people improve their public speaking. It is fairly inexpensive (less than $100 per year), and puts you in a supportive environment with other people who are learning to speak in public, become better leaders, an improve their social interactions.

Toastmasters is really only about giving speeches on the surface, and it can affect many other areas of your life.

It all starts with the fact that speaking in public is one of biggest causes of anxiety for most people. In fact, many people rate public speaking as being more frightening than death!

But one thing I discovered about overcoming anxiety and growing as a person is that every time you feel anxiety and STILL take action, you will build confidence. In fact, I believe that's the only way to build confidence: doing the things that you fear the most.

This happens to be one of the most important lessons you can learn as an entrepreneur in my opinion, because you will be faced with scary moments frequently in business.

Here are a few ways that Toastmasters can help you become a better entrepreneur and get a similar boost in confidence.

1. You Speak In Public More Often Than You Know

You probably speak in public more often than you realize, and will be required to do so even more in the future. Each time you pitch an idea, rally you team to accomplish something, inspire others to join you, do an interview with the media, or meet a new person, you are speaking in public.

We all know how important it is the build relationships in business, and if you can be the person who fearlessly networks with big shots at a conference, wows the media with your eloquence, or inspires employees to gladly work overtime for the good of the company, then you will rise to the top faster than your peers.

One interesting part of every Toastmasters meeting is called Table Topics. The presenter will call out a short question and then randomly pick on someone from the audience to come give an impromptu two minute speech about it. It can be quite nerve-racking to give a two minute speech with zero preparation! I can't tell you how valuable this skill is in learning how to interact with others, hold a group's attention, and just become a more interesting person!

If you can't effortlessly talk with anyone (man or woman) at a party for 10-15 minutes and have them remember you in a positive light afterwards, then you are missing out on valuable opportunities. Toastmasters can help you become more comfortable in those social interactions.

2. A Sense of Humor Is A Valuable Tool

At every Toastmaster meeting there is also a member selected to tell a joke. This is used as an icebreaker to bring the meeting participants together.

Guess what? The first few times I held this job, I got nothing more than a few courtesy laughs. I realized that I didn't know how to tell a joke!

I decided to work on this area in Toastmasters (there is also a manual you can work through to practice giving humorous speeches) and eventually started to learn the structure of humor.

I even went to the "open mic" night at the local comedy club a few times (talk about anxiety!) after going through the Toastmasters manual. I certainly wasn't the funniest person there, but I learned a lot in the process and once again built my confidence.

Humor is a powerful tool in your arsenal that can be used to defuse embarrassing situations and make others like you (and want to work for you).

3. Entrepreneurs Must Be Leaders

The third thing that Toastmasters will teach you is leadership. There are numerous positions in the club that need to be filled from time to time. They don't require a huge commitment, but they do help you practice working with a team.

However, the most important lesson that Toastmasters can teach you about leadership is how to evaluate others.

After every speech in Toastmasters, you will be given an opportunity to evaluate the speaker and give them instant feedback (sometimes in the form of, you guessed it, giving another speech). One of the most important lessons I learned here was how to mix criticism with praise. Helping someone improve without crushing their spirits is a lesson every leader should know, and it's better to practice it in a safe environment before you need it in the "real world".

Providing constructive feedback and commanding an audience's attention are indispensable skills that every leader must posses. If are serious about becoming successful, and don't yet consider yourself a powerful leader, this is one way to make progress.

4. You Must Spend Time With Right Type of People

Finally, Toastmasters does a remarkable job of putting you around the right type of people.

One of the most important keys to success is life is to surround yourself with people who are more successful than you are. Toastmasters is the kind of group that attracts people who are interested in improving their life and becoming successful.

In my group, for example, I've made friends who've taught me about real estate investing, web server technology, and sales. When you get around the right type of people, they will start to invite you to other events around town, introduce you to other clubs, and share inspiring books they've read.

5. Your Body Language Could Use Improvement

No matter who you are, your body language needs improvement. Many people are totally unaware of what message they are communicating with their bodies, and how fast people are making assumptions about them.

Some recent studies have shown that people form an opinion about you in as little as two seconds after meeting you. In one such study, evaluations of professors at a particular university were compared with evaluations of people who had only seen two-second video clips of the professors with the sound turned off. Remarkably, 78% of people who only saw the two-second video clips rated the professors the same as the class who had spent an entire semester observing them!

Your dress, your eyes, your hands, your stride, your expressions, your voice tone, and your posture are broadcasting out a strong message to everyone you meet (whether consciously or subconsciously). Do you know what it's saying?

If not, you may want to get in a supportive environment where people can give you specific feedback.

Toastmasters is a brilliant concept that has provided quite a bit of value to me in the past year and half, and I'd encourage anyone (especially entrepreneurs) to join.

Many other seminars exist out there which cost thousands of dollars and provide similar classes to executives. Toastmasters can offer you many of the same advantages in a non-profit organization.

Remember that the way to overcome anxiety and grow as a person is right THROUGH that fear. Feel the fear, and take action in spite of it.

Why Aren’t You Enjoying Your Home Business?

2008-09-18T03:14:00.006-07:00

People always say you should start a home business that you’re passionate about. If you don’t love it, it’s going to just be too hard to keep on going.

That doesn’t mean you’ll always enjoy what you do. Sometimes even the best home business can get you down. When your business gets harder to work, it’s time to take a look at why.

Maybe it’s a lack of a private workspace. I know I find it a lot harder to work when my husband is on his computer. It’s right next to mine, and even though he knows that I don’t like to have someone look over my shoulder as I work, and he tries not to, I’m still very aware of his presence. This makes it harder for me to get things done.

It could also be the tedium of the parts of the business you don’t enjoy. You aren’t going to enjoy every aspect of your home business equally. You might love making presentations to customers if you’re in network marketing or you could dread them. You might love working on your business’s website or find it tedious. Article writing, forum participation, commenting on blogs, handing out business cards, advertising in general… you won’t enjoy all parts equally.

The key here is to figure out if you can outsource any of this. Some things you may well have to do yourself, or feel that way. But if you can pay someone to do the things that you drag your feet on or that kill your enthusiasm, why not? Focus your own energies on the parts you enjoy and that bring in more money.

There’s also the eternal curse of a lack of familial support. It’s incredibly rough when your family doesn’t support what you’re doing, especially in the early days when maybe you really aren’t earning that much.

Finding a way to build that support can be a real challenge, particularly if it has never been there at all. Some people won’t get it until you can show a decent income for the time you spend. Others just need to understand more about what it is, what your goals are and what you need from them.

Children can be especially challenging. They need your time and it’s easy to feel guilty when you need to do something for your business. If you can find a way to keep them happy as you work, or to work as they sleep, you may suffer less from guilt.

For some, this may mean finding daycare. Yes, it sounds contrary to running a home business, but that can be how it goes. You can also consider finding another mom to trade care with or arrange more playtime with friends for your kids. Older kids can even get involved in what you’re doing.

Another problem can simply be that you need a break. It may be that you’ve been overworking yourself and really just need a touch of time away from your business. This could be a few hours doing something purely for fun, a full day or even a vacation.

Make sure you do this! Time away from your business can be inspiring and actually improve your progress.

Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.aspectsofhomebusiness.com/blog/ about running her home business. Get more tips on blogging as a home business at her site.

Real Estate Marketing is the Business

2008-09-18T03:14:00.005-07:00

As a real estate investor and entrepreneur you must truly understand that you are in the business of marketing first and foremost. MARKETING drives the business. Your marketing's end result should be that it produces leads and prospects to whom you would inevitably like to present offers to and get them accepted.

The bottom line is your real estate business cannot survive without you generating a steady stream of prospects for it. So therefore, the key to making money in real estate is marketing. Never forget this. You may know 100 different ways to buy houses but it doesn't mean spit if you don't have sellers in front of you to apply what you know. Make sense? Good.

Don't get me wrong your real estate education is super important but you don't have to spend all of your valuable time learning every detail of the technical strategies of creative real estate investing. Your #1 aim should be to put yourself in the position to make profits. The way that you put yourself in the position to make profits is by crafting a message that is designed to attract motivated seller prospects and delivering that message through the right medium. This is known as the message to market match and should be the basis of your marketing attack.

Essentially, what you are trying to accomplish with your marketing is zeroing in and trying to identify the people who have problems and need to sell their real estate as a result of these problems. You want these potential prospects to "raise their hand" so that you can continue to prescreen them, follow up and give them more information about your services and how you can help to solve their problems. As a real estate investor and entrepreneur you will make a ton of cash by being the ultimate problem solver and the ultimate marketer.

What kind of marketing message should you craft? It all depends on which motivated seller niche you intend on targeting. For example, if you were to target the frustrated landlord niche your message would specifically address the problems associated with having tenants like rental vacancy, not getting the rent on time or not receiving any rent at all, paying attorney and court cost to resolve these situations and others like damages done to the property by the tenants etc.

Rather than being general, your message must be meaningful and specific. For example, if you were to send a letter out to the executor in charge of a probate estate you wouldn't talk about problem tenants in that letter because it wouldn't be relevant to their situation. In addition, as a marketer you must remember that when a potential prospect receives your message they're viewing or hearing it and trying to determine "What's in it for them"? So the message that you craft and deliver must completely answer that question or your response rate will be dismal.

In conclusion, if you are not generating sufficient profits in your real estate business or if you want to generate more profits for your real estate business concentrate and improve on your marketing because it is the key to your success as a real estate entrepreneur.

Is Investing In The Stock Market Gambling?

2008-09-18T03:14:00.004-07:00

Stock investing and gambling; two terms that are interlinked with one another. In fact gambling cannot be taken out of stock investing. No matter how small its effect on stock investing, gambling is there and one way or the other this affects how the stocks behave. One link that can be seen between investing and gambling is the concept of house edge.

Just check the case of casino games or the game of roulette. In the game of roulette, 37 numbers are available. So if a person tags his bet at $2 and it wins, the person will receive $72. And if you bet all the 37 numbers then the number that will win will net you $72. Remember that the person have placed bets on all the numbers for $74. Even if the person wins, he actually lost that $2. This kind of set-up in the game is what is called as the house edge.

A careful check will reveal that the house edge is pegged at 1/37 which is around 2.7 percent. So every time a person places the bet, the return of investment for a person should be 2.7 percent less than the original 100 percent. So whenever a person plays, it should be expected that money will not be easily recouped. Rather a person should be prepared to what a house edge means in many games like roulette.

This is the same with picking stocks; and the concept of house edge is alive and kicking in the wild world of stock investing though in slightly different form. The house edge in the game of stock investing assumes a different form, but the intention remains the say. The house edge in stock investing can be called the broker fees and the commissions.

These are fees that you pay no matter how you make gains in your investments. High up there or just slightly making the profits, these fees are there and needs to checked and paid. The moment you make gains, then for sure you will pay for a fee as well. These fees can be likened to the house edge in many gambling games as like as these fees also eat into the person’s expected profits. So it is suggested that a would-be investor is advised to hold on the stocks for a longer period of time.

Gambling and stock investing may share some general characteristics, but these two things also have distinctive differences as well. One significant difference between the two is the search for the tangible and the intangible. The moment a person places a bet in a casino game, then that person is known to be buying a chance or an opportunity of winning. This is known as the intangible product.

When picking stocks, a person is investing in a business and this is a tangible thing. Picking stocks and gambling also differs somewhat in the general motivation of the person. People gamble generally for fun and people invest for profit. But the perhaps the most important similarity between the two is the amount of risks involved in picking stocks and in gambling.

Conscious Business: the Real Meaning of a "service Based" Business

2008-09-18T03:14:00.003-07:00

How often have you heard the term "service-based" business? Pretty frequently, I'm sure. Usually when you hear people (perhaps yourself) talk about a service business, they are referring to a service rather than a product that is offered to their clients. For the sake of business it is important to consider all of your products and services in your marketing mix. However, one of the most important things to consider is a much higher definition of the word "service" and clarity on how your business serves the greatest good of all.

This concept of REAL service quickly surfaced as the unplanned theme for a recent tele-summit that I planned, and I'm not surprised at all. Everywhere I turn more entrepreneurs are stepping up to claim that business is a VEHICLE to help in the positive transformation of our world. You see, the service your business offers goes FAR beyond the specific services you provide in exchange for money.

The true service of your business is not the offering you make to one particular individual; rather it is the service that your business (as a whole) offers to the world. When I interviewed Anita Pathik-Law for the tele-summit, she spoke of a collective urgency for entrepreneurs to serve. We got into an engaging conversation about the shifts going on in our world right now, and the rising energy of conscious entrepreneurs everywhere to do what they can to be of service in the highest way possible.

So, how does this (concept of serving the highest good for all) relate to your specific business? There are two strategies I recommend to help you connect this to your entrepreneurial endeavors:

1) Shift Your Perspective: Often in business it's easy to get wrapped up in the details of your day-to-day operations. You've got a new webpage to post, a new product to develop, client calls, an article to write, email to manage and phone calls to return... just to name a few things that are probably on your daily task list. And, when you're stuck in this kind of detail, it is easy to lose your perspective. All you can see is the task at hand and getting it done.

When this happens, I invite you to take a "time out" (for me, it's typically a day at the Chocolate Spa in Hershey PA... or quiet time in the hammock on my deck). This intention of your "time out" is to step away from the details of your business and reconnect with your higher vision. Chances are you didn't start your business to deal with details all day. You started it to make a difference in the lives of others, and to have a positive impact on the world. Too often, this gets lost in the mix of things to do. So, when you give yourself a break, take time to dream of the ultimate service your business (and YOU) wants to offer to the world. There is SOMETHING that YOU are here to do. There is a higher purpose you are here to serve. Allow yourself the time and space to connect with THAT level of service. It will be the driving force for all of your business and personal success.

2) Let the Universe Work Its' Magic: I love this strategy. It's been one of the most effective strategies I've implemented this year. And, that is, to not try to plan everything. Too often, as a business owner, you feel driven to plan for every last project that you've got slated for the year. This can be a big mistake. Because, in planning out every last project, you don't leave much room for the Universe to work it's magic and SHOW YOU what the next steps are for you and your business. I see so many entrepreneur struggling to figure out what to do next, when all they need to do is release their struggle and ALLOW "what's next" to reveal itself!

I know from my own personal experience, that when I allowed the space in my life (and my calendar) for the Universe to reveal my next steps, I was shown something that would never have surfaced if I had TRIED to plan it. And, what revealed itself was my service to the world through being a voice for conscious entrepreneurs.

So, on your journey of experiencing the REAL meaning of service-based business, I invite you to implement these two strategies (shift your perspective and let the Universe work its magic) so you discover exactly how you and your business are ultimately meant to serve the world.

The Treadmill Vs. Ladder Entrepreneur

2008-09-18T03:14:00.002-07:00

What To Look For In A Stock Brokerage Firm

2008-09-18T03:14:00.001-07:00

At times, in order to be successful in the stock market you need to take advantage of the services offered by third parties. Examples of these third parties that may serve its purpose in the stock market are what the market calls as the brokerage firms. Brokerage firms are those firms that can help an investor make his presence felt in the market.

These firms are staffed by stock brokers and these are qualified and regulated professionals that have the ability to buy and then sell the shares and the other securities through market makers or the Agency Only firms in behalf of the investor. So it follows that the choice of a stock brokerage firm will make or break the investors presence and his worth in the market.

Here are some basics about the brokerage firms, well at least in the US. A good brokerage firm is the one that can give the attention the investor needs. And since the stock broker or the stock brokerage firm earns money on each trade, the investor should be wary of too much activity of the firm.

And before a formal relationship between the firm and the investor begins, it is suggested that the would-be investor should meet personally with a representative of the firm. The hiring of the perfect brokerage firm for your needs is fast and simple.

When looking for the best firm, it is suggested to use the traditional route. It is always safe to do business with the firm that is well-established in the market. The mutual fund provider can also act as a stock broker in the market. If it can be done, then it is suggested that a would-be investor should check and find a stock broker at his own bank.

Most often than not, it is always easier to hire the bank as the stock brokerage firm and the investor should make sure that the stock broker is qualified of course. The online brokerage firms and the discount brokerage firms should not be discounted since this can save the investor some money. If the person is the type of investor that executes trades daily and doesn’t usually need the advices of the firms, then online firms can be a great help.

There are a number of other tips and tactics that can help the prospective investor seek his partner in the market. Here is another important tip when looking for a firm; the prospective investor should be wary of websites that offer stock trades yet offer little information about the ownership of the company.

The internet is full of scams so it is imperative to make that search with care. Just because it’s cheap means its good. This isn’t always true in the world of stock investing. Day trading is possible with the online broker but this is not recommended. It is suggested to get into day trading in a slow manner with online firms and the person should be wary on the amount of money that will be spent on the online firm.

Justin DeMerchant is the founder of trade prospector, stock market weekly, and financial information where information on stocks and investing can be found.

Why You Need Marketing, not Just Sales

2008-09-18T03:14:00.000-07:00

I have had several clients who are so busy running around doing personal selling that they have little time to run their businesses. It seems to happen more around the $2-3 million gross revenue point, but it can happen at lower targets as well. Why is this? When a business is small, it doesn’t take as many clients or customers to cover costs. And the shortest, least expensive path to getting customers seems to be sales (I say “seems”, because there are better ways to combine the two). Naturally, as the business grows, it takes more money to cover expenses, which means the company needs to do more business, and therefore more selling.

You Can’t Clone Yourself

Many businesses of this size may have an extra salesperson or two. But the owner makes the best salesperson, because they have the most knowledge. Finding and hiring an owner clone can be difficult and expensive. Plus, the new person will require training and management – more time the owner may not have to spare. Sometimes the owner is the only one that can close the bigger deals. Or the owner may just not be comfortable taking a chance on someone else doing it. For many prospects, only the owner will do.

A Crucial “P”

Businesses of this size typically don’t do much in terms of marketing. What I mean by marketing here is the promotional side; one of the crucial four “P’s” (product, price, place, promotion). The value of marketing in this sense is to drive customers to your business, rather than always chasing after them.

Marketing promotions involves strategic planning and the marketing mix. The “mix” includes personal selling, public relations, events, advertising, Web marketing, etc. You may have noticed that I included selling in the mix, which is not atypical of most marketing textbooks. I may get a lot of flack for this, but personal selling is part of the mix; not something that should stand apart from marketing. This does not diminish its importance. It simply implies that all the elements have to work together to effectively and efficiently accomplish the goal – that is to grow the revenue of the company.

Why Marketing Promotions Makes Sense

There are two key benefits to this approach. One, less time is spent chasing customers: sourcing leads, prospecting, cold calling and following up. In fact, marketing is great for warming up those cold calls.

Two, people who contact the business (rather than the other way around) are in a buying mood. That is, they’re interested and they want it now. It could be called judo marketing, because they're already leaning in the direction you want them to go.

If you play your cards right, you can have your website and materials do most of the selling (ahem, marketing) for you. In other words, save the close for the close. That’s a huge time saver. And having people come to you first, gives you the upper hand and places you in a better negotiating position, so you may even be able to get a better price.

Real Estate Wealth Building

2008-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you go through list of Richest People of the world compiled by organizations like Australia's 'BRW Rich 200 List', and their ways of building wealth, you would get to know that such people have gotten their wealth generated through an extremely eclectic branch of professions and business-the one that stands out in the form of the most re-occurring and common field in comparison with the rest- Real Estate. Those who have not gotten their wealth generated directly through real estate have used it in the form of a solid and secure asset for funneling and growing their fortunes further. Let the reasons behind flourishing of real estate wealth building be studied in details.

Leverage

While having real estate purchased, borrowing 80-90% of purchase price is not at all uncommon. At times, 100% lends can also be made available. This completely depends upon location of lender, land, and borrowing position of yours. In other words, the percentage of lending depends on whether you secure employment on the professional basis or already possess other assets. Real estate wealth building is thus, a matter of your pre-accumulated wealth.

If you happen to visit the bank and tell them that their shares that are publicly listed are on your wishlist and that you need a loan for doing so; in majority of cases, around 70% would be lent to you in the form of margin loan as per the listed shares, that too in their own bank! More ironical is the fact that the same bank will possibly be extra happy for lending you around 80-90% for purchasing a well-located property. So, think in the proper perspective while opting for real estate wealth building.

Everybody requires roof over head

Real estate, unlike the paper assets like derivative or stock market instruments, is something tangible and real. It has existence on the physical basis. The most important fact apart from all this is that each and everyone requires roof over heads of theirs, and that a place and space is need to live by all the people on this planet. The demand pertaining to real estate would continue till people continue to live in that particular area. This aspect of real estate wealth building cannot be overlooked.

Limited Supply

Real estate, unlike any of the other asset classes, is finite. It's true that taller buildings can always be built, along with more number of apartments, that too, on same-sized block. However, note that there's only a bit of land, and a bit of 'well located' land adjoining public amenities, transportation, and employment. This is one of the vital reasons behind real estate wealth building.

Price Inflation

As stated above, 'leverage' of yours is powerful only if the property appreciates with respect to value. If depreciation occurs, you would be finding yourself owing greater than the amount borrowed by you originally. This might seem to be one of the scary prospects at times; but also quite easy to avert. This then points towards the right selection of real estate. Some of the reasons behind inflation in terms of price of real estate include underlying inflation with respect to economy, nation's economic health and state of economy, increasing population, limited supply pertaining to the area 'in demand', and many more. Real estate wealth building involves many real-time challenges, apart from the ones stated above.

Building Wealth With a Wealth Building Strategy

2008-09-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone gets bombarded with the schemes stating various ways of building wealth within a short span of time. Certain people equate it with scam. However, if you happen to be dedicated enough, pulling what is being tried by everyone so hard for getting rich quick wouldn't be all that difficult. All you need to do is to plan a proper wealth building strategy.

These days, there are several options for you with regards to building wealth. Some of them include the conventional MLM marketing, internet business, network marketing, investment, etc. All of these are doable, guaranteed, and good. Getting in to 1 or 2 of such kind is indeed a wise decision. After all, majority of get rich fast schemes offer this only. It should, however, be noted that apart from putting the money at a place where it would multiply, you end up doing much more than simply marketing and selling.

After having chosen 1 or 2 amongst the above mentioned endeavors, it would be the time for planning a bit of a support system relating to building wealth ASAP, i.e. as soon as possible. Certain wealth building tips need to be followed for landing on the port named 'build wealth' successfully. Let these tips be glanced through.

Use of savings account

The savings account of yours should be made use of on the regular basis, i.e. the deposits must be carried out without fail, apart from the deduction of payroll which is automatically done by the bank. The above procedure should be strictly followed; otherwise you would never know the importance of saving money. Building wealth won't be possible then. If you are used to deposit the money in the checking account of yours, be more careful, as the money resting with checking account is likely to be spent more frequently.

Many people argue on this count. They defend saying that the saving account is untouched. Though, this is true, remember that being a miser sometimes can help you a great deal in the long run. Experts have suggested that the payroll deductions should be set between the range of $100 and $250, in order to have a continuous climb to money of yours in bank. It is rightly said that 'Money saved is money earned'. Thus, this can prove to be a catalyst in terms of building wealth.

Getting rid of the debts

Debt can be referred to as a quicksand. The more paid by you, more debts would be made. You would then sink to such an extent that you would be up to your neck with respect to debts. If you happen to deduct the entire debt of yours from money in your savings account, you would hardly have anything left. Hence, it's much better to have the debts of high interest rates paid off before you go on thinking regarding living in mansion. So, you can draw the conclusion that debts also contribute in building wealth. In fact, handling debts is the biggest secret to building wealth.

Get motivated

This tip might sound cliché, but would definitely help if thought over from the point of view of a businessperson. You should never put your efforts down. To surrender is always easy. However, note that people getting motivated the most, along with willingness for working hard, actually scale heights in terms of building wealth.

Wealth Building Program

2008-09-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

Building wealth is imperative for all the business owners. Business should be established in such a way that diversified incomes are created. However, generation of profits should be prioritized here. To attain this goal, an appropriate wealth building program should be created. A portion of net profits should constantly be invested in some or the other investment instruments which would help in the production of sources that can be made available for present as well as long-term needs. Let some light be thrown on various advantages of chalking out a wealth building program.

Advantages

The first and the foremost source of income of yours is your business. There are several sources being made available for assisting you in the successful creation and operation of business worth millions of dollars. Certain businessmen would get there, certain won't. Some would be going way ahead. The way by which you would be earning money would be base in wealth building program of yours. Secondly, you should obtain expertise in understanding and controlling the finances of your business. This would be a key factor in attaining a healthy cash flow.

The next thing to be incorporated is gaining knowledge and understanding regarding all tax-free, taxable, and tax-deferred alternative streams of income, and optimizing them completely. Creation of a wealth building program would help you in working effectively towards financial objectives of yours, viz; obtaining financial freedom.

The main objective behind development of wealth building program is less dependence on business income. An appropriate business plan would be giving you freedom on the monetary basis and also safeguard against death, illness, inflation, etc. In other words, you turn out to be completely secured with respect to long-term and short-term wants and needs.

Revenue streams

Remember to ensure of three exclusive revenue streams before starting with the business. They would certainly benefit you a lot. These streams include net profits obtained from your business, income out of personal investments that could be obtained from dividends, bonuses, and salaries from the business of yours, and future income through several tax-deferred investments such as annuities and pension plans. Income streams cannot be equated with building wealth. These can be termed as a subset of the huge wealth building program.

Investment streams

Wealth building program of yours should be inclusive of investment streams such as mutual funds, stock options, forex, penny stocks, high-valued stocks, real estate, bonds, and collectibles such as silver and gold coins. Investing in any one of the above-mentioned instruments would risk your money. Diversification is the best alternative to avoid this risk.

Wealth building program of yours should begin with knowing the needs of yours. Along with that, you need to know the way of fulfilling these needs. There are many programs provided by software companies in this regard. Certain programs happen to be free as well. In short, wealth building program of yours must be inclusive of goals- short-time, middle-time, and long-time. Your business should be such that working on the annual basis for achieving long-term goals can be easily possible. You should be able to project certain amount of income every year, just like the government bonds. If you happen to have deficiency or back-log in the income of yours, you should know how to cover it up by the end of that year. As such, keep going with the wealth building program!

Wealth Building System

2008-09-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

Passive income can be referred to as the term which is being caught on since the last twenty years in community of 'Wealth Building Professionals'. This concept, though, is in to existence for quite some time now; it came to be known in conjunction with those involved in wealth building only. Whenever the person willing to make money has gone for investment in business of somebody and shared interest on loans, or profits, that too without actual participation, passive stream of income has been developed. It is better known as wealth building system.

Passive income

The term 'passive' literally means that no action is required by investor. However, the fact is that there's a load of work to be done on the upfront. This work cannot be left undone at any cost. After having completed this work, just an ostensible amount of enduring work is required. This work needs to be done for making sure that fundamentals relating to investment haven't changed, or an opportunity better than this hasn't been offered to you. All the above steps are nothing but a tip of an iceberg, in terms of wealth building system.

Patience and capital

If you intend building long-term wealth by means of passive sources of income, i.e. without having started business of your own or by the way of active bond/stock trading, or through flipping of properties or being landlord, then you would need 2 things in proper amounts: capital and patience. Of Course, your reaching the income goals and long-term wealth would be depending greatly on the present accumulated capital of yours. However, if you use compounding in a proper way and with a sufficient amount of time, sources of passive income can, with considerably lesser risk and utmost comfort, develop sober wealth. Wealth building system, if designed keeping in to mind these factors, would create wonders.

Pyramid

The wealth building system usually builds pyramid pertaining to sources of passive income. It ensures diversification, along with keeping risks low even after growing of pyramid. At first, you should have a goal set for your level of target income. Let this income be $5000 per month (supposedly), from portfolio of passive income of yours. This also implies requirement of capital of around $1 million at the return of around 6% on an average. To get there, place I-Bond, TIPS, CDs, and funds corresponding to Municipal Bond at the 1st tier of passive income of yours.

Funds relating to municipal bonds are usually tax-free, in spite of association of bond fees. It should be noted that on the whole, you would end up coming our far ahead with such form of the fund in comparison to taxable account. Operation of CDs is very easy. You can go on with transactions through CD at the faraway or neighborhood bank branch. Best rates can be found here. I-Bond and TIPS perform the task of protection of money of yours against inflation, even though returns might not be all that high. Resorting to these means is the stepping stone towards wealth building system.

You can have initial $50000 of yours placed in to 1 or even more vehicles of such kind, and, at the same time, start sending returns in to the 2nd tier of passive sources of income. Second tier of wealth building system includes REITS, high-yield funds, and bond funds for intermediate term, etc.

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