You may operate a home business selling services or products, but no matter which kind of business you're in, there's always a question in the back of your mind: will my home business succeed or fail, or do I have the motivation it takes to keep it afloat? Whichever type of home business you have, it's important that you know ways that you can keep your business going during slack times and/or economic downturns. If cash flow is a problem in your...more
You know, this would be a great business if it weren't for having to deal with people all the timeĀ OK, so maybe I've exaggerated things a bit, but we've all certainly heard that saying before. Why does that sentiment ring true for so many folks? Obviously it's because of all the people challenges we're presented with in our business. Virtually every one of my clients over the years has brought up the subject of dealing with difficult people. ...more
Most one-person businesses don't flounder because their products or services are below par. They struggle because their owner's lack of business skills or business practices gets in the way of being profitable.Are you making these big mistakes?1. You don't tell people what you do in a way that helps them buy. People buy when they understand what they get, what problem you'll solve for them, how you'll stop their pain, or increase their pleasure. Focusing on what you'll do, where you went to school, what steps you'll take, how hard you'll work for them, won't get you sales. Letting them know what pain you'll take away, what pleasure you'll bring, how they'll feel better, be better, when you're finished will go much further in getting to yes. Sell the sizzle, what your prospect can see, feel, and experience, not the steak, the steps you'll go through, how long you trained, the effort you'll put in. Your bottom line will thank you...and so will your satisfied customers and clients.2. You don't know your leads to sales ratio...so you consistently miss making the money you want and need to make. Knowing your ratio helps you understand what you need to do to get more sales.Your marketing...more
How You Can Make Advertising Pay Big Dividends (source: www.chetholmes.com)McGraw Hill once commissioned an extensive study to determine what marketing weapons make a company famous in it's market or community. The study went on to show that advertising created more product, service, or brand awareness than all other marketing weapons combined. ...more
When it comes to investing, leave your emotions out of it. When it comes to many areas of your life you can rely on your emotions and instincts or gut feelings. But when it comes to investing in the stock market this is a big mistake. Not many people are able to use their instincts to make successful trades. So if the professional investors can't...more
Synergy: {n} The working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.Most businesses operate on two distinct levels: Human Systems - Those systems that are concerned with or operated by people. Process Systems - Those systems that are functional or mechanical in nature.Each of these systems is independent of the other and each has its own characteristics and needs. Human systems and process systems do not generally have the same challenges or solutions although they must work in total synergy in order to achieve the greatest success.Take a simple task like driving your car. The operator (human system) must be alert and competent. The car (process system) must have all of its components running smoothly. The two systems (human and process) must work in total synergy and cooperation with one another in order to succeed.We could diagram this process as synergy sits atop the pyramid of cooperation between human systems and process systems.Most companies try to operate their two systems in a cooperative manner and most fail to ever reach true synergy. True synergy is the almost effortless cooperation between the two systems. It produces...more
Debt is a problem that is ever increasing in our society today. Offers for credit cards coming in the mail is happening more and more often, interest rates are appearing low, and borrowing money seems like the "smart" thing to do at times. However,...more
Small business success is very similar to learning to walk, talk and spell. The basics have to be understood before moving on to the next step. I am blessed to have twin 2 year old girls in my life and am amazed constantly how much I learn from...more
Everyone hates late fees and being late will cost you dearly these days. For some credit cards today, if you are late, you will have to shell out as much as $40 each time. This can put a nice sized hole in your pocket really quick.Below, I will...more
SECURED CREDIT CARDS Secured Credit Card is similar to a prepaid credit card since the funds you are using are actually yours and not the issuer of the credit card. Generally people who apply for secured credit card or prepaid credit card are people...more
Part 1: Getting StartedIf you're just getting started with ClickTracks, you'll find it's a very versatile tool. It presents information by overlaying it on your actual Web pages. It also allows you to create reports "on the fly" so that you can look...more
1.Searching for a job onlinePierre Omidyar's (pronounced Omidvar) first job out of university was that of a software developer, now he's the founder of ebay. Brad Pitt dressed up like a chicken before his breakthrough as an actor. Denise Donlon was a...more