Building Your Online Portfolio

Building Your Online Portfolio

by: Rachel Gawith

So you want to start earning online and have invested some of your hard earned cash in a couple of online programs but have you really thought about what you are investing in.

You wouldn’t simply roll off the street into a real estate agency and purchase a house to rent out without looking at the area first and seeing if there was a good rental market and similarly you wouldn’t invest all your money into shares in just one company before looking into it first.

As any financial advisor and in fact anyone with a little common sense will tell you you should spread the risk. You do not invest all your money into high risk new venture companies or put it all into property. Similarly, if you want to make a good return you don’t just leave it sitting in the bank.

Earning a living online or a little extra cash is no different. You must consider all the options carefully first and then only invest what you can afford to lose and SPREAD THE RISK.

You should look to put your money in a number of different online companies and investments. No I don’t mean join every opportunity going and spread yourself across so many different opportunities that you don’t know whether you are coming or going, but you should have a balanced portfolio of opportunities.

First you consider how much time you have to put into a new online venture. If you don’t have much spare time look to invest in passive programs that require no recruitment or downline building. And yes there are some of these that work and are stable and will be around for the long haul but you must be careful. Even if you are planning to promote another network marketing MLM or affiliate program you should have some form of passive program in your portfolio to build up funds.

Again when investing in passive programs spread the risk. For example I have invested money into 4 passive programs, 2 fairly low risk ones, one I would class as low to medium and a higher risk opportunity for quicker returns. Number one rule NEVER INVEST more than you can afford to lose, number two SET YOUR GOALS. If you want to earn an additional $500 a month, then invest enough to do this but ensure you withdraw the rest and do not be tempted to invest more for a bigger return. All these programs carry some risk and you should always aim to at least make your capital investment back and then just invest the profits.

As an example in my portfolio I have a weekly subscription to J3V (http://www.j3v.biz/index2.php?rgawith) and YMMSS (email me at [email protected] for details) in order to build up a good residual income in a couple of years time. These are both stable companies that have proven themselves and have a good track record. I therefore consider these low risk (and this is only my opinion) and I am using these to build up a residual income without the need to recruit. I have then invested in FundBiZGrowth (http://www.fundbizgrowth.com/SOSRGawith.html) which doubles your money every 6 weeks I consider this a slightly higher risk program but one in which their could be good returns. Finally I have invested in DollarMonster (http://easychairclub.com/dm/moreinfo.cgi?u=rgawith) this purely a double your money quickly program and I consider it a fairly high risk as it requires a constant flow of new people to pay out. I am using this program simply to make some quick cash to plough back into the other programs.

So whilst these passive programs are building you residual income you need your main affiliate or network marketing program which you will concentrate on promoting and which will give you a an immediate source of income. Now I actually own and run my own program at http://www.earnmoneyhere.com but I am also an affiliate of RecipeSwap (http://www.recipeswap.com/members/rgawith/) which I think is a goof stable and fun program to promote and make a good second income. However, it does not matter what your main affiliate or MLM program is so long as you concentrate on promoting it and building your affiliate team or downline.

Then as with any business you need to ensure you have the right tools and resources for the job. If you worked in an office, you require office equipment, if you have a shop you need display racks etc.. working online is no different…you need the right tools and resources. I use Isoregister ( http://www.isoregister.com/9810354341/rgawith ) as it gives me all the tools I need in one place such as autoresponders, ebooks, articles, advertising etc etc…but so long as you have a good resource suite you are all set to market online and start building your portfolio.

But remember the number one rule, is all online opportunities incur a certain amount of risk, but you can minimise your losses and maximise your profits by spreading the risk sensibly across a number of stable and profitable online ventures.

About The Author

Rachel Gawith (c) 2004

Rachel runs her own online program at http://www.earnmoneyhere.com and also a free weekly newsletter at http://www.freedailycash.com. Details of all the opportunities she has in her portfolio are listed at

http://www.computerincome.ne

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 01, 2004

by Rachel Gawith

Can your Powerpoint Presentation Rival TV Advertis

Can your Powerpoint Presentation Rival TV Advertising?

by: Sean DกSouza

Do you ever wonder why some PowerPoint Presentations are so much better than others? Why do some have amazing powers of persuasion, while others simply bore you to death? TV commercials use these marketing strategies to hold and fascinate their viewers. You can too, if you follow these tried and proven techniques.

Step 1: Kaboom Them Into Waking Up!

Ever noticed how most presentations start with, กWelcome to this presentation…blah, blah, blah.ก You don’t see too many TV ads do that. They slam into you at a zillion miles an hour and make sure you’re paying attention.

So How Do YOU Do That When You Don’t Have A Moving Picture?

The trick is to start with something thatกs totally disconnected with the presentation. For instance, you could be selling cars yet you could start with, กOne day in heaven…ก That’s a good wake up call for an audience that’s half asleep.

You’re selling cars aren’t you? What has heaven got to do with cars? The dissonance of the idea has forced their attention. Now that youกve got their attention, you’ve got to gently massage your message into it. For example, you could simply suggest that God created man, woman, and then gave them a car.

And that is only the start.

Step 2: Always Tell A Story

Did you see Titanic, directed by James Cameron? Couldn’t you tell that story with reasonable accuracy? Most people can. All our movie and great TV commercials are in a story format.

Do the same with your presentation. Think it through. Build up a story first, then work your presentation into it. It will not only give your presentation some focus (and storyline), but will make it easier for your audience to remember the sequence of what you’re saying. For instance, where are Adam and Eve going in the car? Did they have a breakdown? How well does the airconditioning work as they drive through the desert?

Step 3: Use Suspense, Not Mystery

Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense. He told you who the murderer was right at the start. So you and every one in the audience knew who was going to kill whom. Everyone in the theatre knew, except the hero (or heroine), who was going to get killed.

And that drove you crazy.

How could they be so dumb? You all knew who the killer was. Why couldn’t the hero see it? Thatกs what kept you riveted to the screen the whole 90 minutes. If you establish the characters in your presentation early and work in an element of suspense, you can keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Step 4: Don’t Bore Them with Your Solutions. Bring Up the Problem!

Most communication harps languidly around solutions. You don’t want to do that.

Look around you. People are obsessed with problems. They don’t walk around all excited and happy. Most people walk around with their heads in their hands. When you bring up their particular problem they snap out of their slumber in a mighty hurry, and pay attention to what you’re saying.

What you need to do first is bring up that problem and bring it up in all its glory! Paint a gory picture. You might want to read my article: Is your solution your biggest problem? Only after you have made them feel the pain, should you bring out the solution. The best TV commercials always make you feel the pain.

As they say, ขNo pain, no gain.ข Learn that, and use it.

Step 5: Reduce Risk

Why do people say, ขI’d like to think about it?ข The only reason is because you haven’t reduced the risk to minus fifty. While there is risk, my brain is still doing a RAM check. If there is no risk, I’ve got nothing to lose.

So, how can you reduce risk? TV ads give money back guarantees, trial periods, free test drives. Surely you can be more imaginative than some ad guy.

Get that risk down low, like a limbo rocker. How low can you go?

Step 6: Let Your Audience Know They’re Not Guinea Pigs

Hey! If youกve got a product to sell, and you’re not using testimonials, you’re missing out big time. Even if the product is yet to be launched, you can have prelaunch tests. It all builds up expectations for your final pitch.

This is also another form of risk reduction. If someone else has used your product or service and fallen in love with it, you need to go into the nitty gritty of that love story.

Step 7: Close the #@US$%*&^ Sale!

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a wonderful presentation that takes me to cloud nine, and leaves me there wondering, how Iกm going to get back to earth.

You’ve got to close the sale! Every presentation should end with a call to action and decision on the clientกs part. There are a zillion books and tapes on closing a sale out there. Brian Tracy has some amazing audio tapes on Winning Closing Techniques (www.nightingale.com). Learn from the pros, and turn a la dee dah presentation into a full blooded sale!

Step 8: Bring on a Quirky Finale!

Every movie and every ad does it. They wrap it up in a way you never expect.

Thereกs nothing worse than building up expectations, answering all the questions, and then having a weak ending. Your end has to be like lightning unexpected, brief and brilliant! It will ensure that your product or service (or quarterly report for that matter) gets maximum attention.

Otherwise you’re just making a point with no power!

About The Author

Sean DกSouza

Wouldn’t you love to stumble upon a secret library of small business ideas? Find simple, yet electrifying ideas onmarketing strategy,psychological tactics and branding. Head down to http://www.psychotactics.com#smallbusinessideas today and judge for yourself.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 08

by Sean DกSouza

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Managing Project Risks and Issues

by: David Viney

What is the difference between a project risk and a project issue and what different types can I expect to encounter? What tools can I use to manage the risks and issues on a Project? This article offers some possible answers, drawn from experience on Intranet Portal deployments and the PRINCE methodology.

Inherent (or Business) Risk

Inherent Risk is the risk that exists in the environment around your portal project. It will tend to be unique to your organisation; itกs culture and politics. For example, if you have a fragmented business (either geographical or functional), then this will create a higher inherent risk of poor communication.

Project (Specific) Risk

Project Risk is the risk specific to your project. Some Project Risk stems from the nature of what you are doing; there are certain risks common to any project (e.g. the unfamiliarity to users of the technology you are deploying). However, most project risk is under your direct influence; for example the skills of the project team, the level of governance effectiveness and so on.

Stage Risk

Finally, there is กstage riskก which is the risk associated with the particular activity of any given phase of the project plan.

The Risk Log & Risk Plan

In order to stay in control of the risks to your portal project, it makes sense to have a formal log of all risks, to which anyone involved with the project is entitled to add. You might use a formal workshop to first populate the log.

Assessing Risks

Each risk (however derived) can be assessed using a simple methodology, whereby the probability of the risk being realised (กlikelihoodก) and the size of the impact on the project objectives (กseverityก) can be measured.

The simplest system (based on the PRINCE project management method) is to give a score of 13 for likelihood and severity (where 1 is low and 3 is high). From these scores, the importance of each risk can be measured as the product of likelihood and severity.

Clearly, any risk of importance 9 demands immediate attention, followed by risks rated 6 and so on.

Risk Countermeasures

The importance of each risk should be regularly maintained, based on the extent to which the likelihood and severity of impact change over time.For each risk, one should enter a countermeasure in the risk plan. Where a risk can be eliminated, then this will be the countermeasure. Where it cannot be fully eliminated, then risk mitigation actions will be the most appropriate.

Issues Log

A Risk is something that is yet to happen, whilst an Issue is something that has already happened. It may well be convenient to use the Risk Log to also track any issues on the project. Issues will generally fall into one of the following categories:

(R) Request for a change (in the scope of the project)

(O) An item has been identified that is OffSpecification

(Q) A Question has been raised that needs to be resolved

(S) A Statement of Concern has been raised by someone and

(I) Other issues.To score issues, just ascribe an importance score (of between 1 and 9).

Managing Risks and Issues

Once you have put a Plan in place, then it is important to regularly monitor and report on the countermeasures that have been deployed and whether or not they have been successful in reducing the overall risk profile of the project.

For templates and examples of risks and issues pertinent to intranet portal deployment projects, please check out my chapter on Risks and Issues (see http://www.viney.com/DFV/intranet_portal_guide/during/managing_risks_issues.html) in the (free to access) Intranet Portal Guide.

If you act, manage and report regularly on risks and issues, you will have substantially improved your chances of project success!

About The Author

David Viney ([email protected]) is the author of the Intranet Portal Guide; 31 pages of advice, tools and downloads covering the period before, during and after an Intranet Portal implementation.

Read the guide at http://www.viney.com/DFV/intranet_portal_guide or the Intranet Watch Blog at http://www.viney.com/intranet_watch.

This article was posted on March 27

by David Viney

The Concept of the Paperless Office

The Concept of the Paperless Office

by: Maricon Williams

The concept of a paperless office may seem a futuristic phenomenon. It’s about a workplace originating bulk of information electronically. Everything is packaged in a pc! But is the concept now a reality?

In the article A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Paperless Office Industry Trend or Event OfficeSolutions by Carrie Rivera posted on October 2000, the author said that combining small desktop scanners with high speed network scanners, your office has the potential to become paperless, allowing you to pull documents up at the snap of your fingers as well as electronically archive records.

An article in http://www.offshoremanual.com entitled Paperless Office caught my attention. It writes, ขNow, however, we firmly believe we have reached a point where the กvirtuallyก paperless office can become reality, even for those who don’t believe they have computer skills. Having put these techniques into action myself we have experienced a newfound freedom.ข

When we think of Paperless office, we envision an efficient way of conducting business something that is not compromising on the quality and saves time and effort on our part. Another thing is that all office documents are just at your fingertips. You can carry with you loads of work and documents. Once you have a true paperless office, you can put everything in your briefcase and take it anywhere in the globe. It can also save you a fortune. You can cut back on stationery, ink and mind you taxes! With it you can have a completely taxfree environment without prejudice of course if the law making body enacts taxation laws with regards to the matter.

Another crucial point that people brainstorm about is security. Business documents are the lifeline of every business. It has to be secured and guarded. Analyzing the security threats, two risks must be prevented. First the risk that somebody might stole it, and second the risk of you losing the data.

The first risk can be solved by the use of a special software. You should take an expert for this because this really matters. The second risk can also be prevented by backing up. Tedious as it may seem but it’s a must to do it.

In the article The paperless office Myth or Reality? Posted on Nov. 19, 2001, it says: ขExperts have been predicting over the last thirty years the concept of the paperless office. Yet research from a newly published book, The Myth of the Paperless Office, by Richard Harper, University of Surrey and Abigail Sellen indicates that the use of paper has increased and that this increase is due to the introduction of new digital technology.ข

As for me, we cannot 100% get rid of paper. We are still a paperbased society. The transition will happen gradually and we are in the point of sustaining the transition… While we are in this stage, we must get the best use of both paper and digital media.

About The Author

Maricon Williams

For questions and comments about the Artcile you may contact The Postcard Printing Moderator at 888 888 4211 or visit http://www.mypostcardprinting.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 24

by Maricon Williams

Reverse The Risk And Boost Your Profits

Reverse The Risk And Boost Your Profits

by: Larry Lim

As a business owner or marketer, if you don’t reverse the risk in your product or service offerings, you’re really missing out in what can be one of the most powerful weapons in your marketing arsenal.

Risk Reversal Defined

Risk Reversal, in essence, means that you, the business owner, assumes all the risks associated with the business transactions, and your customers none.

Why Reverse The Risk?

The main reason that youกll want to reverse the risk is so that you may boost your sales and profits.

Risk Reversal can easily be achieved by providing an Extraordinary Guarantee. An example would be an ironclad, noquestionsasked money back guarantee.

Buyers, especially Internet Buyers, are generally skeptical. This is particularly so if theyกve never dealt with you or your business before. Your credibility is in question and the trust yet to be established. Even if they are your existing customers, itกs imperative that you employ this powerful marketing concept of Risk Reversal by offering a strong and extraordinary guarantee…

… Hereกs Why:

Having a strong guarantee is one of the most effective ways to counter the skepticism and fears of the buyers in doing business with you.

If your customers or potential customers see a guarantee, especially an extraordinary one, they can be pretty certain that theyกll get what they’re after.

It shows them that you’re confident about, and have a strong belief in, your products and/or services.

It also goes to show that you’re reliable and trustworthy, and if they’re not satisfied with your offerings, theyกve nothing to lose.

The end result is that youกll dramatically boost your sales and profits sales and profits you would not have seen without the strong guarantee.

Hereกs an example:

Letกs say in any of your promotional campaign, you normally sell 500 units of your product. Through a strong guarantee, you increase your sales by 8% or 40 units without spending any additional funds on advertising.

This translates to a total sale of 540 units for that campaign.

Letกs say you later experience a 10% refund of the additional sale of 40 units, that is, 4 units (10% X 40 units), which you won’t.

Even after the refund, youกll still make an additional sale of 36 units just by offering a strong guarantee. These are sales that youกll never get without the guarantee.

Now you can see how a strong guarantee will boost your sales and profits.

Then Why Are Many Business Owners Unwilling To Offer Such A Guarantee?

Many business owners have the misconception that people are only concern about the price of the product or service. Price, no doubt is a factor but only a minor one, and only to a certain extent. If the customers want something, and if you’re able to address their concerns and fulfill what they want, theyกll gladly buy what you have to offer.

Many business owners are also afraid that theyกll be ripped off. Just in case you think that youกll be ripped off by offering guarantees, research have shown that this rarely happens as 99.5% of people are generally honest. Of course, thereกll be a few moral rejects whoกll take advantage of you but the additional customers that youกll gain will more than offset the few whoกll take advantage of you.

Furthermore, very few people will go through the process of actually returning something that theyกve bought, unless of course, youกve infuriated them. If you’re a savvy business owner or marketer, you should know better than to infuriate your customers.

Think about this the process of asking for a refund is a socially uncomfortable one; it takes confidence and selfassurance to ask for a refund even if you’re openly offering one.

Now, I must add that in order for your guarantee to achieve the objective of boosting your sales and profits, youกll need to bear the following in mind:

Youกll need to have a quality product and/or service

Youกll need to address the customers deepest frustrations

There shouldn’t be any unreasonable conditions attached to it

It should preferably be for at least a minimum period of 90 days or more.

An example of a strong guarantee will be:

‘try out the product for a full 365 days! If it does not double your sales by the end of the 365 days, just return it and we will cheerfully refund your full purchase price.ก

I believe you can see the power of the above statement. It implies that you’re so confident of your product that you’re assuming all the risks, not the customer.

Once youกve got over the fear of reversing the risk, youกll be ready to offer bold guarantees. A bold guarantee sends the message to your potential customers that กyou’re reliable and your offerings are of high qualityก. It takes away the risks associated with the purchase of your products and/or services, and it also lends you credibility.

As you can now see, risk reversal is one of the most effective ways to boost your sales and profits. Put this powerful marketing concept into practice immediately. Spend time on creating a sound and powerful guarantee, implement it, and youกll see your sales go through the roof.

About The Author

Copyright 2005 by Larry Lim, MarketingSphere

Larry Lim is a practising marketing strategist and tactician who dishes out highly effective marketing strategies and tactics that will enable you to successfully start and grow your business on the Internet.

Check out his website http://www.marketingsphere.com which is jampacked with internet marketing secrets and softwares that will skyrocket your sales, and shoot your profits through the roof.

This article was posted on January 15

by Larry Lim

Overcoming The Fear Factor In Online Sales

Overcoming The Fear Factor In Online Sales

by: Derrick Pizur

No I am not talking about the classic board game, that Aunt Hester bought you the past two years for your birthday! Risk is what first time visitors to your website views your product as. Before they spend their hard earned money they want to know that your product is worth it. Shoppers today see so many offers, so many sales pitches that they are trained to be skeptical about many products.

This is even more the case when selling over the internet because many of your potential customers do not know you. In the offline word they could walk into your store and talk to you, online you are just another person fighting to take their money.

It is proven that if you alleviate the fear associated with making a first time purchase your initial sales will increase by 10% and these customers are more likely to purchase from you in the future. Why? Because you stand behind your product and they know if they are unhappy you will give them a full refund!

If you are confident in your product, show it to your customers by offering a strong guarantee that removes the risk associated with the purchase. If you can offer a lifetime no hassles, zero questions asked guarantee do so! I know you think this sounds risky, but it really is not.

How do I know this? I did an extensive test with very similar products offering different lengths of money back guarantees. I was surprised when I found out the longer the guarantee the less returns I received.

Having a short guarantee makes the customer rush through using your product, so if they are unhappy they can return it within the allotted time period. With a longer guarantee they can use your product at their own pace which will allow them to see the great results of owning your product.

So what is the absolute shortest guarantee I would offer? Well 30 days is too short, the bare minimum I would say is 90 days, but remember the longer the better!

Are you still scared about offering the longer guarantee? Shame on you! Not really, that is a valid concern. In general most customers use the guarantee as an additional reason to buy your product; it makes them feel safe and secure. Unless they simply hate your product or service people are usually too lazy to return it, or they put it off until tomorrow, which usually never comes. But just in case the guarantee is their shining like a big block of gold!

All in all, as long as your returns are under the 10% that you have increased you sales by (which any quality product should be) you have nothing to lose by offering a RISK FREE guarantee.

About The Author

Derrick Pizur runs ResellerEdge.com, a high quality multiple domain, user friendly, web hosting company that offers a 90 day money back guarantee on all hosting services. A truly risk free web host!

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 09, 2004

by Derrick Pizur

Printing Equipment Safety Guidelines

Printing Equipment Safety Guidelines

by: Blur Loteriña

Thirty percent of reported accidents are manual handling accidents. These accidents include transporting and supporting of loads, awkward positioning, and unstable materials that are difficult to hold. It rarely results to death, but accidents like this can end up to major injuries such as fractured back or arm. It also results to damage and loss of construction materials.

Back sprain or strain, which can lead to chronic conditions, is the most common injury. Others include muscular spasms and strains, abrasions and cuts.

In 1974, the Health and Safety at Work act was implemented and required employers to apply safety measures. And because of the increasing risk of injury, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 was imposed and pointed out that if employers cannot eliminate manual lifting they must at least find a way to reduce it. These accidents were also investigated.

The elimination of risk of such accident lies in the employers and manual handling risk assessment tools.

The directors should take the responsibility of training and educating his subordinates, as well as appointing people to take care of a certain area. Employers should comply with the guidance on regulations regarding manual handling operations. This regulation was revised to update workers and employers with the improvements of knowledge and avoidance of risk of injuries.

To assess manual handling risks, certain tools were developed and factors were considered. These factors include tasks, worker, load and environment. Assessment should be comprehensive and consistent.

Some heavy equipments and tools are advisable because it is safer and can decrease the company’s cost due to accidents. Sites or workplace must be well lit and clean. It should be free from waste, hazardous materials and obstructions. Everybody should observe good housekeeping. Performance and safety kits and devices should be well monitored. Everyone must comply with the control measures and all activities should be carefully planned.

There is also the Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC) Tool, which was developed so that workers will be able to identify high risk workplace. Also, this tool is designed to assess the risk factors caused by lifting, carrying and team handling activities. It aims to help workers and employers to interpret and understand the risks, and to categories them according to certain levels.

Manual handling accidents not only cause physical damages to human, it can also cause loss of money, work delays and risks the reputation of the company. A complete application of safety rules and good management will result to effective and productive work environment.

About The Author

Blur Loteriña

You may wonder why I write articles. Besides from the fact that it’s my job, I used to write short stories when I was younger. I think it would be helpful if I said I’m a big fan of Zach de la Rocha and Rage Against the Machine. This would explain my own views about a lot of things. Their songs were about national issues, politics and human rights. They support the American Indian Movement and Che Guevara, the face you see on tshirts. Not that it concerns me. I only like their music and idealism.

I’m not an artist, I’m not a poet. I just love writing anything I want. I wasn’t born a genius, I just want to know and understand something I don’t. I like to find the difference between similar things. It’s like counting birthmarks on each identical twin.

For additional Information about the articles you may visit their website at http://www.brochuresprintingonline.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 04

by Blur Loteriña

Is Your Web Browser Putting You At Risk?

Is Your Web Browser Putting You At Risk?

by: Doug Partridge

Itกs free, it comes with Windows and itกs used by approximately 94% of the Internet population. It also poses an unacceptable security risk. What am I talking about? If you guessed Internet Explorer, you’re right on the money. So, is your web browser putting you at risk? If you’re one of the 94% using Internet Explorer, the answer is a definite *yes*. By my math, quite a few people require critical information for protection.

Whatกs the problem with Internet Explorer (known as กIEก from here out) and how does it put you at risk?

The main problem with IE is the numerous security flaws. As an example, between April 2001 and June 2004, Microsoft documented *153 security flaws* in IE. When a security flaw is discovered Microsoft releases information about the flaw and the potential impact. *Usually* at this point Microsoft provides a downloadable security fix to remedy the problem. Since many people don’t know about the flaw and the fix, frequently people remain vulnerable for long periods of time.

Just how serious are some of these security flaws? Some of the critical security flaws allow attackers to basically gain control of your computer and run whatever malicious programs they chose. In many cases, your vulnerable computer can be compromised just by visiting the wrong website.

Here are but a few of the malicious programs Iกve seen loaded on peopleกs computers through security holes in IE:

Browser Hijackers. These are programs that do nasty things like change your home page to another page, usually something pornographic in nature. They can also install software and links on your desktop, of course *without* your permission.

Spyware. This is extremely devious and malicious software, and in many cases, itกs used by criminals for online identity theft. Once itกs on your computer, Spyware sits quietly in the background recording information about you. Do you shop and bank online? This is one threat to be extremely concerned about.

What can you do to improve security?

Rather than continue to apply what boils down to กband aidก security fixes to IE, I recommend a more permanent solution. Stop letting IE put you at risk, and switch to another web browser.

How exactly will switching web browsers help? Quite simply, there are so many security exploits on the Internet targeted specifically to IE that just by using another browser, youกll happily avoid most of them.

The good news is that there are several alternative web browsers available free of charge like Netscape, Mozilla, Opera and Firefox. For more information a great website to visit is http://BrowseHappy.com. This website is dedicated to getting people to switch from IE. Itกs full of ‘real lifeก stories about why people switched, and what browser they’re using now.

So, whatกs the best browser of the bunch? Well, itกs highly subjective of course, but my vote goes to …

Firefox, ‘rediscover the Webก A new browser called Firefox has quickly become my web browser of choice. First off, Firefox was written to be กlean and meanก and it certainly delivers. Itกs faster at loading web pages than IE and even provides features not found in IE. Something I suspect will quickly become a favorite feature is called tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing allows you to load multiple web pages in the same window, and quickly switch between the loaded pages. Tired of popups? Firefox has the best builtin popup blocker Iกve seen. I have yet to see a popup get past it. When it comes to security, Firefox receives *high marks*.

Firefox definitely has a positive กbuzzก going right now, and itกs easy to see why. If you’re interested in trying out Firefox, you can download it for free here: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Iกll conclude by saying that switching browsers is only one of several steps necessary to protect yourself from the many threats on the Internet, but itกs certainly a good place to start. Hereกs to practicing safe computing.

© Doug Partridge All Rights reserved

About The Author

Doug Partridge is coauthor of a new eBook, กHow to Secure Your Computer Using Free Tools and Smart Strategies.ก This is the missing Internet security guide that should have come with your Windows computer, but didn’t.

Free Details => http://www.SecureYourComputer.net

This article was posted on December 03, 2004

by Doug Partridge

Get Out Of Your Own Way

Get Out Of Your Own Way

by: Julie Plenty

One of the biggest obstacles to our self growth and personal development is……………..ourselves!

No, make that THE biggest obstacle.

When we say that we want to make changes, but develop resistance and fear and in doing so an internal battle follows.

Itกs natural to feel scared and apprehensive when venturing into the unknown, but ultimately living within your comfort zone is all very safe, but not very life enhancing.

Taking risks can bring up a whole host of emotions. But what are emotions? They are energy in motion. They are the stories we tell ourselves, thatกs all. Whatกs the difference in feeling scared or excited? Only our interpretation.

Life makeover programmes are very popular in the UK at the moment. The whole theme behind the programmes is that people take risks: in getting back or starting the dating game, clearing their clutter (and all the emotional stuff that theyกve been hanging onto), change jobs and even being coached within six weeks to do something completely different.

A Barrister is coached to become a DJ, A Choirgirl becomes a rock musician. A Radiographer becomes a commercial photographer and fooling the experts who don’t realise that they are กnovicesก.

The most moving part of the program is the follow up often a year later where the program catches up with the risk takers and find that, as a result of this, their lives have changed immeasurably. Their self perception, self esteem, confidence and overall outlook on life and what they are capable of has changed forever.

Are you avoiding taking risks? Have you got into a rut? Try setting yourself a goal of taking one small (or large if you’re up for it some people can only get excited and motivated if theyกve set themselves a BIG challenge) risk for yourself, every week, month, year and follow through.

See what happens. Engage or enlist encouragement and support if you want. But DON’t tie yourself or become overly concerned with the outcome, just taking the risk is enough. Reward yourself appropriately after youกve done so.

Our risk taking abilities are like muscles, the more we use them, the stronger we become and fear loses its grip on our lives. The fear never goes away as you take more risks, but it does stop defining your life. Fear is only an indicator that you are growing itกs not meant to stop you in your tracks!

So get out of your own way and stop resisting the changes that you want to make and the risks you are going to take.

Because ultimately………….daring to dream and living a fulfilled life is the biggest risk of all!

Copyright 2004 Julie Plenty

About The Author

Julie Plenty is a Personal and Business Coach who specialises in coaching self employed creative professionals to live more creative, fulfilled lives. To sign up for the Life Design newsletter visit: http://www.selfhelppersonaldevelopment.com

This article was posted on March 18, 2004

by Julie Plenty

9 RazorSharp Strategies For Building Success and

9 RazorSharp Strategies For Building Success and Adding Zeroes to Checking Account Balance

by: Dan Lok

Itกs easy to get so caughtup in the daytoday obligations of your business that you find yourself trapped in the present, regretting the past, and with no time to worry about the future. Itกs easy… and itกs deadly.

Give yourself a ‘time out.ก Pull back from where you are so that you can get a better perspective and see where you’re headed. And while you’re waiting for your own new ideas to hatch, let me share nine of the sharpest and smartest strategies I know for moving up the success ladder:

Strategy #1 The Buddy System

Find a strategic business partner who shares your objectives…but not your business niche. You can trade leads, share marketing info, sell package deals, etc.

Strategy #2 Brand กYouก

Brand your name and business. Create a niche thatกs uniquely yours.You can easily do this by writing articles and submitting them to ezines or web sites for republishing.

Strategy #3 Going…Going…Gone!

I don’t have to tell you what a giant eBay has become. You don’t have to become an กauction house,ก but you can start an auction on your web site. The type of auction could be related to the theme of your site. Youกll draw traffic from auctioneers and bidders… and they have LOTS of friends!

Strategy #4 The Sincerest Form of Flattery

There are dozens, probably hundreds, of กselfhelpก books out there with titles like ‘the Thinking Patterns of Successful Peopleก and กHow Seven People Each Lost 100 Pounds.ก They’re popular because the best way to succeed is to model yourself on other successful business or people. Learn how your กheroesก got where they are and follow in their footsteps.

Strategy #5 Be A Risk Taker, But A Smart Risk Taker

Taking a risk may be scary, but without risk… business life offers very few rewards. Sometimes you have to risk money to get results. Just remember to look before you leap… and make sure you know where you’re going to land. If you’re going to pay a P.R. firm to do your marketing, for example, do a thorough กbackground checkก and make sure you’re getting the best for your money.

Strategy #6 Winning Hearts and Minds

Include emotional words in your advertisements. Use ones like love, security, relief, freedom, happy, satisfaction, fun, etc.

Strategy #7 Thatกs Two Thumbs…Way Up

Ask people online to review your web site. Positive comments or negative, they’re all good! Someone who gives positive feedback is now a likely customer. Negative comments aren’t published, of course, but they can be used as springboards to improve your web site.

Strategy #8 Do What You’re Good At

Too many professionals get overloaded doing things that don’t make money and don’t further business. Instead of trying to be a onemanband, outsource part of your workload: secretarial work, accounting, marketing, etc. In addition to giving yourself more time to do what you’re good at, outsourcing relieves you of tax reporting, health benefits, etc.

Strategy #9 One From Column A, Two From Column B

Combine a product and service together in a package deal. If you’re selling a book, offer an hour of consulting with it. If you install roofing, offer a combination package with rain gutters. To make the deal irresistible, the combination price must be significantly lower than กif purchased individually.ก

New ideas are usually the difference between success and failure. Remember to take a little time out of to brainstorm. Itกs time wellspent!

Copyright 2004 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

About The Author

If youกve been dreaming of earning mountains of money and selling more of your product or service than ever before, then you must grab Danกs free minicouse: http://www.dansrant.com

This article was posted on September 03, 2004

by Dan Lok

MultiLevelMarketing: The Real Estate of the 21st

MultiLevelMarketing: The Real Estate of the 21st Century

by: Sarah King

A single event, or series of events, leads many people to the depressing conclusion that they’re not where they want to be in life. They’ve been stressed out and tired, their health has suffered, they’ve worked countless hours away from their family, yet they find themselves in mundane jobs with no scope, no recognition, living payday to payday with no further desire to succeed and no seemingly possible way out.

This realisation often leads to a period of uncertainty, frustration and fear as one searches for an opportunity that will satisfy their goals and desires, free up their time, secure their financial future and make them proud of who they are and where they’re at in life.

This article is geared towards those of you who’ve reached that point and find yourselves at a loss in terms of the next step. Perhaps you’ve already invested in a few opportunities that haven’t worked out but your determination keeps you going. If you have some long term financial goals and an unshakeable will to succeed then this article is for YOU.

Ever wish you’d had the foresight to recognise an opportunity that would set you up for a stressfree future, abundant in time and money?

Do you know that the bigger the (calculated) risk the bigger the reward yet find yourself justifying why not to take a risk?

Want more out of life but emotionally and/or financially cannot leave your 9 to 5 job?

Always thought you were meant for bigger things but never been able to find ‘that thing’?

Ever found yourself in a job and wondered quite how you got there because it ‘just wasn’t you’?

Want your own business but feel you lack the skills to get started on your own and don’t have time to study for a new career?

First thing’s first….YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are tens of millions of people out there who are dissatisfied with their job, their financial situation and the path their life has taken. In fact, 80% of people employed in fulltime work, hate their jobs!

Whether you answered yes to one or all of the above questions, consider for a moment that MultiLevelMarketing is for you. Let’s look at the potential:

Foresight: Perhaps you lack the foresight to identify an opportunity. Many of us do. But what if someone told you that a business in MultiLevelMarketing was the way of the future, with unlimited earning potential, freedom to choose your own working hours and a lifestyle you’ve only dreamed about. Would you have the faith to believe them…or would you continue to rely on your own foresight even though it’s yet to come up with anything worthwhile, if at all? (Recommended reading: The Business School For People Who Like Helping People, Robert Kyosaki)

Risk: Many people fear risk because they lack the ability to see the potential of taking a risk. Others are fully aware that taking a risk can lead to success, yet they set limits on the level of risk they’re prepared to take, so they risk nothing at all. Whether your concern is taking a risk in the area of finances, time or your ability to succeed, MultiLevelMarketing allows you to choose your level of commitment whilst providing ongoing support and guidance to ensure that whatever risk you take, brings you the rewards you seek. MLM allows you to take calculated risks yet the RisktoReward ratio can be HUGE, so long as you have vision and determination to succeed.

Can’t leave your 9 to 5 job? The great news is, you don’t have to! Whether it’s because you can’t afford it due to finances or fear of failure, you can start your own MLM business working from home around your current schedule and not only does this allow you to maintain a level of income to which you’ve become accustomed whilst building your second income, but it also allows you to build your emotional strength and your skillset before you consider moving into your MLM business fulltime.

Meant for bigger things: Perhaps you’ve felt you were worth more than a fulltime corporate job where recognition for your hard work was passed on to those above but maybe you doubted your ability to start up your own business. Or maybe you wanted to start up your own business but didn’t quite know what you wanted to do or if you did, you lacked the capital to invest. The beauty of MLM is that it’s a marketing system used by many different types of businesses so, if MLM’s where you want to go, you need only choose a business and an industry that excites you and the potential for your future suddenly explodes!

Your current job just isn’t you: Whatever it is you dislike about your current job, whether it’s lack of people contact, too much people contact, lack of support and scope for the future, guaranteed there will be a MLM business out there to suit you that is going to give you exactly what you want

Lacking in skill and don’t want to study: The truly amazing thing about MLM, and what makes it perfect for so many people, is that you have your own Personal Mentor. This is a person who started just where you did so they’ve been there before and will have understanding and compassion for how you feel as you embark on this exciting journey. Their role is to teach you the skills necessary to run your own MLM business – skills you can acquire around your fulltime job so there’s no need to leave work in order to pursue study. Your mentor offers invaluable experience and expertise, they provide support and inspiration through both the difficult and exciting times and they ensure that you are justly rewarded for your achievements. Ultimately they can become a close and trusted friend and a business relationship built on this is destined to success.

So, if this leaves you feeling inspired and interested in looking into MLM, here are a few important things for you to remember in your search for a business:

The difference between MLM and pyramid schemes of old is that pyramid schemes are illegal and multilevelmarketing is NOT. It is important to know this when people challenge your decision to pursue a MLM business.

When investigating a MLM business, look for one that allows you to advertise. Many people won’t even consider a MLM business because they don’t want to ‘sell to their friends’ and unfortunately many MLM businesses require you to do just that, and only that, because they don’t allow business owners to advertise. Being unable to advertise also means your scope for business growth is limited.

Make sure the business resides in an industry which has massive growth potential. Whether you’re looking for a small supplemental income or a lifestyle change, investing in a growing industry means you’ll have the choice, either way.

Make sure the company is reputable and stable. Do your research and know the history of the company you’re signing into.

Be open to investigating a MLM business in much the same way you would any business opportunity. Don’t expect it to be explained to you in a 5 minute phone conversation and be willing to view an information package before you make a decision on the viability of the business.

Make sure the business system is simple and duplicable – if you want to build your business, you need to be able to teach it to others.

http://wealthbuildingfromhome.com/?refid=MLM21C567886034

About The Author

Sarah King has a career history with large corporate organisations working in New Zealand, London and Sydney. She is currently running her own successful internet based 60 Minute Money Home business around a fulltime job with IBM with a goal to move fulltime into her 60mm business in order to secure her familyกs financial independence and work in an industry in which she is passionate.

Sarah is a business mentor to others who have a burning desire to work from home in their own 60 Minute Money Home business. For anyone who is seriously searching for a homebased business opportunity, please visit her 60 Minute Money Home Business System website:

http://wealthbuildingfromhome.com/?refid=MLM21C567886034

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, in your Newsletter, on your website, or in your EBook, as long as the authorกs Resource Box is included with the article.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 07, 2005

by Sarah King