Been Burned, Scammed, Taken for a Ride…

Been Burned, Scammed, Taken for a Ride…

by: Rachel Gawith

BEEN BURNT, SCAMMED, TAKEN FOR A RIDE……..
Well don’t worry, we have all been there. I doubt there is a single network marketer or homeworker out there who hasn’t at some point in their career fallen for an envelope stuffing scheme, been talked into selling potions and pills, tried chain letters etc. But the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and take something from every experience.
My first venture into working from home came when I answered an advert in a local paper which stated I could be earning £2000 a week part time, all I had to do was call. So I did and ended up trailing along to a meeting about how much money one could make from selling herbal diet supplements and how easy it all was. So I signed up and paid the £200 for the starter pack. Full of enthusiasm I started my 68 year old gran off on the diet. Well the first week she lost a few pounds and all was going well. I paid out another £100 to have a load of leaflets printed and spent hours putting these on car windscreens. By the second week, gran had given up on the diet as the stuff ‘tasted funny’ and she was bored with a milkshake three times a day!
Then I decided to try selling the products via the internet. It was a slow process but I taught myself html coding and built my first website. Then came the hard task of trying to market my site and get people to visit it. This is when I discovered that you could apparently make thousands very easily and with no effort online, simply by signing up for a website and placing a few free classifieds. So I joined every ‘next big thing’, every site promoting untold riches, only to find that the program disappeared after a few weeks, along with my money. But along the way I learnt what I should look for in an online business, the best ways to market online and my web design skills improved drastically. At times I became very disillusioned and felt like giving up when yet another program folded, or sponsor failed to get in touch and offer support but I learned valuable lessons. And after one such online opportunity disappeared and having convinced a number of people to join me in this, I thought enough was enough and started my own online program. Even that involved a steep learning curve, the site had to be revamped numerous times, parts of the program changed but I put the knowledge I gained from being a ‘newbie’ into building a good stable program. People need support, they want to see proper products and a realistic and achievable pay plan.
So don’t give up, from every bad experience you will learn something, be it a new skill, what to avoid next time, what advertising works or doesn’t and so on…Like life home based business, especially on the internet, is a learning experience which you must embrace.
© 2004 Rachel Gawith

About The Author

Rachel runs her own online business at http://www.earnmoneyhere.com as well as publishing a weekly newsletter at http://www.freedailycash.com Other opportunities can be seen at http://www.computerincome.net You’ll also find a vast array of free tools there to help you market any business effectively online and you can post your classified ad free for 7 days.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 03, 2004

by Rachel Gawith

Virus Spreaders

Virus Spreaders

by: Ed Williams

Sometimes I wonder just what the world’s coming to…

For some among y’all out there who read this column each week, you might’ve noticed a little while back that it didn’t run for a week or so. As a result, I’ve had some people write and/or call and ask me just what was going on? Some thought I had decided to stop writing the column, some speculated that I had signed some kind of deal with ขa big city newspaperข which meant that I couldn’t write for my current ones anymore, and one person asked if I’d just ขhad enough?ข For the record, the answer to each of those questions is a definitive ขno.ข

I have a great time writing this column each week. It allows me to write about almost anything that pops into my mind, and I love having that kind of freedom. As a result, I seldom have a clue each week as to what I’m going to write about until I sit down in my chair and get to work. So, with that having been said, let me get right into the reason that ขFree Wheelin’ข went missing for a week or so. It vanished for a while due to the fact that some sweetheart out there in internet land sent me a virus.

That’s right, a computer virus. One of those malicious little programs that’s designed to wreak havoc on your computer. Viruses cost businesses and individuals tons of money each year, and for what? It makes no sense at all unless I give some thought as to just what type person sends out these viruses. It must be some super sloppy, maladjusted eighteen year old haint times three computer whiz whose closest contact with a woman comes through the serving line at his school’s cafeteria, or some supernerdy, pocket protector wearing geek who’s mad at world because he doesn’t yet possess a working personality. And, because these people would rather be antisocial than take a good, long look in the mirror we all have to pay for it. No one ever said that life would be fair, huh?

Fortunately, I’m pleased to report that I got out of my situation without too much damage. I did have to pay someone to reformat my hard drive, but I kept backup copies of most of my stuff so I really didn’t get hurt too badly. I also went out and bought some better antivirus software, which hopefully will screen most of these cyber pests in the future. In the end, though, almost anyone can get nailed with a computer virus, and I’ve been far luckier than most the people that fixed my computer told me that a lady brought in one a week earlier that had over two thousand viruses on it! It’s a wonder that the ขOnข switch on her computer even worked with all that mischief lurking around on her hard drive.

In the end, I guess there are just some people out there who are sort of like walking cases of jock itch, they contribute nothing to the world and try and tear down those of us that do. People like the woman who walked up to my son recently at his job as a cashier at a wellknown supermarket chain and presented him with over six hundred dollars worth of live lobsters and steaks. And what did she attempt to pay for all that food with? Food stamps. I kid you not, food stamps. Fortunately, the two food stamp cards she presented for payment had both expired, but, even with that happening, she proceeded to put down a dollar and some change in the hope that Will would be stupid enough to accept that for full payment. He politely told the lady that she was about six hundred some odd dollars short, to which she replied, ขWell, I’ll go someplace else and check my luck there.ข

So, for all you deadbeats, virus spreaders, bad check writers, child support nonpayers, and the like, if I had my way I’d put you all in jail cells with Perry Como music playing in the background twenty four hours a day, serve you Spam sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then assign guards to sit outside your cells who’ve just eaten large Mexican dinners. And that’s just for starters don‘t even ask me what y’alls daily recreational program would consist of. The way I see it, every dog has his day, and it’s more than time for some of you bottom feeders out there to stop having yours…

About The Author

Ed’s latest book, ขRough As A Cob,ข can be ordered by calling River City Publishing tollfree at: 8774087078. He’s also a popular after dinner speaker, and his column runs in a number of Southeastern publications. You can contact him via email at: [email protected], or through his web site address at: www.edwilliams.com.

This article was posted on March 21

by Ed Williams

What do you want to achieve in 2005?

What do you want to achieve in 2005?

by: Richard Grady

Welcome to the New Year everyone 🙂

So what do you want to achieve this year…..?

To start your own business?

To lose some weight?

To give up smoking?

To quit your job?

To spend more time with your family?

To live a healthier lifestyle?

The statements above are some of the more common goals that people set themselves at the beginning of a New Year. This time of year is traditionally the time when we make กNew Year Resolutionsก those little promises to yourself that are usually forgotten about by the middle of January (if not sooner)!

So what can you do to ensure that your resolutions are not just a distant memory by Feb 1st? Well, everyone is different and I can’t promise that the same techniques will work for all but one of the best ways of staying on track is to put some proper planning in place and that usually means writing things down.

It is all too easy to think to yourself กYup, Iกm going to lose a few pounds by Marchก but if that is all you do, you will almost certainly fail. You need to take action and one of the easiest ways of forcing yourself to do this is to work to an action plan. Let me explain…..

With any major goal that you want to achieve, it should be possible to prepare a plan of how you wish to achieve the goal and over what timescale. To take the weight loss example above, you may have decided that you need to workout three times a week and cut out various foods if you are to achieve your target weight. Therefore put this down in writing and monitor yourself on a weekly basis to ensure that you are actually doing what you are supposed to be doing. If it helps, stick the entire plan/calendar on your wall or fridge so that you can’t help but see it everyday.

If you want to start your own online business, you will need to be dedicating a certain amount of time to this each day, letกs say two hours. So draw up a plan that covers the next few months which details exactly what you want to have achieved by the end of each week/month, for example:

Week 1 Prepare basic template for website

Week 2 Learn how to use a basic HTML editor

Week 3/4 Design and build actual website

…..and so on.

Of course, the above is a very simplistic example and your real plan will probably be far more detailed but the point is that having a plan to work to WILL help.

Many people like working to lists that is, they like having a list of outstanding tasks to do because they enjoy ticking the jobs off once they are completed. Working to a plan is very similar because you can ‘tick offก each milestone as you pass it.

One thing that I wouldn’t recommend though is spending too long drawing up the actual plan. I once worked for a company and was involved in a major project that had various timescales etc that had to be worked to and the Managing Director asked me to draw up a project plan in a particular format. Now this format was incredibly detailed and it would have taken me about a week just to prepare the plan. I felt this was wasted time and as the project leader, I refused to prepare the plan in the way that he wanted and instead spent a couple of hours drawing up a much simpler กcheck listก. He wasn’t impressed but I guess he was just one of those people that prefers to spend their time planning rather than DOING. The end result was that the project was completed on time and without too many problems but had I spent a week on unnecessary planning, we would have probably ended up a week behind schedule.

So plan your actions by all means but don’t turn the actual planning phase into a project all of its own. People can sometimes be reluctant, even scared to take action and therefore drag the planning out as long as possible in order to put the กhard workก off.

Don’t let this happen to you and be sure you plan in the right way don’t use it as an excuse not to take action in the first place.

Planning won’t guarantee that you achieve your goals but it will certainly help and will definitely give you the edge over the majority of people that simply don’t bother…..

Copyright 2005 Richard Grady

About The Author

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html

This article was posted on January 10

by Richard Grady

Data Backup for Beginners

Data Backup for Beginners

by: Niall Roche

Itกs 10pm. Do you know where your data is?

Data. Small bits of information clustered together to make Word files, documents,pictures, MP3s, HTML etc. We work on our computers every single day never sparing a thought for all those millions of chunks of data spread all over our hard disks. The data is there and it does itกs job.

Until of course the data is not there anymore.

72 hours ago I suffered from massive data loss. There were no hackers involved. No power surges or lightning strikes. Just wear and tear on my hard disk. 20 Gigabytes of business and personal information gone forever. Passwords, HTML files, ebooks all gone. I didn’t lose any sleep though. Why? Simply because this was my secondary hard disk that was only used as a backup drive. All my critically important data is safely stored elsewhere.

Picture this scenario. You sit at your computer, turn it on and nothing. Dead. Youกve just lost everything youกve worked on for the last 12 months. All your Adwords campaigns, website templates, ebooks, Excel files. Everything. How do you feel? How do you go about recovering?

============================================

70% of companies who suffer serious data loss go out of business within 12 months.

============================================

The truth is that most people never recover from losing all their data.

What can you do to prevent this happening to you? Backup.Backup. Backup. Use a backup system.

How do I backup my data?

You could use a zip drive, a CDR/DVD writer, a USB drive or an secure online storage service. Using any of the above is far better than using nothing at all and hoping for the best.

============================================

Data loss cost US businesses in excess of 18 billion dollars in 2003.

============================================

How often should I backup my data?

You should backup all important data on your PC at least once a week. An easy way to do this is to use a rotating backup system. Get 4 blank disks . Label these disks Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. At the start of the month make a fresh copy of all your critical data on the Week 1 disk and continue this process on Week 2, 3 and 4. Following this procedure ensures that no matter what happens your stored data will never be more than 1 week old and youกll also have 3 other copies of your data stored away that are less than a month old. Simple. Effective.

What software do I need?

Microsoft Windows has its own backup software included. Apple Mac users can take advantage of Apples Backup software and iDisk backup service.

How soon should I do this?

Now. Even using floppy disks start the process of backing up your data today. The sooner you start the safer your data is.

============================================

Human error and hardware failure account for 76% of all data loss.

============================================

The cost of recovering from a major hardware failure such as a hard disk crash can be massively reduced by keeping a backup of your data.

You’re worked hard to build up your business. Don’t throw all that hard work away by not taking the proper steps to safeguard your critical information.

For more information on keeping your data safe visit visit the Data Backup Guide on AffiliateAdvocate.com.

About The Author

Niall Roche is the content author and owner of http://www.affiliateadvocate.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 10, 2004

by Niall Roche

Is Procrastination Holding You Back?

Is Procrastination Holding You Back?

by: C.J. Hayden

When you look at your marketing todo list, do many of the items on it look all too familiar? Have entries like กcall Donna Sanchezก and กfollow up with Floyd Corp.ก been copied from a previous week? Putting off unappealing tasks may be human nature, but for an entrepreneur, procrastination can be deadly.

Delays in contacting a prospect can lose the business to the competition. Failing to get the word out about an upcoming event may forfeit dozens of opportunities. Wasted marketing time can never be recovered. By the time you realize you might not make your goal for the month, quarter, or year, it may already be too late.

Finding tasks on your todo list week after week is a clear sign you are procrastinating, but itกs not always this obvious. Can you identify with any of these situations?

1. Feelings of overwhelm. You have a backlog of work that seems insurmountable. You wake up in the morning already thinking about everything you must accomplish that day. It seems impossible to get it all done. If you are routinely unable to complete whatกs on your list in the time available, you may be creating the problem yourself by putting tasks off week after week.

2. Making excuses. You find yourself constantly having to make excuses to your business buddies, referral partners, potential clients, or even your coach about why you never followed up on that great referral, that important sales call wasn’t made, the marketing package wasn’t sent, or the proposal wasn’t written. After a while, the excuses begin to sound flimsy, even to you.

3. Trivial pursuits. You notice that you are doing unimportant chores rearranging your desk drawers, filing old business cards, shopping for just the right desk, surfing the Net while neglecting crucial marketing activities.

4. Overflowing pipeline. A form of procrastination unique to entrepreneurs and salespeople is continuing to develop new leads instead of contacting the prospects you already have. If you are spending more time attending networking events or reviewing lists of names than getting on the phone, putting your fingers to the keyboard, or driving to appointments, this problem may be yours.

If you ARE procrastinating, what then? Begin to change this habit by getting in touch with your motivation to do better. What rewards, tangible and intangible, do you get from your work? Remind yourself of that payoff on a daily basis. Post a picture or note that represents those rewards to you on your calendar, phone, or dashboard.

Break down each of the activities you are having trouble with into small steps. Pick what seems like the easiest place to start, and block out time on your calendar to make a beginning. You may find that once you are taking action, the rest seems much less difficult than you had feared.

If you find that you really do have too much on your plate to have enough time for marketing, itกs essential that you cut back on some of your other activities immediately. A business without marketing isn’t a business; itกs a hobby.

Create more accountability for yourself by telling a buddy, support group, or coach exactly what you plan to get done each week. Ask them not to accept any excuses from you, and to remind you why you said you were doing all this in the first place. You can partner in this way with a colleague by setting up a weekly checkin where each of you reports to the other.

It may take time to break the procrastination habit, so give yourself permission to fail a few times. Remember that even a small amount of progress may be allowing you to achieve more than you ever have before.

About The Author

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of กFive Secrets to Finding All the Clients Youกll Ever Needก at http://www.getclientsnow.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 13

by C.J. Hayden

The Workfromhome Fashion Primer

The Workfromhome Fashion Primer

by: David Leonhardt

Last week, I reported how writers, stayathome parents and online marketing geeks had chosen careers as hermits:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/hermit.html

Thousands of workfromhome hermits responded, confessing that they were wearing their pajamas while reading my column. Fortunately very few sent me photos. Here are some of the questions they asked:

Q: Is it acceptable to wear pajamas at high noon if Nobody sees me, or am I committing a fashion fauxpas.

A: It is totally acceptable to wear pajamas at high noon. You can even wear them at low noon. In fact, you can wear them all day long. The only exception is in England you must not wear pajamas at tea time. Pajamas and tea don’t mix. The combination can be lethal. (See the November 2002 report: กSpontaneous combustion among British workathome hermits.ก)

Q: How should I handle กcasual Fridaysก in my workplace?

A: I have replaced casual Fridays with กformal Thursdaysก. Every Thursday, I take my daughter to the play center, forcing me to shower, shave and don formal wear. Don’t go overboard, though. My threepiece suit includes jeans, tshirt and shoes.

Q: But what if I never go out?

A: Then stick to casual Fridays. Why not make Friday the day you wash your pajamas? All Nobody will see is the back of your chair, anyway.

Q: What if FedEx Guy comes to the door?

A: Tell FedEx Guy itกs casual Friday, and ask him if he really wants to see how workfromhome hermits celebrate casual Fridays.

Q: If I work from home, do I still need a purse?

A: Of course. Without a purse, what would you carry to the bathroom? Make sure your purse matches your pajamas, though. You would not want Nobody to catch you with a poorly coordinated wardrobe. Personally, I don’t have a purse, but thatกs just a guy thing.

Q: What about taking out the garbage?

A: When the odor starts to repel the postman, you might need to take out the garbage (just in case there is a rare check in the mail). Wear your pajamas to the curb, but I suggest replacing your slippers with shoes. Snowshoes are recommended in Edmonton…except in July and August. Don’t walk to the curb if you live on a houseboat.

Q: I feel so alone. Is that normal?

A: Get over it. You are part of a glorious economic movement, where people around the world choose to reject antiquated social norms and barricade themselves in their homes to make $53,976 in the first week of their new businesses. How could you feel lonely with so much money?

Q: Wow. I made only $3 in my first week. I bet my husband $3 that I could stay in my home office for three straight days without coming out. I won the bet, but I was forced to shower.

A: Thatกs not a question.

Q: OK, what if I make only $3 a week?

A: You might have to share your pajamas with Nobody…until you can afford a second pair.

Q: Is this really a growing trend?

A: Yes. The International Institute of Social Isolation reports that by 2055, 95% of people will be operating a home based business. The National Organization for Studying You (NOSY) reports that by 2055, 95% of people will be sharing their pajamas with Nobody…until they can afford a second pair.

Q: Wow. Thatกs a lot of pajamas. What does this mean for the future.

A: It means the pajama industry will become a major economic force.

Q: Do you know any good pajamabased mutual funds I could invest in to take advantage of this trend?

A: No, but how rich can you get investing $3 a week, anyway?

Thatกs it, everything you wanted to know about fashion etiquette for the workfromhome hermit. One more thing: if you provide feedback to this article on a casual Friday, please turn off your web cam.

About The Author

David Leonhardt writes the Happy Guy humor column:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/positivethinkingfreeezine.html

and A Daily Dose of Happiness:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/dailyhappinessfreeezine.html .

He also wrote Inspiration & Motivation To Go

http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/dailymotivationinspiration.php

and Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/happinessselfhelpbook.html

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 10, 2004

by David Leonhardt

Networking Basics Turn Yourself Into A Profit Maki

Networking Basics Turn Yourself Into A Profit Making Giant

by: Costa Dedes

I would like to introduce you to one of my brick and mortar business I run. It is called AFM Computer Repair. This business takes me about 5 hours a week, yet I usually make a few hundred dollars cash in my pocket spending money a week. Now I know what everyone is thinking, กHow the HELL do you run a brick and mortar business with only 5 hours of your time a week!ก. Well its quite simple. Its called networking. Ok I admit the location isn’t mine, it doesn’t have my name on it. But the benefits are great I don’t pay monthly bills! This is like a dream come true, your own store with no bills.

OK let me explain a little more. The business sells refurbished computers that are supplied by a local computer recycler. I networked myself with a few local business owner in my home town and managed to find a few people who could be interested in selling PC products. After getting the names and locations of each business I wrote up a presentation and showed them the benefits of having me in the store selling my products. The owners almost dropped to their knees begging me to setup my displays. A week later I had three shops all selling computer for ME. I had no overhead I did not even need to be in the store for more then a few hours each week.

The secrets to networking is to find a product you are interested in. Once you have found the product learn more about it. Once you learned enough about the product, read about it some more until it is so well into your memory you have no questions about it. Then prepare a list of possible business to market your product in. I recommend small locally owned businesses in downtown parts of your town, example would be a corner store where people hang out to buy beer and cigarettes you know people will be in and out all day. Then prepare your presentation. Make sure you can answer the most outrageous questions on your products. Do not forget the part that will make your perspective partner drop to his knees asking you to come sell in his shop. The secret to this is กMake him an offer he cant refuseก. No no, I don’t mean get the mob over and break his knees. What you need to do is tell him that your product will give him extra cash with no investment. The owner does not have to purchase any of your products up front. You own all the products until they are sold. Once they are sold you write up a bill and give it to the shop owner. You make sure you give them a good cut of the money. Depending on your product that can be anywhere from 15% to 60%. If you keep the shop owner happy I promise you that the money you see will continue to come for years.

Specific example: Lets say you want to start small. Purchase a box of lighters from http://www.dropshipping4u.com/catalog/ . Then go to a locally owned store and give them a presentation on your products. Make sure you purchase an interesting type of lighter. Yes you can purchase the plain lighters but they are harder to market. The ones that look like cigarettes are a good buy so lets try them. They cost you 82 cents a piece after shipping. I have seen these selling as high as 5.99 in some good markets. Lets take a bad price of 2.25 per lighter. You sell them all within a week, thatกs $108.00, now you owe the shop owner some money, lets say 20%. You send him a bill for $86.40 . He makes a little over $20.00 and is happy, he did no work and made some money for his shop. You profited $47.04 lets say you have only 5 shops signed up with you. That is $235.20 profit in your pocket. Ok lets say you sold the lighters for $5.99 because you are in a tourist area and the tourist always go for these things. You would see a profit of over $190.00 from one case. Imagine that times 10 stores a week. You see where networking with local business will make you big cash now? The next time you go to a mini mart look at the counter, ask them where do you get your lighters from most of the time they get them outsourced by people like yourself. Now go out there and make some cash!

Thanks for reading my stories.

About The Author

Costa Dedes

Owner/Operator

www.unisoftsoftware.com

www.pagers4u.com

www.yourwatch.net

www.dropshipping4u.com

Copyright © by UniSoft Software Internet Marketing Group All Right Reserved.

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 19, 2003

by Costa Dedes

How Nearly Going Broke Taught Me The Value Of Nich

How Nearly Going Broke Taught Me The Value Of Niche Marketing

by: André Anthony

If you want to learn how effective Niche Marketing can be, I suggest you กdon’tก take the route I did.

Back in 1983 I started a company offering general Electronics Subcontract Assembly services to just about anyone who made Electronic products.

By 1985 my company was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and I was perilously close to losing my home because of a large overdraft pledged against it.

Why did this happen?

Well Electronics Subcontract Assembly is a huge, highly competitive market place with lots of heavy hitters. Being a little naive at the time, I thought that my little three man company could carve out a big enough slice from such a huge market to make a very comfortable living I was dead wrong.

We did get work, but only the jobs the big boys didn’t want. The work was labour intensive and even with our tiny overhead we couldn’t make enough profit to sustain the business adequately. We could never get the big, lucrative contracts because we weren’t considered big enough to handle them.

By December ก84 I was desperate. Sales for the previous four months had been abysmal and cashflow almost nonexistent. My Bank Manager was on my back demanding that I reduce the business overdraft or he would call it in. My suppliers were baying at my door to be paid. As if that wasn’t bad enough, during the first week of 1985 my biggest customer suspended production for six months on a games gizmo we were making for him.

Things were so bad I was seriously considering bankruptcy to get out from under this financial nightmare. Fortunately Iกm a bit pig headed about giving in too easily so despite all the problems I hung on, and Iกm glad I did because fortune suddenly smiled on me.

What happened?

A couple of weeks into 1985 a business acquaintance came to see us with a sample cable and asked if we could make 5 up for him. The cable was for an IBM PC. At the time I knew nothing about making cables and even less about PCs, but I had his sample to work from so I took the job.

When our now customer came to collect his finished order, he mentioned that there were a few other Dealers in the PC market who would probably be interested in having us supply them with these cables he even gave us a mailing list.

I was more than a little sceptical, I have to admit, but I had nothing to lose so I went for it. I wrote a short, snappy sales letter, scraped together the money, mailed out to the 100+ dealers on the list and crossed my fingers.

48 hours later we had our first order for 10 cables, within 7 days we had 11 more orders for 10 cables each.

That one small mailing brought us an amazing 12% initial response and it just kept going from there with week after week of repeat orders.

Pretty soon after that, my wife Maxine joined the business and set up a telephone sales desk and customer service system. By that time we were averaging about £1000 a week and that was from just the one cable type.

At that point I dumped the subcontract work and focussed on the cable business.

Once Maxine took over the sales function she immediately followed up with the companies who hadn’t responded to our initial mailing. That brought in another 26 new customers. Within six months we were supplying most of the major Dealers and Distributors in the then burgeoning PC market and our cable sales had quadrupled.

Inside a year in this niche business we were selling thousands of computer cables of all descriptions, including highly lucrative custom formats, and we were being asked to provide advice on how to design cables for specific applications we had arrived we were now the acknowledged experts customer loyalty rocketed and by 1988 our turnover reached £400,000+ with gross profits of 50% or more.

Now Iกm the first to admit that luck played a hand in turning my companyกs fortunes around, but the experience taught me my most valuable lesson in business you have to focus on a specific, underserved market niche if you want to be really successful in business.

I have applied this premise to four other businesses since then and, with one exception, all have been successful.

My advice? Find yourself a small, focused market niche (the Internet is full of them) where you can carve a reputation for yourself and become an expert in the field like I did.

About The Author

Copyright © 2005, André Anthony Niche Market KnowHow

André Anthony owns and operates Niche Market KnowHow a resource for beginning Niche Marketers. Visit http://www.nichemarketknowhow.com today to find strategies, tips, tools, products and resources for effective niche product creation and marketing. Get his Niche Market Knowhow Mini Course here: http://www.nichemarketknowhow.com/course.htm

This article was posted on April 12

by André Anthony

What The Heck Is A Campaign And Why Do I Need To D

What The Heck Is A Campaign And Why Do I Need To Do One?

by: Joy Gendusa

Many people ask me, ขWhat is a postcard campaign, exactly?ข ขAnd why do I need one?ข As I have been educating my clients one on one for years now, I suddenly had the bright idea that I needed to explain this for more than just one at a time and in further detail. So here goes…

Campaigns for marketing are, in a nutshell, a series of repeat mailings that are strategically planned so that there is maximum benefit (more new customers) for your business.

Nota bene (that means ขtake noteข in Latin – and I do mean take note): If you are not doing repeat mailings then you are flushing money down toilet.

Why is this true? Basically, because people hold onto your postcard for a while. They can hold onto your postcard for six months. They will even hold on to your card for three years. When you repeat your mailings to those same people, your chances of them responding just got greater. Repeat mailings cannot be repeated enough.

A one shot in the dark postcard mailing is not going to change your business, your bottom line, your life or your anything.

So, if you are not up to confronting that you need to do a campaign then maybe you shouldn’t be in business. And that may sound harsh – it is harsh. It’s a harsh world. And I want you to succeed in it.

Why do businesses fail in the first three years? Because they don’t have enough people paying money to them for their services. The bottom line is, they don’t market – they don’t get people buying their stuff. That’s the whole point of marketing.

Yes, some promotion is better than no promotion. But the great thing about marketing campaigns is that you will be more able to predict your growth. Your income is dependent upon how much communication you put out on a subject. It’s relative to that.

If you put out a blast of communication you will get inflow prospects, customers calling or coming in and buying. Yes, once that initial blast goes out you will get some business from referrals…some. But you want that blast repeated over and over and over to get the inflow that it will generate consistently. You could almost make a big flow chart of what will happen.

Say you send out 5000 postcards.

Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

Out of that 5000, so many never call…

There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, ขI only got four responses from my mailing!ข But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out. Or you file it away and when you pay off that credit card, you pull out your file and visit that store that advertised the rug you wanted to buy for your living room.

Victoria Secret, Ballard Designs – any reputable catalog company will mail you catalogs multiple times! Are you getting the picture yet?

You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

What if,

You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

What is going to happen? Mmmh, let me see… Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. So, FIND THE MONEY. FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

This is the thing about capital investment – people get money to start their business. They give themselves a nice big salary, they buy really great furniture, computers, a building, and so forth. That’s not where they should be spending their money. They should be spending their money on marketing and promotion and getting their name out there. And then all that money from the sales that come in should be spent on upgrading their computer or designing a fabulous office. Then and only then.

Back to campaigns and mailing out boo coo each week. Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week and another list the following week. Then you rotate those lists – again. And again. And again.

Now you ask what if you only have one list? You can still rotate one list. And it is always good to put it on a spreadsheet or a flow chart to track what you are doing and what you have already done.

For instance: You get one list of 6000 identities. You can mail to 2000 one week, 2000 the next week and 2000 the third week. Then you rotate. There are your three different lists!

OK, you got the point. The next thing to know about campaigns is that there are two different types of marketing campaigns. There is the campaign to get your customers to keep buying from you so they don’t go elsewhere. And then there is the campaign to get new business in.

Once you have gotten new business in, then those customers (that once were prospects) get the repeatcustomer campaign.

Where does one start?

The first thing you should do when starting out and thinking of a marketing campaign is to start with your own customers.

Say you’ve been in business 510 years and have hit a plateau

About The Author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. She is always willing to share her marketing advice. Visit http://www.postcardmania.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 11

by Joy Gendusa

Farm Expired Listings For Big Commissions

Farm Expired Listings For Big Commissions

by: Lanard Perry

Many real estate agents begin and sometimes sadly end their careers without a plan. And as the saying goes, failing to plan is as good as planning to fail. ]

Sure, some do the usual and expected things to cultivate new business, like mailing letters and post cards to friends and relatives, phoning acquaintances, and giving out business cards to any and everybody they meet.

Heck, some are courageous enough to กcold callก prospects, the most dreaded of all tasks! And while all of these activities are good things to do, they don’t necessarily translate into new business opportunities now or later!

And while these may be good strategies you need more. But instead of working harder why not work smarter?

The most successful Realtors and Real Estate Agents have กlead generating systems.ก Some Farm Expired Listings for huge profits.

A good listing system can:

jump start new or average real estate sales career

bring in real estate listings on a regular basis; week after week

generate prospective buyers and sellers

give you marketing exposure in months rather than years

position you to know the best real estate investment buys

Personally, I love Expired Listing Systems and their laser beam like focus on warm, responsive sellers. Sellers that are typically still Realtor friendly, eager to sell and will do what it takes to get their properties sold.

Owners of expired listings are motivated for many reasons; double mortgages, vacant properties, terrible tenants, recently married and combining households, recently divorced and liquidating real estate assets, and on and on.

Plus, they have gone through a listing cycle and may be anxious to get on with their lives. But, as you know, or will soon learn, all listings aren’t worth having.

As for me, I initially listed every property that I could; vacant land, single family homes, condoกs, triplexes, mobile home parks, mobile homes, homes in top notch condition, fixer uppers, whatever.

And I got to feeling pretty darn good (and just a little smug) as my listing portfolio grew to more listings than I could manage.

So, I first hired a part time clerk/assistant to help me market my listings, then took on a newly licensed salesperson as a partner and split the listing fees 50/50. Pretty soon my listing system was humming and I was averaging 12 listings a week.

I then had an army of agents working for me day and night, as almost all of my listings were in the Multiple Listing System. Working to get me paid, even when I was chaperoning field trips, getting a haircut, or just taking a day off!

Thatกs what a good real estate listing system can do for you!

So, if you don’t have a good listing system you should get one. After all, if real estate listings are the lifeblood of the industry then how successful can you be without them?

About The Author

Lanard Perry is the author of กFarming Expired Listingsก, a real estate listing system that shows how to list 12 listings a week.

Visit http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com for more info.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 1

by Lanard Perry

Being Part Of Groups

Being Part Of Groups

by: Richard Lowe, Jr.

There are many different ways to have fun and socialize on the internet. One of the most fulfilling things that you can do is join one of the many social groups that exist.
What is an internet social group? These are a whole bunch of people who share their experiences, thoughts and beliefs over the internet. Usually they are united by a common theme or cause (or many causes). Sometimes these themes are as simple as "friendship" or "internet addiction", but they can also be united by a desire to recruit Christians, deliver a message or protest a wrong.
Some examples of groups are Random Acts Of Kindness, Miskerกs Denizens, Garden of Friendship and Hearts Of Gold. Other groups include Kindred Spirits, Inner Dreams, Web Addicts, Net Dudes and so on.
Generally, a group is started by one or a small group of "founders". The founders lay out the rules and create a basic website, then recruit charter members, who then recruit additional members. Ideally, what you wind up with is a focused, motivated group who performs the duties and tasks required for group membership.
Being part of an internet social group means more than just putting a link or webring fragment on a web site. It means more than joining an Egroup list and reading the messages that people send. And it certainly means more than a nice looking graphics.
Each group has a set of bylaws (rules and regulations) and most have a creed, which is the mission statement describing what the group is supposed to accomplish. For example, Random Acts Of Kindness exists to do exactly what the name implies: deliver acts of kindness to people. This could consist of guestbook signings, articles, giving stationary or gifts, or any number of other small, thoughtful things to do.
Usually a group has committees and you have the option of joining one or more. Being in a committee has more responsibilities than just being a member. For example, if you are on the Welcoming Committee, you will be expected to sign new members guestbooks with welcome messages, or if you are on the newsletter committee you will be writing articles and contributing materials.
The main point of all of this is to get people to be active in one way or another to the group. Itกs fine and dandy to have a thousand members, but if only ten of them are actually doing anything … itกs really not a very useful thing.
Presumably you join a group for a reason. Perhaps you like the people, you want someone to communicate with or you like signing guestbooks. Perhaps you want to contribute to the causes that the group supports.
Well, then please contribute. This is actually very important to the survival of a group. People need to put in effort. They will find that effort magnified many times. Thatกs the beauty of these groups! If everyone does just a little bit every day or once a week or whatever, then itกs magnified by the number of people in the group. You get each person in a hundred member group to sign one guestbook per day randomly, thatกs 100 guestbooks per day, or over 36,500 per year! Thatกs a lot of guestbooks!
Thatกs the idea. Figure out how you can contribute, then do so. Personally, Iกve joined half a dozen of these groups. I write an article a day and send it to each of them. Why? Because I can help a number of people that I like with their common internet questions and concerns. I can contribute in a very positive way.
Other people choose to contribute differently. Letกs say you are on the graphics committee, then contribute a couple of graphics a week at least. On the welcoming committee? Sign a dozen guestbooks each Saturday. Just a plain old member and not on any committees? Then pick something that the group needs, perhaps a different thing each week, and contribute it.
Don’t have the time to do anything? Then I have a tough question for you why are you a member of the group? I mean, why join something that you don’t want to give anything to? Take a look at it even if you can only do ten minutes of something per week you can at least sign a guestbook or two. Just visit one site of a group member per week, look it over, and sign their guestbook with a short, nice comment. That alone will help brighten someoneกs day!

About The Author

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: http://www.internettips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internettips.net/joinlist.htm
Claudia ArevaloLowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com

This article was posted on January 16, 2002

by Richard Lowe, Jr.

Think You Can’t Afford the Help You Need? Think Ag

Think You Can’t Afford the Help You Need? Think Again!

by: Diane Hughes

So many small business owners especially those who work from home are very pressed for time. After all, as an independent professional, you must wear the hats of: accountant, salesperson, customer service representative, marketing manager, distribution manager, tax professional, and countless others. While you may need help desperately, you probably think you can’t afford to hire someone. The truth be known, you can actually SAVE money by using an assistant.

Think of it this way. How do you make your money? Providing a product? Offering a service? Soliciting memberships? Regardless, you have to DO something (promote the product, perform the service, solicit the membership) to get that money. When you must be all things to all people, it takes valuable time away from the one thing that brings in cash for you. Hiring an assistant can free you up to make more money.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you spend 10 hours a week on actual moneymaking ventures. Your average income in one week is $1,000. You spend the other 30 hours per week answering emails, doing bookkeeping, providing customer service support, and so on. If you could delegate many of the duties that don’t absolutely require your attention to an assistant, you could devote possibly 20 more hours to making money. That would give you 30 hours a week to make money and only 10 hours per week to do other things.

Don’t think you can afford an assistant? Oh, sure you can! Virtual Assistants perform a wide range of duties at very reasonable rates. They work via phone, email, fax, and postal mail rather than being a fulltime employee of your business. This way, you only pay for the services you need.

Let’s say you DO hire a Virtual Assistant. He/she works 20 hours week for a rate of $35 per hour. That equals $700. On the other hand, YOU spend those 20 hours a week making more money. That would give you an additional $2,000 per week (using the same example above). You would actually make MORE money ($1,300 more) hiring a Virtual Assistant than you would doing it all yourself.

Where do you find good Virtual Assistants? You can search the Web, ask your business associates for recommendations, or check out some of the Virtual Assistant (VA) directories online such as http://www.assistu.com. I highly recommend http://www.kesslerva.com.

Whoever you choose, make sure they have experience performing the duties you want to delegate. Also, be sure they allow hourly work without contracts (at least in the beginning) so that you can get a feel for how he/she does business.

Virtual Assistants can free you up to do what you do best, make money. This is a very affordable alternative to running yourself ragged, and trying to do everything yourself. After all, isn’t one of the perks of being a business owner supposed to be more freedom?!

Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes

About The Author

Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane

This article was posted on August 25, 2004

by Diane Hughes