What is Contract Programming? An Alternative to th

What is Contract Programming? An Alternative to the Conformity of Everyday Employment

by: Michael Nigohosian

What is contract programming, you ask? Well, when companies need specific computer programming expertise, for temporary periods of time, they generally hire a contract programmer or an employee of a consulting firm. Contractors almost always have a higher hourly wage than a salaried employee and are often paid for overtime. Contracts can last from one to three months to many years, depending on the situation. A contract programmer generally does one thing: program (code) for the duration of the contract. So, contract programming is just an area of computer consulting. Other areas of computer consulting include custom developers, network consultants and information technology (IT) consultants. The contract programmer can work via two forms of contracts: 1) ขW2 ข contracts and 2) ข1099ข contracts.
Thereกs the กW2ก contractor
The ขW2 contractorข receives the typical IRS W2 form at tax time and works as a temporary employee of a contract broker or some form of employment agency. The contract broker basically acquires a contract with a client company and hires the contractor to work on that contract for them. Brokers make their money by charging the client an amount over your agreed upon hourly rate. In this form, the contract programmer is a temporary, hourly employee of the broker’s company and this is the form that is easiest for the newcomer to obtain.
And the ก1099ก contractor
As a ขW2 contractorข, your broker a.k.a.: temporary employer or agency will collect taxes from your paycheck, just as if you were a regular employee. The ข1099 contractorข, can still work through a broker, but gets paid on an IRS form 1099 and must take responsibility for paying all applicable taxes herself. This ข1099ข form is for, in IRS lingo, ขIndependent Contractors.ข Independent contractors have more work to do before they get a contract: they have to market themselves like any other business. This includes brochures, business cards, web sites, networking, etc. They have to consider obtaining more forms of insurance that may include general business liability and errors & omissions insurance. They also generally have to form a corporation in order to work for certain companies. The pay back for this extra work is a higher hourly rate. To the beginning contractor, I always suggest starting out as a ขW2ข contract programmer because it is generally the quickest and easiest path to becoming a contract programmer and the best way to determine if contracting is the right career choice.
The กW2ก contractor is like a typical employee…almost
The main differences between a fulltime employee and an hourly, contract employee working for a broker are, the contractor:
1) Will probably have to pay for his or her own health and disability insurance, which amounts to very little compared to the increased income one usually sees.
2) Generally gets paid topdollar for his or her work. Many earn $100 or more per hour for 40+ hours a week.
3) Can take as much time off from work as he or she pleases, while inbetween contracts.
4) Has independence from corporate politics.
5) Has the chance to live wherever she wants or live in different places as determined by the particular contract.
6) Is often seen as an expert in his or her field.
More work for ข1099ก contractor
These points apply to the ข1099 contractorข as well, but the ข1099ก contractor has more work to do in filing taxes, corporate paperwork, advertising and searching for her next contract as opposed the ขW2 contractor,ข who basically makes a few calls to her favorite brokers and tells them she is ready for another contract and the brokers do the jobsearching for her. Now, everything I’ve said thus far is pretty cutanddry, so let’s take a look at a more elusive topic: what qualities make a good contract programmer.
Signs of a good contract programmer
Over the last decade, I have met and worked with many varied computer programmers. From this experience, I have devised the following list containing what I believe makes a good potential contractor programmer. A good contract programmer:
1) Makes computers an avid hobby of his. When he comes home from work he plays with or hacks the computer trying to improve its performance.
2) Tries to learn more about computers than his peers do and he also likes to program the computer to have it do ขcoolข things.
3) Has often dreamed of being an expert, highpaid computer professional.
4) Has learned how to master the art of studying computer science.
5) Spends his free time reading computer books and magazines — yes kind of geeky!
6) May like to build his own computer systems and enjoys tweaking and upgrading them to extract the most performance from them.
7) Is very professional and humble.
Youกve got to love to do it!
These really are just some of the basic qualities of someone who loves computers and loving computers is really the main ingredient for a successful career in contract programming. If you don’t love doing it, you will not survive. If you do love it, it will be a joy to go to work every day and to continually update your skills. The computer field changes rapidly and only someone who really loves computers and makes it his hobby will have the desire to continually upgrade his skills and be the best he can be at all times. If you possess most of the seven qualities listed above and like the idea of using your hobby to catapult yourself into a highpaid, fulfilling career, even if the economy is down, you should consider a career in contract programming.

About The Author

Michael Nigohosian is the author of the awardwinning and bestselling series, ‘the Secret Path to Contract Programming Richesก and instructor for the course กIntroduction to Contract Programmingก. He is also director of Rapid Mastery Technology™ at McGillis, Wilcox, Webster & Co., Inc.™ http://www.mwwcorp.com

This article was posted on June 15, 2004

by Michael Nigohosian

Starting an OnLine Home Business

Starting an OnLine Home Business

by: John Baker

When looking for a business on the internet you should consider a number of things. One thing is stability with many scams on the internet you should look for a business that has been around a few years. Another is to see how many members they have. Is it free to join, or how much to join, before you invest to much time and money? Also will they offer free support and training?

Next, you will want to invest in your own website. There are many businesses that offer domain names, websites, and hosting accounts free, or for a small fee. Once you have your site up and running, you will want to submit your website to a search engine.

Then you will want to add link pages to your site, this will help your rank with the searchengines. This will take some time, but it is free. You will want to exchange links with at least 100 sites that are similar or related to your site. This will help you move up the searchengine page ranking, giving you more traffic, which equals more signups and more sells. Most websites have a link to us or similar page making it fairly easy to do. Also articles like this, related to your business, will add content to your site. The search engines love content, thus sending visitors directly to your article pages. Those visitors may then visit the rest of your site that makes you money.

You may then want to signup with an affiliate program, like ClickBank or Commission Junction, so that you have more than one source of revenue. Be careful to balance the affiliate programs without taking away from your main initial business. Be patient. Youกll work the hardest the first few months. Nothing great happens overnight! With some work, planning, and learning, you are on your way to success.

This article may be reprinted providing it is published in itกs entirety, including the authorกs bio and link to the URL below.

About The Author

The author, John Baker, is the editor/owner of besthomebusinessideas.net A website dedicated to making money and starting a home business. For more free info please visit: http://www.besthomebusinessideas.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 06, 2004

by John Baker

They Didn’t Think I Could Earn A FullTime Income

They Didn’t Think I Could Earn A FullTime Income Online, But I Proved Them Wrong!

by: Al Martinovic

When I first attempted to make money online I was so naive just like any newbie. But I learned from the school of hard knocks. I learned by trial and error and by just doing.

In the beginning I submitted my site to every search engine under the sun. I tried traffic exchanges, banner exchanges, FFAกs, safelists, online classified ads etc. and not surprisingly I got zero results. If anything… I was very good at getting spammed.

I wasted weeks and even months of my time with stuff that didn’t work. But little by little I started to head in the right direction. I dropped all the stuff that didn’t work and looked for other ways to bring traffic to my site.

I subscribed to a whole bunch of ezines and started posting free ads. The results weren’t great but at least this time I was getting some results. My confidence started to build and I knew I was heading in the right direction.

Then I started to spend a little money on my business and used pay per click search engines and things really started to take off for me and my confidence grew more.

Then I started writing articles and press releases and and in the middle of all this I would spend time learning how to optimize my site for the major search engines to get a high ranking.

The sales started coming in regularly. But I didn’t sit back. I wanted to convert more of my visitors into customers.

I added an optin form on my site to capture email addresses and set up an autoresponder to automatically follow up with my prospects. Eventually I added an alert box to capture email addresses which really exploded my mail list.

I started learning more about copywriting and experimented with different copy and headlines etc. on my site to get maximum results until eventually I had a consistent sales machine over at http://www.ineedsmokes.com

And when I had a sales machine that was on autopilot I then started pursuing other projects to make additional money.

But you know, it took alot of work to get to this point. It is a constant learning process and I still try to learn as much as I can because you never กknow it all.ก

If you think you กknow it allก you are finished because the internet changes so rapidly youกll quickly get left behind.

If you’re new to online marketing… it won’t happen for you overnight. It will take work, dedication and even sacrifice.

You need to keep working your business, be consistent and learn as much as you can about this internet marketing game and most importantly apply what you have learned.

Some techniques and tactics will work great in one business… but not in another. You won’t know unless you try. Find the things that work for you and build upon it.

And eventually… youกll get there too.

About The Author

Al Martinovic publishes the Millenium Marketers Newsletter featuring powerful internet marketing concepts, killer strategies, useful tips, and no bull business advice. Subscribe Free Today: http://www.milleniummarketers.com

This article was posted on November 18, 2003

by Al Martinovic

How To Fail Online, or Alternatively, What To Avoi

How To Fail Online, or Alternatively, What To Avoid In Order To Succeeed

by: Dr. David Lowenstein

“One click and you message gets to 100/200/xxx million websites a day” “Make $1,000/5,000/xxxxx straight to your paypal/stormpay or mailbox just by emailing this or mailing that to X of your friends” “Here is how you get 20 million subscribers/affiliates…”

Sounds familiar? Haven’t we all (yes, me too..) thought “Hay, this is Exactly what I need/want!” and, signed for free or, God forbid, paid Money and…a few days later…

I do hope that you are reading this article a minute before you intended To join such a “blabla” offer. It will save you some hard earned dollars.

Question – Who’s to blame? Should we all blame the one offering us These programs? I am certain that your immediate response is “Yes!” Well, you’re wrong! We are the ones to be blamed! We so much want To believe this “magic crap” that we act as their best salesperson.. Who doesn’t want overnight success? I’ll be more blunt – who doesn’t Want an immediate success without putting any work? (lotto…?)

My friend, IT DOES NOT AND NEVER WILL WORK, PERIOD.

To be totally honest and straightforward, these offers should also mention

That: “sign with us and..

work hard for 23 years

invest a lot of time in building trust relations with people “The Best Vitamin For Making Friends Is B1”

you’re about to have rough times during which you’ll be certain that nothing works for you (“everyone seems to have something to offer/sell. How can I get through and succeed selling my product/program??!!”)

IMPORTANT, Never Ever Give Up!

Would they be online if they wrote it (The Simple Truth!)? Of course NOT!

They are simply after your money and that is all there is to it.

But there’s hope. The hope lies in your common sense and determination –

NEVER GIVE UP! Tell yourself:

1. The Opportunities are there. I can make it online.

2. I know I’ll have rough times.

3. I’ll NEVER go for what appears to be “magic” because if it doesn’t

Work (and it NEVER does) I’ll get frustrated and give up. Remember –

It’s The START that STOPS most people!

4. Prior to every purchase I’ll make, whether an ebook, a service or a

Program, I’ll positively answer the following:

4.a. Will this purchase really move my knowledge/business onwards?

4.b. Will it result in more potentially successful contacts/leads?

4.c. Will I be able to use it, within a reasonable period of time, to Increase my profits?

4.d. Am I willing to invest work in it and give it a fair chance?

4.e. If someone else offered it to me, would I go for it? (This is critical because the answer will indicate whether you’ll be able to offer it to others).

Sorry it sounds like a nightmare, it is NOT. It Is Reality. The route to success Resides in yourself – BE DTERMINED, DON’T GET DISTRACTED, Keep Looking straight ahead to your final goal AND YOU’LL GET THERE.

You can achieve a level of success online which will significantly increase Your income. Opportunities and customers are there (and growing every day By outstanding numbers). Let time and work determine what is going to be Your money making opportunity. Just Avoid “Magic Crap”!

And one last advice – No One Can Help Everybody, but Everybody Can Help Somebody. Use this advice to build trust.

Wishing You A Pleasant Journey,

Dr. David Lowenstein

http://www.ezwebinfo.com

http://www.quickinfo247.com/8014454/SIM

About The Author

Dr. David Lowenstein is an Internet Business Development Consultant, Author and Speaker. David publishes a unique, advertismentfree, newsletter titled กHBIPTก Home Business Instant Profit Tips & Tricks. If you’re looking for the BEST RATED home business ideas, tips, กHow Toก exact steps and tricks along with opportunities and helpul support from an honest friend in the business, go to Davidกs web site and grab your FREE subscription TODAY http://www.ezwebinfo.com or email your request and you name to mailto:[email protected]

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in Print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A Courtesy copy of your publication including the article would Be appreciated.

This article was posted on July 18, 2003

by Dr. David Lowenstein

Children in the Home Business Environment

Children in the Home Business Environment

by: Stone Evans

Operating a home business is seldom easy and interruptions come in all shapes, sizes and forms.

Between the family, friends and neighbors who call or come by, and the telemarketers who insist on ringing your number off the hook, getting through the workday can be a real challenge.

When you introduce children into the home office environment, your productivity and patience can be seriously tested.

For example, right now my threeyear old daughter is pulling on my shirt and begging me to read her a story. Clearly, Im in the middle of something important here, but how can I say no to those eyes? Ill be right back…

Ok, that wasnt so bad was it? Shes happy, Im happy (having bonded with my daughter) and now Im back to continue my conversation with you 🙂 Whats the lesson here? Flexibility is a major key to balancing your home business priorities with your familys needs.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that maintaining a deep level of concentration on work in a home business for long periods of time is next to impossible. Naptime does offer some reprieve, but any break from the kids is usually short lived.

Even with older children, summertime introduces new challenges with kids running in and out of the house all throughout the day.

I would like to share with you some of the tips I have discovered to help manage your home office with children in your midst. Since children of different ages pose different challenges, I will present my tips in terms of age groups.

OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS

We will look at older children first since they pose the least challenge to our work productivity.

Children, who are old enough to understand the idea of schedules and chores, are old enough to understand the needs of your home business. Explain to your children that you do your work at home so that you can be near them when they need you. But also be sure they understand that you must do your work so that you will have the money necessary to keep your house, feed the family and to provide them with money for entertainment.

Once your children understand the necessity of your work, then outline a work schedule and explain it to them. Do make sure they understand that emergencies are definitely an acceptable reason to interrupt your work. Then make sure they understand that between hours x and y, you will be doing work and then hold them to respecting your schedule.

INFANTS

Infants will never understand your needs for work. But fortunately, babies do well under a schedule or routine. Instead of expecting your child to work around your schedule, schedule your work around the needs of your baby.

It is simple. Babies eat, sleep and poop. Sometimes they play. Fortunately, babies sleep more than they do anything else.

Naptime offers the best advantage for getting your work done. Get your baby into a routine of eat, sleep and play, and you will experience unexpected levels of productivity.

TODDLERS

If you have a toddler running around the house while you are operating your home business, then you may find that your hair turning gray or disappearing altogether. But, gray hair is a sign of character, right. 😉

I am venturing to guess that the person who devised the door lock for the inside of the house did so because he had toddlers in his own home. Inside door locks should only be utilized when you are making that important phone call and your toddler is screaming for your attention. At all other times, your door should remain unlocked with your door open.

Develop a routine with your children for meal times, naptimes, and play times. Work these times into your work schedule and adhere to them. If you fail to keep appointments with your children, your children will have less respect for your work and do more to prevent you from the completion of your work.

Don’t be afraid to let your children sit in your lap while you are working. It helps them to feel wanted and it helps them to be a part of your daily life. There are times when it is okay for them to be sitting in your lap while you work, and at other times you need them out of your lap. Don’t be afraid to tell them to get down and go play or read a book so that you can resume your work.

Permit your children to have their toys in your office. Often they will sit contently and play while you work. Just knowing you are near is enough to keep them happy.

Be prepared to take an hourly break to deal with your toddler. Try to do potty breaks at your hourly break and to do drink refills. This can help your child grow into a routine that will work well with your home business. At each break, spend a few minutes with your child giving hugs and kisses and talking with your child about what he or she wants to talk about.

Toddlers don’t always do well with the routine, so be prepared to take a few minutes when needed to give the attention that your child so desperately needs in the moment.

IN CONCLUSION

I hope these tips serve to help you in the challenge of operating a successful home business.

My home business permits me to fulfill my financial obligations *AND* see my children grow up. I would never contemplate trading my home business for another kind of business. Even with the added challenges of dealing with toddlers in my home office, the upsides far outweigh the downsides.

Growing my own home business with children around has definitely given me a new respect for all people who successfully run a home business with kids in the work environment. I tip my hat to you… You deserve it!

About The Author

Stone Evans owns the Home Business Resource Directory where you can find everything youกll ever need to start, run and grow a home based business at: http://www.HomeBusiness.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 19, 2004

by Stone Evans

Do You Have a Wealthy Attitude?

Do You Have a Wealthy Attitude?

by: Rosalind Gardner

Wealthy people are conniving, selfish, lazy monsters who will steal your last penny if you let them, or so thatกs what I was raised to believe.

Fortunately, through my work and various associations, Iกve spent time with many of these กmonstersก, and discovered that nothing could be farther from the truth.

In fact, over the years Iกve learned that wealthy people are the hardest working, most generous people one could ever meet.

Obviously, the fearbased attitudes about money that were instilled during my childhood were not only incorrect, they didn’t produce more for me than a steady job.

And no job, no paycheck. No matter how wellpaid you are, thatกs not wealth, thatกs a dangerous rut.

To me, wealth means income that is generated on a continuous and ongoing basis, whether or not Iกm working specifically on that project or investment at any given time.

I knew that if I wanted to live a richer, fuller life, Iกd have to let go of my old beliefs and adopt healthier, more productive attitudes to acquiring wealth.

So I set out to learn about the commonly held beliefs and values shared by wealthy people.

The first commonality was obvious. Wealthy people all value their time too highly to exchange it for a paycheck, and therefore they work for themselves. The exception to this is made when theyกll work for a company in their chosen industry to gain experience or be mentored.

Truly wealthy folks know that there is no such thing as กget r*ch quickก and understand that businesses are built, and wealth is acquired, through being of service to others. They find a need and fill it with excellent products and highly quality customer service. Having their customersก trust and support, their businesses stand the test of time.

All, without fail, regularly give a portion of their time and money to help those less fortunate.

The wealthy also place great emphasis on healthy nutrition and regular exercise. After their work day is over, rather than flop on the couch to watch a rerun of กFriendsก (and West Wing, and Coronation Street, and Frasier…) theyกll opt for a run or a friendly game of squash. They understand that exercise is an activity that creates energy, whereas succumbing to the temptation to กflakeoutก leaves you feeling even more exhausted.

While out on that run, they put the increased oxygen flow to good use by thinking, thinking and thinking some more. They forumulate business plans and strategies for the short, medium and longterm. They know that their vision for a happy, solid future for themselves and their familes is built on goals and the specific plans to achieve them.

Family is their top priority. Everything they do is for the purpose of helping to improve the lives of their family members.

Above all, they approach life with gratitude. They know in their hearts that there is more than enough wealth on the planet for everyone to share. They know that whatever effort they make, whatever they choose to give, will be returned to them many times over.

>From that perspective, they have no fear, and itกs fear, not money, that is the root of all evil. Fear causes people to hold on tight and act in greedy, selfish ways. Give to receive.. itกs really that simple.

The กgood lifeก may seem like a lot of hard work, and it is! But if you truly want to enjoy the good life, then do the กworkก of setting goals, staying healthy, and being of service to others with joy and an open heart. Youกll be delighted by the rewards work can bring when you approach life with a wealthy attitude.

About The Author

Article by Rosalind Gardner, author of the bestselling กSuper Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other Peopleกs Stuff Onlineก. To learn how you too can suceed in Internet and affiliate marketing, go to: http://NetProfitsToday.com.

This article was posted on March 30

by Rosalind Gardner

Hard Work!

Hard Work!

by: Robert J Farey

MAKE A MILLION $ PER MONTH.

No work involved.

Do it whilst sitting on the beach at Maliboo.

This may sound a bit extreme but how many adverts have you seen that are similar to it?

The trouble is that so many newcomers to the internet get taken in by this sort of hype. No wonder that so many get disillusioned and wrap up and go away never to return.

It is a real pity that this sort of thing is allowd to happen. If only people would tell the truth they would get a far better response to their adverts.

Tell it as it is.

With the right information and a little incentive it is possible to start a business working from home, using nothing more than a desktop computer and something to sell.

Starting a business is easy. Earning money from it is a different thing. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work.

Just a minute!

What do we mean by กhard workก?

Sitting at a keyboard for a couple of hours a day does not sound like hard work to those who are used to physical effort.

Nevertheless, If the typing was all that was required it would be a doddle.

There is more to it than that.

For instance:

Devising an advertising strategy takes a certain amount of expertise. That is something that the average Jack or Jill needs to learn, either the hard way from expreience, or the much easier way by asking the right questions from the right people.

What a lot of newcomers do not understand is that whatever they need to know, there is someone out there who is willing to give them the answers.

Willing to take them by the hand and guide them on the path to success.

That is something that you don’t get in normal business circles.

There are thousands of websites out there offering genuine help to those who need it. A lot of them have an ulterior motive, they have something to sell but that does not mean that the advice that they give is not useful. Would you buy from someone who gave you poor advice?

If they give advice that you can trust, perhaps you will trust them enough to purchase something from them at a later date. That is quite ethical.

Always remember: If something seems too good to be true, you can bet your boots that it is.

Most of the con artists are pretty obvious, but make sure that you keep your ears and eyes open at all times.

Enjoy your work and make a lot of money. You can do it if you try.

All the best in your endevours.

Bob.

About The Author

Robert earns his crust by targeting the thousands of newcomers to internet trading. He aims to cut their learning curve to enable them to start earning money from the word go.

He learned the hard way. You can learn the easy way.

Checkout his website. Itกs not posh. Itกs not perfect, but it is effective. http://www.learnandearnnow.co.uk/

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 21, 2004

by Robert J Farey

Media Relations: How We Landed the Wall Street Jou

Media Relations: How We Landed the Wall Street Journalกs Front Page

by: Brad Phillips

Media relations is a great profession.

On good days, I earn my living speaking to and learning from knowledgeable experts who ask for help in raising the profile of their cause through the media. In the past few years, I’ve worked with billionaire philanthropists, a Pulitzer Prizewinning scientist and a world famous actor. Mostly, though, I work with unknown but equally impressive professionals regarded as experts in their fields.

When I speak to them, I’m always listening for ขthe story.ข Some of the time, the story is immediately apparent. But the most gratifying moments come when a story seemingly devoid of news value suddenly leaps out and surprises me.

Two years ago, for example, I was doing media work for a Washington DCbased environmental organization. Scientists from the group would regularly contact me regarding their latest field work, hoping I could convince a reporter to shine a spotlight on their project.

One day, I met with a charismatic field biologist to discuss his project while sipping coffee in a depressing restaurant. As he told me about his project, I quietly became more convinced that he didn’t have much of a story. I felt bad, but suspected no reporter would bite.

The West African forest elephant, he told me, was in trouble. The problem was largely one of capacity – no West Africans had been formally trained in protecting the 7,700pound mammals, which were being killed by the farmers who feared them.

To help correct the problem, he said, they had established a program three years earlier to train six West Africans to conserve the majestic beasts. In a month, they would end their training and begin working to protect the animals fulltime.

That’s when the idea hit.

I asked the scientist if we could call the group the firstever graduating class from Elephant University. When he agreed, I knew we were in business.

I drafted an email with a few highlights to a reporter I had recently met from The Wall Street Journal. The story pitch suggested that this story was the perfect fit for the quirky daily frontpage ขColumn Fourข feature. The reporter quickly wrote back. He agreed.

Two weeks later, the reporter was off to Ghana to report the story firsthand. When the story ran on November 27, 2002, the words ขElephant Universityข – the ones we had happily stumbled upon over coffee – were emblazoned on the frontpage.

This story worked because we didn’t pitch it ขhead on.ข Remember – the heart of this story was that West African scientists were receiving training – not exactly frontpage material. But by giving the reporter an unusual hook, he was able to convince his editors that the story deserved to be told.

If you’re speaking to an expert to assess a story’s newsworthiness and it doesn’t seem immediately obvious to you, keep talking. If they say something interesting, stop them. Ask them to slow it down and provide more detail. Paraphrase their response into something resembling a headline by asking, ขWould it be correct to say it this way?ข Finally, look for the nuggets. Ancillary parts of the story often jump out and become your lead.

About The Author

Brad Phillips is the founder and president of Phillips Media Relations. He was formerly a journalist for ABC News and CNN, and also headed the media relations department for the second largest environmental group in the world. For more information and to sign up for free monthly media tips, visit www.PhillipsMediaRelations.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 10

by Brad Phillips

Don’t Work with Jerks: How to Recognize a Difficu

Don’t Work with Jerks: How to Recognize a Difficult Client Early…

by: Milana Leshinsky

Five minutes into the call I knew this client was going to make my life miserable. The problem was, I already said กYes.ก

Into every professional practice falls a little rain, or better said…walks in a nightmare client. You start losing sleep by a couple of hours every night, you keep thinking about her project during your lunch time, and you feel like your life has been taken over by this client.

What a nightmare! Didn’t we go into the business for ourselves to enjoy it? Do we not have the choice of who to work with? Of course, we do! The challenge is in recognizing a difficult client early enough to say กNo.ก

So how do you do that? First, determine what กdifficultก means to you. It may mean different things to different people. For example, while some professionals will be happy to take a phone call from a client between 9 and 5, others may have a special time set aside for phone calls. While some business owners love getting detailed specifications for a project, others may feel trapped and limited in their creativity.

1. What is a difficult client

To help you decide what things may be important to you, here are some of the most common traits of difficult clients:

They do not respect your time

They tell you how to do your work

They always check up on you

They constantly change their mind about a project

They knit pick over every detail

They try to intimidate you into doing things you haven’t agreed to

They treat you as if they’re the boss and you are the employee

They have little respect for your expertise

They call you at a nonscheduled time

They frequently email you with questions, requiring long replies

They ask you to throw in a few extras without offering to pay extra

They keep reminding you how high your fees are

They are frequently disappointed with your work

They won’t pay on time, but ask you to continue working with them

They frequently cancel or reschedule your meetings

They believe they’re your only client, & demand your full attention

You can complete this list by adding a few other traits that you find annoying or unacceptable in your business, or to your life style.

2. Red flags: Early warnings of a difficult client

Once you know whatกs important to you, how do you look for signs that this may be a difficult client? First of all, listen to your intuition. Itกs easy to ignore the red flags, especially if you’re hungry for business.

กYour gut is never wrong,ก one IT consultant said. กWhenever Iกve ended up with a nightmare client, itกs because I didn’t listen to my instinct and I went for the zeroes.ก

Listen to your instinct. Additionally, do your best to avoid clients that:

Don’t want to sign a contract

Are in a rush

Are looking for the cheapest provider

Are your friends and relatives

Create a profile of your ideal client, and check every prospect against it before taking them on. ‘this is crazy!ก you may be thinking. กWon’t choosing clients so carefully cost me business?ก Not really.

Usually, you will spend more time on a difficult client (time that you could spend prospecting, working with other clients, or simply taking a break), your mood and personal life may become affected by this project, and you may even end up not being paid at all!

Screen your prospects carefully, and instantly improve the quality of your business life.

3. Assessments your best friend in screening clients

After reading this, you may be thinking that screening takes too much work and time. Bear with me, because this task has just become as easy as 123.

You can completely automate the screening process, by asking your prospects to complete an assessment before you take them on.

The questions you ask should include the things that are important to you as a business owner, and as a person. You may ask them about how they worked with professionals in the past, what their style of communication is, how much time they plan to devote to this project, what their deadline is, how committed they are to completing it, and so on. Refer to your ideal client profile when putting together a list of questions.

The fact that they’re willing to spend time answering an extensive list of questions already shows that this is a serious prospect, and helps you weed out as many ‘timewastersก as possible.

4. Automating your screening process

So how do you actually automate the screening process? Very simple. You can use AssessmentGenerator.com, a tool that allows you to create your own forms and assessments, and have them on your web site within minutes. Whenever you get a new prospect, send them a link to your online assessment and ask them to complete it before your first call.

AssessmentGenerator does not require you to know any HTML or install any scripts. Simply enter your questions and the email address, where you want to receive completed assessments, and itกs ready to be added to your site.

You can also create selfscoring assessments, where you and your prospect can see a score based on how they answered questions. Selfscoring assessments are great when you want to work only with clients who reached a certain level of readiness in something. For example, you may only want to work with business owners who understand the importance of marketing. Their assessment score will show you how ready they are to work with you.

Conclusion

Many professionals already conduct assessments when they first meet their clients. The problem is, they do it over the telephone, which means they have to set aside a halfhour or more to determine if this prospect is their ideal client. If he or she is not, then they have just wasted their precious time, which couldกve been spent on a more productive activity.

Automating the screening process with AssessmentGenerator.com will make your life easier and business more enjoyable. Hereกs to ideal clients and a stressfree business!

Dear Publisher,

You may reproduce this article in your electronic or print newsletter (optin publications only), or on your web site, as long as the byline and full credit are included with the article and all hyperlinks remain intact. A courtesy copy of your publication is appreciated.

About The Author

Milana Leshinsky is the founder of ACCPOW, Association of Coaching & Consulting Professionals on the Web.

Stop giving away your time! Give away FRE/E assessments instead! Create custom online assessments in 5 minutes http://www.AssessmentGenerator.com.

This article was posted on February 18, 2004

by Milana Leshinsky

Home Business Success 5 Things You Learn From Yo

Home Business Success 5 Things You Learn From Your ExBoss

by: Gobala Krishnan

In the past, everyone could take pride in working for large, multinational companies. The current trend of downsizing and outsourcing, however, has brought major changes in the employment landscape. One thing for sure, as job security becomes a thing of the past, many are turning towards starting their own home based businesses.

Job security has its merits, and a home business is, arguably, not for everyone. But for those who are interested in making this shift, a change in mentality is absolutely important. There are many bad habits that lie dormant in all of us. You need to change these bad habits and develop new good habits to survive as an entrepreneur. And in many cases these can be กborrowedก from your existing or former corporate work environment.

Here are some new disciplines that you can borrow from your working life, to develop and to practice:

1) Ownership and Decision Making

In corporate culture, you are responsible only for what your job requires you to do. In most jobs however, you are hardly responsible for the survival of the company. Your contribution, as compared to the whole, is only marginal. You can make mistakes and get away with it. Your job is easily replaceable.

As an entrepreneur, however, you may find the world to be less forgiving. A mistake can cost you your entire business. It is vital for anyone who wants to start their own home based business to think about this fact. You have to realize that success in a home based venture is directly tied up to your actions, and you need to take responsibility for everything that happens.

In your own business, you need to go beyond your capacity at times, stretching yourself more than you would as an employee. Taking responsibility also means being able to make the correct decisions as and when needed. When you work from home, YOUR decision is final. Although it may a little scary for an entrepreneur at first, these habits practiced over time becomes second nature.

It sure beats having to put up with corporate redtape!

2) Developing a Creative Mindset & Taking Risks

Companies hardly, if ever, reward you for being creative. They do, however, reward you for showing up on time and completing your daily routines. You are rewarded not for being outstanding, but for being average.

As an entrepreneur, you need to shake off the bad habit of doing things the usual way, the กway itกs always been doneก There is nothing wrong with using standard procedures and methods. In fact, sticking to the กrulesก can help you make a decent living. But if you want the big money, like I do, you need to start thinking กOutside the Boxก. A little bit of ingenuity in your business can save you a lot of money and time.

Ingenuity involves finding solutions to a problem. You may, at any stage of your home business, realize that you just don’t have an abundance of resources. Resources in this context can be money, time, expertise or just about everything else that you need, but just don’t have…

As you might have figured, creativity comes with risk. Doing something new is more risky than doing it the old way, but the payoff is incredible. Thinking outside the box might result in failure, just as well as it might lead to amazing success. But risk is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when it is studied, anticipated and even welcomed.

So what do you do?

Most home business challenges can be solved, even if you are not a genius or have thousands of dollars to spend. If you can just use your ingenuity, you can find a solution to these challenges.

Figure out how to make the best of your advertising dollars. Figure out how to save time and automate your business. Figure out how to complement your skills using the skills of others. Small steps like these can go a long way in determining just how successful you will be.

3) Making Your Own Rules & Organizing Time

Imagine you arrive at work one day and find that the punchcard machine has been removed. The company also fired your boss, and the new rules say that you can come in at any time you want, bring your wife and kids along, and take as many breaks as you want. Shorts and a Tshirts are now the standard, accepted work attire.

What would you do?

I know what I would do absolutely nothing at all! I would take advantage of the situation, and do absolutely no work at all. As days go by, I get lazier and eventually become a total slob.

A home business environment is not much different from the scenario above. In the absence of corporate rules, you must develop your own self imposed กhome business rulesก. Set a time for work, for play, and for household activities. If you just decide to กgo with the flowก, you often get no where at all.

I used to think that money was the most important asset of my home business. Being quite naive, I thought that with more money, I could be successful faster. After all, money is king. With more money, I could buy more กbig timeก advertising, hire assistants and equip my business with the best software systems.

It didn’t take me long to realize that time is more important than money. Money simply cannot buy time. But with more time, I can all make all the money I want. Put in another way, I would say that MORE TIME is more important than just MORE MONEY. But none of us, not you, nor me, can have more than 24 hours a day at our disposal.

So, as a home business entrepreneur, we need to ultimately learn how to make the best use of the time that we have. This easy to say, but it will take discipline to see it through. Discipline is not easy to achieve, but it CAN be done. Just focus on doing a little bit every day, and stick to the timeline you had laid out, and you will get into the productive rhythm that comes with discipline.

4) Continuous Selfimprovement

The home business arena is highly competitive. As an entrepreneur you will need to keep up with any event that will effect your business, for better or worse.

Corporations usually have mandatory training courses for all employees. If you are someone who attended these courses just to get away from doing work, or just to get some extra sleeping time in the class, then you need to change your attitude.

As an entrepreneur you must to find ways to enrich yourself with more knowledge. Take that accounting class, attend that local business seminar and read related books. Don’t see these as additional expenses, see them as long term investment. An investment in knowledge, after all, yields the best return.

Every type of business is subject to slowdowns. If you do not continuously improve your skills and knowledge, simply throwing in more money or hiring more people when that happens will not solve the problem. The only way to move forward, to get to ‘the next levelก is to acquire new knowledge. New knowledge opens up more opportunities for your business.

5) Commitment to Your Goals & Deadlines for Success

กI want this on my desk by 2.00pmก.

Sounds familiar? Most of us seek a home based business because we want to escape the pressures of a 95 job. The word กdeadlineก may send a shiver through your spine.

The irony, however, is that deadlines are EXACTLY what you need to succeed in just about anything. As an entrepreneur, these deadlines always are, and must be, selfimposed. There are many book on how to set and achieve goals (my recommendations at http://www.homebusinessassociation.com/books/) and I suggest you read as many as you can.

Having family around you can be used to your advantage. Communicate your goals to your wife or husband. Promise your kids a vacation when youกve finished a major task. Soon, you will get little กbossesก running around telling you to stop watching TV and get to your work. Well, at least they are กadorableก bosses!

An excerpt from the book ‘think and Grow Richก by Napoleon Hill (pg. 15):

…a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He… gave the order to burn the ships that carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle he said กYou see the boats going up in smoke? That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice We win or we perishก.

They won.

And no matter what YOUR goals are in seeking selfemployment and an entrepreneurial life, with commitment to your goals and determination to meet your deadlines, you too will win. Take the positive aspects of your current of former work environment to build a healthy and productive home business mentality to ensure that you are heading towards success.

Hereกs to your success. Cheers.

Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan

About The Author

Gobala Krishnan is an internet marketer and home business owner. Visit his site at http://www.sfidreamteam.com to start your own Internet based home business today, and get a free kickstart package, oneonone coaching and a clear, proven system to earn a six figure income.

This article was posted on January 16, 2005

by Gobala Krishnan

The Importance Of Having A Mentor

The Importance Of Having A Mentor

by: Larry Denis

When you first start your business everything can be quite confusing. There are many pitfalls and problems that are difficult to work out on your own. Choosing the right business for you. How to get the edge on your competitors? What to do first? How to really make money and escape that 95 job? These are just a few of the confusing questions that face the beginner. If you try to begin without help, you are setting yourself up for failure. Very few can succeed in business without someone to help you and steer you in the right direction. You are indeed like a ship without a captain when you try to start a business alone
Here are a few common mistakes made by ขnewbiesข when they first start a homebased business.
1. Starting a business without knowing who you should be marketing to. Without knowing how to target your market you can spend hours of wasted time and a lot of wasted dollars.
2. Getting into the wrong business, with too much competition supply and not enough demand. If you do not get into a specialized market with high demand and less supply you are setting yourself up for failure and you will never make a decent living.
3. Believing that a free program will make you money, these are some of the biggest scams on the Internet.
4. Joining one business opportunity failing after a month and then joining another and another. This is how many beginners loose tons of money and valuable time.
5. Thinking that money can be made in a short time with no work, this is another pitfall too many ขnewbiesข fall into.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have some personal guidance, somebody who can work with you oneonone? Show you how to start right and save you all that time and money. Somebody who can help you ขcut a pathway through the trees.ข This is where a mentor will help you, and better still a course that comes with mentoring help.
There are very few true mentoring courses, where you can really get oneonone help. Usually you purchase your course and then have to work out the rest. However a mentoring course is different. When you purchase the course you will get oneonone help for your questions and any problems you may have. As you progress through the course your mentor will coach you on any problems you may have and show you how to overcome them. One of the main reasons for new Internet businesses failing is lack of guidance. There is just too much to know and do without someone to help you.
You can see how a mentoring course works and the obvious advantages, compared to trying to work out everything yourself. I speak from experience. When I first started my business, I had no idea what to do and where to go, until I finally stumbled upon a mentor course. After that there was no looking back, I cannot say that I did not make mistakes or come up with problems, but they were nothing that my mentor could not guide me through
Recently I came across a mentoring course that not only offers mentoring help but shows you how to start a very profitable home business, HomeBased Recruiting. Basically it is finding qualified candidates to fill job positions for different businesses, for which you will get a finders fee. When worked correctly, this is a very profitable business and one you can easily make a good living with.
However, as with any successful business, some help is very necessary. Larry Denis’s ขFast Cash In HomeBased Recruitingข is the mentoring course that will guide you stepbystep, from start to success, and with his expert mentoring you cannot fail. Larry is a seasoned veteran in this field and very successful at what he does. His course will show you the tips and tricks that top recruiters use to make substantial profits. Find the businesses that are expanding and get ahead of your competition, with the true ขtricks of tradeข known only by experienced recruiters like Larry. Overcome the ขfear of telephoningข by learning how to call people the right way. The training and mentoring you will receive from this course will be your key to building a profitable home business.
A mentor course is your gateway to success. Unlock the business potential within you, and see how you can achieve what you never thought possible, with the help of individual coaching. Experience the satisfaction of starting and building a truly successful business with help and guidance from a mentor.

About The Author

Larry Denis is the successful author of ข Fast Cash In HomeBased Recruitingข He is a seasoned homebased recruiter with 8 years of experience in his field for more information on homebased recruiting please visit him at http://www.homerecruiter.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 10, 2004

by Larry Denis

Is Working at Home Really Right for You?

Is Working at Home Really Right for You?

by: Wendy Betterini

If youกve just begun your search for a work at home job, you probably have a beautiful concept of what working from home is like. You probably imagine yourself waking up whenever you want, sliding your feet into fuzzy slippers and shuffling to the kitchen to get some coffee, then shuffling along to your office to put in another wonderful day at work, then later going to the mailbox to pick up your weekly paycheck of several thousand dollars. I hate to burst your bubble, but it doesn’t work that way. Actually, let me clarify that and say it doesn’t always work that way.

The truth is, working at home is usually a lot harder than working in an office somewhere. Scammers and hypedup business opportunity ads have given us the belief that working at home is ohsoeasy. We just relax on a tropical beach, then go collect our paychecks. Iกm sure youกve seen ads like that. Those of us who already work at home know better!

Here are some things you should consider before jumping into a work at home job:

How much do you want to earn? If you want to work for an employer as a telecommuter, be prepared to earn less than you would at a job outside the home. A job that pays $11.00 an hour in the regular workforce might pay $7 or $8 an hour at home. There are exceptions of course. Some jobs, like virtual assisting, web design and graphics, medical transcription and coding and other professional jobs will probably pay more than a simple data entry or customer service job. Many work at home jobs don’t pay hourly either. For data entry work, you might get paid per piece, and for telephone jobs you might get paid per ‘talk minuteก (only those minutes you are actually on the phone with a customer.)

Do you need benefits? The majority of work at home jobs do not provide benefits like health insurance or life insurance. Again, there are exceptions.

Taxes There are companies that will hire you as an actual กemployeeก and they will take taxes out of your pay. But some will only hire you as an กindependent contractor,ก and you are responsible for paying your own taxes.

Work availability If you are hired as an independent contractor, itกs important to understand that your employer is not obligated to provide any work for you. Most companies have busy seasons and slow seasons. During a busy season, you might be working 4050 hours a week, and then the slow season arrives and suddenly you’re fighting to get even 10 hours of work per week. If your income is especially important to your household, definitely keep that in mind. However, many people choose to work more than one job at a time. If one slows down, they simply start working more for the other.

How motivated are you? If you are the type of person who usually needs a kick in the rear to get moving, working at home will be very hard on you. You have to be extremely disciplined to sit down at the computer, log in and actually WORK each day. There are so many distractions in the home that will pull you away from work if you let them. You have to be very focused and set a schedule for yourself, just like you would at a job outside the home.

Do you mind solitude? Working at home can be lonely. If you thrive on social interaction, working alone can be difficult to adjust to. However, you can ease this by spending time with friends frequently, or joining some online groups to chat with like minded people.

Flexibility Some employers require you to work a specific set schedule, while others might be more flexible, allowing you to choose your own hours. Give some thought to which type of schedule would work best for you. When I first decided to work at home, I made the mistake of choosing a job that had a rigid schedule, and I hated it! I had forgotten that that was one of the things I disliked about working outside the home living by someone elseกs schedule. Think about how you work best, and choose accordingly.

Childcare So many mothers want to work at home so they can raise their own children, rather than sending them to a daycare. However, working at home with small children underfoot is no easy task! Itกs not impossible, and it depends greatly on the ages of your children and what type of work you are doing at home. If you work a telephone job, most employers will require a very quiet background, which is impossible if you have small children. You also can’t stop working every few minutes to entertain the kids, unless you want to put in a very long day at the computer to make up for all the interruptions. There are certainly things you can do to make it easier, like have a neighborhood teenager come in for a few hours to watch your children while you work, or work only when your spouse is home and can keep an eye on the kids.

Choosing work that fulfills you This is SO important! Right now you’re probably thinking, กI don’t care what type of work I do, as long as it brings in a paycheck.ก I guarantee that attitude won’t last long. Like I said, you will need to be extremely selfmotivated and selfdisciplined to work at home, and your job will be a lot easier if you actually like what you do! Think about the type of person you are, and the type of work that suits you best. Are you creative and freespirited, or nosetothegrindstone efficient? Give some thought to your กvisionก of working at home, and try to find a job (or business) that will complement that.

Do you even want a กjob?ก When some people decide they want to กwork at home,ก they don’t want a regular JOB at all. What they want is the freedom to set their own schedule and do work they love. Itกs certainly possible to find those qualities in a job, but it can be difficult. If this describes you, consider starting your own business instead, focusing on your existing talents and abilities. I think many people shy away from this idea because it seems so overwhelming. But people do this every day! Itกs not hard at all. If you don’t know much about business but have an interest, start learning! There are so many great resources on the internet today. If you’re still not sure what type of work at home is best for you, get out a pad of paper and a pen. Write this sentence along the top of the page: I want to work at home because . . . and then write down as many endings to that sentence as you can think of. If most of your answers have to do with freedom and passionate, fulfilling work, a กjobก might not be the best thing for you.

Regardless of what type of work you decide on, understand that working at home can be difficult and challenging. But for most of us who do it, it is also wonderful. Personally, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! And once you find the right job or business, you will probably feel the same.

If this article has given you the impression that working at home might not be for you, remember that you can change if you want it badly enough. If you’re not very motivated, work on that. Give yourself little challenges every day and strengthen your level of selfdiscipline. If you need health benefits, keep searching for a job that provides them, or research other possibilities like affordable health insurance for the selfemployed. If your resolve is strong enough, you can make it happen! Never give up on your dreams.

About The Author

Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer and web designer who has been successfully working from home since 2003. In 2005 she launched http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a community and resource center for homebased professionals, and those who aspire to be. Visit today for tools, tips and information on how you can create your own homebased career, or further improve the one you already have!

This article was posted on August 03

by Wendy Betterini