No Romance, No MLM Downline

No Romance, No MLM Downline
By Joe Schroeder

NO ROMANCE

No Downline

No Downline, why bother?

If you were romancing a fine lady,
would you walk up to her and say,
“Hey babe, lets do dinner?”

I wouldn`t. That would not work.

It would work maybe 1 out 100 attempts.

Plus, testosterone doesn`t get you dates.

Having a heart gets you dates.

What I used to do (in the olden days)
was pay her some extra attention.

I`d ask her if I could grab her a bagel while
I was going for some noshing.

Small stuff.

But it worked.

Maybe even one of my pals would ask her,

“Have you talked much with Joe?”

You know, setting it all up.

It`s about romance.

You take it slow.

To go fast, go slow.

To go slow, go fast.

Now here we are on-line.

We are we all trying to do?

A: Build a residual check.
B: Bag our jobs that we despise.
C: Convert suspects to enrollees.

So what do we do?

Do we buy $179 worth of re-cycled leads?

Maybe. Then you slam and jam them
into an auto-responder.

And why not?

Don`t the MILLION $$$$$$$$$$$$

Don`t the BIG SITES teach that?

Day one: Join our deal. Gimme $50

Day two: Buy my leads. Gimme nother $200

The PROBLEM with that scenario is this.

Easy come. Easy go.

Easy in. Easy out.

No integrity.

No one knows [even] why they joined.

Over 80% quit next month and no one.

Not once.

Mailed a tape.

No romance.

No live calls,

“hey, THANK YOU FOR joining me!”

No romance.
Easy in.

Easy out.

I buy leads. Have to.

But only once per month.

To spice things up.

I also mail post cards
I mail out tapes.
You know.

Marketing.

I CREATE relationships.

I turn COLD suspects into
my WARM MARKET friends.

I guess you could say I am as old
fashioned as they come.

(when exactly did I get old anyway?)

Geez. I sound so “eighties.”

Oh well. But my way works.

But “my way” isn`t my way.

It`s just use tried and true old
school marketing.

I get people excited enough to
consume MORE of the sales process.

I convert my COLD leads into WARM leads.

I am accessible.

I call folks. Make friends.

All I do is give my prospects time.

I, well, I romance them.

Slow.

Like molasses guys.

Write this down.

To go fast, go slow. Ease it up.

To go slow, go FAST.

It`s not “Zen” either.

Just good old fashioned marketing.

You EXCITE and romance people to
take the next step.

That way, they convince themselves

WHY they want to work with you.

Now they know WHY they joined you
in the first place.

On-line, slamming “the numbers” is about
no one knows anyone.

No one cares.”

“Just work the numbers.”

GREAT for the KINGS and GURUS.

You pay for their sites.
You pay for their leads.
You [even] JOIN their MLM!
Not one MLM, but usually ALL THREE!

And that puts you forever on the
BUYERS SIDE.

And guess what bucko`s!

The money isn`t there.

The MONEY is on the sellers side.

Not the buyers side.

You know.

The food chain.

Be on the wrong end of it and

“Opps, poor me, I never made a penny.”

My LATEST revelation is so refined
that I chose not to make it readily available.

I won`t win any popularity votes here.

Oh well.

This is the truth. Mine anyway.

Dare I remind you NOT TO GIVE UP.

I believe in you. Most people give up inches
before the big pay day.

This industry is a tad nutty.

So are most marriages.
So are most families.
So are most jobs.

It`s called life.

And AINT IT GREAT!

Hail to the Chief,

God bless our Troops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good old AMERICANISM still works today.

FREE ENTERPRISE STILL ROARS.

But have integrity.

Stand for something guys or you
will fall for anything.

No romance. No downline.

Fast and furious isn`t the business.
Spending $50 per enrollee is

NOT

DUPLICATABLE!

Having to BUY leads that convert
at the PRICE of $50 to $100 per enrollee
is not the business I signed up for back in 1988.

To Your Success,

Joe Schroeder

P.S. I`ve been around the block.
Don`t get taken for a ride guys.

Too many rides and you will BUY
yourself out of your dream.

THINK about that!

No ROMANCE

NO downline

To go FAST, you go slow.

Joe has authored 32 audiotapes, eight manuals, booklets, featured on the cover of Upline Magazine and Six Figure Income Magazine.

Find out what Joe recommends for generic training and leads by
visiting http://www.BeAMLMHeavyHitter.com

“Have a web site or newsletter? Feel free to use this article to
add valuable content for your business. I only ask the author
BYLINE stay intact and unchanged.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

What is a Business Opportunity?

What is a Business Opportunity?
By Darrell Knox

People throw the term business opportunity around pretty loosely these days. Before the internet took off, a business opportunity was a franchise like McDonalds or Wendys. Or maybe a vending machine route or insurance sales position in your local area.

Mainly what people considered business opportunities was that you had to be an entrepreneur with investment capital to take advantage of an opportunity. So a business opportunity was something only someone with money to invest could take advantage of. You had to have money to make money.

Nowadays, people by the thousands make money on Ebay and through millions of websites selling everything from wigs, to toys, to cars, houses, and electronics. A business opportunity exists for every man woman and child on the planet who has the drive to learn how the internet works and just how many different ways there are to make money.

Some business opportunities on the net require an investment of thousands of dollars. Others require only that you have a website and hosting for it. $24 a month can set you up with an affiliate business opportunity right now. I even have a free website I give people, loaded with products and customized so that you get commissions for every sale made on your site.

You don’t have to know HTML. You don’t have to know how to get a merchant account. And most of all, to get started, you don’t even have to have your own products. By far the most people making money online are doing it as affiliates who refer people to products, services, and information for commissions.

This is what I do, and I love it! I don’t have to take care of customers, stock products, do any shipping, or anything else that comes with owning your own products. Yet I make great money at it.

Now that’s a business opportunity! Gone are the days when you had to have a lot of money to invest in starting a business. You still can, if you want to. But to me it’s crazy that people spend tens of thousands of dollars on their local business, hiring staff, managing them, keeping stock and inventory, dealing with rude customers. I don’t mess with ANY of that stuff and make more money than most people who DO!

A business opportunity is worthless if it is not taken. Most people just keep their jobs because they don’t trust that they have any other choices. People who take action on a great business opportunity are people who are self-motivated and action-oriented.

You should be able to work long hours in the beginning and you should be willing to do what it takes to learn what business is all about on the web.

If you do, you can become self-employed and even extremely rich. It’s not for everyone, but from now on you know that business opportunities abound on the internet and one is even just a click away from you right this moment!

Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience. Website:http://EzineArticles.com/

Five Tips for Home-Based Entrepreneurs

5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs
By Perry Gage

Have you ever heard that only a small part (5%) of ‘all’ Home-Based Business entrepreneurs achieve success?

Do an online research on your favorite Search Engine
and you will understand what I mean.

In this article I’m going to show you the KEY to Home-Based
Business entrepreneurs success; you’ll find out what makes an
entrepreneur succesful in the home-based business field.

Below are 5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs:

1. It’s their mindset that brings success

Serious entrepreneurs have ‘programmed’ their mind to succeed no matter what. They don’t lack focus on their home-based
business and let nobody stop their plans in achieving what
they want.

They know what they want and they have the DESIRE to succeed. If you don’t know exactly what you want when it comes your
home-based business, think about it again and re-consider your
plans, what you want to achieve, a get-rick-quick or a
profitable, long term business.

2. It’s their start-up plan that brings success

Smart entrepreneurs know that it takes time to set-up and grow a profitable home-based business. They plan to succeed. They
have a start-up plan that might fail but they never give up and
start again with a better plan.

Serious entrepreneurs know that it takes discipline and
time to build a strong and solid home-based business, which delivers ongoing income through many years to come.

3. It’s their initial RESEARCH that brings success

Smart and serious entrepreneurs know the importance
of market research. They know that in order, for a home-based business to succeed, they have to research their target market (their potential customers) and study their competitors.

Research your target market and study your competitors
in order to have a long-term, profitable home-based business.

Know what your customers want and give it to them.
Keep an eye on your competitors, study their offer(s)
and make sure you come up with a better deal than
them.

4. It’s their marketing strategy that brings success

Study each successful entrepreneur in your marketing
field and you’ll notice how they market online / offline.

Each of them have their own ‘unique’ marketing strategy
but they use the same basic principles.

Don’t re-invent the wheel. Use the main marketing concepts
that are proven to work but try to improve and adjust them
to your own situation. Make them work for your home-based business. Make your offer better and unique than your competitiors if you want to WIN in this business, or simply quit (I know that’s no what you really want!)

5. It’s their investment that brings success

Smart entrepreneurs know that the KEY is to work SMART, not hard. If you don’t have the required skills to develop a NEW marketing tactic for your home-based business why not hire a consultant who knows his stuff?

If you have ‘enough’ money why not invest in someone who can help you grow your home-based business and give me something to work at too?

What is more valuable to you, your time or your money?

A serious entrepreneur is ready to invest (both time and money). He knows that he will build a long-term successful business for him and the one he loves (friends, family, children, etc.)

The final (or first?) STEP you need to take in order to succeed
is to act (take ACTION!). Yes, put into practice what I have
told you above (the 5 TIPS for Home-Based Business
Entrepreneurs) and you’ll succeed, no matter what. Trust me!

STOP! Perry Gage publishes a NEW, Special *free* Ezine.
It comes loaded with an eclectic Collection of Tips and
Suggestions on Health, Finance, Goodies for you to Have
Fun & Profit. Sign-Up Now at : http://www.Over50Resources.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Network Marketing’s Best Kept Secret May Be Costing You a Fortune

This is included for informational purposes only. Please consult a tax advisor, your attorney, or an accountant regarding tax code and stuff like that.

Network Marketing’s Best Kept Secret May Be Costing You a Fortune
By Jim Lynn

The words, “I quit…” have never been more costly.

Network marketers hear “I quit” all too often from distributors
they have sponsored. However, if those new distributors only
knew the thousands of dollars they were throwing away,
they would never quit. Here’s Why?

The moment your prospect enrolls in your program,
they may be eligible for an instant $300 or more
pay increase from their place of employment.

And the best part is—This money can be in their hands
starting with their next paycheck! Think about what that
could mean as an incentive to boost your program.

How is this possible?

The U.S. government as TWO income tax systems,
and most taxpayers are in the wrong one?

There is one tax system for employees that includes most
working Americans, and a very different, much better tax
system for business owners.

Employees, called W-2 Wage Earners, work for someone
else. There are very few tax deductions available to wage
earners, and hence, they pay a large percentage of their
income as a tax to the government. Conversely, business
owners get to deduct (write-off) just about everything from
apples to zippers, and pets to donuts.

When payday comes, employees immediately lose a large
chunk of their wages to income tax withholding. Business
owners, on the other hand, get to keep what they earn,
spending it on whatever they want or need to, and then
pay taxes only on whatever is left over. Said another way,
business owners buy things with BEFORE-tax dollars.
Employees buy things with AFTER-tax dollars.

By signing a Distributor Agreement form in your program
(or enrolling to be eligible for commissions) with the intent
to make a profit, your prospect becomes a business owner.
Business owners are authorized by the U.S. Congress to
receive immediate tax benefits (tax deductions).

This tax benefit is huge. On average, a home-based NWM
business owner can cut their tax liability by $5,000 to $10,000
or more per year.

Here are just a few tax deduction you may claim as a
NWM home-based business owner.

As a home-based business owner, you may be eligible to
deduct 100% of all medical, dental, optical bills, health
insurance premiums and deductibles your family pays
on your annual IRS 1040 tax form.

You can deduct up to $4,250 for every child in your family
and spouse as employees of your business. Why? If they
carry out the trash, if they wash the car, if they dust your
home business work place, the IRS considers them
employees of your business.

You can deduct $5,250 a year in educational expenses
for every child over 21, deduct 100% of pension plan
expenses, and much, much more.

The home-based business owner can deduct virtually
every expense the business incurs. Of course, that
includes equipment, employee costs, utilities, loan interest,
insurance, security systems and medical costs. But it also
includes vehicles, travel expenses, entertainment, magazine
subscriptions, even the coffee in the kitchen, and those are
only a few of the deductions the business owner can take.
Taxpayers without a business do not have these benefits.

Give Yourself An Immediate Pay Increase

As a home-based business owner, you and/or your spouse
may adjust your W-4 exemptions at your place of employment,
and immediately take home up to $500 or more per month that
is now being withheld. That translates into one BIG pay increase
with money you can spend or invest now!

If you had triplets, you would go to your employer and change
your W-4, tapping into hundreds of dollars. The same goes for
your home business. The day you opened your home business
you tapped into potentially thousands of dollars in deductions,
enabling you to raise the number of exemptions on your W-4.
Your take home pay goes up by hundreds of dollars (even if
you didn’t have triplets). And the best is that you do NOT need
to show a profit in your business to claim more exemptions,
only the INTENT to make a profit.

W-4 forms exist for one purpose—to claim withholding exemp-
tions. This form may be amended at any time, any number of
times, without penalty. The more exemptions you claim, the
greater your take-home pay will be.

What could you do with an extra $300 per month?

You could use that extra $300 to buy products needed to
qualify for commissions in your NWM venture. You could
afford to advertise your business, set up an online
marketing system and much more.

You also now have a way to help your prospects fund their
NWM business, thereby removing the “I can’t afford it”
objection right off the table.

Take action. You could be bringing home hundreds of
dollars more per month in your paycheck that are now
going to Uncle Sam.

Many taxpayers have taken on part-time jobs to make
up this loss. How much more productive could we be to
ourselves if we learned how to keep what we earn? Surely
it is worth a few minutes a day to document business
expenses to keep our money.

The difference between being able to deduct business
expenses and not having a home-based business is
many times the difference between having to take
another job and staying at home. You decide which
is more taxing.

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Jim Lynn is the author of, “Real World Secrets Behind
America’s Most Successful (And Profitable) People
Who Network.” Website: http://peoplewhonetwork.net

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

1,001 Deals and Steals: A Guide to Online Classifieds

1,001 Deals and Steals: A Guide To Online Classifieds
By Donald Lee

Some naysayers way back in the 1990s predicted that online shopping wouldn’t last. Sure, and they said television was a passing fad, too! As we all know, just the opposite has occurred. There’s a television in every household, and more than likely, the homeowner bought their television online—along with his books, music CDs, clothes, and maybe even his home.

Internet shopping is bigger than ever. You can find anything and everything for sale online. Many times, you can find it cheaper online than anywhere else. Internet shopping offers so much more than a discounted price tag, though.

Imagine a shopping mall where there are no lines, where there are no jammed parking garages, and no pushy sales clerks. This is no land of make believe. It is the Internet, where you can discover unprecedented selection, convenience, and opportunities. Online shopping gives you the luxury of browsing hundreds of stores from your living room, while saving on time and frustration. It provides you the chance to compare prices to your heart’s delight on a near limitless selection of brands and models.

For even more benefits, try your hand at classifieds and auction Web sites. These sites are like yard sales and flea markets rolled into one. Unlike retail shopping sites, they offer:

Access to super secondary markets. Take your pick of secondhand or brand-new wholesale goods at steeply discounted prices. The vendors at classifieds sites can get away with it because they aren’t paying high rent for a storefront or a warehouse. And in many cases, you’re not paying taxes.

Tools to locate unique and rare collectibles. Imagine a classifieds site to be like a sunken pirate boat, laden with cultural artifacts, hard-to-find heirlooms, and priceless antiques. The Internet is your deep-sea vessel, sonar, and oxygen tank all in one.

Reach beyond your neighborhood. Search through the inventory of a vendor from your home town, or if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, try that fellow in California, Texas or Canada for that matter.

Close relationships with vendors. You deal with real people—not big, impersonal corporations—when you buy on classifieds sites. They can provide more details about the product, which you can then use to bargain for a reasonable price.

Despite this bounty of benefits, you might still be hesitant to dive into Internet shopping. Don’t be embarrassed. You have good reason to take your time and weigh your choices. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraud tops the list of the thousands of fraud cases that happen every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for the Wild West Web, in that anything goes. Vendors can be villains in disguise, and there aren’t any online Wyatt Earps to protect you from these bad guys. You’re on your own.

But give yourself some credit. You have the common sense it takes to survive the WWW. It is the same commonsense that helps you make the most of your money on your standard shopping trips. Become familiar and comfortable with an online vendor before jumping into a purchase. Ask questions and do a bit of research.

After doing your research, you’ll feel more confident in searching for your online booty. To refine your findings and whittle your list to only the exceptional sites, look for these additional qualities:

• A focus on local shopping, so you can feel more confident buying from neighbors.

• Free education and advice on safe purchasing.

• No-cost and easy browsing through available merchandise.

• Search tools that let you prioritize items by category, location, and distance.

• A straightforward pricing system that avoids the haggling and risk of auction bidding.

• Quick price comparisons among different vendors.

Unbelievably, a few trustworthy, practical, and exciting Web sites exist that have all of these features. To find these websites, simply browse through Yahoo’s directory under the classifieds category. The best of the online classified sites offer these services free to buyers such as you. Some of these sites can link you at no charge to your neighbor selling the antique lamp that you’ve been hunting for or that retiree looking to unload an incredible piece of real estate—or the cowboy looking to sell his big-screen television.

Donald Lee is a public relations manager at BSCCOM Inc. BSCCOM Inc. provides free online advertisement services for Canadian and U.S. regions. For more information please visit: http://www.buysellcommunity.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Offline Classifieds For a Home Business

Offline Classifieds For A Home Business
By Walter Pfarr

Classified ads in the local newspapers are a valuable tool for rapidly lifting any home business to success.

Despite all the major changes the Internet has brought to fruition, people still religiously read local newspaper ads and, more importantly, respond to those that are of interest.

As a work at home business starting out in classifieds, a viable idea would be to focus on snagging as many quality leads as you can. The first thing that a new business–be it on or offline–requires is as many leads as possible.

The key to success for your classified ad will, quite obviously, be the headline. Tests have shown that a simple change of the headline without altering the body text can increase the response to an ad by 500% or more.

Although newspaper classifieds do cost money, if at all possible, play a little with the headline if success is not immediate. Be as specific as possible. Sure, you’ll lose lots of readers, but those will be readers you weren’t targeting in the first place!

An effective means of coming up with your ‘award winning’ ad is to look at existing advertisements in the newspaper where you want to place your ad, and then compile the wording for yours based on what others have done.

Do several ads and then test at least two or three different ones to see which one will pull the highest response or number of leads for your business.

There really is no secret for success in classifieds other than testing all the time to constantly look for a better classified ad, even after you have begun to enjoy some success.

Walter Pfarr has under his belt over 30 years of media experience, most as a prize winning reporter and columnist. He is presently writing his own Internet ecourse and soon will operate PfarrOut Ezine. Pfarr and his wife, Jo, reside in Ardmore, OK.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

11 Secrets to Succeed With Your Home Business

11 Secrets To Succeed With Your Home Business
By Michel Golden

1. Your first ultimate start must include written goals and plans. Formulate a plan of weekly activity and be persistent in following it—if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Sticking to your plan is essential for success.

2.Don’t wait for everything to be exactly right to start…THERE WILL NEVER BE A “PERFECT” TIME! Start now, with whatever you have.

The things you need will come to you as you work toward your goal. You cannot become successful in anything when you’re trying to do too many things at once.

3. Treat your business as a serious, full-time business, and it will become one. Think of your first six months primarily as a training period. Don’t expect large earnings until after you’ve educated yourself.

4. Be patient. You’ll work the hardest your first six months or so and get compensated the least. Big incomes never happen overnight.

They only come after you’ve properly shown your affiliates how to duplicate your efforts. Always be ENTHUSIASTIC!! Don’t give yourself unrealistic expectations.

5. Don’t complain to your upline leaders. Realize that what you accomplish is mainly in your hands, no one else’s.

Also realize that, when you see a problem, 95% of the time there are factors you are unaware of. Don’t jump to conclusions. When you have a problem, present it in a concise letter as positive, constructive criticism. Offer solutions if possible, too.

Not only will this approach get you better results, but you’ll be building your relationship with your upline instead of tearing it down.

6. Be organized, but don’t allow the act of organizing keep you from the most important element of a successful business: MARKETING.

Market and promote your business EVERY DAY! Don’t let little problems upset you. Concentrate on the many positives…and the “big picture.”

7. Always remember that the only thing that will never change is that there will always be changes. Don’t let changes upset you.

Know that you will have to deal with changes and other obstacles, both big and small, continually. Be prepared to be flexible.

8. Don’t be a negative thinker and don’t let the negative attitudes of others (even if they’re family members, friends, or peers) influence you.

All the great men and women in history had to overcome the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done—and then went out and did it. Think for yourself!

9. Don’t be derailed by “perfection paralysis.” Realize that you won’t be able to do everything perfectly. Do the best job you can, then move on to the next project. Keep learning and keep moving ahead.

10. Read books (such as Napoleon Hill’s classic, “Think And Grow Rich”) that will convince you how powerful your mind really is. Develop the tremendous potential in you (that we all have) that has never been tapped!

11. Don’t quit. The only way to fail is if you give up. Remember always…”You are what you think you are”

Copyright © Michel Richer

PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author’s resource box with live website link.

Courtesy of: http://hombyz.com

Michel Richer is the Business Manager and Webmaster of http://Hombyz.com

With over 10 years experience in home based internet business and a SOLID REPUTATION in the industry. He is dedicated to helping you SUCCEED on the Internet.

You can take a look at his website at: http://hombyz.com for Your HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS !!!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

19 Questions to Supercharge Your Business Plan

19 Questions to Supercharge Your Business Plan
By Paul Lemberg

Whether you are seeking capital for your company or are optimizing your business strategy, the most important element – particularly for outside investors – may be your written business plan. You can tune-up and supercharge your plan using this 19-step checklist. When your written plan firmly answers yes to each of these 19 questions, your market/product strategy is in terrific shape plus you increase the odds of attracting investment capital.

If you don’t already have a written business plan – write one! Your business plan is a blueprint for your whole company. It describes in detail your goals, the financial and technical viability of your goals, and the strategy you will use (or are using) to reach those goals. And your business plan is a working tool – it is a yardstick to measure your progress and a compass to keep you on course.

Must a business plan be written?

Yes! A plan which is not written usually has not been thought through fully. And despite what you may have read, it is doubtful that any business ever attracted capital on the back of a napkin.

Use this checklist as a way to identify where your strategy, as spelled out in your business plan, needs work. Each of the questions below highlights an area considered critical to technology investors.

1. Can the key ideas behind your product or service be stated in one or two sentences? (y/n)

2. Does your company have at least one unique and compelling competitive advantage, which cannot quickly or easily be duplicated? (y/n) Examples are a special feature, a cost advantage, a technical refinement, a new delivery system or a special supplier.

3. Is your competitive advantage proprietary? (y/n) That is, can it be copyrighted, patented, trademarked or otherwise protected? Can you keep it exclusive to you?

4. Is your industry segment growing by 25% or more? (y/n) If not, can your new product dominate its segment? If the answer is no, you probably won’t be able to generate the kind of financial returns investors look for.

5. Does your product or service create a new market? (y/n) Although generally positive, this could be a trap – in a brand new market, the potential can be slow to develop. Lotus Notes created a new category but took years to create value for investors.

6. Is your market in “early momentum” – the market growth phase where market revenues have recently taken off? (y/n) Venture investors prefer markets in this stage because the time-to-create-value is shorter and the growth potential still large.

7. Is your target market segment 1) tightly defined over a population sharing common characteristics, 2) large enough to support significant profits, 3) served by communications channels to reach that market – i.e., trade or special interest publications, response mailing lists? (y/n)

8. Is your company filling a gap in the market, or do you have a “gee-whiz” product which you think is so terrific that customers will surely want to buy it? (y/n)

9. The benefit of your product or service to users is 1) significant, 2) quantifiable and 3) cost-justified? (y/n). If you provide a benefit which is important, and you can prove it – there is a much higher probability of generating sales.

10. Is there a demonstrated market for your product? (y/n) If you have an existing product, is your customer base expanding? Investors would rather fund sales and production than product development.

11. Is there wide appeal for your product or service? (y/n) Are there enough potential customers in the target market that you can earn significant profits, for a long time? Are there follow-on products to sustain revenue and profit growth?

12. Does your company have the ability to sell your product? (y/n) Particularly in companies where the founders have technical backgrounds, a question to ask is “Who is going to sell your product or service?” What about outside distributors?

13. Is there an experienced management team? (y/n) Investors would rather fund a solid team instead of one lone genius with a great idea. The team should be highly qualified in marketing, sales, finance, and the product/service area itself. Of course, a demonstrable track record helps.

14. Can you demonstrate a likely return of 5-15 times investors’ capital, over a period ranging from three to seven years? (y/n) The actual parameters used by venture investors will vary based on which stage you are in (idea, startup, development, expansion, turnaround).

15. Is there a clear exit strategy for investors? (y/n) The most common strategies for returning investors’ capital are 1) going public; 2) acquisition of your company; 3) new investors; 4) founder’s buyback or management buyout.

16. Have other investors already put money into the company, particularly the senior management team? (y/n) This reduces the apparent risk, reduces overall exposure, and shows that management “has its money where its mouth is.”

17. Have you clearly defined a structure for the investment you seeking? (y/n) The structure should include: who is involved, how much capital is needed, what minimum investment you will accept, how much equity that will buy – and, of course, the projected return on investment.

18. Are your financial projections realistic? (y/n) Have you soundly justified your projected growth rates and other financial assumptions?

19. Have you clearly examined the risks? (y/n) Investors like to know that you have considered the risks. This is key – can you turn your risks into opportunities?

Too many no’s? Remember, each “no” opens up an area for you to strengthen your business. Even if you aren’t seeking capital, each question highlights a critical success factor – which, when mastered, will increase your profits, your performance, and your future success.

In order to help you discover hidden value and opportunities in your existing business, and to make it easier to spot potential problems while you are just starting out, I’ve created the Discover Hidden Value Business Building Guide. A remarkable aid to accelerating the growth and profitability of your business, this program of insight-provoking questions and checklists enables you to rapidly diagnose, troubleshoot and optimize every part of your business, from marketing to sales, customer service to product development and finance to production.

© Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved

Paul Lemberg’s clients call him “the unreasonable business coach” because he insists they pursue goals and take actions far outside their comfort zone to make more money than they previously thought possible. To get business coaching tips, tools and strategies like these, visit http://www.paullemberg.com/Business_Coaching.html.

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Increase Your Ebay Proits the Easy Way

Increase your eBay Profits the Easy Way
By Doug Feiring

Sometimes the simplest things can boost the number of visitors and bids to your auction listings and increase your eBay profits.

Robert G. Allen, author of Multiple Streams of Internet Income, writes, “If you are going to play online, then act like your life depended on it. Embed your web address and e-mail address in your off-line brochures, on your business cards, in every marketing message, and in every advertisement you place.”

This advice rings true for eBay, Yahoo!, and Amazon auction sellers as well. You need to make it easy for web-surfers to find your current auction listings. The more visitors your auctions have, the higher your eBay profits.

Create a signature file and add a link to your auctions with every e-mail that you send. Most e-mail programs will allow the reader to click on any phase that begins with http://. Your signature should include a short marketing message that directs the reader to your current auction listings. Here’s an example:

STAR WARS COMIC BLOWOUT! – All auctions open at 99 cents with NO RESERVE
Click –> http://auctions.yahoo.com/user/fearlessdf

To create a signature file in Microsoft Outlook Express 6 simply:

>On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Signatures tab.

>To create a signature, click New and then either enter text in the Edit Signature box or click File, and then find the text or HTML file you’d like to use.

>Select the Add signatures to all outgoing messages check box.

Additionally, you should consider promoting your auctions by including a link with every post you make on bulletin board discussions (such as Yahoo! eGroups), news groups, and in the various free classified ad listing services around the internet. According to Allen, these venues can often create the opportunity “to reach huge numbers of people, multiple times, over a long period of time.”

Make sure you include the web address to your auction listings on the thank-you note you include in the package sent to your winning bidders. A repeat customer is much easier to develop than a new customer.

It’s a waste of time and money to post an elaborate auction listing if you are the only one who knows that it is there. Don’t overlook or underestimate these powerful grassroots marketing campaigns when you are looking to drum up bids on your online auctions and increase your eBay profits.

Doug Feiring is the creator of http://www.AuctionLink.to – A free service that provides short web addresses that automatically link to an eBay seller’s current auction listings.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

The Value of a Good Domain Name

The Value of a Good Domain Name
By Tariq Giaziri

Domain names to the internet are the as necessary as wheels on a car. All websites need a domain name; it is how your website is found on the internet by your potential customers. It is your unique identifier and two organizations can not have the same domain name. Your domain name is not really purchased or bought; it is actually leased for a year to 10 years.

Choosing a good domain name requires some thought, because picking a good name may be an important factor in getting return visitors to your site. You will want to keep it short and to the point, no more than 14 letters. This can help reduce the chance of a visitor mistyping your site and ending up on another site.

It is a good idea to choose a domain name that reflects the type of business you plan to do. You will use the name often in your website and if done right it can help you with promote your site with the search engines. What are some tips for choosing a domain name?

Tip 1 – Buy it early. Take a day or two to decide on your name. Think it through, but, don’t procrastinate. Over 30,000 domain names are sold a day. Don’t let someone else beat you to a good domain name.

Tip 2 – Buy your name in .com and .net. Let’s say you buy domain name KCBBQ.com. Your competitor, who also sells Kansas City BBQ sauce, knowingly buys KCBBQ.net and maybe even KCBBQ.biz. Why would he do that? Isn’t he limiting his own business by getting a name similar to yours and won’t he confuse his customers? Don’t think your competitor is innocent. He has just engaged in a domain name trick! He is not planning on conducting his primary business under these names. He bought those names to TAP into your business! Avoid this common newbie mistake and buy all the necessary domain names to protect your interests.

Tip 3 – Buy alternate domain names. Domain names are so cheap that it is affordable to practice this tip. Let’s say you decide that you want to also buy KCBBQ.com and .net why not purchase KC-BBQ.com and .net. These other sites won’t go to waste. You can point these sites to your main domain name KCBBQ.com and increase the traffic to your site.

Tip 4 – What if all good domain names are taken? You should consider buying a previously owned domain name. As we mentioned before domain names can be purchased for multiple years. Sometimes the lifecycle of a website comes to an end and the domain name already has a good page ranking with search engines. You can effectively buy yourself traffic without any work.

Tip 5 – If at all possible don’t choose a domain name that is close to competitors, just because you like the name. For example, if there is a web hosting company called domainexpress.com, it is not recommended that you pick domain-express.com. Take some time think it out, but, don’t wait too long picking your internet identity. It is a necessary exercise in defining your buisness and it can be fun. If you don’t like it, the worst thing that can happen is that you -sell it; There are profits to be made in doing that too!

Tariq Giaziri

Head Developer

http://www.iamtq.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/