The most important aspect of starting a business is that it must be something you enjoy. If the primary motive is money, but you don't enjoy it - it is a bad fit, and that is a sure formula for failure. However, if it is something you enjoy, you won't run out of enthusiasm. Your creative juices will flow, making your business a cut above the others, and increasing your chances for success.
Steps that you must to do :
List your interests. This will help you focus on businesses that will provide the greatest probability for success and eliminate possible failures.
List your skills. No one can be all things. If any aspect of business does not fit within your skill range these are the areas where you will need to get help.
Assess your personality. Are you a people person, or do you enjoy working alone? Do you love to serve others, or do you find people a pain? One ingredient that is sure to lead to failure is a reclusive or abrasive personality. Think about the people that you have met in business. Who were the ones that you wanted to give repeat business to?
Determine how much risk you can tolerate. Going into business can be scary; especially the first couple of years. Some businesses are scarier than others. If you lie awake nights wondering how large loans are going to be paid, or if you're going to be sued, maybe a business with less upfront capital or probability of lawsuit is more for you.
Determine how much time your business will require, and ask yourself if you are willing to commit the time. Many businesses require a huge time investment. Can you and your family tolerate a twelve or fourteen hour day schedule?
Take some classes. An excellent place to start is SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), an organization that helps educate individuals considering starting a small business. After taking some SCORE classes some people are convinced that starting a small business is for them, while others are convinced it is not.
Have a plan. As the old saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you will hit it.
Set it up legally. Hire an attorney experienced in setting up businesses. He will guide you through the paper work and make sure things are done properly. A good attorney will not just do the paperwork and determine the business type (Inc, LLC, etc.) but will also advise you on common errors to avoid that can get you into trouble.
Here some Tips : Find out about grants which may be available to help get your business started. The Princes Trust is a great starting point if you are aged between 14-30, and can offer lots of useful advice, as well as providing grants.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Start Your Own Online Business
Learn the process of starting an online business using an e-commerce website. It is as easy as steps one-two-three....
Have you heard about all the people making six figure incomes in a month? They are there and most of us wanted or want that as well. It was not so easy to accomplish if you have no experience with internet marketing, website and all the nuances of success in a new way! There are no “Get Rich Quick” deals out there. It takes time, effort, action and being a good student!
The people with the successes we hear about have gone through the research and learning curve to be able to launch very successful websites or website products that make money very quickly. If one can achieve it others can as well and just need to do the do diligence and pay attention to the teachings of those who are making the big dollars with their internet business. In other words, do what they do and get what they got!! I learned that the hard way!
Basic steps are listed here but there are more details within them that once learned will give you increased success.
Steps
Identify your area of expertise. Do you have any information that others will benefit from?
Write down some keywords that you will be using on your website and check out the demand for your keywords using the Overture tool of Yahoo.
Use to determine the Google supply(the number of websites that are built around those keywords) for your keywords
Determine profitability of your keywords using the formula 'Demand number/Supply number'.
Build a content website for your profitable keywords which overdelivers to the user that you are targeting. Remember an Internet user is looking for information and not sales talk. So use your content to show her your expertise in your area. Write your content in such a way that your user stays and browses through your site instead of hitting the 'back' button. Talk to your user through your content and pre-sell to them the product you want to sell - information/product/your offline business etc. Pre-selling using content builds confidence in your user.
Build traffic to your website using simple free-to-use tools.
Monetize your site. Use Google Adsense and/or Yahoo Publisher Network on your site to monetze. Follow some easy to follow tips given by google for posting adsense ads on your site, that will make you money.
Use other ways of monetizing as well if you are not an entrepreneur.Soon you will be running a profitable online business.Find a mentor, the person who has a good success system to follow!
Organize Your Online Business for Success ?!
A common problem in many organizations is a lack of important organizational components. Setting up these components takes only a few hours, but they will save you many more hours of work and headaches.
Believe it or not, organization is one of the most important elements for success when it comes to making money online. These are a few key secrets that will contribute to your success online.
Keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. Have 2-3 credit cards that you use for business purchases only.
Use credit cards as long as you pay them off monthly. If you don’t plan on paying off your business credit cards monthly, then you should plan on lots of headaches. Get just about any book on responsibly managing your finances from Amazon or your favorite bookstore, and the author will say the same thing. Paying off your credit cards every month is just as important for your business as it is for your personal finances.
Get some type of financial software as soon as possible. Some people start out with Quickbooks and do well. You may benefit from some kind of Quickbooks for Dummies or other how-to book to help you get started. Many people complain about the complexity of Quickbooks, but it is hands down the best program for online business accounting. If you can’t afford Quickbooks, then use a spreadsheet. There are a couple of other tools you will need that are more important.
Whatever you do, try to keep business stuff separate from personal stuff, including your time. This isn’t an article about time management, there are plenty of those out there. Just do whatever it takes to schedule time to develop your business, and schedule personal time to do other stuff. When you’re scheduled to do business stuff, don’t go searching on eBay for that widescreen TV you’ve been wanting.
Get some type of filing cabinet to keep track of your records. Some people think that there's not much to keep track of if you've got an online business, but that's just not the case.
If you sell some type of product through your business, then you're going to need to keep track of orders customers have placed with you as well as orders placed with vendors. You will also have to sort through credit card and bank statements and several other types of documents. Even if all you do is affiliate marketing, you still need to have a filing system to keep track of purchases. An autoresponder, web hosting, or software such as SEO Elite can be invaluable.
Tips
If you plan to have a successful business, then it's very important to get these organizational issues in order. Everything doesn't need to be done right away, but I would get it done as soon as possible.
Organization will take some practice and diligence. Don't be too hard on yourself when you mess up and don't give up. You can do it!
How to Create Your Own Business
Want to make your own money, but too young to work? No problem, here is a how-to guide on creating your own business.
Steps
Figure out what type of work or help is needed most in the neighborhood
that you are eligible to do.
Find friends who are willing to do the work for your business.
Figure out available hours, where and when clients can contact you, and a price with your friends.
Once the information is figured out, advertise. Put up posters, hand out flyers, and if you can afford it, put your advertisement in your local newspaper.
Have meetings at the advertised place and time for people who want you to work and schedule it in!
Tips
It is recommended that your business should hold a treasury that each of you should pay with your earned money at least once a week to pay for things you need for your business.
It is also recommended that the secretary keep a phone and address book of your clients and a calendar with your scheduled appointments to reduce the the chance of a forgotten appointment.
Monday, June 9, 2008
How to Create a Brand Positioning for a Small Business
While big corporations spend millions of dollars promoting their brands, few small businesses and startup companies have taken the time to rigorously determine their brand positioning. Dedicate several hours of time and you can develop a company positioning to differentiate your brand and speak with a unified voice to the market.
Steps that you must to do :
Block out three hours for the meeting and gather your key employees in a conference room.
Hire an outside consultant or nominate one employee to serve as the moderator and note taker to capture all the ideas the team develops.
Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. Make separate lists of the way you want to be perceived by customers, investors, employees, and shareholders.
Create an honest assessment of your company's unique value proposition. Think about how your competitors would attack this value proposition, if they were talking to your customers.
List positionings you wish to avoid. Do you not want your cookie store to be seen as the local bakery? Or vice versa?
Analyze how your competitors are positioning themselves. Is your business differentiated from them in a way your customers care about?
Synthesize the results of your brainstorming session a few days after the initial meeting. Use the results to develop your positioning statement and the associated corporate messaging it implies.
Test the new positioning statement on customers, employees, and investors to confirm you created a good positioning.
Create action items in establishing your brand in the market place for your team to accomplish. Start small with yellow page ad placement/copy, work your towards a goal of propagating your brand's position in anything that relates to your company, including collateral, invoices, etc.
Most of the world's best businesses have strong brands positioned against competitors. Even the smallest business can enjoy the benefits of brand positioning by devoting several hours to the process.
Brand positioning consultants who have experience conducting this process with multiple companies can help a business develop the best possible positioning. Prices for the service can range from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars for the large consulting firms or PR and advertising agencies.
Brand positioning impacts everything, including the corporate culture of your small business. Make sure that the culture that you have within your organization is in line with your proposed brand identity.
Steps that you must to do :
Block out three hours for the meeting and gather your key employees in a conference room.
Hire an outside consultant or nominate one employee to serve as the moderator and note taker to capture all the ideas the team develops.
Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. Make separate lists of the way you want to be perceived by customers, investors, employees, and shareholders.
Create an honest assessment of your company's unique value proposition. Think about how your competitors would attack this value proposition, if they were talking to your customers.
List positionings you wish to avoid. Do you not want your cookie store to be seen as the local bakery? Or vice versa?
Analyze how your competitors are positioning themselves. Is your business differentiated from them in a way your customers care about?
Synthesize the results of your brainstorming session a few days after the initial meeting. Use the results to develop your positioning statement and the associated corporate messaging it implies.
Test the new positioning statement on customers, employees, and investors to confirm you created a good positioning.
Create action items in establishing your brand in the market place for your team to accomplish. Start small with yellow page ad placement/copy, work your towards a goal of propagating your brand's position in anything that relates to your company, including collateral, invoices, etc.
Most of the world's best businesses have strong brands positioned against competitors. Even the smallest business can enjoy the benefits of brand positioning by devoting several hours to the process.
Brand positioning consultants who have experience conducting this process with multiple companies can help a business develop the best possible positioning. Prices for the service can range from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars for the large consulting firms or PR and advertising agencies.
Brand positioning impacts everything, including the corporate culture of your small business. Make sure that the culture that you have within your organization is in line with your proposed brand identity.
How to Find the Best Home Party Companies
Are you looking for something to supplement your income? Have you ever wondered if hosting home parties might be a practical option? If so, here is some advice regarding how to find the best home party companies.
Steps that you must to do :
Find out how much you will be paid to host the Home Party and they supply the merchandise at no cost to you.
Decide on what types of products you’re interested in and would want to purchase yourself. If you sell something that you yourself would love to buy, then you will be very enthusiastic and sell it to others easily.
Sell a product that that is something others will need and want to buy. Otherwise they will come just for the refreshments and leave their money at home. Select from many different home party products.
- Sex Parties
- Health products
- Household Cleaning Supplies
- Health products
- Vitamins
- Cosmetics
Ask your friends what type of party that they would enjoy attending. Ask around and find out who has been hosting the most popular type of parties. Most important is that you should find a product that you would be interested in using. That makes it easier to sell.
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What we collect
We may collect the following information:
name and job title
contact information including email address
demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers
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We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
Internal record keeping.
We may use the information to improve our products and services.
We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
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We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
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Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
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You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:
whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes
if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing
us at [email address]
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.
You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to [address].
If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
“ this site or blog “ is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
“ this site or blog “ may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from june 2008.
What we collect
We may collect the following information:
name and job title
contact information including email address
demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
Internal record keeping.
We may use the information to improve our products and services.
We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How we use cookies
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Controlling your personal information
You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:
whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes
if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing
us at [email address]
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.
You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to [address].
If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
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