Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Eliminating Business Shyness Can Increase Your Business's Success
1. Do you dread asking for money from your customers or raising your fees when you need to?
2. Do you feel you do not deserve to be paid for your services because you feel you don't know enough?
3. Do you feel as if getting paid for your services means that you will have to compromise what you do or say in order to keep business coming in?
4. Do you break out in a sweat thinking of meeting new people or talking in front of a large crowd to promote your business?
5. Do you find yourself saying, "I HATE the thought of selling or marketing myself," "I have no time to market myself" to the point that your business never gets off the ground?
Well...answering YES to any one or all of these questions means that you definitely need to keep reading this article.
I Think I Have a Really Good Idea? Why am I Not Making Any Money?
Most people start a new business based on her present skill set and/or a passion for something. This can be anything from making custom handbags to guiding people on a different spiritual plane. Their product or service is dynamite.
But what often happens is the happy new entrepreneur quickly realizes that, no matter how fabulous her product or service is, at first not many people will beat a path to her door. The dream of working for oneself quickly dissolves into the reality that all businesses face: having to find and keep paying customers.
That is usually when the "deer in the headlights" look comes out. Why don't I have enough customers? Usually it is because the solo-entrepreneur has not done enough or anything to market or sell her product effectively. The thought process goes something like this:
- "I am really good at making pocketbooks but I know nothing about marketing. I don't even know where to start."
- "To be really honest, I hate the thought of selling. I don't want to be a salesperson."
- "I don't have the time to market myself."
I am sure you realize that just creating a business does not guarantee its success, no matter how great the idea behind it is. Yes, we have all heard the dismal statistics about new business startups and their failure rate. But, should this discourage you from starting a new business or working to get your business off the ground? I certainly hope not!
Working for yourself will bring freedom and personal rewards that cannot be measured in any amount of money, so don't give up. Believe it or not, the success of your new business is really much more under your control than you think.
The Hard Part Starts the First Day You Open Your Doors for Business
I probably don't have to tell you this; once you have started a new business, the really hard part starts immediately. I will not sugar coat the fact that if you have an idea that amounts to selling ice cubes to penguins, the chance of your business succeeding are slim indeed. Well, maybe with global warming this might actually be a good business. Of course, your business's ultimate success depends on you having a viable market for you product or service.
I am sure this is not news to you. It is really up to you to attract customers to your business and eventually selling your offering to thim if there is a viable market for you. If you do not market and sell your business consistently and effectively you are the one who is blocking the flow of money into your business. You have to be the one that gets out of the way of your money stream.
May Seem Obvious But...
I know this sounds kind of like a like a "DUH, I know that." But let me show you where most beginning entrepreneurs make their first fatal new business mistakes. I have found that working with new self-bosses, the most common initial complaints I hear from them are is that they are uncomfortable asking for money for their product or service. They are worried that people will think less of them if they sell their product or promote themselves. Worse, they never make the time to do any marketing.
Do you hear yourself feeling the same way? Once you do get up the courage to get out and meet with new people, do you feel you might have nothing of value to sell, even if that is not true and have spent years developing your product or service?
It is important you do something to rid yourself of these business shyness fears or your business will not grow. I don't mean that you need get to the point where you sort of tolerate doing this. You really have to learn to ABSOLUTELY, and I mean ABSOLUTELY LOVE PROMOTING AND SELLING yourself and your business.
The good news is that this is easily learned and can actually be fun to accomplish. I know this is hard to believe, but once you understand where most of your sales and marketing jitters come from you will see that it is possible to effectively overcome them.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Does Your Business Need an Employer Identification Number?
Your EIN is a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to identify tax accounts of employers. The EIN is not a substitute for your social security number, and it's important that the business owner use the EIN, not their social security number when dealing with the IRS.
How do you know whether you need an EIN? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you need one:
---Do you have employees?
---Is your business incorporated?
---Do you file tax returns for the following: Employment, Excise, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms?
---Have you filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7?
---Are you forming a pension, profit sharing or retirement plan?
---Do you have a Keogh plan (A Keogh plan is a a tax-deferred pension plan for employees)?
---Is your business involved with the following: Trusts, except certain grantor-owned revocable trusts,
IRAs, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Returns,
estates, real estate mortgage investment conduits, non-profit organizations, farmers' cooperatives, plan administrators.
---Are you a new corporation?
---Did you recently purchase or inherit an existing business?
However, you do not need an EIN if you are simply changing the name of your business or moving.
If you are forming a corporation, getting a EIN should be a priority, because you won't be able to make a deposit or file a tax return until you have one in hand. It takes about two to four weeks to get an EIN, so it's important to plan ahead.
If you do have any questions about whether your business requires a EIN, the IRS can answer most questions. Also, several online incorporation business can handle all the paperwork involved in setting up a new business, including filing for an EIN.
Roberto Neuberger is President and CEO of ActiveFilings.com which has over 8 years experience forming over 39,000 corporations, LLC'S and non-profits.
Click Here to find out why the decision to incorporate can mean the difference between success and failure in your business.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Save Money With Green Office Solutions - Three Benefits of Recycled Office Systems and Furniture
Abundant Supply
The first benefit of purchasing green or used office furniture is the abundant supply to choose from. Unfortunately, due to the current economic downturn many businesses have had to file bankruptcy and close their doors. Naturally, those failed businesses had one or more offices filled with furniture or equipment they could no longer use. As a result, there has been a huge increase in the supply of used or pre-owned office furniture. Such a glut of second-hand, office-related merchandise means there are an ample variety of good, quality office cubicles, desks, chairs, and conference tables available to the would-be buyer.
Reduced Cost
The second benefit of purchasing green or recycled office furniture and equipment is the reduced cost. It may go without saying but such a huge supply of pre-owned or used office furniture means a tremendous price reduction for the consumers able to buy it. The drop in value is due to a number of factors including (a) the abundant supply of available used items, (b) the amount of low cost new furniture imports coming from China and other developing countries, and (c) general merchandise giants like Wal-Mart and Sam's Club that buy new furniture in bulk and undercut the market.
Saving Natural Resources
A third benefit to purchasing used office cubicles and furniture is that it saves both natural resources and landfill space. Purchasing old but good quality business furniture is recycling and, therefore, it is green. For every used desk that is reused, there is less need to cut down another tree or strip mine the earth for more iron ore. By forgoing the need for something new, you have a chance to contribute to a safer environment and preserve resources for the next generation.
In these tough economic times saving money has never been a bigger concern. This is true for households and businesses alike. This article has discussed three benefits of purchasing green, recycled, pre-owned or used office cubicles and furniture.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Small Business Loan Advisor - Avail Government Small Business Loans to Boost Your Trade
Small business loans can be obtained in secured as well as unsecured forms. In a secured mortgage, a person can obtain money for a long term by placing a security and in a unsecured business, loan is given for a short period of time.
Government offers various kinds of mortgage and there are no limits on the loan amount as government is interested in promoting small business. A person applying for a mortgage should not have any criminal records . You can easily apply for a loan by filling an application form online. By this you can save your time and need not to pay any processing fees.
How to Avail Government Small Business Loan to boost up your Trade:
· Initially, make a plan to start your own company . You must state plans to the Small business loan advisor clearly and submit it with proper records to them.
· The repayment of loan must be discussed earlier. Whenever you borrow a mortgage from the government, just make a proper schedule of making payment to them on time. There should be no delay in the repayment of mortgage.
· Owner has to convince to the government, so that they provide loan to them easily after explaining the profile of the work. You have to request them sincerely for the mortgage.
· You are required to prepare a document with complete details along with all the paperwork that may be required by the government. Submit all the documents to them which will help you to obtain loan easily.
· Government provides various special loans to their customers. You must make a decision and avail that option which can work in your favour.
President Obama has come up with Stimulus Package that will focus on providing assistance to low- and middle-income Americans, to check if you qualify for Government Grants
Click Here --> Federal Grant Programs
Government Grants may not be enough, you also need add new income sources. Try the free trial for Google Cash & learn the secret for earning thousands of dollars per month online.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Fireproofing Your Business
You hear about all the business's crumbling and closing down and your first thought is how terrible it is. When you take time to consider the facts, you realize that no business crumbles in a day. It's more of a slow fade that takes place over an extended period of time. Now I'm speaking in general, there are always exceptions to every rule. For instance if a military base closed in your town, or a major business, it could cause a number of business's to close. For the rest of the businesses, there are more concrete reasons to be examined.
As business owners, we are exposed to a number of privileges, with privileges comes accountability. It is easy to get carried away with taking liberties and privileges when your business is booming. Unfortunately, we tend to overlook the parasites that lodge themselves into the heart of our business while we're playing and living the good life. These parasites are greed, obsession and power. Sometimes it's never enough, we make a hundred thousand dollars and think, " I could make two hundred thousand", and our focus is constantly on more. It's natural to want to grow your business; you just don't want to grow it at the expense of your staff and life. As business owners, we obsess over our competition; we're always checking on them, trying to one up them. Lastly, power, we've all spent time reading our own press and believing it. It's not intentional; it happens over a period of time, it tends to erode our thought process. We forget about our team, our staff, we feel as if it's all about us. This is a very dangerous path to forge; it's the path to the slow fade.
I think the key to every business is the heart, without heart and soul; a business is nothing but a shell. You as the owner represent the heart of your business, as you go, so goes the business. You have the ability to guide your business in any direction you choose. It's not easy holding yourself accountable to a higher standard than everyone else. Leading is hard work and requires discipline and dedication. All eyes are on you; being off your game is not an option. Every day presents a new opportunity to shine and grow your business. You provide the foundation that your business is built on.
There are two paths we can choose from, one is wisdom and the other is consequence. Wisdom is a huge front-end investment in time, obedience and consistency, while consequence has a huge back end, consisting of pain, lack of discipline and regret. Devoting the time to properly train your staff, where you work together as a team, sharing a common goal. Where your staff works with you and not for you, contributing to the shared goal of being the best. Many people run the race, only one wins. It takes discipline and integrity to compete and win. Anyone can win the race once, maintaining a winning level is an attitude in discipline. Holding onto the title is a feat not often achieved by most. It takes strong leadership, and a strong will. How does your team stack up in the race? Do you have the staff in place capable of maintaining a standard of excellence? It all starts with you, and your commitment to excellence.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
How to Make Money From Home on the Internet
Good News. With a little training and some honest work, just about anyone can make extra money on the internet from the comfort of their own home. So, if you've ever wanted to go to the office in your pajamas, keep reading!
Let me give you a few tips that have helped me with this.
Get Knowledge - You're doing the right thing by reading this article. The first thing you need to do is learn about Internet Marketing and how it works. Don't just go dump a bunch of money into keywords that you don't understand, or start blogging like crazy with no plan. Take some time to learn about all your options before you get started.
No Overnight Millionaires - As you being to research all your options for making extra money on the internet, you're going to see a lot of people trying to tell you that you can start a Million Dollar Business for nothing. Don't be fooled by these folks. Instead, know that you're going to have to spend some money. You don't have to spend a lot at first. You can start out just spending a little - under $100 at first, but that $100 won't make you a millionaire overnight. No, you're going to spend a little at first, then make a little, spend a little more, make a little more and so on. Eventually you can make a lot of money, but it's going to take some time, so be patient.
Build a Strong Foundation - Over and over again I see people who give up before their business has a chance to get started. Building a business is like building a building. You start out with the foundation. Most of that is underground. People driving by at street level never really see it at all and it takes a long time with a lot of hard work and not much to show for it. However, it's crucial and must be done. So understand this ahead of time and set your expectations correctly. Once your foundation is ready, you can start building on top of it and having a lot of fun doing so. Just don't give up too early.
I hope these tips help you get started with your online business. They have worked for me and many others who are having the time of their lives making money on the internet.
How to Make Money Online - No Nerd Skills Required
When I first thought about starting an online business, I didn't have any startup capital to speak of. My resources were limited and I had a full time job that was very demanding at times. Here's what almost kept me from launching my business and changing everything...
Because of my limited funds I thought that I would have to learn to be a web programmer and build websites on my own in order to make any money online. I thought I would build little websites that became big websites, but those little websites were going to have to be built by me. That almost kept me from ever getting started. Thankfully it didn't. Here's what changed my thinking.
I was talking to a friend about my ideas and about the issue I was running into with my lack of nerd skills. He knew a lot about internet marketing and he turned me on to some great information that totally changed my paradigm and allowed my ideas to become reality. Want to know what he told me?
You don't have to know anything about web programming or any other technical internet stuff to make a fortune online. If you can surf the internet, you can make boatloads of cash online.
When he told me that, I really didn't believe him at first. But, like I said before, he turned me on to some great information. After I saw what he was talking about everything changed.
Here's the truth about making money online:
1. You can make tons of money on the internet without ever building a website or paying someone else to do it for you.
2. You can make tons of money on the internet without learning html, php, mysql or any of that other nerd stuff.
3. You can make tons of money on the internet without spending one nickel on webhosting.
4. You can make tons of money on the internet without ever setting up shipping, inventory, or product resourcing.
When I found all this stuff out, I flipped a lid, and you should do. It was like someone lowered the drawbridge and let me into the castle over the moat. All the obstacles were cleared, I started making money right away and I've never looked back. You can to.
Be a part of surveys
Tip 1: Be a part of surveys
Look for firms and web sites online that pay you for being a part of a survey. All you need to do is send in your basic details as age, educational qualification and such similar details. If you happen to be their target audience, you may be required to answer a certain questionnaire based on the firm's product or service. You may receive a free gift or some money in return.
Tip 2: Write Reviews and articles
Write articles and reviews to earn online for free. One needs to put in some effort though. One may get paid for writing reviews and posting on the blogs. There are plenty of data entry jobs, tutoring jobs or even that of virtual assistant.
Tip 3: Freelancing and consultations
There are a whole lot of opportunities for freelancing and consultations. There are a plethora of subjects on which one can conduct short-term courses or even write an e books.
Choose your field of expertise or interest and make money online for free. Remember, the internet gives you a huge geographical area to market your product or services online. Your expertise and interest will definitely attract some one somewhere. Keep patient and work smart!
Fabian Tan is a well-known Internet Marketing expert and the author of the popular 59-page Report:
"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"
Because of my limited funds I thought that I would have to learn to be a web programmer and build websites on my own in order to make any money online. I thought I would build little websites that became big websites, but those little websites were going to have to be built by me. That almost kept me from ever getting started. Thankfully it didn't. Here's what changed my thinking.
I was talking to a friend about my ideas and about the issue I was running into with my lack of nerd skills. He knew a lot about internet marketing and he turned me on to some great information that totally changed my paradigm and allowed my ideas to become reality. Want to know what he told me?
You don't have to know anything about web programming or any other technical internet stuff to make a fortune online. If you can surf the internet, you can make boatloads of cash online.
When he told me that, I really didn't believe him at first. But, like I said before, he turned me on to some great information. After I saw what he was talking about everything changed.
Here's the truth about making money online:
1. You can make tons of money on the internet without ever building a website or paying someone else to do it for you.
2. You can make tons of money on the internet without learning html, php, mysql or any of that other nerd stuff.
3. You can make tons of money on the internet without spending one nickel on webhosting.
4. You can make tons of money on the internet without ever setting up shipping, inventory, or product resourcing.
When I found all this stuff out, I flipped a lid, and you should do. It was like someone lowered the drawbridge and let me into the castle over the moat. All the obstacles were cleared, I started making money right away and I've never looked back. You can to.
onlinehomebusiness
Good News. With a little training and some honest work, just about anyone can make extra money on the internet from the comfort of their own home. So, if you've ever wanted to go to the office in your pajamas, keep reading!
Let me give you a few tips that have helped me with this.
Get Knowledge - You're doing the right thing by reading this article. The first thing you need to do is learn about Internet Marketing and how it works. Don't just go dump a bunch of money into keywords that you don't understand, or start blogging like crazy with no plan. Take some time to learn about all your options before you get started.
No Overnight Millionaires - As you being to research all your options for making extra money on the internet, you're going to see a lot of people trying to tell you that you can start a Million Dollar Business for nothing. Don't be fooled by these folks. Instead, know that you're going to have to spend some money. You don't have to spend a lot at first. You can start out just spending a little - under $100 at first, but that $100 won't make you a millionaire overnight. No, you're going to spend a little at first, then make a little, spend a little more, make a little more and so on. Eventually you can make a lot of money, but it's going to take some time, so be patient.
Build a Strong Foundation - Over and over again I see people who give up before their business has a chance to get started. Building a business is like building a building. You start out with the foundation. Most of that is underground. People driving by at street level never really see it at all and it takes a long time with a lot of hard work and not much to show for it. However, it's crucial and must be done. So understand this ahead of time and set your expectations correctly. Once your foundation is ready, you can start building on top of it and having a lot of fun doing so. Just don't give up too early.
I hope these tips help you get started with your online business. They have worked for me and many others who are having the time of their lives making money on the internet.