Overcoming Barriers To Home Business Success

When we decide to start a home business, most of us are eager to get moving and achieve the success we know we're capable of. Some of us go full steam ahead and immediately start seeing results, while others seem to keep running into snags and obstacles no matter how hard we try to get ahead. It's important to consider that we may have subconscious issues that are preventing us from moving forward and achieving the success we desire.

If you've been struggling to make a success of your home business and feel like you've got invisible walls holding you back, ask yourself these five questions:

1. Are you afraid of success? Most of us THINK we want to be successful, but deep down inside we fear it. Why would anyone fear success? Because being "successful" often comes with a lot of baggage. We aren't necessarily afraid of the success itself, but what comes along with it. We might find ourselves in the spotlight and have more attention and admiration thrown our way. That sounds like a good thing, but it can be unnerving if we're not prepared to deal with it. We might also find ourselves with increased responsibility. Can we handle the pressure and do what is required of us? Can we properly support a large team and customer base? What if we don't have what it takes? As these thoughts keep floating through our mind, self-doubt creeps in, and we find ourselves shying away from the activities that could bring the success we desire. The best remedy for these fearful thoughts is to keep affirming your own ability to handle whatever comes your way. Take some time to study the aspects of business you fear, such as building long-term customer relationships and leadership techniques. Knowledge is power, and as you learn and grow, your confidence will also.

2. Are you afraid of rejection or ridicule? This is a big issue for some of us. If we have a big enough fear of rejection, we will avoid seeking new customers, clients and recruits. A wonderful technique to overcome this fear is to practice releasing your expectation of the outcome. When you approach a potential customer or recruit, make it your mission to put the information in front of them, and not get hung up on whether they will buy or sign on. It can be helpful to set "action goals" versus "results goals" also. For example, instead of making it your goal to gain five new customers each week, make it your goal to APPROACH twenty potential customers each week. Don't worry about how many will join you, just focus on perfecting your presentation and being helpful, professional and available. If you have a good product and a positive attitude, people will be attracted to you and want what you have to offer. Your job is simply to make it available.

3. Do you have negative emotions about money? While we dream of having a large, successful business that pays well, many of us also have negative thoughts about people who have a lot of money. We fear becoming one of "them" -- snobby, rude rich people. We might also feel guilty about having a lot of money when so many people in the world have nothing. If you have negative issues attached to money, you will resist the manifestation of it in your life. Your mind and heart will be at war and not allow you to create the wealth you truly want and deserve. The thing to understand about money is that it's simply the physical representation of abundance in your life. Money itself is not good or bad. It's what you do with the money that gives it positive or negative connotations. Just because you begin earning a lot of money doesn't mean you will turn into a snob. You can choose your attitude and remain just as kind and compassionate as you are today. And by having plenty of financial resources at your disposal, think of all the people you could help. Rather than feeling guilty about having a comfortable life, you can reach out and share your wealth with others

4. Do you lack confidence? Lack of confidence in yourself, the company you represent, or the products you are selling can hold you back also. Confidence, like anything else, is a learned skill that grows stronger with practice. If you are new to your home business, you might shy away from approaching potential customers and recruits because you aren't comfortable with the procedures yet, or feel you don't know enough. You might be afraid that people will ask a question you can't answer. Remember the first few times you drove a car? You were nervous and cautious, weren't you? Are you more confident driving now? I bet you are, because you've done it thousands of times. You can also become comfortable with the aspects of your home business that frighten you, by simply practicing until you feel more comfortable with them. Devote some time to memorizing your prospecting script, the benefits of your products, and your approach. Write it all down and read it aloud over and over again until you've memorized it and feel more comfortable with it. Your confidence and enthusiasm will then shine through and attract success.

5. Are you afraid of failure? Some of us never even get started because we're so afraid we might fail. We're afraid to even try to make our dreams a reality. It seems safer to stay in our unhappy circumstances, because even though we aren't satisfied, at least they are familiar and comfortable. The unknown is scary. But if we don't try, we'll miss out on the chance to make our lives better. Progress and advancement in life is not gained by sitting meekly on the sidelines; we need to actually get in the game and start playing! The only true failures in life occur when we give up or don't try at all.

No matter what fears hold you back, know that you have the power to overcome them and achieve every success you desire. Simply begin changing your negative thoughts to positive ones, and take steps to make your dream a reality. When you come up against something that frightens you or makes you uncomfortable, know that you've just encountered an invisible barrier to your success. You can choose to let it defeat you, or you can smash it to bits by pushing right through it.

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Buying A Franchise

Buying a franchise can be a life changing experience. There are many good reasons to pursue your dream of owning a successful franchise. For starters when you buy a franchise you are buying a proven system. Buying a franchise comes with the advantage of knowing that the business has been successful in other locations. The idea and process of running this business has already been proven. Therefore the learning curve in operating the business can be virtually eliminated.

When you are buying a franchise your are also buying an established customer base or brand name. Most franchises are already recognizable to consumers. The brand awareness provides security and trust to the customer who expects uniform quality to be provided. Therefore a customer base is already established.

You can also benefit from any advertising or promotion that the franchiser (owner of the franchise) does at the national or local level, without absorbing the cost. The franchiser can also provide input to the franchisee on a local marketing plan.

If you buy a franchise you also receive ongoing support. Training and support is usually always part of the deal. Since the franchise company has a vested interest in how well you do, ongoing training, system upgrades, product enhancements, and question and answer resources are provided. The franchiser offers experience to franchisee in such areas as accounting procedures, personnel and facility management, and business planning.

Also, many times obtaining financing for buying a franchise is easier since the franchise name and reputation are usually recognized by the lenders. Therefore, banks are more likely to fund the franchisee. In addition, relationships with suppliers are already established; affording the opportunity to buy in bulk, enabling a great deal of savings for the business.

The first step when buying a franchise is choosing an industry you are interested in or have prior experience in. There are many great franchises out there to choose from. Auto franchises and coffee franchises are very popular franchises but it is important to research the each opportunity before investing. It is recommended you sit down with a Franchise Consultant and decide if buying a franchise is right for you.

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10 ways to advertise online (and where to get started)

Most business owners fully understand that not advertising is the surest way to kill your business.

However they are also bombarded by so much information and so many choices they quickly lose track of what options are available to them.

There are a number of cheap and easy online advertising options available to you.

1. Ezine Advertising

Ezine advertising is one of the best ways to reach your future customers because it is often inexpensive and flexible as well as offering you the option to match the ezine audience with your product and ad. It also often offers a double benefit--your initial ad plus longevity in the ezine archives.

2. Text Links

This simple tool is often overlooked by many. It is simply one of the least expensive and yet most powerful advertising option available. You can often buy text links for under $10 and the link will not only promote the specific site or page you choose but also connect it with the specific key words that will benefit you the most.

Text links also provide a double bonus. You can attract immediate traffic from the host site as well as achieve better search engine ranking which will further increase traffic.

3. Pay per click advertising

Just like it sounds pay per click advertising is simply paying for specifically targeted traffic. You can monitor and control these advertising programs very closely and tweak your ad copy and the key words that you are sponsoring. This can be a very expensive option but doesn't have to be if you plan carefully and watch closely.

4. Email marketing

Despite ever-increasing vigilant attempts to stop spam, we all know that email marketing is still alive and well. While it is foolish in the extreme to risk your business, web host, or internet connection, by sending out spam you can still use email marketing as a way to reach out and touch your customers and your future customers.

You just need to make sure that no one receives mail except the people who ask for it. People are still willing to sign up for mailing lists--especially if you have something to offer them in return for sharing their email address. Sponsor a contest; give away an article, ebook, or tutorial; or offer a discount and you will have people sign up willingly.

Then if you don't abuse the mailing list you will have the opportunity to reach them again and again!

5. Banner Ads

Banner ads have a bad reputation. In part because of the proliferation of banner farms that killed all the banner swap programs (or at least made them completely ineffectual). Also we all have memories of those hideous banners flashing across the top of so many web sites.

Banners have come along way since then and a cleverly designed banner can be a real asset to any advertising campaign. Also don't forget that you don't have to use one of those big giant banners that span the width of the screen. You can use smaller simple ads that can fit easily into the sidebar or special box on a web site so they can suit the design and work more effectively.

It is also important that you pay close attention to what sites you will choose for displaying your banner. IE. A site about web development for your web hosting service ad or a site about parenting for your ad promoting your potty training book.

Many text link and pay per click advertising vendors also offer the option of banner ads. Similarly many ezine and newsletter publishers sell space on their sites.

~~ Sell Your Knowledge ~~

These next five advertising methods are all free or relatively inexpensive because you are trading something of value -- your knowledge and expertise -- in return for advertising.

6. Publish a Newsletter

Creating your own regular newsletter or ezine offers you all the advantages of ezine advertising and email marketing offered above.

7. Publish a Blog and RSS Feed

While publishing a newsletter or ezine isn't that difficult it is much easier to create a blog and make its content available via RSS feed. This can offer you the benefits of regularly updated material for your web site which will be attractive to visitors and search engines alike. It will also help establish you as an expert in your field.

I personally like using WordPress on your own site but many web hosts now offer blogging services and there are many free blogging sites around where you can create a blog on their site.

8. Write Articles

Take some of the material you have generated for your newsletter and/or blog and share it with others. Make it available in one of the many free content directories available on the web. This not only helps to establish your credibility but the contact info you provide in your resource box (which will run every time someone else publishes your material) will bring in both direct traffic as well as search engine attention.

9. Create an Ebook

Once you have enough material generated from your newsletter and blog then you can package it into a convenient Ebook and give it away. Make sure to collect names and email addresses and offer a coupon or discount to bring people back to your site!

10. Post in Forums

If you have the time you should start your own forum but even if you only have a few minutes a week to spare for this effort then it can be well worth the effort. Don't offer blatant spam posts but find a forum where you have something to offer. Make sure that you include an appropriate url and description for your forum signature and you will attract the double benefit of traffic and search engine attention!

No successful advertising campaign embraces one single method of advertising and no single method of advertising works for everyone. Advertising cannot be treated as a one-size-fits all proposition. However you know what your business needs and can offer--mix and match methods and make sure to track your results--to optimize your choices.

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Investment Scandals & Scams: What's Next!

We humans are as creative on the "Dark Side" of commercial activity as we are in developing beneficial new products and services. In the face of huge financial benefits, however, some corporate executives can't resist taking an extra dessert even before their shareholders have finished dinner. Some scandals have more of an impact on investors than others, and most produce unwarranted layers of government regulation and control that stifle honest creativity.

Plain vanilla fraud and theft are less worrisome to me than situations where the general acceptance of misinformation or "business as usual" practices allows inherently bad product ideas and blatant mismanagement to become accepted by regulatory authorities, financial professionals, and myopically gullible consumers. Here are some candidates for future "Blockbuster Scandal Awards" (B S Awards, if you will): Variable Life Insurance & Annuities, Wrap Fee Managed Investment Accounts, Portfolio Window Dressing, Asset Allocation Mutual Funds, and Obscene Executive Compensation.

1. Variable Insurance and Annuities: Variable products are a relatively new thing in the insurance industry, circa 1980 or so. Before that, the conventional wisdom labeled the Shock Market much too risky for Life Insurance Policy and Annuity Contract guaranteed benefits. In fact, these benefits had been "guaranteed" for so long that it became a generic expectation of anyone in the market for either. So why did the State Insurance departments cave in to the Variable Product lobby? And what is not emphasized as these products are marketed to potential insureds and annuitants?
As if the 8% sales commission on Straight Life Annuities wasn't enough, the addition of Mutual Fund bonuses made the Variable Annuity irresistible... to financial professionals. Similarly, this product is so lucrative for the companies that they manipulate their rates to become more competitive. Since the introduction of variable benefits, there have been more insurance company failures and scandals, and not just a few disappointed recipients of reduced annuity payments. What's in your retirement plan?

2. Wrap Fee Investment Accounts: From the very beginnings of wealth, the very wealthy employed Investment Managers to protect and to grow their portfolios. Most Investment Managers had just a few huge clients that they tended to while the rest of the fledging financial industry focused on property protection and estate creation through life insurance. Most of today's (salaried) Investment Managers are employed by Financial Institutions to supervise thousands of Mutual Funds for millions of investors of all financial shapes and sizes. There are more Equity Mutual Funds than there are individual Equities on the New York Stock Exchange. Most investors today will employ many Investment Managers and never actually speak to any of them.

Enter the personally managed investment portfolio product offered by most major Financial Institutions. For a single fee, you receive the personal services of a professional Investment Manager, and a portfolio specifically designed for you. Except, of course, that you get neither. You get precisely the same portfolio as everybody else, and all at once regardless of price... a Mutual Fund with individual statements. But of course, you can speak to the manager any time you like, change your asset allocation, set aside a reserve for an upcoming expenditure, etc. Yeah, sure you can!

Note that "Flat Fee" managed accounts are quite different and may actually be separately and personally managed.

3. Portfolio Window Dressing: Every quarter, every year, we hear about the adjustments that portfolio managers are making as they attempt to look smart to their largest clients. Now in a discipline (Investing) that they all officially recognize as a long-term commitment to some specific strategy or plan, why do the Masters of the Universe spend so much time manipulating their short-term performance numbers? And why is this considered business as usual instead of common fraud?

4. Asset Allocation Mutual Funds: I look at Asset Allocation a bit differently than most professionals seem to and I regulate and monitor a portfolio's structure using the cost basis of securities rather than their Market Value. But how, logically, can a one-size-fits-all Mutual Fund be the right mix for all investors? Here's a definition found on the Internet: "A mutual fund that rotates among stocks, bonds, and money market securities to maximize return on investment and minimize risk". And a definition of Asset Allocation from a similar source: "The practice of distributing a certain percentage of a portfolio between different types of investment assets, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cash, real estate, options, etc. By diversifying an individual's asset base, one hopes to create a favorable risk/reward ratio for a portfolio".

In reality, Asset Allocation is a structure-planning tool that determines what percentage of an Investment Portfolio is to be invested for Growth in Equity securities and what percentage is to be invested for income production. The proper allocation is a function of the investor's age, marital status, financial position, employment status, retirement plans, expenditure needs, risk tolerance, family responsibilities, etc. Diversification occurs within the two (just two) asset classes. One size fits all... who's kidding whom?

5. Corporate Executive Compensation: I strongly believe that everyone has the right to become filthy rich, legally of course. I respect anyone who gets there honestly because their success creates jobs, opportunities, wealth, and a higher standard of living for everyone. But, once they sell shares of their successful enterprises to the public, they have a responsibility to share future profits and growth. Obscene executive suite compensation (right down to the chauffeured limousines) is simply stealing from shareholders.

With every new Scandal, a voracious Media and a hypocritical Congress exacerbate the fear of shocked investors and call for more regulation of the very entities whose success, freedom, viability, and competitiveness they should be nurturing. Ironically, politicians are always the most outspoken critics... probably because of their familiarity with cover-ups and improprieties. But no one ever questions the integrity of the Financial Institutions that invent, produce, price, and promote products and services that do far more long-term harm than the few (albeit serious and sensational) incidents of corporate wrong doing.

Four of the five candidates for this year's Blockbuster Scandal (B S) Award were created on Wall Street. The fifth is ignored by it. Which one bothers you most?
 

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Can You Really Make Money Online?

There are many people from all walks of life searching for ways to make more money, and the internet seems to be full of opportunities. Usually when you start searching for jobs or work at home possibilities, you get bombarded with a lot of hype! You know the old saying, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!" Remember that when you start looking for opportunities to help you make money online! If everything were as easy as it seems to be, then we could all quit our full time day jobs and just work online from the comfort of our home! Okay-maybe not, but I have been doing this online working thing for awhile now, and I want to share with you some advice about how to do it the right way!

1. Start Slow! When you first start out trying to make money online, the internet is going to seem like a huge place with tons of information everywhere. You'll probably feel overwhelmed with an information overload! Don't let that happen. You need to take it a little bit everyday and learn as much as you can bit by bit. 

One of the best ways to do this is to keep paper by your computer and take notes. Write down any good websites you find that you may want to refer back to. Print out information that you will need in the future. 

Read as much as you can and go back and read it again. You need to really let it soak in, and you need to absorb as much as possible. Generally, if you allow yourself enough time to do some research before you try to get started, you will arm yourself with a lot of important necessary knowledge. Of course, most of you will still be working your day job, so maybe try to allow some time in the evenings or on the weekends to do your research. Also, stay organized! Nothing is worse than sifting through a huge pile of papers looking for a specific site or web address. If you can go into this venture from a learning perspective, it will make everything easier down the road. Whenever you are working to make money online, research, learning, studying, and keeping up-to-date are going to be some of the most important things you can do. Remember that a lot of your competition will probably try to go in blindly, so then you'll be one step ahead.

2. Find Good Products and Test Them. When you are ready to take the step into making money online, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest ways beginners can make money. Not only can you have the potential to start generating sales, but you will get exposed to a lot of people who know what they are doing, who have already had success, and who are actually willing to help you. Once you find a good product that you want to try to sell, test the waters. Place some ads in various areas and keep track of whether or not you're making any sales. When first starting out, only promote one or two products at a time! It seems like you will do better if you start promoting 100 things at once, but when you have so many campaigns going at the same time, it's easy to lose focus and concentration. You want to be able to put forth your full effort and really see whether or not this product is going to pay off for you. Keep in mind that a lot of products end up not being successful money makers, so if you find that is the case, go back to the drawing board and pick something else. Don't spend a lot of money until you find a profitable product! Most of us just starting out don't have much extra money to spend on advertising anyway, but keeping costs down is important. Your ultimate goal is making a profit, right?

3.Get Excited and Don't Give Up! Start promoting yourself and your products as much as you can. Many well established and successful sites have opt-in email lists where you can sign up to get their daily or weekly newsletters. Get your email address on all of the ones that look helpful to you or your product. Many times, these emails are full of valuable information, and you're getting it for free! These companies are reputable and are not going to sell or give away your email address, so it's completely safe to go ahead and sign up! This is a continuation of your learning process, as well, because they will send you up to the minute information, and may even introduce you to new products! The more you can learn, the better! Speaking of email, send out some emails to family members and close friends and let them know about your new online adventure! No, you don't have to try to sell them anything, but this is an easy way to start getting yourself out there. Please don't spam anyone, though. Just send it out to those people who you know will be accepting of your emails. Also, when you send them out, ask your friends and family to let you know their personal opinions about your products, website, or any other feedback they can give. If you can get some open and honest feedback from those you trust, you can begin to get an idea of how you will be able to relate to the general public.

You're ultimately hoping a lot of these people will be your customers someday! This whole experience working online can be a lot of fun, but there are definitely going to be some very frustrating days. There may even be some frustrating weeks. Keep going, keep working, keep learning, and stay in the game! There are no people who succeed in making money online if they give up within the first couple of months! The longer you stick with it, the more chance you have to improve your skills, and eventually you'll get where you want to be. Keep your perspective, and if you need a break, take one. Sometimes, when you're taking a break, you do your best thinking and get some of your best ideas.

Hopefully I've provided you with some basic information for getting started making money online. It really is a learning experience, but at least you can do it from the comfort of your own home! Lots of moms and stay at home caregivers have options for generating online incomes that weren't there even a few years ago. This market is open to anyone and everyone. Take it step by step, don't jump in head first, and learn, learn, learn! Here's to your success!

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