Thursday, August 14, 2008

6 Secret Signs of an Easy Home Business

6 Secret Signs of an Easy Home Business
by: Jack Sinclair

If you take a look around the Internet, you'll find hundreds of thousands of people who are looking for an easy home business. But what exactly does EASY mean? The answer depends on who is answering the question!

In this article, I'm going to show you six things that easy home businesses have in common - things you should look for when starting a low effort easy home business. Picking a business with these features will greatly increase your chance of success in your business ventures.

Here are the six things to look for in an easy home business:

1. A Well-Established Company With A Great Track Record

It's no secret that most so-called easy home businesses fail. There are a thousand reasons why, and it would take a business degree to really understand it all, but one thing that easy home businesses share is a great track record.

If a company is able to survive and thrive for 4 years, it means they have everything in place to run the business - and that means you can join up and hit the ground running.

2. Popular Products

This ties closely with Item 1 - an easy home business must have products that people want! It sounds simple, but many "fast cash" businesses you see being marketed on the Internet have products that you would NEVER buy in a thousand years. Yet they expect you to sell them!

By choosing an easy home business that has products that are easy to sell, it makes everything easier. You don't need to twist arms, or deal with a high percentage of product returns. Everthing goes smoothly when people are calling YOU to order!

3. No Large Up-Front Costs

This might sound surprising, but CASH is in short supply when you start any easy home business. That's right - every easy home business has this problem. It's important to know that the cost of getting into a business is not your only cost - there are marketing costs to consider, for instance. How will you attract new customers and new sales? You'll need to have business cards, a telephone (try not to use your home phone, just in case your business skyrockets or, Lord fordbid, goes bankrupt), and other expenses. You may need to attend teleconferences, or travel to events, and these costs should be considered BEFORE you jump in to any easy home business with both feet.

4 No Inventory to Maintain

We've all seen the easy home business opportunity that lets you get in on their hot opportunity - if you'll fill your garage with products. Those days are gone!

In today's environment, easy home businesses do all the product handling for you - they will produce it, package it, ship it, and even bill the customer on your behalf. Your only requirement is to tell them where to send your earnings!

Be sure that the easy home business you choose has no inventory requirements.

5. An Easy Way to Attract New Customers

A great easy home business is one that has customers coming to YOU. This is achieved by having a system in place that lets customers find you.

6. A Great Marketing System

The best easy home businesses come with a fine-tuned marketing system that you can use. This is a system that you can plug into with minimal effort, and see results in a very short timeframe. Things like replicated websites, co-op advertising, and low cost marketing kits are things that indicate a great marketing engine is in place. You'll need these tools if you are going to attract potential customers quickly.

Summary

If you spend some time looking at easy home businesses, you'll find some that have the six features in this arcticle. Choosing a business with these features is the best way to maximize your chances of success, and gives you a greater likelihood of seeing positive cashflow in a relatively short timeframe. There's no guarantees, but this checklist will really improve your odds of success!


About the author:
Jack Sinclair is a successful entrepreneur, Internet Marketer and loving husand and father who likes to help others succeed. Get his free 7 day course to learn how to find multiple income streams, at http://www.passive-income-source.com

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ecommerce Hosting For Your Online Business

Ecommerce Hosting For Your Online Business
by: Stanley Spencer


When you plan to start an online business, you will need to find a reliable web host that meets your requirements. Searching for a reliable and cheap web host is not an easy task. But if you know what you are looking for, it makes your task simpler.

You can trust a cheap web host only if it meets your business requirements. The process of verification comprises of some common issues and some other issues specific to your business.

A major concern is the quality of support provided by the host. You could e-mail a cheap webhosting company a few times to get an estimate of the response time they provide.

You should also try to analyze the quality of the answers provided by them. Are the answers really in-depth or do they just cover the basic things? Make enquiries about the various methods of support. Most webhosting companies offer online support personnel, message boards and help desks.

A webhosting company that provides the correct balance of substance and promptness would be an ideal solution for you.

Some key points to consider before choosing your web host:

1. Storage Space

It is an important parameter to begin your search for a reliable web host. You require at least 100 MB space for even a simple site. Most good web hosts offer a minimum of 1 GB space to their customers.

2. Bandwidth

It is another important part of the verification process. Most good web hosts offer 25 to 50 GB Bandwidth.

3. Support System

As discussed in the beginning of the article, it is the most important point to check.

4. Secure Servers

A secure server is an essential requirement if you are selling products/services online. Try to look for web hosting companies providing SSL encryption since this will guarantee security for all money transactions conducted on your site.

5. Private CGI-BIN

It is a good scheme to have a private CGI-BIN directory for the safety of your files. This is where you store your binary scripts and interactive programs including shopping carts and payment processing.

6. Web Log

This would help you a lot to keep track of various statistics for your business. These statistics aid you to develop new strategies to retain your present customers and attract new customers.

7. Operating System and Program Language Capabilities

All reputed web hosting companies allow front page on either a UNIX or Windows based system. Many web hosts provide both Windows and UNIX based hosting but the rates may differ.

8. Credibility

The web host should be reputed amongst its customer base.

9. Physical Location

Last, but not the least, the physical location of the servers is also an important consideration. Is the location prone to natural calamities or political insecurity?

A very practical and useful method to find a good web host is to discuss with people you know (vendors/business associates/friends) that have web sites. Enquire about their experiences with their current and past webhosting services.

Most of the cheap webhosting companies assure you of free technical support. However, a major concern with many of these companies is that you learn about their incapability when it is too late. The fact is that they simply fail to deliver their promises. Their cheap rates do not allow for the proper staffing needed to deliver the required customer support.

With a high quality and reputed webhosting company, you will pay a little more but the truth is, in business, you get what you pay for. So, if you are really serious about your business and also your time, consider web hosts starting at the top.

About the author:
Copyright © Active-Venture.com's (http://www.active-venture.com) ecommerce webhosting service. This article may be reprinted freely online or in print, provided an active link is made to our website at http://www.active-venture.com

Friday, February 22, 2008

Effective Management – 4 Ways to Inspire loyalty in your Business

Effective Management – 4 Ways to Inspire loyalty in your Business
by: Olakunbi Korostensky
Copyright 2005 Flaming Life Coaching INC.



Today as people become increasingly conscious of their worth, they are no longer willing to stay in a job that has become intolerable and impersonal to them.

This means that in the corporate or business world, it no longer suffice to have a system in place and expect people to just comply by them.

Without some form of human connections, things won't work out for long and the strength of commitment from your employees will simply disintegrate.

Whether you're an executive, a business owner with employees or an organisation with a team of board members, you have a common ground. Your biggest asset is people and the number one key to ensuring that your business runs like a clockwork is to secure the loyalty and trust of the people on your payroll.

The days of people working for altruistic reasons have long passed. People want to feel appreciated and emotionally connected and without loyal people at your side, your business will go nowhere and die.

There are very simple ways to keep the loyalty of your workers and co-workers. When you implement these practices, you'll reap substantial benefits for yourself and your business will become strong to wager any storm.

1. Make an effort to know the people who work for you. When you find a way to get to know your workers and to approach them as individuals, people feel appreciated and become devoted to you.

Most people spend their whole lives trying to get noticed and be someone. This can be very frustrating for them, especially if their efforts remain unnoticed.

Too often, many top managers forget too quickly where they started from. Remember how you once had to slowly work your way up the corporate ladder and how you felt working persistently away in a dingy place. Maybe you even ached to be noticed and get an encouraging word from your former boss. Well if you did, you're not alone. Other people also long for the same thing you once yearned for.

You may think, well I 'm not a psychologist and my duty is not to hold my workers' hands. Just think again. If you want dedication, you certainly won't get it by refusing to pay attention to those who work for you. And if that's what it takes, then it's wise to become proficient at it.

2. Be open and straightforward with people. Show people you care, and tell them what you expect of them. Be upfront and clear about your position in relationship to them and their work. Let them know exactly what they can expect from you in return.

We all model our lives after someone. My own business life has been modeled and influenced by two great men. My father who was a great lover of people and my uncle who was a visionary industrialist with an unquenchable passion for supporting others.

These two men taught me 2 crucial things about people:

a) Humility: that no matter how high you may get, without people you are nothing. For it is people who made you what you are.

b) Ingenuousness: When you hide your true self from people, you end up not knowing your-self.

3. Encourage and support your employees. In order to encourage people, you need to know their strong and weak points.

Many people have great gifts and talents, but feel timid and are self conscious as a result of their pre-dispositions or the environment they grew up in. Do yourself and the society a favour and support people to grow and you'll be greatly rewarded ed in return.

Also save yourself and your business a great deal of unnecessary sufferings. Find out what people are truly good at and place them in the position where they feel nurtured and can fully implement their abilities.

When people know that you have their interests at heart, they will naturally strive to apply themselves. This is because people want to belong to "a fold" they can tender, even if that "fold" is a business. But you must be genuine about your intention. Because if you're not, people will soon see through you.

4. Go the extra mile by being vigilant and showing some interests in the lives of your workers. This is also a good way of keeping the path of communication open. People trust someone who takes the time to ask after them and really listen to what they have to say. One reason why psychotherapy flourishes so well is the attention people get.

I know of some business owners, who make it a point to seek out their employees on their birthdays. One man in particular does a round of his three-storey business building every morning when he gets to work. He says that he checks his workers' lists of names at the end of each day and makes note of the names of birthdays coming up the following day.

The first thing he does the next morning is to go to each "birthday kid" as he calls them, and congratulates them personally! Now that's what I call awesome. Especially since he has 350 employees in his business. Who says you can't find time to be personal with your workers?

He even takes the time to visit his workers at their home when they suffer a loss of a loved one, or if they're absent from work for more than 3 days with an illness. His personal assistant never fails to sing his praise in admiration.

It is no wonder that this man enjoys excellent references and great respect. Which is also portrayed by the profits he makes.

People have natural needs which include acknowledging their existence. If you, as a business owner, forget to cater to these needs, you may end up sitting in a big but empty arena, wondering what went wrong. If, on the other hand, you make time for your employees, you'll be rewarded with great gratitude through, relentless and undying loyalty.


About the author:
Kunbi Korostensky, N.D., Psychotherapist and Certified Life Coach is specialised in supporting people in transition. She helps them accept the changes in their lives as natural, and to use them to create a more joyful, meaningful and happier lives. View her ebooklet Top 10 holistic Questions to Embrace Change and Grow at: http://www.embracingchanges.com/Books-and-Tools-to-facilitate-Changes.html or mailto: kunbi@embracingchanges.com

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

3 Easy, Money Making Internet Business Models

3 Easy, Money Making Internet Business Models
by: Gobala Krishnan
Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan

Amid all the noise and hype on the Internet today, not many people realize that all the ideas and techniques you can find are petty much useless if you don't first understand your business model. In other words, even the most amazing Internet marketing technique will not work if you don't understand how to apply it to YOUR business.

The 3 most popular business models are:

1) Affiliate Marketing

This is perhaps the most popular one out there, since there are absolutely no barriers to entry. Almost anyone can sign-up for an affiliate program for free and start promoting the product or service on the Internet with hopes that someone will buy, giving them instant commissions. Affiliate marketers don't carry any risk, since they do not pay for the creation of the product, they do not handle customer service and they do not need any up-front investments.

When you consider that those are the top three things people want to avoid, it's no surprise that almost everyone and their neighbor promotes an affiliate program or another. In fact, if there is a single reason why the Internet today is so proliferated with ads and banners, it's because of affiliate programs.

Even though there are so many affiliate marketers out there, only 5% ever make any money and only 1% makes big money. The "Super Affiliates" do it very differently from all the other millions; therefore they earn the big checks.

You can get a good idea of how to be a good affiliate marketer here: http://affiliatemarketing.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

2) E-book and Information Publishing

Sitting at the other end of the spectrum, e-book authors need to be more disciplined in their approach to Internet marketing. Of course, they also need to invest more than affiliates do. While affiliates can get away trying to "get something for nothing" the same is not true for the e-book type of business.

If you're thinking about publishing and selling your own e-book online, and you think it's going to be easy, think again. You'll need to learn a lot more than affiliates are required to. You'll need to spend some amount of money getting your business up and running. However, when you do it right, the payoff in this online business model is much more rewarding.

The reason why e-book marketers and "Infopreneurs" make more money is simple; they have very, very low production and maintenance costs. Anything digital doesn't cost a single cent to be produced in millions if necessary. Whatever initial start-up costs spent can be covered by selling just a few copies of high-margin e-books, and you can even recruit an army of affiliates who are more than willing to do all the selling for you.

Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but the point is, when done properly, the "E-book Publishing" model is a truly profitable business.

You can learn more about e-book publishing at http://egoods.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

3) Internet Based Network Marketing

I've heard many people say that the Internet and network marketing are a match made in heaven. In my opinion, though, almost 90% of people get it wrong when it comes to Internet based network marketing. People in this business usually think they're talking about network marketing, but in reality they are talking about affiliate marketing.

They try to make the Internet do all the work. They hide behind their computers and pretend everything's going great. They focus on selling more and more every month. They have systems that are so complicated only they can understand it. Well, that doesn't sound like network marketing to me!

Internet based network marketing is simple if you understand it, and are willing to put in the effort. The role of the Internet here is only to get you the names and contact details of people you can talk to, after which YOU, not a computer, has to build a relationship with these people and help them to start their own business.

For this simple purpose, it is not necessary for you to have a high-tech system and pretend that your auto responder is building relationships for you. It's not going to work. The key is to have simple systems that are duplicable, something you can teach to all those people you have built a relationship with. For this purpose I use NetMarkPro at http://www.netmarkpro.net/globalmillionaire and teach my own affiliates to use it too.

E-book authors, no matter what they say, have no obligation to teach you their "Secret Strategies to Become a Millionaire” of any variations to that. The reason is simple; why tell you the absolute truth when you'll end up as their competitor? No one wants more competitors, right?

Internet based network marketing is very much the opposite of that. You HAVE to tell people EVERYTHING you know or your business will never take off. For this reason alone, I always recommend that if you're new to the online world, you need to first join an Internet based network marketing business at least to learn. Rest assured, no one will be selling you half-baked truths when their success ultimately depends on yours.

These are the Top 3 most popular online business models today. There are more, of course, and you can read about it at http://case-studies.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

No matter which model you choose, make sure you understand the basics, and stop listening to and buying things that are not applicable to your business. Information overload can stop you before you even get started.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:

Gobala Krishnan is an author and Internet based network marketer. Get his free report at http://www.MyInternetDream.com today and find out how you can achieve financial freedom on the Internet.

3 Easy, Money Making Internet Business Models

3 Easy, Money Making Internet Business Models
by: Gobala Krishnan
Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan

Amid all the noise and hype on the Internet today, not many people realize that all the ideas and techniques you can find are petty much useless if you don't first understand your business model. In other words, even the most amazing Internet marketing technique will not work if you don't understand how to apply it to YOUR business.

The 3 most popular business models are:

1) Affiliate Marketing

This is perhaps the most popular one out there, since there are absolutely no barriers to entry. Almost anyone can sign-up for an affiliate program for free and start promoting the product or service on the Internet with hopes that someone will buy, giving them instant commissions. Affiliate marketers don't carry any risk, since they do not pay for the creation of the product, they do not handle customer service and they do not need any up-front investments.

When you consider that those are the top three things people want to avoid, it's no surprise that almost everyone and their neighbor promotes an affiliate program or another. In fact, if there is a single reason why the Internet today is so proliferated with ads and banners, it's because of affiliate programs.

Even though there are so many affiliate marketers out there, only 5% ever make any money and only 1% makes big money. The "Super Affiliates" do it very differently from all the other millions; therefore they earn the big checks.

You can get a good idea of how to be a good affiliate marketer here: http://affiliatemarketing.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

2) E-book and Information Publishing

Sitting at the other end of the spectrum, e-book authors need to be more disciplined in their approach to Internet marketing. Of course, they also need to invest more than affiliates do. While affiliates can get away trying to "get something for nothing" the same is not true for the e-book type of business.

If you're thinking about publishing and selling your own e-book online, and you think it's going to be easy, think again. You'll need to learn a lot more than affiliates are required to. You'll need to spend some amount of money getting your business up and running. However, when you do it right, the payoff in this online business model is much more rewarding.

The reason why e-book marketers and "Infopreneurs" make more money is simple; they have very, very low production and maintenance costs. Anything digital doesn't cost a single cent to be produced in millions if necessary. Whatever initial start-up costs spent can be covered by selling just a few copies of high-margin e-books, and you can even recruit an army of affiliates who are more than willing to do all the selling for you.

Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but the point is, when done properly, the "E-book Publishing" model is a truly profitable business.

You can learn more about e-book publishing at http://egoods.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

3) Internet Based Network Marketing

I've heard many people say that the Internet and network marketing are a match made in heaven. In my opinion, though, almost 90% of people get it wrong when it comes to Internet based network marketing. People in this business usually think they're talking about network marketing, but in reality they are talking about affiliate marketing.

They try to make the Internet do all the work. They hide behind their computers and pretend everything's going great. They focus on selling more and more every month. They have systems that are so complicated only they can understand it. Well, that doesn't sound like network marketing to me!

Internet based network marketing is simple if you understand it, and are willing to put in the effort. The role of the Internet here is only to get you the names and contact details of people you can talk to, after which YOU, not a computer, has to build a relationship with these people and help them to start their own business.

For this simple purpose, it is not necessary for you to have a high-tech system and pretend that your auto responder is building relationships for you. It's not going to work. The key is to have simple systems that are duplicable, something you can teach to all those people you have built a relationship with. For this purpose I use NetMarkPro at http://www.netmarkpro.net/globalmillionaire and teach my own affiliates to use it too.

E-book authors, no matter what they say, have no obligation to teach you their "Secret Strategies to Become a Millionaire” of any variations to that. The reason is simple; why tell you the absolute truth when you'll end up as their competitor? No one wants more competitors, right?

Internet based network marketing is very much the opposite of that. You HAVE to tell people EVERYTHING you know or your business will never take off. For this reason alone, I always recommend that if you're new to the online world, you need to first join an Internet based network marketing business at least to learn. Rest assured, no one will be selling you half-baked truths when their success ultimately depends on yours.

These are the Top 3 most popular online business models today. There are more, of course, and you can read about it at http://case-studies.sitesell.com/globalmillionaire.html

No matter which model you choose, make sure you understand the basics, and stop listening to and buying things that are not applicable to your business. Information overload can stop you before you even get started.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:

Gobala Krishnan is an author and Internet based network marketer. Get his free report at http://www.MyInternetDream.com today and find out how you can achieve financial freedom on the Internet.

Friday, January 4, 2008

An Online Home Based Business Is Not Rocket Science

An Online Home Based Business Is Not Rocket Science
by: Kirk Bannerman


A few years ago when I first started my online home business I
didn't have a clue regarding how to go about it. I had never
done any Internet marketing, and didn't know anything about
websites or search engines or any of that other online business
stuff...in short, I was a complete rookie. In retrospect, the
two major things that really helped me was that I refused to be
intimidated and I kept a realistic perspective (both in terms of
initial financial results and the time frame necessary to become
successful).

I know from my own years of experience that relatively few
business ventures are started on the Internet by people with
the experience, motivation, determination, backing, and support
that it takes to even have a reasonable chance of success.

Real online business people are those who work hard, who immerse
themselves deeply in marketing and advertising, and who put in
long hours in the beginning in order to see their Internet-based
businesses succeed.

Achieving success in an online business is not difficult to
comprehend. There is indeed a learning curve, but it's not brain
surgery. The process of learning isn't as much the issue as are
the personal traits of motivation and determination.

Develop your marketing plan and execute it. There's no magic in
this online home based business stuff. We're talking real world
here. It's not nearly as romantic as winning the lottery, yet
many of the thousands of people I have helped to start up their
home businesses on the Internet clearly came in with what I have
come to refer to as the "magic/lottery" mentality. Many of those
folks went off to chase another rainbow after a few months, but
some of them also came to their senses and buckled down to
develop very successful home based businesses.

Run, don't walk, away from all of those people that offer you
"shortcuts" or "success secrets" (probably in exchange for some
of your money). I mean, if they had it all figured out, why
would they sell this "magic answer" to you for a few bucks
instead of just keeping it private and then making tons of
money for themselves? (I'll leave it to you to connect the dots)

A key point to always keep in mind is that...business is
business. Regardless of whether you are on the Internet or
operating a business in a shopping mall. The same
fundamental principles apply to both businesses.

1) You need to have a product, or products, to sell.

2) You need to advertise to get customers to buy your
products.

3) You need to provide support to your customers who buy
your products as a result of your advertising efforts.

4) You need to build a loyal customer following, so you can
maintain a profitable business over a period of time.


Many people fall into the trap of believing that because
they are doing business on the Internet, some of these steps
can either be skipped or they need to overemphasize one area
or another.

The bottom line regarding an online business is that you will
need to advertise and you will need to take care of your
customers.

Run your online home business just like a real company
because it is, in fact, a real business and you have a real
opportunity to either be successful or to fail. The primary
difference between an online business and a traditional
business is location (no traditional "storefront"). Nearly
everything else is essentially the same. You have products
and your objective is to sell those products to people who
want/need your products.

Remember, building a business takes time, determination,
and patience. Far too many people seem to think that the
traffic is just going to pour in once they have put up their
own website on the Internet. As anyone who has had a website
for a while knows...this simply is not true, but it is often
the reason people get frustrated and quit. The fact of the
matter is that you need to diligently promote/advertise your
website in order for your online home based business to
flourish and prosper.

One of the most important bits of advice that I can pass on to
you is that you must be patient. Most people start their online
home business with great enthusiasm and high expectations. Often,
after a few months, they become disappointed and frustrated
because they are not already making a large amount of money.

These impatient home business entrepreneurs then often start to
jump from one program to another every few months (never allowing
themselves enough time to succeed at any of them) and, finally,
throw up their hands in frustration and declare that they just
can’t make money online.

Stick with your business and don’t give up. Dogged persistence
(much like the tenacity of a pit bull) is an absolutely vital key
to your eventual success. Don’t give up when things become
frustrating and you are not achieving the immediate success you
expected. Give your online home based business sufficient time to
develop and you realize the success you are seeking.

There is nothing magical about running an online home based
business. It should be run the same as any traditional "bricks
and mortar" business and it will succeed or fail depending on
the time and effort you put into it.

There are many very ordinary people working at home and making a
very good living on the Internet, will you be the next one?




About the author:
Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business
and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based
business. For more information visit his website at http://www.home-based-business-team.com