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Dont attack Life It is a process
Attacking Life as in a campaign is not a good idea. Accept that Life is a process from birth to death (and paying taxes!!). Learn to live with the ups and the downs. Anything else will be stressful and cause problems. This will not bring life harmony.

Lesson #3: Take Advantage of New Technologies

“I don’t care about being bigger, because I’m already bigger than I ever expected to be,” Oprah says. “My constant focus is on being better. Should I be doing multimedia video production? Or seminars on the Internet? How can I do what I’m already doing in a more forceful way?” Oprah’s ability to consistently take advantage of new media and technology is one of the distinguishing features of her massive success. Harpo Studios, Oprah’s brainchild, has successfully grown from a one-show production to a multi-billion dollar media powerhouse thanks to its expansion into different media.

Lesson #5: Loosen Up
“Don't take yourself so seriously,” said Walton. “Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun.”

It’s a Rap: How Sean Combs Achieved Success

“I have learned to enjoy the ups for what they are, because those are the moments that feel like they go by the quickest,” says Combs. As one of the highest grossing hip-hop stars in history, Combs has been enjoying his current ‘up’ for quite some time now. From the crime-filled streets of Harlem to the lavish luxuries of Hollywood, Combs has shot to international stardom. What were his factors of success?

Lesson #5: Focus On the User
“Serving our end users is at the heart of what we do and remains our number one priority,” says Page. Despite being perhaps the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have its customers leave its website as quickly as possible, Google is no doubt committed to making those customers as satisfied as possible.

Lesson #3: Give Something Back
“We have a responsibility to help others who can’t help themselves,” said Thomas. “The more you give, the more you get in return.”

Lesson #5: Be Clear About Who You Are
“When you think about it, you should compare the World Wrestling Federation to other major entertainment companies or motion picture studios,” says McMahon. “We are Hollywood. We're entertainment, and that's what the World Wrestling Federation is all about.”

Case in Point: How Steve Case Achieved Success

“I focus less on looking back and more on looking forward,” says Case. “That was all interesting. It was a great journey for 20-plus years. Some ups, some downs but overall a great experience. The question now is ‘What’s the next journey? What's the next challenge?’” From selling fruit baskets in college to ranking on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest Americans, Case had come a long way to create a company that would soon become a household name and go down in history for its impact on people’s lives as well as its multi-billion dollar merger. Just how did this boy, who once dreamed of becoming a rock star, become the successful entrepreneur that he is today?

Richard Branson Biography

Much like the public has come to expect the unexpected from this unpredictable British entrepreneur, so too is the Richard Branson biography a story of ups and downs, antics and wild behaviour, and both successes and failures. To learn about this Virgin Knight is to understand more about a man who has refused to follow convention, who has pursued and achieved his dreams his way, and who seems to have had more fun than most along the way.

Penney-Wise: The J.C. Penney Chain Explodes

After being forced to close down his first solo venture, Penney went to Longmont, Colorado to work for Thomas Callahan and Guy Johnson, two men who would forever change his life. Callahan and Johnson owned a chain of dry goods stores in Colorado and Wyoming called the Golden Rule stores. Impressed with his work ethic, when Callahan and Johnson were drawing up plans to open a new store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, Penney was their first choice to head it up. He was made a third partner in the store and sent to the town to oversee the store’s operations.

Lesson #1: A Company Is Only As Strong As The Team Behind It
“One of the hallmarks of Onex is that since I started the company in 1983, every professional who has joined the company at our Toronto head office is still here,” says Schwartz. “We’ve had no turnover.”

Sampling Success: How Bad Chef Ramsay Makes Good

“Chefs are s*** at running businesses,” says Ramsay. “When you look at the f***-ups with Marco [Pierre White] and [Jean-Christophe] Novelli, and what they’ve done in terms of how their businesses have disappeared without a trace, it’s because they’ve tried to run those businesses themselves.” Ramsay may be the exception to his own rule. An internationally renowned chef and a successful entrepreneur, Ramsay’s global empire shows no signs of disappearing. How did this temperamental man who once dreamed of playing professional football become one of the most celebrated chefs today?

Movies by Mail: How Netflix Netted Billions

Netflix is one of the most closely watched home entertainment companies around. Why? The reason lies not only in its current success, but in Hastings’ intent to continue to roll out many of the latest technologies, including Blu-ray and video-streaming into the company’s services. But how did this once-math teacher in rural Africa create a billion-dollar business that has become a household name?

What Sequoia Capital Looks for in Startups
Elements of Sustainable Companies Start-ups with these characteristics often foretells the success of a business and the likelihood of it becoming a sustainable, enduring company. We like to partner with companies that have:

Holiday Books on Finance and Entrepreneurship
A list of recent books (partially via NDE) of possible interest to entrepreneurs and investors. To be upfront, the only ones on the list that I have read are the first two -- Schramm's and Fisher's, which are both excellent -- and so with the rest you're on your own:

Fear Is The Mindkiller
I had a long phone call with a CEO of a company on Friday. He’s had an intense few weeks and was clearly stressed out. His summary was “my stomach hurts.” My objective view of his business is that it’s fine – lots of things are going well – but there are plenty of issues he needs to address and they don’t necessarily have a short term time horizon for resolution.

“Zig Zag” Your Way to Success!
Although we'd prefer everything go perfectly straight from beginning to end, our journey to success seldom turns out that way.

Build Your Boats Before You Need Them
A lot of folks thinking about starting a business spend all their time doing the typical start-up stuff like incorporating, finding office space, and designing business cards. All good and needed steps mind you, but don’t neglect the most important step.

On the Other Hand: The Flip Side of Entrepreneurship by Glenn Kelman
This is a guest posting by Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, a company that enables people to buy homes online. He offers a counterpoint to my posting about how easy it is to make millions of dollars with "user-generated, long-tail, Web 2.0, social-networking, open-source content."

Debunking The Time Myth
I always hear people say that they don't have the time to look for a new job or consult with a personal board of advisors or make that extra call to an important contact. BS, let's get real.

How To Hit The Clutch Shots

I've known Jim Citrin for a number of years, and he is truly extraordinary as is his newest book, The Dynamic Path. Jim is one of the most powerful headhunters in the world and the most caring and generous of souls I have the honor to call a friend. A real Renaissance man. An athlete and a scholar, Jim gives us the formula for transitioning from struggling individual to legacy-creating professional and society contributor. In my own life, I have truly seen the wisdom of Jim's words. Now you can, too.

Top Ten Myths of Entrepreneurship

This is a guest post by Scott Shane as a follow up to his entrepreneurship test. He is the A. Malachi Mixon Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of seven books, the latest of which is The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By. Many entrepreneurs believe a bunch of myths about entrepreneurship, so here are ten of the most common and the realities that bust them:

Throwing Caution to the Winds
I am often asked whether entrepreneurship comes easy to me. The answer is yes and no.

The Art of Sucking Up
There is an art to sucking up. Done too blatantly it will backfire. Done too weakly, you won't get what you want. The perfect suck up contains the following elements:

Mud Season. Not.
It's (still) "mud season" in Vermont, courtesy this winter's abundance of snow. Cars and trucks, in particular, look like flying mud balls.

Build your you hub
Today’s happening small business entrepreneur has several businesses, maintains multiple web sites, blogs at a couple places, has written a book, and has profiles on half a dozen social network sites. I havn’t even mentioned that they have also thrown themselves into a couple cool new beta start-ups, projects and fun not-for-profit adventures.

Difference Makers Have Courage

When Jackie Robinson was brought to the major leagues by Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, he was the first African-American to play major league ball. At that point, Mr. Rickey carefully explained to him that he would have thousands of chances to lose his temper and get upset because of the overt racism that existed in the major leagues at that time. He warned him about the hate-mail and boos he would get because many of the white players and fans would be adamantly opposed to his presence in the major leagues.

Times Are Good
You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about when you see that headline. But I’m talking about what’s happening today, now, in the U.S. I say that times are good because there are still plenty of opportunities out there. In fact I’m a little tired of the negative cloud we seem to be under these days.

Why are People Never Taken to Task?
Tonight I was trying to get a sense of what signals were missed earlier this year, so I got to reading comments from various well-known buy-side sorts. Here is a sample from March of 2008:

How to Never Forget Anything Again
The human brain is a wonderful thing, but it’s a bit faulty as a tool for remembering things. Luckily for us (and for our frazzled brains), technology has stepped in to help out.

Jedi Mind Tricks: How to Get $250,000 of Advertising for $10,000
In December 2008, well-known marketing consultant John Jantsch asked me what my small business predictions were for 2009. This was my answer:

Make Change Stick with the Dial Up/Dial Down Game

At my company we have an exercise we call "Dial Up/Dial Down." We use it to push each other to constantly develop our strengths and improve on our weaknesses. We introduce it to clients too. You can use in your own office, in your family, with a buddy, or in any kind of group that cares about each other's success. You can do it alone, of course, but it's not nearly as effective when there's no one to hold you accountable.

The Heart of Business Strategy: 48 Things That Matter
We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that's part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer the following 48 pieces of advice for creating a winning strategy that is inherently sustainable:

What’s Your Signature Response to Problems?
I’ve written often that one of the ways to create goodwill, positive buzz and happy customers is to exceed expectations. Responding proactively to problems offers, in my opinion, one of the easiest ways to exceed expectations available.

Top Character Traits of Entrepreneurs

More and more people are quitting their jobs and starting their own little businesses. If you want to try being an entrepreneur, you should be ready for both the ups and downs of the path. You might be shocked that you suddenly do not get regular income each month compared to being an employee. However, you are more than free to increase your income generating capacity to limitless bounds. Here are some of the traits you have to possess.

Making a difference – Business Coaching with EFT
Finding new ways to speed up the resolution of emotional hang ups! Emotional Freedom Techniques is a great way to get to core issues that undermine a persons efforts to work and live in harmony.

How do CEOs think?

I travel regularly to meet our customers. Normally, we work with the VP Engineering and the CTO of product Companies. I meet them regularly and most of the time our meetings are technical discussions or discussions about specific projects we may be working on. As the market was slow, most of our customers were not in a position to discuss specific projects. Most projects were on hold, and our customers were under pressure from their CEOs and Boards to reduce costs. This meant that they were pushing us for rate discounts.

How Small Business Can Also Offer Perfect Customer Service

Internet has made business operations easy and at the same time extremely difficult too. While you have better access to target markets, your customers have similar access to your prospects. Just one dissatisfied customer can negatively influence hundreds of other people online. Poor customer service can mar your company’s growth and can even bring your business down permanently. So, if your customers are not happy with your service (and they might not tell you directly about it) – then you have a thing or two to worry about.

Honouring Our Resourcefulness

In the midst of difficult times, we can forget the special resource living deeply within us that has brought us through situations when we felt pressured or trapped or challenged. This inner resource, available to everyone, is a source of solidity and strength that lives at the core of us and can carry us through adversity. It shows up uniquely when we remember to tap into it. Knowing how to reach it is important in building a sense of self-trust.

Web Design & Development - Why the Huge Range in Pricing?

As in any industry where people specialize, the specialists can be costly and the freelancers generally cheaper. This holds true for the web development industry. Unfortunately, paying a higher price is no guarantee that your web site will be developed with the traditional creative and writing skills required for the design portion of the site. On the reverse side, using a freelancer because ‘it’s a great deal’ may get you great design but also a site that hasn’t been developed for user functionality and vice a versa. Design and web development are two distinct skill sets.

The Rising Cost of Healthcare…Can Small Business Keep Up?
Three words. Health Care Reform. Combined, they have become a hot topic in recent months. Although the thought of any reform on America’s health care will affect all Americans, a special group of interest is small business. As Capitol Hill struggles to create a bill that will satisfy all, small businesses face a critical turning point in regards to keeping up with healthcare changes.

Sales Advice in April Inc. Magazine Hits the Spot
I wouldn't normally recommend Inc. for your Sales Force but the April 2010 issue actually has some helpful articles. Their Trio of stories, beginning on page 83, have some good quotes. The first story is about a nuclear power plant salesperson who sells the right way. Here's a great quote from him that your salespeople can use if they're selling something complex or very expensive...

THE GEEK SHALL INHERIT THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Navigating life on the information highway

Factoring Offers Hope for Companies Struggling with Cash Flow
Major companies have steadily increased the lag time in paying invoices which can stretch smaller firms significantly. Consider factoring, or selling off accounts receivables for instant cash. Factoring can help companies gear up for busy seasons or survive challenging times.

Aren't You Tired of Working For Someone Else?
Are you tired of working for other people? Getting paid just enough to survive while the higher ups make more and more money? Why not try starting your own business? Follow in the footsteps of millions of other Americans as you build the bu

Managing Through Challenging Times
Tips to manage through this economy

Firing a Client: Two Different Types of Female Entrepreneurs and How They Handle Breaking it Off
When it comes time for a business owner to break ties with a client, different types of business owners will handle the situation in different ways. Nobody likes to reach a breaking point, but handling it well can provide insights and improvements for the future.

Internet Cash Flow-Finding A Cash Flow Business
After losing years of hard work and money in real estate, I decided to start a better cash flow business. There are many cash flow systems out there but none compare to what you can do with the internet. If your are interested in improving your cash flow, internet cash flow is the way to go.

The Power of Welcome Home
Eileen McDargh shares the stories that taught her the meaning of "welcome home" and teaches readers how the power of "welcome home" can engage employees and make a difference in the bottom line.

Make Money by Working on Your Computer
Computers and internet are great ways to make money from home. Especially when you have a knack of it, you can be and IT specialist, A Web Programmer, A Computer Animator, or a Writer. Even when you are not excellent in writing, you can still make money working from home. There are many websites that need web content articles, and you can be a provider.

Factoring Can Provide Funds for Businesses in a Cash Flow Crunch
The process of factoring, or selling off accounts receivables, can be a valuable lifeline when companies hit a cash flow crunch. Find the right partner by seeking out a funding firm that deals with exactly your specifications. How does factoring work and what should you ask before getting involved?

Managing and marketing your store, on-line, in internet age

Most of my customer asks me for easy and fastest way of managing the process of marketing their products on web or through their web-store. They find it as challenging as managing a retail store. To some it is like managing two stores. On-line and off-line. First of all, let us understand that a web-site or a web-store is a visual medium to connect your audience (customers). It gives an overall impression of your retail business. Your web must look clean, tidy, professionally designed and updated. In addition to that, it must be straight forward and clearly communicate the message to the visitors.

Before Starting An Online Home Business Of Your Own
There are many things that are involved in starting an online home business of your own. If you're thinking about doing this these are three important ones to carefully consider before you get started!

Do You Need Your Salespeople to Love and Respect You?

The sales manager I coached had some very human needs. When he connected with his salespeople, they shared details of their lives, plans for their weekends and he felt loved. When salespeople praised his coaching or said that his advice helped them on a sales call, he felt respected. And when he assured the higher-ups that good things were happening, he truely believed that business was on the way.

Start A Business - Out Of The Comfort Of Your Own Home

Everyone dreams of starting their own business, but surprisingly few people actually go through with it. This is uncalled for, because it is now easier than ever before to start a business and live the lifestyle that you have always dreamed of. With the internet offering more opportunities than ever before to start earning the money that will exceed many expectations, giving people the chance to have more free time, travel, and set their own hours without the demands of a boss or manager. This greatly increases one's quality of life and leads to a decrease in stress.

Network Marketing In The 21st Century
There are two types of people those who take action and those who let opportunity pass them by, which one are you? "If you're willing to do for a year what others won't, you can do for a lifetime what others CAN'T!" Entrepreneurship in Network Marketing or any other Business Adventure must have 4 things to be successful...

Latest And Hottest Franchise Opportunities
The latest and Hottest franchise is not a new food chain or gas station. It is something a little more below the radar, but ultimately the successful ingredient behind every business and non-profit looking to increase sales.

Remedy #2 for product launches & start ups -- "Plan."
A strong, well-thought-out plan is essential for three reasons: 1. It's necessary to convince management/investors they should buy into the idea 2. It helps collaborators know what's needed to accomplish the mission 3. It forces you to think through all the potential pitfalls that may arise

How You May Be the White Rabbit in Sales and Losing More Than Just Time
Are you feeling like the White Rabbit in Sales? Rushing around, late for this or just barely on time for that? Read about an important study that connects time to leads and how you maybe losing more opportunities than you realized?

How Your Negative Past Can Be an Asset According to Erica Combs

Many people feel beaten up by what has happened to them in their past. Many are down on themselves because of decisions they have made in the past that have not worked out. They think poorly of themselves because of the negative baggage they carry around. It shouldn’t be this way. We weren’t placed on the earth to be miserable, to think poorly of ourselves. Erica Combs said something about this that has really stuck with me. I think it’s a powerful statement. The purpose of this article is to try to convey that message to you.

Remedy #1 for product launches/start ups: Part 2
Beware of these 3 serious errors: 1. Incorrectly identifying your prospects' real & recognized needs 2. Failure to properly & precisely position your product 3. Overestimating/Underestimating the size of the market -- both in units & dollars

What we Think About Sales Motivation is All Wrong

The bottom line - for your salespeople - is that everyone is different; everyone is motivated by different things and for those who are clearly motivated by money, and where you have a clear goal and focus for them, their compensation should and must be commission based. When you have people who are motivated more by recognition, awards, competition, time-off, public service, or philanthropy, your compensation program should be flexible enough to compensate them in an appropriate manner too.

MLM vs. Top Tier Direct Sales Marketing

MLM businesses are a dime a dozen in today's highly competitive world. Many MLM business owners are struggling to find new reps to sign up for a number of reasons. On the other hand are top tier direct sales marketing businesses, where a onetime payment is made rather than long term residual incomes. Which is the better option? For many who are facing the struggles of the MLM market, top tier direct sales are a better option.

Home Business Marketing Tips

As with any successful business, a home business needs to be effectively marketed so that customers keep coming to buy what you have to offer. However, if you are like many that have a home business you are probably on a very limited budget. This can hinder you greatly in your marketing efforts, but fear not as there are many things you can do right now that will help you to market your home business.

M is for Marketing
If you’re just starting up in business, marketing is probably the most crucial element for you. Get this wrong and you don’t have a business. Get it right and you could take off like a rocket!

Deciding if a Franchise is Right for You
In these times of financial difficulty people are considering their path into the future. Alot of people are driven by the impulses of ambition, redundancy or even preparation for retirement and contemplating self employment through franchising as a potential way forward. Without a doubt self employment through franchising is not right for everyone.

Alternative Franchise Funding - Check it Our Service Franchises!

The proliferation of B2B franchises - service based franchises - coaching and consulting franchise opportunities has created a whole new category and level of need for financing. It's been hard enough if you were a capital based franchise (we need build-out, equipment, vehicles, etc.) For a time it seemed all small business capital had dried up. It is a bit better but not a lot. Today, non-capital intense businesses whose primary needs are working capital, capital for growth (more territory, expansion of marketing efforts, etc.) and only minor capital expenditures compared to manufacturing and retail types still may require capital in addition to their candidates capabilities. Where do they go? Where does anyone go? Are there alternatives?

The Instruction Manual for the Entrepreneur’s Mind
What are the secrets of the world's most successful entrepreneurs? Open the instruction manual for the entrepreneur's mind to find out what are the mental strategies enable to do what others only dream of.

How Important is CRM to Your Business?
“…you can find out if the goods were shipped, when they were shipped and where they are now.”

Home Based Business 101
Home Based Business Basics are Universal to Any Niche 1. Choose a niche you care about. 2. Become the solutions expert for your clients. 3. Create multiple streams of income within your business. 4. Provide only top quality products and services - integrity is everything!

Own Your Own Franchise and never get Fired Again
If you have ever been fired or know that right now, people's jobs are unstable in an unstable economy, you want to do anything you can to make sure you won't get fired. Well, if you own your own franchise, you will never get fired again. Read my article about how it is beneficial to work for yourself and build your business around you.

How to Get Your Blog Into Google News and Yahoo News
Follow these helpful guidelines to get your blogs accepted into Google News and Yahoo News. Your blog will gain instant worldwide popularity and increased traffic.

Home Business Produces Wealth
Network marketing will explode in the coming decade. The best opportunities are not to go work for some big company but to go into business for yourself an an entrepreneur.

Learn to say “NO” and mean it!
How can you confidently respond when someone makes a request you’d prefer not to accommodate? This article shares some ideas you can use to make sure you don’t find yourself doing something you’d very much prefer not to do.

MLB All-Star Game Unveils a Sales Prodigy
Tom Schaff, Sales Development Expert in St. Louis, related a very funny story about events before and after the MLB All-Star Game. Here is Tom's story:

6 Great Ways To Drive Free Traffic To Your Website
If you are in a limited budget, there are many effective ways to drive free traffic to your business website. As with anything especially your business, you need to stay consistent on a daily basis with your free marketing efforts to gain serious momentum. Very successful online marketers have used the following methods to get their business off the ground to start generation sales.

A Shiny Needle in the B2B Marketing Haystack
There's so much information available across the web. It's tough to find relevant content for your own B2B efforts, kinda like that proverbial hunt for the needle in the haystack.

Advanced Email Marketing Tactics You Must Know
If you have a sign up box on your website that invites people to sign up for your email newsletter, congratulations - you're a step ahead of many other businesses who are not doing any email marketing at all. But taking email marketing to the next level is so much more than that. Here's what you need to know.

5 Tips to Improve Your Follow-Up Sales Skills While Building Customer Loyalty
Are your following sales skills building customer loyalty or inadvertently turning off customers and reducing sales? These 5 tips may help you increase sales, improve customer relationships and demonstrate why you are the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits.

5 Ways To Keep Fit While Working At Home
When you work at home, there are many great benefits. However, staying fit is not so easy when you work out of your own home. It's very easy to spend a lot of time working at your computer and often you just don't find the time to get the exercise that you need.

Avoid Burnout: Do the Limbo Regularly
Too often we approach life and work as a lone athlete rather than seeking support and objective feedback from like-minded colleagues, friends and advisers. Many roles, many goals and many distractions can steal your joy and wear you down. Take a cue from the old game of Limbo and learn three simple steps that can hep you turn intention into action while also helping you avoid burnout.

Move your 'but', then move your 'butt'

Stop making excuses and exercise – Move your body daily. How many New Year resolutions did you make this year? Focusing on fitness and health made it into the top ten most common new year’s resolutions with only spending time with family and friends to beat it. When we did some research with GU Health 2 years ago 76% of people said that they would exercise each day and yet the reality was that only 22% really did and 71% said that it was a lack of time that stopped them from doing it.

Cold Calling in the 21st Century: The New Rules, Part I
In terms of direct marketing, cold calling is actually one of the most targeted, efficient and effective ways to reach potential customers. Nothing beats having a real conversation with a prospect.

Why You Need To Use A Professional Email Marketing Tool For Your Business
Email marketing is alive and well, thank you very much. IF it's done correctly. Learn why all email marketing services are NOT created equal, how you can avoid being labeled a spammer and how to deploy set it and forget it strategies that will automate your sales process. Here's what it takes to bring your email marketing efforts to the next level.

The Potentials of Confidence Factor!
The power of human mind and confidence is inexplicable. So, self trust is very inevitable to succeed in one’s life. Have you ever pondered over who holds you back when you are not confident enough to pursue your goal? It’s not you really but who you think you are. Your self-trust empowers you to think and act beyond your limitations and perhaps take risks.

The 4 Best Marketing Methods for your Online Home Business

The success of any affiliate program is a result of the marketing strategies implemented by the affiliate marketer. Now, while many programs give the affiliate the impression that their marketing resources are the best, and that all the affiliate had to do is store a few text links and banners on their website in order to make money, there are few circumstances where this happens. And it generally occurs with large sites that receive ample traffic.

2 Sure-Fire Tips for Self Motivation
If you want to be successful, then you need lots of Brain Energy and lots of Body Energy. This article shows how to achieve that.

The Economic Recession Blessing
How to recession proof yourself, and noting the difference between the successful elite and the regular professional.

Survey shows Internet users prefer PR to ads

In my previous article, I wrote that public relations may be better positioned than advertising to weather the current storm of major newspapers in financial trouble some of which are going completely digital. An interesting survey was released recently, which not only seems to support this point, but provides an interesting perspective into the reading habits of young people. "Ragan’s PR News Daily" noted an ARAnet poll based on polling by Opinion Research Corporation, showing that Internet users prefer PR over advertising.

How big should your business be?
Many independent entrepreneurs are content to be one-person companies. These people, called the "spare room tycoons," feel that it is more important to be ourselves than to be big, as long as our business is successful and we are prosperous. After all, history has shown repeatedly that one person can change the world.

Does Your Marketing Plan Live in a Drawer?
Your marketing plan was created for a reason. The motivation being to meet revenue targets, increase market share, attract more ideal clients. How can you help make sure the plan gets put into action? Click here for tipa on turning plans into action.

How To Build Your Email List
So you want to make money on-line…either selling your own products or someone else’s as an affiliate. Who are you going to sell to? Your website visitors? Yes, you will get a few buyers, if you are advertising a product or resource they want. A better way is to build up a customer email list whereby you email free advice and special offers.

How To Create An Email Marketing Campaign That Works
You’ve built your website / blog – great! You’ve added a ‘free marketing signup’ giveaway product to your site…in return for the visitors email address. You are keen to build a large email marketing list. So you’re ready to implement your email marketing campaign…you can’t wait to sell, sell, sell.

Getting New Managers to Deliver Quickly

As companies start transforming their businesses in response to changing market conditions, they need their people to deliver. Every CEO faces two main people challenges. The CEO's first challenge is to develop current high performers into good leaders who can put in place a multiplier effect on their talents. The CEO's second challenge is to induct new talented people and get them off the block quickly. Organizations that have a strong process culture can get their new manager's off the block quickly and with less pain.

Home Based Business Flourishes During Recession

Home based business flourishes during hard economic times. Entrepreneurs are ahead of the recession and its crushing effect on big corporations. In Canada, small and medium sized business is the hope of the future. More emphasis is being placed on entrepreneurial endeavors to stimulate a sagging economy. Governments are offering tax benefits and incentives to develop work at home initiatives. There has never been a better time to look at alternative income choices. Average working men and women, in the spirit of the entrepreneur, are stepping up to the plate to beat the odds and start their own home based business.

How Big Do You Need To Be?
Should entrepreneurs aspire to creating another Amazon, Dell, Google, or Microsoft? Or, should we be content as a one-person company?

The Magic of Social Media and Why Your Organization Can’t Ignore it

The Internet has evolved from a curiosity, to a two-way communication platform dominated by academia, and then to a commerce platform that has threatened to make conventional shopping and “business as usual” obsolete. But with that transformation came an example of the law of unintended consequences: consumers became jaded. Barraged by email, banner ads, pop-ups, pop-unders and multi-media online infomercials, the consumer felt more like a commodity than ever. And they started fighting back. Internet users banded together on primitive discussion boards where they found a voice. They were able to communicate with each other, make recommendations, air complaints, and generally provide instant feedback on the quality of goods and service being provided across the ‘Net as well as by traditional land-based (brick and mortar) vendors.

Good Times, Bad Times
Good times and bad times are like day and night. They alternate and affirm the passage of time.

Making the Phone to Ring
A source of anxiety for most self-employed professionals is that the phone does not ring enough. And it rings, it may not be from potential clients and customers.

Your First Client Is Yourself
Finding new customers is like kissing thousands of frogs. Doing all that kissing is a royal pain in the behind but no entrepreneur can afford to stop doing it.

Don't Make Assumptions About Sales Candidates
I have previously shared many instance of sales candidate assessments coming to life with their emails, voice mails and interview antics following the taking of our assessment. While the following email is another example of that, it is an even better example of what happens when a skeptical client finally realizes it.

Play Ball!
Random Thoughts on Life and Entrepreneurism

How small businesses owners can make this their best year ever
Here are my top tips to help small businesses owners make this year their best year ever...

How to make your business thrive in a floundering economy

It's no secret that today's economy is struggling. People are losing money, and businesses are scrambling to keep costs low and sales high, while the consumer is spending less than normal. Your business could possibly have taken a hit as well these days, and you are scaling back operations in order to keep afloat. But if you implement "smart marketing", you CAN make your business thrive in a floundering economy. Here's how...

9 Ways to Leverage Your Radio or Teleseminar Interview
Learn 9 simple strategies to maximize radio and teleseminars to grow your business and reach a global audience.

Earn Extra Income Working from Home
Have you had enough of trying to make ends meet at the end of every month? How about putting your skills to good use and setting up a home business online to earn extra income

14 Brilliant Quotes and How They Relate to Online Marketing
Are You Looking for Some Inspiration? How About Some of the Most Brilliant Quotes Ever Said by the Greatest Thinkers in History?

How Home Staging Compares to Other Business Types
The Staging Diva®, compares home staging to other business types in consideration of the current economy.

The Endangered Working Male
This economic crisis is not like any we've experienced before. It will fundamentally change the makeup of the workforce for many years to come.

Home Business Expert: How To Create Your Own Mastermind Group
Forming your very own mastermind group where there will be others who do the same kind of job or are in the same business has many advantages. Such groups may have two members and in some cases, there are more than two who form the group. Everyone who is a part of the group has a lot to gain in terms of professional knowledge and experience from each other.

Analyze Your Sales Performance
Many people are taking action, but they have an ineffective strategy for achievement. They are running east looking for the sunset. The top sales professionals are taking consistent action, and they are constantly monitoring and analyzing their performance.

Hottest Small Business Opportunities For The Couple
There are all sorts of different classifications of businesses that help you decide which one will be perfect for you, but here's a unique one: business opportunities for the couple. If you're planning on starting a small business with your significant other, take a look at what are most likely some of your best options.

The Startup investment paradox - why less is more!
Given that many business investors are on their way to the poor house, most start-ups are not going to secure investment until they become real companies. Here are five reasons why they may be better off.

Build Value Not Discount To Avoid Becoming A Commodity in Your Industry During Good or Bad Times
Many sales professionals to small business owners to C Level executives believe that by discounting their products or service during good or bad times that they can increase sales and maintain customer loyalty. However, what these folks are really doing is just the opposite because they have turned their products and services into a commodity.

Make the TIME
It is not all WORK. Networks and relationships contribute to but they need TIME as well.

Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol
Think about it….Dating websites are packed. Professional matchmakers are showing profits greater than landowners. Michael Phelps is getting more publicity with paraphernalia around his neck than 8 gold metals. Local corner liquor stores are packed every night. The economy may be struggling, but these industries continue to flourish.

Why an Outstanding Resume is Not Enough to Get an Interview: Reason 5
Many people think that a powerful, well written résumé is sufficient to give them the edge needed to secure a job interview. While an outstanding résumé is absolutely necessary, it may not always be sufficient. This is the fifth in a series of short articles which outlines the factors, other than your resume, which could determine whether you will be amongst the chosen few from the multitude.

Why an Outstanding Resume is Not Enough to Get an Interview: Reason 2

Many people think that a powerful, well written résumé is sufficient to give them the edge needed to secure a job interview. While an outstanding résumé is absolutely necessary, it may not always be sufficient. This is the second in a series of short articles which outlines the factors, other than your resume, which could determine whether you will be amongst the chosen few from the multitude.

Future of Hotel Call Accounting
Call accounting plays a vital role in hotel/motel management and is as important and beneficial for hotels/motels today as it ever was, and in so many ways.

Entering the ‘go-go’ zone with your eyes wide open

The Go-Go zone is that place a business can find themselves in that sounds like heaven. In reality, it is more often hell. It is the place where you have more business than you know what to do with, where it is all you can muster just to get orders processed and shipped. Keeping customers happy gets left by the wayside. This article is my effort to help you understand the pitfalls of this seemingly idyllic situation, and help you prepare for it if and when it occurs.

Why Companies Go Bust – 10 Tips To Rescue It
More companies are going bust in this economic downturn. You need to read this before you become one of them.

How to overcome the fear of owning a business?

It’s a mixed feeling - both scary and exciting to own a business, especially when you are a first time business owner. The fear of failing can be overwhelming and in most cases prevents an individual from buying a business. However two things can help you overcome the fear and they are knowledge and self confidence. Sounds simple? It is simple. By the time you finish reading this article, you will know how to obtain the right information, ask the right questions, and how to think like an entrepreneur. All these actions will give you the self confidence you need to become a business owner.

From "Good to Great" as a person. Here's my personal answer.
I'm in the middle of answering this email from a reader: "I have a personal question for you that may help other subscribers deal with the ups and downs of being in the sales profession. Honestly, how long did it take YOU to become a 'good' salesman?" William.

The American Dream, Part II of II
This is part II of a two part article. The first part looks at the questions a prospective business owner must consider when pursing "The American Dream". In part II we will compare buying a franchise or existing business to starting a business from scratch.

Assessing Your Progress
I'm not a big fan of New Years resolutions. Sure I've made dozens of them, all with good intentions and a bit of magical thinking, believing this time the resolution will stick. Maybe a few have, but generally these wishful self-promises end up broken. And when that happens my self-esteem suffers.

List Building – Using The Power Of Article Writing.
After looking after your customers, list building should be the most important business task that you undertake. Without customers you are lost. With repeat customers you are more profitable. Your list is so important that a large responsive list can be place on your balance sheet. So how can you build your list using article writing?

Home Business Expert: 50 Best Resources For Home Based Business
Here are some resources to make your home business a grand success. Thousands of people across the world are starting off and becoming successful you can too.

Home Business Expert: Importance Of Consistency & Persistence
The only way you fail is if you give up. Don't quit!

Home Business Expert: 10 Easy Tips For A Home Based Business
Staring a home business is a great idea because this gives you the opportunity to become your own boss and amass a great amount of wealth as well.

How to recession-proof your business with smart marketing
Follow these powerful marketing tips to recession-proof your business.

Marketers – How Not To Sell Anything By Annoying Your Visitors
Ok you’ve worked hard at your web site and your products that you want to sell. You’ve got a steady stream of visitors but are still not selling anything. Are you annoying your potential buyers? How?

A Magazine - How Do I Get It Established?
You have decided to start up a magazine, but how do you get started, find subscribers and more importantly obtain paying advertisers so that you stay profitable?

Top 7 Sales Skills to Increase Sales in 2009 Regardless of the Economy
Being a top sales producer extends beyond your technical sales skills into your personal or self leadership skills. You must have knowledge of the results from your marketing and selling actions along with incredible self leadership skills. These seven sales skills can potentially deliver far more results than any technical selling skill such as fact finding to closing.

“Don’t Quit”
A note of encouragement from AWAI member, Clyde McDade.

7 ways to get better service from your Promotional Products Supplier
Promotional products are an essential part of your overall marketing mix. Almost every company uses promotional items, business gifts, or giveaways in some form or other, and this article is designed to enable you to get better end results from your preferred promotional products distributor.

SEO versus PPC – The Famous Debate
I often get asked the question: “Which is better Search Engine Optimization or Pay per Click Advertising?” The truth is that both are excellent online marketing strategies and it all really depends on your existing circumstances, goals and budget.

The 8P’s of Persuasive Presentations
There are two major job responsibilities of a CEO. One is Chief Strategist. The other is Chief Story Teller. Just look at Apple’s, Steve Jobs, who excels at both. Considering that many people would rather die than speak in public, including CEO’s, comes this concise article detailing the 8P’s of Persuasive Presentations. Never be Boring Again!

Too Persistent?
Persistence is a good thing...until it becomes annoying.

TOP 10 WAYS TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Ten terrific strategies for treating yourself with more kindness.

From The Ashes Rose The Phoenix

Many businesses are playing defense to protect themselves from the downturn in the economy. How many of you are cutting muscle and not fat? Are you being too nearsighted about where your company is positioned and not looking for opportunities to increase market share? Is your team prepared to take on the business of failed competitors? Would you be able to handle that business if the opportunity should arise? Does the condition of your balance sheet and credit lines put you in a position to "buy out" a competitor for cents on the dollar? Get out your binoculars and start looking ahead and set a goal for where you want to be once this shakes out.

Make Big Money The Real Story
This article address a question posed to me by one of my candidates - Hi Rick....quick question.....in talking with a friend this weekend......wondering: is there an opportunity to earn a six figure income with a franchise that is strictly home office-based?...all communication done by phone, email, fax, UPS etc.......

Sales Training – Top Salespeople Gifts for Managing Chaos
Of little consequence to salespeople who find their days hectic, is how official is and who declared November 9 Chaos Never Dies Day. Some salespeople know chaos. No salesperson has any less time then another salesperson, but to some, a day extender would be a welcome gift.

Keeping Your Employees Focused in an Uncertain Economy
In these tough times it's becoming more and more difficult to keep employees focused and motivated. This article gives business owners a few tips on how to keep employees motivated and focused in these tough economic times.

Website A Must For Every Business That Wants to Increase Sales
What does it take to be successful in today's business marketplace? Are you confident that you have all the essential elements necessary to increase sales?

Don’t Just Survive…Thrive!: Tips for Financial Success in Tough Economic Times
Believe it or not, it is possible not only to survive, but to thrive in tougher economic markets. And guess what...if you learn how to profit even in “down” markets, than think how well you will flourish when things inevitably get better again. Learn from the pros and the families that have withstood generations of ups and downs in the economy.

Netbooks, Cloud Computing – Work, Play Without Boundaries
While netbooks hold a world of promise for people with longer battery life and lower price they also represent a downside that must be considered when they are not connected to the cloud.

The Ups And Downs Of Selling
The ups and downs of selling make these challenging times for professional salespeople. Selling is never easy and now it's downright difficult.

Thrashing: The Productivity and Company Killer
Every company struggles balancing long term strategy with achieving short term goals. But many companies easily fall into the trap of taking on too many short term projects. Taken too far, it can paralyze a company and keep you from achieving your goals. Learn to recognize signs of thrashing and how to keep it from draining the life out of your company.

Sales Coaching Tip: Change Your Role to Increase Sales
Is your role as seller keeping you from increasing sales?

First, You Take Care of Everyone Else
Think Golden Retrievers are always gentle? Our Golden killed our new puppy. Can the Golden be saved? How do we go on, with this guilt and loss?

What I Learned From Leon Ho About Long-Term Goal Setting

When I interviewed Leon Ho, Creator and Owner lifehack.org, we chatted as if we had known each other for years but in fact, it was the first time we had spoken! The interview was great and time flew by. Leon shared his knowledge on such subjects as building customer relationships, making that jump from Technician to Manager, shaving hours off his working day, long-term goal setting, delegation skills, sharing his passion for productivity and, of course, blogging.

Are Your People Skills Killing Your Profits?
If you listen to the conversations from people who are not self-employed you'll notice they will often discuss the problems they have with management. Having two members of my family, my daughter Tia and husband Tama working as employees, many of our daily catch-ups are centred on this topic.

Arbitration Clauses in Franchising
As in any business partnership, the ups and downs along the way somewhat resemble those of a marriage. Sometimes everything is going smoothly and the parties involved couldn’t be happier.

Legitimate Work at Home Business? Naw...Cant be!
Looking for a legitimate work at home business has been compared to looking for a needle in a haystack. Now while I will admit that it can be a little time consuming finding that perfect business opportunity that meets all your personal needs and is indeed genuine, there are in fact many legitimate work at home businesses to choose from. You just have to know what to look for.

Why Do Referral Efforts Fail?
I’ll assume that you are likable, have integrity, and know your stuff. Over my years of working as a professional and working with professionals, I’ve identified four CRITICAL keys to referral success. Most professionals fall short in one or more of these areas.

Enterprise Readiness Keeps Success within Your Sights
Whether you are starting a new technology company or launching a new product, you typically have less than two years before you have to be profitable. For most, that means they have to be able to sell their products to large enterprise customers. Once the clock is ticking, many crack under the pressure. But those who embrace enterprise readiness are beating the clock and their competition.

Internet Business Advertising Scams - Guaranteed Sign Ups
Are you an affiliate marketer who is interested in paying for guaranteed sign ups to help grow your downline? This article will explain what you will receive in return for your money.

Small Business Tips: Insuring Your Business Success

Over Easter there was a large fire at Coorparoo in Queensland, where a number of small businesses were burnt out. This is a devastating event for any business, but what made it more so was that a number of the small businesses were not insured. What was the effect? Let me tell you about one small business and the effect this has had on them. This small business was a service business; they were starting to get a brilliant reputation in the industry and had a number of major contracts on the go. They had employed a number of staff to work in the business and things were looking rosy. Insurance was on their to do list, but as things got busier and busier it never seemed to make it to the top of the list. As their information was critical to their business, they regularly backed up all of their computers.

Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In Ranks

What my eldest offspring doesn’t understand is I have a great life. In fact, I am living the life I have always dreamed of living. My life just happens to revolve around Planet Business. I am an entrepreneurial addict, a business junkie. Business is my chocolate, my Krispy Kreme donut, my nicotine, my caffeine, my crack. Maybe I’ll start a 12 step program for entrepreneurs who want to kick the habit and charge a cover to get in. Hi, my name is Tim, and I’m an entrepreneur.

6 Ways To Fund Your New Business
Here are a few of the most common ways to finance a new business. All methods have pros and cons and some (or most) may not work for a specific situation. In any case one must always thoroughly investigate the ups and downs of any new venture before jumping in it with both feet.

Publish a Book and Leave Your Competition Behind
By writing a book, you fit all the pieces of your expertise neatly into place. Your insights and lessons learned combine to fill your book’s pages resulting in an alluring record of your current value proposition. While much of this can also be said about writing articles, a book ups the ante, strutting your stuff thoroughly, glamorously and uniquely.

Why you should consider franchising
If you dream of one day owning your own business but are discouraged by the idea as it seems too daunting and risky, franchising could be the answer you are looking for.

Finding Your Cash Cow
Most of us are looking for the way to generate more money on a consistent basis. We’re looking for the “cash cow”, “money machine”, “passive income” or the “money magnet”. There are literally millions of ways to do this. What is most important is that you make the distinction that YOU are the money generator, not the business or the investment.

A Letter To America
The USA is undergoing a huge shift in its ability to create a better society, country and world. It starts in the home, in the workplace and centres of leadership. I applaud your bravery and would like to share my view from afar with the intent of assisting those wishing to make this transistion faster and smoother.

Double Marginalization and the Decentralized Supply Chain Revisited

Without a doubt, the concept of double marginalization and the resultant issues associated with understanding and addressing its impact represents one of the more complex elements of an organization’s supply chain practice. As the point of convergence of multiple stakeholder interests and the seemingly disparate (some would say contradictory) strategies that define today’s partinioned enterprises, the intent of the article when it was first published was to create an awareness of a concept that up until that point was not widely recognized, let alone understood by the majority of purchasing professionals.

6 Surefire Ways Copywriting Can Build Your Business
AWAI Wall-of-Famer, Heather Robson, reveals six ways people can use their copywriting skills to get clients.

5 marketing activities a day keeps the feast or famine away

One of the biggest complaints I hear from small business owners is that they don’t have time to do marketing. What this probably translates into though is that they don’t like marketing; they find it frustrating and they’re not sure where to start. And if I even dare to suggest that ideally you should be doing five marketing activities a day, most owners would tell me that this is unrealistic and there is absolutely no way that they can do this.

Life can sometimes feel like a roller coaster
Life is full of highs and lows, some people experience life like a gentle merry-go-round. While for mostof us it is like the Big Dipper, full of ups and downs and a constant apprehension of what lies around the next corner.

7 Tips On How To Increase Your Online Profits

If you want to earn money online, you will need high volumes of traffic to your website in order to increase your sales. If there is no traffic to your website, then you will not make any sales and you will not succeed in your goal to earn money online. No matter what product or service you are selling online, it is important for you to advertise your website so that you get some traffic and increase your chances of making sales.

Book Review: Waiting For Your Cat To Bark?
The subtitle of this book (”Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing”) gives a hint about its purpose: how to appeal to your prospective customers. While the book can be enjoyed by any small business owner, the information is a bit more sophisticated than the usual “here’s some simple ways to improve your business’ marketing”.

How long did it take me to get good?
Dear Jeffrey, I have been a subscriber of your Sales Caffeine email magazine for about six months and have read your Little Red Book of Selling. I have a personal question for you that may help other subscribers deal with the ups and downs of being in the sales profession. Honestly, how long did it take YOU to become a "good" salesman? William

The Apprentice - Shock Firing. Sir Allan Makes A Big Mistake!
Be warned – this posting reveals who has been ‘fired’ from the ninth episode and the rest of the post is only my observation and opinion based upon 60 minutes of edited TV, nothing more.

Have You Backed Up Today
You may have a qualified tech support person that will install an automatic remote backup for you. But if you don’t, I recommend you contact my tech, Michael Glanton. He provides quality service and you may reach him at michael.glanton@g2web.com or by phone at 214-256-4893.

The Pity Party
A story from STORIES OF SHIFT: How to Deal with Difficult Situations and Change Them to Positive Opportunities

Have you had your annual check-up?
With the business enviornment changing so quickly it's important to not only do annual check-ups, but quarterly check-ups.

Can You Afford To Be Too Busy?

Wouldn't it be great that every time someone sends you an invoice for their services/products you pay for it immediately? The cash is always sitting in your bank account and no matter what bills you receive you can always pay on time. The theory is if you're good at 'budgetting', you should be able to handle your 'cashflow'. So that leads me to this week's story. I had an outstanding payment for a supplier which was overdue. The only reason I hadn't paid it was the fact that I had a couple of queries about the work that had been done. Knowing that the business owner was disorganized in the way he ran his business, I wanted to check that everything on that invoice was correct. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had overcharged for work already paid for.

Home Based Internet Business: What’s Your Attitude?
It has been proven repeatedly that with the wrong attitude, one will not stay successful in their business very long. Unbelievably, attitude is the strongest determinant of your personal financial success.

The turning point – when you start to become successful
When people join a Multi-Level Marketing or Network Marketing business for the first time they're often told to just follow the system. If you follow the system, they're told, you will make money. Well - as I discovered, that's not always true. And there are other considerations you need to take into account as well.

What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chain/purchasing professionals today? (Survey Result 15)
There are many factors both internally as well as externally that are affecting supply chain/ procurement practices today. From the growing talent vacuum to the continuing lack of collaboration between Finance, IT and Purchasing relative to corporate initiatives. What in your own experiences and opionions are the top 3 issues that procurement professionals face?

What is the next Hot module coming up in SAP?
Member Question: What is the next Hot module coming up in SAP I am in the field of SAP for the past 4 years in the technical field focussed more on conversion, I want to move to functional area and want to know what is the emerging Hot module in SAP which holds promise in the market.

Are You Too Smart to Succeed

When we worked in our educational consulting business in Germany many years ago, parents came to us because their kids were not able to get the grades they wanted. When working with these children we saw the following scenario played out over and over again. These children weren’t slow learners or stupid, they were actually too smart. When taking an exam these brilliant students would see so many complex ways to answer test questions that their answers were far too complicated. The teachers who evaluated their test could not make sense of these advanced answers and the students received failing marks as a result. Similar to these children many business owners do not realize how much more they can accomplish when they simplify their thinking and focus only on one idea at a time.

Website is an Ad
Your website's home page is an advertising tool. We have just seconds to engage a visitor so that they take the time to go through the site to learn more about your products or services.

Managing Your Virtual Workforce Effectively
Overcome virtual workforce related challenges and increase business productivity and profitability Most entrepreneurs having a virtual workforce continuously find themselves struggling with issues of communication, trust, work control, productivity and accountability. Here are some points to ponder if you wish to make your virtual workforce more efficient.

Run Business 2.0 with Web 2.0 Tools

Do you know that apart from blogs, bookmarking, and Orkuts there are many other Web 2.0 tools that you can utilize within your organization? The basic premise of Web 2.0 is the use of tools online, rather than on your desktop. It enables collaboration with a larger audience and encourages knowledge sharing – particularly useful for small businesses and start-ups. Here are some Web 2.0 tools that you can use.

The Truth and Lies of Owning Your Own Business

While the trend continues to rise with millions on the entrepreneur playing field, more and more people find themselves contemplating whether starting a business is right for them. Initially there is the draw to the "romance" and excitement of carving out your own niche and creating a place of your own in the business world. But after a while, reality sinks in and this great plan you had can slowly begin to become a burden. You may discover it is not what you had anticipated. Your passion begins to fizzle and you can hardly entertain the thought of continuing on.

How Healthy Is Your Business?
Cholesterol is often described as the silent killer. High cholesterol is bad for us and yet there are no symptoms. There is no pain; there is no nausea; there is no shortness of breath. That is why doctors regularly check our cholesterol.

How To Achieve Success With An Internet Based Business
Are you still trying to find a way to make your internet based business work? Are you jumping from one internet business to another in your quest for success?

Six Life-Threatening Marketing Problems

90% of start ups don’t make it past their first year; while 90% of the survivals don’t live long enough to celebrate their 5th birth day. I don’t want to paint a gloomy picture here, but it’s the brutal fact all entrepreneurs have to face. As an education marketer, I have dealt with hundreds of business owners struggling to promote themselves through conventional advertising, and I can honestly tell you that the #1 reason for failure is lack of cash reserve to bring product to market, in another word, it’s a marketing problem. Here’s a checklist of six symptoms, and if left untreated, could develop into life threatening marketing problems.

Why Most Ads, Sale Letters, and Websites Don’t Turn A Profit?

Most ads don’t work because they are like the enlarged version of the company’s business card. If you want to make money with your advertising, you got to structure your ad exactly how you would conduct a sale presentation face to face with a potential buyer. Remember that those who buy a four inch drill are really buying four inch holes. People aren’t interested in what you have for sale; they are mainly interested in solving a problem. Before starting your sale pitch in print, you got to be successful at “selling” the problem first. Think it this way…what is one reason most of your customers are buying from you?

Your billion $ idea
How do you know if your fabulous new business idea will make you fabulously rich? Read this insightful article to test your startup idea.

HOW TO FOCUS YOUR WAY OUT OF A TOUGH SPOT (AND AVOID CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE PART III)
HOW TO FOCUS YOUR WAY OUT OF A TOUGH SPOT (AND AVOID CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE PART III)

Double Marginalization and the Point of Ideal Price Viability

Referencing my last post (Double Marginalization and the Decentralized Supply Chain, August 9, 2007) double marginalization “DM” is defined as the “exercise of market power at successive vertical layers in a supply chain.” The problem that arises as a result of DM is tied to an impetus to mark up the product’s price above marginal cost. The sequence of mark-ups “leads to a higher retail price and lower combined profit for the supply chain.” In short, DM drives the paradoxical outcome of higher buy prices with lower sell profits.

Double Marginalization and the Decentralized Supply Chain

Double marginalization is defined as the “exercise of market power at successive vertical layers in a supply chain.” Dating back to Lerner (1934) the problem that arises as a result of double marginalization is tied to an impetus to mark up the product’s price above marginal cost. According to a 2005 Caltech paper (Vertical Integration of Successive Monopolists: A Classroom Experiment) the sequence of mark-ups “leads to a higher retail price and lower combined profit for the supply chain than would arise if the firms were vertically integrated.”

How to Increase Sales by 20%
The managers in your dealership must have a written job description with clearly defined responsibilities and expectations. Having specific goals for the department is required. Daily action plans for selling, training, appointments, one-on-one coaching, save-a deal meetings, deal structuring, follow-up, etc will increase sales by 20 percent without spending more for advertising.

Selection Considerations for Leadership Development/Coaching

My research and that of others has found that leadership development and succession planning is by nature a long-term effort and it is far from being a risk-free activity. Additionally, like most things of importance, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Too often organizations jump into leadership development and succession programs without giving thought to key issues and the criteria to be used.

How To Clean Out The Clutter
This time of year, it's important to clear out the clutter and start the year with a fresh approach. I completely detoxed my own office over the break and couldn't believe how much stuff I had accumulated that I didn't need. I do my regular mini-clean-ups weekly and the major ones around 4 times a year.

A Spotlight On Commitment
How committed are you to everything you do or are you just playing lip service to the whole thing? How can you back the sentiment up with effort? Do you really want to achieve it?

Action is All
Think about it: How badly do you want to double your sales? What are you prepared to do? By your FRUIT you will be known.

What does 2008 have in store for small businesses?
What does 2008 have in store for small businesses? Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking has a look at this topical issue.

New Gadget - Things You Should Do?
You've just purchased, or received, a new portable device, a gadget. Other than learning to use it what are some of the things you ought to do? Here are just a few things.

How To Make 2008 Your Best Business Year Ever
Start your year with specific and measurable business goals. For example: I want to earn $200,000 in 2008. Or, I want my newsletter distribution to double.

Time Management Strategy - Stop, Take A Step Back & Reevaluate
If things are getting on top of you and you feel like there simply aren't enough hours in the day, it may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your situation. With the pressures of modern life it is easy to lose focus on the goals that are genuinely important to us. If this sounds like you, it is probably time to stop and take a closer look at how you really want to spend your time.

How Do African Businesses Get Start Up Capital?
Hi again, sorry again for the long pause. It seems to be occurring more than what I would like, but things have been moving at whirlwind pace recently. Anyway, this is a question for all of you entrepreneurs, business students, professors, and others in the know on the inner workings of start ups in Africa. How did you or someone that you know get start up funds?

You wont necessarily get customersjust because you have a website
You won’t necessarily get customers…just because you have a website. Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking shows you how to turn this around.

Tips for the Novice Traveler
So you've gotten the call. You are going to be traveling for your business and you are a novice. Maybe you've done it last year, but that was last year...

Is Rude Irritating You?
This article asks people to look at their behaviors to determine whether their actions might be rude towards others.

Email vs Direct Mail

You can still make a fortune in direct mail without ever selling anything on the Internet - BUT ... You can NOT make any real money on the Internet without using Mailorder Marketing. On the Internet, your customers have to FIND YOU. -- That means you must continually market your web site ... using every trick in the guru's book ... to generate traffic to your site. -- Even then, all you're doing is preaching to the choir. Using known demographic profiling, in the mailorder business, you FIND YOUR CUSTOMERS ... then, tell them what you have and how they can get it from you on the Internet.

Tips on Creating New Resolutions and Personal Goals
Tips on how to make your New Year Resolutions Work and align them with your personal goals

The purpose of startup courses
Starting a business and got lots of questions in your head. Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking argues the case for business start-up courses.

Learning Organizations is Action Oriented

Execute. Implement. Stop talking and do something. Actions speak louder than words. If you have a learning organization, it needs to be a doing organization too. No matter how you put it, the evidence is rolling in: The distinction between so called “old economy” and “new economy” companies are overblown. Regardless of industry, knowing what to do isn’t enough. Those companies and business units that dominate their competitors win by turning knowledge into action.

Methodology : Exploring entrepreneurship in a declining economy

A sample of 160 entrepreneurs located in different parts of Borno State in the North Eastern part of Nigeria was randomly selected from a list of small businesses furnished by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The ministry is the main agency responsible for registering small and medium enterprises and addressing issues related to their development in the state. Since the focus of this study was on business start-ups after the economic decline had began, only those entrepreneurs who had started their businesses after 1983 qualified for inclusion in this study.

III. STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA:TRENDS AND CHARACTERISTICS
There has been a considerable development in the African capital markets since the early 1990s. Prior to 1989, there were just five stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa and three in North Africa.

Divorce Expectations
Divorce can be compared to riding a roller coaster. There can be many ups and downs and tight curves. How do you manage this?

Leading with Your Strengths

Making a difference starts with banishing negativity from life. Changes happen when we start focusing on our achievements and surrounding ourselves with people who support rather than disparage us. As they have unique perspectives to offer us, we, in turn have unique strengths that they need. This is what I call 'social economy' — we 'supply' them what we have to offer and 'demand' that they offer to those in their circle their unique best.

Work At Home Internet Businesses: Name No-No’s
Whether your business is a work at home Internet business or staffs several hundred in a downtown skyscraper you’re going to be online to succeed, and you’re going to have to come up with a good business name and a good domain name. Here are some things to avoid in naming your work at home online business prior to setting up your Internet site...

What Really Motivates Employees

Each week I travel the country speaking to groups of leaders at meeting and conferences. No matter where I go I’m asked the same question time and again by leaders ranging from frontline managers to CEOs , “How can I motivate my employees?” I’ve heard this question repeated thousands of times. However, what the person asking usually means is “How can I manipulate my employees to do what I want them to do?”

The Positive Power of Saying "NO"
Niquenya D. Fulbright, a Chicago area executive life coach, professional speaker and corporate trainer, examines the subject of setting boundaries in the workplace. She identifies some reasons why business professionals have trouble saying "no" and identifies why it is important for them to do so.

Affiliate Businesses Four Tips For Building Your Websites Around Affiliate Programs
This article outlines four basic steps that even a beginner can use to create a successful website dedicated to promoting affiliate business programs within a specific niche.

Getting Ready for the Transition from an Employee to a Business Owner
Most people nearing retirement age begin to think about what they can do next. Even though you may want to start a small home based business, but you could be stuck wondering if you are too old for entrepreneurship after retirement. You may even think that over 60 is an age that is too old for getting into entrepreneurship.

Direct Marketing Toolbox
In this article, we highlight some excellent direct marketing resources that any entrepreneur can use to assist them in their direct marketing efforts.

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