There is no question that advertising is key to the success of any business – large or small, new or old. Without advertising and marketing practices a business simply cannot succeed or last long. To ensure long and lasting success, a business must engage in marketing and advertising in some way. If you have heard the old adage that “it takes money to make money” then you know that advertising does not come for free. A business must consider an advertising campaign budget to keep their numbers up.
It has been said that the best form of advertising is word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising is free and lends an air of credibility to the business. Usually, word of mouth advertising comes from happy and satisfied customers and clients that wish to share their positive experience. Most of the time, they tell their friends, family, and coworkers about a particular product or service and in turn new customers come to the business.
While word of mouth is a wonderful and free way to get the word out about a business, it is not the “be all end all” of advertising. Advertising with television spots, radio spots, on billboards, and in print are all still very effective ways to get the word out. These methods of advertising are quite expensive and not as realistic for many small businesses.
A more economical yet effective way for a business to advertise is online. The Internet is such an integral part of daily life now that it is hard not to advertise on the World Wide Web. The ways in which a business can advertise online are seemingly endless. There are several types of email marketing campaigns, banner advertising, link advertising, websites, and viral marketing. Usually, to engage in a successful email marketing campaign, a business will send past customers an email to announce new products or specials on their website or in their store.
Many business owners engage in strategic networking with other business owners in an effort to advertise their businesses. Strategic networking is a way for business owners to meet each other, get the word out about their company, and even to expand their resources and business prospects.
One of the newest ways to get the word out about your business and successfully advertise is that through social networking. Social networking is much like strategic networking in that it is usually free and occurs through meeting and discussing issues and products. However, social networking is done through modern media such as websites, blogs, and the Internet community. It is highly effective and inexpensive.
Regardless of the method of advertising used, a business must use constant advertising campaigns to keep success on the horizon.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
6 Tips to Regularly Increase Sales
Every business runs on the amount of financial stability that they have. Without it, no company would be able to maintain their level of expertise and precision. There are several ways that a company can increase their sales on a regular basis. The most important tip to increasing business for the company is to have a variety of products and services that are highly needed in that area. By adding new products and services or having trial periods with possible new products, the company will draw in new clients or bring in repeat customers.
Tip number two is to sell a higher quality of products. Customers will feel more secure using the company if they know that the products will last for a longer period of time and will with stand up to being tested. Having higher quality products can give one company a lead over others that sell close to the same products.
Having lower prices can also persuade customers into choosing one company over another. Being able to save money, even by a few dollars, can lead a customer to feel that the company in question is giving them a fair deal. Many of us have been over charged on a product and well begin to have harsh feelings towards the store.
A fourth tip is to have proper advertising. Advertising can make or break a company. The more a company advertises the larger of a customer basis they will secure. There are several ways to advertise, such as on the internet, in local newspapers, on television or even fliering local neighborhoods. Word of mouth is another great advertisement. Every happy customer is sure to tell a friend or family member about their experience. When that friend goes to find a company who does the same services, they will look towards that company as a possible option.
Having great customer service will make a customer’s experience worth while. A good experience when purchasing a product, especially when the item is expensive, can cause a customer to return to the store for future products or accessories. Making a customer feel that they have all of the support and attention they can, is an important business strategy that can make each customer feel that they are the center of attention. Customer appreciation is also very important to increasing sales. A customer is more likely to return when they feel that their needs are being taken care of and the company truly wants to have their business. One of the ways to show a customer that they are appreciated is to offer special deals to repeat customers or offer special percentages off storewide.
The way to increase sales is to make customers happy and to make the company better known in the community. Increasing sales will mean that the company will remain in business for a considerable amount of time and profits will soar.
Tip number two is to sell a higher quality of products. Customers will feel more secure using the company if they know that the products will last for a longer period of time and will with stand up to being tested. Having higher quality products can give one company a lead over others that sell close to the same products.
Having lower prices can also persuade customers into choosing one company over another. Being able to save money, even by a few dollars, can lead a customer to feel that the company in question is giving them a fair deal. Many of us have been over charged on a product and well begin to have harsh feelings towards the store.
A fourth tip is to have proper advertising. Advertising can make or break a company. The more a company advertises the larger of a customer basis they will secure. There are several ways to advertise, such as on the internet, in local newspapers, on television or even fliering local neighborhoods. Word of mouth is another great advertisement. Every happy customer is sure to tell a friend or family member about their experience. When that friend goes to find a company who does the same services, they will look towards that company as a possible option.
Having great customer service will make a customer’s experience worth while. A good experience when purchasing a product, especially when the item is expensive, can cause a customer to return to the store for future products or accessories. Making a customer feel that they have all of the support and attention they can, is an important business strategy that can make each customer feel that they are the center of attention. Customer appreciation is also very important to increasing sales. A customer is more likely to return when they feel that their needs are being taken care of and the company truly wants to have their business. One of the ways to show a customer that they are appreciated is to offer special deals to repeat customers or offer special percentages off storewide.
The way to increase sales is to make customers happy and to make the company better known in the community. Increasing sales will mean that the company will remain in business for a considerable amount of time and profits will soar.
Friday, July 27, 2007
4 Tips To Keep Your Business Popular
After being in business a while are the calls starting to dwindle? Do your workers have too much time on their hands? It is time to pump some new blood into the work place. Use some imagination and make things start to happen again. Here are some tips to help make that happen. Try them and see if they will help.
Introducing a new product or service expands the possibility for sales. Making the new product/service a side product/service to your existing product/service can increase sales for both items. Be careful when introducing the product/service, that the old product/service doesn’t become obsolete. A side product/service to another product/service allows for contact with former customers to offer the new product/service. Checking out your competitors to see what additional items they offer can inspire new ideas for your products and services.
Advertising is an area in which changes will cause others to take notice of your business. You might want to consider using a mascot or new spokesperson for advertising. If you don’t want to go that far, just change the colors on the advertising. Millions of people tune in the Super Bowl each year just to watch the new advertisements. This is a good example of how change can draw business. Children and animals draw a lot of attention to advertising. Of course, there is always sex appeal to attract new customers.
Offering gifts and discounts can increase sales. Everyone loves a bargain. The gifts don’t have to be expensive. Many years ago, companies offered free glasses and towels as incentives to buy a product. It caused a lot of repeat customers trying to set a complete set of glasses or towels. Discounts and sales are always crowd pleasers. Bargains are hard to find, thus making them drawing cards for businesses. Mailing coupons to entire neighborhoods or cities, gets your business name and phone number in the hands of a number of people that you normally might not reach.
Expanding your horizons can expand your business. Try expanding slowly at first, such as citywide or statewide. If that doesn’t work go global. The internet can help make this happen. Start a website and put it on several search engines. Offer other websites advertising on your website for advertising on their sites. Online access helps over come the delays of time zones. It also makes your company accessible 24 hours a day. To streamline service, create a product specific website with regular updates, produce/service news, photos and scheduling information.
No one knows for sure if a business is going to succeed or not. By using available tools, such as advertising or the internet, gives the company an extra edge. Change keeps the company from becoming stale and outdated. If you aren’t sure what and how to change your company, there are numerous sources available. Articles, websites, software and work shops are just some of these sources. You have started the business, treat it like a baby, and put everything you have in it to make it succeed.
Introducing a new product or service expands the possibility for sales. Making the new product/service a side product/service to your existing product/service can increase sales for both items. Be careful when introducing the product/service, that the old product/service doesn’t become obsolete. A side product/service to another product/service allows for contact with former customers to offer the new product/service. Checking out your competitors to see what additional items they offer can inspire new ideas for your products and services.
Advertising is an area in which changes will cause others to take notice of your business. You might want to consider using a mascot or new spokesperson for advertising. If you don’t want to go that far, just change the colors on the advertising. Millions of people tune in the Super Bowl each year just to watch the new advertisements. This is a good example of how change can draw business. Children and animals draw a lot of attention to advertising. Of course, there is always sex appeal to attract new customers.
Offering gifts and discounts can increase sales. Everyone loves a bargain. The gifts don’t have to be expensive. Many years ago, companies offered free glasses and towels as incentives to buy a product. It caused a lot of repeat customers trying to set a complete set of glasses or towels. Discounts and sales are always crowd pleasers. Bargains are hard to find, thus making them drawing cards for businesses. Mailing coupons to entire neighborhoods or cities, gets your business name and phone number in the hands of a number of people that you normally might not reach.
Expanding your horizons can expand your business. Try expanding slowly at first, such as citywide or statewide. If that doesn’t work go global. The internet can help make this happen. Start a website and put it on several search engines. Offer other websites advertising on your website for advertising on their sites. Online access helps over come the delays of time zones. It also makes your company accessible 24 hours a day. To streamline service, create a product specific website with regular updates, produce/service news, photos and scheduling information.
No one knows for sure if a business is going to succeed or not. By using available tools, such as advertising or the internet, gives the company an extra edge. Change keeps the company from becoming stale and outdated. If you aren’t sure what and how to change your company, there are numerous sources available. Articles, websites, software and work shops are just some of these sources. You have started the business, treat it like a baby, and put everything you have in it to make it succeed.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
4 Reasons Customer Loyalty Is Vital To Your Business
Have you ever wondered why some businesses may set up shop in areas that might not be very conducive to business and do quite well, while others are placed at major thoroughfares where walk by and drive by traffic are all but guaranteed, yet within six months they fold and the place goes up for lease or sale? The truth of the matter is that success is not always determined by your location – although it does play a vital role – but more often than not it is dictated by customer loyalty.
Here are four reasons customer loyalty is vital to your business:
1. First and foremost is the fact that a loyal customer is a repeat customer. This person will know about your business practices, about what to expect from your goods or service, the advantages and the disadvantages, and she or he will do business with you in such a way that it is a mutually satisfying transaction.
2. As you establish a relationship with your customer, you are also establishing a relationship with the customer’s family. Thus, it is not uncommon to have the wife bring in the dry cleaning for the family and turns her mother, mother in law, aunt, and best girlfriend on to your business. As the husband is sent one day to pick up the dry cleaning he becomes familiar with the business, and he will tell his brother, business associates, and others who are looking for a drycleaner. Thus, you are suddenly becoming a commodity which is being shared with others.
3. While family referrals are great, business referrals are even better. If you are a dry cleaner, you will want the dress maker down the street to recommend your services to its customers. Similarly, if there is bridal shop with which you may have some professional ties, then these business referrals are simply priceless! Customer loyalties – when you have other business owners or clerks shopping at your store or utilizing your service – are quite often the gateway to a great number of new walk in customers.
4. Yet the fourth and perhaps most important reasons why customer loyalty is vital to your business rests in the fact that many major purchases are not made during the initial contact. For example, if you are a furniture store, you might have someone come in looking for a computer desk. While these may be expensive – depending on the materials – by and large these items are small fish. Yet if the consumer is satisfied with the product, the delivery, the setup and also the price, the odds are good that she or he will be back when it is time to furnish the nursery, buy that new wall unit, or acquire that bedroom set that was saved up for!
Here are four reasons customer loyalty is vital to your business:
1. First and foremost is the fact that a loyal customer is a repeat customer. This person will know about your business practices, about what to expect from your goods or service, the advantages and the disadvantages, and she or he will do business with you in such a way that it is a mutually satisfying transaction.
2. As you establish a relationship with your customer, you are also establishing a relationship with the customer’s family. Thus, it is not uncommon to have the wife bring in the dry cleaning for the family and turns her mother, mother in law, aunt, and best girlfriend on to your business. As the husband is sent one day to pick up the dry cleaning he becomes familiar with the business, and he will tell his brother, business associates, and others who are looking for a drycleaner. Thus, you are suddenly becoming a commodity which is being shared with others.
3. While family referrals are great, business referrals are even better. If you are a dry cleaner, you will want the dress maker down the street to recommend your services to its customers. Similarly, if there is bridal shop with which you may have some professional ties, then these business referrals are simply priceless! Customer loyalties – when you have other business owners or clerks shopping at your store or utilizing your service – are quite often the gateway to a great number of new walk in customers.
4. Yet the fourth and perhaps most important reasons why customer loyalty is vital to your business rests in the fact that many major purchases are not made during the initial contact. For example, if you are a furniture store, you might have someone come in looking for a computer desk. While these may be expensive – depending on the materials – by and large these items are small fish. Yet if the consumer is satisfied with the product, the delivery, the setup and also the price, the odds are good that she or he will be back when it is time to furnish the nursery, buy that new wall unit, or acquire that bedroom set that was saved up for!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Should Relatives Go into Business Together?
There are many asking if relatives should go into business together and the answer is elusive for many reasons. Depending on how closely related they are and how close they are personally can have a direct effect on their ability to work together as equal partners in a business. Different people have different personalities and the person with the most dominant personality will end up being in charge, whether planned or not, which can cause friction when running a business together.
If the relatives have known each other a long time and are well acquainted, they should already know who the stronger of two is, but in a business managing by intimidation is never a good performance standard. Before entering the business climate, they have to talk through the good and bad of being in business together, knowing that if they end up unable to work things out it will now only wreck a friendship, but can cause discord within the entire families with people taking sides in any dispute. However, they will still be related when it is over.
Being in a business as a “family” may have worked for the so-called mob, but in that scenario there was a firmly entrenched order and violations of that order had very swift and severe consequences. Not the management flow chart that operate a successful business. If persons hoping to go into business together cannot agree on the basics of who will be in charge of what, then the answer is no, relatives should not go into business together.
Family members with similar personalities often find themselves unemployed and view going into business together as a viable means to support their families. Understanding the strengths and weakness of both, they can use that to establish a management chart to determine who will be in charge of what aspect of running the business. They may also find there are portions of running the business with which they have no experience and may need another person to help fulfill those needs.
By sitting down and outlining the needs of starting a business and what each person can bring to the business table, they will be better prepared to deal with any issues that arise with being related in operating the same business. There will be conflicts as there are in any business relationship, but the fact they are related should never enter any business-related discussion. Additionally, there must be the attitude of what happens at work stays at work. Complaining to the spouse or other family members can lead to inner-family arguments that probably are not worth fighting over in the first place.
One of the biggest problems faced when relatives are in business together may be in scheduling. When there is a family function, both people will most likely want to attend and as owners of the business should not be a problem, but there may be times when the needs of the business require one to be available, the need to work out who will go and who will work may rock the relationship boat.
Should Relatives Go into Business Together?
There are many asking if relatives should go into business together and the answer is elusive for many reasons. Depending on how closely related they are and how close they are personally can have a direct effect on their ability to work together as equal partners in a business. Different people have different personalities and the person with the most dominant personality will end up being in charge, whether planned or not, which can cause friction when running a business together.
If the relatives have known each other a long time and are well acquainted, they should already know who the stronger of two is, but in a business managing by intimidation is never a good performance standard. Before entering the business climate, they have to talk through the good and bad of being in business together, knowing that if they end up unable to work things out it will now only wreck a friendship, but can cause discord within the entire families with people taking sides in any dispute. However, they will still be related when it is over.
Being in a business as a “family” may have worked for the so-called mob, but in that scenario there was a firmly entrenched order and violations of that order had very swift and severe consequences. Not the management flow chart that operate a successful business. If persons hoping to go into business together cannot agree on the basics of who will be in charge of what, then the answer is no, relatives should not go into business together.
Family members with similar personalities often find themselves unemployed and view going into business together as a viable means to support their families. Understanding the strengths and weakness of both, they can use that to establish a management chart to determine who will be in charge of what aspect of running the business. They may also find there are portions of running the business with which they have no experience and may need another person to help fulfill those needs.
By sitting down and outlining the needs of starting a business and what each person can bring to the business table, they will be better prepared to deal with any issues that arise with being related in operating the same business. There will be conflicts as there are in any business relationship, but the fact they are related should never enter any business-related discussion. Additionally, there must be the attitude of what happens at work stays at work. Complaining to the spouse or other family members can lead to inner-family arguments that probably are not worth fighting over in the first place.
One of the biggest problems faced when relatives are in business together may be in scheduling. When there is a family function, both people will most likely want to attend and as owners of the business should not be a problem, but there may be times when the needs of the business require one to be available, the need to work out who will go and who will work may rock the relationship boat.
If the relatives have known each other a long time and are well acquainted, they should already know who the stronger of two is, but in a business managing by intimidation is never a good performance standard. Before entering the business climate, they have to talk through the good and bad of being in business together, knowing that if they end up unable to work things out it will now only wreck a friendship, but can cause discord within the entire families with people taking sides in any dispute. However, they will still be related when it is over.
Being in a business as a “family” may have worked for the so-called mob, but in that scenario there was a firmly entrenched order and violations of that order had very swift and severe consequences. Not the management flow chart that operate a successful business. If persons hoping to go into business together cannot agree on the basics of who will be in charge of what, then the answer is no, relatives should not go into business together.
Family members with similar personalities often find themselves unemployed and view going into business together as a viable means to support their families. Understanding the strengths and weakness of both, they can use that to establish a management chart to determine who will be in charge of what aspect of running the business. They may also find there are portions of running the business with which they have no experience and may need another person to help fulfill those needs.
By sitting down and outlining the needs of starting a business and what each person can bring to the business table, they will be better prepared to deal with any issues that arise with being related in operating the same business. There will be conflicts as there are in any business relationship, but the fact they are related should never enter any business-related discussion. Additionally, there must be the attitude of what happens at work stays at work. Complaining to the spouse or other family members can lead to inner-family arguments that probably are not worth fighting over in the first place.
One of the biggest problems faced when relatives are in business together may be in scheduling. When there is a family function, both people will most likely want to attend and as owners of the business should not be a problem, but there may be times when the needs of the business require one to be available, the need to work out who will go and who will work may rock the relationship boat.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Teen Business That Grow Into An Adult Business
Having a small business can be very challenging as well as enjoyable for kids. More than ten years ago, selling lemonades, cleaning lawns, delivering newspapers, selling cookies and other forms of enterprises keep teenage entrepreneurs busy. As the years pass by, young entrepreneurs evolved and some graduated from the traditional businesses of selling cookies and cleaning lawns to become full fledge business people. As these enterprising kids grow up, most of these enterprising kids continued their business and become successful at it.
One of the best examples of a teenage business that grows into an adult business is that little girl who used to sell cookies around the neighborhood and grew up to be the proud owner of two successful bakeshops across town. From earning a few coins selling cookies each summer around the neighborhood, that little turned her business into something that brings about thousands of dollars in profit every year. The secret of her success is that at an early age, she was already exposed to the nitty-gritty of finding good suppliers of ingredients for her small business and had established a good relationship with these suppliers. Furthermore, when she was still a teenager and do not have any pressing needs to earn a living on her own, she had all the time to experiment in baking different types of cookies and pastries that she was able to come up with some really good recipes.
Advantages of Starting Young
There are many advantages of getting into business at a very young age. Teenage entrepreneurs learn their trade early and had more time to hone their business skills. After years of engaging in their teenage businesses, these young people develop a system of their own when it comes to handling their business affairs. These systems will then play a vital role when the teenager later on decide to pursue his or her teenage business and turn it into a full fledge adult business. According to studies, most young entrepreneurs used the skills that they learned early on to expand their business when they get older.
Another advantage of starting a business at an early age is that teenage entrepreneurs gain loyal customers over the years. It is not uncommon for people around the neighborhood to feel an affinity for the young entrepreneur thus they will not really think twice when it comes to supporting the younger entrepreneur. Since teenage entrepreneurs have already established rapport and good relationships with their clients, keeping these clients will not really be hard for them. In fact, some loyal clients will prove to be very useful when it comes to advertising the business expansion of the young entrepreneur. Note that a good word from a very satisfied customer will always bring in more business.
One of the best examples of a teenage business that grows into an adult business is that little girl who used to sell cookies around the neighborhood and grew up to be the proud owner of two successful bakeshops across town. From earning a few coins selling cookies each summer around the neighborhood, that little turned her business into something that brings about thousands of dollars in profit every year. The secret of her success is that at an early age, she was already exposed to the nitty-gritty of finding good suppliers of ingredients for her small business and had established a good relationship with these suppliers. Furthermore, when she was still a teenager and do not have any pressing needs to earn a living on her own, she had all the time to experiment in baking different types of cookies and pastries that she was able to come up with some really good recipes.
Advantages of Starting Young
There are many advantages of getting into business at a very young age. Teenage entrepreneurs learn their trade early and had more time to hone their business skills. After years of engaging in their teenage businesses, these young people develop a system of their own when it comes to handling their business affairs. These systems will then play a vital role when the teenager later on decide to pursue his or her teenage business and turn it into a full fledge adult business. According to studies, most young entrepreneurs used the skills that they learned early on to expand their business when they get older.
Another advantage of starting a business at an early age is that teenage entrepreneurs gain loyal customers over the years. It is not uncommon for people around the neighborhood to feel an affinity for the young entrepreneur thus they will not really think twice when it comes to supporting the younger entrepreneur. Since teenage entrepreneurs have already established rapport and good relationships with their clients, keeping these clients will not really be hard for them. In fact, some loyal clients will prove to be very useful when it comes to advertising the business expansion of the young entrepreneur. Note that a good word from a very satisfied customer will always bring in more business.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Small Business Organizations To Join
For the small business owner, keeping up with all of the available benefits can be difficult. In addition, how does one meet the requirements for a minimum number of employees in order to find good rates on insurance? Unlike the larger companies, it's not as simple as calling someone and knowing you qualify to participate. Many insurance plans require a minimum number of participants in order to offer group rates, so oftentimes the small business owner is left in the cold.
This is the point where a small busine4ss can take advantage of some of the various organizations that exist just for them. Various organizations offer different benefits for the small business organization, including those who come together as an association so that small business can take advantage of benefits previously only offered to large businesses. For examples, some credit unions offer insurance benefits to their members at group rates, while labor unions quite frequently have plans already in place for their members, no matter the size of the individual organization.
Each existing small business organization has its own function and plan for helping the small business owner. Some offer training in order for the business to grow in its knowledge of the product it produces, while others offer working capital to allow the business to develop and flourish. The government operates some of these organizations, while others are privately owned or non-profit organizations that are funded by major corporations. Whatever the needs may be for a small business, there is an organization there to meet those needs. The difficulty is not in an organization being in operation to assist with those needs, but for the small business owner to have the capability of locating these organizations when he needs the information.
Thanks to the Internet, this process has become easier, but for a start up business, access to online sources may not always be an option. Fortunately for those who do not have online access, or choose not to utilize it, various books and publications are available to assist a small business in locating organizations that are specifically geared toward helping small businesses succeed.
When you re just starting out, it is very difficult to know all of the places to search for information, so another good source of information is your local university. Quite often the business development centers of the universities offer many different services to small businesses in the private sector. This includes information about start up funding, different types of financing based upon the scope of the business and its ownership, and training in essential areas of business ownership. In some areas, these classes are even sponsored in cooperation with the Small Business Administration and other small business development organizations.
This is the point where a small busine4ss can take advantage of some of the various organizations that exist just for them. Various organizations offer different benefits for the small business organization, including those who come together as an association so that small business can take advantage of benefits previously only offered to large businesses. For examples, some credit unions offer insurance benefits to their members at group rates, while labor unions quite frequently have plans already in place for their members, no matter the size of the individual organization.
Each existing small business organization has its own function and plan for helping the small business owner. Some offer training in order for the business to grow in its knowledge of the product it produces, while others offer working capital to allow the business to develop and flourish. The government operates some of these organizations, while others are privately owned or non-profit organizations that are funded by major corporations. Whatever the needs may be for a small business, there is an organization there to meet those needs. The difficulty is not in an organization being in operation to assist with those needs, but for the small business owner to have the capability of locating these organizations when he needs the information.
Thanks to the Internet, this process has become easier, but for a start up business, access to online sources may not always be an option. Fortunately for those who do not have online access, or choose not to utilize it, various books and publications are available to assist a small business in locating organizations that are specifically geared toward helping small businesses succeed.
When you re just starting out, it is very difficult to know all of the places to search for information, so another good source of information is your local university. Quite often the business development centers of the universities offer many different services to small businesses in the private sector. This includes information about start up funding, different types of financing based upon the scope of the business and its ownership, and training in essential areas of business ownership. In some areas, these classes are even sponsored in cooperation with the Small Business Administration and other small business development organizations.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
How To Write Up A Yearly Business Plan
It's important to have a business plan for your business each year so that you can see what your needs are for the coming year and to show yourself and the bank how far you have progressed since your original business plan was written. A new business writes a business plan in order to show their intentions to operate and to provide information to financial institutions in support of start up capital and funding for other operations. In most cases, the banks want to see three to five year projections showing your intention for the funding. Depending on the scope of the business, they may only finance the first year, and will want additional proof that the business is progressing along the terms of the original business plan before they will advance any more funds.
Since you are not able to really show much in the way of financial records, having a business plan also shows potential creditors what you anticipate for the future of your business. They can then compare this to your original plan to verify if you are moving along as planned. They do not want to be stuck with an uncollectible loan by advancing funds to a business that has no potential of becoming successful. Even if you are a little behind your original projections, they are able to see if the potential is there for improvement, and may even make suggestions for helping you reach your original goals. On the other hand, if your progress is way behind original projections, that can be a sign that your business is failing, so it's likely that you will not receive any more funding until you can prove the business is on its way to profitability.
It's normal for any business to take three to five years to turn a profit, but if you aren't showing improvement, that is an area for concern. As you enter into your second year, you should be showing less of a loss and more of a profit even if you don't yet show a net gain in income. Even if you aren't looking for additional funding, you should look at this as a warning sign and start making some changes so that you can your business what you originally intended. It may mean your prices are too low, or your expenses are excessive for the amount of business you have and need to be cut. For instance, if you are selling products from a website, investigate what others are charging for the same type of items to see if you are in line with the industry standard in pricing. If you sell services, find out what others are charging for the same service—maybe your prices are too high, and thus people are going elsewhere for the same service. In reality, these should have been checked first, but some people in their haste to begin a business forget the most important step of price comparison.
Since you are not able to really show much in the way of financial records, having a business plan also shows potential creditors what you anticipate for the future of your business. They can then compare this to your original plan to verify if you are moving along as planned. They do not want to be stuck with an uncollectible loan by advancing funds to a business that has no potential of becoming successful. Even if you are a little behind your original projections, they are able to see if the potential is there for improvement, and may even make suggestions for helping you reach your original goals. On the other hand, if your progress is way behind original projections, that can be a sign that your business is failing, so it's likely that you will not receive any more funding until you can prove the business is on its way to profitability.
It's normal for any business to take three to five years to turn a profit, but if you aren't showing improvement, that is an area for concern. As you enter into your second year, you should be showing less of a loss and more of a profit even if you don't yet show a net gain in income. Even if you aren't looking for additional funding, you should look at this as a warning sign and start making some changes so that you can your business what you originally intended. It may mean your prices are too low, or your expenses are excessive for the amount of business you have and need to be cut. For instance, if you are selling products from a website, investigate what others are charging for the same type of items to see if you are in line with the industry standard in pricing. If you sell services, find out what others are charging for the same service—maybe your prices are too high, and thus people are going elsewhere for the same service. In reality, these should have been checked first, but some people in their haste to begin a business forget the most important step of price comparison.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Why Buying A Building For Your Business Can Be Profitable
When you have a business, one of the first decisions that you are going to have to make is where you want the business to be based out of. Lots of people start with the business in their homes, and then move somewhere else as their business grows and expands. This is often a good idea because as the business grows and expands, there are new things that can be done with more space. This means that as your business gets bigger, you might want to move to a bigger space, so that your business can flourish and continue to do so.
One of the questions you are going to have to ask is whether you would like to buy a building or rent. There are many suggestions that say that both of these are good ideas, but there are a few reasons that you might want to consider buying a place over renting a place.
The first reason that buying a place is a good idea is that you are going to be able to simply make payments on the building in the same way that you would be paying rent, yet the payments are actually going to be going towards owning the building. This is often the route that people go. When they look into a building for their business, they take out a loan to buy the building. Usually, they can find a way to pay about what they would be paying in rent, but have this money go towards paying back the loan. This is a great way to gain property and also to gain assets.
The other reason you might want to buy a building for your business is that when you buy a building, that means that it is yours, and you can do whatever you want to it. When you rent, you have to talk to the landlord about changing the carpet or fixtures or even painting the walls. This means that you are going to have to be under someone else’s control when it comes to these things, and it might be that you wan to control them for yourself. If you buy the building, you can feel free to do whatever you want with it. Because many businesses thrive on people coming to the store and being at their establishment, you can feel free to change the building in any way so that your customers will feel more comfortable and will be more happy when they are there, and therefore they’ll be more likely to buy things. Also, if you purchase a building for your business, it means that no matter what happens, you have that building. If you decide not to have your business anymore, you can sell the building and hopefully you will be able to make a profit on it.
One of the questions you are going to have to ask is whether you would like to buy a building or rent. There are many suggestions that say that both of these are good ideas, but there are a few reasons that you might want to consider buying a place over renting a place.
The first reason that buying a place is a good idea is that you are going to be able to simply make payments on the building in the same way that you would be paying rent, yet the payments are actually going to be going towards owning the building. This is often the route that people go. When they look into a building for their business, they take out a loan to buy the building. Usually, they can find a way to pay about what they would be paying in rent, but have this money go towards paying back the loan. This is a great way to gain property and also to gain assets.
The other reason you might want to buy a building for your business is that when you buy a building, that means that it is yours, and you can do whatever you want to it. When you rent, you have to talk to the landlord about changing the carpet or fixtures or even painting the walls. This means that you are going to have to be under someone else’s control when it comes to these things, and it might be that you wan to control them for yourself. If you buy the building, you can feel free to do whatever you want with it. Because many businesses thrive on people coming to the store and being at their establishment, you can feel free to change the building in any way so that your customers will feel more comfortable and will be more happy when they are there, and therefore they’ll be more likely to buy things. Also, if you purchase a building for your business, it means that no matter what happens, you have that building. If you decide not to have your business anymore, you can sell the building and hopefully you will be able to make a profit on it.
Monday, July 9, 2007
When To Know Your Business Needs Revamping
Is your business steadily growing or is it slowly falling apart? Are profits less than last year or the year before that? Is the market for your services still out there? Are you not getting the business like you did before? Maybe it is time for a change or just some revamping what you already have.
Check out the basics and see if they can be improved. Is your web site and/or brochure colorful and interesting? Do they focus on your business and it's services? That's okay, but does it really provide an understanding of a client's concerns or issues? Try reading them as a future client, instead of a business owner. Would you use this business based on the brochure or website?
Another area to examine is your marketing team. Do they explain your services in depth?
Are you matching your competitors? Are they "cold" calling new prospects each month? Do they continue to follow up with them on a regular basis? Are they explaining the uniqueness of your company?
Making sure you are focusing on solving the client's issues and situations is more important, than making your company look good.
Advertising is another area to check for "staleness". Is it flashy and very loud? Is it bland and boring? Shake it up a little bit. Client testimonies with a ring of honest, make for good advertising. Pictures of finished projects speak volumes about your work.
Another avenue to use is having someone from your marketing or sales team present papers at various business related events. The paper doesn't have to be specifically about your company, but will get your company name out there to the public. When giving a paper, just make sure it is not loaded with facts and figures, but establish a mutual understanding of the issue.
If your business has been revamped and you are not bringing in the clientele that you were prior to the need to revamp, then maybe it's time to consider a change in the products or services that you offer. It may be beneficial to you to add a small service to your original company. This small increase maybe the key to returning the customers to your front door. It is possible that you may offer services that are time consuming, that are not necessary, and do not bring in the revenue that you want. These are services that you might consider dropping from your business.
Revamping your personal business maybe just what you need to return bring in return
customers. It may also bring the business out of the financial slump you are in. This may be your chance to feel rejuvenated and get excited about owning your own business again.
Check out the basics and see if they can be improved. Is your web site and/or brochure colorful and interesting? Do they focus on your business and it's services? That's okay, but does it really provide an understanding of a client's concerns or issues? Try reading them as a future client, instead of a business owner. Would you use this business based on the brochure or website?
Another area to examine is your marketing team. Do they explain your services in depth?
Are you matching your competitors? Are they "cold" calling new prospects each month? Do they continue to follow up with them on a regular basis? Are they explaining the uniqueness of your company?
Making sure you are focusing on solving the client's issues and situations is more important, than making your company look good.
Advertising is another area to check for "staleness". Is it flashy and very loud? Is it bland and boring? Shake it up a little bit. Client testimonies with a ring of honest, make for good advertising. Pictures of finished projects speak volumes about your work.
Another avenue to use is having someone from your marketing or sales team present papers at various business related events. The paper doesn't have to be specifically about your company, but will get your company name out there to the public. When giving a paper, just make sure it is not loaded with facts and figures, but establish a mutual understanding of the issue.
If your business has been revamped and you are not bringing in the clientele that you were prior to the need to revamp, then maybe it's time to consider a change in the products or services that you offer. It may be beneficial to you to add a small service to your original company. This small increase maybe the key to returning the customers to your front door. It is possible that you may offer services that are time consuming, that are not necessary, and do not bring in the revenue that you want. These are services that you might consider dropping from your business.
Revamping your personal business maybe just what you need to return bring in return
customers. It may also bring the business out of the financial slump you are in. This may be your chance to feel rejuvenated and get excited about owning your own business again.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Why take self improvement courses?| Wanting the life of your dreams vs. having the life of your dreams.
Copyright © Chris Omeltschenko
http://www.SimpleNetProfits.com
If someone were to ask you “Are your living the life of your dreams?” If you’re like most people you would respond with a “NO!” Or a version of no that goes something like - well if I didn’t have THESE kids or THIS husband or THAT past - or if I was only a little smarter or better looking - or any number of other circumstances that they believe are the reasons for them not having the life of their dreams. The saddest version of no is when the person has become so resigned and cynical that they can’t even imagine things any other way. They say things like “no one lives the life of their dreams” or “no-one is happy” or “it’s just not possible” or “I gave up on that dream years ago.” The point is most people blame something outside of themselves for them not having the life of their dreams. It’s something they want but they don’t see how they can have it because they believe their CIRCUMSTANCES are actually real.
Looking at most people’s lives there are patterns of behavior. Week to week, month to month, hour to hour people do the same things. These behaviors get repeated over and over and if you were to ask them why they are doing those things they’ll tell you “Because that’s how I’ve always done them.” Or “That’s just the way there supposed to be done.” Patterns like: get up go to work send the kids to school, get home watch TV, etc.
So let’s analyze for a second. When someone tells you they are doing something because that is they way they’ve always done it, so what is controlling that action? If you look closely, you can see that it is the past.
The past is dictating their current action. Can you see that if you live your life from “that is the way I’ve always done it” that you are trapped in a cycle, doomed to keep repeating what you’ve always done over and over? In that cycle there is no room for anything different. And if you aren’t living the life of your dreams now you won’t ever. Pretty depressing, huh?
That is where self improvement courses come into the picture. What these courses do is disrupt those patterns of behavior. Most courses do this by pointing out the patterns as patterns. And once you see them for what they are you have a choice to behave as you have always behaved or change course and do something new. Sometimes it can be scary to do something new. And sometimes that something new doesn’t get you what you want. But the next time the same situation comes up, you then have another choice and can try something new and this time it might work.
Being free from the past gives all kinds of new openings. These new openings allow you to begin to ask the question “Since I am now free, what could my life look like?” or to begin asking the question “How good do I want it?” Or “What would the life of my dreams look like anyway?” Once you start to have openings like these you can then start writing down different action to take that will get you closer to the life of your dreams.
I say write it down because you have to disrupt the patterns. They are very strong. When you begin to live your life having your actions given from the life your dreams versus the past, you are now living life on your terms. You are the boss, not the patterns. But the patterns want to control you and they will put up all kinds of resistance. They will lie and tell you to be afraid, tell you it won’t work, make fun of you etc. All to keep you comfortable, safe and under their control.
By writing your actions down and scheduling yourself you are saying “This is the life I want and these are the actions to take that are consistent with that.” Any other actions that you take that are not what you say are past based and not consistent with that future life of your dreams. Of course you schedule fun time and relaxation time. I doubt the life of your dreams would be all work!
When you schedule inside this new paradigm you will want to schedule for accomplishments. We all resist to do’s, and you don’t want to be resisting the life of your dreams. So to avoid this, schedule your calendar full of accomplishments. Don’t schedule “go to the grocery”, schedule “I have had a wonderful time picking up the nourishment for my family creating the building blocks of the body I want.” Which one of those two is more inspiring? Scheduling from accomplishment is a skill you can learn in a self improvement course. The components are put in the past tense as if it has already been done and write it as something that you have accomplished already. Another example would be “I have had a wonderful afternoon driving with my children home from school” versus “pick up kids form school.” See www.missioncontrol.com for more details on scheduling for the life of your dreams and scheduling from accomplishment.
Taking these types of courses will have you see that you can have the life of your dreams and will have you see that it is the context that you hold everything in your life that determines the quality of your life. I will be discussing context versus content in another blog. But for now I think you can now see the value of self improvement courses, and how they can help you begin the process of living the life of your dreams.
About the Author: Chris Omeltschenko is a dentist in the Cincinnati area who is a big advocate of self improvement courses and people living the lives of their dreams. Owning a business is a big part of that and he offers help for people looking to work from home. Check our his blog at www.ChrisOmeltschenko.blogspot.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.SimpleNetProfits.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.SimpleNetProfits.com
If someone were to ask you “Are your living the life of your dreams?” If you’re like most people you would respond with a “NO!” Or a version of no that goes something like - well if I didn’t have THESE kids or THIS husband or THAT past - or if I was only a little smarter or better looking - or any number of other circumstances that they believe are the reasons for them not having the life of their dreams. The saddest version of no is when the person has become so resigned and cynical that they can’t even imagine things any other way. They say things like “no one lives the life of their dreams” or “no-one is happy” or “it’s just not possible” or “I gave up on that dream years ago.” The point is most people blame something outside of themselves for them not having the life of their dreams. It’s something they want but they don’t see how they can have it because they believe their CIRCUMSTANCES are actually real.
Looking at most people’s lives there are patterns of behavior. Week to week, month to month, hour to hour people do the same things. These behaviors get repeated over and over and if you were to ask them why they are doing those things they’ll tell you “Because that’s how I’ve always done them.” Or “That’s just the way there supposed to be done.” Patterns like: get up go to work send the kids to school, get home watch TV, etc.
So let’s analyze for a second. When someone tells you they are doing something because that is they way they’ve always done it, so what is controlling that action? If you look closely, you can see that it is the past.
The past is dictating their current action. Can you see that if you live your life from “that is the way I’ve always done it” that you are trapped in a cycle, doomed to keep repeating what you’ve always done over and over? In that cycle there is no room for anything different. And if you aren’t living the life of your dreams now you won’t ever. Pretty depressing, huh?
That is where self improvement courses come into the picture. What these courses do is disrupt those patterns of behavior. Most courses do this by pointing out the patterns as patterns. And once you see them for what they are you have a choice to behave as you have always behaved or change course and do something new. Sometimes it can be scary to do something new. And sometimes that something new doesn’t get you what you want. But the next time the same situation comes up, you then have another choice and can try something new and this time it might work.
Being free from the past gives all kinds of new openings. These new openings allow you to begin to ask the question “Since I am now free, what could my life look like?” or to begin asking the question “How good do I want it?” Or “What would the life of my dreams look like anyway?” Once you start to have openings like these you can then start writing down different action to take that will get you closer to the life of your dreams.
I say write it down because you have to disrupt the patterns. They are very strong. When you begin to live your life having your actions given from the life your dreams versus the past, you are now living life on your terms. You are the boss, not the patterns. But the patterns want to control you and they will put up all kinds of resistance. They will lie and tell you to be afraid, tell you it won’t work, make fun of you etc. All to keep you comfortable, safe and under their control.
By writing your actions down and scheduling yourself you are saying “This is the life I want and these are the actions to take that are consistent with that.” Any other actions that you take that are not what you say are past based and not consistent with that future life of your dreams. Of course you schedule fun time and relaxation time. I doubt the life of your dreams would be all work!
When you schedule inside this new paradigm you will want to schedule for accomplishments. We all resist to do’s, and you don’t want to be resisting the life of your dreams. So to avoid this, schedule your calendar full of accomplishments. Don’t schedule “go to the grocery”, schedule “I have had a wonderful time picking up the nourishment for my family creating the building blocks of the body I want.” Which one of those two is more inspiring? Scheduling from accomplishment is a skill you can learn in a self improvement course. The components are put in the past tense as if it has already been done and write it as something that you have accomplished already. Another example would be “I have had a wonderful afternoon driving with my children home from school” versus “pick up kids form school.” See www.missioncontrol.com for more details on scheduling for the life of your dreams and scheduling from accomplishment.
Taking these types of courses will have you see that you can have the life of your dreams and will have you see that it is the context that you hold everything in your life that determines the quality of your life. I will be discussing context versus content in another blog. But for now I think you can now see the value of self improvement courses, and how they can help you begin the process of living the life of your dreams.
About the Author: Chris Omeltschenko is a dentist in the Cincinnati area who is a big advocate of self improvement courses and people living the lives of their dreams. Owning a business is a big part of that and he offers help for people looking to work from home. Check our his blog at www.ChrisOmeltschenko.blogspot.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.SimpleNetProfits.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 5, 2007
What Your College Professor Didn’t Tell You About Running A Business
There are many things that you probably aren’t aware of that you are going to have to know as you embark on the process of running your own business. First of all, remember that your college professors probably gave you lots of good advice when it comes to running your business, and there is probably a lot that they told you about how to do things and when to do things. However, you know that there are many things that you weren’t told, and some of these things are very important.
It’s Hard!
You probably weren’t told this, but running your own business is hard. Not just slightly hard, but really hard. When you start out, you are going to have to have a period of time in which you have no money – in fact, in which you are losing money. Businesses need start up costs, and in order to make money you are going to have to spend money. This is hard because you are going to have to eat into your savings and probably take out some loans to cover it.
No Sleep!
The other thing you might not have been told is that as you are running a business, you might not be sleeping very much. When you first start out, you probably don’t have enough money to hire anyone, which means that you have to be in charge of everything. You have to set up a website, coordinate emails and orders, fill the orders, make or ship the product, collect the money, keep track of all of the taxes, and be sure that you do this all in a manner that speaks highly of you and makes others want to continue to use your business. Count on not getting very much sleep for awhile, because as you start to run your business you are probably going to be sleep deprived, and this is probably going to last for quite some time.
Remember though, that it is going to be worth it. No matter how hard it seems now, and no matter how much you have to do at the start, when you have your home business up and running and it begins to be a profit to you, you are going to find that it is completely worth it. You can set your own hours, take care of your business the way that you want to, and you can be completely in charge of your financial future. This is a fantastic place to be, and you can be there – if only you have the strength to get yourself through the hard parts at the beginning.
It’s Hard!
You probably weren’t told this, but running your own business is hard. Not just slightly hard, but really hard. When you start out, you are going to have to have a period of time in which you have no money – in fact, in which you are losing money. Businesses need start up costs, and in order to make money you are going to have to spend money. This is hard because you are going to have to eat into your savings and probably take out some loans to cover it.
No Sleep!
The other thing you might not have been told is that as you are running a business, you might not be sleeping very much. When you first start out, you probably don’t have enough money to hire anyone, which means that you have to be in charge of everything. You have to set up a website, coordinate emails and orders, fill the orders, make or ship the product, collect the money, keep track of all of the taxes, and be sure that you do this all in a manner that speaks highly of you and makes others want to continue to use your business. Count on not getting very much sleep for awhile, because as you start to run your business you are probably going to be sleep deprived, and this is probably going to last for quite some time.
Remember though, that it is going to be worth it. No matter how hard it seems now, and no matter how much you have to do at the start, when you have your home business up and running and it begins to be a profit to you, you are going to find that it is completely worth it. You can set your own hours, take care of your business the way that you want to, and you can be completely in charge of your financial future. This is a fantastic place to be, and you can be there – if only you have the strength to get yourself through the hard parts at the beginning.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Taking Risks, While Making Money With Your Business
At sometime in everyone's life, they dream of being their own boss, owning their own company. The trick to being your own boss is to enjoy what you are doing and making money at the same time. Starting your own business as a risk, but learning to minimize the risks is using your head.
Evaluate your talents. Select a career that uses your creativity and talent helps insure your chance of success. Doing what you enjoy will prolong your interest in your work. It also guarantees that what you are doing is not exactly like anyone else. Stepping out on your own means no more company benefits. One of the biggest benefits is insurance. Select several insurance policies to protect you for different areas of your business, Make sure you get enough life insurance to cover your family's obligations, if something should happen to you. Disability insurance is good in case of illnesses or accidents. Some insurance companies give discounts for multiple policies. Taking a partner will help minimize the risk of starting your own business. Find someone who shares your passions and skills. A friend or acquaintance who enjoys doing what you enjoy makes a great business partner.
Do your research. Explore different possibilities. Is one side of town better than another? Do you want to use your home ass your home base or rent a place? Which fabric works better, ca everyone use this product, etc. Using other peoples experiences will reduce your chances of failure. Get rid of all your negative thoughts. Relax. Be optimistic. Focus your thoughts towards setting and obtaining your goals. Learn to prioritize your time, money and abilities. While spending a great deal of your time working towards your goal, take some time for yourself. By doing this, you won't become burnt out.
Do you need luck to succeed? Maybe a little, but don't depend on it. Get some training in areas that you don't necessarily know, such as accounting or management. Make a yearly plan and reexamine it periodically. Luck is a matter of odds. Do what you can to improve yours. Learn to act accordingly, in times of uncertainty. It doesn't hurt to play it a little safe at the beginning. Start out with small risks, then move to larger ones. Items that seem impossible at first, may seem smaller with time and more experience. Get some feedback from others. You never know when a good idea will surface from a comment made in passing.
Take that jump, step out to a new future. Just remember to plan, organize and work hard. Most of all stop dreaming and make that dream a reality.
Evaluate your talents. Select a career that uses your creativity and talent helps insure your chance of success. Doing what you enjoy will prolong your interest in your work. It also guarantees that what you are doing is not exactly like anyone else. Stepping out on your own means no more company benefits. One of the biggest benefits is insurance. Select several insurance policies to protect you for different areas of your business, Make sure you get enough life insurance to cover your family's obligations, if something should happen to you. Disability insurance is good in case of illnesses or accidents. Some insurance companies give discounts for multiple policies. Taking a partner will help minimize the risk of starting your own business. Find someone who shares your passions and skills. A friend or acquaintance who enjoys doing what you enjoy makes a great business partner.
Do your research. Explore different possibilities. Is one side of town better than another? Do you want to use your home ass your home base or rent a place? Which fabric works better, ca everyone use this product, etc. Using other peoples experiences will reduce your chances of failure. Get rid of all your negative thoughts. Relax. Be optimistic. Focus your thoughts towards setting and obtaining your goals. Learn to prioritize your time, money and abilities. While spending a great deal of your time working towards your goal, take some time for yourself. By doing this, you won't become burnt out.
Do you need luck to succeed? Maybe a little, but don't depend on it. Get some training in areas that you don't necessarily know, such as accounting or management. Make a yearly plan and reexamine it periodically. Luck is a matter of odds. Do what you can to improve yours. Learn to act accordingly, in times of uncertainty. It doesn't hurt to play it a little safe at the beginning. Start out with small risks, then move to larger ones. Items that seem impossible at first, may seem smaller with time and more experience. Get some feedback from others. You never know when a good idea will surface from a comment made in passing.
Take that jump, step out to a new future. Just remember to plan, organize and work hard. Most of all stop dreaming and make that dream a reality.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Should You Attend Home Business Seminars When Starting A Business?
When a person is getting ready to start a business, whether a home-based business or one in the traditional brick and mortar building, they should consider attending business seminars. Regardless of the amount of experience they have, there are always things to be learned from others. The type of business being started there are numerous common issues that all businesses will face and professionals offering advice may be able to present new points of view for old problems.
For those beginning a business for the first time, the best seminar they can attend would be on time management, learning how effectively to share time between the business and the family. Developing an efficient work-life balance will not only benefit the business but may also save a marriage and other family relationships. Everyone knows that when a new business is started there is a lot of work to be done, and the owner will spend more time working for themselves than when working for someone else, but learning how to manage the time can help save a lot of stress.
Making decisions will be vital part of every business and while some may seem insignificant, such as where to buy copy paper, others may have an impact on more than only the person making the decision. The attitude of being the business owner and only their opinion matters will not last long in the business environment. Attending home business seminars when starting a business can show how some decisions may affect suppliers and customers as well as employees. By attending decision-making seminars the best ways to communicate the changes can be learned.
Many times when running your home business there will be some issues that may seem pretty complex and difficult to solve. Business seminars on problem solving can outline ways to see problems from different angles and approach them from different perspectives in order to each a conclusion that will benefit all the people affected by the decision. Additionally, with business seminars you can also learn how effectively to brainstorm with others to reach a conclusion and develop a plan to fix the problem.
One of the most important parts of operating a home business is communications since most of it may be by telephone or email and effectively communicating your point on any issue will help insure others understand the point being made. Communications seminars can also be related to family members, especially when the line because I said so does not work anymore.
Creativity and changes in the workplace are also typically offered for business owners to help them through the progress of business growth. Whether through self-development courses or group business seminars, every business owner should take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about the basics as well as the fine points of running a home business.
For those beginning a business for the first time, the best seminar they can attend would be on time management, learning how effectively to share time between the business and the family. Developing an efficient work-life balance will not only benefit the business but may also save a marriage and other family relationships. Everyone knows that when a new business is started there is a lot of work to be done, and the owner will spend more time working for themselves than when working for someone else, but learning how to manage the time can help save a lot of stress.
Making decisions will be vital part of every business and while some may seem insignificant, such as where to buy copy paper, others may have an impact on more than only the person making the decision. The attitude of being the business owner and only their opinion matters will not last long in the business environment. Attending home business seminars when starting a business can show how some decisions may affect suppliers and customers as well as employees. By attending decision-making seminars the best ways to communicate the changes can be learned.
Many times when running your home business there will be some issues that may seem pretty complex and difficult to solve. Business seminars on problem solving can outline ways to see problems from different angles and approach them from different perspectives in order to each a conclusion that will benefit all the people affected by the decision. Additionally, with business seminars you can also learn how effectively to brainstorm with others to reach a conclusion and develop a plan to fix the problem.
One of the most important parts of operating a home business is communications since most of it may be by telephone or email and effectively communicating your point on any issue will help insure others understand the point being made. Communications seminars can also be related to family members, especially when the line because I said so does not work anymore.
Creativity and changes in the workplace are also typically offered for business owners to help them through the progress of business growth. Whether through self-development courses or group business seminars, every business owner should take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about the basics as well as the fine points of running a home business.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Inexpensive Advertising Techniques For Businesses
When you have a business, you know very well that your advertising is something you have to focus on to make sure that you are getting as much business as possible. If you are trying to advertise your business, you want to be sure that this is something you can do. One of the best ways that you can advertise is to try to do it without spending too much money, because if you spend more money than you should be spending on advertising, it isn’t going to be worth it.
There are several ways that you can advertise inexpensively. The best thing that you can do is to focus on the free advertising that you can get. If you have an online business, this can be even easier, as long as you are willing to take the time to do it. If you can go to chat rooms, blogs, or other interesting places and keep your website or your business name as your signature, even if that is only seen by a few people it is still a free way to advertise. You can also post your name on various threads and in various places that will allow you to post your website.
By large, advertising online is usually very cheap. The key is to find a place online where lots of your customers are going to go. In order to do this, you have to be sure that you know who your demographic is and who is using your business. This might require some work on your part. Once you have identified who the people are that are using your business, you can go to other sites that these people are also going to be using, and you can advertise on these sites, quite easily.
The other way to advertise cheaply is by word of mouth. This might require you to be online for a long time ,simply going to sites and talking about your business and how good it is. This is something that requires time and energy, but in the end you will find that it is actually a very inexpensive way to advertise.
IF you have the time and money, you can also advertise out in the world, not on the internet. This is something that you can do by way of posters, billboards and flyers and by other methods as well. The main idea is that you should find out where your customers are going to be, and locate them, whether it is in the real world or whether it is online. Once you have located your customers, you can go ahead and start advertising in ways that they are going to understand, and ways that they are going to be able to take advantage of.
There are several ways that you can advertise inexpensively. The best thing that you can do is to focus on the free advertising that you can get. If you have an online business, this can be even easier, as long as you are willing to take the time to do it. If you can go to chat rooms, blogs, or other interesting places and keep your website or your business name as your signature, even if that is only seen by a few people it is still a free way to advertise. You can also post your name on various threads and in various places that will allow you to post your website.
By large, advertising online is usually very cheap. The key is to find a place online where lots of your customers are going to go. In order to do this, you have to be sure that you know who your demographic is and who is using your business. This might require some work on your part. Once you have identified who the people are that are using your business, you can go to other sites that these people are also going to be using, and you can advertise on these sites, quite easily.
The other way to advertise cheaply is by word of mouth. This might require you to be online for a long time ,simply going to sites and talking about your business and how good it is. This is something that requires time and energy, but in the end you will find that it is actually a very inexpensive way to advertise.
IF you have the time and money, you can also advertise out in the world, not on the internet. This is something that you can do by way of posters, billboards and flyers and by other methods as well. The main idea is that you should find out where your customers are going to be, and locate them, whether it is in the real world or whether it is online. Once you have located your customers, you can go ahead and start advertising in ways that they are going to understand, and ways that they are going to be able to take advantage of.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Making Time For Your Kids When You Own A Business
When you own a business, no matter if you run it from your home or if you have an office building that your business is located in, making time for your kids is always something that you want to focus on, and it is always something that you are going to be concerned with.
If you want to be able to be there for your kids, you have to be sure that you are making time for them. With a home business, or a small business, this can be very hard because there might often be times in which you simply have to be wherever the business is, and you can’t afford to not be there. This is something that you might find very difficult because if you take time away from your business your business is going to suffer and therefore you won’t have the money to help your kids have the kind of life you want them to have. However, what good is the money for your children if you don’t’ spend enough time with them and you don’t know them very well?
There has to be a balance between spending enough time with your children and spending enough time to make sure that your business is doing well and that you don’t’ have to worry about making money for your children. The best way to do this is to make sure that your business, even if it is located in your home, has regular work hours that you can follow. The best thing for you to do would be to try your hardest to get all of your home business work done while your kids are at school. This is a great way to make sure that your schedules match. IF you work hard, most days you should be able to be done with work for the day when your children get home from school.
However, we all know that with a home business there are some times when this isn’t possible. In order to be a success for your family, you often have to work long hours, and this might cut into the time you have set aside for your family. A good solution for this is to get your family involved in the business. If you have school aged children, they can come to your business after school and do small chores while they wait for you to finish your day of work. This is a great way to get them involved, have them learning, and spend time with them all at once. No matter what your home business is, if you need to work longer days, it is always a good idea to get your children involved, even if all they are doing is taping boxes shut or taking out the trash. They can always do something.
If you want to be able to be there for your kids, you have to be sure that you are making time for them. With a home business, or a small business, this can be very hard because there might often be times in which you simply have to be wherever the business is, and you can’t afford to not be there. This is something that you might find very difficult because if you take time away from your business your business is going to suffer and therefore you won’t have the money to help your kids have the kind of life you want them to have. However, what good is the money for your children if you don’t’ spend enough time with them and you don’t know them very well?
There has to be a balance between spending enough time with your children and spending enough time to make sure that your business is doing well and that you don’t’ have to worry about making money for your children. The best way to do this is to make sure that your business, even if it is located in your home, has regular work hours that you can follow. The best thing for you to do would be to try your hardest to get all of your home business work done while your kids are at school. This is a great way to make sure that your schedules match. IF you work hard, most days you should be able to be done with work for the day when your children get home from school.
However, we all know that with a home business there are some times when this isn’t possible. In order to be a success for your family, you often have to work long hours, and this might cut into the time you have set aside for your family. A good solution for this is to get your family involved in the business. If you have school aged children, they can come to your business after school and do small chores while they wait for you to finish your day of work. This is a great way to get them involved, have them learning, and spend time with them all at once. No matter what your home business is, if you need to work longer days, it is always a good idea to get your children involved, even if all they are doing is taping boxes shut or taking out the trash. They can always do something.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
How To Stretch Funds When Business Is Slow
One of the main things that you have to know about running a home business is that you are going to have to have a plan for how to stretch your money when the business is slow. This is something that you have to worry about no matter what you are doing or what you are selling. There are going to be periods of time in which you simply can’t make ends meet, and it is always a good idea to be able to have some tips as to how you can handle this.
Tips
One of the things that you can do at the very start of your business to make sure that you are going to be able to sail through the times where money is tight is to make sure that you have built these times into your business plan. There should be a part of your business plan that details how you are going to save money when business is booming. You should have a set amount of money that you are putting away each time you are making profit, and these funds should be what you can fall back on during the times where you aren’t making as much money as you thought you’d be able to make.
The other thing that you have to remember is that you should always be on the lookout for savings that you can make. You might want to hire people for occasional work, yet not make them full time employees. This will help you because you can use them when you can afford to pay them and when you have enough work for them to do, but they wont’ expect work all of the time, so when business is slow you can do all of the work yourself and make more money because you don’t have to p ay your employees.
You can also look for ways to save money when business is slow by networking with other small business owners and seeing if there are services that you can trade each other. For instance, if you are a writer, you might want to offer your skills to the owner of a design company in exchange for them giving you some designs for free. If you are able to have enough networking skills, you can find ways to make sure that you are able to stretch the money that you do make in the off seasons as far as it will go.
Remember that you are in control of your home business, which means that you are going to be able to decide what you save and what you spend. Keep this in mind, especially if you have a business that tends to have good days and bad days – like most businesses do. Simply spending less when you have more money allows you to be able to save more for the times when you don’t have too much business.
Tips
One of the things that you can do at the very start of your business to make sure that you are going to be able to sail through the times where money is tight is to make sure that you have built these times into your business plan. There should be a part of your business plan that details how you are going to save money when business is booming. You should have a set amount of money that you are putting away each time you are making profit, and these funds should be what you can fall back on during the times where you aren’t making as much money as you thought you’d be able to make.
The other thing that you have to remember is that you should always be on the lookout for savings that you can make. You might want to hire people for occasional work, yet not make them full time employees. This will help you because you can use them when you can afford to pay them and when you have enough work for them to do, but they wont’ expect work all of the time, so when business is slow you can do all of the work yourself and make more money because you don’t have to p ay your employees.
You can also look for ways to save money when business is slow by networking with other small business owners and seeing if there are services that you can trade each other. For instance, if you are a writer, you might want to offer your skills to the owner of a design company in exchange for them giving you some designs for free. If you are able to have enough networking skills, you can find ways to make sure that you are able to stretch the money that you do make in the off seasons as far as it will go.
Remember that you are in control of your home business, which means that you are going to be able to decide what you save and what you spend. Keep this in mind, especially if you have a business that tends to have good days and bad days – like most businesses do. Simply spending less when you have more money allows you to be able to save more for the times when you don’t have too much business.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Identifying the Most Usefull Courses
Copyright © Chris Omeltschenko
http://www.simplenetprofits.com/
I always find reality based courses the most useful and life changing. It’s one thing to go to a weekend course and get fired up and motivated. Then by Tuesday forget everything you learned once you've lost the feeling and go back to life as usual. But what I call a reality based courses are courses where you learn some skill by actually appying it in the real world. As opposed to just talking about it. For example learning how to build motivational courses that you might want some day to put on by learning how to build communication courses through the Team Mangement and Leadership Program with Landmark Education.
To really master any new skill takes about 10 minutes a day 7 days a week for 24 days. 6 days a week you get a 60% change and it drops off from there. The goal of any transformational course or motivation course is to change your life. Many people go to these kinds of courses to feel good, but the good feelings leave very quickly. The feelings leave quickly because they have not mastered the ability to cause the improvements in thier life that the motivational speaker wants them to be able to cause for themselves. See the motivational speaker or course leader wants you to be living the life of your dreams. And most people could be living that life if they stopped letting all the circumstances (that we all have) stop them.
What you learn in a lot of these courses is that feelings come and go like summer storms, but what your committed to always is there. Being able to identify what your committed to in the moment gives you real freedom. You might be upset and committed to everyone knowing it, that doesn't fly if what your really committed to is treating others as you would like to be treated.
So when you take on a longer and more intensive reality based training you build muscle in identifying what your committed to and not letting the feeling of the moment stop you. Many people don't have what they want in life because they let fear stop them. What if you could act in spite of fear? (The fear never goes anywhere by the way, but if you gain skill in acting in spite of fear you then have power in your life to make a difference). Acting in spite of fear is called courage, and the only way to get courage is to act in spite of fear in the moment, yeah as in right now!
After a course we get back into life and we are dealing with the same circumstances and the same people who don’t know we took this great course and they don't know the impact it had or they make fun of you taking this new course and then next thing you know all the work you did over the weekend gets lost.
Now once you’ve taken the basic introductory courses many times the self improvement companies or gurus offer more advanced course work which I highly recommend. What you want to get to by doing that is to be able to get to the point where you are generating the feelings and actions produced during the course, daily, in your life.
Practicing what you learned in the real world is a great way to master what you are learning and to do it in the presence of a coach or in a safe training environment is the most reliable way to get the results you want.
Many of the courses I have taken offer real world trainings later on. The Van Tharpe trading courses eventually offer real trading with real money working with a coach, but after the basics. Landmark education offer the Introduction Leadership Program which is where you get trained in filling up Landmark courses. This is valuable if you ever want to be a motivational speaker yourself. Plus that program has been called the greatest leadership program in the world by different people in the industry. Apple, The Navy, IBM all agree also and they pay $20,000 to get their people the same 6 month training that Landmark offers to people in ILP FOR FREE. Imagine 6 months of leadership and challenging training with a coach for free (blows MY mind).
Other courses and educational programs offer tips and techniques. Those are ok but are usually forgotten. I mean what are the top 10 words you can use, or the top five communication techniques that will help you….. You forget that stuff 2 seconds after leaving the course.
What I look for in a course is walking away with whatever I am learning being a part of me. It should come naturally and easily. One of the promises is after Landmark's Team Management and Leadership Program is that you will be able to form teams of people with freedom and ease in any given situation. Well after 1 year (yes 1 year) of being trained to form a team of people building several communication programs they definitely delivered on that promise. Where else are you going to find that for $850. NOWHERE trust me.
The other place I found to get trained as a marketer on the internet is www.SimpleNetPRofits.com (my site). Stone Evans trains you to becomes a marketer by actually having you create your own money making internet empire. You get coaching and lessons in his 30 Days to Success course. It is filled with ideas and step by step instructions that are simple to understand. They have your links spread throughout so you just click and follow instructions. He sets up the empire for you and consolidates it for you FOR FREE. Amazing! I highly highly recommend this course and signing up and getting trained. It’s will cost some money, but you will end up making money eventually (perhaps sooner than late depending on your commitment level). You get the education and you get to earn at then same time.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.simplenetprofits.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.simplenetprofits.com/
I always find reality based courses the most useful and life changing. It’s one thing to go to a weekend course and get fired up and motivated. Then by Tuesday forget everything you learned once you've lost the feeling and go back to life as usual. But what I call a reality based courses are courses where you learn some skill by actually appying it in the real world. As opposed to just talking about it. For example learning how to build motivational courses that you might want some day to put on by learning how to build communication courses through the Team Mangement and Leadership Program with Landmark Education.
To really master any new skill takes about 10 minutes a day 7 days a week for 24 days. 6 days a week you get a 60% change and it drops off from there. The goal of any transformational course or motivation course is to change your life. Many people go to these kinds of courses to feel good, but the good feelings leave very quickly. The feelings leave quickly because they have not mastered the ability to cause the improvements in thier life that the motivational speaker wants them to be able to cause for themselves. See the motivational speaker or course leader wants you to be living the life of your dreams. And most people could be living that life if they stopped letting all the circumstances (that we all have) stop them.
What you learn in a lot of these courses is that feelings come and go like summer storms, but what your committed to always is there. Being able to identify what your committed to in the moment gives you real freedom. You might be upset and committed to everyone knowing it, that doesn't fly if what your really committed to is treating others as you would like to be treated.
So when you take on a longer and more intensive reality based training you build muscle in identifying what your committed to and not letting the feeling of the moment stop you. Many people don't have what they want in life because they let fear stop them. What if you could act in spite of fear? (The fear never goes anywhere by the way, but if you gain skill in acting in spite of fear you then have power in your life to make a difference). Acting in spite of fear is called courage, and the only way to get courage is to act in spite of fear in the moment, yeah as in right now!
After a course we get back into life and we are dealing with the same circumstances and the same people who don’t know we took this great course and they don't know the impact it had or they make fun of you taking this new course and then next thing you know all the work you did over the weekend gets lost.
Now once you’ve taken the basic introductory courses many times the self improvement companies or gurus offer more advanced course work which I highly recommend. What you want to get to by doing that is to be able to get to the point where you are generating the feelings and actions produced during the course, daily, in your life.
Practicing what you learned in the real world is a great way to master what you are learning and to do it in the presence of a coach or in a safe training environment is the most reliable way to get the results you want.
Many of the courses I have taken offer real world trainings later on. The Van Tharpe trading courses eventually offer real trading with real money working with a coach, but after the basics. Landmark education offer the Introduction Leadership Program which is where you get trained in filling up Landmark courses. This is valuable if you ever want to be a motivational speaker yourself. Plus that program has been called the greatest leadership program in the world by different people in the industry. Apple, The Navy, IBM all agree also and they pay $20,000 to get their people the same 6 month training that Landmark offers to people in ILP FOR FREE. Imagine 6 months of leadership and challenging training with a coach for free (blows MY mind).
Other courses and educational programs offer tips and techniques. Those are ok but are usually forgotten. I mean what are the top 10 words you can use, or the top five communication techniques that will help you….. You forget that stuff 2 seconds after leaving the course.
What I look for in a course is walking away with whatever I am learning being a part of me. It should come naturally and easily. One of the promises is after Landmark's Team Management and Leadership Program is that you will be able to form teams of people with freedom and ease in any given situation. Well after 1 year (yes 1 year) of being trained to form a team of people building several communication programs they definitely delivered on that promise. Where else are you going to find that for $850. NOWHERE trust me.
The other place I found to get trained as a marketer on the internet is www.SimpleNetPRofits.com (my site). Stone Evans trains you to becomes a marketer by actually having you create your own money making internet empire. You get coaching and lessons in his 30 Days to Success course. It is filled with ideas and step by step instructions that are simple to understand. They have your links spread throughout so you just click and follow instructions. He sets up the empire for you and consolidates it for you FOR FREE. Amazing! I highly highly recommend this course and signing up and getting trained. It’s will cost some money, but you will end up making money eventually (perhaps sooner than late depending on your commitment level). You get the education and you get to earn at then same time.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.simplenetprofits.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What to Do When You Feel like Quitting Your Business?
Have you had it? Ready to pack it in and start sending out resumes again? Sometimes working for yourselves turns out different than you expected. Don't throw in the towel yet. Step back and get a new perspective on working.
It's time to motivate yourself. Don't throw away what you have accomplished so far. All small business owners get frustrated at some point in time. A lot of small businesses fail due to owner burnout. What can you do to get out of the rut? Here are a few ideas. Being stressed out is a big factor in wanting to quit. Try taking a few deep breaths. Deep breathing relaxes the mind and body. You might want to try some form of exercise daily.
A massage once a week s also a great stress reliever. Maybe it is time to turn the computer off or take a break from your work. Get away for a few minutes or even a few days. Getting out of your element will refresh you. Try a picnic, a weekend camping trip or a few days at the beach. Taking your mind off of business can and will refresh you.
Don't have the ability to leave home for a while? Try some motivational reading. There are lots of books out there about successful business owners. Exploring how others have overcome their obstacles may help you overcome your own. Reading how others have decided not to quit, can make you decide not to quit, either.
Now is not the time to give up. You could be only one step away from success. Don't get desperate. Desperation can get in the way of your reasonable thinking. Keep taking those steps. You never know when the next step will lead to success. Try telling yourself you are a winner. Winners don't quit. You have to tell yourself that you are a winner and believe it. If you don't believe in yourself, then no one else will.
Deciding to keep your business is a step in the right direction. You must realize that there is no "quick fix." Succeeding involves your emotions, desires, thoughts or focus, and your beliefs. Be sure to nurture each of these areas. Each successful business person goes through processes to feed each of these areas. It is up to you to find what successfully feeds each of yours.
Motivation is the driving force to succeeding. You will need to learn to motivate yourself each day. Learn to respect the challenge and invent your energy in your under taking. Overhaul your beliefs, journal log your experiences and read lots of books on your subject. The biggest thing is to have lots and lots of patience. Believe in yourself and go out and succeed.
It's time to motivate yourself. Don't throw away what you have accomplished so far. All small business owners get frustrated at some point in time. A lot of small businesses fail due to owner burnout. What can you do to get out of the rut? Here are a few ideas. Being stressed out is a big factor in wanting to quit. Try taking a few deep breaths. Deep breathing relaxes the mind and body. You might want to try some form of exercise daily.
A massage once a week s also a great stress reliever. Maybe it is time to turn the computer off or take a break from your work. Get away for a few minutes or even a few days. Getting out of your element will refresh you. Try a picnic, a weekend camping trip or a few days at the beach. Taking your mind off of business can and will refresh you.
Don't have the ability to leave home for a while? Try some motivational reading. There are lots of books out there about successful business owners. Exploring how others have overcome their obstacles may help you overcome your own. Reading how others have decided not to quit, can make you decide not to quit, either.
Now is not the time to give up. You could be only one step away from success. Don't get desperate. Desperation can get in the way of your reasonable thinking. Keep taking those steps. You never know when the next step will lead to success. Try telling yourself you are a winner. Winners don't quit. You have to tell yourself that you are a winner and believe it. If you don't believe in yourself, then no one else will.
Deciding to keep your business is a step in the right direction. You must realize that there is no "quick fix." Succeeding involves your emotions, desires, thoughts or focus, and your beliefs. Be sure to nurture each of these areas. Each successful business person goes through processes to feed each of these areas. It is up to you to find what successfully feeds each of yours.
Motivation is the driving force to succeeding. You will need to learn to motivate yourself each day. Learn to respect the challenge and invent your energy in your under taking. Overhaul your beliefs, journal log your experiences and read lots of books on your subject. The biggest thing is to have lots and lots of patience. Believe in yourself and go out and succeed.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Running Your Home Business Like A Business…Not A Hobby
There are many different reasons that you might want to run a home business – and one of the biggest reasons that lot of people turn to this route is that they want to be doing something that they love. Most people who start a home business do it with something in mind that they really are passionate about, or something that they love to do. The general idea is that if you are going to be working from home, you might as well be doing something that you really love to do, and you might as well actually be able to enjoy yourself while you are doing it.
There are many reasons that this is great – you are doing something that you love, so there really isn’t any stress or pressure because you are making money off of what you love. However, when it comes right down to this, you have to be sure that you are taking care of some of the major business in your life – without turning it into only a hobby. You have to treat your business as a business, no matter how much you love whatever you are doing, and you have to decide that you are going to be smart about your business, and that means running it like a business, not a hobby.
Set Rules
The best way that you can make sure your business is run like a business, and not a hobby, is to set rules for yourself to make sure that you are actually getting the most out of your business. You want to have a set time during the day, and set days of the week, that you are working, and you have to stick to this schedule to make sure that you have enough time to get your work done. You simply don’t want to put it on the backburner and work on it whenever you get around to it, because if you do it that way you will see that you are actually going to be having problems with your home business, and it isn’t really as important to you as it should be. So, setting up work schedules is one way to make sure that is a business, not a hobby.
Another thing that you can be sure to do is to always be as professional as possible. Make sure that you are treating your business like a business. This means that when you go to work, dress like you are going to work. When you talk about your home business, talk about it in a way that tells others you are serious about it and that it means a lot to you. This is very important, and this is part of the reason that you want to make your business a business, not just a hobby.
There are many reasons that this is great – you are doing something that you love, so there really isn’t any stress or pressure because you are making money off of what you love. However, when it comes right down to this, you have to be sure that you are taking care of some of the major business in your life – without turning it into only a hobby. You have to treat your business as a business, no matter how much you love whatever you are doing, and you have to decide that you are going to be smart about your business, and that means running it like a business, not a hobby.
Set Rules
The best way that you can make sure your business is run like a business, and not a hobby, is to set rules for yourself to make sure that you are actually getting the most out of your business. You want to have a set time during the day, and set days of the week, that you are working, and you have to stick to this schedule to make sure that you have enough time to get your work done. You simply don’t want to put it on the backburner and work on it whenever you get around to it, because if you do it that way you will see that you are actually going to be having problems with your home business, and it isn’t really as important to you as it should be. So, setting up work schedules is one way to make sure that is a business, not a hobby.
Another thing that you can be sure to do is to always be as professional as possible. Make sure that you are treating your business like a business. This means that when you go to work, dress like you are going to work. When you talk about your home business, talk about it in a way that tells others you are serious about it and that it means a lot to you. This is very important, and this is part of the reason that you want to make your business a business, not just a hobby.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
What Is A Business Plan?
When you have a home business, you might not have thought about a business plan, but you are going to need one, and you should do your best to make sure that you have one set up before you start with your business. This is something that you need, no matter what type of business you have, and no matter how you plan on going about your future with the home business. A business plan is going to be a must, so be sure that you have one set up.
What Is It
When it comes to your business, you are going to need a business plan. Remember that a home business is always going to either offer a product or offer a service in exchange for money. This is an over-simplification, but it is the one rule that you can stand by. You need to be able to make money, so you need people to pay you for your service or for whatever item you sell. The business plan, then, is a way of setting this up and making sure that it is going to work. In your home business plan you are going to want to list the service or product that your business is going to provide, and how much you are going to be paid for it, minus how much you are going to need to pay to either put the product together or deliver your service.
The idea of a business plan, therefore, is to write down what you are selling, how much you are selling it for, and how much it is going to cost you to do whatever it is that your business is doing. By looking at the figures you come up with in your business plan, you can actually see what kinds of profits you can think about having, and you can decide whether or not your business is going to be a success.
Of course, a good business plan is going to be able to be modified whenever you need to make changes in your business. It isn’t something that should remain set in stone, because the business that can’t grow is going to end up in a lot of trouble. This means that you have to take pains to be sure that you are developing a business plan, and a business, that can actually change and grow with the times. This is something that is very important for you to remember when you are putting your business plan together. As long as it makes sense, and as long as it can grow and change, your business plan is only going to lead to your success in your home business.
What Is It
When it comes to your business, you are going to need a business plan. Remember that a home business is always going to either offer a product or offer a service in exchange for money. This is an over-simplification, but it is the one rule that you can stand by. You need to be able to make money, so you need people to pay you for your service or for whatever item you sell. The business plan, then, is a way of setting this up and making sure that it is going to work. In your home business plan you are going to want to list the service or product that your business is going to provide, and how much you are going to be paid for it, minus how much you are going to need to pay to either put the product together or deliver your service.
The idea of a business plan, therefore, is to write down what you are selling, how much you are selling it for, and how much it is going to cost you to do whatever it is that your business is doing. By looking at the figures you come up with in your business plan, you can actually see what kinds of profits you can think about having, and you can decide whether or not your business is going to be a success.
Of course, a good business plan is going to be able to be modified whenever you need to make changes in your business. It isn’t something that should remain set in stone, because the business that can’t grow is going to end up in a lot of trouble. This means that you have to take pains to be sure that you are developing a business plan, and a business, that can actually change and grow with the times. This is something that is very important for you to remember when you are putting your business plan together. As long as it makes sense, and as long as it can grow and change, your business plan is only going to lead to your success in your home business.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Wholesale Opportunities For Home Businesses
No matter what your home business is, getting the product into your own hands can be a challenge, and if you don’t do it right you might find yourself out of products, or out of money to buy new products. This is where wholesale opportunities are going to come in very handy, because they’ll be able to give you a chance to buy what you need, buy a lot of it, and buy it cheaply.
Many Opportunities
There are simply too many wholesale opportunities to count when it comes to your home business. It is all going to depend on what type of business you have, what you are selling, and how you are creating the product. If you are simply selling items that someone else is making, you can find many opportunities to buy these items wholesale, and really the only way that you are going to make money is if you are buying them wholesale. You have to be able to buy a lot of the products that you want to sell so that you can buy them for cheap, and then you can resell them for a greater amount of money. This is a great home business venture, and it is something that you can very easily find as a great opportunity for you.
Making Products
The other way that you can use wholesale opportunities to enhance your business is if you are making the products that you are selling, and if you are making them from products that you can buy wholesale. This is often going to be even more rewarding when it comes to the money that you are bringing in, because you’ll find that the easiest way to deal with making new products is to buy all of the pieces wholesale. You’ll be able to get a much better deal, and once you have created the item that you are selling in your home business, you’ll be able to sell this item for even more money, which is going to make you even more money as well.
There is nothing quite like the opportunity that buying wholesale can offer you. This means that you are going to be purchasing items in bulk, a lot of them in other words, for very little money. There are many companies that make their own money selling you items in bulk, because they can have the items made even more cheaply and this means that everyone is benefiting from this idea.
For a home business, no matter what size home business you might have, you are going to want to look into buying items wholesale. There is simply no other way that this can be a success for you – there is something great about buying wholesale and about enjoying the benefits.
Many Opportunities
There are simply too many wholesale opportunities to count when it comes to your home business. It is all going to depend on what type of business you have, what you are selling, and how you are creating the product. If you are simply selling items that someone else is making, you can find many opportunities to buy these items wholesale, and really the only way that you are going to make money is if you are buying them wholesale. You have to be able to buy a lot of the products that you want to sell so that you can buy them for cheap, and then you can resell them for a greater amount of money. This is a great home business venture, and it is something that you can very easily find as a great opportunity for you.
Making Products
The other way that you can use wholesale opportunities to enhance your business is if you are making the products that you are selling, and if you are making them from products that you can buy wholesale. This is often going to be even more rewarding when it comes to the money that you are bringing in, because you’ll find that the easiest way to deal with making new products is to buy all of the pieces wholesale. You’ll be able to get a much better deal, and once you have created the item that you are selling in your home business, you’ll be able to sell this item for even more money, which is going to make you even more money as well.
There is nothing quite like the opportunity that buying wholesale can offer you. This means that you are going to be purchasing items in bulk, a lot of them in other words, for very little money. There are many companies that make their own money selling you items in bulk, because they can have the items made even more cheaply and this means that everyone is benefiting from this idea.
For a home business, no matter what size home business you might have, you are going to want to look into buying items wholesale. There is simply no other way that this can be a success for you – there is something great about buying wholesale and about enjoying the benefits.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Running A Home Business & Working Full Time Outside Your Home
Very few people will claim they are bringing enough money home to meet all their needs and wants. Several will begin a home business to supplement their income while remaining at the full time job outside. This can take a toll on the personal life as well as the health of just about anyone running a home business and working full time outside the home.
One of the first considerations should be is the home business in conflict with the full time job as many employers will not tolerate competition from one of their employees. For example, a person working in a retail environment in nearly any capacity may find themselves in conflict with company policies if they begin an online retail outlet. Or someone working for a carpet cleaning company starting a home business offering cleaning services part time as a home business. Being in conflict often forces the employee to make a choice of keeping their full time job or finding work elsewhere.
There are many home business opportunities available that will not conflict with outside work environments, but the time involved in operating the home business will need to examined to determine if it can be done effectively while working full time. The business operator will only have limited availability as well as time to spend on the business and the time needed to run the business will have to be reallocated from another part of the day.
A person with a family will need to know that any time needed to run the home business will have to come from time usually used for family functions or just spending time with the wife and kids. The full time employer will not tolerate someone spending time on their home business while being paid so dividing the time between work, running the business and family may or may not be worth the extra income from a home business.
In some cases, there are home business opportunities that require little time and enable it to be run at the convenience of the owner. With these jobs time can be arranged in which to run the business without losing time with family and friends, although sacrificing sleep or relaxation time may be necessary. Overall, there will be some sacrifice of time and personal involvement when running a business and working full time outside the home.
Time management will be essential in creating work-life balance as well as remaining organized so as not to allow important aspects of work, home business operation and family slip through the cracks. A single schedule guiding the commitments for all obligations will be needed in order to accomplish everything that needs done and to stay ahead of the work.
One of the first considerations should be is the home business in conflict with the full time job as many employers will not tolerate competition from one of their employees. For example, a person working in a retail environment in nearly any capacity may find themselves in conflict with company policies if they begin an online retail outlet. Or someone working for a carpet cleaning company starting a home business offering cleaning services part time as a home business. Being in conflict often forces the employee to make a choice of keeping their full time job or finding work elsewhere.
There are many home business opportunities available that will not conflict with outside work environments, but the time involved in operating the home business will need to examined to determine if it can be done effectively while working full time. The business operator will only have limited availability as well as time to spend on the business and the time needed to run the business will have to be reallocated from another part of the day.
A person with a family will need to know that any time needed to run the home business will have to come from time usually used for family functions or just spending time with the wife and kids. The full time employer will not tolerate someone spending time on their home business while being paid so dividing the time between work, running the business and family may or may not be worth the extra income from a home business.
In some cases, there are home business opportunities that require little time and enable it to be run at the convenience of the owner. With these jobs time can be arranged in which to run the business without losing time with family and friends, although sacrificing sleep or relaxation time may be necessary. Overall, there will be some sacrifice of time and personal involvement when running a business and working full time outside the home.
Time management will be essential in creating work-life balance as well as remaining organized so as not to allow important aspects of work, home business operation and family slip through the cracks. A single schedule guiding the commitments for all obligations will be needed in order to accomplish everything that needs done and to stay ahead of the work.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Why Is It Better To Work For Yourself
Good-bye daily grind, long commutes, noisy fellow workers and dictating bosses. It's time to step out and start your own business. The time has come to put your talents, ideas and education to work for you. Be brave, you can do it. In deciding to work for yourself you might want to reflect on what you are leaving behind.
The first thing that you might be missing is that steady and reliable paycheck. This sense of security however might be holding you back. Benefits, such as insurance, is another big draw in the work field. There are plenty of insurance companies that would love to have you as a client. Last but not least is a retirement package. Start your own. Sure you won't have a company matching what you put in, but if you are successful you can exceed their amount.
Now that we have looked at what you are leaving behind, let's look at the future. You can now be your own boss. You get to make all the decisions. Success and failure now depend upon you and how hard you are will to work. Also, most business owner can't and don't fire themselves!
A huge draw in starting your own business is flexibility. Will you work today or not? Will you start at 7 am or noon. Don't feel like working today, take the day off. No one will care! Seriously, to be successful you will have to work, probably harder at first than a 9 to 5 job, but you can enjoy a more flexible schedule.
Women who decide to start their own businesses, do it so they can be home with the children. They feel they are providing a more stable and secure environment for their little ones. They also have the flexibility of schedules for doctor appointments and childhood illnesses and accidents.
Happiness is a big reason for starting you own business. It's true that you may never be extremely wealthy but a sense of accomplishment is wonderful. Keep your goals simple. Aim for lifestyle over riches. Contentment is preferable to riches. Doing what you like to do goes along way to personal happiness.
If you decide to work alone, you won't have to worry about fellow employees. Most business owners do, at some point, need help and have to consider hiring others. Hire those with whom you could be friends. Create your own social environment. Just remember that you are the boss and they are your employees.
Speaking of socializing, if you are your only employee, don't become a hermit. Join group or clubs and interact with others. Being with others helps you to grow but can also provide contacts for your business. Now that you have considered the pros and cons of being a business owner, it's time to go for it. If you don't try, you will never know if you can do it. Enjoy yourself and remember success is just one step away.
The first thing that you might be missing is that steady and reliable paycheck. This sense of security however might be holding you back. Benefits, such as insurance, is another big draw in the work field. There are plenty of insurance companies that would love to have you as a client. Last but not least is a retirement package. Start your own. Sure you won't have a company matching what you put in, but if you are successful you can exceed their amount.
Now that we have looked at what you are leaving behind, let's look at the future. You can now be your own boss. You get to make all the decisions. Success and failure now depend upon you and how hard you are will to work. Also, most business owner can't and don't fire themselves!
A huge draw in starting your own business is flexibility. Will you work today or not? Will you start at 7 am or noon. Don't feel like working today, take the day off. No one will care! Seriously, to be successful you will have to work, probably harder at first than a 9 to 5 job, but you can enjoy a more flexible schedule.
Women who decide to start their own businesses, do it so they can be home with the children. They feel they are providing a more stable and secure environment for their little ones. They also have the flexibility of schedules for doctor appointments and childhood illnesses and accidents.
Happiness is a big reason for starting you own business. It's true that you may never be extremely wealthy but a sense of accomplishment is wonderful. Keep your goals simple. Aim for lifestyle over riches. Contentment is preferable to riches. Doing what you like to do goes along way to personal happiness.
If you decide to work alone, you won't have to worry about fellow employees. Most business owners do, at some point, need help and have to consider hiring others. Hire those with whom you could be friends. Create your own social environment. Just remember that you are the boss and they are your employees.
Speaking of socializing, if you are your only employee, don't become a hermit. Join group or clubs and interact with others. Being with others helps you to grow but can also provide contacts for your business. Now that you have considered the pros and cons of being a business owner, it's time to go for it. If you don't try, you will never know if you can do it. Enjoy yourself and remember success is just one step away.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Landmark Forum
There will be more about this course later, but for the time being I will give a brief overview.
Landmark is a global corporation whose goal is to have people live extraordinary lives. They offer courses in several areas of life and I have gotten “my life” out of my participation in Landmark’s courses.
The Forum gives you a new perspective on life and "transforms" your life and allows for breakthroughs in areas of life that you did not think possible. It allows you to see things that were hidden from your view that have been holding you back from living a life you love.
The promise is that ANYTHING you want for yourself and your life is available out your participation in the Landmark Forum. Big promise right? Well they deliver.
I think the Landmark Forum should be a requirement for anyone wanting to expand what they are doing and are not happy with were they are right now. This is not a course to fix people or for people who like to wallow. This a course for people who are up to something or want to be up to something. It makes life more vibrant and more enjoyable. It is not motivation.
This was my first course like this and it has forever changed it for the better. I will always be greatful to Landmark and will review some of the other courses I have taken from Landmark.
Landmark is a global corporation whose goal is to have people live extraordinary lives. They offer courses in several areas of life and I have gotten “my life” out of my participation in Landmark’s courses.
The Forum gives you a new perspective on life and "transforms" your life and allows for breakthroughs in areas of life that you did not think possible. It allows you to see things that were hidden from your view that have been holding you back from living a life you love.
The promise is that ANYTHING you want for yourself and your life is available out your participation in the Landmark Forum. Big promise right? Well they deliver.
I think the Landmark Forum should be a requirement for anyone wanting to expand what they are doing and are not happy with were they are right now. This is not a course to fix people or for people who like to wallow. This a course for people who are up to something or want to be up to something. It makes life more vibrant and more enjoyable. It is not motivation.
This was my first course like this and it has forever changed it for the better. I will always be greatful to Landmark and will review some of the other courses I have taken from Landmark.
Monday, May 14, 2007
The Optimum Strategy for Acquiring New Customers: How to Discover and Implement It
By Michael Masterson
I believe that for every business, at any given time, there is an optimum strategy for acquiring new customers - and that the primary marketing obligation of the company’s CEO is to make sure that strategy is discovered and implemented.
What do I mean by an optimum strategy for acquiring new customers?
I mean a marketing and sales strategy that will produce the greatest long-term benefit to the company. Usually, that means finding and converting the greatest number of high-lifetime-value customers, i.e., customers who will continue to buy products from the company for years into the future.
Here’s an example…
Since its inception, EarlytoRise.com has recruited almost all its customers through Internet advertising. Of the many conversion strategies we have tested, two have so far proven effective:
- Selling informational reports on other websites and then giving buyers a free subscription to our daily e-zine, which then sells them all sorts of "back-end" products
- Targeting search engine users on a pay-per-click basis with a free special report, and then giving them a free subscription to the e-zine with its back-end selling
What we found - over and over again - is that those who had purchased our informational reports were worth considerably more over the long-term than those who had responded to our free report offers.
We tested three levels of pricing for the informational reports: $20, $50, and $100. By tracking the spending habits of each group, we found that the $20 spenders were each worth about $6 extra per year, while those who spent $50 were worth about $50 extra per year. Interestingly, those who spent $100 were no more valuable, in terms of back-end buying, then those who spent $50.
Based on those findings, we concluded that our best strategy was to sell as many $50 reports as possible.
I should mention that the strategy of converting pay-per-click responses brought in (and still brings in) many more names. But when we add up the net dollars we make through pay-per-click versus product buying, there is no contest. The product buyers contribute much more to our bottom line. That’s why we consider the first method, selling informational reports, to be our primary customer-acquisition strategy - and that’s why we devote more resources (time, intellect, and money) to it.
Because this is our primary strategy for attracting the kind of customers we are looking for, ETR’s marketing and editorial teams spend a good deal of time developing new information products to sell on the Internet. Most of their ideas come from the content of our daily e-zine - by carefully reading it and asking themselves, "Can any of these ideas be converted into exciting new information products?"
Coming up with new products to sell is critical, but it’s also important to figure out how we want to "offer" them to the marketplace. In traditional direct-marketing parlance, an offer consists of five things:
- The product you are selling
- The premiums that come with it
- The price you are charging for it
- The payment terms
- A guarantee
We have learned from experience that the high-lifetime-value customers who come from ETR’s readership have typically responded to an offer for a product that will make them wealthier, healthier, or happier… so long as that product doesn’t cost more than $50 and comes with a strong, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. So that’s the kind of offer we construct when we test a new product in the marketplace.
But just because this kind of offer has worked in the past doesn’t mean it will always be the best offer. So we test different price points, payment terms, and guarantees on a regular basis.
We also test our marketing copy. We test headlines. We test leads. We test hard approaches against soft approaches, benefit-oriented pitches against idea-oriented ones. We test just about anything, so long as we think the element we are testing has a reasonable chance of increasing the response rate by a substantial margin.
Right now, in this market, ETR’s optimum customer-acquisition strategy is to create and market as many $50 information reports (with strong promises, guarantees, etc.) as we can on the Internet. But this may change. We might, for example, discover that we can bring in more names by taking the same lead-conversion strategy and testing it in the mail.
It would be foolish for us to believe that the customer-acquisition strategy that is working optimally now will always be the best one for us. Markets change because culture does. Some of the fundamental psychological principles will remain the same, but the individual elements of any marketing campaign will change over time.
Good marketers understand this. And that’s why they are always testing. The first thing you should do after you have discovered a great way to sell your product is to start working on another way that will one day beat it.
Take a moment, right now, to identify your company’s optimum customer-acquisition strategy:
What’s Your Primary Advertising Medium?
- direct mail
- direct e-mail
- direct space (magazines & newspapers)
- direct e-space (websites and e-zines)
- telephone
- radio
- television
What’s Your Primary Lead-Conversion Strategy?
- direct space to direct mail
- direct e-space to direct e-mail
- direct mail to direct mail
- telephone to telephone
- telephone to direct mail
- radio to telephone
- radio to direct mail
- television to telephone
- television to direct mail
Describe Your Offer
- the price
- the product
- the guarantee
Describe Your Sales Copy
- the big or overarching idea
- the promise of benefit
- the specific claims
- proof of those claims
Once you have identified exactly what you are doing, you can start to think about how you can "test away from it." Spend some time brainstorming with your best people. Ask key questions, like:
- What other products can we sell?
- How can we make the offer more enticing?
- How can we make the copy more compelling?
- What other media should we test?
There are hundreds of ways a business can go bad, but only one sure way to make it better: Increase the number of good and profitable customers.
New customers bring new cash, and that cash that can be spent on anything your business needs, including better products, customer service, fulfillment, etc. You name it, cash and a little time will make it happen.
That’s why, at the beginning of this article, I said that discovering and implementing the company’s optimum customer-acquisition strategy should be the CEO’s top marketing responsibility. It’s that important.
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
MLMU, Hilton Johnson
I signed up for MLMU about a year ago. I found out about MLMU through Peak Potentials training. They offer a free email called T. Harve recommends and this was one of the courses they recommended for anyone wanting to be successful in network marketing.
I have a lot of respect for Peak Potentials training and T. Harve Ecker. I will do some reviews of Warrior Training and Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar in a late blog.
Needless to say I went and did a free ½ hour phone consultation with them. It was basically a demonstration of what they have to offer by actually using what they offer on you. I was pretty impressed. I believe the guy I spoke with is very well trained on the phones and quite a good closer. Anyway he asked me to tell him what I did to build my business currently and at that time I was buying leads and using some of the training I had received from Integritas who uses Tim Sales as a training Guru. He said I was wasting my time because it took so long and as a networker I was looking to call as many people as possible as quickly as possible because that is the nature of network marketing. You have to find people who are looking and buying leads and calling people involves a lot of sifting and filtering, which is why I believe it’s so ineffective.
His script was very to the point and effective and with the right posture I believe would work quite well. At the time I was running out of my budget for leads and for products so I was pretty much done with phone calling purchased leads. I made it through about 60 and had two sign up who never did much. One is now with me on my current venture, but that is another story. I never did try the script out.
What they offer at MLMU is very much training in how to build your business in the warm market. I hated the notion of building in the warm market and was so confronted with the idea that I never did much. They offer many warm market tricks so that the prospects never really know they are being prospected and they offer different way to speak to people so that you become more attractive to them. I use a lot of the skills I learned at MLMU in my current venture and at my dental practice. They also offer some training in how to do a good presentation. This also something that is very helpful and I carry with me to my current venture and in the dental practice.
What I have found is that there is nothing new that Hilton offers that is not basic stuff offered by your upline. Basic qualifying questions, elevator conversations, five minute presentations. It’s all very basic stuff and it’s all stuff that works and is very non threatening unless your like me and are very confronted with talking to people about MLM. It’s all very organized and they give you a coach who has been very successful in the networking industry. That was a big selling point for me, I took the attitude that if he could do it I could do it. Except I was stopped by the fear of sharing MLM so I stopped talking to him. He was very helpful.
See I thought I was willing to do whatever it takes to be financially free, but it’s like the old Meatloaf song “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” I won’t bother friends and family.
Now with my current venture I have moved into the warm market and I have talked to some safe people. I have had some people register, and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. They didn’t freak out, althought I don’t know what they are saying behind my back. And I know as long as I worry about that I will not be successful in the warm market.
So that is why I am an advocate of the different trainings out there that offer ways to become a guru in your own right. And how to offer generic training because the promise there is you become someone who is sought after. Magnetic sponsoring is the name of the game with true marketing.
So as far as my experience goes with MLMU is I never got past the basics. I got confronted and gave up. The basics are supposed to last about 2 months and their training goes for a year. Wow I wonder what would have happened after a year. But see why did I give up? What was missing in their training that caused me to give up? I would imagine their training is for more experienced and comfortable MLM people, but then those people can find what MLMU offers at a much cheaper rate somewhere else. And even for relatively free from your upline. Now if you get nothing from your upline then MLMU may be the proper place. I believe for MLMU to be successful I would need daily pep talks and daily stories of other people who went through what I went through. Because it’s very easy to fall into negativity and let the negativity that’s out there swallow you up.
I have a lot of respect for Peak Potentials training and T. Harve Ecker. I will do some reviews of Warrior Training and Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar in a late blog.
Needless to say I went and did a free ½ hour phone consultation with them. It was basically a demonstration of what they have to offer by actually using what they offer on you. I was pretty impressed. I believe the guy I spoke with is very well trained on the phones and quite a good closer. Anyway he asked me to tell him what I did to build my business currently and at that time I was buying leads and using some of the training I had received from Integritas who uses Tim Sales as a training Guru. He said I was wasting my time because it took so long and as a networker I was looking to call as many people as possible as quickly as possible because that is the nature of network marketing. You have to find people who are looking and buying leads and calling people involves a lot of sifting and filtering, which is why I believe it’s so ineffective.
His script was very to the point and effective and with the right posture I believe would work quite well. At the time I was running out of my budget for leads and for products so I was pretty much done with phone calling purchased leads. I made it through about 60 and had two sign up who never did much. One is now with me on my current venture, but that is another story. I never did try the script out.
What they offer at MLMU is very much training in how to build your business in the warm market. I hated the notion of building in the warm market and was so confronted with the idea that I never did much. They offer many warm market tricks so that the prospects never really know they are being prospected and they offer different way to speak to people so that you become more attractive to them. I use a lot of the skills I learned at MLMU in my current venture and at my dental practice. They also offer some training in how to do a good presentation. This also something that is very helpful and I carry with me to my current venture and in the dental practice.
What I have found is that there is nothing new that Hilton offers that is not basic stuff offered by your upline. Basic qualifying questions, elevator conversations, five minute presentations. It’s all very basic stuff and it’s all stuff that works and is very non threatening unless your like me and are very confronted with talking to people about MLM. It’s all very organized and they give you a coach who has been very successful in the networking industry. That was a big selling point for me, I took the attitude that if he could do it I could do it. Except I was stopped by the fear of sharing MLM so I stopped talking to him. He was very helpful.
See I thought I was willing to do whatever it takes to be financially free, but it’s like the old Meatloaf song “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” I won’t bother friends and family.
Now with my current venture I have moved into the warm market and I have talked to some safe people. I have had some people register, and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. They didn’t freak out, althought I don’t know what they are saying behind my back. And I know as long as I worry about that I will not be successful in the warm market.
So that is why I am an advocate of the different trainings out there that offer ways to become a guru in your own right. And how to offer generic training because the promise there is you become someone who is sought after. Magnetic sponsoring is the name of the game with true marketing.
So as far as my experience goes with MLMU is I never got past the basics. I got confronted and gave up. The basics are supposed to last about 2 months and their training goes for a year. Wow I wonder what would have happened after a year. But see why did I give up? What was missing in their training that caused me to give up? I would imagine their training is for more experienced and comfortable MLM people, but then those people can find what MLMU offers at a much cheaper rate somewhere else. And even for relatively free from your upline. Now if you get nothing from your upline then MLMU may be the proper place. I believe for MLMU to be successful I would need daily pep talks and daily stories of other people who went through what I went through. Because it’s very easy to fall into negativity and let the negativity that’s out there swallow you up.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Dream Team, Gino and Terry
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my travels through different courses it’s that not all marketers make good teachers. Well that is not the case with Gino and Terry over at Dream Team.
Gino and Terry offer a complete marketing education package. They offer a money back guarantee that if you follow what they teach you will be making at least $50,000 in one year or your money back. They also promise that you will add 20-30 people per week into whatever you are marketing. And if you follow what they say you will get to that. They offer generic training that can be applied to just about anything you might want to market.
Most other courses offer bits and pieces. You can get a copywriting course here and a tech course there, how to talk on the phone somewhere else, where to get leads in an even different place. These other courses usually come in book, DVD or CD form and are usually a recording of some course they put on live somewhere.
Gino and Terry on the other hand present live training and cover all aspects of marketing. The calls are live which gives you an opportunity to ask questions and participate. Gino and Terry really make the learning fun and they get involved with their students. They are very helpful and respond to emails and calls quite well. They have lots of fun and it’s quite a community. I highly recommend what they offer; no place else can you get the complete marketing package in one place - live.
What they do starts with very basic marketing strategies that are very affordable and can be done anywhere with just a telephone. As you become skilled at the inexpensive and safe campaigns you can then move into advanced expensive and more profitable marketing campaigns. You don’t to put a lot of money into some campaign unless you’re pretty sure it’s going to work, and how do you know if it’s going to work? If you test it. Test it on the phone first (the most inexpensive marketing tool on the planet) and then you can move into more advanced and expensive mediums like the internet and postcards. They are there for you each step of the way at no additional cost!
Membership with the Dream Team is lifetime, you could go away for several months and come back and still be a member. There is no monthly fee, which I think is great because a lot of other marketers want you to buy their course and you only have a month or so to learn until the monthly subscription kicks in and that monthly subscription eats into the budget. Also a lot of times people get confronted by something and quit, they then want to come back and if you only have a limited time you until the deal runs out you can’t come back without paying again, it gives another excuse not to get back in the game.
What they offer is a complete marketing education. Most marketers offering courses offer bits and pieces here and there and then invite you take the next course which is of course more expensive to get more of the picture. So you go from the $20 dollar course which introduces the $40 etc up to the live course which is $3500 and then finally the consulting for $10,000. All worth it but it does get frustrating for a guy like me who doesn’t want to pitched all the time. Here you pay for everything up front with the Dream Team they do not push any other courses or do not bring in any special guest who are pitching the same $20, $40…. $10,000 line up. You get it all. You get a complete education. Now that education takes a while. To try and get a complete marketing education in “One giant special weekend where you’ll learn it all guaranteed!!!” is just not realistic. We are humans, humans are creatures of habit and it takes about 30 days to create a new habit. Gino and Terry’s education is 30 days and it repeats so you pick up more the second time. Plus they offer consulting free of charge. You don’t have to get it all done in “1 free hour of consultation with a Guru!!!!!” you can do it piece by piece. Learn how to put together a marketing plan that works piece by piece. Test the plan, make it better, and get rich in the process.
You get to work with two marketing experts who have made millions marketing all kinds of products. They have earned their salt in many different venues. When you join Dream Team your success is their success, all they are doing is teaching. Many other marketers have lots and lots of products and when they set a conference call or some other “educational meeting” it is really just an opportunity to pitch whatever they are pitching at the time, not so with Dream Team. What they offer is very valuable and in my opinion is a bargain.
If you want to check out what the Dream Team has to offer check out AddRepsTheEasyWay.com
Gino and Terry offer a complete marketing education package. They offer a money back guarantee that if you follow what they teach you will be making at least $50,000 in one year or your money back. They also promise that you will add 20-30 people per week into whatever you are marketing. And if you follow what they say you will get to that. They offer generic training that can be applied to just about anything you might want to market.
Most other courses offer bits and pieces. You can get a copywriting course here and a tech course there, how to talk on the phone somewhere else, where to get leads in an even different place. These other courses usually come in book, DVD or CD form and are usually a recording of some course they put on live somewhere.
Gino and Terry on the other hand present live training and cover all aspects of marketing. The calls are live which gives you an opportunity to ask questions and participate. Gino and Terry really make the learning fun and they get involved with their students. They are very helpful and respond to emails and calls quite well. They have lots of fun and it’s quite a community. I highly recommend what they offer; no place else can you get the complete marketing package in one place - live.
What they do starts with very basic marketing strategies that are very affordable and can be done anywhere with just a telephone. As you become skilled at the inexpensive and safe campaigns you can then move into advanced expensive and more profitable marketing campaigns. You don’t to put a lot of money into some campaign unless you’re pretty sure it’s going to work, and how do you know if it’s going to work? If you test it. Test it on the phone first (the most inexpensive marketing tool on the planet) and then you can move into more advanced and expensive mediums like the internet and postcards. They are there for you each step of the way at no additional cost!
Membership with the Dream Team is lifetime, you could go away for several months and come back and still be a member. There is no monthly fee, which I think is great because a lot of other marketers want you to buy their course and you only have a month or so to learn until the monthly subscription kicks in and that monthly subscription eats into the budget. Also a lot of times people get confronted by something and quit, they then want to come back and if you only have a limited time you until the deal runs out you can’t come back without paying again, it gives another excuse not to get back in the game.
What they offer is a complete marketing education. Most marketers offering courses offer bits and pieces here and there and then invite you take the next course which is of course more expensive to get more of the picture. So you go from the $20 dollar course which introduces the $40 etc up to the live course which is $3500 and then finally the consulting for $10,000. All worth it but it does get frustrating for a guy like me who doesn’t want to pitched all the time. Here you pay for everything up front with the Dream Team they do not push any other courses or do not bring in any special guest who are pitching the same $20, $40…. $10,000 line up. You get it all. You get a complete education. Now that education takes a while. To try and get a complete marketing education in “One giant special weekend where you’ll learn it all guaranteed!!!” is just not realistic. We are humans, humans are creatures of habit and it takes about 30 days to create a new habit. Gino and Terry’s education is 30 days and it repeats so you pick up more the second time. Plus they offer consulting free of charge. You don’t have to get it all done in “1 free hour of consultation with a Guru!!!!!” you can do it piece by piece. Learn how to put together a marketing plan that works piece by piece. Test the plan, make it better, and get rich in the process.
You get to work with two marketing experts who have made millions marketing all kinds of products. They have earned their salt in many different venues. When you join Dream Team your success is their success, all they are doing is teaching. Many other marketers have lots and lots of products and when they set a conference call or some other “educational meeting” it is really just an opportunity to pitch whatever they are pitching at the time, not so with Dream Team. What they offer is very valuable and in my opinion is a bargain.
If you want to check out what the Dream Team has to offer check out AddRepsTheEasyWay.com
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Why Am I Doing This
I am offering this blog as a service to the people who are out there searching for a way to learn financial freedom. As a dentist I have the means and the time to take courses and read books. I personally have gone from a self centered, depressed, anxious, paranoid, helpless (you get the picture) person to someone who is very generous, loving supportive and powerful. I did it through doing different courses.
I have taken a lot of courses and it has been quite a journey. Mostly I will be focusing on the financial freedom courses I have taken. Because if you're anything like me you are searching and looking for the answers on the web and you never know who to trust and what will work.
You go to these web sites and they have a long letter and at the end they want you to put in your name and email. You never know if what's at the end is worth it, and you probably get a million emails a day that you have to delete. And if you actually spent all the time reading those articles and notes you would have no time to do the dishes.
Plus a lot of times you are being asked to part with 20 dollars here and 197 dollars there and you never really know if what they are selling is worth it. They say $20 is not a lot of money but if you sign up for 20 courses and ebooks that's $400. Now we're talking about a lot of money. I remember when I was in college, I had to scrape together change and search the couch so I could go get a salad and a cheeseburger from Wendy's 99 cent menu. $20 back then was huge.
Plus I have a hard time finding time to finish one course before I move on the next. I have stacks of books to read and courses to finish. I get bored or confronted and give up and start looking for the next one. I have found that this is recipe for disaster. The great Diane Hochman once told me "Chris you are looking for the answers outside of yourself, and as long as you do that you are going to spend lots of money". Boy was I mad when I heard that, but I got to thinking. At first I didn't understand it, but then it dawned on me the answers are inside of me. Courses and self help just uncover what's really inside of all of us. A marketing campaign is a self expression, true marketing is where you sell a product you generate and it has to come from you.
Now obviously we all need to learn the skills necessary to become what we want. I had to go to school to bring out the inner dentist in side of me. I do excellent dentistry, but I didn't learn that, it was always there, Dental school just uncovered it.
So in this blog I will be telling you about the courses I have taken and what my experiences were and who I think should take each course. I will tell you that if your looking for X this is the course for you.
I have taken a lot of courses and it has been quite a journey. Mostly I will be focusing on the financial freedom courses I have taken. Because if you're anything like me you are searching and looking for the answers on the web and you never know who to trust and what will work.
You go to these web sites and they have a long letter and at the end they want you to put in your name and email. You never know if what's at the end is worth it, and you probably get a million emails a day that you have to delete. And if you actually spent all the time reading those articles and notes you would have no time to do the dishes.
Plus a lot of times you are being asked to part with 20 dollars here and 197 dollars there and you never really know if what they are selling is worth it. They say $20 is not a lot of money but if you sign up for 20 courses and ebooks that's $400. Now we're talking about a lot of money. I remember when I was in college, I had to scrape together change and search the couch so I could go get a salad and a cheeseburger from Wendy's 99 cent menu. $20 back then was huge.
Plus I have a hard time finding time to finish one course before I move on the next. I have stacks of books to read and courses to finish. I get bored or confronted and give up and start looking for the next one. I have found that this is recipe for disaster. The great Diane Hochman once told me "Chris you are looking for the answers outside of yourself, and as long as you do that you are going to spend lots of money". Boy was I mad when I heard that, but I got to thinking. At first I didn't understand it, but then it dawned on me the answers are inside of me. Courses and self help just uncover what's really inside of all of us. A marketing campaign is a self expression, true marketing is where you sell a product you generate and it has to come from you.
Now obviously we all need to learn the skills necessary to become what we want. I had to go to school to bring out the inner dentist in side of me. I do excellent dentistry, but I didn't learn that, it was always there, Dental school just uncovered it.
So in this blog I will be telling you about the courses I have taken and what my experiences were and who I think should take each course. I will tell you that if your looking for X this is the course for you.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Don't Let Fear Stop you From Seeing the Dentist
Since I am a dentist I thought it might be appropriate for me to post an article about Dental Fear. I got this article from http://www.about.com/ I am also very impressed with http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/ they have a helpful forum of people who have had huge breakthroughs in going to the dentist after using the site as a resource. I found a cool site that offers a course on getting rid of all kinds of phobias. I have not read or know anything about the site, I will be doing some research and some posts in the future. The site is http://www.phobiascured.com/ they are pretty organized and that usually means they put out a good product. I will keep you posted.
WHAT IS DENTAL PHOBIA?: Prevalence and Etiology by Dr. Michael Krochak
Dental phobia is the serious, often paralyzing fear of seeking dental care. It has been reliably reported that 50% of the American population does not seek regular dental care. An estimated 9-15% of all Americans avoid much needed care due to anxiety and fear surrounding the dental experience. This translates to some 30 - 40 million people so afraid of dental treatment that they avoid it altogether, In terms of your dental health and overall well-being, this can have serious ramifications. Besides chronically infected gums and teeth which can affect your medical status, your ability to chew and digest can be seriously compromised. Without healthy gums and teeth, your speech can be affected as well. Your self confidence can be compromised if you are insecure about your breath and smile. This can lead to serious limitations in both your social and business environments.
WHY DO I FEAR THE DENTIST? by Dr. Michael Krochak
Dental phobias and anxiety stem from various sources. These can lead to a strongly conditioned fear response. The following are the most common origins of dental fear:
Previously painful or negative experiences during visits to a dentist's office. This can even include careless comments made by a dentist or hygienist during a past examination.
A severe discomfort with feeling helpless and/or out of control in the dental situation.
A sense of embarrassment of your dental neglect and fear of ridicule and/ or belittlement when you present to the dental office.
Scary anecdotes of negative dental experiences learned vicariously from family and friends.
Negative, menacing portrayals of dentists in movies, TV, newspapers and magazines.
A sense of depersonalization in the dental process, intensified by today's necessity for the use of barrier precautions, such as masks, latex gloves and shields.
A general fear of the unknown.
WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT MY DENTAL FEAR? by Dr. Michael Krochak
The first thing you can do is to realize that your dental fear can be overcome. Fear is a learned behavior which, therefore, can be unlearned. Patient-centered behavior modification that treats you as a whole person, not as a set of teeth can help you overcome your fears. This will obviously take a team approach between you and your dentist and his/her staff. Communication is the key. You must feel comfortable expressing your fears and concerns and have a sense that you are being listened to. If you feel that the Dr. and/or staff is not genuinely concerned and listening, then absolutely feel comfortable with seeking out referrals to other offices.
You should never compromise the level of communication that you feel is necessary to give you a sense of control over your situation in the dental office. Modern dentistry with a compassionate dental team can be truly painless. You can desensitize yourself to your fears if you take the first step and allow the right team to help you overcome your fears. (Look for a future article on "How to Choose the Right Dentist")
A Sense of Control
Explanation and clarification of any and all procedures proposed is your right as a patient. If you have a question about a particular procedure, ask it! Empower yourself with the knowledge to alleviate fear of the unknown. You should have input into treatment decisions and choices. You should be honest with your dentist regarding how much treatment you think you can tolerate at first. As you build confidence in yourself and trust in the team that is caring for you, the length of your appointment and the amount of work accomplished will increase.
A Signaling System should be established allowing you to stop for any reason, whether it be because you need more anesthesia, want to rinse out, or simply need a two second break. The most common signal is raising your hand.
Never be Embarrassed
If you have been ridiculed in the past for your behavior or if you are embarrassed by your present dental condition caused by your neglect, please express yourself honestly and give your present dentist a chance to understand your concerns and show you that they care. You will be amazed at the wealth of treatment options that you might not have thought were possible. With modern dentistry, it's never too late to recreate a new smile!
Relaxation Techniques
If you feel tense in the chair, the easiest way to relax is through forms of physical relaxation. A relaxed body promotes a clear and relaxed mind. The human body cannot be physically relaxed and mentally anxious at the same time! The brain won't process these feelings simultaneously. Physical relaxation methods are easier to accomplish at first as compared to cognitive ones, so practice forms of physical relaxation first.
Examples of physical relaxation are Diaphragmatic Breathing, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and various methods taught in yoga . There are numerous books and sources for these methods. If you induce relaxation in the presence of the stimuli that normally induces your fears (the dental environment), the fear response will be greatly diminished over multiple exposures and you will gradually desensitize yourself to these fears as you build confidence. The memories of traumatic visits will be replaced with more innocuous ones and this less threatening environment coupled with your relaxation methods will help you eliminate your fears.
Distraction
As you get more comfortable in the dental environment, you can engage in various distraction techniques that many offices have. The use of a Walkman or Discman is a common technique. Many offices now are equipped with Virtual Reality-like glasses that provide both visual and auditory distraction by allowing you to view videotapes through these glasses while having dental work done. We only suggest using distraction techniques once you have established some trust and confidence because your ability to communicate will be compromised, although it is easy to stop any of these devices if need be.
Predictable Pain Control
Modern dentistry has many new techniques with regards to the administration of local anesthetics to block any possibility of pain. There are many people who have anatomical or biologic variations that do require more individualized techniques in order to predictably achieve proper local anesthesia. This variation must be respected and communicated to your dentist. All injections should be given slowly. The needle itself is not the major cause of discomfort, but in fact, it is the pressure and volume of the fluids being injected that causes the discomfort. There are also great differences in the types of tissue in various locations, anatomically and from person to person, that must be considered when administering injections. There are even computer-controlled machines that are now available to standardize the injection process and make it more predictable than the conventional hand-held syringe.
COMMUNICATE, EMPOWER YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE AND TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FEARS!
Dental Anxiety Self-Test
Many people have a high level of anxiety and avoid visiting the dentist. This can cause future dental problems. Below are some questions that, if answered yes, may signify that you have some form of dental anxiety. It is important to note, however, that many new, wonderful products and procedures are available that can make the dental visit a pleasant experience.
Do you feel slight uneasiness and tension the evening prior to your dental visit, which makes you cancel your dental appointment?
While waiting in the reception area of the dental office, do you feel nervous about the visit?
Have you had a prior dental experience that was unpleasant?
While in the dental chair, do you feel uneasy and anxious?
Does the thought of having a dental injection make you feel physically ill and tense?
Does seeing the dentist or dental hygienist's instruments make you anxious?
Do you feel embarrassed that the dentist will say you have the worst mouth they have ever seen?
Do objects placed in your mouth during the dental visit make you panic and feel like you cannot breath correctly?
Do you feel that your dentist is unsympathetic only with you?
Fear In The Dentist's Chair
What is the cause of dental phobia? According to a recent study in the British Dental Journal, dental phobia is initiated by a bad experience that unknowingly has become associated with dentistry.
The study has found that despite the advancement of modern techniques and the use of very effective anesthetics, patients still seem to maintain the same level of anxiety as they did years ago. The proportion was shown to be the same today as it was in the 1930's.
Dr. Ruth Freeman of Queens University Dental School in Belfast, wrote the article and explains that if all dental phobia were related to painful experiences from a patient's life, the condition should have gotten better over the years because of all the advanced techniques available today. This however is not the case and it suggests that dental phobia is brought on by outside experiences which are then related to dental experiences.
There are some techniques for relaxation that a dentist can put into practice for people with such trauma. Patients may be given sedation and be informed about pain control and they may be given the advantage of being able to control their own pain by stopping and starting treatment using hand signals.
WHAT IS DENTAL PHOBIA?: Prevalence and Etiology by Dr. Michael Krochak
Dental phobia is the serious, often paralyzing fear of seeking dental care. It has been reliably reported that 50% of the American population does not seek regular dental care. An estimated 9-15% of all Americans avoid much needed care due to anxiety and fear surrounding the dental experience. This translates to some 30 - 40 million people so afraid of dental treatment that they avoid it altogether, In terms of your dental health and overall well-being, this can have serious ramifications. Besides chronically infected gums and teeth which can affect your medical status, your ability to chew and digest can be seriously compromised. Without healthy gums and teeth, your speech can be affected as well. Your self confidence can be compromised if you are insecure about your breath and smile. This can lead to serious limitations in both your social and business environments.
WHY DO I FEAR THE DENTIST? by Dr. Michael Krochak
Dental phobias and anxiety stem from various sources. These can lead to a strongly conditioned fear response. The following are the most common origins of dental fear:
Previously painful or negative experiences during visits to a dentist's office. This can even include careless comments made by a dentist or hygienist during a past examination.
A severe discomfort with feeling helpless and/or out of control in the dental situation.
A sense of embarrassment of your dental neglect and fear of ridicule and/ or belittlement when you present to the dental office.
Scary anecdotes of negative dental experiences learned vicariously from family and friends.
Negative, menacing portrayals of dentists in movies, TV, newspapers and magazines.
A sense of depersonalization in the dental process, intensified by today's necessity for the use of barrier precautions, such as masks, latex gloves and shields.
A general fear of the unknown.
WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT MY DENTAL FEAR? by Dr. Michael Krochak
The first thing you can do is to realize that your dental fear can be overcome. Fear is a learned behavior which, therefore, can be unlearned. Patient-centered behavior modification that treats you as a whole person, not as a set of teeth can help you overcome your fears. This will obviously take a team approach between you and your dentist and his/her staff. Communication is the key. You must feel comfortable expressing your fears and concerns and have a sense that you are being listened to. If you feel that the Dr. and/or staff is not genuinely concerned and listening, then absolutely feel comfortable with seeking out referrals to other offices.
You should never compromise the level of communication that you feel is necessary to give you a sense of control over your situation in the dental office. Modern dentistry with a compassionate dental team can be truly painless. You can desensitize yourself to your fears if you take the first step and allow the right team to help you overcome your fears. (Look for a future article on "How to Choose the Right Dentist")
A Sense of Control
Explanation and clarification of any and all procedures proposed is your right as a patient. If you have a question about a particular procedure, ask it! Empower yourself with the knowledge to alleviate fear of the unknown. You should have input into treatment decisions and choices. You should be honest with your dentist regarding how much treatment you think you can tolerate at first. As you build confidence in yourself and trust in the team that is caring for you, the length of your appointment and the amount of work accomplished will increase.
A Signaling System should be established allowing you to stop for any reason, whether it be because you need more anesthesia, want to rinse out, or simply need a two second break. The most common signal is raising your hand.
Never be Embarrassed
If you have been ridiculed in the past for your behavior or if you are embarrassed by your present dental condition caused by your neglect, please express yourself honestly and give your present dentist a chance to understand your concerns and show you that they care. You will be amazed at the wealth of treatment options that you might not have thought were possible. With modern dentistry, it's never too late to recreate a new smile!
Relaxation Techniques
If you feel tense in the chair, the easiest way to relax is through forms of physical relaxation. A relaxed body promotes a clear and relaxed mind. The human body cannot be physically relaxed and mentally anxious at the same time! The brain won't process these feelings simultaneously. Physical relaxation methods are easier to accomplish at first as compared to cognitive ones, so practice forms of physical relaxation first.
Examples of physical relaxation are Diaphragmatic Breathing, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and various methods taught in yoga . There are numerous books and sources for these methods. If you induce relaxation in the presence of the stimuli that normally induces your fears (the dental environment), the fear response will be greatly diminished over multiple exposures and you will gradually desensitize yourself to these fears as you build confidence. The memories of traumatic visits will be replaced with more innocuous ones and this less threatening environment coupled with your relaxation methods will help you eliminate your fears.
Distraction
As you get more comfortable in the dental environment, you can engage in various distraction techniques that many offices have. The use of a Walkman or Discman is a common technique. Many offices now are equipped with Virtual Reality-like glasses that provide both visual and auditory distraction by allowing you to view videotapes through these glasses while having dental work done. We only suggest using distraction techniques once you have established some trust and confidence because your ability to communicate will be compromised, although it is easy to stop any of these devices if need be.
Predictable Pain Control
Modern dentistry has many new techniques with regards to the administration of local anesthetics to block any possibility of pain. There are many people who have anatomical or biologic variations that do require more individualized techniques in order to predictably achieve proper local anesthesia. This variation must be respected and communicated to your dentist. All injections should be given slowly. The needle itself is not the major cause of discomfort, but in fact, it is the pressure and volume of the fluids being injected that causes the discomfort. There are also great differences in the types of tissue in various locations, anatomically and from person to person, that must be considered when administering injections. There are even computer-controlled machines that are now available to standardize the injection process and make it more predictable than the conventional hand-held syringe.
COMMUNICATE, EMPOWER YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE AND TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FEARS!
Dental Anxiety Self-Test
Many people have a high level of anxiety and avoid visiting the dentist. This can cause future dental problems. Below are some questions that, if answered yes, may signify that you have some form of dental anxiety. It is important to note, however, that many new, wonderful products and procedures are available that can make the dental visit a pleasant experience.
Do you feel slight uneasiness and tension the evening prior to your dental visit, which makes you cancel your dental appointment?
While waiting in the reception area of the dental office, do you feel nervous about the visit?
Have you had a prior dental experience that was unpleasant?
While in the dental chair, do you feel uneasy and anxious?
Does the thought of having a dental injection make you feel physically ill and tense?
Does seeing the dentist or dental hygienist's instruments make you anxious?
Do you feel embarrassed that the dentist will say you have the worst mouth they have ever seen?
Do objects placed in your mouth during the dental visit make you panic and feel like you cannot breath correctly?
Do you feel that your dentist is unsympathetic only with you?
Fear In The Dentist's Chair
What is the cause of dental phobia? According to a recent study in the British Dental Journal, dental phobia is initiated by a bad experience that unknowingly has become associated with dentistry.
The study has found that despite the advancement of modern techniques and the use of very effective anesthetics, patients still seem to maintain the same level of anxiety as they did years ago. The proportion was shown to be the same today as it was in the 1930's.
Dr. Ruth Freeman of Queens University Dental School in Belfast, wrote the article and explains that if all dental phobia were related to painful experiences from a patient's life, the condition should have gotten better over the years because of all the advanced techniques available today. This however is not the case and it suggests that dental phobia is brought on by outside experiences which are then related to dental experiences.
There are some techniques for relaxation that a dentist can put into practice for people with such trauma. Patients may be given sedation and be informed about pain control and they may be given the advantage of being able to control their own pain by stopping and starting treatment using hand signals.
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