Monday, October 27, 2008

Starting A home Business Is The First Step To your Financial Freedom

Whether economic times are good or bad having a home based business is the key to your financial freedom. I know that's a bold statement but think of this. When you are an employee, either hourly or salaried, someone else decides how much you make...with your own business you do. There's also the benefit of time freedom associated with it. You decide when to take your vacation, not your supervisor; you approve and schedule time off to attend important family functions, again not your supervisor. I think you get the idea.

Many of you already have your businesses but many don't and are thinking it's too costly to start one, or that they don't have the money to anyway. While that's often true, with the advent of the Internet comes an option that's low cost, has ready-made products available, and has low overhead and its called Internet Marketing.

For any business there is four basic elements. They are...first, you need a location to work from, secondly, a product to sell, thirdly, a method of marketing the produce, and finally, enough money to cover your overhead. Nearly every action you take falls into one of those categories. Now let me explain each of my points for you.

I say low cost because most likely you already have a computer, and if you don't they are very inexpensive these days and you can easily get one for under $1,000. You also need connectivity to the Internet, and here again you probably have it and if not you should be able to get it for under $25.00 a month. The overhead is low because you're already paying for your house and the electricity for the computer is low too.

Regarding products, I'll cover two no-cost options. First Affiliate Marketing, which is where you market other peoples product(s) and receive a commission for each sale. They take care of all the product development. You market the product and get paid for each sale.

The second option is Private Label and Master Resale Rights products. Here you receive a license to sell a product. With Private Label Rights you also have the option of altering it. With Master Resale Rights you can only sell the product.

With this second option you need the ability to upload the sales page to the Internet and that will require a web hosting account. There are free options available but they usually have their own advertising on your page, which distracts people from your sales message. I would stay away from the free option and pay the reasonable monthly fee for hosting. You can get all the hosting you need for $3.95 per month.

The quickest way to get started using Affiliate Programs is to go to clickbank.com and look in their marketplace. The link is at the top of the page. At Clickbank you will find products from many categories to sell. Just signup and get your ID and you're set.

To find Private Label and Master Resale Rights products simply go to your favorite search engine and type in the respective term and add the + sign a space and affiliate e.g. private label rights + affiliate. In doing so you'll find plenty of free and low cost options. You can further refine the search...say you are a dog lover and want to sell dog related products, just add dog to the search for dog related products.

Finally, the Internet has many no-cost, low cost, ways to market products for your home business that keeps your overhead very low. Three examples are article marketing where you write an article and submit it to article directories for others to publish to their website. This will generate traffic for you with potential sales. Secondly, there's e-mail marketing where you develop a mailing list and market to that list. And lastly, using forums to generate traffic, hear as with the other two make sure you comply with their polices and procedures guidelines.

For additional marketing tips please visit: http://www.netbiz04.com/internetmarketing20.html

Saturday, June 02, 2007

You Can Make Money With A Home Based Business

Would you like to earn money by starting your own home-based business? People choose to work from home for several reasons including the desire to stay home with their children, the need for extra income, or simply being dissatisfied with their current job. A home-based business will provide you with an exciting way to earn money and be your own boss. Numerous opportunities are available to internet marketers. When starting your home-based business you should develop a business plan and research your options thoroughly. Making wise decisions and following your business plan each step of the way can help you in creating a steady stream of income. Operating a home-based business will require hard work and effort. You will not become wealthy over night. It will take determination to succeed as an internet marketer. The amount of money you make will be directly related to the amount of work you are willing to do. When making your business plan, include both short and long term goals. Determine how you will achieve those goals and put your plan into action. Affiliate programs are excellent home-based business programs and there are numerous other internet marketing offers that will create steady income if you are willing to make the effort. Some of these opportunities may require an initial investment from you and others are advertised as free. Research all internet marketing opportunities carefully to make sure you understand the terms and conditions. As an internet marketer, you will have to distinguish yourself from the competition if you want to succeed. You should know your target audience and know your competition even better. Do not let self-doubt stop you from accomplishing your goals. Every successful internet marketer gives their business the very best effort possible. Hard work and determination will make your home-based business a success and provide you with a steady stream of income. Starting a home-based business is one of the most exciting and challenging endeavors you will ever undertake. A sound business plan and the will to succeed will set you apart from the competition. Choose the products or services you provide carefully. Make certain your services will be needed over the long term and make customer service your top priority. A loyal customer base is the key to the success or failure of your home-based business. A home-based business is an excellent way to gain independence and financial freedom. A sound business plan and a strong work ethic are all it takes to succeed.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Self-Employment: Smart Option or Income Trap?

Why do hundreds of people chuck in their job every day to journey down the road to become self-employed? In the vast majority of cases, it's to escape the income trap a normal worker-boss relationship perpetuates - i.e. if you stay a "worker" then you stay in this one-to-one relationship that exists between worker and boss, where you exchange your skills and effort in return for a fixed wage every week. The only way you can get money is to come back and do the same things all over again next week... or maybe do a little more work to get a little more pay. This linear relationship - you work, and then get paid - fixes your income. It commits you to a life of "more of the same" week in and week out, and never really provides the extra needed to escape this cycle. Now since the "boss" appears to be the winner here, the theory is that becoming your own boss is the first step on the road to wealth. But is it really? When you think of someone who is self-employed, whom do you think of? Do you think of trades people like a plumber or mechanic? Perhaps you think of a shopkeeper or take-away shop owner? Have these self-employed people escaped the linear income trap and put themselves on the road to wealth? No! They are still earning a linear income, because they only make money once from each person they sell or provide a service to. While they can maybe earn more than they could as a worker, it does come with the added costs of working longer hours, extra responsibility, and financial liability. And their income potential is still limited because they can only work for a fixed number of hours. When seeking out self-employment opportunities, avoid those that revolve around linear income where you repeatedly do the same tasks in order to earn an income. Instead, locate those opportunities that allow you to build residual (or passive) income. While these do take some effort to set up initially, only a little maintenance is needed once underway to keep the income flowing in. And what are you doing while it's earning money? If you are smart, you are looking to find and build another opportunity to generate recurring, long-term income for you, while you sleep, when you are on holiday, or even after you've retired! Whatever you do as a self employed person; you will have to work hard at it to make it work. But think smarter as well... Chase passive, residual income, and wealth is a lot easier to build.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

How to Find the Right Networking Marketing Opportunity

You finally decided to join the thousands of others who work from home. The home business you decide to pursue is network marketing. Now, before you just up and join any network marketing company that looks good on the surface, seems to have a good product, etc. and so forth, STOP! Why stop? Because there are crucial steps you need to take to avoid being in the 93% failure rate of most people who join a network marketing company. Follow these tips and you will way ahead of many other home-based business opportunity seekers. Tip #1: Commit to doing your research FIRST. I can't say enough how important this is. Starting a home-based business is a big decision and should never be done hastily and without careful thought. Commit to doing 5 or 6 hours of research on a number of companies. This one simple tip can greatly increase your level of success and save you years of frustration, being scammed, and most importantly, quitting. Tip #2: When looking at a network marketing opportunity, make sure the product the company promotes meets the needs of a hot and hungry market. In other words, whatever company you are looking to join, make sure there are people out there clamoring for the product and would buy it even if there were no business opportunity associated with it. You see, many people get so emotionally attached to a product or outcome that they totally miss the importance of seeing if there is even a market for it. If there is no market, you will have no success at all. Tip #3: Use Overture. When researching if there is a hot and hungry market for a product, Overture.com is a great way to see how many people are searching for any particular product or service in a given month. If your research shows only 1,000 people are searching for a product, it would be a waste of time for you to join a network marketing company that sells it. However, if you see searches for 30,000, 50,000, 100,000 or even more, you are on the right track! Tip #4: Check out the competitors of a product. Go the search engines Yahoo, Google, and MSN and look at the first 10 companies that are listed. If the first 10 are the same company, it's not good. However, if there are a variety of companies selling the product, this is good because it means that there is more of a demand for it. Tip #5: Use Overture's bid tool. By doing this, you will be able to see if there are many people interested in a product and how much they are willing to pay per click to have folks come and visit their site. If there isn't a lot of bidding going, that's a bad sign. If there are quite a few people bidding on a specific term related to the product the network marketing opportunity promotes, that is a very good thing. These are simple strategies and tools you can use to research if the network marketing opportunity is worth your time and money. If you follow these tips, and your research shows the home-based business opportunity is worth pursuing, go for it!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Work ON Your Business, Not IN Your Business

Business owners everywhere are working seven days a week, struggling to sell their products and services, as well as attending to all the daily tasks of keeping the business going. The paperwork alone can be a full time job. Few seek help, often saying, "I can't afford to hire someone...I barely make enough to pay myself!" The truth is, you can't afford not to hire help for those mundane tasks. This is especially true if those tasks require expertise you don't have. Every minute you spend learning how to do something is precious time you could be spending on developing your business. Self-made millionaire, Cory Rudl, said the best business decision he'd ever made was to hire someone to help him. Although he was paying out almost half his earnings to his employee, that move freed him to develop his business into a money making machine, to the tune of millions of dollars. You can do the same for your business, and it won't cost half your earnings either. By creating "mini projects" you can hire a freelancer to do those routine chores and pay them for the hours you need them. Creating those mini projects will take some effort at first. It means you have to stop and think before you tackle a task, "Is this something I have to do myself, or can I delegate this to someone else?" Even after getting started on a task, it's important to be aware of your time spent - if it takes you too long to do it, you're wasting your time! That's the signal to hire a freelancer who can do the job for you. Although many freelancers can come to your business office, you can save even more money with "virtual assistants." The craze for virtual assistants has taken the Internet world by storm. Virtual assistants are capable, competent people in every country who are looking for work they can do from their own office. And their rates are incredibly low. For $2 or $3 per hour, you can have your website developed, all your QuickBooks transactions entered, have a software program developed to make your life easier...the options are endless. For a few more dollars per hour, you can hire the best available copywriters, marketing gurus, graphics designers...you name it. The key is to define your mini project, decide what you're willing to pay to have it done and get the word out. The Internet is a great way to get the word out about your project. Websites such as www.GetaFreelancer.com, www.ScriptLance.com, www.Elance.com and www.RentaCoder.com have hundreds of professionals eager to work. Post your your mini project on these websites and you'll have 20 bidders or more in a few hours. In a very short time you'll be able to choose the best qualified professional for your project at your price. So, if you're working in your business, doing everything from sales to bookkeeping, decide now to get help. If you want your business to grow, you can't afford not to.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Abundance is for Everyone

Abundance is for everyone, not just the limited few that life appears to have smiled on. We are surrounded by abundance. Nature is lavish, even wasteful in its abundance. Anyone caring to look will find an abundance of love, joy, money, and health is readily available to everyone willing to accept them. Even when it comes to wealth. If there is any lack in our lives it's not because there is not enough, but rather, because we are limiting our intake. What we receive in life is controlled by the limits we place on our emotions, behaviors, thoughts and actions. There are many factors involved in why it is so hard for us to open the valve controlling the flow of abundance and wealth in our lives. By the time we become aware of the fact that we create our own limits, the beliefs and habits we've developed that produce these limits are so ingrained they are very difficult to change. Society also has its role to play. Since most of the world's governments have become capitalistic societies, it's in their best interest to promote conditions and belief systems that produce large numbers of have-nots. Simple economics tells us that in order for capitalism to thrive, there must be a large supply meeting a large demand and you must have people who are in debt to create a large enough demand to consume that large supply. The simple reality is that the governments of the world make their money from our poor health, debt, and our struggle to "just get by." Their abundance and wealth is dependant on our lack. But this does not mean we have to accept these limits. While it's true that most people will never take advantage of it, information about attracting wealth and prosperity is freely available to anyone caring to look. And the law of attraction says that the more you look, the more information you will attract. What fills your life is what you focus on. Learning to create abundance in your life is about much more than simply creating material wealth, it is about enriching your Self as a whole. When you begin to understand the principles and laws that govern Abundance, you begin to understand that you are not constrained by the conditions of the economy or the amount of your present income. Your ability to increase your wealth, live in abundance, and have financial freedom is all based on your understanding of the universal laws that govern the flow of energy controlling your ability to turn potential into reality. Yet there is more to creating abundance than simply placing an order and then sitting back to wait for its delivery. You have to be giving something of value, adding to the flow, in order to make this work. When this is the case people are more than willing to pay for your contribution. Wealth, money, success, love, and health are all forms of energy. Being part of the flow means that you are a participating member. Once you understand how to operate in the flow of that energy, you learn to work with the Source of energy and actively create your reality instead of simply letting random thoughts create a chaotic existence for you. Abundance is about living a healthy, vibrant life with a purpose and experiencing the joy that comes from possessing a strong sense of Self.