The Entrepreneurs Club

Making Money Online

2009-06-30T02:28:00.001-07:00

Making money online is not as impossible as it might seem. You don't have to have an innovative idea no one has done before. There are many ways you can make money online. Chances are good there is someone else selling the same product or service online also. So, you will want to do your homework research your competition. You want to know what they are doing and how they are doing it. You may want to under cut their price just a little, but you will need to make a profit or you will put yourself out of business. One of the most important factors with running a business online is traffic. You want people visiting your website. If they don't buy the first time, they may come back another time. You want them to remember your website, so you will want it to stand out in a crowd. It will still need to be user friendly because you don't want them to remember your website as the website they couldn't figure out how to use.

In other words, making money on the Internet is not any different then making money in the physical world. You will have to make a monetary investment into your business, and you will have to be willing to do the work necessary to make the business run smoothly. It takes more than a couple of clicks of your mouse for you to make money on the Internet. You want to send traffic to your website. The best way to send traffic to your website is to advertise. You will have to learn about the different ways you can advertise on the Internet. When advertising on the Internet, you can spend a large sum of money in advertising and it won't do any more for you than if you had advertised with the same place, but spent less money. Google adwords is a good example. Google adwords is a good way to advertise, but you can end up spending a fortune very fast. In fact Google will even tell you. Google will work with you as far as setting a daily advertising budget and they will stick to it. They will give you plenty of tips and pointers to help you when advertising with them.

Choose the product or service you will be selling on the Internet carefully. If you choose to go with a product, make sure there is plenty of profit margin. Many people will start their online business using online auctions such as Ebay. Ebay will charge you a small fee for listing and selling your items on their site, but if you have a website, Ebay will also allow you to link your item with your website. This gives the customer interested in your product to look at your website where they will be able to see all the products you offer for sell. By starting your business this way, you will need only a small amount of money to start your business.

Another type of business you can start with very little investment money is contract labor. You will work for yourself and the client who contracts you for the job they need performed. You will need to look for positions on the Internet job sites in order to find positions which you would be qualified to perform. You will apply or bid on the project and if you are awarded, you do the work to the customers satisfaction and you will be paid. You will need a small amount of investment money because the job sites will ask you to by points in order to bid on the jobs or you will have to pay a monthly fee in order to apply for the jobs you are interested in and qualify for. With this type of business the more computer software you are familiar with the wider range of jobs you will probably qualify for. You will be able to make money even if you only know Word and know your way around the Internet.

So as you can see they are many different ways you can make money online. All you need is to do it.

About the Author

Ray Subs works with Make Money Online as a public relations consultant, more information about Make Money Online can be found at http://www.makemoneyonline.com Makemoneyonline is a link to a page on the World Wide Web.

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Home Business Idea. Get Out Of The Rat Race With Your Own Home Business Idea!

2009-06-26T18:10:00.001-07:00

Honest Home Business Idea For A Better Lifestyle. Why Invest In A Home Business?

Running a business from home is the greatest job in the world, at least that is what everybody is telling you.

The facts are a little bit different, but once you become successful, you quickly realize that working from home really is the best job in the world.

It is not always easy to make a start as a newcomers to Internet success, and the journey to success is not as easy as some same.

However, the truth is, the rewards are better than you would ever believe, and the freedom to choose your own destiny cannot be equalled in any job, anywhere in the world.

If you are tired of having to wake up early every morning just so you can avoid heavy traffic and arrive at your place of work in time to start work, in a job you would rather not be doing, then running a business from home might just be the answer.

Working from home might be a solution to going to work everyday but it takes guts, talent and lots of hard work and determination.

You will however, be able to avoid all the negative things associated with going to the office everyday by investing in a home based business. As the term denotes, a home business refers to a business venture that is based right in the comforts of your home.

The start up costs are virtually zero and the running cost of working for ones self is nothing in comparison to running a business from an office, shop or warehouse. You also have the added bonus of not having to hire staff and pay wages to employees.

One of the biggest benefits of running your own business on the Internet is hiring skilled people who never complain, let you down or cost you too much money.

The Internet is awash with skilled people who are very willing to do all the hard technical jobs you would rather not do. They do it without complaining, without you having to pay regular wages, without listening to them moan, and best of all, they get the job done quickly for very little money.

Most people dream of a home based business, not just because it offers an opportunity to work at home and avoid the bother of going out and traveling to work everyday, but also because of the financial rewards.

A home business may seem risky for a beginner because you never knows what fate awaits you in your new business venture. However, once you have successfully established your business, you have actually struck gold.

A home business gives you all the freedom to do as you pleases and to operate the business using your own style and skills.

Starting your business requires little capital and low overhead, especially when you compare it to a shop-based business which requires expensive rentals. A home business requires no rent at all, which can be a favourable factor in your long term success.

An individual embarking on a home business venture will generally prefer an idea which is already familiar to them, either because they are already in that business or it is a hobby, interest or passion. In such cases, it is assumed that they already has most of the equipment needed to start the business.

Most homes already have telephone connections so using a telephone for your home business would not be an additional expense. If you are already equipped with computers and printers you can also use them in your new venture.

A website business you run from home does not just allow for minimal capital but it also creates massive savings for the businessperson.

These savings can be in the form of your budget for fuel, working clothes, vehicle depreciation and time which would be otherwise expended if you work somewhere else. If you work for someone else, you get a fixed amount of money every month no matter the amount of effort you exert in your work.

When you own an internet based home business, what you earn will depend on how industrious you are and how dedicated you are to your business.

Simply put, the more effort you exert in a home business the better your financial rewards will be.

About the Author

Copyright John Adams. Honest Home Business Mentor Honest Home Business Idea - Build Your Own Future The Easy Way. Become Your Own Boss And Control Your Own Destiny

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What Managers Need: The Fundamentals Of Employment Contracts

2009-06-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

Getting that initial contract of employment template ready can be a real hassle, and it’s tempting to get a professional to draft it up, but even at that stage, it’s important to know what you’re promising your employee, and to make sure that there are no loopholes that can be exploited by less scrupulous employees. Whether or not you’re using a contract of employment template or writing one from scratch, you need to make sure all the bases are covered. For that reason, I’ve written up this guide to explain what you might need to have on the form, and why:

Firstly, it’s important to note that you must give your employees a contract – in fact, by law you’re required to give them a statement of terms within 2 months of them joining, but that’s the bare minimum, and it’s really in your interests to give them something more comprehensive. This is the kind of thing that company employment contracts should contain:

Names

Can’t have an employment contract without names - both your employee and the company’s. This should also include addresses of both parties

Start Date

This is particularly important to keep a track of, because it can be used to work out when employees gain new benefits, as well as keeping a track as to when they should be up for review.

Job Title and Description

Put down the same job title that you advertised with, and then any duties that you feel they may be undertaking. It might be worth covering your back here and including something to the effect that the duties are down to your discretion and are open to change. If not, they could theoretically refuse to undertake anything else – and have the law on their side, so be sure to leave some space to manoeuvre in your company employment contracts.

Place of Work

This keeps a legal note of the office location in the employment contract, but can also extend to allow occasional working from home and of course for potential office moves in the future.

Hours of Work

This is where you stipulate the number of hours the employee needs to keep, and the manner in which they can keep them (e.g: do they have a flexitime setup where they need to complete a certain number of hours within any given week?) The employee can also agree to additional hours, as long as the employer does not demand more than 48 hours a week, which would be illegal. The employee can voluntarily opt out of the law, should they wish.

Probationary Period

This is a nice one to include in the contract, because sometimes things just don’t work out – either they employee isn’t what the employer was looking for or the job isn’t right. This trial time typically has a shorter notice period and employment can be terminated by either side at any time. This is typically a number of months or weeks, but can be extended by the employer if they put such a clause into the UK employment contract.

Salary

This is what your employee expects to see on their wage slip at the end of each month and an area fundamental to the employment contract. It’s worth noting that the figure will be before any tax deductions or national insurance is taken into account.

Assessments

If the employer wishes, they can schedule regular assessments here – every 6-12 months would be a sensible figure, allowing you to monitor their development easily.

Deductions

This is the point in the employment contract where you outline all circumstances in which you are permitted to make deductions from the salary. This is a really good opportunity to cover your back and outline the kind of behaviour you expect from your employee.

Expenses

Covering what your employees can expect by way of expenses is very important to ensure they are aware of how much they will be covered by you for heir work. Make sure that you avoid errors and fraud by insisting that each claim is backed up with proof of payment.

Holiday Time

This obviously outlines the period of holiday that an employee is allowed, with the minimum being 24 days including bank holidays. It is important that you inform employees whether bank holidays are included or excluded from the figure. There are certain other aspects you need to consider when writing this part of the UK contract of employment:

1) Whether employees should be allowed to take busy periods off (most retail industries will want to avoid this)
2) Holidays rolling over into the next employment year (though it’s important to note that this is not allowed for statutory holiday, only time off over the minimum.)
3) Any restrictions on holiday time to employees who have already served notice

Sickness

Absence through sickness can be a major drain on businesses, especially small ones, so it’s important to be vigilant with this section. You will need to outline what time the worker needs to contact the employer telling them they will not be in, when a doctor’s certificate is required and whether the employee will receive statutory or contractual sick pay.

Pension

Here you need to outline the pension scheme the employee can expect, whether it be a company one, a stakeholder one or if there isn’t one provided by the company. You will need to change any contract of employment template to reflect the policy of your company.

Notice

This is an important one – the notice period. Outlining the period of worktime that needs to be served before an employee’s contract can be terminated, this is also the place to outline a list of actions that constitute gross misconduct, and can allow an employee to be dismissed without notice. If you don’t define this clearly in your company employment contracts you can be left distinctly short-handed of a sudden!

Restrictive Covenants

An intimidating sounding title for an intimidating piece of the document! This is where you get to protect confidential and commercially sensitive information belonging to the employer. You can also prevent an employee from setting up a competing business while in your employment, and for a set period of time from when they leave the employer. This can also cover preventing the employee from encouraging others to leave for a competing business. You will want to close this section with the threat of legal action, should these promises be broken.

Disciplinary Policy and Grievance Procedure

This is the part of the employment contract where you outline the company’s disciplinary policy. You state the standards and conduct you expect, and the consequences of failure to meet these standards.

The grievance procedure outlines the course of action available to employees should they have a complaint they cannot resolve through regular communication with their line manager.

Retirement

This states the employee’s contractual retirement age. It’s important that this complies with the relatively recent 2006 age discrimination legislation, or you could be fighting legal action.

Severability

If you have a template of employment contracts, rather than tailoring each one to each employee this section is essential. It basically states that each section of the document stands independently of the rest and thus if one does not apply to any employee it does not effect the others.

Prior Agreements

This is an important one to keep in, as it expresses that the employment contract contains all the terms that should apply, and any other agreements – written or verbal – do not count.

Jurisdiction

This is required to confirm that the UK contract of employment is held under the jurisdiction of English courts.

Particulars of Employment

Since the Employment Rights Act of 1996, all UK employment contracts are required to have the main terms outlined on a separate schedule, so that both the employee and the employer can easily refer to them, to refresh their memories of the main points.

Make sure you have all these fundamentals of employment contracts covered, and that each one matches the expectations of the employee and you should have no problem!

About the Author

Iain Mackintosh is the managing director of Simply-Docs. The firm provides over 1100 legal documents covering all aspects of business from holiday entitlement to contract of employment templates.

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What are Executive Compensation Agreements

2009-06-19T10:28:00.001-07:00

An Executive Compensation Agreement is an agreement between a company and a potential executive whom the company would like to hire for employment. These agreements lay out the terms of an executive's employment, including but not limited to provisions covering the executive's compensation, including a bonus structure, scope of employment, grounds for termination, and severance package available upon termination. Specifically, when drafting an Executive Compensation Agreement, be sure to include the following provisions:

1. Opening Recitals. Be sure to first include the date of the agreement, the name of the company and the executive (and any abbreviations of the names that will be used throughout), the address of the company's headquarters, and general purpose for the agreement. This recital can be as simple as: "Company and Executive are forming this agreement for executive to provide company with services as __________", and list the title of the position.

2. Terms and Conditions. The first few provisions should lay out the terms and conditions of the agreement. This should include the title of the position. It should also include the length of the term of employment, and whether or not the term is renewable by either party or upon mutual consent.

3. Scope of Duties. The scope of the executive's duties and the expectations of the company should be laid out in detail. In exchange for compensation, what is the executive being hired to do? Will he be required or expected to meet certain financial goals? How many employees will he be managing? These questions should be answered in detail. If describing these duties takes up several pages, it may be advisable to create an attachment and refer to it in the agreement. If this is the case, the provision could read: "In consideration of receiving compensation, executive agrees to perform the position, duties and office outlined in Attachment A."

4. Compensation and Benefits. The executive's compensation and benefits package should also be covered in detail. This should include annual salary, bonus opportunities for achieving certain goals, and stocks and stock options. His benefits package should be covered, listing his vacation time, health benefits, travel reimbursement, 401(k), pension (if applicable), disability pay, etc. Again, if the drafter prefers, he or she may want to draw up this information on a separate document, attach it to the agreement, and simply refer to the attachment.

5. Termination. Usually an executive is subject to termination under certain circumstances or upon certain events. These grounds for termination must be described in this provision. There are several scenarios that may be in play:

a. If the executive is to remain an "at-will" employee, then management can terminate the executive's employment at any time, for any reason. If this is the case, the executive should be able to do the same.

b. In the alternative, the company may be allowed to fire the executive for any reason, but must provide the executive certain notice, usually in writing. An executive may be able to negotiate for as much as twelve (12) months written notice. Again, here the executive might be required to do the same.

c. Alternatively, the company may only be allowed to terminate the executive for "good cause". If so, the term "good cause" must be defined. Usually good cause is defined as the failure to achieve modest financial targets or if the executive commits a bad act against the company, such as theft, or violates his fiduciary duty, duty of loyalty, or duty of confidentiality.

These are the most critical provisions that must be addressed in an Executive Employment Agreement. Provisions covering compensation upon termination, covenants regarding inventions and copyrights, protection of confidential information, covenant not to compete, severability, and governing law should also be included. For more information or to read actual clauses from Executive Employment Agreements, please visit the agreement section of this website.

About the Author

Mark Warner is an Executive Compensation Agreement Research Analyst for RealDealDocs.com. RealDealDocs gives you insider access to millions of legal documents online drafted by the top law firms in the US that you can download, edit and print. Search For Free at RealDealDocs.com.

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What Difference Can a Colour Make?

2009-06-16T02:23:00.001-07:00

Have you ever walked down a street and turned the corner – and there in front of you is the most hideous coloured car you have ever seen in your life? A hideous purple, or gaudy green? The car itself may be quite fabulous (in the dark) but the owner has seen fit to cover it in the most awful paint imaginable. Sure, there are boring colours that seem to dominate particular years of car design – Audi ‘metallic sand’ was the colour of choice for many years. Ford even saw fit to allow buyers to adorn their Mondeos in a hideous semi fluorescent yellow. Maybe it’s all a ploy to distract buyers from how bad a particular model is. As if in some way if they can distract the general public with the colour they can draw their eye away from the terrible safety, poor quality and general nastiness of their offering?

Looking around the office furniture market, one could easily be lead into thinking the same could apply. At launches of new products we often see wacky colour schemes which are clearly meant to make us remember them. Or conversely everything is so bland and all white that we are supposed to think of them as cool – as if an association with iPod’s would make the chair in question cooler. Okay – well maybe that does work.

A popular brief received by office furniture dealers all over the country is ‘fresh and contemporary’ so then we try hard to find the best catalogue photography to show a customer the look that can be achieved.
Most designers and furniture suppliers have virtually begged a client at some point to pick a different colour. Knowing that to choose that particular colour would make an office look boring, or staid – or possibly dated and faddish.

Whilst office furniture suppliers have seen some great colour schemes in place – whether through a customer with a good eye for detail, or as a result of a good interior designer – we have also seen some hideous ideas see the light of day too. I had a client about 8 years ago who set his heart on installing different pastel colours (about 8 different shades in all) blinds to each window in the office. He then colour matched the various pillars in the office to match a window blind. A nice idea in theory perhaps, but it looked awful. Embarrassingly so. It was so bad that visitors would come into the office and audibly draw breath at the choice. He was the boss though and he liked them, so it stayed. That is until some months later when the staff finally broke and demanded that new blinds were installed and paint applied put in to stop them walking.

The problem is that some sales people worry that they will lose an order if they start getting too involved with something that is such a personal choice anyway. They lose sight of the fact that perhaps the customer would like some help – rather than a ‘Yes’ man just agreeing “Oh yes sir that would look fabulous!”. This is an element of service that a good supplier can easily overlook in the quest for a quick sale. One must consider that if a customer suddenly realises in a years time that it really does look awful – they’ll be looking to blame someone for such a poor choice and the salesman looks like a likely scapegoat. The end result of this is that they may never return with repeat business in case you ‘let’ them choose something else hideous.

Colour choice needs to be a considered affair. Often the colours chosen are governed by the need for a corporate logo colour, or a carpet colour to be matched. If these aren’t relevant then you can really have some fun. But remember that colours have their own psychological symbolism . Black can mean style, power, mystery, solemnity. White can mean purity, sterility, and cleanliness. Red says sex, speed, arrogance, strength, bravery and more. Blue symbolises calm, productive, confidence, conservatism, and seriousness. Unusual colours like orange mean enthusiasm, flamboyance, creativity, and playfulness. Choosing pink can have mixed messages too including appreciation, admiration, sympathy, femininity, health, love, or homosexuality.

The message is clear therefore. When choosing a colour – take a moment to consider. What is the colour saying about your company to everyone that visits?

Now would you like that office chair in red, black or blue......?

About the Author

For further information regarding our range of reception furniture please visit our website at http://www.evolutionfurniture.co.uk/

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Tips for Using SMB Phone Systems to Streamline Telephone Business Communications

2009-06-11T02:35:00.001-07:00

Email has become a significant factor in the business world; however telephone conversations still have a vital role in business communications and the level of success for many businesses. The standards of etiquette for business telephone processes for major corporations also apply to small companies utilizing small business (SMB) phone systems.

Becoming more professional on the telephone can increase the chance of acquiring a new client as well as keeping current clients. Being professional with people who are providing services to you will help to ensure they provide quality work. This article focuses on tips for increasing professionalism while participating in a telephone business conversation.

Managing the Growing Call Volume of a Growing Business

The telephone can be a constant source of distraction for the small yet thriving business. As the business begins to grow, so too does the call volume. For young companies, one of the first necessary employees is a receptionist to handle the calls. With someone manning the phones that can ensure that no calls slip through the cracks and handle basic questions such as hours and directions, small business owners free up their time to handle the upper level business functions.

However, many young companies either don't have the budget for a receptionist's salary or would rather spend the money some other way. Another solution is to make a one-time investment in one of the feature-rich SMB phone systems available on the market today. These professional SMB phone systems allow customers to push buttons to be directed to the intended caller, and can be programmed with pre-recorded messages that answer basic questions.

Ensuring The Calls Get To The Right People

When a business moves from a one or two person operation, or from a one location to a multi-location operation, getting calls to the right people can become a logistical nightmare. Many of today's small businesses rely on remote employees or remote locations to handle parts of their operations.

Using an SMB phone system, you can transfer calls anywhere in the world without asking the caller to hang up and then dial another number. Even if you're transferring from your California office to your outsourced bookkeeper in Pittsburg, the caller's perception is that you're transferring the call from one part of the office to another.

When working with multiple people in multiple locations, there is always the risk that calls will become lost. If your bookkeeper in Pittsburg isn't home to answer the call, will he or she get the message? One missed call can sometimes make or break a business relationship.

With many of the SMB phone systems available today, you can set various numbers to call if the first number is unanswered. For example, if your bookkeeper is unavailable to answer the office phone, the call will be directed to her cell phone. If that goes unanswered, the call can either be sent to voice mail or be routed to another person to take the call.

Some of today's SMB phone systems have features that will turn the recorded voicemail message left by your customer into an audio file and send it straight to their email. With the advanced technology powering SMB phone systems, there are numerous ways to ensure that a call doesn't fall through the cracks.

Recording Critical Information

There are few situations more embarrassing than asking a client or a prospect to repeat information. It is essential to take notes during the conversation to ensure that you are getting all of the information you need to give a quote, complete a job, or fill an order.

However, putting too much focus on note taking can cause you to seem 'distant' from the conversation. If you're more focused on taking notes than on engaging in the conversation, you may miss critical points or miss opportunities to ask important questions.

One way to avoid this uncomfortable situation is to record the call. Some SMB phone systems have features that allow you to record the phone call and automatically save it to a .wav or .mp3 file that you can review later. Whenever you choose to record a call, be sure to let the other person knows that you are recording and why you are creating the recording.

Whether you're running a busy dental office or operating a service business from home with remote employees, you can have the professional feel of a large corporate office by implementing a professional SMB phone system. These feature-rich SMB phone systems can not only streamline your business processes, but also significantly increase the prestige and professionalism of your business in the mind of your client.

About the Author

Christine O'Kelly is an Author for Best Deal Allworx, a leading provider of Allworx small business phone systems. Allworx offers SMB phone systems solutions designed specifically for small to mid-sized businesses.

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Big Ideas for Small Business: Cross Training Your Staff

2009-06-07T18:30:00.001-07:00

You already know it takes superpowers to run a business. You have to be a mind reader and a fortuneteller, and have the ability to be in 10 places at once. But even the greatest super hero needs back up. Cross-training your employees is the key. This article is designed to provide you with tips for cross training your staff so you relieve pressure by giving every employee the know-how to meet customer expectations that live up to your own. Specifics may vary from person to person; however, the following information includes helpful and important guidelines from which everyone can benefit.

The numbers are in, and the bean counters are smiling: Cross training does save money. Employees profit from learning new skills while keeping boredom at bay. They're more motivated, feel more valued and that means they're more likely to stay put. Your organization profits from productivity that reflects on your bottom line. Need any more motivation than that? Here are five signs it's time to call for back-up - and give yourself a break:

1. When the neighborhood kids set up a lemonade stand, you ask for a P&L Statement.
2. Your idea of exercise if right-clicking.
3. You fall asleep to the "pings" of incessant emails.
4. You tell your kids to go play in their cubes.
5. Your favorite fruit is blackberry.

Seriously, though, relieving some of the pressure your experience at work can do amazing things to your productivity levels. It seems strange that getting rid of work actually lets you do more work! But how do you know which projects to delegate and to whom you should delegate them?

Cross-training your staff sometimes seems like it requires cross-training shoes to keep up. Nothing tests your endurance more than having to set goals, schedule briefings, monitor progress, etc. Are your employees up to speed on the latest company projects, proposals and projections? Regularly scheduled meetings eliminate the guesswork and are an integral component to any cross-training initiative. They break down department barriers and build up teamwork. Keep meetings short, sweet and to the point (hey, some pizza wouldn't hurt either). Here are five quick tips that will help you schedule successful meetings with your employees:

1. Establish a place to meet and make sure everyone's informed
2. Prepare an outline
3. Create takeaways
4. Arrange to have any electronic equipment you may require
5. Use the right products to enhance presentations

Attending meetings is a way of life in almost every business, large and small! Making the most out of every meeting by planning ahead, sticking to a time limit and a schedule will help everyone stay on track!

Your cross-training efforts can also pay off big time with a united vision your customers will notice. Cross-training gives employees cross-functional expertise but - can they deliver your message persuasively? Presentation skills are fundamental and every dynamic one begins with the question: What's the purpose of this presentation? Is it to inform? Motivate? Sell the audience on an idea? From there, establish a structure with a logical flow for a presentation that's ready for prime time. One of the keys to making any presentation as dynamic as possible is proper planning. Here are five things to keep in mind as you teach your employees how to develop a great presentation:

1. Define your intentions
2. Know your audience
3. Collect as much information as possible
4. Build structure into your presentation
5. Practice, practice, practice

About the Author

Sharon Mann is President of the I Hate Filing Club, a group of nearly 100,000 office professionals who hate filing but love finding new ways to become more organized. Learn more about how cross training your staff can help you be more productive - visit our website and sign up for the Big Ideas newsletter.

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Thinking about Marketing Stickiness

2009-06-03T10:36:00.001-07:00

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a joke or worried to death by a frown on the right person's brow.

-Charles Browder

I was intrigued by finding a way to capture public imagination for the 400 Year Project (finding ways to demonstrate and encourage making improvements 20 times faster in all areas from 2015 through 2035). With enough interest, progress on the project would occur on many simultaneous fronts without any direct involvement by us as other people pioneered their own solutions.

We obviously had a problem. Everyone who heard about the project thought that "the 400 Year Project" was a vague and uninspiring way to describe our purpose. How could people who wanted to produce so much progress be so backward in communicating their purpose?

Our solution at the time was to downplay talking about the project and to focus instead on tangible benefits that people were seeking. One of our semiannual steering committee meetings involved having people tell us what would really excite them about making rapid progress.

I cringed when I learned that the consensus was that people wanted to learn better ways to persuade others to follow their every whim. Everyone in the room was confident that he or she was always right and only some weird perversity caused others to disagree.

When I gently suggested reasons why others might have a different perspective, some stoutly disagreed that that could be possible while others said that the others would just have to change their perspectives. It was yet more evidence that stalls (bad habits that delay progress) are present in even the best leaders.

I had forgotten an early lesson from law school: No two people see the same issue in the same way. In fact, you can often make quite powerful arguments in favor of more than two positions on an issue. Sometimes the issues are so closely conflicted among various interests that it's hard to pick a "right" solution.

I didn't think that helping people become more persuasive about their personal opinions was going to be the way to advance the project. But clearly if we strayed very far from self-interest, we would lose our audience and fail to gain interest from others.

In contrast to our fumbling efforts, we learned about a number of worldwide movements that had succeeded in gaining mass interest. All of these movements had a humanitarian bent and began with a solution in mind (or at least a principle to use in creating the specific solution). No one had, to our knowledge, stirred the popular imagination by leading a broad-based search for answers to thousands of important questions.

But we drew comfort from observing that the world is also full of people who either are high performers or who aspire to be high performers. Perhaps if we built on the motivation these people already felt for some desired result and gave the aspiring a better way to get to their outsized dreams, we could create a mass movement . . . one person at a time.

Here's how I imagined it might work: We arm an effective person with ways to accomplish more. In normal copy-cat style, dozens will emulate what that person does. Soon, there will be few choices but to follow the new level of effectiveness in that same area.

If we can encourage people to see the benefits of making breakthrough progress on a regular basis, there will soon be the kind of collective emphasis on breakthroughs in a given area that has driven the semiconductor industry forward so effectively for the last several decades.

I decided to explore that approach of arming the aspiring while keeping a watchful eye out for possible ways to create an interesting symbol or concept that would stick in peoples' minds to help turn them into effective innovators.

When we came up with the concept of calling accomplishing 20 times more with the same time and effort a "2,000 percent solution" we had the breakthrough description to get the attention of the aspiring.

Can you summarize your key benefit into a brief phrase, metaphor, or goal? If so, you'll vastly increase how many people are attracted to what you are working on.

About the Author

Donald Mitchell is an author of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. Read about creating breakthroughs through 2,000 percent solutions and receive tips by e-mail by registering for free at

http://www.fastforward400.com .

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What to Do to Earn Residual Income

2009-05-31T02:31:00.001-07:00

Do you know what residual income is? If not, then this article is written just for you.

But before you gain some information about residual income, you must understand first the essence of an income. An income is defined as the sum of money that is received as a payment for labor or services or sale of goods or earnings from investments.

Now generally there are two types of income: the passive income and residual income. How the two differs from each other? Basically, passive income is an income that does not necessarily need your direct participation. The best examples of passive income are network marketing, rental properties or payments on crafts.

On the other hand residual income is the earnings generated after some time from a one time investment. Examples of residual income include affiliate programs, creating eBook and network marketing.

Now if you want to earn more without overspending, making the most of your residual income is the best solution. You can earn residual income even at home. Yes it's very possible to make more money by working at home. With residual income you can derive benefit from continuous earnings for a job that you've done one time. You get the chance to work at home and work anytime you want to. It's like you're free as a bird to do your job because you are your own boss. You spend minimal effort to work but enjoy enormous profits in the future.

And as you can see today home-based businesses or working at home is a trend. It's the product that most people enjoy because of the Internet technology. You can work part-time or full-time, whichever you want.

If you're interested to earn residual income, here are some of best ways on how to do it:

1. Be familiar with your website. There are lots of benefits that you can enjoy when you know your website. You should have a full understanding of what your offerings are. Once you know your website, for sure, you'll gain more income from it.

2. Free newsletters are surefire marketing boosters. When you give free newsletters to the visitors of your site, you are enticing greater profits. You can even give some additional benefits to your visitors to help improve your sales.

3. Forums can also be of help. When you join in forums, you're able to keeping touch with others. It's also one way of building relationships and helping others know more about the workflow of the online business.

4. Article writing is a must. Writing articles gives you the opportunity to let others know how you were able to pass with flying colors. It's a way of sharing your success with others.

5. Try the SEO or search engine optimization. This approach is allowing you to earn profits by setting up a website and get rankings and then allow the search engines to increase the sales for you.

6. Make affiliate programs. Affiliate programs help you to acquire partners and receive commissions whenever they make sales. Instead of making sales on your own, your affiliates will be the ones generating great profits for you.

7. e-Book creation is another means of earning a residual income. It's a form of product development wherein you make an eBook and sell it through the internet or any automated system.

Indeed there are several ways on how you can get a hold of a fruitful residual income. You only need be some sense of determination and persistence to achieve good results. You'll see it's worth working for to see that you've done only minimal work and reap the fruits of your labor in the end.

About the Author

"Wanna Lean The Secret To Making $85,147,717 Per Month
While Quickly And Easily EXPLODING Your Network Marketing Organization by 7,141 People Without EVER Buying Or Calling a Single Stinking Lead?" Free CD Explains All - http://www.easymlmprofits.com

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The Necessity Of Research When Looking For A Business Savings Account

2009-05-27T18:33:00.001-07:00

In these times of turmoil the need for business savings is especially acute. The savvy business owner understands that by making savings for the future, it is possible to safeguard their operations from recession or a downturn in trade. As a result of this need, banks are now offering even more forms of business savings package, in the hope that more companies will deposit their savings with them. The choice for the business owner then is unenviable, with a market saturated with accounts to suit all manner of companies. Hopefully the following article will highlight some of the different accounts available.

Whether a multinational corporation or simply a home-run online operation the need to save is clearly evident. While it may be tempting to simply leave profits and income in a current account, with a little research it is possible to make this money work for the business, earning higher interest and hence more profits. Subsequently interest rates should always be considered when looking at account packages. However it is important to realise that interest should not be the only concern, services and access should also be considered if a conscientious decision be made.

A savings account is defined as a means of holding money outside of a person's or business' liquid finances. The result is an account that earns the business additional revenue that would otherwise be unattainable. In most cases however, the price of this additional revenue is that the access to the funds is limited. For instance a bank may place a stipulation on the savings account stating that withdrawals and transactions may only be made in a specific timescale, or up to a certain amount per month. The reason the banks do this is so that savers are given an ethic to save. The result is that the business is encouraged to leave its money in the account and earning more interest, additionally the bank will be able to use the funds for investments on a global scale.

While some banks may completely cease transactions and withdrawals from the account after the financial or temporal stipulations have been exceeded this is not always the case. Businesses especially need to have access to their funds to cope with unforeseen circumstances meaning that banks will allow transactions to be made after the limits have been met. However, the banks do not perform this act lightly; it is often the case that if a business wishes to perform a withdrawal over the monthly limit, the bank will be able to add a charge to this transaction, and any transactions thereafter.

Naturally, like any service the bank's charges for additional transactions will vary. This is why research is a key element when choosing a savings account, with so many on the market it is always advisable to take a look at the variety of accounts on offer, the level of service they provide, the interest rates they give and the charges they will place upon transactions over the limit. It is only through balancing these account features against the needs of a business that it is possible to find the right account.

It is hoped that this article has set forward the importance or research when look at business savings packages. Like anything in the world of commerce, a careful and considered approach is the most advisable and will result in a secure financial platform for your operations.

About the Author

Financial expert Thomas Pretty looks at the need for a business savings account and why research and a logical approach is needed when choosing a corporate package.

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Force of Habit, Force of Belief

2009-05-24T02:13:00.001-07:00

By John Assaraf and Murray Smith

Beliefs are not some special category of idea sitting at a higher station of truth than our ordinary, everyday mortal thoughts. Beliefs are not necessarily â€œthe truthâ€ at all. (Remember, there was a time when everyone believed the earth was flat.) Beliefs are nothing more than specific neural patterns in your brain, thoughts that are so ingrained they have become automatic. They are not there because are â€œthe truth,â€ they have simply been handed down from generation to generation. They are there because someone put them there.

We are not talking here about your faith or religious views. Weâ€™re not here to challenge your faith. We are talking here about your beliefsâ€”your habits of thought, opinion and attitude about the world around you, and especially your beliefs about you, about your life and your prospects for financial fulfillment.

By the time youâ€™re seventeen years old, youâ€™ve heard â€œNo, you canâ€™t,â€ an average of 150,000 times. Youâ€™ve heard, â€œYes, you can,â€ about 5,000 times. Thatâ€™s thirty noâ€™s for every yes. That makes for a powerful belief of â€œI canâ€™t.â€

Most people view their own goals in the form of hopes or wishes. â€œI hope I succeed in this business,â€ or, â€œI wish I would earn a million dollars . . .â€ Here is the rest of the unfinished thought, whether conscious or not, that usually lies after those three dots: â€œ. . . but I bet I wonâ€™t.â€ The biggest obstacle to most peopleâ€™s goals has nothing to do with any external conditions or factors. It is this: they donâ€™t believe it will happen or that it can be done. If you donâ€™t believe it will happen, it is almost guaranteed that it wonâ€™t. You simply cannot achieve a goal that you do not believe you can achieve, because those beliefs live in that part of the brain that is running the show, even though we typically are not aware of it.

Letâ€™s say you love your family very much, you place a high value on family, and one of your biggest goals in life is to have a rich, full family lifeâ€”yet you also have a belief that the only way you can be truly successful and earn enough income to provide for your family is to work really, really hard. So what happens?

You find yourself working eighty hours a week and never see your family. Why, because you donâ€™t value them? No, you value them, all right, but your beliefs have you captive on that eighty-hour track, like a hamster on a wheel. Beliefs trump desires, every time.

If you have credit card debt and financial struggle in your life, lack of money is not the problem: it is only the symptom. Lack of money is simply the fruit. To find the cause, you need to look at the seed. The fruit will always match the seed. And the seed is your habits of thought.

Hereâ€™s the problem: beliefs tend to be self-fulfilling. This is because habits are thousands of times stronger than desires. That is worth restating: not twice as strong, not even three times as strong, but thousands of times stronger. You may have the desire to increase your income tenfold, but if your habits of thought do not expect anything like that to occur, it will be next to impossible for it to happen; you will take no lasting, productive effort towards that goal. Why not? Because it is your habits, not your desires or other conscious thoughts, that run your actions.
This is one of the greatest discoveries of the past decade of neurological research: 96 to 98 percent of all of your behaviors are automatic. This is why we set goals, but donâ€™t reach them. Setting them is a function of the conscious mind. Reaching them is a function of the nonconscious mind.

# # #

This article is adapted from The Answer, by John Assaraf and Murray Smith (Atria Books).

About the Author

John Assaraf is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker and entrepreneur. The author of Having It All and a contributor to The Secret, he has appeared on Larry King Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and on ABC, CBS and NBC programs worldwide. Over the last twenty years, he has built four multimillion-dollar companies. He lives in San Diego, California.

Murray Smith is a business turnaround guru and consultant who has launched or revived fourteen highly successful businesses and helped thousands of other business owners increase revenues, profits and value. With John Assaraf, he is cofounder of OneCoach, the worldâ€™s fastest-growing provider of small-business coaching services. He lives in San Diego, California.

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How To Find The Best Small Business Opportunity For You

2009-05-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

There are many reasons that someone initially decides that it’s time to begin a small business or purchase a franchise. It can be very financially freeing to have additional income on the side, for some the desire to work at home and escape a commute or a cubicle is the driving force behind the decision to begin something new. Whether it’s a way to invest funds into a safe and profitable sector, or simply a passion for a service or product that the new business opportunity will provide one of the most important things in preparing to start a new franchise business is understanding what options are available and which options have the largest potential for success. There are many different kinds of small business opportunities and franchises for sale, but those options can be narrowed down considerably by asking two critical questions that help determine what type of small business opportunity is the right fit.

#1 What is the financial commitment to the franchise, liquid capital, total investment, and overhead cost?

Knowing what costs a small business is going to encounter is the biggest part of researching a franchise opportunity and the most important thing to figure out before any decisions are actually made about beginning a franchise business. Most providers, contractors, employees are going to need payment immediately or in advance for their services, while income from a new franchise or small business can be slow and in most cases will take at least 30-90 days to see any cash flow actually come out of a new business. With this in mind, the total amount of liquid capital available to a new franchise owner must be calculated carefully and understood so that the level of investment and commitment matches the financial requirements to make the franchise a success. For example if a franchise owner has a total liquid capital to invest in a new franchise business of $50,000, there needs to be a careful examination of what the costs will be of purchasing a “low-cost” franchise.

A Liberty Weight Loss franchise may appeal to the investor and advertises that their franchise requires a liquid capital of $46,000-$100,000. And while it’s true that the franchise can be run starting as low as $46,509, an investor with only $50,000 to spend on their investment will encounter extreme stress and an inability to purchase and provide marketing, promotional materials, discounts, and even basic equipment needed to make running their own franchise comfortable and successful. It’s much wiser to not shoot for the limit, but rather to find a franchise that is closer to the low to mid range of liquid capital available and use the additional finances available to insure success and satisfaction to all those involved in the initial phases of beginning a franchise. Something such as CompuChild which is a franchise that teaches basic computer skills and typing in a classroom format to children requires a liquid capital of $20,000, which leaves the investor with plenty of extra capital to use to pay contractors, suppliers, and market their business without needing to see revenue first in order to promote and maintain the new business.

#2 What is the skill set, type of franchise, service, or product that the franchise owner is capable to provide and competent to lead?

The second most critical thing that needs to be answered about a franchise is what type of franchise will it be. Because a DVDNow kiosk franchise fits the right price; range for an investor does not necessarily mean that DVDNow franchises are the perfect fit. There may not be a passion for the video rental business, there may not be a desire to service machines, or a desire to be in a relational business might not be met in a kiosk service style franchise business. It’s important to know that within every price range for investors there are multiple franchise opportunities and the most successful franchises are those that are run by businessmen and women who understand the product or service that they are providing and are passionate about that franchise. Even with a more specific desire for a franchise like being able to work at home, there are many franchise that are home based businesses. Working from home doesn’t mean the franchise is limited to internet based tech services, though there are many of those available. It can also be businesses such as Stay at Home, which is a business that is operated from a home and provides in home care and services for customers that are elderly or homebound. There are tutoring centers like Mathnasium, and community building franchises like Virtuoso music, which teaches music lessons in homes and coordinates community events, concerts, and recitals. All of these franchise opportunities are home based, and each one fills a different niche and requires different skills and passions to operate.

Knowing what the cost will be of a franchise, and not just the advertised cost but the actually day to day operating costs will help narrow the choice to businesses that are affordable and likely to succeed within the financial limits of the investor. And combining that knowledge with the knowledge of what type of service or product the franchise owner is capable to deliver can help focus the choices even more to the type of franchise opportunity that will have greater and greater chances of being a successful business. Being able to work from home and run that small business well can provide all of the things that franchise owner’s dream of when deciding to start their own businesses. The chances of achieving that greatly increase when time and care is put into researching the franchise beforehand with the same passion and care that will eventually go into running that successful business.

About the Author

Learn more about small business opportunities and browse other franchises at Small Business Sale.

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Are You Speaking Your Customers Language

2009-05-20T07:57:00.001-07:00

One of the funny things about humans is we all expect other people to communicate in the same way that we do. However, what researchers studying a science called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) have found is that people see and make sense of the world differently.

We each have our preferred ways of representing the world in a similar way that we prefer to use either our right or left hand. The four ways of representing the world are:

1. Visual - all the things we can see with our eyes or mentally in our minds eye
2. Auditory - the sounds that we hear or the conversations we have in our head
3. Kinesthetic - the things we can touch and experience such as emotions
4. Olfactory and Gustatory - Smell and taste.

Smell and taste are the least used systems by people and are less under our conscious control, so when we are trying to understand someone we focus mainly on visual, auditory and kinesthetic (VAK).

Each person has a dominant or preferred method of communicating - some people are visual, some are auditory and some are kinesthetic. But what does that mean?

If you want to build rapport with your customers in order to get them to make a decision to buy your product or service, one of the ways you can do this is through speaking their language. If you speak someone's language you boost their trust in you as you are "just like them".

There are many different ways you can determine a person's preferred language. You can listen to their voice tone (high tone is generally a visual, a medium an auditory and a lower tone a kinesthetic). You can check out their eye movements (visuals eyes tend to go in a certain direction when they are remembering an image which is different to an auditory person).

You can watch how they use their hands as each preference tends to use their hands while they are talking in a certain way (this is hilarious at election time when you watch candidates who have been drilled in this process trying to move their hands in ways outside their preferred patterns). You can watch where a person breathes from in their chest - high, mid chest or belly breathing.

The easiest and simplest way you can understand a person's preference is you can listen to the verbs, adverbs and adjectives people use when they speak. Each preference uses certain words in preference to other words.

A visual person will say "Let's look at this issue". An auditory person will say "How does this solution sound to you" and a kinesthetic person will say "How do you feel about this issue?"

Here are some other words typical of each type:

Visual words and phrases
* Appears
* Focus
* Hazy idea
* Illustrate
* Imagine
* Mind's eye
* Perspective
* Picture
* See eye to eye
* Vision

Auditory words and phrases

* Clear as a bell
* Call on
* Discuss
* Earful
* Hidden messages
* Loud and clear
* Rings true
* Sound
* Tuned in
* Unheard of

Kinesthetic words and phrases
* Active
* All washed up
* Feel
* Firm foundation
* Get a handle on
* Grasp
* Lay your cards on the table
* Not following you
* Slipped your mind
* Solid

Now you have a basic idea of the different languages, go back and look at your marketing and communications materials. If you are like most people you have written your marketing using your preferred communication style. That means you are appealing to people of one type only and missing the other two type's preferences.

To say it another way - you are not speaking the language of 2/3 of your customers. To be most effective in your communication you need to speak the language of all of your customers. You need to be clear in your communication each one of your customers otherwise they will feel rejected or not connected to you. (If you look closely at this paragraph you will be able to identify all 3 types of preferences touched in the messages).

It is as simple (or as hard) as ensuring each of your communications covers all of the preferences of your clients.

When you speak your customer's language you will achieve more powerful sales results as well as building stronger relationships with your customers. This is a win-win for both your business and your clients.

About the Author

Ingrid Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with her Brisbane Copywriting Business (Heart Harmony). Ingrid writes a free weekly small business newsletter packed full of articles and tips and Small Business Ideas blog for small businesses. www.heartharmony.com.au

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A Guide to Investing in Property in Dubai

2009-05-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

Property investors in Dubai are slowly beginning to show more caution when purchasing property in Dubai, as there exists enough historical data to indicate which developments and property types are sure to offer the best capital growth returns and rental yields.

Dubai, being one of the seven emirates that compose the Unite Arab Emirates (UAE), is nestled on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

Until only a few years ago, the area of Dubai was a small fishing community with a speciality in pearl fishing, however it is now a ‘major international business hub and a top ranking property hotspot.’

As the population continues to grow rapidly and steadily, (an expected increase from the present level of 1.67 million to 3.5 million by 2010 is predicted), so does the demand for property and developments to be constructed and made available to locals and international alike.

The unique levels of success achieved by Dubai’s unseasoned property market in such a short space of time could never have been projected. With investor interest in the emirate so apt, and with the Dubai government’s commitment to the development of Dubai’s long term economic fortunes, it is becoming increasingly clear that the short, medium and long term forecasts for the Dubai property market is incredibly strong.

Dubai’s government have recently created a series of themed free zones such as Dubai Media City and Dubai International Financial Centre means that even more international companies are choosing to base themselves in the emirate while taking full advantage of the attractive fiscal and structuring arrangements on offer in Dubai.

These overseas companies are continually bringing in investments and creating vast employment opportunities, which accordingly attract increasing numbers of expatriate professionals to Dubai, annually. By seeking accommodation to let or purchase, these professionals continue to fuel the property market fire.

As a result of the forward thinking government’s approach to the development of Dubai, the emirate is so attractive an investment and lifestyle opportunity and destination that many visitors to Dubai end up choosing Dubai as a destination for investment.

Dubai can have great confidence in the fact that the government of Dubai have interests in all the major real estate development companies in the emirate. It is therefore ‘absolutely in their best interests for the real estate sector to remain attractive, buoyant and growing.’

An investor who purchases apartments in the best, most accessible areas of Dubai can enjoy the best rental yields currently available. Alternatively, an investor who would like to buy off plan will find that well proportioned and situated villas and houses will return the best capital appreciation and sell more quickly.

With the demand for completed apartments and villas to rent or purchase in Dubai currently outweighing supply, is slowly but surely creating a problem. One factor that appeases in this case is the fact that the rate at which new high rise developments are coming to completion is easily curtailing the problem (in the short term), however, the constant rise in rental rates do not help ease matters.

According to recent statistics, approximately 800 new international residents set up home in the emirate daily, meaning demand consistently surpasses supply and is ensuring the property market remains buoyant.

Following a decision by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoom (UAE President), foreign nationals are finally allowed to buy property in Dubai for the first time, further opening up the region to international property investment.

However, there remains a number of draw backs when looking to purchase property in Dubai: Free-hold ratification can take a great deal longer to acquire than initially anticipated, and local laws make obtaining mortgage credit a horrible hassle.

When it comes to Dubai’s future, the local government is ready with a plan! Dubai may possess the title for the leading trading and commercial centre in the Middle East currently, but now Dubai wants to establish itself as the number one tourist destination in the region and possibly the wider world in time.

To ensure Dubai reaches its target of number one tourist destination, developers are creating the multi billion dollar development, Dubailand, ‘which will take until 2018 to complete fully and which should create a brand new holiday home market as well as creating demand for villa accommodation to let around the Dubailand vast site.’

Property investors are watching the development phases keenly and seeing which new property developments being announced are most likely to prove irresistible to the tourist market in the medium to long run.

There is still so much to fire to fuel the property investment spark in Dubai. The unrelenting commitment of the local government to promote the emirate in the best possible light gives an investor the confidence he needs in Dubai and the levels of overseas interest in Dubai for employment, business and leisure means that an investor has a growing market to rent or buy his underlying investments.

About the Author

Property Select offers a comprehensive selection of overseas Property in Dubai, news, members club and reviews of the latest property developments.

Using Funded Sponsoring to Promote and Expand Your Business

2009-05-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

The failure rate of most MLM businesses is quite high, not because their products are inferior but because owners do not know enough to succeed. They either don't have enough knowledge in marketing or that whatever knowledge they have turns out to be inaccurate. This is critical in an industry that has 14 million distributors in the U.S. alone.

Another factor that contributes to failure is the inevitable saturation point that all MLM businesses reach. After exhausting its warm market (family, friends, acquaintances), an MLM business will be faced with the challenge of how to build and continue to expand their distribution teams. The normal approaches would be in the form of cold calling or of putting out costly advertisements just to get their messages across.

At this point, most MLM business owners just plain give up or let their distributorship dry up and die a natural death, not a good prospect for anyone who wishes to join an MLM business.

Funded Sponsoring

Enter the funded sponsoring system, which is essentially a smaller-scale model of a more successful MLM company. This system includes all the necessary steps and information that newbie MLM owners need in order to create their own successful business by using the more established MLMs company as a guide. Imagine learning to draw by tracing on paper. Everything is laid out for you; all you have to do is follow the lines.

What makes funded sponsoring systems effective

In order for a funded sponsoring system to work, it must have detailed and easily duplicated business plan that enables an MLM owner to develop the foundation of a network marketing business of his own choice. Unlike older systems, a funded sponsoring system makes use of multiple streams of income that have been pre-selected and known to work.

An advantage of the funded sponsoring system is that the MLM owner no longer needs to buy leads or promote their products through expensive marketing, which usually entails expenses like freebies and promotions anyway. Since a wider market is made available to him, he can promote his product to more customers without getting trapped in an exhausted market.

Customers included in the funded sponsoring system are already pre-qualified so the interest in the business already exists. The MLM owner can then avoid making calls and sales pitches to vaguely interested customers and prevent making a sale that is usually left to chance.

There is a better chance of closing a sale with the prospective leads generated through the funded sponsoring system because these prospects are already eyeing the business on their own. Plus, since the business can sell itself, it becomes even more attractive to people who are already thinking of joining.

Once an MLM owner has paid for the system, there is little or no need to spend more money on advertising and promotion. Unlike conventional marketing systems, a funded sponsoring system or franchise is available for a very low cost. Some are even offered for free.

What to expect

Since the included business plan is already known to work, it is much easier to follow and implement. An MLM owner considering the system should also be prudent enough to select several income generating programs to produce multiple income streams. This way, the business owner is not saddled by just one or two ways of earning money.

The income that is earned from these income streams is then re-invested in more carefully-designed online advertising so interest in the MLM business remains fresh. Constant promotion assures the business owner of continued exposure over long periods.

The company should also offer training that is simple enough to be understood by people who have little or no prior training and experience in business. Training usually consists of audio tapes and article tips and the system itself should include free leads and websites and productive affiliate programs.

An MLM business owner using the system can also avoid resource-hungry means of expanding his business, including establishing contact with prospects who may or may not be qualified. The business owner will only get in touch with those who have demonstrated enough interest in the business to actually enroll themselves in it. He can then effectively eliminate the process of recruiting, mentoring and promotion without sacrificing the viability of his business.

Like having a mentor

What a funded sponsoring program does is that it eliminates the need for business owners to make mistakes and avoid every step that causes most failures in MLM businesses. Time and money are focused on more useful resources that give more in terms of return investment.

About the Author

Daegan Smith Is And Expert Online Marketer
"Wanna Lean The Secret To Making $85,147,717
Per Month While Quickly And Easily EXPLODING
Your Network Marketing Organization by 7,141
People Without EVER Buying Or Calling a
Single Stinking Lead?" Free CD Explains All:http://www.easymlmprofits.com

Avoiding These Three Mistakes Will Ensure Trade Show Success

2009-05-08T02:06:00.001-07:00

To ensure the success of a trade show booth, effective time management is crucially important. With numerous possible customers moving through trade shows, it is imperative that the staff of your trade show booth work in a well-organized and resourceful manner to boost sales. Preventing the following typical trade show marketing mistakes will help your trade show booth be the most profitable and productive ever.

Don't Forget to Make a Plan

Don't drive around blind, set specific goals for your trade show booth before you arrive and accomplish them before you leave. Running around without a plan of where you want to go and what you want to achieve will get you nowhere. By making a plan of your trade show goals, you will know what to focus on during the show and you will know if you were successful after the show is over.

In addition to making a plan of your goals, think about the sales leads that you want to gain from the show. Trade shows are not just about making sales during the show, they are also about building relationships for future sales. Make sure your trade show booth reflects your company as it currently exists and as it plans to be in the future.

For instance, one possible plan for a trade show booth might involve introducing existing customers to your new products or services or showing your existing products and services to new customers. If you have a plan, it is easy to design your trade show marketing materials to reflect your goal.

Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

It is vital to get a jump on sales by marketing your product or service to potential customers a good amount of time prior to the trade show. By marketing online and through direct mail, you can let your potential customers know specifics about your trade show booth, including the date, facility directions, location of your booth, and more. Add in a bonus for your customers by providing a coupon or some sort of special offer, redeemable when they visit your trade show booth.

Taking the time to plan the marketing points of your trade show booth ahead of time is critical to accomplishing your goals. Booth design, artwork, signs, personalized promotional products, and other trade show marketing materials should be ready and in place long before the day of the trade show. If you wait until the last minute to make changes, you are sure to experience plenty of confusion, expensive overtime costs, and a loss of customers and sales.

Don't Have an Insufficient Staff

Many times, the success of your trade show booth comes down to the skills and availability of your staff. Make sure you staff your trade show booth with enough people to handle the number of customers you expect. You'll lose sales if you have a line of customers waiting to speak to a staff member. People are impatient when it comes to business, if you have a long line, your potential customers will move on to the next vendor.

You want to have enough staff members, but be careful you don't overstaff your booth. Too many may intimidate your potential customers, causing them to feel that pushy sales people may jump them on when visiting your trade show booth. In addition, too many staff members versus a lack of customers will give the impression that something is not right with your product or service. Educate your staff members about every aspect of your products or services so they can confidently answer questions without the need to go to someone else for an answer.

Not making a plan for your booth, putting off trade show marketing, and having an insufficient staff are typical mistakes that result in a loss of current and future sales. By avoiding these mistakes, you'll create a winning trade show booth that will keep your customers from moving on to your competition.

About the Author

Christine OKelly is an author for Jonathan Edelman, a trade show marketing consultant with more than a decade of experience. Jonathan is the founder of Ideas 4 Now, a trade show marketing company offering products like Money Machines that drive traffic to trade show booths, and the premier trade show vendors directory Trade Show Vendors.com.

When is Price Not the Most Important Factor When Selling Your Business?

2009-05-04T10:18:00.001-07:00

When the Full Content of the Deal in its Entirety is Fully Explored and Strongly Considered

Price, Financing terms and conditions, Taxes, Debts, Real Estate, Sellers goals, and the qualifications/resumes of all parties involved are all factors that should be fully considered in a well thought out deal.

"If I could get $X for my business I would sell it Today."

"I need to get $X to sell my business"

"I know my Business is worth $X"

The above are comment statement s and feelings business owners share in the consideration of the sale of their business. But no business operates within a vacuum and many factors affect the business outside of the business including the rest of the industry, and local, regional and worldwide business climates. What sort of a return should one get on a business purchase is somewhat relative to what one can achieve in other investments. If one can expect a double digit return on a conservative investment, this may drive up what one may expect from a riskier investment in a business. But as investment returns on fairly conservative investments go down, interest in business acquisition may go up, and expected/projected returns reduced.

The Price of your business is not determined in a vacuum as well. The terms of the sale, the other party or parties involved with the sale, financing and terms, and the timing of the sale are a few of the important factors(outside of price) that can greatly affect the success of a sale.-

Seller financing in the sale of a business is predominant in today's economy. It is easy to think that getting a "big pile of cash for my entire business at closing"- is always best. "Cash is king" - This is a statement that is true very often, but not necessarily during the sale of your business. Offering Seller financing greatly increases the pool of potential qualified buyers. Tax advantages can surface from a well financed deal. If the Seller strongly believes in the likelihood of the Buyers success, and if the Seller does a good job of procuring adequate security, assurances, defaults, and guarantees, the Seller may greatly mitigate his/hers debt risk exposure. Additional Interest Income may also be realized as the result of a well thought out Seller financed business sale.

For example if someone sold a business 1 year ago for 100% cash received at closing, paid taxes on the gain and proceeded to protect those proceeds by investing in a conservative S&P Fund- How much money would that Seller have today? They may be disappointed and searching for a new source of earnings. I understand hindsight is 20/20, but generally a well positioned deal that is thought out with all the components of the deal fully considered greatly increases the likelihood of a successful transaction.

It can make sense to sell for a lower asking price because the terms and conditions of the seller note ultimately bring in more dollars to the Seller over the term of the note. It can make sense to sell to one individual for a lower asking price because of that person likelihood of succeeding and thus fulfilling the terms of the note. It can make sense to sell at a lower Sell price because the terms and conditions on the Seller are less restrictive and potentially have less risk or unknowns involved. It can make sense to sell for a lower Selling price because the lease terms on the property associated with the business are at mover favorable terms.

When you are selling your business you are selling a " package", with many elements involved with that package. The Sale of a business involves a package of closing documents and details. Price is one significant part of that package, but the many other elements included in the purchase offer greatly affect the success of this most important package.

About the Author

Sell a Business Florida – Business Broker of International Business Brokerage & Realty Inc. based in Southwest Florida. Florida business brokers for selling your business or finding a great business opportunity for individuals looking to buy or sell a Florida business.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

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New Innovative Internet Marketing Ideas With Affiliate Programs

2009-05-01T02:16:00.001-07:00

Are you a business owner who is looking to market your business in new and exciting ways? If so, you are likely looking for innovative marketing ideas. Have you heard about affiliate programs before? Although affiliate programs have been around for quite some time, they have recently become a popular way for business owners, even small business owners, to market their businesses online. That is why affiliate programs are often still considered innovative Internet marketing. If you are a business owner, particularly one that runs an online business, you and your business could benefit from starting your own affiliate program.

If you are unfamiliar with affiliate programs, you may be wondering exactly what they are. When it comes to affiliate programs, you will find that they are, in a way, a partnership between you and other website owners. That partnership involves creating links or advertisements for your online business and permitting website owners to display those advertisements on their websites. As a sources of compensation for doing so, you will agree to give your affiliate partner a portion of the sale that they helped to generate. To determine whether or not one of your affiliate partners helped to generate a sale, you will need to use an affiliate tracking program. These programs can often be found online for free or for a reasonable price.

One of the many reasons why you should give this Internet marketing idea a try is because it is, relatively, risk free. For example, if you agree to pay your affiliates a portion of the sales that they helped to generate, you don't have to make any payments, unless they actually help with a sale. This means that if you start an affiliate program and it doesn't work out the way that you intended, you can easily stop. If you did not generate any sales, you do not have any affiliate partners to pay; thus being risk free. Many times the only money that you will loose is the money invested in an affiliate tracking program, if you decided to pay for one.

Affiliate programs are also nice because, as the business owner, you should have complete control over your programs. For example, a large number of business owners choose to give their affiliate partners a percentage of the sale that they helped to generate. That percentage often ranges from five percent to fifteen percent; however, you have the power to create your own standards. In fact, in addition to using a percentage, you can also offer your affiliate partners a flat fee for every sale that they help to generate. For example, no matter how large or small the sale generated was, you may want to offer your affiliate partners five dollars for each sale. In all honesty, the decision is yours to make.

It is also important to note that affiliate programs are somewhat easy to get started. If you are planning on using an affiliate tracking program, you may want to sign up for a program that also helps you create your own banners, online advertisements, or links. It may also be a good idea to use a program that will give you detailed information on affiliate programs, as well as how to get started with them, especially if you are unfamiliar with how they work or how they are set up. In most cases, you will also find that you can seek professional assistance from an individual who knows how to set up affiliate marketing programs. This assistance, which can typically be obtained for a reasonable price, may help your business start an affiliate program with little or no work.

As nice as affiliate programs are, you will find that they are not the only Internet marketing strategy out there. If you are looking to market your business to its fullest extent, you are advised to implement a number of different innovative marketing ideas together. You will find that the more marketing you put into action, the better the chances are of your business becoming or staying a success.

About the Author

Do you want to learn the secret innovative marketing strategies that will allow you to turn up the Profits on your web business?

visit:

http://www.ims.globalwebdevelopmentinc.com to learn more

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Is Your Local Chamber of Commerce Obsolete

2009-04-28T02:12:00.001-07:00

Wandering into the San Jose, California Chamber of Commerce one wonders what sorts of local businesses are members. After all, San Jose is Silicon Valley Central and the home to many of the world's best known companies.

As one glances at the list of members what is conspicuous is the absence of the heavy hitters. What is also conspicuous is that of the tens of thousands of businesses in San Jose only a very small percentage bothers to join the San Jose Chamber of Commerce.

In the old days local C of Cs were places to advertise and promote your local business. Somehow being a member and paying your $150 yearly fee would put you among the local elite and raise the credibility of your company.

But as in the San Jose Chamber of Commerce most local businesses are not members as well as the "bigger and more important" local businesses.

But it's not just San Jose. Go to any local C of C and more than likely you will find the same thing. Why?

A big picture analysis shows that the concept of "local" has changed. Technology and specifically search technology has opened the world to the local consumer with more than just local options.

In the old days one did business with those that one knew or knew of locally; now the local consumer can do business with any company they find searching the Internet.

The "Buy Local" programs have simply become obsolete as the concept of local has lost its meaning.

The inference once was that local consumers were looking for businesses and a good way to find reliable businesses was through the local Chamber of Commerce member list. Actually this idea died in the 1970's and 1980's and was in reality not a member benefit by 2000.

In the past a new business would join hoping to gain local exposure and maybe get some extra business. The badly maligned Mixers would help serve this function.

New members were told to bring their "pitches" and stack of business cards and hand them out at the mixers. So in effect the mixer became a big "let's sell to ourselves" exercise, as rarely do non-Chamber members attend the mixers.

Local collective ads were once another way the local Chamber could promote its members; through brochures, local newspaper and magazine ads, an occasional TV or radio spot. As mass media has gotten more expensive, the collective ads have gone by the wayside.

And like many organizations, the local C of Cs have been hit hard financially in the recent economic downturn. As their cash flows have diminished, the Chambers' ability to hire and retain good staff had diminished as well.

Hence, all the ubiquitous job postings for Chamber Executive Directors. Part of the "executive package" is that the executive director must raise money to pay for herself.

This means that the primary function of the executive director is not promoting local business but raising enough money to keep the Chamber above water.

But in all fairness, it's not just the executive director's fault; what can a group do locally to promote themselves?

The biggest complaint today is that the Chamber does little or nothing for its members so it has become harder and harder to justify the time and $150 fee. The first question a new prospect asks is 'what is in it for my business?'

If the expectation is increased business, as many new members hope, then the expectation turns to disappointment over time. That's too bad.

Communities need a strong business community to thrive and communities with a weak business community have problems.

The simple fact is that the local C of Cs are delivering less and less value to their members. Unless the local Chambers are able to redefine their mission and find ways to bring greater value, the Chambers will simply go the obsolete route of newspaper advertising.

About the Author

Jack Deal owns JD Deal Local Search Marketing and Deal Business Consulting, Santa Cruz and Salinas, California 95076 831-457-8806. Related articles, ideas, strategies, tactics and tips can be found at and .

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Benefits of Refinancing your Mortgage

2009-04-20T02:22:00.001-07:00

When you refinance a mortgage, you are converting the mortgage you already have into a new loan. The new loan usually has more favorable terms, such as a lower interest rate, that make refinancing worthwhile. Refinancing can have several important benefits, most of which add up to money saved over the life of the loan.

Refinancing helps you save money

Most people who refinance do so because the new mortgage will save money, usually because refinancing will allow them to lock in a lower interest rate than the one they currently have. Refinancing can help you save a significant amount of money over the life of the loan, even if the interest rate reduction is small. If you have a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars, even a small interest rate reduction can save you thousands of dollars in interest. In fact, reducing your interest rate by just one point could save you around $5,000 on a fifteen year mortgage.

Refinancing can save you money in other ways, too, even if you are not able to lock in a lower interest rate. If your current mortgage is sub-prime because your credit rating was poor when you took out the loan, for example, refinancing could save a considerable amount of money if you’ve built up a better credit rating.

Refinancing can reduce the term of your mortgage

The potential to save a significant amount of money is the most obvious advantage of refinancing, but there is another important benefit that is often overlooked. This is the ability to refinance to a mortgage with reduced terms. For example, if you are able to refinance from a 30 year to a 20 or even 15 year mortgage, you’ll own your home outright in much less time.

Don’t forget, however, that reducing the terms of your mortgage mean your monthly payments increase. If you’re refinancing for this reason, it is important that you know your finances will remain secure enough that you can continue to meet the higher monthly repayments. The good news is refinancing for this reason is actually another way you can save money on your mortgage. Even though your monthly repayments are higher, reducing the term means you’ll pay significantly less money in interest over the life of the loan.

Refinancing lets you switch mortgage types

One of the main reasons many people refinance is to switch to a different mortgage type, for example from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage. Taking out an adjustable rate mortgage is an attractive option, especially for first time home buyers, since securing a low interest rate means lower repayments. However, many homeowners later feel that they would prefer the security of a fixed rate mortgage. Refinancing means that it’s possible to switch from an adjustable to a fixed interest rate, or vice versa, to ensure you have the mortgage that most benefits you. When is a good time to switch? It depends on many things, including your current financial situation, the state of the economy, and how long you plan to live in the home.

Refinancing can free up equity in your home

As you make mortgage payments over the months and years of the loan, you build up equity in your home. Every payment you make means you own a little bit more of the equity, and sometimes, it can be financially beneficial to tap into that equity. If you want to make improvements to increase the value of your home, fund college for your kids, or consolidate debts, for example, equity release can provide the necessary cash.

If you can get a lower interest rate when you are accessing the equity, so much the better – this will help compensate for the fact that removing some of the equity extends the life of the loan.

Time to Refinance?

Most homeowners will refinance a mortgage at least once, and statistics say that the average homeowner refinances their home every four years. That might seem a little high, but given that refinancing has so many benefits, it’s not difficult to see why refinancing is a popular option.

So when is refinancing a good idea? Look to the above list to determine when is the right time to refinance. If you can benefit by lowering your interest rate, reducing the terms of your mortgage, or switching to a more favorable mortgage type, or if you need to access some of the equity you’ve built up in your home, refinancing could be a good option.

These are not the only points to consider, of course, but they are a good starting point to think about if you are wondering whether refinancing will work for you.

About the Author

Rachel Jackson is a freelance writer who writes about financial products pertaining to the mortgage industry such as the lowest mortgage rates.

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Be Prepared to Succeed: Do Your Homework before Starting New Businesses and Jobs

2009-04-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

My first business school course was in marketing management. The professor told us that most marketing problems occurred because those in charge of marketing failed to do their homework about what customers wanted and needed.

We were curious about that observation and asked him why this was the case, and the professor said he had no certain answer. His best guess was that people became comfortable with what they were doing and didn't want to travel much or meet many new people.

Since then, I've counseled thousands of entrepreneurs about starting new businesses and even more business people about changing jobs. From what these people have told me, the marketing professor was too narrow in his observation that marketing problems are due to managers not doing the necessary homework. Entrepreneurs and those looking for jobs usually don't do their homework either, often leading to disastrous consequences.

Whenever I check on former students of my small-business classes, I am struck that their problems could have been avoided if the students had done homework that they skipped. As a result of operating in ignorance, the small business owners either find it too difficult to find customers, spend more money than they can afford to attract customers, or make expensive operating mistakes in providing what isn't wanted instead of what is desired.

Here's an example of useful homework that a small-business owner can use to avoid such problems. For most small businesses, there are only a few thousand potential customers. Starting with a random sample of those potential customers, those starting up small businesses can gain highly accurate perspectives of what they will face by first interviewing and observing 300 people.

Every problem identified during the interviews and observations will save those starting up small businesses thousands of dollars annually. As a result, the value of such investigations can be hundreds of thousands of dollars over just a few years. I carefully explain that point to every person I meet who is interested in establishing a new small business.

How often do these entrepreneurs conduct the necessary interviews and observations before starting their businesses? Less than one percent of small-business entrepreneurs I meet ever take this essential step.

Instead, I've seen entrepreneurs spend their last nickel (often wasting as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars) to develop products and services few people want . . . a lesson which could have been discovered at little cost through interviews and observations.

Job seekers often aren't any better about doing their homework before taking a job. Rarely does someone learn enough about a position that is being considered to know what the work is like, how to work smoothly with their potential boss, what knowledge and experience are required to succeed, and the personal benefits and costs of such work. Not surprisingly, many people don't like their jobs and start looking for new ones after only six months.

Consider, by contrast, what a trial lawyer does. One of the cardinal rules of courtroom effectiveness is never to ask a question for which the attorney doesn't know the answer. Just to meet that test often requires hundreds of hours asking questions of potential witnesses and reviewing documents. The trial lawyer may also employ investigators, experts, and jury consultants to fine-tune the information to gain more insight and to make it more useful for the client's benefit.

As you can imagine, a conscientious trial lawyer might learn from the importance of being thorough to do a lot more homework in developing a new business or looking into a new job than even conscientious business people do. My expectation on this point was validated recently when I met Professor Andrew Goodman of Rushmore University (an online school), a well-respected barrister (trial lawyer) in England.

Professor Goodman deeply impressed me with how much homework he is willing to do before starting a new job or business. After he approached Rushmore about teaching conflict management and dispute resolution on a part-time basis, he decided that he needed proper preparation to teach the courses and requested that the dean allow him to be the first student to earn an MBA degree in the program he had designed. Why did he make this decision? He felt that he should experience the program from the graduate business student's perspective before teaching it to anyone. The school's dean accepted that proposal and served as Professor Goodman's academic advisor and tutor.

From his MBA studies, Professor Goodman reports that he gained important skills in disciplining his time and being flexible in his study methods. More importantly, he gained a better ability to connect with and empathize with students studying for graduate business degrees while holding down full-time jobs. His students have appreciated that part of his learning the most.

The benefits for Professor Goodman didn't stop there. Developing the curriculum, earning an MBA degree, and beginning to teach business students were just the beginning of a major new business he later launched. Here's how he did it:

First, he reshaped the course material he had prepared into four books and approximately 20 published articles that explain his views on conflict management and dispute resolution.

Second, he revised the course material to make it appropriate for training non-lawyers outside of a university setting and began a new business offering training in conflict management and dispute resolution.

Third, earning an MBA helped him realize how lawyers could be more effective in managing their activities. As a result, he developed a training program to share that learning as another offering for his new training business.

Here is some essential homework you should prepare before starting a new business.

1. Interview a statistically significant, random sample of potential customers who don't know you to find out what they buy now, where they buy, what they like and don't like about what they buy, what needs they have that no one is serving, and what it would take to make them curious about your offerings.

2. Observe a substantial number of purchasers and users of these offerings to see what problems they have that weren't mentioned in the interviews. Ask the people who are observed about those problems and discuss how they would like the problems to be solved.

3. Read at least five books containing business plans that were written by people who have started reasonably similar businesses which describe the results they experienced.

4. Work in different kinds of positions at least three similar businesses for at least two weeks to find out how the businesses operate and what the key challenges are.

5. Learn about business model innovation and develop an improved business model that will attract and serve customers better than competitors.

Here are some job-related homework assignments to do before you take a new position.

1. Ask people with varying lengths of experience in this type of work how long most people stay in this position and why they leave it.

2. Find at least three people who used to do this kind of work and don't ever want to do it again. Ask them why they feel that way.

3. Locate the most successful three people you can who have done this job and find out what these persons' views are on how to be highly successful in the position and to gain satisfaction from the work.

4. Talk to as many people as you can who have been laid off or fired by your potential boss to find out how they view working for the boss.

5. Talk to as many people as you can who have received promotions after working for your potential boss to find out how they describe working for the boss.

Naturally, if you want to do even more homework, you can also add some relevant education to your preparations. If you do, study what you can use every day in the new business or job.

Be prepared to succeed!

About the Author

Donald W. Mitchell is a professor at Rushmore University, an online school. For more information about ways to engage in fruitful lifelong learning at Rushmore to increase your success, visit

http://www.rushmore.edu

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Quick And Easy OASIS Documentation Tips

2009-04-04T18:09:00.001-07:00

To carry out an accurate assessment, you need to understand the OASIS questions and use appropriate strategies. Read the OASIS Implementation Manual, Attachment B, which gives you item-by-item tips for each OASIS question.

MO230 Primary Diagnosis. Choose the diagnosis that reflects the chief reason for home care. This diagnosis must match the primary diagnosis listed on the POT.

MO240 Other Diagnoses. If the primary reason for home care is a manifestation code, use this code in the first slot of MO240 and list the etiology code in MO230.

MO250 Therapies the patient receives at home. Only include those therapies the patient is receiving or will receive as a result of this assessment at home.

MO390 Vision. Assess the patient's vision with corrective lenses if the patient normally wears them.

MO420 Frequency of pain interfering with patient's activity or movement. Identify frequency of pain interfering with activity with treatment if prescribed.

MO440 Does this patient have a skin lesion or open wound? A skin lesion is an alteration in skin integrity. It does not include: anything ending with 'ostomy' or peripheral IV sites. It does include: central lines, PICC lines, implanted infusion devices, venous access devices, bruises, age spots, sores, skin tears, burns, ulcers, rashes, surgical incisions with sutures or staples, pin sites, crusts, persistent redness without a break in the skin, etc.

MO450 Current # of pressure ulcers at each stage. The bed of the ulcer must be visible to stage the ulcer. If the ulcer is covered with eschar, necrotic tissue or a non-removable dressing, it cannot be staged. Do not reverse stage 3 or 4 granulating pressure ulcers.

MO482 Does this patient have a surgical wound? A surgical wound includes: orthopedic pin sites, central line sites, stapled or sutured incisions, incisions with approximated edges and a scab, debrided graft sites, wounds with drains, Mediport sites and other implanted infusion or venous access devices.

MO520 Urinary incontinence or presence of urinary catheter. If patient has anuria or an ostomy for urinary drainage, mark response #0. If patient is incontinent AT ALL, mark response #1. If patient requires the use of a urinary catheter, mark response #2. If patient is both incontinent and requires the use of a urinary catheter, mark response #2 and follow the skip pattern.

MO530 When does urinary incontinence occur? Any incontinence that occurs during the day should be marked with response #2.

MO640 - MO820 ADLs and IADLs. To assess the patient's ADL and IADL status, use direct observation supplemented by interview.

MO650 - MO660 Ability to dress upper and lower body. If patient uses dressing aids, assess ability using aids. If patient requires standby assistance for safety or verbal cueing, mark response #2. Consider physical limitations at the time of assessment and pain as well as clothing routinely worn.

MO670 Bathing. Assess the patient's ability to bathe the entire body and possible assistance to safely bathe. Use response #2 or #3 for patients requiring standby assistance or verbal cueing. If patient cannot use the bath or shower because they are restricted by an MD order or unable to access second floor tub or shower due to restriction from stair climbing, use response #4 or #5.

MO680 Toileting. Assess the patient's ability to safely get to and from the toilet or beside commode. This does not include ability to perform personal hygiene.

MO690 Transferring. Assess the patient's ability to transfer safely for the three transfers indicated. Only use the response #2 if the patient can both bear weight and pivot.

MO700 Ambulation/Locomotion. Assess ability to walk safely once in a standing position, or use a wheelchair, once in a seated position, on a variety of surfaces. If the patient requires standby assistance or verbal cuing, use response #1 or #2. A patient who is able to take one or two steps to transfer but is otherwise unable to ambulate, should be considered chair-fast, so choose #3 or #4.

MO826 For all Medicare fee-for-service patients. The total of all physical, occupational, and speech-language pathology combined visits must be reasonably estimated.

About the Author

I'd like to invite you to get your FREE Home Care Documentation Insider Report when you visit www.homecaredocinsider.com

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Fleet Management Solutions And Your Business

A Sucker Is Born Every Minute

2009-03-30T15:57:00.001-07:00

If you are heading to the next foreclosure auction you would do yourself a favor by taking what little money you have and giving it away.The only people getting rich in foreclosure are these so called foreclosure experts selling homes on television for $70,000.

Just think about it.If the median price home in your state is $200,000 then what can you get for $70,000 dollars?The answer is quite clear, a shack, an empty shell and four walls...no sinks, no toilets, no bath bubs, no plumbing, no water tank no heater and certainly no windows.You get four walls, many of which have had major holes pounded into the plaster by evicted hostile former owners who went out of their way to destroy the property.

Any savings in a foreclosure immediately evaporate when you need to spend $100,000 just to make the property livable.And if you are really the unlucky buyer you might even discover an undisclosed second mortgage or mechanics lean.Ask yourself this question.Do I have the money to buy the property and where will the money come from to bring the property up to the standards necessary to rent or resale?You already know the answer, that the warm and fuzzy feeling of buying something at 30 to 40 percent of its value quickly disappears when the money you just saved goes back into the money pit, a house needing major repairs.

Worth thinking about, some banks and mortgage companies who have repossessed properties in foreclosures will not make new loans on houses that have been stripped of their content.Ah!but there are hard money lenders, you know those guys that gladly give you the month at 8 to 10 percent over price.It is sort of like loan sharking.

Homeowners who destroy their property in foreclosure should be sent to jail, but our liberal politicians and courts believe that personal property rights allow owners to destroy what they can no longer afford to pay for.It is a clear sign that capitalism and the judicial system are running amok.

I know of some cases in which former owners had parties on the eve of their evictions in which they invite their friends to bring hammers and chain saws to break through plaster walls just for the fun of it.Such criminal destruction of property should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.And until we do, these crimes will continue.A $70,000 bargain is not such a bargain if you need to put $150,000 into repairs.

The barkers on these foreclosure shows never tell you that most of these properties are dogs, real dogs.Do you want to own a house in a neighborhood surrounded by drug dealers and empty houses growing marijuana inside?How safe is your investment if it is surrounded by gangs, former prison inmates, and registered rapists?Then why would you be convinced that this $70,000 property is such a bargain?Or are you like many buyers who are just planning to do the minimum amount of repairs so they can make a killing by pawning it off on some other poor sucker?Unfortunately our American society has evolved into this ugly Brave New World.

If you are convinced by television infomercials that anyone can instantly gain riches and the technical skills of investing in risky real estate you are dumber than dirt.Americans are currently discovering that the vast majority of people do not have a clue what they are signing when purchasing a home...the subprime mortgage meltdown reveals this lack of knowledge.Believing now that these same buyers are investment gurus capable of wrestling property deals away from the big boys are out of touch with reality.The high rollers of real estate investment buy all the good property on the foreclosure market.What usually ends up on the auction block are the dogs!

Do not get snagged by the hype being fed to the general public by television commercials produced by the same scam artists that hyped people into believing they could afford to buy a house with no money down and refinance it when the prices went higher.The sleazy get rich quick scam artists are the ones making millions, stupid!

I watch these foreclosure auctions and my immediate thought is about B.T.Barnum, the famous man of the circus who once said: A sucker is born every minute.And the people in the audience are ripe for the picking.

Under the glaring lights of the television cameras and the smooth tongue auctioneer plus the barkers running up and down the aisles in their tuxedos screaming Buy!, Buy, Buy, this is nothing more than the 21st century equivalent of selling snake oil.

Buyers beware.

About the Author

William Dorich is the author of 7 books including his newest, Defeat Foreclosure and The Nursing Home Crisis.

A pioneer in self and independent publishing he has published 130 title including Witness to War for the Los Angeles Times which won a Pulitzer.See http://www.gmbooks.com

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Fatties Not Fit For Life Insurance

2009-03-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

A worrying fact is that a quarter of children are classed as overweight before they are old enough to start school.That figure is one in three by the time they enter secondary school at the age of 11.
Obesity can be related to a range of health problems including diabetes, heart and liver disease and even cancer.In less than a decade since 1999 the number of doctors' prescriptions for obesity drugs rose from 127,000 to more than a million.And now the insurance companies are going to make the fatties pay.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the tool used to calculate whether a person is of 'normal' proportions, or 'overweight', or 'obese', which is anyone with a BMI of over 30.This is the figure at which many insurance companies start charging up to 50 per cent higher premiums.In the past a BMI nearer 40 was used, but as it became clear how serious Britain's obesity problem was, the figure was lowered to 30.However, they might decide to drop lower still, heading closer to the 25 mark where the 'overweight' category starts.
If you are obese and also have other high-risk factors such as being a smoker or suffering from certain medical conditions, the increase in the cost of your premiums could soar to a staggering 400 per cent!
An example for 150,000 pounds of life cover for a 55-year old man in good health, who is a non-smoker of normal weight, is about 1,000 pounds a year.Let him become obese and his 25-year policy could cost him 500 pounds more.
Not all insurance companies use the same BMI rate.The second largest insurer, Norwich Union, uses 35 as the figure at which to raise the premium costs, and the third largest, Friends Provident, goes from 33.
Legal and General, Britain's leading insurer, uses a BMI of 30, and said that 13 per cent of new customers would have to pay the higher premiums.
L and G's director of underwriting and claims, Russ Whitworth said, "Most people understand that poor diet and lack of exercise can lead to health problems but they might not realise that being significantly overweight would also make their life insurance more expensive."

"Although it is not an exact science, we find that BMI is the best indicator of the risk of being overweight, so it pays to stay in shape.
"

The Association of British Insurers backs its members' decision to charge higher premiums for the obese, claiming that it is no different from charging more for a smoker or somebody with a previous medical condition.
Problems could arise for super-fit sportsmen who would have to convince their insurers that their high BMI score is due to building up solid muscle rather than being obese.It's no point being economical with the truth when an application form asks for your height and weight.In the event of a claim, the company won't pay out if it catches you out in a lie.The Financial Ombudsman Service says it constantly throws out cases where a claim has been rejected for this reason.
Recently a man of 37 claimed on his application to be six foot tall and to weigh 16 stone.When he died of a blood clot five months later it turned out he was only 5 foot nine inches tall and five stone heavier.Needless to say there was no pay out.His premiums would have increased by 275 per cent if his true details had been known, but his claim would have been valid.
The Financial Ombudsman ruled that there was such a difference between what he put on the form and what he actually measured that it couldn't have been a mistake.
Matt Morris, a policy adviser at specialist financial advisers Life Search, explained, "In an ideal world, insurers want the healthier clients.There is an element of cherry picking.They don't want the burden of the heavier client."

The Prudential is doing something to help.
It now offers free gym membership, and if you use it at least twice a week you get a 2.25 per cent discount as well.

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Mortgage Protection - A Safety Net

2009-03-29T03:53:00.001-07:00

Private insurance is seen as a safety net if problems arise due to the risk of unemployment, debts, repossession and the possibility of illness.If someone has a 100,000 pound mortgage, an increase of ten to twelve pounds a month would provide cover for the insured for the interest per month paid on the mortgage, should they run into problems.
With personal debt now totaling over a trillion pounds, the Government is pushing these new initiatives on private insurance.Bankruptcy is increasing and home owners are coming under pressure if they miss repayments on their mortgages.The possibility of repossession is worrying and frightening.
It's ironic when you realize that the taxpayer has coughed up some 8 billion pounds in benefits over the last 10 years in mortgage interest payments to support the unemployed.The treasury is now trying to off-load this onto to the responsibility of public and mortgage lenders.
Insisting that compulsory Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) should be enforced would not be a popular move as it increases costs when buying a house, and some experts are of the opinion that the Government should impose that expense onto the lenders, to come from their profits.It is no secret that building societies and banks make massive profits on selling MPPI and premiums are currently around 800 million to 1 billion yearly despite only just under a quarter of buyers having made the purchase.With the profit on this being 250 to 500 million pounds, you can follow the Governments way of thinking.
What the Government realizes is that 75 per cent of homeowners are left without protection if they fall on hard times.It's true that the benefits system is in place and gives support via Income Support for Mortgage Interest, but there are limitations on claimants.
The advice from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the voice for banks and building societies, is for first-time buyers to take out insurance to protect their homes.However, they are strongly against making MPPI a compulsory product, especially if it increases the buyer's outgoings.
The CML believe that if the industry has to absorb this cost then the outcome will be that mortgages will go up as this money will have to come from somewhere.Even if it is not seen as a separate premium, it will be built in and will increase the overall cost.In their opinion margins have been squeezed for some time now and it is making it impossible for firms to absorb this extra too.
The CML think that people should be free to make their own choices and arrangements with regard to this insurance, which may not be appropriate for everyone.It could be that people may have sufficient protection from other insurance, or through their employers or possibly substantial savings.In this case it would be unreasonable to enforce someone over insure.
Iain MacQueen-Sims, credit and debt expert of Omnichek, does not agree with the CML His opinion is that by making MPPI compulsory it would create a safety net and that it shouldn't add to homeowners costs.The lenders can easily fund it without any price increases and they should show some loyalty to a market where they do very well out of their customers.
A draft of the European Directive on the mortgage market is in favour of compulsory MPPI in all member states as a standard procedure.A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions has stated that "anyone taking out a mortgage should think hard about protecting their income."

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