1/30/08

Is Work-At-Home Work A Real Job?

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In many cases one person decided to leave their job and start a family business. The rest of the family is feeling alienated. They are either forced to 'get on board.' Or, they feel that the one family member is coping out, quitting, and leaving the rest of the family to suffer.

Many work at home business owners lament that their spouses and children tell them to stop playing on the computer, or 'get a job.' The perception that a work at home business is 'not a real job' has nothing to do with the amount of revenue earned, or the hours worked. I've consulted work at home business owners who made more 'at home' than they did before, but their families still asked when they were 'going back to work.'

In this situation the rest of the family may decide that the stay at home person can take responsibility for the house, household chores, and children - as they are not doing anything else anyway.

This problem must be addressed with finesse. If handled properly the problem can be overcome and quickly managed. One way to overcome it is to deposit a set amount of money into the bank account every week. This does not need to reflect the real income of the business. If the family is happy to see $300 go into the bank account each week, they don't need to know that the business made $5000 this month. The rest of the money can be reinvested into the business.

The chore problem can be harder to manage. One way is to hire lawn care, housekeeping, and laundry service. In most cases, the business owner can generate $30 a hour when they are working, and pay a service $20 an hour.

There is also the possibility of renting a space in an office outsourcing company. Many businesses are being established that lease a desk, or small office, to small business owners for $100 a month. A small business owner may not be earning more money as they leave the family each morning, but they are 'going to work' so the stress is off.

Another problem arises when the home based business tries to conduct business without an office. Children run in to tell the business owner what happened to them at school, the spouse comes in asking about dinner, someone yells for the business person to answer the phone. Very little work is completed in this environment.

Self esteem issues can also come into play. No one think anything if a person invests their life savings into a franchise, and take four years until their business starts earning a profit. But, when the home based worker goes month after month without earning money, people lose faith in them. A business person needs to create benchmarks to measure their successes.

There are resources for small business owners. Most communities have networking groups. The internet is full of online communities that are worth their nominal membership fee, if only to reveal that 'everyone' in a work at home business is facing the same problems.

New ideas are often hard to accept, especially for people who went to university and spent 10 years trying to do things 'the right way.' They can feel threatened when someone steps 'out of the box' and succeeds by following their dreams. It can be a hard fact to accept that their method is not the only method, or even the best method.

A Work at home venture is a real job. Work at home businesses are as viable as brick-and-mortar companies. And, never let anyone tell you different.

Mark Walters is a third generation entrepreneur and author. He offers free training and investing videos designed to speed you towards financial independence at http://www.cashflowinstitute1.com/Articles.html

Some Work at Home Scams to Avoid

There are currently hundreds, if not thousands, of work-at-home (WAH) opportunities floating around on the internet, in magazines, newspapers, and on TV commercials. With so much information and opportunities floating around, how do you weed out the real ones and/or identify the scams?

Currently, the most popular methods of working from home being advertised usually fall into one of these 3 categories (in my opinion): SCAM, Telecommuting (or other usually REAL, Legitimate) Positions, or Business Opportunities.

Most of the ads you will see circling the net are either SCAMS or for Business Opportunities. I hate to even put those two words next to each other because most Business Opportunities are not scams. Nine (9) times out of Ten (10) the reason that you are seeing these ads are because of the keywords you are searching for (whether online or in the paper/magazine). I will go into detail about this a bit more shortly. For now, I would like to share with you what some of the most common scams are and, hopefully, teach you how to identify them and then avoid them like the plague (or Bird Flu)!

When trying to decide if an ad you are reading about working from home is legitimate, some of the following rules apply:

1. First: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

2. Second: Check to see if the company has contact information. And check to see if the contact info actually works - send an email with a bogus message or call the phone number (if listed). Then, check to see if the company is listed with the Better Business Bureau (not always necessary). You can also look to see if the company or product you are interested in has any comments on Rip-Off Report.

The two biggest Scams I think you should stay away from.

1. Envelope Stuffing: There are many different companies and ads all over the place for this type of scam. [Please note: I have attempted envelope stuffing once in the past. I cannot say they are all scams because I haven't tried them all.]

The ad: Stuff envelopes from home and make xx amount of money per envelope.

The Skinny: I sent in my processing fee (which usually is in the $30-$50 range). A few weeks later, I received a letter from some company that basically wanted me to sell canvas paintings. The way I would get paid for stuffing the envelope is for commission on a sale.

Lost: $30

2. Data Entry: These ads are everywhere! Luckily, I did my research and got a response from an honest lady, so I didn't actually lose any money on this one. (Please note: There are legit data entry J.O.B.s which you will be able to find, see below).

The ad: Get paid for doing data entry from home. You will be paid xx (usually $15-$30) for each application that you process.

The Skinny: I replied to this ad and asked the lady how exactly we got paid. She was kind enough to explain (before I sent money) that once you paid your processing fee, you were to place ads on as many sites as possible (similar to the one above). This was the data entry part. Then you would get paid (usually $15-$30) for each person that signs up to do data entry. They also tell you this is 100% legal!

Almost lost: $15


Belief Redding is a work at home mom who has fond a way to legitimately make money from home online with real jobs. She is sharing her reserach with others so that they can do the same.Tired of being scammed? Find Real Legit Work at Home Jobs today!http://wahanthology.info/recommends/RealLegitTelecommuteWorkAtHomePositions

Ebay Business: 10 Steps to Successful Selling on Ebay

So you want to be a successful seller with your own eBay business, do you? Here's a simple, ten-step path to eBay enlightenment.

Step 1: Identify your market. Take a while to sit and watch for what sells and what doesn't out of the items you're interested in. Any market research data you can collect will be very useful to you later on. You'll probably see the 'sweet spots' quite quickly - those one or two items that always seem to sell for a good price.

Step 2: Watch the competition. Before you invest any money, see what the other sellers in your category are up to, and what their strategies are. Pay special attention to any flaws their auctions might have, because this is where you can move in and beat them at their own game.

Step 3: Find a product: Get hold of a supplier for whatever it is you want to sell, and see what the best rates you can get are - don't be afraid to ring round quite a few to get the best deal. If the eBay prices you've seen are higher than the supplier's, then you're set.

Step 4: Start small: Don't throw thousands at your idea straight away - get started slowly, see what works and what doesn't, and learn as you go. Remember that it's very cheap to try out even the craziest ideas on eBay, and who knows, they might just work!

Step 5: Test and repeat. Keep trying different strategies until you find something that works, and then don't be ashamed to keep doing it, again and again. The chances are that you've just found a good niche.

Step 6: Work out a business plan: A business plan doesn't need to be anything formal, just a few pages that outline the market opportunity you've spotted, your strategy, strengths and weaknesses of the plan and a brief budget. This is more for you than it is for anyone else.

Step 7: Invest and expand: This is the time to throw money at the problem. Buy inventory, and start spending more time on your business. Set a goal number of sales each week, increasing it each time.

Step 8: Make it official: Once you've made a few thousand dollars worth of sales, you should really register yourself as a business. Don't worry, it's not expensive or hard to do - a lawyer is the best person to help you through the process.

Step 9: Automate: You'll probably find that you're writing the same things again and again in emails or item descriptions. This is the time to give up on the manual method and turn to automated software that can create listings for you, and respond to completed auctions and payments with whatever message you provide.

Step 10: Never give up: Even when it looks like it's all going wrong, don't stop trying until you succeed. If you keep working at it then you'll almost always find that you make a real breakthrough just when things are starting to look desperate.

Once you get into the swing of things, you might start thinking that you should quit your job and take up eBay selling part time. But it's not always as easy as that - there are all sorts of factors that you need to consider. The next email will weigh up the case for and against taking up eBay full-time.

Please take the time to visit my website www.manomanju.com to Learn how to start your home based online jobs.

Work at Home Data Entry Job: 5 Secrets To Know Before Starting!

It is predicted that the number of data entry jobs available online will decline over 2014. This is making it increasingly more difficult for start-up workers to find legitimate work at home data entry jobs to become employed in.

While a lot of data entry jobs are scams, there are still many that are legitimate. The problem is that demand for these legitimate, well paying positions is so high that it is becoming harder and harder to get into them.

From the outside, this may seem backwards. More and more companies are looking to outsource their employees online, and data entry is a position thats easy enough for anybody to get into.

Well yes, there are still plenty of positions available, and anyone with the right education can find one.

The difficulty is in finding a legitimate company that will pay you a fair wage and value your skills.

Most of the work at home data entry jobs involve ad typing work. This basically involves writing small ads and distributing them around the internet.

Dont get me wrong, this is a perfectly legitimate job and there are numerous companies that need people to do this. However, be aware that for many of these positions you do not get paid unless someone buys the product from your ad. So unless you have exceptional marketing skills or 20 hours a day to commit to distributing ads, most of the ad typing jobs will not yield you an income.

So the search begins for something slightly more professional such as virtual clerical duties. This involves typing data into forms, proofreading and formatting documents and writing letters for the company that employs you. Most of these positions are legitimate, but even if you are more then qualified, you will still find yourself up against a lot of competition.

A great place to start looking for these types of positions is at sites like craigslist.org and Indeed.com

There are still problems though. Many times there will be hundreds of people looking at and applying for the same jobs as you. Thus you need to search everyday for jobs that are suitable to your needs, and hope that you land one. You also need to create a resume and cover letter that is top class.

As you can see, getting a work at home data entry job can be tough, and its only going to get tougher. But the reason why so many people are interested is because it can be an extremely satisfying career. If you are even the slightest bit interested, theres no better time to look into data entry jobs than now.

Here some final tips to help you find a legitimate company to work for:

-- Print out business cards and flyers notifying people about the service you offer... and hand them out at any chance you get.

-- Avoid free listing sites if possible when searching for jobs, as most will be scams. Invest in a website like craigslist.org or indeed.com

-- Be wary of doing business with a company that uses a free email service (such as hotmail, yahoo or msn).

-- If the company asks for a fee before answering any questions, walk away immediately.

-- Research, research and research to find out all you can about the company and to make sure they are legitimate.

Finally, do not be afraid of competition. If you find a posting for a work at home data entry job that you would love to do, then go for it. Too many people sit back waiting for an opportunity to come to them, but they miss out on all the best ones that pass them by. Once you find a company that works for you, do all you can to work for them.

Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant and work at home business owner. For more information on work at home data entry please visit his "Top Ranked" Work at Home Data Entry Directory which gives you all the information you need to Work at Home in the 21st century.

1/28/08

You Can Create Time and Money Freedom

You want to be free to do what you like, when you like, right?
You want to be free to go where you wish, when you wish, and to be able to afford to buy what you want. Ayn Rand said, “Freedom is to ask for nothing, to expect nothing and to depend on nothing.” Sounds good to me. But, to many people, this just seems like an impossible dream.

In fact, you can create this freedom in your own life to a large extent. It won’t happen overnight, but it can happen. You can consciously and systematically create this free lifestyle. I have. And you can, too. This is a technology, not some “Pie in the sky” scheme. It’s not MLM or Network Marketing. It’s proven and it works. Here is a simple plan to create freedom in your life: more than enough time and money and independence for you.

We should remember that Robert Kiosaki, in his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book, told us that you don’t need millions in the bank to retire. What you do need is more passive income than you need to live comfortably on. That’s not what some “financial planners” will tell you; they want to sell you lots of risky stocks and bonds and they tell you that you need millions in the bank. So, if you need $5,000 a month to live on and your income exceeds that, plus you have a little financial cushion stashed away for unexpected costs, you’re looking good!

And we all know that it’s better, by far, to have multiple streams of income than just one. That way, we reduce our risk, don’t we? Not all your eggs in one basket. Have many baskets, so you can afford to drop some and still survive. Spread the risk. That way, you don’t lie awake at night, worrying about losing your income because of a crash in the stock market, a grumpy boss or a dishonest business associate.

So, step by step, this is what we need to create time and money freedom and peace of mind, and all the quality of life that brings with it; ten simple steps:

Reduce and remove debts and overhead. Most people buy things they don’t need and can’t afford, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t like. We need to reduce our monthly expenses and cut away the fat. Do you really need two cars and all the flash? The less you need to live on every month, the easier it is to get free. Take a good, hard look at your expenses and lifestyle. Do your things own you?

Make sure you are properly insured against lawsuits and unexpected loss. Get many quotes and be very careful which salesperson you talk with. Remember, the salesperson wants as much commission as he can get out of you. A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing here. When I was offered dental insurance and I looked at my benefits and costs, I decided to do without. It has saved me thousands of dollars. Read the small print; insurance companies really don’t want to pay you.

Incorporate your business for protection and definitely have a business – the tax breaks are excellent, especially if you’re a Joint Venture Broker as there are many more deductibles, including trips, entertainment and the like.

Remove unnecessary costs and especially regular costs from your life.

Visit your bank manager and the competition bank manager and an accountant. Look at refinancing and reorganizing your debts, line of credit, credit cards and mortgage – this exercise alone can save you a fortune and radically reduce your monthly costs.

Simplify your life as much as possible. What can be cut out? What is working, and what is not working? Are you attending a club or group out of habit, but not really getting any benefit anymore? And it’s costing you money? How much time and money will you save by leaving?

Educate yourself. Read Robert Kiosaki’s books. Read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. Read “Think and Grow Rich” – again. Attend courses. Don’t go out and spend a fortune on schemes and dreams and “get rich quick” schemes. Be very careful. Attend free seminars but don’t buy stuff when the speaker turns into a used car salesman at the end and the mindless herd goes scurrying to the back of the room to buy his overpriced products. Sleep on it first. Don’t get emotionally whipped up. The more you learn, the more you earn. Understand money and debt. We don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems.

Align yourself with winners, not whiners. If we mix with people who are richer, wiser and more successful than we are, we will earn more as we learn more. Be open-minded and get that ego out of the way. People who are free can teach you how to be free. You don’t learn by talking; you learn by listening and then applying the new information.

In everything, maintain the Joint Venture Broker mindset: “No Money, No Risk, Very Little Time.” You don’t have to pay for things when you understand Joint Ventures. You can trade, barter and Joint Venture.

Become a Joint Venture Broker and create multiple streams of increasing, passive income. Maximum potential, unlimited opportunities, no geographic limitations, no industry limitations. Anyone can do it, regardless of education, age or background. All you need is access to a telephone. If you have internet access, even better. Work from home, a car, a beach, a forest, a hotel, an airport, or a wheelbarrow if you like. And you don’t have to go out and buy a business, sell stuff, sign leases, employ people or buy inventory. You can use existing resources – everything you need is available through other people and other businesses. You can find more information at www.jvwisdom.com.

For more than 20 years, Robin J. Elliott has worked with thousands of businesses in over 49 industries across the United States, Canada, and Africa to help small business entrepreneurs build wealth and gain access to new markets and profit centers through Joint Ventures. www.jvwisdom.com.

1/27/08

Building an Affiliate Marketing Network Via the Classifieds

Most everyone who discusses the merits of an affiliate marketing network likely focuses on the pay-per-click versus pay-for-performance aspects of this advertising tool, and rightfully so! Online these two programs alone have shown themselves to be the work horses of a successful and diversified affiliate marketing network while at the same time not demanding an undue strain on a company’s promotions budget. Thus, start up companies in general and home based small business entrepreneurs in particular gravitate to this form of self-promotion like bugs to a strong light source in the dark of night. Yet just like the bugs, many of the smaller businesses get burned not because the product was unsuccessful or the presentation less than professional but instead because the interest simply could not be generated by the participants in the affiliate marketing network who chose to sign up.

In general, those signing up to post links and banners or search boxes onto their sites are looking for the heavy hitters which will lend credibility to the webmaster and her or his site, while smaller merchants are usually avoided because they simply do not offer that air of mainstream acceptance to a site. In the same vein, many of the webmaster who do sign up for the smaller business affiliate marketing network will most likely be startups themselves, thus in a way countermanding the business’ efforts of reaching a large number of potential customers. Even though the money spent on this kind of advertising is low, it hardly merits the results that are being yielded.

Interestingly, a new trend is developing which is finding great acceptance with smaller businesses and which is proofing for be a money maker to such an extent that it threatens to leave the tried and true pay-per-click or pay-for-performance affiliate marketing network in the dust for home based entrepreneurs: classified ads. Building an affiliate marketing network via the classifieds may sound odd but the more careful attention you pay to this trend, the more sense it makes.

With a few words you have the chance to advertise your network and generate a far-reaching interest in the business. While not each and every online or print publication will permit you to post your ads, in general you will find that you can start getting out the word about your network by posting in a few free, online publications. Research the high traffic sites and post your ads in accordance with their submission guidelines – a much overlooked fact that may get your ad buried if not carefully observed! Use strong marketing words that require a response by the reader, such as “clicking” or “visiting” and rely on heavy hitters like “proven” or “guaranteed” – only if you can back up the claims, of course. Add a measurable and real benefit to the action, and the odds are good that you will have a visitor for your site. Turning the visitor into a qualified lead, of course, is up to the quality of your site and actual network.


Cherie Ang is the owner of http://www.SGProfitSite.com

1/23/08

Are Data Entry Jobs for Real?

You may already have gotten email offers for data entry jobs that pay decent money. These jobs promise you income from the comforts of your very own home. You may also have encountered people who have either been scammed or strongly believe that jobs of this nature are scams. However, despite what these people have encountered or believe, there are many data entry jobs that are legitimate, valid and for real.

As in all scams, the primary reason why online data entry is regarded to have a high propensity for scam is because it sounds all too good to be true. There are indeed a number of jobs available to keep you busy and to earn you enough money to pay the rent. If you are eager to find out which these sites are, hold it for just a few seconds (or minutes).

What you need to realize though is that there are a good number of people in the online industry who may want to take advantage of this eagerness of yours to land in a good job while working from home. You need to steer clear of these people (and websites) and look in the right places.

Another thing you need to remember is that data entry jobs are not get rich quick schemes. Do not expect to earn hundreds and thousands of dollars overnight, or earn that much without having to exert any effort. Just like all jobs, data entry takes dedication and effort in order for you to earn decent income. The amount of money you earn through work at home jobs depends largely on how hard you work. The harder you spend time and effort, the more you earn.

You might have probably received offers promising you job offers pooling in as long as you pay them some registration fee for membership. This registration fee is necessary for you to get some training or receive notifications when data entry jobs are available. This is not to say that these offers are illegitimate and will only take away your money. Again, there are good companies out there who are reliable and trust-worthy. You just need to know how to recognize them from the others who are not.

In any case, use your intuition to help you through without getting ripped off. Never pay a single cent without you knowing for sure that the company you are dealing with is legitimate and fair. You can always check online community forums related to work at home jobs or your local Better Business Bureau to check on online sites before signing up with them.

So back to the original question. Are these data entry jobs really true? Yes, they are. You too can earn some good income with this work at home job. You just need to find out where to look, sign up with a reliable company, and start earning money you work hard for. Again, remember that data entry jobs will only work as long as your expectations are for real as well.


Want to try out a career in data entry? Deal only with legitimate companies! Start with us now by checking out Data Entry Jobs or Data Entry now.

1/20/08

Internet Home Business - Where Do I Start?

Starting a home based internet business does not require a huge monetary investment or highly specialized computer and internet expertise. In fact, it is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to create a money-making website. While you do have expenses when starting a home based internet business, they are very minor when you compare them to the expenses involved in starting a traditional business.

For example, for a traditional business you need a location or storefront and there are lease or rental fees associated with the building, which could cost you thousands per month. With an internet business, you have the cost of monthly hosting which can be as low as $10/mth.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or frozen with fear of the unknown, then you need to read further. It is not that scary or overwhelming if your break it up into smaller pieces. The following list will help you gather your thoughts and move you in the right direction.

1. Determine how much money you will have to invest in your online business. You will need to budget for the services, products, tools, and educational resources required for your business. At a minimum, you need a domain name, a web host, and a website to start.

2. Decide on your niche, theme, product or service. You have many options such as creating a website or blog, promoting affiliate products, or selling merchandise in online auctions just to name a few. If you are going to sell products on your own website, you will need a supplier and shopping cart software. If you want a theme-based website, then you need a gather a database of articles and information to present to your visitors. You will need to do some market research to find out how much interest there is in your product or service. Start thinking about how you can set yourself apart from the competition.

3. Starting an online business without educating yourself is not advisable. It is fine to be eager and excited about getting started, but you are jeopardizing your chances of success by jumping into an internet business without a good foundation. Get all the information you can, but also invest in the best information and education products. The more you learn the easier the process will be for you. Do not feel like you have to learn everything before you get started. You just need to get a good foundation because after that, you will learn by doing.

4. By educating yourself, you will be able to identify which tools you will need to start and promote your business. Understand that probably the most important aspect of your business will be the marketing of your website. An incredible website is nothing without visitors. Without the visitors, you have not even a remote chance of making sales. Every website owner will need traffic and marketing tools, such as autoresponders and pay per click advertising. Learn all the options for marketing your website to increase traffic and sales.

5. Manage your time wisely. This is a constant challenge for a lot of home based business owners. It is so easy to become distracted when you are at home, more so than in the traditional workplace. Set a schedule and set goals for what you want to accomplish and when. Write down the goals you need to accomplish for the day and cross them off as you finish them. This may sound simplistic but it really does help to keep you on track.

6. Make a commitment and do not treat this like a hobby. Do not get into your internet home business thinking it is okay if you do not succeed. Instead, move forward knowing that you will succeed. Commit to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Keep focused on your goals and have the belief and confidence in yourself that you can achieve them.

You see, it is not difficult at all to start a home based business. Building a home based internet business is achievable for almost anyone who has the desire and willingness to do what it takes to make it happen. The information, resources, and tools are all available to help you succeed. It is just a matter of what you are going to do next. You can walk away or you can take some action now. Success is up to you!


Nina Greene is owner of BennettWealthSystems.com and provides sound practices for starting an internet business. To learn more about this topic Nina recommends you visit: http://www.BennettWealthSystems.com

1/15/08

Starting a Freelance Home Business

Starting a freelance home business is a good idea for anyone who wants to work from home, be their own boss, and work on projects they are passionate about. If you skills in graphic design, computer applications, and web design, writing, photography, and other artistic endeavors, then you may be able to freelance in your area. Depending on the needs for your services, you can work with clients locally, nationally, or internationally by relying on the Internet for most of your communication.

Researching the need for your skills is important so you can feel secure that there is enough business to keep you financially stable. If you are still working full-time, freelancing on the side is a great way to see if you can turn it into a full-time work from home position. Once you have determined there is a need for your services, then you can begin to search for jobs.

If you are planning to begin freelancing right away, you should first consider your financial situation. As a rule, you should have at least three months of living expenses in your bank account so you can pay bills and other expenses while building your business. Because it can take a few months to get established, you will need to have a financial safety net in place so you can relax and not have to worry about paying your bills.

If you have connections from any previous jobs you have had, contact them and let them know you are freelancing. They may have projects for you or they may be able to recommend your services. Networking is one of the most important tasks you can do when running a freelance home business. The more connections you make, the better your chances will be for on-going work and a steady income.

Along with networking, advertising your services is also important. Build a website, creating a mailing list, and contact companies that could be interested in using your services. These are all ways to increase your contacts and build a business. Once you have a steady group of clients who need to have projects completed, you should still advertise, but you won't have to be as aggressive.

Running a freelance home business is exciting and challenging. Being your own boss, setting your own hours, and taking on projects you can be proud to contribute to are the rewards for all the efforts you put into marketing, networking, and making connections. While you should enjoy your success, remember that even though you work from home, you are still working. Keep distractions to a minimum and always remain professional when speaking with a client on the phone or when meeting with them in person to discuss a project.

Cherie Ang is the owner of http://www.SGProfitSite.com

1/10/08

Business Opportunities Online

If you want to get started working from home, there are many online business opportunities for you to try. The Internet has become a tremendous tool for consumers and information seekers. The internet has also provided an opportunity to countless aspiring entrepreneurs. Today you can start an online business selling products or providing services with limited initial capital and limited risk. Due to the nature of the internet, today the home based business owner can compete on a global stage unlike any other time in history.

You may think that building a website is a great place to start, because there are millions of sites online. Having a great website is important, but the key is to find ways to stand out and draw visitors to your site. It is important to consider your overall business strategy. You need to learn and implement effective ways to market your products or services. As you begin to learn about online marketing you will be confronted with "Guru" after "Guru" who will offer to teach you their "secret" techniques (for a price). The "secret" is, there are no secrets.

So how does your business stand out in the crowd? You may have the greatest website ever, but without visitors (traffic) you won't earn a penny. Some people get started by doing some online advertising. Building a customer list is another way. Once you have a list you can send periodic emails reminding people about your products and services. Many consider your list to be the most important asset for an online business to develop.

Keep in mind that many successful online business owners do not pay to advertise their websites. They rely on customer email lists, blogs, article submissions, press releases, search engine traffic, and answering questions on open forum sites to help get their website established.

Print advertising, craig's list, conferences, social gatherings, trade shows, and networking functions can all play a role in your online strategy.

While you can always pay to advertise on the search engines, as you can see, there are many ways to save money and still generate some traffic for your website.

After operating an online home based business for awhile, you may decide that one business is not enough. Some online business owner's run two or three online home businesses. The key to success however, is to focus on one business at a time. Without focus online success is virtually impossible.

After your initial business is up and running, it may make sense to dive into your next venture. Many times, you can leverage the skills and techniques you learned from your first business in your second venture. Of course your ability to start multiple businesses is limited by your available time and the complexity of the underlying businesses.

When running more than one business, it is important to keep things as simple as possible. Try to keep your websites clean and simple. Sell products digitally or utilize drop shipping, if possible, to save the time required to purchase, inventory, safeguard and ultimately ship products to your customers.

There are opportunities beyond your wildest dreams on the internet. To succeed in your new venture you must be diligent, driven, and stay motivated.


Joseph Jester is the owner of FinancialFreedomQuest.com and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more Joseph recommends that you visit: FinancialFreedomQuest.com

1/7/08

Pros and Cons of Affiliate Marketing

Do you want to work from home? Are you thinking of starting an online business? If you have been researching the possibilities, you have probably come across affiliate marketing, a business opportunity that has grown exponentially over the last 10 years.

Thousands of online merchants depend on affiliate marketers to drive customers to their websites. The affiliates don't have products themselves but attract the attention of potential customers and encourage them to visit the merchant's website. If the customer buys a product, then the affiliate gets commission.

There are many good reasons for choosing affiliate marketing as your online business. But, as with just about everything in life, there are a few downsides. This article will take a balanced look at some of the pros and cons of being an affiliate marketer.

One huge advantage of affiliate marketing is the low start-up cost. You really don't need much more than a computer and a broadband internet connection to get going. Initially, you don't even need to spend anything on creating a website. There are free resources on the internet that let you build small websites for free so that you can test your markets and improve your skills before committing yourself to your market and niche.

Costs along the way are minimal. If you were a merchant with products to sell, you would have all the expense of product development, storage and shipping. You would also have the hassle of processing payments and would be vulnerable to the ever-present danger of fraud. But as an affiliate you have none of these worries. You collect your commission checks or the credits to your Paypal account and laugh all the way to the bank.

How much money can you make as an affiliate? The answer is 'a lot' - if you work hard and smart. Some super-affiliates have become millionaires in the space of one or two years.

So what's the downside? The disadvantages of affiliate marketing are not great and should not deter you from getting started. But it's best to be aware of them so that you are prepared.

Affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. You have to put in a lot of time to develop the best techniques and apply them properly. And the internet is not a stable playing-field. The goal-posts are constantly shifting and you have to be able to adjust. Although the concept of affiliate marketing is simple, the skills required to build profitable campaigns take time to learn.

You must be prepared to make mistakes and have failures and pick yourself up and start again. Each failure will teach you something that you can use to your advantage in future. Patience and persistence are essentials for any would-be affiliate.

You must also have self discipline. Working alone with your computer, it is all too easy to lose focus and get side-tracked. You can spend unnecessary hours on unproductive surfing, while persuading yourself you are doing necessary research, or spend too long in forums when you should really be taking action to drive traffic to your website or merchant.

You must be good at time management and setting your own goals. The affiliates that fail are the ones that mess about and don't take action.

These are just words of caution. Affiliate marketing is an enjoyable and profitable venture for people who go about it the right way. If you are thinking of becoming an affiliate then it's a good idea to invest in a program that will teach you the best techniques and keep you up to date with developments online.

If affiliate marketing sounds like a home based business opportunity that you'd like to pursue, check out Wealthy Affiliate.

1/5/08

Work at Home Ideas for Beginners

You will be amazed at the number of online work at home business that you can find in the internet and choice is yours. Any hobby you have can be turned into an awesome business and never mind it is your hobby so it is better and it will work better, so try and do not spend much money.

Homebased business can be very profitable and lucrative if you know how to find and do it. Be it online business or offline business. Offline business in today’’s world is a little bit harder to do. Online business is a lot easier to do and easier to start. But again, you have to uncover a lot of things before you start a work at home business.

For thousands would be online entrepreneurs, the possibility of making easy money from the comfort of your own home is a tough one to pass up. Whether the job involves assembling jewelery, clipping newspaper advertisements, stuffing envelopes or processing worksheets.

There are thousands of work at home business opportunities including Internet affiliate programs, network marketing or MLM, work at home data entry jobs, paid survey opportunities, online auctions, online dollar stores, and more. If you are looking for work or a chance to have on some extra cash, work at home business can seem like an ideal solution.

But beware. These jobs are not always anything they”re made out to be. In fact, while most online opportunities are credulous, some can end up costing you a lot more than you bargained for.Blogging is the easiest way and the cheapest path to make money online for a work at home business.

The way for bloggers to earn money online is via the contextual ad program from Google. Adsense and BlogAds. With this type of internet business you don’t need a load of cash to start your online marketing, what you need is time to write articles that is relevant to your niche or your chosen field of business. Blogging as a work at home business can be very profitable with no capital to start.

Another work at home business that is cheap to start is paid surveys opportunities. With this work at home business, you simply join paid survey programs and you get paid for your opinion or opinions. But the best thing to join is where you can carry residual income and putting your website on autopilot.

But this type of internet marketing needs more research and experimenting with the unheard-of affiliate programs or MLM’s.

You do not want to start your own online business and venture into the affiliate marketing arena without a proven, step by step blueprint, developed and written by someone who uses these same steps every day and who has already helped others just like you achieve their dreams while in practice for themselves and from the comfort of their own home. The online world can be baffling, especially at first.

In conclusion, research first and make a well informed decision before you start your Work At Home Business.

Pedro Martinez is an established Internet Marketing Advisor who has been helping hundreds to build successful Home Internet Business for over 10 years. To learn much more about how you can start an Internet Home Business stop by http://www.thebizfromhome.com

1/3/08

Explode your Home-based Business by Becoming a Life-long Learner

Have you ever wondered why formal education only teaches you how to be a follower and not to be a leader? High schools never teach "Home-Based Business 101," or "Inroduction To Network Marketing." Both of these classes would make students stop and think that they could actually make a fortune instead of just making a living working for someone else. Maybe it's because schools are funded by large corporations and they want people to learn how to fall in line instead of start their own.

Whatever the reason, home-based business owners have to put on a totally different thinking cap than the ones high school and college students wear. You can't just receive a diploma from attending a few opportunity meetings and be on your merry little way, thinking you can become rich now that you have learned how to sell one product. That is the mindset of the person who thinks of their business as a casual hobby.

The masses stop learning after school, and then lead lives of quiet desperation. They let someone else determine what they are worth, and they trade their precious time for the security of knowing they will receive a small paycheck. You have other goals and dreams that working for someone else can't provide. Just like many other apects of working for yoruself, you have tackle the responsibility of keeping yourself educated all the time. Self-education is what you learn along the way to success that keeps you improving.

Most network marketing companies very seldom teach you what you really need to know in order to build a successful business. How could this be, you ask? Just think about it for a moment. The only thing your network marketing company is really responsible for is to provide you with products to sell, then pay you when you sell them. With this in mind, most of the training techniques they provide are more focused on increasing their overall sales rather than teaching each distributor how to be the CEO of their own company.

How many training events have you been to where you see the same people up on stage every month claming that they are doing the same things you are doing and getting rich at it. Why is it working for them and not for you? Probably because those people chose be life-long learners through a different education system that ties into the ones you attend. Take a look around at your next event. Chances are good that you will find yourself learning how to motivated to sell products more than learning how to be a successful CEO.

If you're going down the wrong path, you don't need motivation to speed you up. You need proper marketing education to turn you around. Most companies are not willing to spend the time and money on this because in the long run, the numbers game they play tells them it is more prosperous to just teach you how to get customers. Whether you succeed or not, your customers will still probably continue buying products.

The first lesson to being a life-long learner is to start learning the right things. A lifetime full of learning the wrong things won't get you far. It's never to late to change your direction. I spent ten years learning the wrong things, but there was some value in it. It led me to find the right kind of marketing education and that has not only enabled me to explode my business, but it allows me to get other people on the right learning path as well.

Constantly reflecting on your own situations allows you to learn what went right and wrong. Once you change from learning the wrong things to learning the right things, then you can focus on getting into the routine of learning more and more of those right things. Read books and keep yourself up to date on the ever-changing technologies that can help withyour business. It isn't what the book costs, it's what it will cost you if you don't read it. Books lead to ideas, and ideas lead to success.

All of your learning doesn't have to be from a book or a training class. You can probably learn the most through observation of others. Seek out people who are already successful and do the things they do. When you associate with successful people, you're chances of reaching your goals will improve. I'm sure that you will find these people are life-long learners and they will welcome the chance to learn something from you as well.

No matter where you are in life, commit to learn as much as you can. Strive for success, even when most people your age have given up. You are never too old to learn and grow in new directions. People who learn because they want to will go on to be the most successful kinds of people because they have a passion for improving themselves. By default, they teach others the importance of continued education, and that is what networking is all about.


William Winch is a Business Growth Specialist whose mission is helping people expand and explode their home-based businesses without breaking the bank. A former High School and College Business Educator and Counselor, he mentors from his home office in Rochester, NY. If you are interested in learning how to explode and expand your home-based business, you can contact William by visiting his website at http://www.thefreemlmpowerreport.com or by calling him directly at (585) 234-5283.

 
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