10 Useful Tips To Be A Better Enterprenuer

1. Observe risks faced by competitors
Observe other businesses that offer similar products/services. Normally, these would be your competitors. Look at their history. What problems did they face? What risks did they have to deal with? What risks are they currently having difficulty with?

And also, how did they solve the problems that they encountered? These will help you get an idea on how to deal with the risks that you will be facing. Let the experience of others guide you.
2. Have a professional analyze ‘risks’ for you Risk analysis is a specific subject. There are professionals trained to do this kind of job. Normally, people with a Bachelor’s Degree in business and marketing related subjects have some kind of training in this area. Of course, it is not necessary for you to hire someone to do just this for you. Maybe the manager or one of the employees you hired can to this for you. If your business has not opened yet, make sure that you include ‘knowledge on risks’ as one of the requirements when hiring a manager for your business.
3. Make a game plan (solution) in advance
Once you have identified the possible risks, it is now time to formulate theoretical solutions. What will you do if any of those risks actually arise? Well, you should already have a game plan set in advance. You want to be prepared for any possible risks that might come your way.
4. Take steps to prevent anticipated risks
You may already have a game plan on what to do if a risk comes your way. But there is a better solution – prevention. You should take real-time and actual steps that will prevent those risks from even arriving. As they say, prevention is better than cure (ex. If you anticipated that negative comments on your Facebook account will affect your business, then you should remove negative comments as soon as they are posted).
5. Absorb a portion of your earnings as additional capital
The net income (earnings minus all the expenses and costs including employee salary, taxes, rent, etc.) arising from your business is definitely the fruits of your labor. This is the part of the income that will become yours – an amount that you can withdraw or personal use. However, there are times when an entrepreneur refuses to make a withdrawal (or refuses to make a full withdrawal). This is because they return the net income to the business as‘additional investment’. This is how businesses grow.
6. Make a proposal to financial firms
Having your business absorb a portion of your net income is one way to grow your business. But there is another method – borrow additional investment from lending firms. This is a good choice to make if you need a big amount of money. And if your business is corporation in structure (as registered legally), this is a safer choice.
7. Think of additional products/services you can offer
Another way to grow your business is to offer more services/products than you already do. If you are selling computers for example, you can expand your business by offering other electronic products as well (ex. Digital cameras, MP3 players, etc.). Ideally, your new products should still be somewhat related in nature to your current products. If you want to offer a completely new set of products (ex. You are selling computers and you want to start selling beauty products), it is advisable that you open a separate online store for the new products.
8. Increase your scope of suppliers
As much as you want to be loyal to your supplier/s, it is not how business really goes (unless you signed an exclusivity contract with your supplier). You should still keep your eyes open for the possibility of acquiring new suppliers. Always keep searching. Why? Because you might find suppliers that offer lower prices than your current suppliers. Acquiring merchandise at a lower price means higher income for you. Of course, there are other things to consider such as quality. Ask questions like “though this supplier is cheaper, is his products the same if not better in quality?”
9. Increase your scope of target customers
Simply put, you should offer products/services that also cater to other demographics. If you are currently offering products for women for example, maybe you should also start offering products for men as well. Also, if you are currently selling to the US market only, maybe you can think of ways on how to extend your services globally. This is a good way to expand your business if you started with a rather limited scope of target customers. Of course, expansion is going to cost more money. Make sure that you calculated for the costs before making your move. Also, expanding your business is like opening a new business. This means that you will need to do another Feasibility Study before going ahead with the plan. With a Feasibility Study, your plans of expansion will surely take a better path.
10. Increase your scope of advertisement
Doing advertisement is costly. This is why newly opened businesses often limit the scope of their advertisement in order to save on costs (ex. Business chose to advertise via the net only and refused to advertise via Television shows because of the costs). But once your business has become more financially stable, you might want to start increasing your scope of advertisement in order to invite more customers. And if you have so far used only free advertisement tools, maybe you can start using paid advertisement tools (note: Facebook for example offers free and paid advertisement tools. Of course, the paid service is more effective and covers a wider scope.). Have a wonderful day.

The Reason To Use Business To Business Marketing

For the people engaged in business activities and have heard about business to business marketing but have a vague idea of what it constitutes of, perhaps it is high time that they learn more about it especially if they want to reach larger base of audiences or consumers.

First, what is a business to business marketing?

In simple terms, it is that business activity that engages in selling services or products not to the consumers directly but to other business companies and organizations for the main purpose of allowing them to work and run. 

They are either resellers, product makers, non-profit organizations, or the administration. While they generate ample revenue from customer support, the main profit is being generated from other companies.

 
An instance of successful business company or organization involved in such marketing is the non-profit business. While some of their funds come from the personal contributions of the people, majority of their profits come from government financial and companies' support.

 
Because of this enormous financial support, or in order to collect even bigger monetary support, the non-profit organizations operate in such a way that their services or goods are remarkable in which a large percentage of the buying public will patronize. 

Otherwise, it will be difficult to gather the loyalty and support from other companies and organizations.  Non-profit business organizations and companies make this happen by trading themselves to these other companies and advertising for others them to see the advantage and benefit of dealing with them.

By doing these, they should be able to come up with the best platform that shows the good factors why those other organizations should make their buying decisions favorable to them and not to their opponents.
It is in this instance where business to business marketing strategy comes into the scene. There is another marketing strategy, which is the business to consumer, but in this kind, the business is engaged into supplying services and products directly into the buying public. As implied a while ago, the business to business engages into supplying the same into other companies and organizations.

 Essentially, the Business To Business (B2B) has a significantly more aimed and definite market base as compared to the indefinite marketplace of the B2C. But while that is the truth behind the difference of these two marketing types, you must always remember that B2B is still has in mind the consumers or buying public to reach out. Meaning, the products and services they create, though are meant to be sold to another organization and company, will be consumed by the end-users, who are the buying public.

 So, in essence, the non-profit organizations are nothing if their products or services do not click to the buying public. In other terms, they are running and successfully operating largely due to significant customer demand. When you are engaged in a business to business marketing, you don't just think of organizations and companies subscribing to your products or services.

First and foremost, it is important to consider the objectives first of the customers when buying, satisfaction being the primary concern. The cost, delivery timing, class, quality, reputation of the brand name, accessibility and other factors, are what make for the decisions of these buyers. Have a wonderful day.

10 Important Business Needs To Regularly Check Up

Whether you’re thinking it’s Spring Cleaning Time or a time for an annual checkup, your business needs to undergo a checkup each year.

No matter how large or small your business is, you cannot gauge the effectiveness of any changes you’ve made without analyzing the benefits and bottom line.

Here are 10 questions to get you started:
   1.  How do your year-to-date sales compare to the last couple of years?  Don’t be satisfied if you managed to match them because if sales stayed the same then you’ve achieved zero growth. With inflation, this flat growth line is a warning sign for more trouble down the road.

2.  What percentage of your business is from repeat customers? This is important to know because if it’s too low, then it needs to be improved.

The estimated cost of getting a new customer versus retaining an existing one can be as much as five to one in terms of dollars spent.  Keeping customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones.

3.  How long has it been since you offered a new product or service?
Loyal customers like to see you changing and progressing with the times.  If you’re stuck for an idea, ask your customers what they need.

4. Do you consider marketing and advertising expenses or investments?
How you look at the money spent in these areas affects your willingness to spend money at all.  Would you look at prescriptions as a waste of money? Marketing is really investing in you, your vision, and your company. The old adage that you must spend money to make money is true, but you must spend it wisely. Spend it on ads that are pulling responses and orders, and if they’re not maybe you need to change publications.

5.  Do you know what PR is and how to use it to positively position your business in the media?  I’ll bet that at least one of your competitors does. Nearly every mention of a company or business in the newspapers and magazines is a direct result of publicity efforts. Being quoted or featured in an article speaks volumes to your clients and readers who are your potential prospects. A good PR consultant can do that for you and show you ways to extend the shelf life of that article beyond its publication.

 6. Are you listed in the yellow pages?  If you only have a line listing, consider including a small ad in the yellow pages. If you can afford it, it will pay dividends throughout the year.

 7. Do you teat your regular customers better than your drop-ins?  You should.  If your customers don’t feel special when coming to you for products of services, why should they remain loyal to you? Have a customer appreciation day or a special invitation only sale for your regulars. Create a mailing list of your regulars. Send occasional post cards or greeting cards for special events or just to keep in touch.  Learn to recognize them on sight and greet them by name when they visit you.

8.   How long has it been since you really talked to one of your customers?
Just as you appreciate when your Doctor takes time to talk to you, your customers will appreciate you if you take an interest in their needs. If you have a service business, have lunch or coffee periodically with some regulars – even if they only contact you once or twice a year.  The personal touch in an impersonal world will be remembered.

9.  How is your business doing compared to your competition?  Every company, no matter what the size, has competition – even home-based businesses. Is their business growing or downsizing? Is their pricing or service better than yours?  If so, what can you tell potential customers about the price difference? Think about how you can improve your service to meet or exceed your customer’s expectations.

10.  Are your employees happy?  Don’t ask them directly, but observe them throughout the day.  Watch, listen and learn. Employees who like their jobs don’t watch the clock for quitting time, aren’t habitually late, don’t have poor body language, don’t spend time on personal phone calls, and don’t look like they never smiled. Observe how they interact with customers.  

Not everyone is a match for direct contact with the public, so make sure you don’t have an employee who is driving business away. For some reasons, when you smile as you talk on the phone, the exchange with the client becomes more pleasant and more productive. It’s as if that smile went right through the phone wires to the person to whom you’re talking. Have a wonderful day.

10 Tips For Growing Your Business

1. Over deliver, but don't over promise. - Most companies do just the opposite.
They want that sale so they promise their customers the moon but then they fall just a little short.

They might have provided exceptional customer service, but excellent service looses its luster if it falls short of the promise.
In fact, it’s worse than not promising at all.

The bottom line is that you must organize your business so that you always exceed, but absolutely never fall short of a promise to a customer.

2. Use your customer’s name when ever possible. - Your customer’s favorite word (everyone’s favorite word) is their name. Use it, use it often, and when you write it, make sure that you spell it correctly. It’s also important to use a level of formality that will make your customers the most comfortable, so you’ll need to decide whether to use their full names, their surnames or their first names.

3. Give your staff both the responsibility and the authority to solve customer complaints. - Customers like to deal with decision makers, so make everyone on your staff a decision maker. A quick and satisfying resolution to a problem can help to solidify your customer’s loyalty.

You’re much more likely to lose customers if they have to wait, or if they get shuffled from department to department.
4. Keep your business spotless. - Unless you own a farm, dirt and clutter give an unprofessional impression whereas a clean business sends a message of professionalism to everyone, including your staff.  If you can do this with a business that is typically dirty, like a garage for example, you’ll absolutely dazzle your customers.

Just imagine the reactions of customers as they peer through the window of an impeccably clean, neat and organized workshop.
5. Incorporate a dress code. - Some people have difficulty with this one because they want their people to have the freedom to express their individuality, but a dress code can mean anything from completely matching outfits all the way to a minimum standard of dress (i.e. clean clothes in good repair with no written messages). 

Just as cleanliness does, a dress code sends a message of professionalism to everyone who comes in contact with your business. It lets them know there is a plan here… that some thought has gone into the development of this business, and most importantly, that it is not exactly the same as every other business of its type.
6. Regularly reward your employees for excellence in customer service. - This will show them that you’re not just paying “lip service” to customer service.
 This doesn’t always have to mean money, it might be as simple as a thank you and tickets to a show, but what ever you do, always do it in front of their peers. Not only will it make them feel good to be appreciated in front of their peers, but it will send a message to your entire staff that around here, customer service really is important.

7. Ask for 3 referrals from each of your clients. - Referrals are always your best source of new clients. Asking for a specific number adds to the professionalism surrounding your request. 

Don’t worry about offending them, you won’t. Just be polite, be direct, and be professional.
You’ll be surprised at how much your customers will appreciate the opportunity to help you out.
8. Smile when you answer the telephone. - It’ll come through in your voice.
A great example is The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company which requires that its employees answer the telephone within three rings and with a smile.

All too often, business phones are answered by busy employees or even busy owners who give the customer the impression that they’re an interruption to their busy day.

No business can afford to send those kinds of messages for long, no matter how successful they are.
Eventually it’ll catch up to them, because of course, customers are not an interruption to their day, customers are the reason they’re in business.
9. Raise your prices. - How many customers will you loose if you raise your prices?
An accountant friend of mine recently gave this a try. He is now enjoying a larger income and a better clientele. The clients he did loose had been the cheapest and the most demanding of the bunch.

So ask yourself this question, “how many customers will I loose if I raise my prices?” The answer may surprise you.
10. Set corporate goals. Celebrate with your staff when you reach them. Give them the credit. - Great leaders set goals, liberally pass out the credit for their successes and take the blame for their failures.

I’m not saying that you never let your employees know when they are producing substandard work. 

Everyone’s got to be working on the same page, but if things don’t work out in the end, take responsibility, and if they do work out, share the victory. Your staff will work all the harder because of it.








By Mark Wardell
President, Wardell Professional Development Inc.
mwardell@wardell.biz
Phone 604-733-4489
www.wardell.biz

Wardell is a business consulting firm, uniquely focused on the needs of small/mid sized growth companies.
  

Source: http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/articles/business-10-tips.html

6 Things To Make A Good SMS Business System

To get started with Short Message Service (SMS) business, you will need to get an online SMS system. Sending bulk SMS is done online most of the time.

 Though, it is possible to send text message through personal phone but if you need to send text message to about 1000 people, you will discover that it won't be easy to use handset to do that.
Presently, there are a lot of people providing SMS platform but only few of them have what it takes for their resellers to become successful in the business. Some provide cheap and low quality SMS to their resellers.
This can easily kill the SMS business if there are lots of complaints from users of the system that messages sent are delayed or not delivered.
1. Ensure that you have SMS system that is created for ease of use.
That is, users of the system should be able to  navigate easily around the website without difficulties.
2. Make sure it has a registration and login form for users to create their own accounts and send messages without getting in touch with you before they can do that.
3. Ensure that your system has different payment methods that make it possible for people to buy SMS from you even while you are not there or when you are fast asleep in the night.
4. Make sure you have a system that gives you some level of control and flexibility of the website so that it will be possible for you to adjust and customize some things on it.
5. Ensure that you can always get support for your SMS system and you are not going to be charged consistently for the maintenance of the system.
6. Get a system that has future, i.e, the developers keep working on it to ensure that the system remain relevant to technological changes. Have a Wonderful day.

4 Ways To Know If A Product Will Sell

Yes, it can certainly be intimidating to make the decision to create an information product that you’re not sure will sell.

Fortunately, market research can prevent this from happening. As a business owner it’s important that you take advantage of market research, and be willing to invest your time, and possibly money, into doing it right.

It’s the perfect way for you to learn about your customers and understand what they buy and why.

The flip side is that if you don’t do market research, your may waste your time and financial resources on something that could have been avoided.

As far as the cost that is associated with market research, it really depends on what type of research you plan to do in order to answer the questions that you have.

So it can be as inexpensive or as costly as you need it to be.

1. Surveys: This a widely used form of conducting market research for online products

because it is inexpensive (or free), and it can be sent out to your customers through email.

If you opt to do a survey, make sure you keep the questions simple and don’t list more than 10 questions.

Otherwise, you run the risk of overwhelming them and taking up too much of their time.

By keeping it short and sweet, your response rate is likely to be much better.

2. Online Research: By using a keyword research tool like wordtracker.com, you can find out how many people are looking for information on your topic.

So if you were to type in “silk floral arrangements,” it will tell you exactly how many people are typing that keyword into the search engines.

 If a lot of people are looking for information on your topic, then it may be worth creating an information product based on it.

3. Experiment: Test your information product by giving out freebies.

You can do this in the form of a free small report or e-course to test the waters before you create a large information product on your topic.

Doing so will give you an idea of how many people are downloading your report or signing up for your free e-course.

 If it turns out to be wildly popular, then an in-depth information product will likely prove to be just as successful.

4. Tracking: Software programs can tell you where your customers are going on your website, what they are doing, what they buy, and how long they stay.

 One way to use this method is to set up a category on your site with some information on your topic, and use your software program to find out how many people are going to that section and how long they are staying there.

It will give you an idea of how much of your traffic is interested in that topic. Thank you for reading. Have a nice day.

How To Manage A Merchandising Business

Merchandise stores have a couple of objectives.

They need to make a decision on the price that they are willing to sell the merchandise, and the quality of service that they need to give customers, that’s basically it. 

 There are a couple of well known department stores in the world e.g. Amazon http://www.Amazon.com/ or Walmart.

A department store can have the option of setting high prices for items and providing quality service, or they can become a discount store.
 
A discount store sells items a frugal price but provide little to none customer service.

Target is a discount store and that’s why they are so distinguished.

They provide good customer service, and high quality brand name products.

Target prices are extremely competitive because they sell well known material with a nice discount. 

A merchandising business makes their income by the purchasing and selling of goods.

Every merchandising company whether it’s wholesale or resale uses a similar accounting formula.







For a retail company the management is a difficult task because the buying and then selling of goods make it an uneasy task.

 The accounting for a merchandising business compared to that of a manufacturing business are just about equal. 

  The cash flow management is important for a merchandising business and it requires organizing a company’s receipts and payments of money.  

 If a company is not capable of paying their bills when they are needed then that is when they will go out of business. 

This is very true for merchandising business, and the goods that are sold are known as merchandise inventory.

The normal transactions that merchandising business go through is known as the operating cycle. 

 First, the business purchases the merchandise inventory, and pay for it on either cash or credit and second, they sell the merchandise inventory for wither cash or credit.

What’s risky about a merchandising business is because the purchases are usually made on credit which means that they have to wait some time before they actually receive the money for it.

However, this is not really a huge issue.  

 The proper management of cash flow is extremely crucial for a merchandising business because they have to keep financing the inventory (goods in stock) until they are sold which can be risky.

The financing period is the time from the purchase of goods for inventory, until the customers come in and purchase the products.

This is also commonly referred as the cash gap.

So, if it takes 50 days to sell inventory, and 60 days to collect sales for it, an the creditors payment conditions are 30 days, then the financing period is 90 days.

 In the financial period the company will currently be out of cash and will need to borrow money from creditors such as banks if they don’t have the funds available.

The sell of goods on Visa and MasterCard are considered cash sales because they take the money right from the purchaser’s account.

Generally the smaller retail stores have more sales on cash then credit, while the bigger ones sales come mostly from credit.

 The average merchandising store will have a combination of both.

Also, cash flows is not the only concern of a merchandising business because they also take into account profitability.

The reason why merchandising businesses sell goods at such a large price is so that they can have enough money left to make an income.  

Profitability management is a very hard task and it includes getting a decent margin, and to maintain appropriate levels of operating expenses.

Getting a decent margin will depends on the appropriate pricing of merchandise, and purchasing merchandise for a fair price. 

To keep the operating expenses going smoothly it depends on controlling expenses and operating everything properly.

At important times throughout the year the management should compare its estimated budget to its actual one.

For example, if a company has estimated that they will spend 10,000 on purchasing merchandise but actually spent $10,150 then they went over a little.

However, it can be countered if they estimate that they will make $17,000 from the profit but actually ended up making $19,000.

A company must also look at home their advertising is going because if they are under spending then they may not be getting the recognition that they are looking for, but if they are overspending and not getting the results they attended then they are wasting their money. 

They should also pay special attention to their insurance expense as well. 

Another important aspect of the management system is to choose the inventory system properly. 

 Management must choose one or a couple of systems that will get the job done in a timely manner. 

There are two basic systems used in accounting for this and they are perpetual and the periodic inventory system.  

When using the perpetual inventory system, numerous of records are kept for the quantity available and the cost of the individual items as they are sold. 

This detailed system gives the management team a better chance of the wants or needs of customers because they have an idea what is in stock.

The cost of an individual item in this system is recorded in the Merchandise Inventory account, and when the item is sold it is transferred to the Cost of Goods sold account.

 However, for the periodic inventory system the item that is not sold is checked often, but usually towards the end of an accounting period.

No records are kept for the inventory throughout the accounting period. The inventory is only accurate for the balance sheet date.

The reason why some retail stores use this method is because it cuts down on the clerical work.

This method is acceptable for small business, but I’m not sure it will work too well for large businesses.

 Generally companies that sale items in bulk amounts or high quantity but low quality such as discount retail stores will favor this method.

On the other hand, companies that sell high priced but high quality but low quantity items such as jewelry stores will tend to use the perpetual inventory system. 

The main transactions of merchandising businesses come from buying and selling. Merchandising business uses assets, merchandise inventory, and accounts receivable.

 A merchandising business is extremely opened to theft and fraud.

The reason for this is its quite easy to that the cash and inventories are easy to steal and its difficult for a large company to keep track of all of the transactions that goes on each day.

So, that’s why it’s extremely critical for a merchandising business to take the precautions to protect their assets which is commonly referred as internal controls.

To maintain control of the inventory, it is required in both systems to take a physical inventory. This is a physical count of the merchandise that is currently available.

This can get tricky at times because humans can miscount, so accuracy is very crucial during this process.

The merchandise inventory is all of the goods that will be sold in the future. These include all goods whether in boxes on the shelf or currently on the self.

The ending inventory is inventory that cannot be sold, or are not intended to be sold.

These include merchandise that has been damaged, but it’s a good idea to sell the damaged goods at a significantly reduced price if they can to get rid of it.

 The count for the business is usually taken at the end of the fiscal year or when the business will significantly slow down such as in January or February.

 However, they will generally do this when their store are closed, or sometimes on the weekends.

It’s very common for companies to experience loss of merchandise from their own employees.

When using the periodic system there is no way of finding out how this happened because the loss of merchandise is automatically included in the cost of goods sold.

For example, if a company lost $2,000 during an accounting period then that will automatically included in the cost of goods sold. 

 However, with the perpetual system this makes it a lot easier to identify losses because the merchandise inventory account is constantly updated with sales, and returns of goods. 

Once the amount of loss is calculated the merchandise inventory account will be updated.

Have a wonderful day.

How To Build Cheap Simple Websites And Blogs

Normally, if you want to have professional designers to build a custom site, you must be prepared to dish out at least some dollars, varying from some few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars, depending on the kind of website and it's functions.

All this can change if you know where to find the best deals, the best designs for the lowest price.

Here's a rough guide:

First, you must understand that it is more or less a rip off if you get expensive companies to design websites for you, unless that is what you want.
Have you ever seen advertisements in newspaper classified ad sections that offer to build a 5-page website at $500?

These companies are established companies with physical locations, therefore they have to increase the amount they charge to pay off some overheads: office rent, designer's wages, advertising costs and so on. Therefore, it would be wise to find reputable freelance designers who mostly work from home.

These people are often working from home, so they do not have a high operation cost like that of a company.On the other hand, they will be able to design images with quality similar to those of designers from big companies, so it's a "no-brainer or gimmick" choice.

However, choose freelancers with care. The best way to do this would be to go to sites like elance.com, Fiverr.com or even maybe on Apsense.

There, you can post the abstract of your project and get thousands of freelancers to bid on your project, so you will surely get the best deal. On top of that, you will be able to choose the designers based on their experience, past transactions and ratings, so your value for money is secured.

Another route you can take is to design your website yourself. Think about it, if you only need 5 simple pages to present some simple information, why waste hundreds of dollars for it? Just spend a little time to sit down and do it yourself.

You'll be able to design your own sites even if you do not know a single line of HTML code with the help of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) programs such as Microsoft Frontpage, Macromedia, Wix, Site Build it, Dreamweaver and so on.

 Or easiest of all use the Blogger or Wordpress platforms. These software platforms are very easy and Cheap to use. Both with more advantages than disadvantages.

Have a wonderful day.

How To Promote With Aggressive Internet Marketing

Aggressive internet marketing means full-blown marketing and promotions that exceed any businessman's expectations.

A business needs fierce internet marketing. No more, no less.
But to make it low cost? Is that even possible? How can something so aggressive be affordable?
Luckily, you can avail of inexpensive aggressive internet marketing if you just look hard and good enough. Be keen and alert to know what's going on in the online world, Stay updated with trends.
The following questions will help you discern if your chosen internet site to do the marketing fits the bill.
1. Does the company offer free website design?
Even if you know your HTML, it is still more advisable if a professional team does the work for you.
Some internet marketing sites offer free web design to make sure that your site's needs are met.
It's a must that marketing is integrated to the web design.
If the company requires you to pay more than fifty bucks for the web design, then so much for straight-forward internet marketing!
Look somewhere else!

2. How many keywords does your website cater for?
Having too many keywords or key phrases to focus on will make your page ranking drop.
Creating smaller web pages with content that emphasizes only a few keywords will serve Internet marketing endeavor better.

3. How search engine-compatible is your website?
Internet marketing is coined "aggressive" only if it is a hundred percent search engine-compatible.
There are about 14 most popular search engines online and your site has to work accordingly with them.
Find out if your internet marketing site is expert on search engine optimization.

4. Do you know your competitors?
Affordable aggressive internet marketing pushes your business forward by taking note of your competitors.
 Analysis and evaluation of the competition is mandatory to figure out your shortcomings and advantages over them.
If this feature is excluded from your internet marketing plan, you're getting a mediocre deal.

5. How efficient is the monthly marketing plan?
Usually, you're asked to pay a monthly fee for the marketing plan.
For a marketing plan to be efficient, it must zero in on the following things: web page development, link exchanges, web content, updates and technical support.
Of course, also included are the standard SEO, competition analysis and keyword density.
If you've procured the right answers for the previous questions, then you can finally say: "Now that's low cost aggressive internet marketing." Have a wonderful day.

How To Better Develop Your Goals And Job Skills

Now what? Well, just because you have a clear purpose, know what you want, are willing to work on developing your potential, and willing to be a nice person, success will not drop into your lap overnight.

You will probably find that one of your first steps in achieving your goals will be to take a job somewhat below where you hope eventually to be. But you've already analyzed the steps to your goal, so you presumably have planned for this. However, you do want to advance and, of course, as quickly as possible. As you advance toward your goals, you will undoubtedly run up against some difficult people (maybe even difficult bosses), and there will be times you'll need to deal effectively with them. Since you are working on becoming a nice, enthusiastic person and a team player, you already have half the battle won. Your attitude is as important as the other guy's attitude when you are dealing with difficult people. Always keep in mind that your job is a training field for you. You are getting paid as you learn the things you need to know to achieve your goals. Pretty good deal, right?  If you view your job as a paid opportunity to advance toward your goals, you will be an asset to your boss. You will also be a happier, more productive person. Viewing your job in this manner will allow you to view the difficult people you will inevitably need to deal with as an opportunity to grow.  From them and the situations they create, you will learn to negotiate with, side-step around, and draw out the best in others without letting yourself become upset. Each time you successfully deal with one of these people you will gain confidence and probably friends to add to your support network. The skill of negotiating with difficult people and the confidence you have gained from these encounters comes in handy when you are ready to ask for a promotion or raise - even if your boss happens to be a nice person. Successful negotiation is not a contest of wills - it is working together to solve a problem or come to an agreement.  It is an opportunity to learn how others feel about the issue. Always be prepared.  Know who you are talking with.
Always know as much as possible about the person. Know about the person's marital status, family, hobbies, education,  difficulties, attitudes, and whatever else you can learn. The information may give you an understanding of the person. If you know the circumstances, you will more easily find the most effective way to get your point across. 
At the very least, the information will make the person seem more familiar which will give you more self-confidence. Know the issue - not just your opinions about it.
Be able to back up your opinions with reasons and research. 
If you are asking for a promotion, know the demands of the job in question. 
Know and be honest about how much of the job you are already qualified to do and how much additional training you will need. 
If you may not be as qualified as someone else applying, be prepared to negotiate for a smaller-than-offered salary until you are fully trained - remember the training is worth a lot to you.
 Be enthusiastic and focus on your strengths - don't boast but give an a simple and accurate listing of the strengths you feel make you a good candidate for this job.
The strengths you cite can and should include specific job related skills, your present accomplishments on the job, your interest in the field (not just this job), your enthusiasm, your ability to work as a team member, and other personal traits that will be an asset on the job.
Always enter into negotiations with a calm and reasonable manner. 
Don't let emotion and emotional outbursts have a place at the negotiating table.
You must be in control of yourself if you want to get your point across.
People are more likely to listen to your views if you present them in a calm and reasonable manner. 
Present your ideas with conviction but don't try to intimidate others or be demanding.  
State your views simply, completely, and orderly.
When you are expressing an opinion rather than a fact, use a qualifying "I think" or "In my opinion."
 When others are expressing their views, listen carefully and ask questions if something isn't clear.
Don't disagree until you are sure you understand their position. 
When you do disagree, do so in a pleasant non-threatening way.
"I see what you mean, but . . ." or "I can understand why you think that, but . . ." are a couple of good ways to begin a statement of disagreement. 
Be courteous and leave them a chance to save face.
Be prepared to face people who are not calm and reasonable.  Don't let them get to you.
 Remain calm and reasonable and even be a little sympathetic.
Let's say you have entered into negotiations with your boss for a raise and he blows up with, "I can't afford to give you a raise. 
This business isn't exactly a gold mine. Don't you realize how tough times are?"  Remain calm. Put yourself in his shoes.  Try to find something you can agree and sympathize with.
  For instance, look sympathetic and agree, "I know you have a lot of expenses and you work hard to keep this business going.
 It must be really difficult for you sometimes."
 This will probably not be the response he expects.  It will probably take the wind out of his sails.
Most likely he will calm down, and since you are sympathetic to his problems, he'll be more willing to listen to you.
 If you remain calm, reasonable, and sympathetic, he will calm down. 
 When he is calmer, discuss with him the reasons you are a valuable asset to him. 
Don't threaten but calmly and reasonably discuss the bargain a small raise is.
  With that small raise, he'll be keeping a happy and fully trained employee who knows the company.
  When you consider the expense of finding and training another individual, giving you a raise is a bargain for your boss.
Play "Let's Make A Deal."  Be prepared to deal.  Don't expect to get everything you want.
 If you are willing to gracefully make some concessions, you will be more likely to arrive at a satisfactory deal.
After all, a negotiation has at least two opposing sides.
 This means someone else has something they want, too - even if that something is simply to leave things as they are.  Arrive at a compromise that everyone can live with. 
Remember, you are working at long-range goals, and you may be negotiating with them again.
Developing your potential more fully is a key to happiness and fulfillment.
Although we have primarily discussed this in terms of a job, these same concepts can be used in many other areas of your life.
In developing your potential to it's fullest, you will want to become a more efficient person - get more done in less time - so you can take full advantage of the opportunities that you make for yourself. You will note that most effective, successful people seem to accomplish a great deal.
It's true that this is partly due to enthusiasm, but there's more to it. The first barrier to efficiency is procrastination - putting off getting started. Sometimes you know you are procrastinating. You may not want to do the task at hand so you keep putting it off until tomorrow.
 The thing to do is to look at it from a different angle. If it'll have to be done sometime, tell yourself, "why not do it now, and get it off your back."
And that's just where it is!  On your back dragging you down. Putting things off makes everything harder to do. If you keep putting things off, you'll soon have several things piling up, and then the sheer number of tasks you have backed up will make it seem impossible to ever get caught up. This affects everything you do try to do. Sometimes you don't even realize you are putting things off. You may keep yourself extremely busy doing things of little importance to unconsciously give yourself excuses for doing the things you really should be doing. 
You say to yourself, "Look how busy I am.  I just can't get everything done."
But the result is the same as when you know you are procrastinating. It soon bogs you down. All you are doing is "running in the same place." Take action and do something Positive today. All the very Best.

How To Profit From Auction Businesses Like eBay

eBay has been a huge money-maker over the years for a lot of people.

One of the best things about eBay (and an auction business in general) is that people who would normally shy away from starting any other internet business (believing it to be too complex), are able to make serious incomes from home without a website or a list.

Not only that, but eBay itself is self-generating when it comes to traffic.

You don't need a huge ad budget for people to find your auctions.

If you want to go into business on eBay, you've got several approaches to choose from.

Some are more difficult than others. Let's take a look at this method.

Auctioning Physical Goods:

Physical products are what most people think of first.

You can sell just about anything on eBay, from major electronics, to cars, to that rusty old wagon that's been sitting in your garage for like 5 to 10 years.

Now, the obstacle that you face here is finding products to sell, and finding them at a low enough cost for you to make a profit selling them. 

What are some of the ways you can acquire products to sell? 

1. Wholesale - You'll need a business license (usually a state-tax resale license) most of the time to buy products from wholesalers.

In many cases, you'll also need a good chunk of cash to spend because wholesalers often have a minimum you must order to get the best prices.

2. Drop shipping – You may or may not need a license with wholesale drop-shippers.

It depends on who you're working with.

The trick with drop shipping is that you never touch the physical product, nor do you have to buy it before selling it.

Instead, you auction off the product beginning at the base price quoted to you by the wholesale drop shipper.

Once you've made the sale, you then pay the drop shipper and have it the product shipped directly to the customer.

There's also a third-method, but it’s pretty time-intensive.

If you enjoy bargain hunting, you can acquire products via garage sales, estate sales, dollar stores and the like. 

You also have the option of bypassing online wholesalers by traveling to various wholesale product shows, and purchasing your products there. 

Auctioning Digital Products:

You can also auction digital products, like ebooks, software, special reports, etc.

To be on the safe side, you'll usually want to deliver these products on an actual, physical CD.

 eBay claims that digital downloads are not permitted, but it seems to enforce that rule sporadically.

 What types of digital products might you sell?

• Your own ebooks, software, artwork, music, etc.

• Resale rights products you've acquired

• Products you've created from the public domain

The public domain product gives us a good example.

You can actually use this to break into niches which are normally served only by physical products.

Let's say you've discovered that sewing machines are hot items on eBay.

Now, as you might expect, people who buy sewing machines will also be looking for sewing patterns they can use in their projects.

As it turns out; there are tons of old sewing patterns books floating around in the public domain.

These patterns can easily be dropped into an ebook and sold via auction.

Would that really sell? Yes, in fact, one marketer I know of has already done this exact thing. 

Other Products:

If ebooks aren't your thing, there are additional digital products you can sell.

For example, if you're good at creating website templates, you can sell those.

You can, in fact, create whole websites, monetize them and then turn around and sell them as turnkey businesses.

Your product choices for eBay are really limitless.

 You just need to zero in on a hot niche, locate your products start setting up auctions.

Wishing you success.

16 Huge Traffic Tips For Blogs And Websites

   1. Make contact with related bloggers online and offline if possible.

  2.  Post regularly. If it’s a news or gossip oriented blog, a least 3-5 times per day.
    If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.

   3. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.

   4.  Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads.

  If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, each post must be unique and high value.

5. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog – Google Alerts, Page2rss. Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask,  Blogs, Technorati and Feeds.

6. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.

7.   Optimize and distribute a press release announcing Website.

8.  When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular
bloggers by name.

9. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.

10. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.

11.   Do you have any idea or remember when websites were a new concept and you are advised to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies till now.

12.  If your blog’s goal is to promote you as an authority, interview other prominent bloggers in your industry. Your own credibility will improve by association.

13.  Build out your online networks through services such as Blogtoplist, MyBlogLog, Twitter and Facebook and leverage them to promote particularly useful content on your blog.

14.  Once your blog has 1000 or more subscribers, show your Feedburner badge.

15.  Host images with Flickr making sure to include an anchor text link in the image description back to the post where the image is used.

16.  Use your blog to gain press/media credentials at relevant industry conferences and use the event to create content, connections and increase your knowledge.

Have a wonderful day.

7 Online Marketing Tactics That Win In Today’s World

Marketing tactics that win in today’s world are those tactics which are focused on proven, effective methods of marketing. 

They are designed around a customer’s needs and an understanding of exactly what customers are searching for.

One thing is universal about customers.

They are all searching for benefits and value. 

Their question is always about how a product or service can save them time, money, or both.

They want to know the value a product offers and they’re less interested in the features of a product. 

If the product has value and benefits, they assume the benefits will be included.

There are some key marketing tactics that every online marketer should know from the beginning.

1.   Know and understand your niche audience – understand what they value.

2.   Keep content dynamic, always changing and evolving. 

    Static content will turn off a potential customer (and search engine) quickly.

3. Clearly articulate what is unique about your product or business. 

Differentiate your business from the competition quickly and succinctly.

4.  Headlines attract and keep visitors onsite. 

Make sure headlines are effective and use optimal search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

5. Create a relationship and sense of trust with your potential customers and customers, and they will be loyal.

6. Demonstrate value – don’t just talk about it.  Show them what’s in it for them.

7. Surround customers with your marketing message without being invasive. 

Articles, website content, email blasts, newsletters, social media, and other technological advances offer expansive opportunities to provide valuable information on an ongoing basis.

The winning marketing tactics are those tactics that sell value and benefits.

 It’s about understanding what the customer wants and responding to that need in multiple ways. 

Providing a customer with what they want before they ask is the best way to keep them engaged.

There are many proven and effective marketing tactics that have been successfully deployed by some of the greatest online entrepreneurs. 

These marketing tactics are not hidden in the world of online marketing but they are often not clearly understood or visible to the average competitor in the business either.

Do your homework and access the most successful, proven marketing tactics available and your business will soar. 

Both you and your customers will benefit from your efforts. 

Best wishes.

Be Motivated, Impossible Is Just A Word, Think Big!

Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn't fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn't dreamed of being the homecoming queen?
And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships? Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic. This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day just barely existing. But you know what? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to aim higher. The most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible.
Most people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too impossible. No one can do this. However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So fly it does. On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them.

The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations. If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream. Try this exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life.

Under one header, list down things ‘you know you can do’. Under another header, write the things ‘you might be able to do.’ And under one more, list the things that that are ‘impossible for you to do.’ Now look at all the headers strive every day to accomplish the goals that are under things ‘you know you can do’. Check them when you are able to accomplish them.

As you slowly are able to check all of your goals under that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’ As of the items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do’ to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’ As you iterate through this process, you will find out that the goals you thought were impossible become easier to accomplish.

And the impossible begin to seem possible after all.You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination.It is to aim high, and start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is unwise to set a goal that is truly unrealistic. Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned. On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you.

If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities. Thomas Edison said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one. Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone.

Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be. So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible. Wishing you success.

The Importance Of Deploying Online Marketing Tactics

Online marketing tactics create a thriving business with heavy traffic, high conversion rates, and lots of sales.  It is also very important that these tactics should address the universal needs of customers
That’s the intent of any business and its marketing plans  – to make the most sales possible and do it as effortlessly as possible. Marketing tactics are deployed every day by aspiring online marketers seeking to make their fortune in the world of online marketing and many of them succeed. Unfortunately, many new and even many long-time online marketers make a critical mistake when it comes to marketing to their customers. They make it too complicated and their marketing tactics betray them.

Customers are not looking for something overly complex. They have a limited amount of time to find what they need and they want to do it quickly. In today’s world of advanced technology, high speed Internet, iPhones, hand-held computers, and other methods of portable online access, people are searching for information quickly. As a general rule, customers do not read what they see on the Internet.  They scan and browse the information for what they want to see.
If they don’t see it quickly, one click of the mouse and your business is history to them. That’s why it’s vital to deploy marketing tactics that quickly and immediately engage and entice a site visitor to want to know more. Have a wonderful day.