25 More Helpful Tips on Focus and Productivity

1.      Create a “Stop Doing It” list. Put things on here you can outsource, no longer need to do or longer interest you.

2.      Become completely aware of when you start doing a task and become aware of the urge to do something else in the middle of it.

3.      Keep a short 1-3 item list of tasks to do each day. These should be your “Most Important Tasks” list.

4.      Don’t do anything else before doing the first thing on your short list. That includes email, social media and everything else.

5.      Learn to single-task. Keep things focused and effective by single-tasking. Focus on one task until it’s done.

6.      Be more productive by taking a short break at least once an hour. This keeps your mind fresh and awake.

7.      “Don't interpret anything too much. This is time waster number 1.” ― Dee Dee Artner

8.      What do you focus on that’s absolutely essential? What isn’t as important? Figure out your top priorities to be more productive.

9.      Drop one feature that doesn’t need to be in your project, do one less service, or do one fewer project at a time to get laser focused.

10.      A short walk can be a fabulous boost to your focus, productivity, and clarity of mind. It helps your health and waistline, too.

11.      Set aside time to deal with any worries you have. Don’t bring them to your work area when you are trying to focus on a task.

12.      Shift between high and low attention tasks to give your brain a boost after you’ve been concentrating hard.

13.      Plug in your headphones to listen to peaceful music while you focus on the task at hand.

14.      Do focus exercises to increase your focus. Focus for one minute on one task. Repeat until your focus becomes longer.

15.      “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell

16.      If you’re feeling unfocused and sleepy, add a little vitamin D or get outside to soak up some sunshine.

17.      Use supplements to help you focus. The Vitamin B complex group as well as Vitamin D and Lecithin all promote brain health.

18.      Eat super foods like berries, walnuts, spinach and avocados to improve your concentration.

19.      Use the technique that helps you stay focused. Choose one task to focus on for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break.

20.      Take your time and work steadily to get the job done. Work at a pace that allows you to get through your work without stress.

21.      Use technology to your advantage. Online tools and apps for smartphones can keep your lists, goals organized. Ever note is one to try.

22.      Do some exercises that are aimed purely at boosting your concentration, like reading a paragraph over and over.

23.      Drink more water to keep hydrated. Dehydration can make you lethargic and have a lack of focus.

24.      Wiggle your toes. This mindfulness trick brings you back to what you’re working on if your mind begins to wander.

25.      “Multitasking is a lie.” ― Gary Keller, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Also Read 25 Tweet Size Tips on Focus and Productivity Here

13 Tips To Boost Your Social Media Experience

1.     Make sure all new product posts are made regularly. Don’t let gaps occur. Keep it fresh in people’s minds (without overdoing it.)

2.     Don’t tell everyone too much at once about your upcoming project. Mystery breeds interest! Hints and teasers are part of the fun.

3.     Use survey monkey to create free surveys. You can ask questions for your new product idea and share the link on social media.

4.     If you’re advertising on Facebook, remember your ad images, including the thumbnail, cannot include more than 20% text. 

5.     Take advantage of the fact you can now use text, arrows and calls to action in Facebook Cover –photos.

6.     Facebook Profile photos are square and display at 160 x 160 pixels – but remember Facebook wants you to upload at 180 x 180.

7.     At the very least, include a Facebook app tab leading to your sign-up page or form (and use a clear, easy-to-read call to action.)

8.     You can display 3 custom app tabs of your choice in your Facebook header section. Make the most of this “real estate”!

9.     Only your short description displays in your Facebook header section, but fill out your Profile 100% for max search ability.

10.  Select “Replies On” in your Page Admin panel “Manage Permissions” section to increase the conversation on your Page.

11.  If you consistently get endorsements that are not relevant on LinkedIn, be aware you can remove endorsements completely.

12.   Check “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” in LinkedIn to see who is finding you – as well as the keywords they used.

13.  In your LinkedIn Privacy and Settings page, "Select what others see when you've viewed their profile” to keep it private - or not.

      Read 25 Tips To Boost Your Social Media Experience Here.

The Process Of Switching To A New ISP Provider

What do you do when an ISP providers’ level of service has decreased or the provider has just closed shop? You don’t panic; all you have to do is switch to a new provider.

If you know how these ISP services work, then switching over to a new provider will not be as rough or bad as you think.

All it takes is having a contingency plan.

There are two components to internet ISP services which include the physical network connection to your SOHO or small office and the connection to network services so you can retrieve email or look at a web-site.



In information technology, SOHO is a term for the small office or home office environment and business culture. 

A number of organizations, businesses, and publications now exist to support people who work or have businesses in this environment. The term "virtual office" is sometimes used as a synonym.

Most SOHO businesses, no matter how big or small, will have network integration.

This is also called a Wide Area Network.

The connection through the network allows you to physically connect to the internet to look at web pages, use instant messaging or manage email accounts or use your email account.

This wide area network connects your computers to the internet.

The services that you get out of the network depend on your network configuration.

Again, the type of internet service you get should depend on what’s available in your area and how much bandwidth you need for business applications to be run or developing server side applications for your hosting account.

Many people rely on their own mail server or Web-site on their network, while many other business owners rely on their outside hosting providers.

You should also look at the types of access that you want.

Should you consider keeping the same kind of bandwidth, downgrade or upgrade according to company needs?

Right now, the hottest access going is DSL transmissions because it uses existing phone wires or cable modem.

Cable and Broadband similarities are the same depending on what part of the country that you live in.
Any choice that you make is going to be driven by price and availability.

Have a nice day.

How To Avoid Bandwidth Bandits

Files that are loaded to or from servers uses internet bandwidth to push files along the network at various speeds.
Every time you upload a file to your ISP, surf the web or use an audio application, you are using bandwidth.

Bandwidth is a bunch of wires or fibers connecting servers to a network.

Depending on the grade of the wire it determines how much data is coming across the network where your web-site is hosted.

When someone attempts to get more data than can be handled by the network, the whole network slows down.

ISP’s can put a limitation on bandwidth at certain times during peak periods or charge you a flat fee per month for bandwidth usage.

If you go over the flat fee, then they charge you extra for using extra bandwidth.

Some ISP’s will shut down the transmissions until traffic is more stable on the network.

You can load most files (images, sound files, videos and flash scripts and other programs) in your web site.

This excludes, of course, banners and pop ups and specific documents and images which are supposed to be loaded from a central server.

Bandwidth bandits link to images and other files directly to some other server instead of putting them on their local server.

There are various reasons as to why they do this but one reason is to get as much bandwidth as possible to show their links and images.

So they “steal” images or audio files each time the site is initialized meaning that they steal the bandwidth.

There’s certain ways that you can stop the person from stealing your bandwidth allocation.

If they have an email, I would contact them personally or go through Network Solutions and do an IP lookup which will give you information on the person and who the site is registered to.

You can always get in touch with the company that hosts their site too.

Bandwidth can be expensive and the last thing that you want is someone stealing it.

7 Fast, No Collateral Mobile Loan Services In Africa And India (UPDATED April 2023)

Below are  7 Top, fast and reliable Quick mobile loan apps services that currently give out loans effectively without collateral during OMICRON AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC VARIANTS. 

These are small and short term loans for individuals and small business.
 

CAUTION TO NOTE: Though most of these platforms offer quick loans without any collateral, carefully study their Terms and Conditions before joining them. Read to understand thoroughly the Interest rates and payback period and consequences for late payments. All the best!  

 

1. Invest in the future with affordable online funds. Join the international lending community that lets you raise funds directly from members all over the world. Join Zidisha here

2. Hello! You are also invited to experience and download the Download/Launch The UMBA App Here! Share this link with friends. 

Enter your phone number and get a link to the app! Join thousands of people who already trust them to back their financial needs. Read details here to get higher amounts instantly and enjoy discounts on health insurance services.

 

3. Fairmoney Microfinance Bank

Get Quick Loans and Pay Bills You can get up to ₦40,000 for your first loan without collateral in 5 minutes! Massive discounts also on airtime and data! Indian users are now also welcome, Click HERE to download.

 

4.  OKash app, free interest and origination fee for one stage! Register.

◉ Loan Term: the shortest tenor is 15to 91 days.

◉ Origination Fee (maximum): 24% per year

5. Carbon.

Carbon® lets you control your finances with a few clicks. You can get instant short-term loans for urgent needs, invest money to earn high-interest rates, recharge airtime on your mobile phone, and make bill payments for services. 

6. Experience and download Quick check, download here with no hitches, it's a user friendly App, the first loan amount isn't too bad with very accommodating interest rate. keep a good relationship with this company as a loan provider in times when you need a quick fix!

 

7. IT’S EASY TO GET STARTED

* Create your account using Facebook login or Your phone number.

* Apply in seconds.

* Receive your loan straight into your MPesa (Kenya, Tanzania), Tigo (Tanzania) or bank (Nigeria) account.

* Branch puts you in control of your finances. The Branch app lets you apply for credit on the go, and it works 24/7. No paperwork. Have a nice day, Stay safe.

Are You An Entrepreneur ?

Why do small businesses fail? A shocking number of small business start ups fail! Is there a method or process to ensure that prospective entrepreneurs will be successful? There are a number of good reasons for failure ranging from lack of skills, no viable market and under capitalization.

In this article I want to address failure reasons to do with the entrepreneur him/herself. How do you know whether you have been cut out to be an entrepreneur? Unfortunately, there is no institution that can evaluate and provide a success profile of the ideal entrepreneur. One option is to look at history and see what we can learn from past entrepreneurial successes and failures.
An entrepreneur is an innovator. The product of the innovation is a business. Its uniqueness makes it stand out when compared to other “ordinary” businesses. It captures the attention and imagination of stakeholders. The stakeholders are normally customers, employees, suppliers, investors and lenders. Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
The big question is: “Do I have what it takes to become an entrepreneur?”. An entrepreneur must have an independent temperament. Entrepreneurs consistently go against the tide. They start companies when others are retrenching; they don’t care about being rejected time and time again; and they trust their gut. Is there a way to measure all of this?

Locus of Control 

Some people believe that the results and outcomes in their life are determined by things outside of their control.

In other words by fate and independent of their influence, work and decisions. This is called an external locus of control. In Latin locus means place. On the other hand other people believe that the results and outcomes of their life are within their control and determined by their influence, work and decisions.

We call this an internal locus of control. The term locus of control was coined by Julian Rotter who did some research on this in the 1950’s. He also developed a questionnaire to measure this in 1966. Locus of control definitively influences entrepreneurial success as evidenced by hundreds if not thousands of research studies performed since the sixties.

An internal locus of control has been one of the psychological characteristics most often used as predictive of entrepreneurship. You believe you have control. If you want to determine your locus of control profile click on this link http://www.peter-plan.com/locus-of-control/.

The link will take you to a zipped file that you can download, unzip and use to easily determine your locus of control. This is a free gift from me and you can use and re-use the quiz indefinitely. After you have completed the quiz return to this article and read the implications of locus of control.

What does it all mean?

People with a high internal locus of control have better control of their behavior, and are more likely to attempt to influence other people than those with a high external locus of control. High internal locus of control people are more likely to assume that their efforts will be successful. They are more active in seeking information and knowledge concerning their situation. The internal – external locus of control represent two ends of a continuum and is not an either or typology, or putting people into two different boxes. It should not be thought however, that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck.

All of us have a certain degree of luck and disaster in life. It is however important how you react to different events. Many internals have grown up with families that modeled typical internal beliefs. These families emphasized effort, education, responsibility and thinking. Parents typically rewarded children for good performance and achievement. In contrast, externals are typically associated with lower socioeconomic status. Societies experiencing social unrest increase the expectancy of being out-of-control, so people in such societies become more external.

There is also a down side to an external locus of control. When we overestimate our control in a situation, we may become unnecessarily stressed out and anxious over events we have no power over. We can think and worry about all we want to achieve, but nothing we do can change those circumstances. Focusing on these things will only but drain your energy. When we underestimate our control in a situation, we may unnecessarily settle for things in our life that we actually have the power to change and improve.

So instead of changing the situation for the better, we actually settle for something much less. Clearly, relinquishing our power in such situations decreases our well-being. Living a more satisfying and happy life is directly dependent on how accurate we assess our locus of control. When we use influence in a situation where we actually have power, we maximize our happiness and well-being in the best possible way, given our circumstances.

Fortunately, Locus of Control is generally considered to be a learned trait rather than an innate personality construct. Your locus of control can be influenced by your life experiences and personal growth…for example by working with a therapist, experiencing the power of life coaching, studying self-improvement material and attending self-awareness workshops.

Benefits of an Internal Locus of Control

In general, people with an internal locus of control:

• Engage in activities that will improve their situation.
• Emphasize striving for achievement.
• Work hard to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities.
• Are inquisitive, and try to figure out why things turned out the way they did.
• Take note of information that they can use to create positive outcomes in the future.
• Identify opportunities because of their perceptual awareness

Do people with an internal locus of control perform better at entrepreneurial activities than people with an external locus of control?

Theory suggest that the answer is yes. People who have more internal locus of control form stronger positive beliefs that they can exploit opportunities, obtain resources, organise businesses and develop a strategy than people who have more external locus of control.

Because success at an activity depends in part on a person’s willingness to believe in their own ability to undertake that activity, those people with more internal locus of control perform better at entrepreneurial activity.

Assisting a person to move their external locus of control more towards an internal locus of control and helping them to take more responsibility for all aspects of their life is a key aspect of recovering from depression, raising self-esteem and building confidence.

What can you do to shift your locus of control to the internal side?

1. Set goals for yourself and note how, by working towards goals and achieving them, you are controlling what happens in your life. As you do this, you’ll find that your self-confidence builds.
2. Develop your decision making and problem solving skills so that you can feel more confident and in control of what happens.
3. Some of the actions you can follow in improved decision making and problem solving skills are:
   • Realise that you always have a choice to change your situation. Even if you don’t like the choices available at the moment, even if the only change you can make is your attitude, you always have some choices.
   • When you feel trapped, make a list of all possible courses of action. Just brainstorm and write things down without evaluating them first.
   • You may want to also brainstorm with a friend to get more ideas that you may not have initially considered. Don’t shoot down these ideas right away. Just write them down.
   • When you have a list, evaluate each one and decide on the best course of action for you, and keep the others in the back of your mind as alternative options. You may end up with the same answer you had before the brainstorming session,   but this exercise can open your eyes to a number of choices you have in a given situation. Seeing new possibilities will become more of a habit.
   • Repeat this practice when you feel trapped in frustrating situations in your life. In more casual, everyday situations, you can still expand your mind to new possibilities by doing this quickly and mentally

Your self-talk is important 

You live with an ever-present companion—you! You spend more time with yourself than with anyone else.

As a consequence, you have more influence over yourself and more ability to create your future than anyone else. This internal companion is you talking to you, inside your mind. You are the creator of your internal environment. You guide yourself, criticise yourself, give to or withhold from yourself, belittle or support yourself.

You can either support an internal or external locus of control through self-talk. Psychologists call self-talk that is soothing and brings you back to balance “compassionate self-talk” and “the language of self-support”.

Talking to yourself compassionately can be learned. The key is self-nurturing. Imagine how a good friend would talk to you and then talk to yourself that way. Be patient to yourself it could take a long time to develop positive self-empowering talk. Finally, quit making excuses and start asking yourself, “What can I do to change this situation?” Tell yourself that success is up to you.

Tell yourself that you can’t expect others to be responsible, that you must take the initiative to change your life and achieve what you desire.


Who pull the strings in your life?



http://www.peterjoubert.com/you-an-entrepreneur/

What Is The Scope Of A Project?

Start of the project 

Although not formally part of the project management process, every project starts by the identification of a need which provides for improvement or change through the introduction of a new approach, product or system.

More often than not, these needs are the result of poor performance in a specific area or the demand for a higher level of efficiency or competitiveness.
The scope of a project tells us what the project is about. It defines what is included in the project and also what is excluded from the project.
We can therefore say that the scope is a definition of the end result or mission of the project. Usually a product or service is delivered for yourself or a client/customer.

Poorly defined scope consequences

A poorly defined scope is one of the main causes of project failures. If the project does not satisfy the real needs of a customer it is doomed to fail. An incomplete scope will not cover all the needs and issues to be addressed. It is therefore imperative that the scope should be developed under the direction of the project manager and the customer. The expected results should be described in a specific tangible and measurable way. The scope definition is a document that will be published and used by the project owner and project participants for planning and measuring project success.

Scope checklist

• Project requirements
• Project objectives
• Deliverables
• Stakeholder expectations
• Criteria of acceptance
• Costs
• Milestones
• Limits and exclusions
• Risks

Project requirements

Requirements are the demands and obligations that a project must meet. There are two types of requirements namely product requirements or features and process or function requirements.

Product requirements describe the characteristics of the deliverables.
If you were building a house most of the requirements would be product based.
This might include the floor coverage, number of rooms, roof construction, type of floor, energy requirements, color of the walls etc.
Process requirements or functions Process requirements describe how people interact with a product and how a product interacts with other products.
For example, when you discuss how data gets moved and how business transactions flow from one point to another, you are describing process requirements.
Functional requirements are those things the product must do. This is determined by examining the work that has to be performed.

Project objectives

The major goal of a project is to satisfy a customer’s need. A project have a specific and defined objective e.g. to build a new two story house or to develop a new software trading package at a specific defined time.
Other objectives describe the cost and quality and performance. Objectives should be agreed to and defined before the project starts.
A project objective should be written so that it can be evaluated at the conclusion of a project to see whether it was achieved.
A technique to achieve this is to write SMART objectives. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Objectives are important for several reasons:

1. Objectives outline the business terms and once approved, they represent an agreement between the project manager and the project sponsor (and other major stakeholders) on the main purpose of the project.
2. The approved objectives represent an agreement between the project manager and other major stakeholders on the main purpose of the project.
3. Objectives help to frame the project and to determine deliverables needed to achieve the objectives.

Deliverables

Deliverables are the specific outputs over the life of a project. List the major deliverables. What will be on the table that there is not now?
A deliverable is a tangible verifiable work product. Describe the metrics and attributes of the deliverables. List the major mile stones.

Stakeholder expectations

No matter how careful you perform the needs analysis there will always be a margin of errors, omissions and mistakes in identifying the needs.
What the client wants may not be within the investment reach of the project. It is therefore imperative to manage stakeholder needs carefully.
For commercial projects the agreement of criteria of acceptance is very important to ensure that payment for the project will take place.

Costs

We need a forecast of what the project is going to cost in order to determine whether the project will be feasible and to budget for the project.
Project stakeholders prefer accurate cost and time estimates but this must be tempered with the inherent uncertainty in many projects.
Cost time and budget estimates are the foundation for control. They serve as the standard for comparison of actual and plan throughout the life cycle of the project.

The level of the project

The nature, complexity, size and extent of projects differ greatly. To define the scope of a small ordinary project is relatively easy and simple. It can be done in a matter of a few hours.
On the other hand to prepare the scope of large civil, mechanical or IT project could take from weeks to months. A large complex scope development will go through several stages of development.
In some industries they first develop a high level scope as part of the project charter and later  a low level detailed scope.
A high level work breakdown will first be done for big projects. However the end result of a scope should be to clearly define the intended end result of the project in enough detail that is required to plan the project properly.

Constraints

Project constraints impede or delay activities. Constraints must therefore be considered in scheduling. There are different types of constraints e.g. technical or logic constraints where the work must follow a certain logical sequence.
Building a house must start with the foundation. Resources people and equipment may sometimes be a constraint. Some key staff may only be available on a part time basis. Some staff may lack technical and operational experience.
The type of work may be new and never have been done before. The learning curve may therefore be quite steep.

Project risk

One very important aspect often missing from project plans is a serious consideration of what can go wrong with the project. It is a fact of life that risk is an inherent part of a project.
Depending on personal temperament and organizational culture we all have different risk tolerances. Risk is the chance that an undesirable event will occur and the consequences of all its possible outcomes.
A proper risk assessment must be done to identify probable risk events. The risk assessment will play an important role in the decision to proceed with a project and how to plan preventative and contingent actions.
Whether your project is big or small, complex or simple it will pay to know exactly what you want to achieve before you start. Machiavelli said “I have so much more courage if I start prepared.”

What must you do?

Next time when you have to do a project make sure that you have done all the homework to do a proper project scope.
It takes time initially; but it will be time and resources well invested. You have a much better chance of project success.

Article Source

How To Use Affiliate Marketing To Promote Your Business

Even if you are already using the Internet to market your business, you should consider adding affiliate marketing to you Internet marketing campaign.  Affiliate marketing, when done right, can yield a great deal of positive results for your business.

Furthermore, even when affiliate marketing is not done right, it will not likely be financially detrimental to the business.
This is because affiliate marketing is essentially an advertising program in which you only pay the affiliates when their marketing efforts yield financial results for your business.
This article will take a look at affiliate marketing and explain how it works and how you can maximize the benefits of affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing essentially involves having website owners, known as affiliates, post advertisements for your website on their own website. You can learn more about affiliate marketing by checking out the Internet marketing blog at www.jeremyburns.com for weekly updates.
Affiliate advertisements encourage visitors to click on the link and visit your website. The advertisements are specially coded to allow you to determine how many visitors enter your website through this advertisement. Unlike other types of Internet advertising where the business owner pays for the opportunity to place the advertisement on the website, an affiliate program does not work this way.
Instead the affiliate is paid when the advertisement yields a desired result. Affiliate advertisement can work on a pay per impression, pay per click, pay per lead or pay per sale basis. Pay per impression means the affiliate earns a profit each time the affiliate advertisement is served. This means for each unique visitor who views the advertisement the affiliate is given a predetermined amount of money. 
This amount will depend on a number of factors and will be agreed upon by the business owner and the affiliate before the advertisements begin appearing on the affiliate’s website.
Pay per click programs reward the affiliate each time a visit clicks through the advertisement. Pay per lead programs reward the affiliate when a visitor not only clicks on the advertisement but also performs a desired action such as filling out a survey or registering with the website.
Pay per sale programs reward the affiliate each time a visitor clicks through the advertisement on the affiliate’s website and also makes a purchase during this visit. The compensation plans associated with affiliate programs are so desirable because the business owner can have a number of affiliates and they only have to pay these affiliates if the advertising on the affiliate’s website is effective.
Affiliate marketing does not always work. When seeking out affiliates it is important to look for a number of different factors. An affiliate with a great deal of experience, a website with high traffic and a proven track record for producing positive results will likely be a good choice for an affiliate marketing program.
These affiliates rely on their advertising knowledge to promote the businesses and do not necessarily have to understand the business they are promoting.
Another excellent choice for affiliate marketing is to select another business that is closely related to your own business but does not compete with your business.
This is a good idea because they may share your target audience and their website visitors will also likely be interested in visiting your website as well.
For example if you sell running shoes you may wish to run an affiliate marketing campaign on a website that promotes road races such as marathons, half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks.
This website does not directly compete with your business but they are likely to attract an audience that would be interested in and have a need for your products or services.
Deciding whether or not to implement an affiliate marketing campaign is easy. As we previously mentioned there is very little risk in this type of campaign so it is worthwhile in just about any situation.  A more important decision to make is how you plan to compensate your affiliates. The compensation for pay per impression programs is typically pretty low because your business is not necessarily generating a sale from each impression.
Conversely, pay per sale programs usually compensates the affiliate better because the business does directly generate a profit from the advertising on the affiliate’s website. This amount may a flat fee or a percentage of the sale depending on the affiliate agreement. Have a nice day.

Internet Marketing, In The Beginning...

When I first started this Blog, I had studied internet marketing and online business enough to where I had a general idea of what was possible for people online.

 I had tried a few things, read a lot about online business and had a good feel for which paths were real and which paths were simply hype.

The whole reason I designed the site was to lead people away from the hype, scams, schemes and bad ideas...

Now, some years later, I come to you with way, WAY more experience and knowledge pertaining to the online world.


What does that mean?  That means this blog has become, more valuable Over time.

I could very easily package the words on this blog and sell them as an eBook or simply charge for people to Read.

BUT I want to keep with my original intent.

To provide a free basics source for everyone to learn from.

I firmly believe that everyone deserves a chance to find their opportunity and succeed online.

And I believe everyone deserves a solid foundation to start their Journey no matter what their financial condition is to begin with.

So hold on tight.You are about to be exposed to REAL opportunity and will be given a real foundation of how this online stuff works.

Have a nice day.

How To Profit As An Import Entrepreneur

Start-up Investment

Low - $2000 (importing and inexpensive product in small quantities and selling to an agent)

High - $200,000 (selling a costly product directly to retail or wholesale buyers)

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Break - even time - Three months to three years

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Estimate of Annual Revenue and Profit

Revenue $200,000 - $20 million
Profit (Pre-tax) - $30,000 - $3 million

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The Shrinking Globe

As our communication and transportation capabilities become more and more sophisticated, the marketplace ceases to be localized and becomes international.

Whether we like it or not (and some lobbying groups expend a great deal of effort to keep foreign products out of the country, our import/export revenues continue to grow.

For example, The American import/export revenues exceed the Gross National Product of many of the countries who are our trading partners.

While the giant corporations (Fortune 500 companies) export 80% of the goods going out of the country, internationally small businesses run the import side of the equation.

And there appears to be no end in sight.

The world economies are becoming more and more inter independent and as new markets open up, demand grows, and so will the opportunities for importing and exporting.

Bi - Lingual Business

Between regulatory changes and language barriers, importing and exporting is not a business for the faint of heart.

Regulations can change without a word of warning and seem to have very little to do with logic.

 Tack on quotas and tariff breaks for undeveloped countries and you have a real potpourri of information required in order to do business.

Before taking on this type of business, you will need to do your homework well.

If you are lucky enough to fall onto a hot new item (i.e., Cabbage Patch Dolls, Pet Rocks), a fortune could be made almost over night.

And if you choose wisely, you will have no domestic competition.

So--- choosing your product is one key to success in the importing industry. A good place to start is by taking a good look at yourself and your background.

If your expertise is in the apparel industry, you might want to consider textiles.

Be very careful what you choose though, you must take transportation, breakage, and market saturation into consideration.

You can save yourself a lot of trouble by importing items that are easy to transport and/or light weight.

Once you've picked your product, finding a source is rarely a problem.

Foreign governments are eager to expand their balance of trade and will help you find a supplier for your product.

You can obtain a list of manufacturer by product and country by contacting the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service.

Ready for Take Off

Many importers begin their business on a part-time basis until it really takes off.

You will find yourself with a number of decisions to make a lot of groundwork to lay before you can cut that first deal so before you begin your business, you may want to take courses in import - export at your local college university.

The Government Printing Office has many publications available to help round out your education.

 You may wish to make contacts at brokerage or transportation companies and tap into their expertise. The more information you have, the better your chances for success.

You will also want to determine the extent to which you plan to use the available support services.

You may wish to use an import agent or broker to handle the foreign end of the transactions (for a percentage fee).

Customs brokers and freight forwarders can grease the process too, but for another fee.

Find out what transportation is available and which is the fastest and most economical.

 Check your Yellow Pages or contact local air - or seaports for lists of suppliers.

But be careful, your name  is on the deal and your reputation is a stake. Check them out!

Before the goods you are importing shows up in this country, you will need to decide how you intend to distribute them.

 You can sell your goods to a U.S. agent who will then redistribute to retail or wholesale buyers or you can find buyers yourself.

If you choose to sell directly, you will need to have a marketing staff to find buyers and go to trade shows in your industry.

Although your initial costs will be higher if you market directly, assuming you can find a buyer for your product, your profit will also be much higher.

Cover All Your Bases

There are a lot of risks involved in the import/export industry.

Since you're paying in advance for goods which are being manufactured across the globe and you are dealing with different cultures and attitudes, it extremely important to ask the right questions and get everything in writing. MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS

In many instances foreign governments side with their own nations no matter what the circumstances.

In some cases, U.S. companies can be prevented from modifying or terminating its relationship with foreign manufacturers no matter how good the reason, without it costing them an arm and a leg.

Customs and trade attorneys make a good living trying to keep importers out of trouble -- so know your business -- and don't take chances.

One of the items you will want to be very clear about is the currency of payment (some governments don't like payment in dollars), but as a hedge against inflation, it is imperative.

 Also keep in mind that if a price sounds too good to be true it probably is.

If you import something that is selling under the price manufacturers receive in their country, this is "dumping" and the U.S. customs will embargo the goods.

You may even be hit with a retroactive embargo.

Be an Early Bird

Flexibility is the name of the game in the import/export industry. With the flick of a wrist, the Department of Commerce can erase your exporting country off the General System of Preference list it publishes daily and you may have to hop a plane to find a new supplier over night.

If you're really lucky you may stumble across the latest and greatest craze to hit this country since the Hula Hoop but most of the time, that is the exception, not the rule.

If you can't find something new to import, you can take an existing product and upgrade or modify it.

A change in design, style, or make-up of the product, can make it more attractive and cost effective to manufacturer and import. The more creative you can be, the better your chances are.

The import/export industry can be challenging, frustrating, and highly profitable.

But remember: to be forewarned is to be forearmed and when dealing with regulatory issues and foreign cultures, you will always have to be on your guard.

Stay on top of your industry, and you have an opportunity to reap some juicy rewards.

All The Best.

A New Look At Goal Setting

Goal setting is the key factor that will determine your success or failure in the doing and having portion of your life. Well, sometimes we mistakenly think that freedom means avoiding commitment. 

Goal setting is simply making choices. Goal setting is knowing where you want to go.

 A goal can be defined as something that has an inherent or building reward upon its achievement.

• Start by Making a Decision
• Everything in Life Is a Choice
• What Do You Really Want?

GIVE UP HOPE AND TAKE ACTION

The Name of the Game Is Producing Results.

You cannot experience who you are by reading about others or watching others succeed at what they do. 

You experience who you are by producing your own results. 

The more results you produce, the more you find out who you are.

We can create anything we desire, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort and work. 

If we think it takes a lot of effort and work to get what we want, then our life is going to be about struggle.

Choose what you want and believe you’re going to get it. 

You can’t get started until you know what you want. 

Impulsive action does nothing to add to your strength. 

Strength comes from knowing what you want and making a decision.

It’s at this point that we must give up hope. 

We say things like, “I hope this works,” “I hope I have enough money,” “I hope they will buy my products.” 

“I hope things get better.”

Hope is the subtle illusion of what might be someday.

 It’s important to accept what you want and accept it in the present tense – that it’s already yours right now. 

Do not use the words hope, maybe, tomorrow or soon. Use NOW.

We become prisoners of our hope. Hope is what keeps all suffering in place. 

 Hope is the expectation that something outside of ourselves, something or someone external, is going to come to our rescue, and we will live happily ever after.

We want to train ourselves to give up hope and take action.  

Sometimes The Law of Inertia makes starting difficult. 

Any object at rest takes as much greater amount of energy to move than when it is already in motion. 

I have a solution for you to get started and stay in motion in the next paragraph.

Project Management can help you

To achieve your goals and to move from the “As Is” to the “To Be” situation, focused and coordinated action must be taken.

 Some people set goals but are not sure how to take action or are frozen in inactivity because of fear.

The project management process and techniques will help you to set priorities and to develop a clear path to achieve the desired results. 

You will know what resources are needed and how to track your program. 

In the end the project management approach is shorter and more cost effective with a predictable end result.

Remember not to live on hope but to take action today.

SOURCE: http://www.peterjoubert.com/action-and-the-law-of-attraction/