Choosing a Business Banking to Meet Your Business Transaction Requirements

Many people when starting a business turn to the bank they do personal banking with. The truth is that you may well get a better deal elsewhere. Business Banking is about getting the banking services tailored for your required business transactions. Though it makes you feel a lot more comfortable, by depending on your regular personal banker for business transactions it can cost you more money. Finding a bank for business banking in turn will help you get better banking services. Banks that offer business-banking services usually have a separate department for business banking services and are more responsive to the requirement of a business account holder.

The type of business banking account depends on the nature of business. If your business requires you to make frequent transactions, like transactions on a daily basis, your best choice is opting for an account that charges you on a monthly or quarterly basis, against an account that gives you per account transaction billing. If you accept credit card or debit card payment, you will need a merchant account. If you plan international transaction, you may need a foreign currency account too.

Another tip to reduce charges is to look for electronic clearance system or ECS, which allows you to make payments without the hassles of writing checks. ECS also charges you less.

Overdraft
Your bank will agree to a minimum level of overdraft. Be particular about not exceeding overdraft levels. Penalties for exceeding limits can cost you a considerable amount of money, which in turn is detrimental to your business, even while you think the money you lose amounts to insignificant sums it accumulates over time.

A significantly important aspect of business banking is that the accounts must be accurate, without leaving a chance for doubt anywhere. All transactions – accepting checks, making payments – should be accurate and up to date. This will help you hold deal effectively with tax authorities and get more bargain power for tax concessions, wherever a discount is available.

Online banking is almost a default feature to today’s business banking accounts. Online banking has definite advantages like quick transactions while staying at your office and saving transaction charges on the way. Take a step further and you can enjoy desktop banking, in which your banking account is linked to your business banking account. This type of banking is available to large business houses only. It can save extra time making online transactions.

Internet business banking services are the preferred type of business banking today. The account holder has to authorize the bank manager to take decisions on his or her behalf. At times of major transactions, the bank will contact the account holder before completing the transaction. This is a means to protect the account holder from fraud. In such cases the account holder verifies the transaction with digital signature.

Internet business banking is sought after by big and small business houses as it considerably reduces transaction time, which translates into quicker closing of sales deals.

The choice of your business banking account must be based on your specific requirements. You can also flip accounts, if you find another account offers you better cost effective service. It however can cause problems like informing all your clients. The best choice will be to deal with a bank that offers you flexible account that you can use according to your changing requirements.

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Small Businesses Earn Extra Business

With the development of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as an important technology, enterprises of all sizes and the public are benefiting from the telecommunications systems that are more affordable and more flexible than the conventional public or private switched phone networks.

As the VoIP market is still emerging, the VoIP vendors need to clearly mention the features of their service. Generally, small and medium-sized enterprises don’t have big information technology departments which can smoothly make their existing system VoIP enabled. These firms will be depending on the vendors to consult their options and for after-deal support in countering potential problems.

A conventional PBX machine and integrated system is expensive to purchase, install and operate. But the cost can be cut down to almost nothing by turning to virtual PBX. It is similar to a PBX in functions and comes with additional functions and needs no installed software. Virtual PBX systems save businesses from the technician fees, make the expanding functions more flexible and reduce the extra cost of installation. They can also connect multiple locations at a fraction of the cost spent on regular PBX systems.

PhoneFusion’s PBX system is designed to administer calls in a call center or a business. Businesses of any size can employ a scalable VoIP-based PBX by setting this software on any Windows computer. The software operates as phone key connecting to telephone lines and annexes using sophisticated VoIP technology. The software transfers all the external, internal and advanced calls lining up for call center applications within a business.

The Virtual PBX system from PhoneFusion can manage innumerable employees and send PBX call routing and other operations as a simple hosted service. It has the capability to integrate all the employees of an enterprise under one or more business phone numbers, regardless of their location.

More and more small businesses are appreciating the advantages of PhoneFusion Virtual PBX. With system features like auto attendants, unified messaging, Find Me/Follow Me service and voicemails, large companies that spend thousand of dollars for the similar features can utilize the same features with a Virtual PBX system at a fraction of that cost.

Find more on how a small business uses phonefusion.com to centralize their business at The unified communications company. Phonefusion offers an excellent guide for voicemail and conference calling.

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Sam Schwartz is offering varios resources through his site phonefusion.com, he also offers guide for voicemail and confernece calling phonefusion is The unified communications company
phonefusion

Don't Just Stand There, 8 Steps to Make Things Happen

Has this ever happened to you?

You spend hours and hours working on a new process. You dot all the "I"s cross all the "T"s and then some how you still ended up doing it the same ole' way.

You go to a fantastic seminar, you are all pumped up and excited, but then somehow all the stuff you learned just sits on your desk.

Or how about this one. You finally read that book that's been sitting on your nightstand, it had great ideas in it and you see how you could do things a little bit differently to make some more cash. But time goes by, the book ends up on the shelf and you never implement any of those great ideas.

It's like taking the time to research, test drive and buy a new car. Then parking that expensive, shinny new car in the garage and driving the old one.

Don't leave your shinny new process in the garage to collect dust.

Here is a step-by-step system to get you implementing all your hard work.

Step 1: What's in your way?
Determine what resistance there might be before you get started. Are you a procrastinator? Do you need a new web guy? Did you just set up a schedule where your best work needs happen when you're taking your kids to school? Set yourself up for success by dealing with barriers and issues before you get started.

Step 2: Commit to Implement
It takes 21 days to form a habit. So commit to following your new process or plan for 21 days. Come on, that's only 3 weeks. You can do anything for 3 weeks, right?

Step 3: The Proper Training
Give yourself or anyone working with you the proper training they need to in order to follow your process. Everyone (including you) should have all the tools they need and fully understand what needs to be done.

Step 4: Find a Place
Decide where you are going to keep your new process or plan. Do you have a book that you can keep next to you? I am a visual person so I physically tape a new process to the wall in front of me so I always see it. I had one client that saved her new process as her screen saver.

Step 5: Follow the Bouncing Boxes
Actually follow your plan or process. How do you know if it's working if you don't actually do it? Remember you committed to implement.

Step 6: Keep Track of What's Working - And What's Not
As you go along, make notes and keep records of things that you could streamline, delegate out or are not running as smoothly as you would like. You'll use these notes later.

Step 7: Version 2
At the end of 21 days, go through those notes you've been making. Put your consultant's hat on and see if there is anything that will make your process even better. Incorporate those changes into your process and voila, version 2.

Step 8: Count down to Launch
Pick a date when version 2 goes into action. On that date, start the implementation process over again and keep that ball rolling.

Now get out those new processes and start implementing.

© 2005 Beth Schneider. Want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur of Process Prodigy, is a business process consultant who helps solo-entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers who want to systemize their business to increase profits, increase productivity and grow their business without having to give up the family oriented, flexible, balanced lifestyle they desire. Beth works one-on-one with her clients, offers home study courses, and teleclass boot camps. For more information visit http://www.ProcessProdigy.com and sign up for your FR*EE 5- Step Process Starter Kit and FR*EE Process Tips.
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Your Small Business Can Easily Stand Up And Compete With The Big Ones

There is often a feeling that it’s harder for the small business to compete with the big businesses. However there are many benefits in choosing a small company. You need to clarify how these benefits are relevant to your business, and use these benefits to gain more business and retain customers and clients.

When a large corporation like Wal-Mart comes to town you will feel a shudder go through the whole business community. It is like a proverbial giant striding into a small village. The first reaction is to run away. Unfortunately this is exactly what many of the local businesses do. They feel that they cannot compete with a giant corporation and just close their doors.

This may be true in part because there is no way that a small business can fight a large business on equal terms. However, small businesses offer some advantages that these corporations can never even think about. These things are what make a small business survive and thrive under the very noses of large corporations like Wal-Mart.

There are many benefits of small businesses for consumers:

Atmosphere: There is nothing like the warm friendly atmosphere of a small “Mom an Pop” style business. The customer is greeted in a genuinely friendly way and is not only made to feel like a VIP but almost like a friend. This personal approach is very appealing to customers and clients, and makes them not only buy more but return and stay loyal to the business.

Over deliver: Small businesses will always have time to help you and will even go out of their way to assist. You know that you will get help when you cannot find something or have a query about an item and you will not be treated like a dollar bill. You know that you can expect warm friendly personal service, which you will never get at big corporate chains like Wal-Mart.

Product and service quality: The product and service quality is often far superior to the big companies. You can get unique items and services at these small businesses that you cannot get elsewhere. It may cost a little more but it is worth it. The quality of the product is also better as it is not just made to sell as a discount item but built to last.

So when you’re faced with the possible competition of a big business, take a long hard look at the uniqueness of your business, how clients benefit from choosing your business and then sell these benefits. If you know the advantages of doing business with you, its much easier to communicate this through your marketing and selling. Big companies can’t easily duplicate the quality products and services that smaller businesses are easily equipped to offer.

Wendy, the Inspiring Catalyst, works with business owners to catapult their business to greater success. Click to her site http://www.business-personal-coaching.com for more articles, grab her newsletter and find out how business coaching can help your business.
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Create a Huge Monthly Income Stream

Everybody would love to make lots of money quickly, working from home, and only doing a few hours of work per week. I've spent the past two years trying to find a great way of doing this. Only over the course of the past few months have I found any "get rich quick" programs worth buying. I've been trying to make money online for a long time. I had a few small websites, but they never made much more than a few hundred per month. It was easy money and didn't require much work on my part, but I knew there were people out there doing better than I was and I knew I could do as well as them.

Now, I've seen a lot of "get rich quick" programs. Most of these people make claims about earning $2000/day with Google or something similarly insane. Almost all of these people are complete liars. Even if they were making $2000/day with Google AdSense, it'd be because they had high- traffic websites with a lot of quality content. I'd know, because in one whole month, I never even made half of what they promised I'd make daily with their programs. Maybe you've already been scammed by one of these fraudsters. Anyway, I finally got sick of what was being offered.
I decided I'd look through the all of the "get rich quick" programs I could find and see if there were any that were actually legitimate. I found that there were owners selling their programs for well over $100, but the information in them could be found almost anywhere online for free. Additionally, they all contained out-of-date information, had no e-mail support, no money back guarantees, and broken links in the downloads section.

In conclusion, almost all of the programs I found were completely useless. The owners knew it, but they couldn't care less about their customers since they didn't offer refund policies! Amazingly, while looking through all of the programs, I actually did find a few legitimate programs. They were run by ordinary people like you and me, and they had found some great methods of making money from their home by doing very little work.

I spent some time working with those programs, and my income is now ten times what it used to be. These programs provided a large amount of great information on how to make extra money on your computer doing very little work. Numerous customers had provided great feedback and reviews for their products. Many of them have started to make money just days after buying!

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The advantages of working online as compared to offline

With millions of people on the Internet now, there is an explosion of online businesses. This means that there will be both successes and failures, but that is characteristic of any type of businesses – Internet or offline. You may have heard stories of people, acquaintances even, who have made a lot of money working on the Internet. Some of them claim to not even have put any money down on their online business and working a few hours a day. True or false, take these stories with a pinch of salt, and be ready to work hard and put in the required amount of investment to make your online business a success.

However, starting an online business does have potential advantages to the owner as opposed to an offline one. The most common advantages are:

• Low start up costs – while the Internet is not necessarily the place for easy, quick riches with no effort, in many cases, the costs of start up can be low compared with brick and mortar businesses. Rent, maintenance, inventory and many other costs may be cut down or completely avoided. Sometimes just a few hundred, smart planning and a great business idea can get you started.

• Extensive marketing opportunities – There are a number of tactics and tools that Internet-based marketing affords – from SEO to affiliates and email marketing. Additionally, these marketing tools are easily accessible and generally much more cost effective than offline business marketing tools.

• Easy tracking of results – Something offline businesses spend a lot to achieve can be automatically and cheaply achieved by an online business. The simplicity of tracking preferences, tracing potential customers and access to contact information makes marketing and customer relationship management that much easier for an online business.

• Global reach – While an offline business may have no reach beyond a small local area, an online business is empowered by the Internet to achieve a global audience, much more economically. With the correct marketing, the online business can tap into a huge Internet audience for its products and services.

• Manage and transmit information – The Internet is a great way to manage incoming information and transmit information to present and potential customers and employees. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be posted on your website and these FAQs act as a 24 hour helpline for the small business. It’s a great way for online businesses to display changing information, receive customer feedback through remarks posted online, or display sound or video clips to help sell a product. And this is all done at a much lower cost than an offline business that offers these services would pay.

• Easy reach to local or specialized markets – The Internet offers the online business a cheap and easy way to connect to its local market. By linking to other local sites, an online business can drive local traffic to its site at a cost much lower than that of advertising in your town to create awareness. Access to specialized markets can also be achieved best by working through the Internet.

With the numerous advantages of starting an online business, as opposed to an offline one, it should come as no surprise that plenty of success stories exist in this domain.
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Starting your own business

Would you like to start your own business and make your spare time earn you profit? What about working from home so you could carry on doing the school run or just working the hours that suit you? More and more people are now working from home and starting their own businesses up. With the internet it is now easier than ever to have a business and sell products or services around the world without leaving the comfort of your armchair. real60minutemoney.co.uk is a website which can help you realise these dreams. The site is full of useful ways to make money from home whether it is for a part time hobbie or for a full time job. For more information visit www.real60minutemoney.co.uk .

Role of customer service in success of business

Business success is dependent on a variety of factors – a realistic business idea, a well thought-out business plan, an appropriate marketing strategy and great customer service are amongst the top ones. While customer service is a part of marketing, it can be segregated as a separate field on its own. It’s important to define the term customer service before we proceed. Customer service includes all aspects of interaction with a customer and speaks to the organization’s image in the mind of a customer.

A customer provides an organization with that most organic of all advertising tools – word of mouth advertising. A happy and satisfied customer is much more likely to send more customers your way. Further, there is the potential for repeat business, which is the backbone of many businesses. It is obvious that a customer who has been provided with a product or service that he or she desired in the ideal way, would build a relationship with the seller.

Further customer relationship management teaches the business where there are flaws in the system and provides valuable customer feedback. When a business receives feedback, it is able to see the customer’s image of the organization and the impression of its services. This tool is invaluable in correcting systems as well as image management for the business. It is also an outsider’s perspective, which provides the business owner or management a unique insight.

Additionally, a satisfied customer would be more likely to participate in activities that help to generate customer preference data. This data goes back to the marketing function in assisting the organization to better target and attract it potential customers.

In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that without good customer service, a business would not survive. The old adage ‘The customer is always right’ has been the foundation of many an organization and what it really means is that keeping customers happy is the foremost principle of any business. The reason for the survival of many small businesses in a tough and competitive market is their ability to provide personalized customer service. It is the human touch that warms and enlivens an organization in the customer’s mind and goes towards building a relationship. This relationship is the basis of future growth for a business.

Regular and sustained interaction with a customer ensures that the customer feels connected with the business. For instance, a small pub owner who chats with his customers and knows them by name builds a relationship with them. Further, when he makes sure that their regular bartender makes their drinks and the food is fresh and hot, he is providing customer service. The customers have a good experience and feel that the establishment treated them well. Once an organization grows or goes online, there is less potential for this face-to-face interaction and then the business must find creative ways to ensure customer satisfaction.

The role of customer service to a business, online or offline, is essential to its growth and survival.

William King is the director of Wholesalers & Drop Shipping Trade Suppliers, Trade Wholesale Suppliers Directory, Drop Shippers & Wholesale Drop Shipping Products Directory, and Canada Wholesale & Drop Shipping Suppliers Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.
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Tips on starting a new trading business

Trading simply means the business of finding a buyer and corresponding seller of a product and being the middleman to the exchange. You will earn a profit for the difference in the price at which you buy and the price at which you sell. It is becoming a booming business online with an increasing number of people realizing the vast potential and low investment requirements inherent to the business. However, just as many people find success at a trading business as the number that don’t, so you’d better be prepared to use your smarts and work hard. It is no gold paved highway to easy money, as some people like to think, so keep the following guidelines in mind while starting a new trading business.

Reliable source – You will need to find a solid, dependable and affordably priced source for your product. Since you are working on maximizing the margin, you need to be sure you are not being overcharged by your supplier. Further, test your selected source out thoroughly before starting. Ask for references and talk to the supplier’s other customers, especially irate ones. Make a relationship and use more than one supplier since it is not a good idea to be dependent totally on just one supplier, especially initially.
Reliable delivery – Next you will require a reliable delivery system, either through the supplier’s channel or through your own. Ensure that the system is fairly fool proof. Test it – send yourself a sample of the product. Keep testing from time to time to be sure that the system still works well. Remember that your customers will blame you for any loss, damage or delay so your delivery channel has to be perfect.
Legal requirements – Find out if there are any restrictions on your product of choice. Be sure that you understand the legal repercussions of trading the product and all surrounding paperwork. If there is documentation required, complete that before you begin and in case the documentation is on going, make sure you factor in the costs.
Accounting and taxation – Research in detail all the accounting and tax requirements. Talk to people in the business, accountants, or look it up online. When you form your business plan, make sure you account for all expenses and costs in setting up and running your trading business.
Credibility – Building up your trust factor is essential. Customers and potential customers will need proof of your credibility and it is essential to gain recognition as reliable trading business. This can be established through references or ratings. Make sure that you are perceived as being 100% reliable, since this is absolutely the first and crucial step towards gaining a customer base.
Communicate – Create a network of customers and suppliers to ensure that you are always in the loop for new developments in customer requirements and product information. Maintain a constant interaction with these two groups through email/ mailing lists, newsletters, forums etc.

Starting a trading business is not rocket science, but requires effort and common sense, and there is always potential for large profits.

William King is the director of UK Wholesalers & Drop Shipping Suppliers Directory, Wholesalers & Suppliers Directory, Drop Shippers & Drop Shipping Products Directory, and Canadian Wholesalers & Dropshippers Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.
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Business Consultancy - An Overview

What is business consultancy anyway? To answer this let’s start with some common definitions of Consultancy on the Web:

Definitions of Consultancy on the Web:

- A contract to provide services which meet all the following criteria: expert analysis and advice which facilitates decision making of a specific task or a set of tasks involving skills or perspectives which would not normally be expected to reside within the Department making the decision.

- The practice of giving expert advice within a particular field or area.

- The practice of helping companies to improve performance through analysis of existing business problems and development of future plans.

To shed some more light on this subject let’s turn to the World Wide Web. If you do a search on Google for business consultancy, here are some of the top businesses that show up on the first page of results:

- IBM
- Accenture
- Deloitte

These are some of the biggest and most reputable consultancy companies in existence today. Small businesses would probably be more suited to a smaller consultancy firm.

A more recent offset of business consultancy is something called Business coaching. Business coaching is a fairly new profession that has started to gain popularity in the business sector. Its origins appear to be from the sporting arena where coaches have helped athletes achieve their goals for centuries.

Business coaching is a slightly different concept to consulting. Business consulting implies that you identify a problem that a client has and you propose a solution. Coaching, on the other hand, is more about the facilitation of a process so that the client help them self. The business coach literally helps the client achieve their goals by teaching them the proper skill set required to do so.

Whichever type of business consultancy is ultimately chosen, the important part is that you reach your goal. Business consultancy is a common way for a business to achieve this.

Mike Harader is an expert author who writes on various topics including business consultancy, consultancy services, and internet consultancy as well as other related and non-related topics.
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Mike Harader is an expert author who writes on several topics including Sexy Lingerie, Bridal Lingerie, Sexy Shoes and Leather Lingerie as well as other related and non-related topics.
www.loveherlingerie.com

Go for Cash

E-lottery syndicate system is a hassle-free way to play online. It has a huge mathematical advantage over playing the lotteries on your own the normal way. You have a massive 702% greater chance of scooping the UK National Lotto jackpot and an even better 3,600% chance of scooping a EuroMillions jackpot.

All you have to do to join and play online is to become a Player Member and you will instantly be allocated a place in a 49-player UK syndicate, emailing you confirmation with a virtual E-Lottery membership Card. The card will have your 5 lottery numbers which will be picked from 1 to 49 which we enter automatically every Wednesday and Saturday UK Lotto draw.

For more information visit our website www.go4cash.co.uk

What is the FASB in Accounting?

The FASB is one organization that provides standardized guidelines for financial reporting. The mission of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors and users of financial information.
Accounting standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because decisions about the allocation of resources rely heavily on credible, concise, transparent and understandable financial information. Financial information about the operations and financial position of individual entities also is used by the public in making various other kinds of decisions.

To accomplish its mission, the FASB acts to:

--Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability and on the qualities of comparability and consistency;
--Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and changes in the economic environment;
--Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be improved through the standard-setting process;
--Promote the international convergence of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting; and
--Improve the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports.

The FASB develops broad accounting concepts as well as standards for financial reporting. It also provides guidance on implementation of standards. Concepts are useful in guiding the Board in establishing standards and in providing a frame of reference, or conceptual framework, for resolving accounting issues. The framework will help to establish reasonable bounds for judgment in preparing financial information and to increase understanding of, and confidence in, financial information on the part of users of financial reports. It also will help the public to understand the nature and limitations of information supplied by financial reporting.

Matthew Meyer. You are welcome to publish this article on your webiste or in your newsletters as long as you have a link back to http://www.thefreeadforum.com For more information on accounting see www.thefreeadforum.com
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Women Business Owners Making Their Mark in the 21st Century

The number of firms owned by women has grown by twice the rate of all other firms in the past ten years. Marjorie Alfus, chairperson for Women's Business Research said, "Women business owners are significant players in the nation's economy and their momentum shows no signs of slowing down".

This is further supported by the Center For Women's Business Research and their projections for 2006 that there would be 10.4 million privately held businesses in the US with women owning over half of these firms. Between the years of 1997 and 2006, the number of firms owned by women increased by up to 42%, which was almost double that of other firms, at around 23%.

The United Kingdom has also had significant growth from women in business. It is calculated that women, in a matter of three months, started 20,500 new businesses in the year 2006, which is around a 30% increase from the same time last year. Clair Logie, who is the director of the Bank of Scotland's Women in Business Team, commented, "We are definitely seeing a huge uplift, particularly in the US, which we tend to trail here in terms of trends."

With these staggering facts, it is safe to say that women becoming entrepreneurs is a world wide phenomenon. Home based businesses were the largest number of businesses held by women at around 56%. The Census Bureau's director Louis Kincannon commented recently that home-based businesses collectively generated a remarkable amount of economic activity, especially for women and minorities.

More women are becoming entrepreneurs because they see the attractiveness that a home-based business has to offer them in terms of freedom and flexible working hours. No longer having to work hours dictated to them, women entrepreneurs have more time to spend with their families and to bring up their children. They enjoy more varied and meaningful tasks in their business, without the limitations and stresses associated with the glass ceiling corporate world.

Technology has definitely been a contributing factor to the development of home-based businesses. Many have been able to work from home following the introduction of computers, internet, cell phones and faxes. "The rapid acceleration of information technology has opened doors for new businesses. It has helped change the way America conducts business today by offering more choices. Many women entrepreneurs have taken advantage of these choices and created home-based businesses that have proven to be more practical, effective and convenient for their lifestyle" says Dick Falcone, AT&T Vice President of Sales for the Small Business Markets.

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Online opportunities are now more abundant than ever for women entrepreneurs wanting to start their own home-based businesses, since all that is needed is a computer with an internet connection. Ehome-basedbusiness.com caters to women who are seeking business opportunities. We cover 6 areas of starting a business and provide match-up opportunities to help women get into business.
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A Website for Your “Brick and Mortar” Business…Why You Should Have One.

You are losing business and money for every day that you are not present on the World Wide Web!

Your customers expect you to have a website.

How many times have you entered a business name into a search window to see if they had a website, to check hours, phone numbers, what they did, or just plain curiosity? Well your customers and prospects are doing the same thing every day, and if they don’t find your business, they are finding your competitors.

My AH…HAA moment.

In 1996, I had just signed up with my first ISP, 1996 was the old days and all you had to choose from were a few dial up ISP’s, they were very slow and charged you by the minutes you spent online.

One day very soon after, I was working on some reports for work and needed a phone number for a customer in a major city, I knew that I had a phone book for that city in the basement, I yelled at my son, who was then a junior in high school to get me the phone book, he asked what I needed, went on the Internet and found the information I wanted quicker that he could have gone to the basement.

The point is that even at that time, when the Internet was in the infancy of what it is becoming today, the young people in our society were already using the World Wide Web to find information. These are the people who are now becoming your customers, they are working with computers everyday, and they can, and do, access the Internet from their cell phones.

Here’s a newsflash, we all assume that young people are the fastest growing segment gaining access to and using the Internet…Wrong! The fastest growing segment is the mature adult 55 and up, and guess who has most of the money!

What should my business website be?

Online Brochure – This is the minimum you should do.

Who you are – brief bio’s of principles.

Company history – How you started, where you are going.

What you do - products or services you offer.

Where you are - locations.

Contact info - phone, fax, email, websites.

What certifications you have.

Information Center – To busy to describe a product or service over the phone? Direct them to your website for complete information.

PDF files for products or services, your customers should be able to download.

Slide show of your products or services.

Video files for installations or how to use, or assemble products.

Audio files for almost any message.

Online Store – Becomes a 24/7 profit center, you will be making money while you sleep!

Your customers and prospects want to buy when it fits their schedule, some don’t want to even contact you, let them do it automatically.

You may or may not make money right away, but over time will build a following.

How much will this cost me?

On going costs.

Domain name (URL – your business name & address on the Internet) about $35.00 annually.

Hosting (this is where your website is stored and served to the web from) $15.00, per month and up depending on where you host it and somewhat on the features you have.

If you have an e-commerce site you could have a monthly cost for “shopping cart” software. $20.00 and up per month.

You may need an auto-responder service. About $20.00 per month.

One time costs

Web design runs from about $500 to $2000 for the typical small business site, depending on whatever agreement you enter into for updating and maintenance you could have a retainer, a flat fee, or a hourly rate.

Things to think about.

You should not look at a website as a static advertising medium, or even as advertising. Your website should supplement all of your other advertising, you need to include you web address in every other advertising medium you use.

You can change or ad to your message any time you want…try that with your “yellow pages” ad!

If you have a free or low cost web site from the chamber of commerce, phone carrier, trade group, etc., you really only have a few pages on their site, if they change the rules or even shut down the web site, you don’t have a web site any longer, However if this is offered as a free service, by all means take advantage of it to direct more traffic to your main website.

Now start making plans for getting your web site on the Internet!

This article is free for republishing
Source: Article Alley
Occupation: Sales, Publisher
Jim Newell is the publisher of http://www.commonsensemarketer.com a marketing resource for "Brick & Mortar" as well as online businesses. "No Hype - No Spin, Just What Really Works" For more common sense marketing info please visit
www.comonsensemarketer.com

The Super Affiliate Secrets which can make you 15,000 per month

If you're anything like me you've likely bought ebooks telling you how you can earn big amounts of cash selling other peoples' products. Unfortunately, most of these internet gurus wouldn't tell you their most profitable secrets.

But now, there is a guy who you might call him an "anti-guru", and he is going to demonstrates the exact methods he's using to generate up to $15,000 per week as an affiliate, in his famous ebook: Affiliate Project X.

Affiliate Project X teaches you six different ways of making more money than you have ever made before, and most of these methods can be applied by both experienced marketers and beginners.

Brief review the six money making methods of the Affiliate Project X:

1. THE LEECH – this is about pre-selling. There’s no need for me to emphasize how important pre-selling is, and this is taken to an entirely new level in ProjectX. You learn when to use the hard-sell approach and when not to.

2. THE AFFILIATE DIARY – You’ve heard it everywhere – “The list is king! The money is in the list!” What if you have no list? ProjectX provides you with details of how to build a good opt-in list which will bring you money for years to come.

3. THE WORKHORSE – If you have no cash available to invest in your project, don’t worry. ProjectX shows you how to get off the ground running without a website or a domain. You can make $200 each and every day if you put in the work, and that’s not a limit! ProjectX shows you how.

4. THE THIEF IN THE NIGHT – ProjectX shows you how you can rob the super-affilates of their ideas, and they can’t do a thing to stop you.

5. COPY THE BEST PART 2 – If you have Keyword Elite, this makes it easier, though everything can be achieved without it. It just takes a little more work, and ProjectX shows you both ways.

6. THE OPPORTUNIST – The secrets of how to select the products in demand while they are hot – keep ahead of your competition by selling what they have yet to come across.

I'm a fairly experienced marketer myself, but, I am honest, I'd never heard of some of these techniques being discussed before, and truly believe that this is the first time that some of these secrets have been made public. In fact, these revelations have angered some top marketers!

You get all this without any risk whatsoever, because you get 8 weeks to try it out and if you decide it is not for you, just ask for your money back and you get it without any quibbling or questions.

Once you master the methods of Affiliate ProjectX, you will be ready to consider multiples streams of income. You will reach this stage sooner than you think. Believe me, Affiliate ProjectX is so easy to understand and follow that it won’t be long till you are looking at a number of income streams.

I highly recommend that you visit www.top-10-review.net
for more information.

Affiliate Project X is a great ebook reveals super affiliates’ most profitable secrets. In fact, I never made a dime until I read this ebook.(Thanks Chris!!!)
Visit here for more information:

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Media Art Studio

The objective of Media Art Studio is to produce inventive, inspired and creative art and design solutions for an assortment of mediums. Services provided include:-

Storyboarding
Conceptual art & design
Illustration
Graphic Design
Web Design

From conceptual art to effective web design, the fantastical and the conventional, all projects big or small. Media Art Studio's goal is to provide you with stunning visuals on time and within budget. For more information contact Greg Boulton who is the Projects Manager of Media Art Studio

Internet Marketing Tips for 2007

If you are at all familiar with the online marketing world, you know that there are many people who sell the so-called "secrets" to e-marketing techniques. Every day you are harassed with new seo books, seminar invitations and software alleging to hold the "secrets" of blogging, or the "secrets" of Google Adsense or the "secrets" Search Engine Optimization.

However, the truth is that most of these services are expensive and endorsed solely by the gurus who get paid for every item they sell. Real testimonials are rare and the pressure you are under to purchase these products is enormous.

First, let's lay out some ground rules for 2007:
A. We will not be swept away by all the hype on the Internet.
B. We will primarily use tried and tested, successful Internet marketing techniques that won't cost us a fortune.

To help you off to the right start in launching your own cost-effective marketing strategy for 2007, I want to share some valuable ideas that I've used to grow my own business. These marketing concepts are genuinely affordable, truly simple to implement and have honestly helped me gain generous exposure, which has resulted in new clients and increased sales. My top fifteen favorite effective and inexpensive Internet marketing tactics are listed below:

1. Article submissions to online databases, magazines, directories and newsgroups (don't worry about the duplicate content issues ... just get as many one-way links to your site as possible to boost your Search Engine ranking). Writing and submitting free reprint articles is a resourceful way to generate increased exposure and will drive traffic to your web site.

2. Create and market your own affiliate program using low cost tools on the Internet, which incidentally, there are numerous tools on the web that are very affordable. Offer affiliates your articles for reprint and allow them to use their affiliate link in your byline. But don't stop there ... submit your program to affiliate program directories so that prospects can find it readily.

3. Write and submit press releases to both paid and free press release sites. Let your target audience know about your company, new products and services you're offering and also about special company events or promotions. If you're concerned that perhaps your writing talents are a bit rough yet, hire a ghostwriter to draft your release for you. And yes, there are many talented, professional writers who work on a freelance basis and accept both one-time and ongoing projects at an affordable rate.

4. Register with and actively participate in forums that target your ideal client or customer. Check in at least once a week and offer helpful advice to other forum participants seeking assistance and information in your area of expertise. Be sure to craft and use a compelling signature that will get added to your posts. With just a small investment of your time, you can establish yourself as an expert within your industry, which can result in generous exposure.

5. Offer legitimate comments and articles to blog owners who cover your topic area and target your audience. Create solid and productive relationships, offering to make blog postings for them in return for a byline with a live link to your site. The fact that you're willing to offer blog owners something of value upfront will make them eager to reciprocate.

6. List your teleseminars, e-zines, live events and books on Craigslist in cities and sections that have appeal for your target audience. Sign-in and repost your listings on a regular basis to keep them current.

7. Research opportunities to be a guest on teleseminars, podcasts and webinars. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of opportunities available if you simply take the time to look for them. Keep a list of questions and potential topics ready for your pitch. Keep track of your guest appearances and promote them on your web site.

8. Actively participate in online social networks such as MySpace, Ryze and LinkedIn. Write compelling copy for your profile and be sure to have a good picture and logo to add where permitted. Including your photo allows people to feel a connection to you, simply because they can put a face to your name.

9. Join and participate in associations and non-profits that attract your perfect client. Find relevant associations by searching for your keyword + association in search engines and visit the American Society of Association Executives. Involvement in organizations such as this, as well as local civic organizations, offers valuable networking opportunities.

10. Place paid advertisements in e-zines that target your audience. If possible, purchase the advertisement when the publisher is running one of your articles in order to gain maximum exposure with this strategy. There are three types of common advertisements available in e-zines: classified, sponsor and solo. Chose the most inexpensive position with the greatest exposure.

11. Write or hire a ghostwriter to create a short e-course that you can give away so long as people provide you with their e-mail address. Make certain that your e-course is relevant to your target audience and not full of fluff and fillers. By offering solid value in your e-course, you can benefit from readers who take notice of your other work/articles and will often seek out additional work you've written. Be sure to include a privacy policy and notify those who give you their e-mail address that they will be subscribed to your e-zine.

12. Downloadable white papers are usually longer versions of articles and often include graphics and links to resources. As with your e-course require people who want the white paper to register for your e-zine. Encourage people to send the registration link to their colleagues, friends and family who share a similar interest.

13. Create your own blog, update at least every other day and include links to your web sites. Ping blog directories and Search Engines every time you make a post for verification that your blog is turning up results.

14. Sponsor contests and submit them to contest directories. Give away a book a month or an hour of your services and encourage people to register for your e-zine. If your business involves selling a product rather than a service, you can offer specific products for prizes with contest entry automatic when people signup for your e-zine. Be creative with your contests, but always make the winning prize something of value that is relevant to your business.

15. Testimonials and referrals can be obtained from the same people. Offer to include a picture with testimonials and a live link to your client's web site. This strategy is a win-win marketing tactic for both you and your client. No satisfied client would refuse such an opportunity! Instead of e-mailing referrals send a professionally written letter via postal mail with some of your most popular articles and invite recipients to call you for a free fifteen minute consultation.

There are dozens of free marketing techniques in the online and off-line world. These fifteen are not the only ones I use but they are my absolute favorites and have been used successfully by thousands of people, including Internet gurus. Don't fall for every new marketing scheme; instead, spend your money selectively on marketing products. If you are pressed for time hire a virtual assistant to handle the free and low cost marketing techniques listed here and carve out some time in your schedule every month to research and evaluate new techniques.

Good luck in 2007!
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Source: article alley

Mark is currently a graphic design student in Seattle, WA. His latest project is on the development team for the tech / culture website - http://Ontora.com . More of his work can be found at www.ontora.com
http://www.ontora.com

How to deal with written complaints in business?

Organization should have a good “complaints policy” to recover its customer’s confidence. It should accept complaints from customers as gift and should be processed effectively and immediately. With effective processing of complaint, a negative situation can be turned into positive one.

Customer complaint could be a verbal or a written complaint. In case of written complaint, organization should have a policy that employee should send a prompt reply within two days and satisfactory reply within two weeks of receiving the complaint from the customer.

When you receive a written compliant, you should send a personal letter to the customer, containing points such as thank you for the complaint, the customer is important to you and your business or organization, why the complain is appreciated, an apology, assurance of satisfactory action and a time frame by which customer will get suitable or satisfactory reply.

Your reply should look like a personal letter to customer, so avoid standard letters.

Write a letter, which is easy to read and understand, avoiding excessive use of technical terms & terminologies.

A prompt reply can help you to gain customer’s confidence and trust to some extent. However, if you want customer to remain with the organization and should not shift to your competitor brands, you should send a satisfactory reply within two weeks.

Agree with the customer & admit that he is right. Avoid use of sentences such as, we rarely receive such kind of complaints or you have started using the product without reading the instructions.

Always proofread your letters before sending it. You can use business writing software program with text enrichment feature for proofreading. Text enrichment enhances the simple sentence into more professional and sophisticated one

Try to exceed customer’s expectations. A complaining customer can become a loyal customer with better than expected treatment. So, try to give the customer a bit more than his expectation or demand, if reasonable. However, if customer demands and expectations are unreasonable, refuse them, but without showing any anger or bitterness.

Follow up with your customers to make sure that he is satisfied.

For information on Business English writing software please visit
http://www.truevalue4money.com

Author is a freelance writer.
For details on grammar checker and software to enrich your English writing, please visit
English writing software website.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com
Occupation: Freelance writer
Author is a freelance writer & contributes to several websites. You will get detail information on some good products in various categories at http://www.truevalue4money.com
http://www.truevalue4money.com

The Internet Marketing Survival Guide: Tricks and Stratagies Revealed

There are thousands of different kinds of Online Business opportunities on the internet these days. However, this article is going to give you ideas on how to make your Internet Home Business stand out from the rest.

1. Firstly, be truthful about your opportunity. Do not go out and say people can make thousands within weeks, if you know it is not going to happen. The reason for this is that you need to build trust and a certain amount of friendship for them to join and stay in your opportunity. Let them know that with persistence, consistency and dedication, they can become successful in the future. The future meaning months or within a year or so. That gives the person a realistic goal and an understanding that they will have to put in some work.

2. Most people are very put off by all of the technical jargon that alot of Internet Businesses have. A very powerful way to convert a surfer into an affiliate is to break it all down so that even a complete beginner could understand the workings of your business opportunity within minutes. Because that is all the time that most people are willing to give before they move onto the next opportunity. I am not saying every aspect of your business, but the most important parts.

3. Alot of Internet Business seekers have become increasingly weary of all of the scams that are out there these days. And believe me, there are alot! So, a great way to put their minds at ease is to let them know how long the company has been in business, if there are any well known marketing gurus involved in your business could also be a good point to bring up. Along with letting them know your opportunity is BBB certified (Better Business Bureau) and or with the Chamber of Commerce and the like. Testimonials are another way to build trust. This really lets people know that your company is legit, debt free and isn't going to take their money and run off the next day so to speak.

4. Let them know that you will be available to help them as much as you possibly can. That your Internet Home Business Opportunity provides on-going training, along with extra training from yourself. Even go as far as making your own training email series or training website. Let them know what is working for you and what mistakes you have made so they do not have to make the same ones. This will also help build more trust and rapport between you and your new affiliate.

5. Be honest! This is a little different from Number 1. What I mean is, if they ask you a question and you do not know the answer do not make it up or guess. Because if they find that out, there is a good chance you have lost an affiliate forever. To help you with this common mistake, I am going to give you a great way to overcome this potential disaster. 1: Point them in the direction where they can find the answer themselves. Like in the FAQs or in a training section. This is going to train them in learning to become more self efficient. 2: while they are doing that, you will also look for the answer. Contact your sponsor or upline and try and find out the question. Call or email the company you are with if you have to. So when they get back in contact with you to say they found the answer or not, you can readily help them either way and have built even more of a relationship with that person.

Once they are up and running with their Internet Business. Help them duplicate the above for their own business. As the saying goes, "Don`t reinvent the wheel, use what is already working and make it better". Duplication is absolute key when it come to building a successful downline. Not just that, but for recruiting new people and making your Internet Home Business Opportunity stand out from the rest.

You probably noticed that I repeated the words, trust and rapport alot. Why? Because these are two of the most important things you need to have with your downline for your team to work and become successful. Without them, you maybe doomed from the start.

All the best,

Campbell Shaw


Campbell Shaw works at home as a full-time internet marketer. For an Internet Home Business you can trust in, don`t miss: www.freeinternationalbusiness.com

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com

FD connections - a leading provider of part-time finance directors

FD Connections are a leading provider of part-time finance directors to small and medium sized businesses based mainly in Essex and Greater London. They are members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

They have over 18 years experience of working in small, medium and blue chip companies improving financial and management reporting, accounting procedures and processes, implementing internal controls, ensuring good corporate governance and raising finance. Therefore, we are well placed to assist your business.

If you are looking for a business that can: Increase the financial understanding that you have of your business - Provide you with the financial tools to enable you to make better management decisions - Increase your profitability - Work in partnership with your business then FD Connections is the company for you.

FD Connections was founded by Ian Dunston ACMA in 2002 with the aim of providing small and medium sized businesses with an affordable solution to problems with financial management and control.

Many owner-managed businesses are lead by entrepreneurs who have the ideas and charisma to drive the business forward. The financial management and control is essential to the survival and success of any business, but this if often neglected because they do not have the resources to employ someone to do this. FD Connections can help you solve this problem. We can provide your business with a part-time finance director who can assist your business without it incurring the full cost for such an individual.

FD Connections will give your business financial management and control that will help it achieve its goals.

Their mission is to provide a quality friendly service that will enable our clients to increase their profitability and add value to their business. Become the leading provider of part-time finance directors for the SME market. To ensure we act with honesty and integrity when working with our clients. They believe in making a difference to your business and that is what they set out to do with every assignment

To visit their website and find out more information on small busniess startup visit fdconnections.com

Role of Information Technology in Growth of Business

Information technology (IT) refers to the management and use of information using computer-based tools. It includes acquiring, processing, storing, and distributing information. Most commonly it is a term used to refer to business applications of computer technology, rather than scientific applications. The term is used broadly in business to refer to anything that ties into the use of computers.


Mostly businesses today create data that can be stored and processed on computers. In some cases the data must be input to computers using devices such as keyboards and scanners. In other cases the data might be created electronically and automatically stored in computers.


Small businesses generally need to purchase software packages, and may need to contract with IT businesses that provide services such as hosting, marketing web sites and maintaining networks. However, larger companies can consider having their own IT staffs to develop software, and otherwise handle IT needs in-house. For instance, businesses working with the federal government are likely to need to comply with requirements relating to making information accessible.


The constant upgrade in information technology, along with increasing global competition, is adding difficulty and hesitation of several orders of scale to the business and trade. One of the most widely discussed areas in recent business literature is that of new organizational network structures that hold survival and growth in an environment of growing complexity.


Effective implementation of information technology would decrease liability by reducing the cost of expected failures and increase flexibility by reducing the cost of adjustment. The businesses reaction to the environment remains to be the vital determinant for its effectiveness. The capabilities and flexibilities of computer-communication systems make them gradually more appropriate to businesses by being able to respond to any specific information or communication requirement.


Information Technology is having impact on all trade industries and businesses, in service as well as in manufacturing. It is affecting workers at all levels of organizations, from the executives to middle management and clerks. Information technology is increasingly becoming a basic factor of all types of technologies such as craft, engineering, routine, and non-routine.

The advances in Information Technology would result in remarkable decline in the costs of synchronization that would lead to new, concentrated business structures. It enables the business to respond to the new and urgent competitive forces by providing effective management of interdependence.

In the near future businesses would be facing a lack and a redundancy of information called information glut. To solve the information-glut companies will need to introduce methods for selective thinning out of information. Improvements in telecommunications will make it easier to control business units dispersed over different parts of the world. Advances in telecommunications, would result in increased distance-communication. Indirect communication would be preferred for well-structured information for routine, preprogrammed and decision processes.


© 2006, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved

William King is the director of UK Wholesale Suppliers, Wholesale Suppliers , Dropshipping Directory, and Pakistan Property Portal . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.
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Build a Massively Successful Business

How to Quickly Build a Massively Successful Business Even if
You Have No Money, No Products, and No Customer List

By Robert Imbriale, "The Motivational Marketer"

When I first heard these claims, I too was a skeptic. After
all, I've been building highly successful businesses for
nearly two decades and thought that I had seen and heard it
all. If nothing else, it sure feels like I had, until I met
a young man who showed me something new.

Marc Goldman is, at just 31 years of age, the founder of
Goldbar Enterprises, a small e-commerce business located
just outside in New York City. With no money, no business
experience, a new wife, and mountains of debt, he decided
that he would take a different approach to building his
business.

He had no interest in the traditional ways of building a
business because he needed results fast and he literally had
none of the traditional pieces of a potentially successful
business in place.

He didn't have a product. He didn't have a list of
prospects. And he didn't have a dime to start with. In fact,
he tells me that he was actually deeply in debt when he
decided to start his business!

In just 9 years, Marc and his wife, Terry, have built quite
an impressive enterprise all through one form of marketing
known as Joint Venture Marketing. Starting with less than
nothing, they now sell up to $30,000 in products in a single
day.

I was so impressed at their success with joint ventures that
I decided to share their story on a "sold-out' conference
call. I asked Marc o speak about joint ventures and how he
successfully promotes his very hot-selling e-book, "Joint
Venture Secrets Revealed"
(www.mastermindsecrets.com/jvsecrets.htm)

Marc's big secret is that he has created many joint-venture
agreements over the last 9 years with people who already had
what it was he needed to build his business. When he didn't
have a product to sell, he found somebody with a hot-selling
product that he could offer. When he didn't have a prospect
list to market to, he partnered with people who had already
built a large prospect list and would be willing to joint
venture with Marc.

In just 9 years, Marc has become the expert in creating win-
win joint ventures. And, according to Marc, "Anybody can get
started with joint ventures even if they have no money, no
products, and no prospects." Here's how you can start
creating your own joint ventures to build your business
fast.

Start by taking a quick inventory of what you already have.
For instance, you may already have a product, or a good list
of prospects. Perhaps what you have to start with is nothing
more than a burning desire to build a successful business,
and that is by far the most important piece of all.

Once you are clear on what pieces you already have in hand,
make a new list of what's missing. In other words, to create
your business the way you want it to be, what else are you
going to need over and above what you now have?

Maybe it's product, or a big list of prospects, or maybe
you're in need of some operating capital. Whatever it is,
write it down. If it's money you need, write down how you
will invest the money. Will you buy advertising, a new
computer, will you use it build your web site. Whatever it
is, write it down.

Finally, think about what you would be willing to give up in
exchange for getting what you need to build your business.
For instance, Marc needed to reach large numbers of
prospects without having to spend money he didn't have. He
decided that he would be willing to give up 50% of his
profits to anybody who would provide him with access to a
list of qualified prospects.

When he approached his merchant account provider, who
already had a list of thousands of small business owners
(his target market), they accepted his offer and in just
over 90 days Marc had 2,500 people paying him $29.95 per
month for his Internet-based membership site.

His marketing costs were zero. He was willing to give up 50%
of his profits to get what he needed, and he was able to
create many similar joint venture agreements with other
companies with big lists. His sales continue to skyrocket
without him investing anything in his marketing!

This is just one example of how you can create profitable
joint ventures. The key to making a joint venture (JV) work
is that everybody involved must win. Now before you go
running out to ask somebody to mail your ad to their list,
you must do some homework to find out as much as you can
about your potential JV partner and what they might need
before you even approach them!

Money is a great thing to start with, but it's not always
going to be the best thing you can offer. Sometimes a
service you can offer will be worth much more to a potential
JV partner than money. I've often engaged in JV's where I've
exchanged my services for other services or products if they
were things that I needed to take my business to the next
level.

Now if you don't have a product to sell, find somebody who
does and who is not marketing it to its full potential (this
should take you about 7 seconds!). Then offer to share in
the profits with the product owner. There are literally
millions of products out there that never see the light of
day because their creators are masters of their craft, but
simply don't understand marketing!

Once you've got a product to offer, look for JV partners who
already have established lists of prospects that they
already contact regularly either by e-mail or snail mail.
Then look to have them send your advertising message to
their list under their name.

I really love to market electronic products in this way
because each sale is virtually 100% profit so there is a lot
of room to share the revenue with my JV partners. Products
like software, e-books, e-courses, live seminars,
teleconferences, etc. cost little (or nothing) to produce
yet bring in very high profits.

Think outside the box. Think bigger than you would normally.
And be prepared to provide real value to your potential JV
partner by doing your home work and finding out what their
needs are before you approach them.

When you do approach a potential JV partner, call them
rather than sending an e-mail message. I must receive at
least 100 or more JV requests a month and virtually every
single one of them goes directly into the trash because they
are coming to me via e-mail from people who have no idea who
I am or what I do!

Yet, the JV agreements I do follow through on typically come
from a person picking up the telephone and asking me
personally to work with them. And those are the JV's that
make the most money for both of us.

To learn more about Joint Ventures, I would highly recommend
that you get a copy of Marc's new e-book, "Joint Venture
Secrets Revealed" by visiting this web site now:
www.mastermindsecrets.com/jvsecrets.htm.

Now you know that you can be successful in your own
business, starting with nothing at all, what are you waiting
for? Go to it and be outstanding!

------------------------------------------------------------
Resource Information

Robert Imbriale is known internationally for his unique
brand of "Motivational Marketing", his upbeat live seminars,
keynote speeches, dozens of e-books, thousands of articles,
and his unique Million-Dollar Internet consulting advice.
You can get a copy of his popular book, "Internet Marketing
Secrets" by visiting his web site at www.ultimatewealth.com.
To become an affiliate and offer Robert's products, go to
www.ultimatewealth.com/affiliate.


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The Biggest Business Secret Of All Time

The Biggest Business Secret Of All Time

by Brian Li
Head of the UK's Business Growth Centre
www.businessgrowthcentre.com

Any study of Game Theory shows you how to use co-operation to your
advantage. In the small business world, using strategic alliances
can pay big dividends.

You are instantly able to leverage the goodwill of a competitor
to your own advantage and, in the process, offer your customers
a wider range of services that will boost your own profits.

However, there's always been a problem here: many past
Joint Venture Schemes have been complex and many small businesses
haven't experienced the enormous benefits that can be achieved,
almost instantly!

Here's some really innovative ones you should be using right now.
They can be adapted to any small business with great success.
The longer you wait before implementing them, the longer you
lose out on those enormous profits that can rightly be yours.

No expertise required

No matter what you sell, think of related services that your client
may want - you don't have to possess the expertise to provide them.
For example, if you're a carpenter, your client may need plumbing,
electrical or building services.

If you can recommend someone you respect, you can then obtain a
pre-negotiated referral commission when your client purchases the
services you recommend. If they are one of your present customers,
an endorsement from yourself will almost certainly be accepted
because of the trust you've already built up.

Keep it local

You can also send genuine-discount coupons for your services to
local businesses.

A great secret here is to print the company's name on top of
your coupon to give the impression your joint venture partner
(ie the company) has made a real effort to obtain your discount
coupons for their employees. You can use software for producing
coupon designs/certificates etc that can be personalized.

This type of joint venture can bring you great dividends almost
immediately. Why not take it one step further and promise to pay
the company a small percentage of every purchase. They're much more
likely to accept your offer this way.

How to make a profit from a lost sale!

How many potential customers has your business lost to rivals
because they offered better payment terms, or a wider range of
products/services for their needs, or just because they didn't
like one of your sales professionals?

Well, if you follow this cutting edge strategy, you can discover
how to receive a greater income from lost customers than from those
who buy your particular product or service.

For example, if only 5 people out of 100 potential customers buy from
you, they must be making their purchase elsewhere, for whatever
reason.

However, if you enter into a strategic alliance with your perceived
competition, to offer them your non-converted sales leads, you can
receive a pre-negotiated sales commission if your supplied leads
result in a purchase.

This means that if you can't offer a potential client what they
want, you can direct them to a rival you respect, with whom you
have created a strategic alliance, and who can offer a wider range
of products/services and payment options.

If you have a choice of rivals, point out, as a negotiating
strategy, they will probably lose your recommendation to another
rival with whom your joint venture has been agreed. Also
point out, they are first in line to negotiate this exclusive
agreement with you in your area.

And this works both ways, especially if they are in danger of losing a
non-converted lead forever - they can send those "lost" potential
clients to your business and earn their pre-negotiated commission.

Try it right now and see for yourself the amazing results you can
achieve.

Cross Selling

Cross-selling can also be seen as a form of joint venture. It can
both increase your sales and also give your customers a better
outcome than their original purchase decision.

For example, if you sell computers, it would be enormously beneficial
to lots of your customers if you offered training courses in the
software they purchased, or maybe you could also offer a full
installation and basic lessons in using a computer for an extra fee.
If you don't possess the expertise to do this, negotiate a strategic
alliance with a local company you respect.

If you are selling accommodation, you can sell local tours
in your area to your guests, or sell local theatre tickets,
travel tickets etc on a commission basis.

General shops can also offer photocopying, fax, cheque cashing,
money transfer, photo processing, Polaroid Passport Photos and other
related services to significantly boost their services and profits.

Also enter into strategic alliances with other businesses that
complement your own product or service. For example, can you display
goods from other businesses in your premises for sales commissions,
or for a display fee?

The possibilities are endless. Just ask yourself this question?
What else can I offer that is connected with my main business
and will benefit my customers? What joint ventures can I enter into?

The knowledge in this article can pave the way for enormous amounts
of extra business coming your way. Don't waste another minute in
thinking about it. It can only be yours if you take action right now!
Welcome to a rosy future.

About the Author

Brian Li is head of the UK's Business Growth Centre.
You can discover how to get virtually every job you apply for and
a host of incredible secrets to skyrocket your sales:
www.businessgrowthcentre.com
Copyright (c) 2003 Brian Li


This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com

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Avoid Common Business Growth Mistakes

Business Growth Mistake #1 - Not Understanding the Importance of Creating Multiple Business Entities to Reach Your Financial Goals and Protect Your Assets From Lawsuits and Claims.

Some business people I know keep their personal assets separate from their business. But a surprising number, maybe even you, don’t. If you keep multiple streams of income together in one business or corporation, it can lead to financial disaster and literally wipe you out. It Only Takes One Small Hole To Sink Your Financial Boat! A dramatic example happened to a good friend of mine that illustrates this fact.

Patrick started his own boat sales business and sold million-dollar boats. After he sold quite a few of them, he realized that when a client buys a boat, they need a place to store it! He said to himself “wouldn’t it be a great idea to also open a marina? Doing so would create another stream of income.” Well his marina started doing really well, and when you own a marina, a land storage business next to it is common. Yes, Patrick also started a land storage business. His businesses were exploding and building an excellent reputation in Florida. Next he opened a repair and warranty shop to service all the boats he was selling. His financial success allowed him to invest in some real estate too. Patrick was feeling unstoppable. He was flying high!

Patrick was a good businessman, so he separated his businesses assets from his personal assets knowing this is a smart thing to do. To accomplish this he purchased a corporation to put his businesses assets into. This effectively separated his personal assets from that of his businesses. Unfortunately, he never took the next critical, yet simple step. Patrick did not follow my battle tested advice to set up multiple corporations for his different businesses. He kept all five of his businesses in the one corporation.

On a side note: Your Odds of Getting Sued are Scary! It's no longer a mater of IF you'll get sued, but is now just a matter of WHEN. The average American will be sued 4 -7 times in their lifetime! Other nations are not far behind the USA and it’s only getting worse. Don’t think for a New York second that it can’t happen to you. The odds are stacked against you. Just as they were for Patrick!To make matters worse, as a business person your chances of getting sued are even higher! You may be thinking this is some kind of scare tactic. Unfortunately it’s nothing but a sad reality in today’s litigious society. If you get only one thing out of this report, I hope you get the fact that you are almost guaranteed to get sued in your lifetime. Please protect yourself and your family from potentially loosing everything before it’s too late.

OK let’s carry on with Patrick’s story…

Well surprise, surprise… Patrick ended up getting sued and the lawsuit wasn’t handled well. Nor did it go in his favor! After everything was said and done Patrick ended up with a 4-million dollar judgment against him. When the plaintiff enforced that judgment, the judgment only had to do with the boat sales business, but because he had not separated his different businesses from each other… everything was on the line. The judgment was enforced against the boat sales business, the marina, the parts department, warranty shop, and the land storage business. Every income generating business he had! With absolutely NO cash flow Patrick could not keep his business afloat! His multimillion-dollar business that took eight long hard years to build came tumbling down like a house of card in a hurricane. It all happened on less than six months. Why? Because every division of his business did not operate separately from each other in a separate corporation. Patrick wound up in personal and corporate bankruptcy, and was four million $4,000,000 in debt. He also lost his wife in the process.

Now That’s How Not to Do It! It’s a classic example of somebody who is very astute in business, building multiple streams of income, but then not taking the critical extra step to protect everything they have worked so hard to build. So the first mistake to avoid is putting all your eggs in one entity basket!

Business Growth Mistake #2 - You Absolutely Must Divide Your Personal Assets from Your Business Assets

The first strategy I want you to understand and implement is you need to separate your personal assets from your business assets by putting them into a corporation. This is the step Patrick did take. You want to get your home, car, and your bank account—your personal assets—into a different entity than your business. By entity, I mean corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships.) We typically do that by taking your business and putting it into -- let’s say a corporation, or an LLC, which is seen as a separate legal entity by law.

Why separate them? Because if you don’t you could lose everything you own in a lawsuit. I will share the shocking statistics on getting sued later in this article. By separating your personal assets from your business assets you contain any potential liability that your business could create. You effectively keep it from contaminating your personal assets or other businesses assets. You are building a legal barrier between you and your business. Importantly this barrier also acts like a fortress. It protects your business from outside attacks too. The second strategy is to separate your businesses from each other. This is the step Patrick did not take and he is still paying for his mistake -- some twelve years later!

So, you may be thinking: “I’m smart; I’m a good businessperson. I’m going to set up my own entities, my own corporation, my own LLC.” Yeah, you can do that. You can also build your own car, or your own airplane! You can probably perform minor surgery on yourself too! My strong recommendation is that you work with a professional. Get the help of an expert who knows this subject matter inside and out and can help you custom tailor your entity(s) to your individual needs and make sure all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.

For your information – when I was practicing la