Latest Entrepreneurship Articles http://oarticles.com/ Articles at OArticles en-us Internet Home Business Opportunities http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/internet-home-business-opportunities.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/internet-home-business-opportunities.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:08:42 -0400
Just sit back, make yourself comfortable and relax. You might find the right internet home business idea in this article. There are many different opportunities in which to make money on the Web all from the comfort of your own home. Some involve a lot of stock and a lot of legwork. Others involve minimal stock but do need some people skills.

One idea that I really like involves running and managing your very own local online business guide. If you do not mind calling and making your own appointments, meeting local business people and know how to communicate with others, then running a community website for your area could definitely be for you.

You can run this internet business from home and make money selling space on your website to local businesses. Your website focuses purely on local businesses and what’s on in your area. Visitors to your site can find on one site the local information they need to plan their day. It is your job to fill the site with local information and then find local businesses to take out full page adverts.

The best way to start an internet business directory is probably to buy a franchise opportunity where the franchisor has already gone to great expense and trouble to create the website, platform and control panel for you. If you were to try and do this yourself, you would get so involved with actually creating the website that you might not have any hours left in the day to sell the product!

When you join a franchise however, your website can be fully functional within days. Using your control panel and filling in the blanks, you will very quickly and easily be able to add relevant local information onto your live community site on the internet. This includes the ability to add logos, pictures, slideshows, videos and a whole load of text.

With a franchise, you usually get an exclusive territory. This means that no one else will be able to compete with you in your local area. You benefit from all the design work that the franchisor has already undertaken. You get a fully functioning website with minimal glitches. When errors do happen, usually your franchisor will be quick to get them sorted.

At the start, a business like this can be run by you and needs no staff in the first couple of years. Later on, when the business has expanded, you might need to look at taking somebody on, either to help you with the sales and marketing or administration.

As the pace on the internet revolution quickens, young entrepreneurs are seeking ways to make money on the Web. More people are choosing to work from home than ever before. You will have to be quick to get in on the ground floor before the masses join in and it becomes too late. ]]> Eco Friendly Box Making http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/eco-friendly-box-making.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/eco-friendly-box-making.html Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:51:49 -0400
Cardboard box making machines have been developed in recent years to offer anyone the possibility to make their own, very custom eco friendly cardboard boxes and packaging material using state of the art box making machinery.

On top of that, most of those new box making machines are also solving a few very common problems such as trying to find the right box for your product, having to store a very big inventory of cardboard boxes and also the fact that you would have had complaints about the fact that you would have used non environmentally friendly materials like Styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap.
With those new machines, you can now make boxes as you need them and dramatically lower your stocks and as a result, your costs. You will not have to worry anymore about trying to get the right box for your product since you can now make custom made boxes, you will be the person deciding on the width, length, depth and any other measurement you need depending on the size of the product you want to put in.
Finally, those machines are more environments friendly mainly because you can now make your very own biodegradable cardboard packaging material instead of having to use bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts.

One of the main advantages of those box making machines is that they are very easy to use and the set up should not take more than one minute especially thanks to the touch screen controls. Moreover, the machines usually allow you to select the box style you wish to use and then enter the inside dimensions and of course the amount of boxes you need to produce. In most cases, you will be able to keep in memory the box definition so you can make the exact same box any time you want but even faster as you do not have to re enter anything.

Even if box making machinery look like a very technical and tricky area, machine makers have been working hard to provide their clients with state of the art and very easy and straight forward machines to use.

]]> Why Fabric Shelters Are the Best Temporary Shelter for Personal or Business Use http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/why-fabric-shelters-are-the-best-temporary-shelter-for-personal-or-business-use.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/why-fabric-shelters-are-the-best-temporary-shelter-for-personal-or-business-use.html Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:43:05 -0400 Why Choose A Fabric Shelter?

People and businesses that use temporary fabric shelters have discovered some very distinct benefits over the brick-and-mortar buildings. Some of the benefits of using a fabric shelter are:

·         Re-sellable – If you need to use your fabric shelter at another location, it’s easy to dissemble and then reassemble at the new site. But if you don’t need it, you can always resell it!

·         Low cost – You won’t have the added cost of building a foundation, hiring construction crews to build your shelter, or other expenses associated with building a permanent structure.

·         No Foundation – You can install a fabric shelter on earth, asphalt, concrete or any other surface because they don’t require a foundation. All you need to use are helix auger anchors or concrete expansion anchors which we can supply.

·         No Permits – Most temporary structures used for 90 days or less don’t require a local building permit. But it’s always best to check with your local building inspector about your codes. When you talk to you local building department tell them you want to put up a “frame tent”.  You’ll find the terminology you use will go a long way in determining what kind of permit, if any, will be required.

·         Quick and Easy to Assemble – Two to four people, hand tools and a few ladders is all it takes to assemble a fabric shelter. You don’t need to use a crane to erect our shelter, so you’ll reduce your installation time and costs.

·         Portable – Our fabric shelters are easy to assemble, then disassemble, and then reassemble at a new location. Since a fabric shelter is portable, it can be reused at different locations when and where you need it.

·         Greater Clearspan – You get more cubic feet of coverage than virtually any other type of construction, which means you have more usable space than with standard construction methods. There are no internal poles or supports that you need to work around when using the space.

·         Natural Light – A fabric shelter provides an open airy feeling, and its translucent material allows enough natural light that no electrical lighting is required during the daylight hours.

Long Lasting - There are several factors that determine life expectancy, but there is a good chance the frame itself will be good usable condition for as long as you own it.   The fabrics we use have UV inhibitors ensuring a long life, and they carry u a 15-year manufacturer’s warranty. ]]> Looking for Wholesale Sources for Your Business? http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/looking-for-wholesale-sources-for-your-business.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/looking-for-wholesale-sources-for-your-business.html Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:00:47 -0400 wholesale sources that can provide you with a great range of products to sell to your customers.
If you are currently using a broker or distributor, it's important to ask yourself if you're getting the best deal possible. The truth is in many cases; your broker is simply acting as a go-between for you and a wholesaler, and in turn is taking their cut on the price of the goods - a cut that is eating into your profits.
You see, the only way to ensure that you are making the maximum profit available is to go to a wholesale source, as they offer the lowest prices on the market for any particular product. The trouble that many businesses have is, unlike middlemen and mass suppliers, wholesale distributors by and large do not do much advertising, as their bulk sales methods to larger retailers means that they generally do not need to source retailers to offload their stock.
This can often cause trouble for a smaller retailer looking to compete in a particular market, as they often do not know where to go to source their goods. In fact, you should be particularly wary of wholesale sources that do a lot of advertising, as more often than not these businesses are not wholesale sources at all, but are simply discount retailers looking to make a quick buck on the difficulty of locating real wholesalers.
So where is the best place to start when sourcing a wholesale source? Many people will conduct internet searches, although this too can sometimes lead you down the wrong track, and if you do find a wholesale source this way, it is wise to do some further research on their name to find out any experiences customers may have had with them.
Another great way to locate a true wholesale source is to call manufacturers directly and ask them who the wholesaler or distributor of their products is. Manufacturers in general want as much exposure for their brand as possible, and so they will be happy to direct you to the relevant wholesale supplier for your area.
Once you have located the correct wholesale source, you need to contact them either via their website or via phone to find out what their policies are. Many good wholesale suppliers with a web presence will have all of this clearly detailed on their website, along with the range of products that they offer and the prices you are able to obtain products for.
It is important to note that unlike traditional purchasing, when you order from a wholesale source, you will often receive a further discount for bulk purchases, and these discounts increase the more products that you buy. This is a great way for you to increase profitability and is especially useful if you plan to retail one particular product.
Whichever way you decide to turn, you will be extremely pleased with your wholesale supplier, as they are the driving force behind the success of your business. ]]> Can You Trust Online Wholesale Suppliers? http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/can-you-trust-online-wholesale-suppliers.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/can-you-trust-online-wholesale-suppliers.html Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:26:01 -0400 wholesale suppliers that are widely available to purchase online, but how do you know you can trust the information that they are providing? It's a sad fact that many of the people offering wholesale lists are simply looking to make some money from offering a pile of rubbish, or as is increasingly the case, offering you details of resellers pretending to be wholesalers, who are bumping up prices and making money on the true wholesale price.
It's a sad situation that there are people looking to perform scams on innocent people trying to succeed in business, however it's a reality we must face and one which we can only battle by providing real information to new business start-ups.
Wholesale suppliers are very appealing to retail businesses as they provide the means to supply your customers with good quality, worthwhile products. By purchasing your products at a low price you can resell to your customers at a profit.
It's important to remember that amongst the mass of scammers online, there are also some legitimate companies who are providing you the best deal and a great service. Rather than dismiss them all, taking time to find a trustworthy source is an asset to your business. In fact, online wholesale suppliers often make it even easier to do business, as they offer a full product catalogue and online ordering 24 hours a day, meaning you can conduct your business at the time that best suits you.
Here are our top tips for finding a wholesale supplier that you can trust:
1. Don't use Internet wholesale lists to find a supplier. They are full of false information and details of middlemen.
2. Conduct your own research. Perform a Google search and find the name of a company. Then Google the company name and look for reviews about their service. While every business will receive some reviews from disgruntled customers, you will be able to ascertain whether the general opinion is positive or negative.
3. Contact the company. A reputable wholesale supplier will display a telephone number on their website. Call it. Talk to someone and ask any questions you may have. It's better to ask up front and be satisfied rather than lose your money because you thought you had a stupid question.
4. If you're completely stuck, call the product manufacturer. The manufacturer will know exactly who the distributor for a product is. If you have any doubts about whether the company you are dealing with is for real, call the manufacturer and ask, they'll be happy to help.
5. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you find a wholesale offering branded goods at ridiculously low prices, beware. They are most likely counterfeit and not only will you be disappointing your customers, you're also at the risk of being in trouble with the law for the sale of counterfeit products.
6. Most of all, enjoy what you are doing. You are in business for yourself so that you can lead the life you have always desired - so make sure that you enjoy it! ]]> Email Conflicts when Working from Home http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/email-conflicts-when-working-from-home.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/email-conflicts-when-working-from-home.html Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:34:38 -0400
Perhaps the worst aspect of all is the boss - you! Often those working for themselves within a small home business are the meanest bosses, constantly putting extra pressure on themselves, and always striving for the perfection which is almost never likely to happen.

Although the internet has enabled working from home to be more viable in respect of communication techniques, this technology can sometimes be our worst enemy. Email, for example, is easy to use and using it you can easily and rapidly remain in touch with the important persons in your business. However, there is a downside to this useful tool!

Consider the situation: you have just managed to find some peace and quiet at home, and have settled at your computer to get on with some work. You have identified the most pressing matters and readied yourself. Perhaps you even manage to make a start. Then a little bell sounds, and a friendly popup window slides into view informing you that you have an email. You notice the name - it's one of your clients. Unable to leave it until later, you quickly decide to check to see what it is they want.

Having read the email, and of course replied, since you want to give a good impression, and a prompt response will show them you're on the ball, you then check out some of their previous messages, and make some notes on the work needed. Time for a coffee after sorting that little matter out. Several minutes later, you're about to get started on that pressing work you'd intended to do, and then another email slides into view. This time it's spam, so you decide to tighten up your spam filters to make sure you're not disturbed that way again. 15 minutes later, you have some glorious filters set up, but still no work done on getting new business.

This situation can quite easily continue for a very long stretch of time, and if you're running your own small business then the chances are that this scenario sounds painfully familiar. The real problem is that the work becomes fragmented, and delayed, taking much more of your time than it should have done. Not only that, but in all likelihood the emails which arrived were not urgent, and could easily have waited an hour or two, or even until the afternoon.

Many people find that they do their best work in the morning, and for those running their own business, this means that your most creative work, the most profitable work and the most successful achievements may well take place first thing in the day.  However, this is also when most of the emails are sent, and for this reason, your best working time swiftly becomes your worst working time.

What this is leading to is that in order to make sure that your business communications are not entirely floundered, there is a very simple solution. Don't have your email on automatic download or notification. It may be that you don't even need your email program open at all, in which case, avoid opening it at all costs! Set some time aside later in the day - perhaps after you've achieved the more urgent tasks first thing, or even until after lunch time. It's unlikely there'll be anything so urgent that it can't wait a while, and in the meantime you are likely to be much less distracted, and able to achieve much more effective use of your working time.

In terms of your business email system, it may well be helpful to set up a number of filters, not just for spam, but also for clients, job tasks or subjects. By having individual clients' emails automatically diverted to specific folders, you can be more efficient in dealing with customers, able to see all of the communications from them in one go, rather than scanning through your inbox in chronological order, skipping from one job to the next, from one subject to the next, which will then entail you going through the whole lot again to understand it properly.

Running a small business needn't be an impossible juggling act, as long as you don't make the job any harder for yourself than it already is. Give yourself the chance to run your business smoothly and without unnecessary interruptions - make your email start working for you, rather than adding to your problems.

]]> Customer Service - Review Sites Can Make or Break a Business http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/customer-service-review-sites-can-make-or-break-a-business.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/customer-service-review-sites-can-make-or-break-a-business.html Fri, 22 May 2009 23:39:29 -0400
The answer is, of course, precisely nowhere. Customers are the whole purpose of any business or retailer, and there is little point in any of us doing a day's work if we do not have the customers in the forefront of our minds, and the motivation for whatever we do.

Too many businesses have targets and performance standards in place, yet all too frequently these can be centered on the business itself, rather than on the customers. Statistics which focus on the sheer volume of sales, profit margins, types of product or service selling well, advertising costs and promotions can all seem rather pointless to those more concerned about the customers themselves.

It would be true to say that the business which fails to take into account the customer's needs, wishes, thoughts or concerns is the business people will be talking about in the past tense before too long. Customers can make, or break, a business. And this is a fact becoming ever more apparent and clear in today's global market, and global economy, with communication now easier and quicker than ever. Good news can travel very quickly, and so can bad news.

This means that if your customer service is of an excellent quality, helps to resolve the issue, makes it clear that you're trying hard to resolve the problem, put's the customer at ease, and keeps promises, rather than using words without any action to follow, then this will almost certainly become known.

With forums, review sites and discussion boards increasingly popular as a way for customers to share their experiences, treating your customers well, giving them the attention they deserve, the time they need and the answers they want will almost certainly find you listed in these sites with positive comments and reviews. This will, undoubtedly, assist you in the future and good reviews will do you a great favour. More and more customers today are turning to review sites and discussion boards before actually making a purchase or committing to a company. This means that they can share experiences, and in some cases only one or two bad reviews can mean the difference between gaining that customer, and losing them to your competitor.

Bad reviews are even more prevalent. The sad thing is that a satisfied customer is actually less likely to post a review about a company than a dissatisfied one. This is generally the way we work - if we have a good experience, we're pleased, but consider that the treatment we received was only what we deserved. After all, the person at the other end of the phone was being paid to be pleasant.

However, if we experience a bad customer service representative, with poor communication skills, little understanding of the product or service, little effort made to resolve the situation, or failed promises to return calls or escalate issues, then we immediately feel the need to rant, to let off steam, and get back at the company in at least some way. It's only a natural human reaction.

For this reason, the vast number of bad reviews on the internet has been written in the heat of the moment, possibly exaggerated, but certainly causing harm to the name of the company about whom they have been written.

These reviews will very likely stay to hang around the neck of the business for many years. For this reason, if you are setting up a business today, you need to be thinking about your customer service, and putting together plans to make sure it works well for the customer as much as for the business.  Then you will stand a better chance of avoiding becoming the target for vindictive reviews that you'll be unable to do anything about.

Getting customer service right from the start is a sound business move, and one that can easily work in your favour, just as it could work against you if you cut too many corners. This is equally true for online and offline businesses; for corporate and for home businesses.

]]> 4 Essential Questions to Ask Your Investors http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/4-essential-questions-to-ask-your-investors.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/4-essential-questions-to-ask-your-investors.html Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
As a real estate entrepreneur, you need to not only find potential investors and convince them of your ability to generate a return on their investment, you need to be able to qualify them. Are they going to trust you or stand over you while you work? Are they going to work with you for a mutually profitable relationship or will they leave you in the dust? Here are four questions you need to ask all of your investors.

Question 1: The Reason. Ask your investors, "Why do you want to invest?" They will never want to invest for the sake of investing. Instead, they will want to be able to pay their grandkids' way through college or they will want to retire from their job in ten years.

When you know why they want to invest, you'll be able to structure the deal in a way that is attractive to them. Someone who wants to pay for their grandkid's way through college in 2 years will have a different weighting of cash, equity, and risk than someone who wants to pay for their newborn grandkid's college in 18 years from now. Someone who wants to retire from their job in ten years might want to put in some cash and receive equity that they will grow over time that they can cash out later. Knowing what motivates them will help you.

Question 2: The payback. Ask your investors, "How do you want your money returned to you?" They might want monthly, they might want a lump sum, they might want equity, they might want all now, they might want some now and some later. It all depends.

Knowing the answer to this question, and the answer to the first question, are going to improve how you structure your deals. If you find that your investors have been resisting investing with you, start asking these questions. You will create goodwill by paying attention to them. And you will gain insight into what is important to them so you can present the investment opportunity in a way that meets their needs.

Question 3: Experience. Ask your investors, "Have you had any experience in real estate investing before?" and, "What was your return on those occasions?" This will help you to know what their expectations are going into the deal. As well, it hints at how enthusiastic or reluctant they will be at your opportunity.

Other questions you'll want to ask them related to investing experience are: "What was your overall experience?" "Were you a lender or equity provider?" And, "What is your desired return on investments and what are you currently earning?"

Question 4: Money. Ask your investors, "How much are you looking to invest?" This straightforward question is a good question to ask because it helps to qualify your investors, separating the "sayers" from the "doers". And you'll want to know the source of that money because liquidity is important to you since you don't want to wait for them to go through the long process of cashing out illiquid investments.

The first time you invest with someone, they might not want to give you all of their potential investment capital, so they will test you with a small amount. So follow up the above question with another. If they give you $50,000 then ask them "if I have an opportunity for $250,000, should I call you about it?" If they answer with a yes, you know they are testing you; if they answer with a no then they've reached their investing limit.

These four questions, and the related questions that go with them, will help you to create great working relationships with your investors. ]]> How Young Entrepreneurs Can Hustle Their Way To Success http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/how-young-entrepreneurs-can-hustle-their-way-to-success.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/how-young-entrepreneurs-can-hustle-their-way-to-success.html Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Do you have a NEGATIVE viewpoint on hustle?

A rigged carnival game, illegal copies of DVD's being sold on the street, drug dealers, or a pimp in a big purple hat.

Or do you have a POSITIVE viewpoint on hustle?

A favorite baseball player who's undersized but always hustles, giving it your all, getting out there selling, promoting, and working your head off. A hustler is the underdog, the over-achiever, the one who outworks the rest.

The Amazing Race, Entrepreneur Style

On a recent out-of-town adventure, I competed in my own version of "The Amazing Race" in New York City. It combined actual hustle (running down the street), figurative hustle (landing the interviews) and lessons in hustle (how these entrepreneurs have the hustle down to a science).

I had less than 48 hours to conduct a massive amount of interviews including Scott Mednick (serial entrepreneur, founder of Legendary Pictures, executive producer on films such as 300, Superman Returns, We Are Marshall), Gary Vaynerchuk (Brand building rock star and celebrity), Ankur Jain (Student-preneur and founder of The Kairos Society) and Ashley Cook and Danielle Dankner (Ash and Dans Clothing Line).

5 Tips on How To Do the Entrepreneurial Hustle

Whether you're extroverted, introverted or mute you can master the art of the hustle to grow your business. Here are a few hustles that I've encountered that have been repeatedly brought up in conversations with top entrepreneurs and rising young entrepreneurs.

1. Your horn was built for tooting. It's one thing to be humble and another thing to be a jerk. But if you're afraid to promote you and your business, you're not hustling. This does not mean turning your Twitter into an RSS feed or telling everyone how awesome you are. It does mean making a conscious effort to promote, tell people what you're up to, and also have confidence in your accomplishments. Just don't blow out the horn.

2. Screw Rejection. I remember trying to ask out a girl in 6th grade. I had no idea what I was doing and asked her out in the middle of a class. Like DURING the class with lots of people watching. Horrible idea. It didn't work and I was super embarrassed. That's not dissimilar from starting a business. You're taking a risk and putting yourself out there. Negabots will attack with their haterade.

Hustlers don't get embarrassed or upset. They answer all emails (even the negative ones), respond to critics, make sales pitches, and make it happen no matter what. If someone told me I shouldn't start a TV show without going to broadcasting school and having twenty years experience, I just look them in the face and say, "Thank you for your opinion. I respect that and I'm doing things a bit differently."

3. Don't be afraid of saying "No". If you are hustling, opportunities will come your way. In Gary Vaynerchuk's case, he gets hundreds of opportunities a week: Business deals, book deals, TV deals, interview requests. If the opportunity isn't right for you, say no. Don't chase all the shiny red balls, just find the ones that work for you and your brand.

4. Knocking Down Doors. Often times the only way to knock down the door in the entrepreneurial hustling world is the blast it down. Cold-calling, asking friends for help, going to your family. Yes it takes time but building a business takes hard, sweaty work.

Ashley Cook and Danielle Dankner have an incredible story about their clothing line Ash&Dans where they went on a spree of cold calls and even showed up at shops with scarves in hand. And guess what? It worked. Now they're in four plus stores...and I'll cut the story right there as to not spoil all the great stuff from these ladies coming on a future episode of The Rise To The Top.

5. Fuel With Small Victories. Building businesses takes patience and hustle. But, I know I have a patience problem (Do you?). We all want results NOW which is the selling points of get-rich schemes, MLM's, and other sketchy stuff. Fuel yourself with small victories: You were complimented on your business, someone says something nice about you or your business, you made one website sale.

It's easy to bask in the light of BIG victories (million dollar deals, new clients, a gazzilion web hits, whatever), but a series of small victories will give you the attitude burst to keep rolling.

In a nutshell, get out there, ignore the haters, build your business, adjust your hustling thinking and your success will be limitless. ]]> Getting Back to Basics - Setting a Course and Following Through http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/getting-back-to-basics-setting-a-course-and-following-through.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/getting-back-to-basics-setting-a-course-and-following-through.html Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
The first step for the new e-commerce hopeful is to conduct extensive research. Knowledge is power and in this case, there is little other than knowledge required for the success of the web business, as the concept that the web runs on ideas is even more significant when considering ideas and software and tools. When even novice web users create websites and blogs, the tools available make it a simple matter to establish the website's presence. This ease of use makes it a simple matter to publish meaningful content and express high value ideas, which is the entire purpose of the concept of everything for everyone. By lessening the perceived difficulty in establishing and maintaining a website or commerce infrastructure, the software allows more and more users who are less technically oriented to establish a business or related marketing program.

With the entry of so many new users into the world of ideas and commerce, the difficulty level increases exponentially for the marketing affiliate, as more and more users means more and more competition for available resources and traffic in the community. The elevated level of competition from other users requires a more in depth and complete understanding of development and a foolproof business plan for assured success in marketing.

The newcomer and the marketing veteran can both benefit from the use of tutorials, as the ubiquitous tutorials cover many aspects of development and design. The thorough study and search for more tutorials should be a priority activity for the developer throughout the length of his or her marketing campaign. Complete understanding of the business plan is absolutely essential to successful affiliate marketing. Once the business plan is firmly set forth, the web marketing affiliate can engage in the practice of putting the marketing plan into action.

Naturally, the essential first step in any affiliate marketing plan is to build a web presence and attract traffic. The first requirement for any website or blog is to select the actual product to be sold. Assuming the user has no products or ideas of their own or a product that they can manufacture and promote, choosing an affiliate is a necessary step in the affiliate marketing process. Choosing the selected affiliate product to market is an important decision, and can affect the outcome of the overall effort of the affiliate marketing effort. Choosing poorly will certainly doom the e-commerce efforts to failure, as a product with little demand will make very few sales, or conversions. The web marketing affiliate should choose a popular and useful product to market, and conduct the proper research to ensure that demand exists above and beyond what available supply can cover.

Once a product is chosen, the marketing affiliate can build a web presence around the affiliate product and promote it to the web at large ]]> 4 Valuable Steps to Make Money Fast on the Internet http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/4-valuable-steps-to-make-money-fast-on-the-internet.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/4-valuable-steps-to-make-money-fast-on-the-internet.html Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Before we start let us define a few terms. Niche marketing as defined by Wikipedia is the process of finding and serving profitable market segments and designing custom-made products or services for them. Niche is a general area of interest,a passion,a hobby, it is what people do like; puzzle making,flower arranging or mountain climbing.

The four steps:

Find a Niche that you are passionate about.Write down a list of everything that you enjoy doing, seeing or talking about.Do not worry about what they are or if they will work right now, the next step will take care of that.On your list make sure you have at least 20 things written down.

Evaluate the niches you have chosen. This is a step that may seem difficult but really is not, but is vital if you want to make money fast on the internet.Take your niche and head over to Google search engine.Type in the niche and see how many competing pages there are.If there is none then it is not good. Look at the paid advertisements; you should see at least five to be a profitable niche.

The second part to evaluating your niche is to go to forums and see if your niche has people that are interested in it.See if there is a problem that you can solve.On the forums you can find the problems from people that are talking of it a lot.On Google search engine type in Forum: your niche and hit enter,it will come up with all the forums that have your niche in them.Do this with all your niche ideas and toss out the ones that are not answered in the second step. It most likely will not be worth your time and you do want to succeed.

Come up with a product that will solve the problem you found. This can be a:

short report 5-25 pages
EBook 30-150
Mini course
Software program
Audio tapes
Video course

The final step is to sell it. This step takes a bit more learning, but once you get the foundations down all the rest will come easy.You need to have a domain, webhosting, autoresponder, good sales page, not to mention some way to collect money like pay pal.You will also need to have traffic steps in place. They can be paid traffic or free traffic like writing articles, without traffic you have no sales.

Once you become familiar with these 4 Valuable Steps to Make Money Fast on the Internet and you get all the foundations and basic you will need to promote then you can use this formula in more niches and make more money by repeating it. ]]> Increased Website Visibility By Using Links http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/increased-website-visibility-by-using-links.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/increased-website-visibility-by-using-links.html Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
The first thing to consider is who do you want to have link to you? All links are not the same. Google ranks websites on a 10-point scale. A site that has a Google page rank of 1 is worth very little. Google reserves the 10s for themselves. A site such as CNN or Amazon are ranked around 8. Realistically your objective is to get sites that are ranked 5 or higher to connect to you. Set as a goal to get 12 sites linking to you and you will find that your own Google page rank and visibility increases substantially.

So what is the best way to get links? One option is to research the sites you would most like to have linked to you and contact them directly. I've heard that this can work but it's obviously very labor intensive and frustrating. I personally use three strategies, which only require a minimal investment and offer you a chance to get literally hundreds of high quality links.

The first is to write articles such as this one. The page on which you found this article has a link to my website through the information that appears in my author bio box at the end of the article. Rather than distribute the article manually to each and every article directory, I use an article distribution service to send them out. For example this article that you are reading will be distributed to over 700 article distribution sites. That's a lot of links. I typically write two or three 500-700 words articles a week that are sent out. Although that may be more writing than you want to do, you can outsource the task to a freelancer that you can find on elance. Even if you just write one article a month, you'll reap some great visibility rewards.

The second tool is video. For each article I write, I turn it into a short narrated video using power point slides. Although YouTube is the best known video directory service it actually only has about 11% of the video traffic. Thus I use a video distribution service to get my short video out through all of the various video directories. Since Google gives a lot of credit for video, these short videos tend to rank very high for the key words that I tag them with. It is important to keep in mind that I don't really expect that anyone would actually go onto YouTube and search for me. Rather, because my video is on YouTube it gets a lot of "Google credit" and shows up when someone does a search for my keywords. People watch the video and if they like what they see, they'll take the next step and go to my website for more information. This is a strategy well worth implementing.

The final strategy for getting links is the most direct. You simply buy them. You can go on Ebay and search for links for sale or one of the other services you can find by Googling "Buying Links". Expect to pay around $10 x the page rank of the site that you want to link to you. For example a website with a page rank of 5 would typically charge you between $40-$60 for setting up a link to your site. This may be expensive for some businesses, and it may not be where you focus first, but I've found that this is often money that is very well spent. ]]> Are you Really a Real Estate Investor? http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/are-you-really-a-real-estate-investor.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/are-you-really-a-real-estate-investor.html Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400 How many of you call yourselves real estate investors? Lots. How many of you feel a little queasy when you introduce yourself as a real estate investor? (No need to confess you just need to recognize that feeling).

Do you want to know why you may be feeling queasy? I'll tell you. It's because of the incongruent language we are using on ourselves. Let me prove it while helping bust the number one fear of real estate "investors".

What do you think of when you hear the word investor?
I bet it's "cash" or "credit". Right? Maybe something that you feel that you don't have. So if your business card declares you a real estate investor and you don't have any cash, do you feel funny, or out of integrity, or incongruent? Maybe a little?

On the other hand, what do you think of when you hear the word entrepreneur? The answers to this question usually range from "opportunist" to "opportunities" to "ideas" to "deals", etc.

The definition of an entrepreneur is someone who uses the time, talent and treasure of other people to realize their idea or vision. Read that again because this a subtle but important point about your real estate success.

The number one limiting belief of real estate "investors" is "I cannot do this business because I have little cash and/or bad credit." And if your subconscious holds this belief, guess how hard you are going to work to find deals. Guess how many deals your are likely to do. That's right, you will do ZERO.

Good news! This limiting belief is easily busted.
You are not a real estate investor. You are a real estate entrepreneur.

What's the difference? Well, entrepreneurs bring the deals to the money. Investors bring the money to the deals.

By DEFINITION, entrepreneurs are not expected to use their own cash. They are expected to raise cash for their deals and projects. That's what we do. We find the one thing that is much more valuable than the cash which is the deals.

Money is easy. Finding the deals is the part that requires a little work. But most real estate "investors" get hung up in marketing or making an offer because they don't have the cash sitting in their checking account. They freeze.

You need to declare yourself a "Real Estate Entrepreneur." That's what I do. At this stage of my life, it's more fun being the entrepreneur and putting deals together. It's my form of creativity. It's my art. Being the investor and putting up the cash is OK but it's kind of like being the guy that furnished the paint to Michelangelo. Nobody remembers the paint supply guy.

I urge you to adopt 2 new affirmation(s):
I am a real estate entrepreneur.
I am leveraging the time, talent and treasure of others. ]]> Creativity in Multifamily Investing http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/creativity-in-multifamily-investing.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/creativity-in-multifamily-investing.html Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
In one deal, a student of mine was working with a broker to buy a property. Unfortunately, it was a mess and there wasn't a lot of margin for the broker to get paid. This is where we got creative! The deal was structured to pay the broker one-third during the deal and two-thirds over time.

In that example, we got creative to work around a problem. The key is to make sure that everyone wins. In the next example, I'll talk about a way to keep people happy without paying them a cent. Through barter.

If you need contracting services done on your multifamily investment, but don't have the money to have the work completed, see if you have a service that they want in exchange. If they don't need your service directly, see if there is a service that a third party that you can provide your service to, who will, in turn, perform the needed service to your contractor. It's called triangulating a barter exchange. It's a great way to get work done at a low cost, especially if you have skills that are in high demand.

A third example shows another way to save money to get work done. There was a large deal that required a lot of due diligence. The investor went to the property management company that was being considered for the role of managing the apartment in the future and he offered them an equity share in the apartment if they would put up some of the money upfront to perform the due diligence. This is another way to drive down costs through innovation.

Of course, by way of clarification, I am not talking about breaking laws or destroying trust between various parties in a deal. But the bottom line is this: If you focus on getting the deal done, and you treat every problem like an opportunity, you'll have greater success. Here's why.

First, your projects will move faster and won't stall as often because you're able to creatively address challenges as they arise. Second, your projects will be more profitable because you'll be able to keep costs down. Third, you'll create a bank of happy peers who come out ahead because of your creativity, which means they will be valuable contacts for future deals. And fourth, you'll toolbox of ideas that is filled to overflowing so that every deal, no matter how complicated, can be structured and completed profitably.

So, how can you be creative and break the right rules to come out ahead? It's easy: Find out what motivates the various parties in your deal and do what you can to give it to them. Keep one goal in your mind as you work and that is of closing the deal. And, always, always, always ask yourself "is there another way to do this?" ]]> Find A Niche Market That Really Gets You More New Business http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/find-a-niche-market-that-really-gets-you-more-new-business.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/find-a-niche-market-that-really-gets-you-more-new-business.html Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Unfortunately, what I quickly realized what that Marian had a natural skill for the game, while Mark apparently had none whatsoever. It seems the game places less emphasis on brute strength (Tiger Woods notwithstanding) and more on rhythm and balance (which I discovered in my case were in very short supply.) However, that didn't stop me from continuing to play, and more importantly, continue to invest in the game.

Case in point. As I went to take out the garbage this morning I passed by a rack in my garage. In that rack were not one, not two or three, but five drivers representing some of the most elite of golf manufacturers. Now, it's important to keep in mind, these things are not inexpensive. A driver will typically set you back around $500. So why in the world would someone like me, who is working hard, just to get to become a mediocre golfer, invest so much in all this expensive equipment? And perhaps even more importantly, what does this have to do with niche marketing?

The answer is that my buying multiple drivers actually has everything to do with selecting a niche to focus on, because "golfers" are in many ways the ideal niche. The lessons we learn about selling things to golfers are applicable to anyone thinking about what marketing niche to focus on. Let me explain what I'm talking about in a bit more detail.

The golf market has two ideal characteristics. Prospective buyers of equipment have both a "need" to improve and a "want" (or desire) to get better. These twin levers of need and want are important to keep in mind when you are deciding upon a niche.

For example, let's take a marketing consultant, largely because it is something I know a little bit about. A marketing consultant who decides to focus on small business owners has a niche that meets the two criteria I just spoke about. First prospects have a strong need to get more clients. Marketing consultants tend to appeal to business owners who are getting tired of the feast or famine business cycles, but loath the idea of cold calling.

However these prospects also have a strong need or desire to improve their businesses as well. For entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, their success is largely determined by how much money they make, the neighborhood they live in, the car they drive and the other outward manifestations of material success. I realize that it is crass to put it this way, but how your spouse and friends view you is determined in a large part by how successful they think you are. There is a lot of need and desire on the part of small business owners to grow their businesses and achieve as much success as possible. Thus a marketing consultant who focuses on this niche will likely have an audience interested in what they have to offer.

I've found that re-thinking one's niche is difficult for most business owners to consider. Many business owners I speak with adopt the attitude that once one they've decided what niche to focus on, then that's the niche they'll market to forever. Personally I think that's a mistake, especially in these difficult economic times. From a practical perspective if your current niche isn't providing you with the amount of business that you need, it's time to consider some alternatives. When you do so, if you keep the twin criteria of need and want in mind, you will dramatically increase the likelihood that you will focus on a niche that will invest in what you have to offer. ]]> Get Out of Your Job and Get Into Multifamily Real Estate Faster http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/get-out-of-your-job-and-get-into-multifamily-real-estate-faster.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/get-out-of-your-job-and-get-into-multifamily-real-estate-faster.html Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Starting a business is not an easy task and the economic turbulence creates a forest of question marks for people who want to start something of their own, especially if they are working at their day-job. What do you do? How do you do it? Will you be successful?

I find that many people know the theories but are still scared to put those theories into practice to actually take that leap and start a business. Often, they're just not exactly sure where to start and they want to know how to make that leap from moonlighting with a day job to full-fledged, full-time real estate investor.

This was my situation way back when I started in multifamily real estate. I was working at a job during the day and investing in apartments at night. And before long, I made that leap out of my job and into my current profession. I learned the concept of "one and done" that I want to share with you because I believe it will help you with the same job-to-investor career trajectory.

"One and done" is a simple principle. It works like this: The hardest real estate investment is the first one because there are so many things to think about and it's hard to know what you should consider as a successful exit strategy. My advice is that you should strive to push through that most difficult investment with the singular goal of creating cash flow. That's right, not equity, cash flow.

If you're reading this, you're probably wondering why I would advise that. After all, isn't multifamily real estate investing all about a combination of cash flow and equity? It is, but on your first one, you need to focus, you need to take baby steps, and (most importantly) you need to set yourself up for the future. Let me give you an example.

Jane split her time between her day job and her new career as a real estate investor. She went the traditional route and worked at creating some cash flow and some equity in her investment. Like many investors, she shared both the cash flow and equity with her investors and at the end of her investment, she had a bit of each. But, she still had to work at her job because while she had some equity, her cash flow wasn't enough to allow her to quit her job and focus on real estate investing full time.

John also split his time between his day job and his budding career as a real estate investor, but he went the less traditional route and focused solely on cash flow. As he worked with investors, they were happy to get more equity in exchange for him getting more cash flow. That's right, he happily gave up equity in exchange for cash flow. At the successful conclusion of his investment, he earned enough money each month to quit his job and focus fully on investing.

That's the "one and done" principle at work. Do one deal, your first deal, with the focus of creating cash flow. Happily give away your equity if it means getting more cash flow. And do it all for the singular purpose of creating a monthly cash flow that will allow you to quit your job and begin real estate investing full time.

That's the "one and done" principle. It can make the difference between quitting your job now or quitting months down the road. Say hello to cash flow instead of equity in your first deal. Say goodbye to the traffic, goodbye to your boss, and goodbye to the office politics. ]]> Innovation As a Part of the Business Equation http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/innovation-as-a-part-of-the-business-equation.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/innovation-as-a-part-of-the-business-equation.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Some people might be under the impression that there is only so much innovation that can be done. After all, multifamily apartment investors aren't inventing a new light bulb or the next electric car. However, there is plenty of innovation you can do! Even within my proven system and processes, there is plenty of room for your own clever innovation. Here's how you can innovate easily:

First, list out all the steps that you typically do in a multifamily apartment investing situation. (If you're new to this field then write down the steps you think you'd do and augment them as your experience educates you). Make sure that you start with the basics like "find a multifamily apartment" and go all the way through to "cash the check" when you successfully (and profitably!) exit from the investment. You will have a long list, but that's okay. The more detailed and the longer your list is, the more chance you have to innovate.

Next, look at your list. Look for steps that you can combine. Some of those steps might be obvious: Combining several separate renovation activities into one single action of hiring a general contractor is a good example.

Some of those steps, though, might not be so obvious. For example, is to combine steps like "finding investors" and "finding tenants"? It might not be right in every situation, but you might hit upon an innovative idea by combining two or more items that might not normally be combined. (After all, that's how we got the automobile and the light bulb and the internet and just about every other invention).

If combining items in your list doesn't work, try eliminating them all together. Yes, you read that correctly. Eliminate one of your items and see what your business looks like. Chances are for most of you, there are several critical business practices that you cannot eliminate without turning your business from a "for-profit" business into a "non-profit" one!

But in my experience, there are probably two or three items on your list of steps that you can eliminate safely without impacting your business. Now consider the implications of eliminating these steps: More profit from less effort!

A third innovation method to consider is automation. Many new-to-the-business entrepreneurs do the same work over and over on every project. A few classic examples include: Rewriting an agreement for each new deal when a boilerplate agreement with minor modifications will save hours.

Or, calling to get five to ten estimates on a project when a good relationship with two or three contractors will save so much time. Or, writing classified ads every time you have a vacancy rather than keeping a couple of well-written ads on hand.

By adopting an innovation mindset, even in a structured and time-tested business model like multifamily apartment investing, you'll find ways to be just as effective at what you do while spending less time, money, and effort, and ultimately enjoying greater profit.

Peter Drucker gave us the powerful equation "Business equals Marketing plus Innovation". Smart multifamily apartment investors keep that equation in their minds and are always looking for ways to market and innovate more effectively to grow their businesses. ]]> Marketing as a Key Component in Multifamily Real Estate Investing http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/marketing-as-a-key-component-in-multifamily-real-estate-investing.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/marketing-as-a-key-component-in-multifamily-real-estate-investing.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
While Drucker's "business equation" might prove true for any type of business, consider what it means for an entrepreneur who runs a multifamily real estate investing company. How does "marketing plus innovation" play out in that scenario?

We are going to examine how the marketing side of his equation plays out in the multifamily apartment investing scenario.

Marketing: Other businesses might have the conventional approach to marketing only to end-users, entrepreneurs who do apartment investing have the unique challenge of marketing to up to four different groups. (Some investments might require just one or two of these groups, but many multifamily investments might require that you market to all four):

The first group is the owner of the multifamily apartment building itself - someone who is looking to earn more than what they are getting or exit from the headache.

The second group is the investors who need to be sold on why this particular multifamily investment is a good one to buy into.

The third group of people is the new tenants that you might want to attract to the building once you start to populate it.

And the fourth group, if you end up buying the property and reselling it, is the person or company you will eventually want to sell to.

When you think about the marketing you need to do to communicate with these four groups of people, consider that each one has their own needs and end-goals. On a piece of paper, list those four groups and list two or three goals for each group.

The owner of the multifamily apartment building might be losing money and wants to break even, or perhaps even earn some profit but get rid of what they perceive to be a huge time commitment in maintaining the apartment. The potential investors will want to see that you increase their potential return and that you actively mitigate any money-losing risks that might appear.

The new tenants that you would like to move into the apartment building might want to know that you are a good landlord offering responsive service, a safe place to live, and reasonable value. And the potential buyers - if you sell the apartment to someone else - will want to know that the property has been taken care of and will likely offer them a good return on their investment. Those are to get you started, but you might think of a few more on your own!

Just doing this basic exercise can help you when it comes time to communicate with each one. When you know what they want to get out of the transaction, you'll be able to better "speak their language" and you'll be amazed at how much easier it will be to present the opportunity to them.

Next, make sure that all of your marketing is designed to communicate to at least one of these groups. You might use flyers, or newspaper ads, or a website, or Google AdWords, or billboards, or business cards, or any of a million other marketing methods.

But every time you invest some of your hard-earned dollars in your marketing, you need to make sure that it is effectively targeting at least one of those four groups and that your marketing speaks directly to their interests.

Drucker's equation - business equals marketing plus innovation - provides us with a valuable springboard from which we can create effective marketing for our real estate investing businesses. ]]> Multifamily Deals: Understanding Cap Rate Basics http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/multifamily-deals-understanding-cap-rate-basics.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/multifamily-deals-understanding-cap-rate-basics.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
The Cap Rate is useful for measuring the performance of different properties. Regardless of the size, price, or other variables of a property, the Cap Rate is a common denominator for evaluating properties. Cap Rate is a widely used term. Across the country, you can talk with commercial brokers and investors about Cap Rates. However, using the Cap Rate is only pertinent when evaluating properties with five or more units. Fourplexes and smaller properties do not follow the Cap Rate formula as much.

Once you have determined the Cap Rate on the apartment buildings you are evaluating, you can determine which properties are worth further investigation. Different investors will have different thresholds of risk, but a good rule of thumb is to look for properties with Cap Rates of 10% or higher. Of course, the current Cap Rate on a property may change if, through better management, the occupancy goes up or costs go down. This is something to take into consideration in evaluating Cap Rates.

For example, if you find a multifamily property that has a current Cap Rate of 9%, but through further investigation you realize that through better management or more active leasing you could drive the Cap Rate up to 12% fairly easily, then you can rationalize not needing the 10% Cap Rate before the deal is finalized. If the apartment does not have a 10% Cap Rate today but could have a 12% Cap Rate tomorrow, it may be a deal you do not want to pass up.

As mentioned earlier, Cap Rate is a term that most investors and brokers are familiar with, so become a Cap Rate expert yourself. Learn to calculate the Cap Rate on a property, and you will save yourself precious time in analyzing and evaluating properties during your search for a multifamily property. ]]> The Investing Equation that Cost Me Thousands http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/the-investing-equation-that-cost-me-thousands.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/the-investing-equation-that-cost-me-thousands.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
The equation answers the question "how do I become successful?" This is a question that entrepreneurs and investors ask over and over, and if you are entering the world of multifamily real estate investing, you should be asking that question, too. When you answer this equation, you will become successful. The equation is: Success = Skillset + Mindset + Community.

Let's break it down. Success (which we're defining for the purposes of this article as financial success) is the result when you combine the right skillset, mindset, and community. Furthermore, I believe that the more successful you want to be, the greater abundance of each of these you must possess. Are you ready to learn more about each one and how you can develop them in yourself?

Skillset is your own knowledgebase and talents, which you would apply to multifamily investing situations. You might require skills like managing people, juggling multiple deadlines, and perhaps even a little sales skill. It's different for each person, and each investing situation, but you should consider what skills you need in your apartment real estate business and hone them. Build upon your skills with reading, experience, courses, and mentoring.

Mindset is huge. It's your attitude. A positive attitude is good but not blindly optimistic, but realistically optimistic is crucial in this business. You'll want to wake up each morning and "check your head" to make sure that you're facing your day with the most positive "I'm gonna make it happen" mindset you can possibly muster.

Community is probably the one that surprises most people but it's also the one that can separate the people who work hard and get nowhere from the people who work hard and succeed. Surround yourself with talented people. Don't be afraid to work with people who are smarter than you, because you can learn from them and they'll make you shine. Draw a map with yourself at the center and all of your partners, associates, colleagues, and peers around the outside and make sure that you are building mutually beneficial relationships.

Combine your skillset, mindset, and community together and you can't help but succeed. And when you consciously focus on improving each of those aspects of your life, each day, your success will become greater and greater. Build your knowledge, learn to become more positive, and grow your community. That's the equation that I spent tens of thousands of dollars to develop and hone and I'm giving it to you for free to empower your success! ]]> How Young Entrepreneurs Can Get Advice From Experts http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/how-young-entrepreneurs-can-get-advice-from-experts.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/how-young-entrepreneurs-can-get-advice-from-experts.html Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Answering those important questions can often lead to success or very expensive failure in business. I recently had a chance to sit down with serial entrepreneur and speaking legend Sam Silverstein who is currently the President of The National Speakers Association. Sam and I hung out about and hour as I kicked every question in the book at him to pick his brain about entrepreneurship. I was captivated by Sam's response to one of my questions when he talked about seeking experts out in your field as opposed to your parents.

Especially for young entrepreneurs, the tendency on seeking advice is to go to the ones you know and more often than not, that would be your parents. That's all well in good, but unless your parents are savvy entrepreneurs or sleek business folk, you may want to include others when looking for advice in a specific industry. I run many things by my parents and they are unbelievable for support.

But, to really get great business advice (with no sugar-coating) I had to network my way into finding mentors who have already walked the walk. I beat down doors, made phone calls, and did anything possible to form an advisory board of those who could save me from making expensive, business-killing mistakes. And the nudges I received landed unbelievable contacts, sponsors, advice, and ABC television. All by just listening to the right people and, most importantly, trusting instincts.

Don't be afraid to ask for help

Tell everyone you know you are starting/started a business. Send emails, make phone calls, and of course in person. But don't just tell these trusted folks that you've started a business and are looking for a high-five. Instead, mention the fields you need help with and ask for contacts.

But asking for help is only the first step. Oftentimes it's not as easy as just picking up the phone and instantly being taken on a magical journey to the business contact of your dreams. People are busy and that makes persistence and following up the second key. One of the most uncomfortable subjects in business is following up with people. To be perfectly blunt, most people stink at following up and give up after trying one or two times to reach someone.

Remember persistence is key

I once followed (err, stalked?) NHL great Wayne Gretzky 20 miles in a car with my dad when I was 13 to get an autograph. It worked. Another time I held up the same sign at a hockey game asking for a hockey stick from a player for twenty games before I got a stick. But guess what? It worked!

Here are some tips on being persistent:

1. Create a preferred medium of communication. Example: "Excellent, I would love to meet your super awesome PR contact. Can you send me her information via email?" Some people love email, others hate it. Find the preferred contact method that works.

2. Setting a timetable: "Thanks Uncle Cletus for the great PR contact idea. Can I check back at the end of the week if I haven't heard from you? Us entrepreneurs run at the speed of light!" This could be the one of the top rules. Time tables create accountability.

3. Ignore the sales rules. Give up after three calls? I DON'T THINK SO! The "give up after three calls stupid rule" is about as dated as pleated pants. People are busy. I can't tell you how many times I reached someone on the 50th call and they said "Oh, you were the NEXT person on my call list to call back. So glad you called!" Annoying for you, YES. Great results, YES.

4. Relevant Emails. Don't send the classic "just checking in" email. Make it a point as to what you are looking for: advice, sponsorships, contacts, help, a new puppy. Don't be deceptive.

5. Get out there. Know where the person you hope to contact hangs out (and I'm not talking about showing up at their house - enjoy dodging cops). What events do they attend? What groups do they belong to? You can of course just show up or even send a friendly warning email: "Hi, Fred. I saw you are a member of the Venture Capital Board. I'm attending their event on the 17th and I look forward to meeting you there."

Now, go get out there and land some meetings, contacts, help, advice, money, sponsorships, whatever! ]]> Apartment Investing: The No-Brainer Business Plan http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/apartment-investing-the-no-brainer-business-plan.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/apartment-investing-the-no-brainer-business-plan.html Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400
Now, I should tell you first tell you that there really are two different kinds of business plans. One is the kind you use to present to potential investors if you are looking for capital, or the bank if you are going after a loan. It's clean and polished and looks pretty. That's not the kind I'm talking about.

The other kind is a down-and-dirty, roll-up-your-sleeves, dog-eared document that you pull out every single day and review. (After a while, you'll be so familiar with it that you will pull it out every other day, then every other week, and soon you will know it by heart, as I do). It's what I call a "living document" because you're always in it, always changing it, and making it useful to you. No one else will see it and you'll use this plan to drive your business.

A business plan should be a document where, if you were to wake up with total amnesia one morning, your spouse could say to you "you are a successful apartment building investor and this is the step-by-step plan of what you've done", and then you go out there and repeat the same success. So your business plan should be useful, user-friendly, and enjoyable to interact with. (Unfortunately, too many people think that their business plan needs to the be the first kind - the polished kind - so it sits on a shelf and collects dust). You can create it on your computer, print it out, and carry it with you, making notes and updating it regularly.

So, what does your plan include? Well, mine includes the three main activities I perform: Acquire, Operate, and Improve. I started by writing one page for each step with ideas and best practices and reminders to myself, all in a step-by-step format. "Acquire" is about finding multifamily apartment buildings and determining my exit strategy; "operate" is about running them, "improve" is about making them better.

As my business grew and my processes developed, I began to hone my plan. I aggressively modified each one the things I learned from every new investment. Today, my plan's structure isn't that different from my early days when I performed those three tasks, but you can be sure that each of those steps is tightly defined and rich in value. If I were to suddenly lose everything I had, that plan would still be worth millions to me.

Under each of the three headings I include the steps around what I do, where I do it, how long it should take, who I work with, what my intended outcomes are, and what happens if things go off the rails. It's in a step-by-step format so that I can simply follow step one, step two, step three, etc. Of course, I rely on my instincts and bank of experience but this plan makes sure it gets done. But I've added a fourth heading - teach.

Today, I not only acquire, operate, and improve multifamily investments, I also teach others how to do the same. Your plan will probably start with the first three and you might find in time that it may grow to include the fourth as well. But you need to start somewhere. So start with a 3 point Acquire, operate, improve business plan and make it the most valuable pieces of paper you own. ]]> Premier Hosting, Inc. Introduces over 2200 Country and Folk Prints from Wholesaler- Art For Everyoneâ„¢ http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/premier-hosting-inc.-introduces-over-2200-country-and-folk-prints-from-wholesaler--art-for-everyone%99.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/premier-hosting-inc.-introduces-over-2200-country-and-folk-prints-from-wholesaler--art-for-everyone%99.html Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:55:44 -0400 Things To Do When Building a New Business http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/things-to-do-when-building-a-new-business.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/things-to-do-when-building-a-new-business.html Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400
There are a lot of books out there that touch on the subject on how is it exactly that one goes about in opening a small business, and making a profit from it. The first thing most experts recommend is to plan that business venture, and perhaps more important than that is to really go through a very rigorous vetting process to be an eligible candidate for running that small business that is circling your head.

First create a brief list of thing you need. Obviously each case is different but there are some basics that need to be met to adequately establish the new business, and still have a great chance at success. Many experts agree that it is wise to have money to start the company, and still keep a good cushion to pay for the household expenses. If that is definitely something that can not be done, there is always the possibility of starting the venture as a part time activity, and keep a steady income from an employment.

Having cash to capitalize is a great advantage, but be sure to always have a good line of credit in case there are hard times ahead. This will let the business stay afloat, even if strapped for cash. A great attitude is a must in the world of independent business owners. This means a discipline, goal oriented mindset is the way things get done whenever there is no one supervising. Keeping in mind that failure is an option, and that the mistakes made often are there to remind of what can and should be done.

Who knows the business will directly affect the outcome of the venture. Getting your name in front of the right people will make it so much easier to sell what the company offers. This is why networking has become an art that today's business owner needs to master.

Learning how to keep on top of things, without loosing focus on the goals set, is a very hard thing to do. Keeping track of all the variables that a small business entangles is very desirable in order to keep mistakes, that will cost money in the long run, at the minimum, and when the mistakes are made correct them as soon as they appear.

Remember that a small business, is very similar to building a successful career in a corporate environment, except that the owner is the one that reaps all the rewards if done properly. ]]> Software Productivity and the Online Business Entrepreneur http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/software-productivity-and-the-online-business-entrepreneur.html http://oarticles.com/business/entrepreneurship/software-productivity-and-the-online-business-entrepreneur.html Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:36:09 -0400