Jersey Benefits Group, Inc.

Have You Reviewed Your Life Insurance Lately?

2012-02-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

Article written by John H. Kaighn

Jersey Benefits Group, Inc.

When was the last time you took a serious look at your life insurance coverage. Life insurance was created to provide cash for your family in the event of your death. The goal being to provide your beneficiaries a means to ease the financial burden that results from the death of a parent or spouse. The beneficiaries may choose to use the benefits of a life insurance policy in any way they choose, such as paying for funeral expenses, covering mortgage payments or investing the proceeds and taking systematic payments to augment income. Generally, the death benefit from a life insurance policy is paid free of any federal tax.

One of the most important questions to ask when evaluating life insurance needs is the amount of coverage needed. Many financial planners recommend an amount of five to seven times gross annual salary as a guideline when purchasing life insurance, but as with all things in life, each family's goals are different. It is always best to take an inventory of your family's current financial situation and then try to evaluate future needs. Listing current and anticipated future expenses, as well as income sources is a good place to start. If there are children, you might want to consider the cost of their education. The younger the children, the more of a need for coverage, due to the length of time they will be dependent on one parent, in the event of a death of a parent. Of course, this is exactly the time when a family may have the least amount of income available for insurance!

This is why there are different types of policies available. The two broad categories of life insurance are :

· Term Life Insurance

· Permanent Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance provides protection for the pure cost of insurance for periods of 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 years and is usually significantly less expensive than permanent insurance. The death benefit is only paid if you die during the specific term of the policy. At the end of the term, the policyholder may be able to convert to a permanent policy or begin a new term, at a higher cost.

Permanent Life Insurance provides protection as long as you continue to pay your premiums, which can be fixed or tailored to your specific needs. Permanent policies include Whole Life, Universal Life and Variable Universal Life. These policies have a "cash value" feature, which means part of the premiums go into an account which builds up monetary value over time. This is why the cost of a permanent policy is higher than term. Many times a combination of the two types of policies can provide coverage and savings in stages for a lifetime. Feel free to contact Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. if you would like to review your insurance needs.

What You Need To Know About Disability Insurance

2012-01-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

Your most important asset is not your home, your car, your jewelry or other possessions. It's your ability to earn a living! This concept is explored in detail in the pamphlet produced by the non profit organization LIFE. Click Here to download the pamphlet in pdf format.

Disability Insurance (DI) replaces a substantial portion of your monthly income in the event of accident or illness. You can still pay your mortgage and utilities, buy groceries and contribute toward retirement. Even though your employer may offer DI as a benefit, it often is not enough for you to maintain the same standard of living before your disability. That's why having your own DI policy becomes important to you and your family in case you become disabled.

You may obtain a quote for DI through Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. by simply following these instructions.

If you prefer to speak directly to a licensed agent, call 1-855-802-4123.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2011-12-14T05:22:00.000-08:00

As the holidays rapidly approach, I would like to take a few moments to wish you a happy and joyous Christmas, Hanukah, or any other Holiday season you may celebrate, as well as a healthy and prosperous New Year. If you’d like a second opinion on your investment or insurance objectives, or would like to develop a plan in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Insurance is for all stages of life...

•Do you have life insurance or enough coverage to ensure that your family could maintain their current lifestyle in case something happens to you?
•Has your financial situation changed and you need health insurance for you and your family or discounts on your prescription drug(s)?
•Are you planning for your retirement and the possibility that you may need assisted living care in the future?

We can assist you with these and other life situations by offering term life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, health insurance and much more.

Our Focus Is YOU—For All Stages of Your Life

Jersey Benefits Group, Inc.

OBTAIN A FREE QUOTE FOR ALL OF YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS

2011-12-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Insurance is for all stages of life...

•Do you have life insurance or enough coverage to ensure that your family could maintain their current lifestyle in case something happens to you?

•Has your financial situation changed and you need health insurance for you and your family or discounts on your prescription drug(s)?

•Are you planning for your retirement and the possibility that you may need assisted living care in the future?

We can assist you with these and other life situations by offering term life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, health insurance and much more.

Our Focus Is YOU — For All Stages of Your Life.

Go to the website for Jersey Benefits Group, Inc.

If you prefer to speak directly to a licensed agent and live outside NJ, call 1-855-802-4123. NJ residents can call (609) 827-0194.

FREE ONLINE HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES AVAILABLE

2011-10-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

How Can I Apply for Health Insurance?

Health Insurance is a hot topic in today's social, economic and political arenas. If you have been laid off from work, are in between jobs or are self-employed, you will need some kind of health insurance for you and your family. If you were to become sick or need surgery and you did not have health insurance, the cost of treatment could wipe out your savings and/or jeopardize the ability to make your house payment. In addition, if you are a senior, your health insurance needs are very different and you may want to learn more about Medicare Supplement Plans.

In order to obtain information about health insurance in your area, CLICK HERE to take you to the site for Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. and then click the request quote button. You will be asked to fill in your ZIP code to obtain a health insurance quote.

If you prefer to speak directly to a licensed agent, call 1-855-802-4123. In New Jersey, you can call the local number for Jersey Benefits Group, Inc., which is (609) 827-0194.

IRS Proposes Safe Harbor for Health Care Plan Affordability Test

2011-09-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON—A new Internal Revenue Service proposal would make it easier for employers to determine if their health care plans are “affordable” and exempt from a stiff financial penalty mandated by the health care reform law.

Under the law, starting in 2014, employers are liable for an annual $3,000-per-employee penalty for employees whose required health insurance premium contribution for single coverage exceeds 9.5% of family income and the employees are eligible for federal premium subsidies to buy coverage through state insurance exchanges.

Following up on a promise made in August, the IRS on Tuesday asked for public comment on a proposed safe harbor in which coverage would be considered affordable as long as the premium contribution for single coverage did not exceed 9.5% of an employee's W-2 wages.

‘More workable, practical'

“By allowing employers to base their affordability calculations on each employee's W-2 wages (which employers know) instead of each employee's household income (which employers generally would not know), the safe harbor could provide a more workable and practical method for measuring the affordability of an employer's coverage,” the IRS said in Notice 2011-73.

“This will work very well for employers. It is a real positive for employers,” said Rich Stover, a principal with Buck Consultants L.L.C. in Secaucus, N.J.

“Employers welcome a safe harbor that will enable them to determine, based on information they have, whether their plans are ‘affordable' under the law. They should not have to face significant penalties simply because they have no access to their employees' household income,” said Anne Waidmann, a director with PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. in Washington.

To qualify for the safe harbor, an employer would have to meet certain requirements, including offering full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in a qualified employer-sponsored plan and that the required employee premium contribution for individual coverage in an employer's lowest-cost plan available to the employee not exceed 9.5% of the employee's W-2 wages.

Determined by employer

Application of the safe harbor would be determined at the end of a calendar year and on an employee-by-employee basis.

“The employer would determine whether it met the proposed affordability safe harbor for 2014 for an employee by looking at that employee's W-2 wages for 2014 and comparing 9.5% of that amount to the employee's 2014 premium contribution,” the IRS said.

Jerry Geisel

Business Insurance

Should You Exchange Your Life Insurance Policy?

2011-08-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

If you own a life insurance policy, you may have been approached to exchange it for another new policy. You need to know that even though the tax laws make the exchange income tax free and the new policy may appear better to you, you may be losing—not gaining—if you make the exchange. We are issuing this Alert because, increasingly, life insurance exchanges may involve variable products. Variable products are securities, and this Alert will provide information to help you evaluate whether the exchange is right for you, and how you can find out what you need to know to make an appropriate decision.

Types of Life Insurance

There are various forms of life insurance products. Although features and benefits may vary, the following is a general description of typical characteristics of various types of life insurance policies.

Term Life Insurance. Term life insurance provides coverage for a specified and limited period of time (the "term"). Premiums for most term policies increase with age or at the end of each renewal period. After the policy or term ends, there is no benefit payment if the insured person survives beyond the policy period.

Whole Life Insurance. Whole life or ordinary life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance. This means it can provide coverage for the life of the insured. It also can build cash value, which is a savings feature. Premium payments typically remain level for the life of the insured.

Universal Life Insurance. Universal life insurance can also provide coverage for the life of the insured while at the same time providing flexibility in premium payments and in insurance coverage. The cost of insurance protection and, in some cases, other costs are deducted from the cash or policy account value.

Variable Life Insurance. Variable life insurance, a variation of whole life insurance, offers a fixed premium schedule and a minimum death benefit. But it differs from traditional whole life insurance in that cash values are invested in portfolios of securities in an account separate from the general assets of the insurance company. A policyholder has discretion in choosing the mix of investments the policy offers. The insurance company does not guarantee investment returns and your cash value will fluctuate.

Variable Universal Life Insurance. Variable universal life insurance combines features of universal life insurance and variable life insurance.

Most variable life insurance policies and variable universal life insurance policies are securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration requires that investors receive important financial and other significant information concerning the securities being offered for sale. This enables investors to judge for themselves if the securities are a good investment. These regulations also provide important remedies to investors if they can prove that there was incomplete or inaccurate disclosure of important information provided to them.

1035 Exchanges

The Internal Revenue Service allows you to exchange an insurance policy that you own for a new life insurance policy insuring the same person without paying tax on the investment gains earned on the original contract. This can be a substantial benefit. Because this is governed by Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, these are called "1035 Exchanges."

But this benefit comes with some important strings.

The tax code says that the old insurance policy must be exchanged for a new policy - you cannot receive a check and apply the proceeds to the purchase of a new insurance policy.

The tax code also says that you can make a tax-free exchange from: 1) a life insurance policy to another life insurance policy or 2) a life insurance policy to an annuity. You cannot, however, exchange an annuity contract for a life insurance policy.

A transaction in which a new insurance or annuity contract is to be purchased using all or a portion of the proceeds of an existing life insurance or annuity contract is referred to as a "replacement." A 1035 Exchange is a type of replacement transaction. Although the term "1035 Exchange" is often used to describe any form of replacement activity, technically not all replacements are Section 1035 Exchanges and as a consequence are not tax-free.

Reasons to Exchange an Existing Policy?

There are various reasons why a life insurance policyholder may want to replace an existing policy with a new life insurance policy. For example,
Improved health or mortality improvements across the general population may result in insurance coverage at a lower cost.

You may have concerns with the solvency of the insurance company that issued the original policy or with the service of the agent that sold you the policy.

A new life insurance policy may have more desirable features or benefits.

Reasons Not to Exchange an Existing Policy

There are also various reasons why replacement of an existing insurance policy may not be a good idea. For example,
Cash value built up in the original policy may be applied to the new life insurance policy's first year expenses, including commissions.

Life insurance policies (other than term policies) often include early surrender charges, which can reduce the amount of cash value available toward the new policy. The new policy will likely have its own new surrender charge schedule, which may extend beyond that of the original policy.

You may pay higher premiums if, for example, your health has declined since the purchase of the current policy.

The new policy typically will have a new contestability period - a two-year period from the issuance of the new policy during which the insurance company could challenge a death claim based upon a misstatement on the application.

There may be unfavorable tax consequences caused by surrendering an existing policy, such as a potential tax on outstanding policy loans.

What You Should Watch For

You should exchange your life insurance policy only when you determine, after knowing all of the facts that the exchange is better for you and not just better for the person who is trying to sell the policy to you.

Both variable life insurance and variable universal life insurance are securities. Those who offer these products must follow SEC, FINRA, and state securities regulations, in addition to state insurance law. This means that a broker must tell you the important facts about the pros and cons of the exchange. Your broker or insurance agent should recommend such an exchange only if it is in your best interest and only after evaluating your personal and financial situation and needs, tolerance for risk, and the financial ability to pay for the proposed insurance policy.

Your broker or insurance agent may recommend that you use insurance policy values, such as loans or withdrawals, to pay premiums for a new life insurance policy. This activity is generally called "financing" premiums. It may not be appropriate for you. For example, withdrawals from existing policies may be subject to federal income tax and may reduce the death benefit. Borrowing money from an existing policy will almost certainly reduce the death benefit. Withdrawals or loans may make it more difficult to keep the original policy in force without additional out-of-pocket premium payments. If you can't keep the original policy in force, you will lose the insurance protection and the loans themselves may give rise to tax consequences. Remember for a transaction to qualify as a 1035 exchange, the old policy must actually be exchanged for the new policy. Many states and brokerage firms require forms to reflect customer acknowledgement of a replacement transaction. These forms typically are signed by the insurance policy owner and the broker or agent. These forms may provide a comparison of the features and costs of an existing policy to a proposed policy, and point out what you need to focus on when considering an exchange. Some brokerage firms may provide brochures or educational material designed to outline the possible advantages and disadvantages of the transaction. You should review these forms and materials closely.

Regardless of whether such forms are provided, you should specifically ask the person recommending that you exchange or replace your existing policy to provide you with illustrations for your existing policy and the new policy. You should also ask:

What is the total cost to me of this exchange?

What are the new features being offered?

Why do I need those features?

Are these features worth the cost?

Can the existing policy be modified or supplemented to provide some or all of these same features?

Will you be paid a commission for the exchange, and if so, how much is it?

You should not sign any exchange form or agree to exchange or purchase an insurance policy until you study all of the options carefully, have all of your questions answered, and are satisfied that the exchange is better than keeping your current policy.

If You Have Questions or Complaints

If you have questions or complaints about a life insurance policy exchange, you can contact FINRA, the SEC, your state securities administrator, or your state insurance commissioner.

Reference Material

For additional information about variable life insurance policies or variable annuity contracts, go to:
Notices to Members 99-35 and 00-44
Investor Alert - Should You Exchange Your Variable Annuity?
SEC Variable Annuities: What You Should Know
Press Release - NASD Regulation Files Six Enforcement Actions Involving Marketing and Sales of Variable Annuities
Press Release - NASD Regulation Announces Two Enforcement Actions Involving Sales of Variable Annuity and Life Insurance Contracts

To receive the latest Investor Alerts and other important investor information sign up for Investor News.

FREE ONLINE LIFE INSURANCE QUOTES & APPLICATIONS

2011-07-28T07:30:00.001-07:00

Life Insurance is for all stages of life...

Let us assist you with one of the most important purchases you will make in your lifetime...LIFE INSURANCE!

Jersey Benefits will make the process of getting life insurance coverage easy.

1) Click Here to take you to our website for your free online quote.
2) We will instantly present you with several options from leading insurance companies.
3) Select your option and complete an application. In most cases, your application can be completed online.
4) We submit your application to the insurance company. Turnaround time can vary from one day to 3 - 4 weeks, depending on the carrier.

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Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. Offering Life Insurance Online

2011-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. has partnered with One Resource Group, Inc. to develop and market an online life insurance quotation system that allows individuals to enter their information and receive competitive quotes from major insurance carriers online. In most cases the application can also be completed online. There is also a direct toll free line to speak to a customer service representative, as well as an email link to ask questions or receive assistance with the quotation or application process.

This system eliminates speaking to numerous agents who call with quotes, which is the model used by many websites that market insurance quotes. For people who wish to complete the process totally on their own, and like to evaluate numerous quotes independently before applying for insurance, this site should satisfy their needs. The site is sleek, efficient, easy to navigate and does exactly what is intended. Quotes are free and no money is exchanged until the individual is approved for the policy quoted.

Of course, anyone who is interested in talking to an insurance advisor, who will meet with the client in the traditional face to face manner, simply needs to contact the company either by telephone or email to set up an appointment. Through the ORG network, Jersey Benefits Group, Inc. can assist individuals outside the state of New Jersey in locating insurance professionals who can meet with them face to face. The toll free number to call, outside New Jersey, is (855) 802-4123. Within the state of New Jersey, clients can contact the office directly at (609) 827-0194.

Issues in Planning

2011-05-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Nobody can deny that planning is important for a business to succeed because it enables companies to have a sense of direction on what they want to accomplish and how to accomplish it. However, there are also issues in formalized planning that have been raised because of the changing global environment that has challenged the importance of planning itself. Some of these issues should be faced because they mirror the real environment today. Here are some of the issues:

1. Planning can create rigidity - this means that when a plan is made, it is usually made with a specific time frame and the steps that need to be completed within this time frame. However, these kinds of plans are made on the assumption that the environment would not change during that period except for the forecasts that were made at the time of planning. With this kind of planning, managers will have a hard time adapting to unique situations with new ideas and methods because the time frame and the rules had already been set.
2. Planning isn’t suited for a dynamic environment - the environment today is constantly changing, and as such, plans are usually discarded because it is no longer relevant to the situation that companies find themselves in.
3. Plans cannot replace creativity and intuition - most successful organizations are founded on creativity and intuition. But as companies grow bigger, they tend to become more formalized. This development makes it hard for companies to continually innovate and come up with new ideas so they tend to lag behind from the competition.
4. Plans tend to focus a manager’s attention on today rather than tomorrow - plans are usually created with a set of tasks that a manager should do on an everyday basis. This hinders him from looking ahead and seeing what may happen in the future. It also limits the manager from grabbing opportunities because he is busy following the guidelines of the plan.
5. Formal planning enforces success which may lead to failure - it is hard to change plans that had been proven to be successful in the past. But these successful plans may be the cause of the downfall of the company if managers aren’t responsive enough to changes.

With all these issues comes the question, “Is planning still relevant?” Yes, it is because businesses would have a hard time surviving without a specific plan in place. The entire organization would become disorganized without proper planning. Actually, everyone agrees that having a plan is crucial for an organization’s success; the problem only arises when the plans begin to become too rigid to accommodate changes in the business environment. So the key to successful planning is to create plans that are flexible enough to adapt to possible changes tomorrow.

Small Business Asset Management

2011-04-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Business assets are the things that keeps the business going so all businessmen should realize that asset management is an important part of managing a dynamic and profitable business. There are two types of business assets that businessmen should look into, the first is the cash asset and the second is the physical asset.

Obviously, you need to manage your cash flow properly to sustain business operations, pay your workers, and buy raw materials. However, cash assets are probably the most difficult kind of asset to manage because you need to balance the lead time wherein your buyers would pay if they buy on credit, and the time it takes for you to buy the raw materials once again for production.

On the other hand, managing the cash assets is also important because you need to pay the government a certain amount of cash from your profit. Sometimes, the taxes you have to pay are already due even when you have not received the payment for your products in cash yet. So how can you reconcile this problem with the necessity of paying taxes? Well, this is exactly the reason why you need to manage and anticipate issues such as this one even at the beginning of the year so you can avoid being in debt to the government. However, if this scenario has already happened then the next best thing you can do is to ask your buyers to pay you in advance if possible.

Meanwhile, keeping track of your physical assets such as your inventory and equipment is likewise important for you to sustain effective and efficient business operations. You should note that it is sometimes required for you to conduct a physical inventory just to make sure that everything is in place. In addition, you should realize that all assets that have a value can be considered as a physical asset. For example, you might already know that the machinery you use for production is an essential asset for your company. But it is also important to remember that even the chair you are sitting on in the office is considered to be an asset therefore you need to include it in your list of assets and liabilities.

Keeping track of your assets will likewise enable you to keep an accurate record of the real status of your business. In the long run, proper asset management will enable your business to grow and expand without any problems because you know your real capacity to meet the needs of the marketplace. Even minor assets that you normally ignore should be recorded. Asset management should definitely be taken seriously as this is part of managing a successful business that is ready for the future.

Keywords Are King

2011-03-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

There are a number of different methods people use to advertise their online businesses, but there is one thing that ties all of these tactics together. Every single method used by a business today is successful primarily because of keywords utilized. Keywords drive search on the internet and that is exactly why Keywords are King in the land of online marketing.

Importance

The importance of keywords has to do with search engines. How many times have you been interested in learning about a specific topic and then searched online in a search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing? If you are like most people that have used the internet, the answer is quite often. While some people might exclusively search online encyclopedias and other products like that, many people will use search engines to scan the internet. This amounts to hundreds of millions of people conducting billions of searches each day.

As a website owner, you want keywords that you use on your website to be the keywords that people put into the search engines. If you do the keyword placement correctly, ultimately you will have search engine success. This is exactly why keywords are so important in the grand scheme of things.

Plan of Attack

Having a plan of attack for your keywords when you set up your website is always a good idea. The best way to formulate that plan of attack is to first think of keywords directly related to the website that you are building. For example, a website on Slim-Fast would greatly benefit from keywords like "weight loss", "diet" and "diet drink". Once you have a list of very obvious keywords, your goal is then to run those keywords through keyword tools and figure out what people have been searching for in relation to those words and compile a list of keywords in this way. Then, come up with synonyms and search for the synonyms. It is a good idea to have at least 100 keywords for a website before you formulate your plan of attack and going through this process will ensure that you probably end up with a lot more.

Search Engine Optimization

Part of your plan of attack has to revolve around getting those keywords into places on your website where they will attract the interest of the search engines, and the process of doing this is known as search engine optimization. Search engine optimization essentially means getting important keywords into the titles and sub-titles of the website pages that you have and also making sure that keywords are sprinkled throughout the text in appropriate percentages. All of this may sound like a simple concept, but it is difficult to master. So, if you are putting together a website learning the basics of search engine optimization is a very good idea.

Why Businesses are Paying More Attention to Their Customers

2011-02-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

If you have heard the saying “the customer is always right” you are among the hundreds of millions of people who have also heard this phrase. While this may or may not be the case, the customer does have a lot of say and influence in how a company or business performs and its current and potential success. Today, more and more business owners are paying more attention to what their customers say and feel.

Business owners know that their customers are the key to their success. If there are no customers there is no business. Keeping the customers happy keeps the customers returning for future business transactions, which is good for both the customer and business owner. Many business owners authorize customer surveys to be distributed either electronically through email or through the postal service.

Customer satisfaction surveys give the business owner a good idea of what the customer thinks about the services and products. These surveys allow the business owner to ask specific questions about the customer’s most recent experience, a particular product, and the freedom to provide any additional comments that he or she may want to share. This survey system is incredibly useful in keeping a business on target with what its client base is interested in and wants.

What a customer thinks of a particular product or service is vital information to a business. Knowing what the clientele is thinking allows a business owner to get the upper hand on competitors and to provide customers with what they want. The happier the customer is, the happier the business is, so to speak.

Businesses that actively seek out the opinions and thoughts of their customers usually attain loyalty from those customers and clients. Loyalty to a particular brand or business is essential to success. With this loyalty comes free marketing in the form of word of mouth advertising. In most cases, satisfied customers will tell their family and friends about a great new product or a great service provided by a particular business. During these discussions, the customer’s friends and family will consider the item or service then check it out for him or herself later. Word of mouth advertising gives the business more credibility than simple paid advertising.

Any business owner that wants to ensure success for his or her company is wise to consider the thoughts of the customer-base. Listening to the customers’ thoughts, needs, wants, and ideas can help improve business dramatically and thus ensure customer loyalty. New customers help businesses grow, however returning loyal customers make all the difference. It is easy to get a customer for the first time, however it is much more difficult to get the customers to return if they are not satisfied.

Look for Seven Red Flags When Applying to a For-Profit College

2011-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

Enrollment at for-profit schools—including trade schools and online universities—has skyrocketed in recent years. Unfortunately, not all schools offer a quality education and enrolling in a sub-par program can be a waste of time and money. When checking out for-profit schools, the Better Business Bureau recommends doing your research and looking for five red flags.

For-profit colleges enroll 1.8 million students—a number that has increased significantly in the last decade, according to the US Department of Education. While for-profit schools are becoming a more popular option for students, a recent investigation by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some are misleading students about the cost and quality of the education they will receive.

“If you’re looking to expand your horizons and get a better education, take the time to explore all of your options and do your research,” said Alison Southwick, BBB spokesperson. “Not all post secondary schools offer the same level of education and you can waste tens of thousands of dollars and years of your life if you sign up with an institution that doesn’t meet standards.”

When applying to a for-profit school, the BBB recommends looking out for the following red flags:

The recruiter uses high-pressure sales tactics.
If a sales rep is subjecting you to high pressure sales tactics—including bullying you or claiming you have to sign up immediately, just walk away. A reputable school will take the time to answer your questions, allow you to talk to a financial aid advisor and not push you into making a hasty decision.

The recruiter exaggerates potential income or guarantees a job.
Beware of any school that guarantees you will get a job after completing their program. Landing a job is never a sure thing, especially in this economy. If the representative tells you how much money you’ll make after completing their program, confirm it with a third party—don’t just take their word for it.

The prices are inflated when compared to other options.
A recent GAO investigation alleged price gouging at some for-profit schools. As an example, one school charged $14,000 for a certification in massage therapy while a similar certification at a local public college would have cost only $520. Before signing up with any for-profit school, do your research and compare costs against other for-profit schools and public colleges.

The school is not accredited.
Accreditation is extremely important, but not always easy to confirm. Ask the school’s representative about national and regional accreditation and then confirm with the accrediting organization. You can check with the US Department of Education at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ to learn which post secondary schools are accredited by approved agencies. More information on the importance of accreditation is available through the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s website.

The degree or program seems too easy to obtain.
Diploma mills pose as online schools and often promise to give you a cheap and easy degree. Unfortunately, such diplomas aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on and won’t be recognized by the military, employers or other colleges. If the degree seems too easy to earn—this includes simply taking a test online or earning your degree based largely on life experience—it probably isn’t legitimate.

The school does not disclose information as required.
Some of the for-profit schools the GAO investigated "failed to provide clear information about the college's program duration, costs, or graduation rate despite federal regulations requiring them to do so." Don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions when talking to recruiters and if you get the runaround instead of clear, concise answers, it’s a bad sign.

The recruiter encourages you to lie on financial aid forms.
The GAO report also found that some recruiters encouraged students to lie on their financial aid applications in order to get more money from the government to pay for tuition. If you get caught lying on your financial aid forms, not only will you have to pay the government back the money you borrowed, you could be fined and sent to prison.

For more advice on managing your personal finances and finding trustworthy businesses, visit The Better Business Bureau

Apple iPad (64GB)

2010-12-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

From CNET Reviews:

The good: In an act of aggressive tech convergence, Apple has consolidated your Netbook, e-reader, gaming device, photo frame, and iPod into an elegant, affordable supergadget. Features such as Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, movie rentals, 10 hours of battery life, optional 3G wireless, and the most-celebrated App Store on the planet have us pretty worked up.

The bad: The iPad's large size is as much a hindrance as it is an advantage. As a jack-of-all-trades and a master of few, the iPad can't entirely mimic many of the specialized products it seeks to replace. The iPad's lack of front or rear cameras, Flash support, and integrated HD video output already have us pining for next year's model.

The bottom line: The Apple iPad is the first affordable tablet computer worth owning, but it won't (yet) replace your laptop.

Review:
Editors' note (November 23, 2010): The following review has been updated to reflect new features added with Apple's iOS 4.2, and includes battery test results from CNET Labs.

The Apple iPad is an unprecedented device. It doesn't shoot rainbows or make puppies, but this roughly 8x10-inch tablet computer melds your laptop, smartphone, gaming console, and iPod into a single, affordable, unfortunately named thing.

Of course, we come to you with a standard list of complaints. The absence of an integrated video camera puts the kibosh on any hope of using the iPad for video chats, and without Flash video support, many Web pages look like Swiss cheese. But the biggest problem with the device is coming up with bullet-proof reasons to buy one.

Because the iPad is an entirely new class of device, you'll probably need to lie to yourself a little to justify the purchase. But at this point, any CNET readers worth their salt have mastered the art of making excuses to buy new gadgets.

For the uninitiated, Apple has posted a cheat sheet of demo videos that provide a smorgasbord of reasonable answers to the question: "Why do I need an iPad?" To hear Apple tell it, the iPad is a Web browser for your living room, an e-book reader for the den, a movie player for the kids, a photo album, a jukebox, a gamer's best friend, a word processor, an e-mail machine, and a YouTube junkie's dream come true. No excuse good enough for you? Wait a few minutes and a developer will inevitably make an app for it.

Whatever you need to tell yourself to buy an iPad, we can safely say the device is a worthwhile addition to any wired home. We don't give much weight to the pundits who say that the iPad is the future of the personal computer, but we think it's the most entertaining gadget we'll see all year.

What is it, exactly?

If you're coming to this review already versed on the nitty gritty of what the iPad is and its roots in the iPhone and iPod Touch, feel free to skip ahead. Otherwise, here's the scoop:
The iPad is a touch-screen tablet computer, roughly the size of a magazine, with three models that connect to the Internet strictly over Wi-Fi (16GB for $499, 32GB for $599, 64GB for $699) and three that use a combination of Wi-Fi and AT&T's 3G wireless (16GB for $629, 32GB for $729, and 64GB for $829--pay-as-you go for the data subscription).

The iPad runs the same software found on Apple's popular iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple calls this software the iPhone OS, and it's generally regarded as one of the most successful operating systems designed for use with touch-screen devices. Unlike conventional computer OS software, designed around the mouse and the keyboard, the iPhone OS responds only to touch input and is generally capable of running only one application at a time.

If you've ever used an iPhone or iPod Touch, the iPad will feel immediately familiar. Out of the box, you get many of the iPhone's capabilities, including Apple-designed applications (apps) for Web browsing, e-mail, maps, photos, music, video, YouTube, and more. More apps can be installed using the built-in App Store software or by connecting the iPad to iTunes via your computer using the included cable. If you already own apps purchased for an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can transfer these apps to the iPad, as well.

Design

Apple rarely skimps on design and the iPad is no exception. The screen is made of the same oleophobic-coated glass as the iPhone 3GS', making it relatively easy to wipe away the fingerprints and smudges it inevitably collects. Behind the glass is an LED-backlit, 9.7-inch capacitive touch screen that uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology for above-average viewing angles.

Below the screen sits a Home button that looks and behaves exactly like the one on the iPhone and iPod Touch, bouncing you out of any open app and placing you back in the main menu. Matte aluminum wraps around the backs and sides of the iPad, tapering a bit around the edges. If you've ever held one of Apple's unibody MacBooks, you know exactly the kind of feel and finish of the iPad's aluminum. Unlike the polished chrome of the iPod or glossy plastic of the iPhone, the back of the iPad seems less likely to show wear. Of course--as with any Apple product--there are already hundreds of cases for the iPad, should you feel the need to give it extra protection.

The iPad measures 7.47 inches wide by 9.56 inches tall by 0.5 inch thick, and weighs 1.5 pounds (or 1.6 pounds for the 3G model). Held in your hands, the dimensions and heft have a natural, magazine-like feel. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad sports a finger-friendly OS with an onscreen QWERTY keyboard, and an accelerometer that can detect whether the device is in portrait or landscape mode. The buttons, switches, and ports around the edges of the iPad also mimic those of the iPhone. A 30-pin dock connector sits on the bottom, along with a small integrated speaker. On the right edge you have a volume rocker and a switch that works to mute any intrusive alert sounds, such as the chime of an incoming e-mail or a Game Center friend request.
The iPad's refined feel and high-quality materials won't surprise Apple devotees, but in the larger landscape of tablets, Netbook computers, and e-readers, the design feels distinctly upscale--especially given its price. Next to the Asus Eee PC, Amazon Kindle, or Fusion Garage JooJoo, the iPad looks like it was made on a different planet (where plastic doesn't exist). We don't make the point to be snobby, but looks matter considering that all these devices are marketed as living-room accessories.

Size also matters. As one of the first tablet computers to go mainstream, you'll need to assess the iPad's size on a case-by-case basis. For the advertised purposes of Web browsing, reading books, and checking your e-mail, we found the magazine-size screen perfectly adequate. After years of watching videos on devices like the iPod Touch, or even dedicated video players like the Archos 5, video playback on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen feels downright luxurious.
For all its charms, however, the iPad is not as portable as we'd like. Part of the problem is psychological.

Logically, you know the iPad's dimensions are no less portable than a book. But when a book costs between $500 and $800 and is made of glass, you treat it differently. Without being tucked away in a messenger bag or protective case, walking outside with an iPad in your hand feels like slapping the laws of gravity in the face.

We'd also be lying if we didn't say we wish the iPad could be a little thinner and lighter. At 1.5 pounds and half an inch thick, it makes most Netbooks look bloated, but he iPad is slightly heavier and thicker than most dedicated e-book readers, including the relatively large Kindle DX. If your dream is to relax in a hammock with an e-book in one hand and a tropical drink in the other, plan to avoid the iPad's glass screen hurtling toward your face when you doze off.
iOS

Unlike many of the tablet-style devices we've encountered, the iPad doesn't run a conventional OS (operating system) such as Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X. Instead, Apple decided to use the mobile version of OS X from what is arguably its most successful and fastest-growing product: the iPhone .
In our view, Apple's use of the iPhone OS distinguishes the iPad from the competition. As dozens of iPad alternatives come out of the woodwork, touting all sorts of advantages and added features, the iPad will remain the only tablet computer on the market with access to Apple's App Store.

In our view, Apple's use of the iPhone's iOS distinguishes the iPad from the competition. You don't need to worry about traditional computer headaches, such as scattered files on your desktop, installing drivers for third-party hardware, or trying to figure out where you put a downloaded image. Instead, all your apps are clearly laid out, organized in a grid of nickel-size icons that respond to a single touch. If you download an image from a Web page or e-mail, it appears in your photo library, without fail. If you need to search for anything--a song, an e-mail, a photo, or a Web page--double-clicking the Home button brings up a Spotlight search feature that covers just about everything on the device. On the iPad, the organizational metaphor of the folder does not exist, and the effect feels liberating.

For the most part, the iPhone's iOS feels like a natural fit for a device like this. Some of you, however, will probably feel suffocated by Apple's totalitarian control over the iPad's OS.
Purchasing software and media on the device makes Apple's "walled-garden" approach to the iPhone OS frustrating to a wider audience. The only way for users to purchase and download movies and music on the iPad is to use Apple's integrated iTunes store. If you want to buy new software for the device, you'll need to go through Apple's integrated App Store, which displays only applications deemed acceptable by Apple. Compared with the more laissez-faire approach of a Windows Netbook, for example, the iPad user is giving away freedom of choice in exchange for convenience. (One upside: In theory, Apple's top-down control over the iPhone OS and the commerce within it also serves to minimize the iPad's vulnerability to computer viruses.)

With the free iOS 4.2 update Apple rolled out in November 2010, the iPad gains several new features that were previously only available to iPhone 4 and iPod Touch users. The most notable new additions include app multitasking, a universal e-mail inbox, threaded e-mail messages, and home screen folders. Other significant improvements include support for Apple's new AirPlay wireless streaming standard (compatible with Apple TV, iTunes, and select models of compatible third-party speakers) and AirPrint, a method for printing documents to compatible printers using apps such as Safari, Photos, Email, iWorks, and others. For gaming fans, the updated OS also brings Apple's Game Center app, which allows you to track your game scores and achievements and set up multiplayer games with friends or strangers. All in all, the update offers many improvements to the already excellent product, without any noticeable sacrifices in performance or reliability.

Everything old is new again

You can't place calls with the iPad (at least, not without a VoIP app) or easily text message your friends, but the other built-in capabilities are essentially the same as those on the iPhone 4. That said, the iPad can be pushed much further than any nonlaptop mobile device we've tested, including the iPhone. Because of the iPad's extra screen size, default apps such as the Safari Web browser, e-mail, iPod, video, maps, photos, and YouTube all look and behave much more like full-blown applications. The iPad's e-mail app, for example, is a doppelganger for the Mail application in Apple OS X, offering an overview of your in-box alongside the text of any currently selected message. The photos app could easily be mistaken for Apple's iPhoto, with its opening view of photos arranged in event-specific stacks. The iPod app looks and behaves like an abbreviated version of iTunes, for better or worse. And the YouTube app plays out like a prettier version of the actual Web site. Paradoxically, the two apps that have changed the least, Maps and the Safari browser, give the most radically different experience thanks to the iPad's big screen.

Size is meaningless without grace. Luckily, the iPad has both qualities in equal measure, helped by a new 1GHz Apple A4 processor, capacitive multitouch display technology, and an integrated Wi-Fi antenna compatible with the latest 802.1n wireless spec. Apps launch within seconds; waking from sleep mode is nearly instantaneous; and even a cold boot-up takes just 18 seconds. Even if your local Wi-Fi network isn't up to 802.11n speeds, the Web-browsing experience often feels faster than on an iPhone or iPod Touch on the same network, simply because you're doing a lot less scrolling and zooming to get to the information you need.

Other hardware features include Bluetooth 2.1, a stereo audio output (headphone jack), a built-in speaker, an integrated lithium ion rechargeable battery, NAND flash memory, an integrated accelerometer (tilt sensor), and an ambient light sensor. Apple's third-generation iPod Touch can claim many of the same features, but lacks the iPad's integrated digital compass, built-in microphone, and mute switch. It's also worth noting that the iPad's speaker is noticeably louder than the speaker included on the iPhone and iPod Touch, with a slightly beefier sound (though still ugly to listen to). Apple doesn't include earbuds with the iPad, so do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a nice pair.

A 3G wireless-compatible version of the iPad is also available, which includes a SIM card tray, as well as assisted GPS capabilities.

Bluetooth

Just like the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch, the iPad includes wireless Bluetooth audio capabilities. We tested the iPad with an Altec Lansing BackBeat stereo Bluetooth headset, and the audio quality was on par with results from the third-generation iPod Touch. The pairing process was easy and incident-free. In the music player, a small Bluetooth icon appears next to the player controls and toggles audio back and forth between the speaker and the headset. The iPad's Bluetooth capabilities also allow peer-to-peer networking for gaming and wireless keyboard support for compatible writing applications.

iTunes Store and App Store

In the same way the iPad's apps all look and behave much more like Apple's full-blown OS X applications, the iPad's integrated iTunes Store could easily be mistaken for the desktop iTunes Store. Size aside, all the same capabilities are here, including movie rentals and purchases, TV show downloads, audiobooks, and access to iTunes U. You can pay for purchases by setting up an iTunes account with a credit card, or by redeeming iTunes gift cards.

The same can be said for the iPad version of the App Store; it looks and acts more like the store experience within Apple's iTunes software. Because the App Store is running on the iPad, however, the default display will bring up apps that are optimized specifically for the iPad.
Apple is encouraging developers to create new apps specifically for the iPad, which are not necessarily backward-compatible with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Because this is potentially an expensive proposition for users, we would like it to be easier to distinguish between an app designed for the iPhone and the same app designed for the iPad. There are dual-compatibility apps on offer that include both iPad versions and iPhone versions embedded within the same file, which Apple specially designates with a "+" symbol within the iPad App Store. We wish more apps were bundled this way to ensure broad compatibility, but we understand there's more money to be made in selling apps separately.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/apple-ipad-64gb/4505-3126_7-33958448.html#ixzz1FSBHwlisRead

Managing Your Real Assets

2010-11-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

You have probably already attended various seminars that teach you about strategies on how to manage your financial assets wisely. But have you ever wondered what your real asset really is? Sometimes, you may become so caught up in earning more profits and making more money that you might have lost sight of the things that really matter in your life. These things include your health, your family, your contentment, and your happiness.

Sadly, you will notice that a lot of seemingly successful businesspeople do not enjoy the real assets in life. They may drive the best cars that money can buy or live in posh houses, but what good are all these assets if they are suffering from poor health. They might be experiencing severe stomach or chest pain for which all money in the world is no compensation.

So if you are a businessperson who is constantly on the move tying to find better business opportunities and better investment mediums, you might want to determine if you are compromising your health in order to achieve these goals. One way to do this is to realize several things. The first is the fact that only you can manage your well-being because you are in control of your actions and your feelings. The second is that you need to let go of past failures that continue to haunt you because it will only make you suffer needlessly. Finally, you should remember is that it is possible for you to lose interest in life if you place too much emphasis on items that really don’t matter.

Through it all, it is most important to know who you really are because this will enable you to examine yourself properly so that you will know what can truly make you satisfied and happy. All these facts are pointed out not to tell you that money doesn’t matter because it does. But the real question is to what extent are you willing to sacrifice to have more money?

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself. The first is whether you would allow stress from work to hinder you from having joy in your life because it is possible to become so caught up with the problems involving work that you might not notice that you are continually making your body suffer from stress and neglect. The next question is whether you will still continue to give time to activities that will not provide a significant improvement on your quality of life. You usually hear about time management skills and its importance but are you really allocating your time wisely to fruitful pursuits?

The answers to these questions can help you to determine if you are really living a life that is worth living.

Residual Income Comes With Repeat Business

2010-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Residual income comes from other people reacting to a single action by the business owner. What better way to secure residual income then through repeat business? At its very heart residual income and repeat business go hand in hand. The most successful businesses know this and that is why they are successful. All it takes is impressing someone once to earn their business and money again and again. So repeat business will always equal a residual income stream.

The large corporations know and believe in repeat business. It is much easier to get repeat business than to get new business. It is also easy to build upon repeat business and use it to create new business. Every business owner will say that repeat business is essential to business success.

Repeat business is basically when a customer returns to a business to buy again. They have already been there once, liked what they got and came back. Chances are they also told some friends or family about their experience, too. Referrals are a big business builder too. People are more likely to shop somewhere if they were referred by a trusted friend or family member than simply through a response to advertising. Repeat business is more than it seems. It shows the business owner they are doing something right and that they have great products. The business owner who gets a lot of repeat business is going to be successful because he is building up a customer base of loyal people who believe and trust in the business. When customers become loyal they are usually customers for life.

Repeat business is a residual income stream that is secure and guaranteed. There is no other thing in residual income business that means more than repeat business. A business owner who is trying to discover the secret to success can stop when they discover the importance of repeat business. To capitalize on repeat business a business owner must understand how important it is. They have to treat these customers with the same loyal attitude they have. Many businesses have implemented customer cards that provide discounts and benefits to loyal customers. This is one example of a business capitalizing on repeat business. They are showing the customers they are appreciated and that they recognize their importance.

Overlooking repeat business and its impact on business is a fatal mistake any business owner can make. Business owners need repeat business to have that residual income stream that will make them successful. Every major corporation makes a large percentage of their profits form repeat business, which just goes to show how important it is. If the big guys are using it and benefiting from it then it obviously is an important factor in business success.

Refocus Your Energy!

2010-09-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

I challenge you to do this ONE simple thing, sometime today: Refocus you energy towards action!

Are you spending a lot of time on tasks that aren't productive...reading email, idle chit chat, over-researching, spacing out, doing too many things at once(and none of them get done)?

At the beginning of the week, or day, make a list of things you need and want to get done. Make sure you have your personal goals on that list too! Keep the list in front of you as you work and once each task is completed cross it off. It keeps you focused on action instead of meandering your way through your days with no real focus!

I find that making a list for myself at the beginning of each week keeps me focused, and minimizes stress, because I am not constantly trying to remember things I have to do and worry about what I am forgetting. I have the most important things to do marked with a star and do those first. If I don't finish all the things I have to do for the day I move it to the next day.

Try it, it helps!

Have A Great Weekend, See You Monday!

Utilizing Affiliate Programs

2010-08-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you own your own website or blog, affiliate marketing programs can greatly improve your income and enhance your credibility among your customers. When signing up for affiliate programs, it should involve consideration as to the types of information that you already have on your website or blog. For example, you are more likely to have increased sales if you own a website about cats and place affiliate links on your website related to pet care. The affiliate products that you promote should always be related to the primary website or else you run the risk of confusing potential customers. Confused customers may not provide the business you are hoping for.

There are many affiliate marketing programs to choose from, so selecting an appropriate one for your website should not be too difficult. Before you join, you want to be fully aware of the pay structure and any changes that could be made to the pay structure. Be sure to thoroughly review the affiliate program and make sure you understand it completely before you associate your name with it. Credibility is very important if you want to build a loyal group of customers. If you mislead them, they will not be back.

If you are an affiliate, many times you will need to do more than simply place their link on your webpage. Although, some affiliates are simply link based, others may provide you with an entire internet based operation, or what is sometimes called a turnkey solution. Be sure to keep the links on your site updated. Some companies may be promoting seasonal items and you will appear more credible if your links reflect the seasonality of your affiliates. If a customer visits your site in December and notices that you are still promoting summer items, they are more likely to leave your site without considering the other information or products that you offer.

Sometimes a company goes out of business and their links can be replaced by an adult site or one that is unrelated to your content. If you do not keep on top of updating your links, you could be promoting an offensive or unrelated site. You should constantly review the various links you've placed on your site and eliminate dysfunctional links, because customers can get very frustrated if a link doesn't do what it is supposed to do. If your website is professional, visitors are more likely to spend time on your site, come back for subsequent visits and eventually convert to being paying customers.

Internet Marketing At Its Best

2010-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

With the continued growth of the computer age, there is a whole new way of marketing a business. Especially for businesses who perform most of their transactions online. When reaching for online customers, internet marketing becomes the main target for your marketing efforts as it will attract the customers in your demographic – online users.

There are two distinct styles for online marketing, one is business marketing, the other is website marketing. With web site marketing the goal is to have people searching for particular services or products find your web site while conducting an online search through the major search engines. There are many facets involved in web site marketing and once a business is able to get them all clicking together, there is a good chance they will experience a major influx of new visitors to their web site.

On the other side are businesses that heavily promote their availability aimed at the internet users more so than the search engines. Buying internet advertisements, sending out emails and other promotional marketing materials that are designed to bring visitors to their online web sites, are just a few of the online marketing strategies being used today.

One of the things to remember with online marketing is to consider your home page as a billboard along the side of the road. If there is little traffic along the road, there will be few people who will see your billboard so your efforts should be focused on getting people on the right road. Looking at it from another perspective, there may be over a thousand people selling a certain brand of personal care items and they all have a web site, many provided free when they signed up and they all look alike and have the same enhancements.

If a person searches for the brand by name, there is no telling whose web site is going to pop up in the search results. If you own one of these thousands of sites, specific marketing will need to be done to guide that potential traffic to the site you own. To do this you can use pay-per-click advertising that you pay for based on the number of visitors who click through to your site.

Affiliate marketing is also a popular method of bringing visitors to your site. As a business, you agree to pay a certain percentage or dollar amount of a sale to another site, an affiliate, who drives the traffic to you. Essentially, you are gaining free advertising and only pay for it if your site makes a sale. While some link exchange programs have been successful in the past, having thousands of unrelated links to your site may turn search engines against you and lose your information from their engines and as a result from their results pages.

Three Questions To Ask Yourself When Looking For A Home Business

2010-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

The ability to stay at home is increasing rapidly as new opportunities appear constantly. Positions from sales representative opportunities to customer service and more. Finding the stay at home career that suits you can be as easy as asking yourself three simple questions. What do I truly enjoy doing? What amount of money or what is my budget for this business? What resources and tools do I have at hand, that can be applied toward the business? Asking these three questions will allow you to narrow down which field or areas of home business would best suit your interests as well as your personal needs.

Job Enjoyment
If you do not enjoy the job field you are in, over time you will begin to regret your job choice. It will become drudgery to go to work each day. The dissatisfaction of your job will lead to a decline in attitude and personal happiness, which can affect your relationships with family and friends as well as co-workers. Your job performance will also lack due to this feeling of dissatisfaction. Allowing yourself to understand what areas of work or business you enjoy will allow you to enter a job position knowing that this is a career you can perform every day and it will not lead to total dissatisfaction. There are always days were we do not feel like going to work even if we are in a dream job, but an enjoyable position is a must for job longevity.

Business Budget And Income Level
When entering into a home business you have to take the necessary time required to thoroughly study your budget and income needs. You need to have enough savings to live within the means required to pay your bills, purchase personal items such as food and any other needed items for a minimum of three months. This allows enough time for your business to become established and to provide a flow of income. You also have to understand the required amount of funds needed to begin your business. What is the cost of materials, advertising, web hosting and so on? You want to provide an adequate amount of funding for each area of your business thus allowing a sturdy base for your business to be built upon. The majority of home businesses fail within the first year often due to lack of budgeting.

Resources and Tools
You also have to take the time to consider what tools or resources that you may possibly already have on hand. Consider computers, Internet access and a home phone line. These items are generally already on hand and in use daily. With these three tools you can begin the majority of home businesses that are available.

Once you have the answer to each of these questions you will be able to make the most knowledgeable choice for your home business. This will allow you to begin your business by putting your best foot forward on solid ground. By taking the necessary time to prepare for your stay at home job, will ensure that your business can thrive and succeed.

Submit Articles to Directories to Increase Traffic

2010-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Submitting an article to an article directory is the most simple and effective way to gain quality traffic to your website. Many Search Gurus have considered Article Marketing to be the most effective method of gaining traffic to websites. The process of submitting articles to an article directory is also very simple. All you need to do is write an informative article and submit the same to the Article Directory. It makes no sense to write a thousand word article and put the readers to sleep. Keep the article small, informative and simple. Your article should convey the effectiveness of your website in the best possible way so much so that it will grab the readers attention, without getting too bored.

How can my website get visitors by writing articles? To have visitors you need to promote your website link. Every article directory allows its authors to promote their website link in the resource section of the Article Directory. The resource box is the place where you can speak about yourself, your website and your product. Keep the resource box as simple as you can. If your article is informative enough then get ready for a click on your website link through the resource box of the Article directory.

If your looking for good traffic and visitors to your website you have to make sure you submit your website to many Article Directories. Just submitting your article to one Article Directory will not help. You have to exhibit your website link to visitors so as to encourage them to visit your website and finally buy your product. You can get best results by writing multiple articles and submitting the same to multiple Article Directories. By submitting multiple articles to different Article directories you are actually marketing your website in the best possible way. My advice to you would be to take the initiative of submitting at least one article to a group of article directories everyday. I understand it can be a bit boring to submit articles to different article directories. If you do not have the time you can hire the services of professional Link builders who can not just help you in writing quality article but also submit the same to thousands of Article Directories on the Internet.

The effectiveness of Article Marketing is increasing everyday. Many people have started to realize the importance of submitting articles to article directories. If you’re new to the concept of Article Directory, I hope this article must have provided you with a basic idea about the subject. So if you’re worried as to why you have not been generating sales of your product. It’s high time that you start building links to your website through Article Marketing. To keep it simple you are not just getting back links to your website but most importantly getting quality traffic.

Five Steps to Avoid Work at Home Scams

2010-04-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

One of the pitfalls of working at home is that there are numerous scams out there. In the traditional job market spotting something that is not a real job or that is a bit shady is easy, but in the work at home environment where everything is pretty much virtual, it can be difficult. That is why when searching for a work at home job a person has to be ready to weed out the scams.

The following are 5 steps to use to spot a work at home scam. Each of the steps gives things to look at when considering a work at home opportunity. To use these 5 steps a person will go through each and see if the company passes or fails the step. A company needs to pass all 5 to be proven legit. By using all 5 steps a person should be able to avoid almost any scam out there without ending up losing money and wasting time on an opportunity that is bogus.

Step 1: The company gives no details. When looking at a company and the job offer there should be details that explain who the company is, what they do and what the job is all about. Working at home is not a secret affair and it should never be. If a company doesn’t give up information then it is likely a scam.

Step 2: The company requires payment up front to work with them. Now, this can be a weird area because in some cases up front payment is legitimate. Many people get caught up on this point. It is okay to pay upfront to get a sales kit in a direct sales situation. It is not okay to pay for an application fee or administrative fee. It is never okay to pay just to get information. If you are not getting actual product samples or sales tools then never pay.

Step 3: The company has no products or service. If a company does not immediately let a person know what they are selling then it is likely selling nothing. A company that is selling nothing is not a place where anyone should be working because it is a scam.

Step 4: The company is not known. It is rare that a work at home company will not have someone who knows about them. If the company is one that nobody has heard of and that no information can be found on them, then it is likely a scam. A real company will have buzz about it. People will be talking about them.

Step 5: Lastly, a person should always follow their gut instincts. If a business deal doesn’t feel right then it is likely not. A person should never go with a company or work at home position if they do not feel very good about it.

These 5 steps are the key to weeding out work at home scams. They can help a person to avoid falling for scams that can be quite costly. Many people who end up involved with a scam end up writing off the whole work at home experience. That is a shame, because there really are a lot of good work at home companies out there.

Explaining Internet Business Opportunities to Short Attention Candidates

2010-03-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Why would you want to involve a short attention span candidate in your Internet network marketing business? After all, are these not the folks that get lost stringing more complex thoughts together while at the same time not being able to sit still long enough to truly appreciate the depth of the information you are sharing with them? While it is true that a short attention span candidate may be a bit of a challenge to place into your down line, their value is indisputable: social butterflies, highly energetic, the toast of the town and the life of any party, this is the person who draws others like a magnet.

For every batch of leads which you have to obtain with your hard earned money, this kind of down line candidate will be able to bring you a similar batch within a fraction of the time at no cost! Furthermore, since these leads were generated by someone with that kind of enigmatic personality, the odds are good that the majority of these leads will be qualified, whereas the majority of the leads you can purchase are more or less generic. Thus, wooing a short attention span candidate for your down line is a major success story – but it requires a bit of finesse!

Explaining your Internet network marketing business opportunity to a short attention span candidate will require you to showcase the product and the network from the angle of fun, excitement, usefulness but also wonder, opportunity, and advancement. It is vital that you do not overwhelm this candidate with too many facts but instead break down the information you are going to give and only provide the kind of facts that are the most vital at the moment given and which at the same time will provide the hook that will cause the short attention span candidate to listen for more facts.

It is hard for novices to persuade these kinds of candidates to buy into an Internet network marketing business opportunity simply because they will mistake the jubilant personality of the candidate for definite buying in signals, only to realize that they failed to amaze the short attention span individual sufficiently to cause them to sign up. The trick to dealing with this kind of down line candidate is to first let them try the product, then turn them into a customer, and only later on, when the candidate has become a repeat buyer, to broker the suggestion that she or he will want to buy into the Internet network marketing business opportunity.

Knowing what makes this kind of customer buy your product time and again will tip you off to the course of action to take when involving this person in your down line. In addition to the foregoing, it will also help you to understand how to go about training them so that they will be able to train their down line in turn. Generally speaking, it is the experienced network marketer who will have the most success with this type of candidate while it is the newbie who will be wise to first hone their people skills and also sales skills prior to attempting a business partnership with this personality type.

Email Marketing Essentials

2010-02-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

If you want an email campaign to succeed, you don`t want to offend anyone when sending your messages. Turn off a consumer with your email and you can be sure they`ll tune out your message. Don`t let this happen to you!

A message that earns respect makes sales. That`s why I will begin with the topic of email etiquette. Train yourself to always stick to the rules below when crafting your email message to potential customers.

=> RULE #1 - ALWAYS WRAP YOUR LINES AT 65 CHARACTERS OR LESS

Whenever you write an email, always format the lines so that they`re 65 characters, or less, across. To do this, you may need to do a "hard return" by hitting "Enter" at the end of the line.

Wondering why to limit your lines to just 65 characters? (Good question! It shows you`re thinking.) There are two reasons that "less is more":

-- The first thing to remember is that looking at a computer screen for a long time causes EYE FATIGUE for many readers. The shorter span of characters across the screen makes reading easier and more appealing to the recipient of your email message.

-- The other reason to go short instead of long is this: some email clients AUTOMATICALLY ENFORCE LINE-WRAPPING at 60-65 characters on received messages. If your email is wrapped at 70, the content will arrive all "chopped up."This makes it unattractive...and worse -- unappealing.

-- Tip within a Rule #1: Email clients such as Outlook Express allow you to SET THE LINE-WRAP to any character-width you choose. That means you won`t have to hit Enter each time after typing 65 characters. Makes life easier!

-- Tip within a Rule #2 - You can type 65 asterisks or dashes in a Notepad file to create a template. Then paste your email below it to see if any lines extend too far to the right.

=> RULE # 2 - BE CAREFUL USING ALL CAPS

How many times have you changed the TV channel to avoid listening to a screaming car salesperson? No one likes a screaming salesperson...and no one likes a "screaming" email message, either. Odds are, when someone has over-amped the volume of their message by using too many capital letters (not to mention too many exclamation points and other punctuation) - you`re going to be turned off.

On the Internet, email messages written in all caps are considered yelling. It`s okay to write some sentences and some words in all caps, but don`t go overboard. (As you can see in this message, I`ve tried to use capital letters to help break up sections of the content from time to time)

-- Tip within a Rule: Consumers buy from a source they trust. Emails in all caps are perceived as "shady" or uneducated, and have an appearance that damages the credibility of an offer.

=> RULE #3 - WATCH YOUR Ps & Qs (Spelling and Grammar)

Would you be influenced by an email selling you something that had noticeable spelling and grammar mistakes? Sure you would...and the influence would be negative, not positive! When a consumer reads a sales message that`s filled with errors, they think to themselves, "Good grief, this person doesn`t even take the time to get his emails right. His product is probably the same quality as his emails."

When you`re in business, YOUR IMAGE IS YOUR REPUTATION and your reputation is the reason people buy from you or the guy down the block. It`s essential that you create an image of INTEGRITY, CREDIBILITY, and HONESTY in the mind of your prospects. Sending emails filled with errors doesn`t hurt your professional image...it destroys it. (Ouch!)

Generating Profitable Business Ideas

2010-01-22T05:52:00.001-08:00

All businesses are created first by ideas. Then once you're in
business you need ideas for marketing, advertising, solving
problems, product development etc. The difference between
success or failure could be one just one idea.

Communicating regularly with other business people can
generate many ideas. There are many resources online and
offline to meet new business people lie; seminars, chat
rooms, discussion boards, trade shows etc. Sharing your
knowledge, asking questions, and taking in new information
will stimulate your mind. Your brain will begin to put all this
information together to create profitable business ideas.

If you're not much of a communicator, try reading. Reading
can also stimulate your mind. Read business books, magazines,
e-books, web sites, journals, e-zines, newspapers etc. Your
brain will generate profitable ideas by absorbing and
rearranging this information on a regular basis.

Don't have a lot of time to read? You could listen to
business audio books, seminars and courses. Listen to
them in the car, while your doing house work, working in
the yard, or exercising. Also, tune in business related radio
stations. This will help you save time and generate
profitable business ideas at the same time.

There are a few extra tips that will help improve these idea
generation strategies. Take short breaks to brainstorm about
the information you absorbed. Keep a notepad and pen
handy to record your ideas so you don't forget them. All
businesses need profitable business ideas to stay ahead of
competition and survive.

Using Joint Ventures to Develop Your Business

2010-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

A joint venture is when two or more businesses join together to
work on a project for a set period of time. Doing joint ventures
with other businesses can increase your chances of beating
your competition, increase your sales and increase your profits
quickly. Plus:

-you can save money when businesses share operating costs

-you can get referrals from other businesses

-you can save valuable time when businesses share the workload

-you can offer your customers new products and services

-you can gain new business associates

-you can save money by sharing advertising and marketing costs

-you can get free advice and important information from other
businesses

You can find businesses to joint venture with online or
offline. While joint ventures are not for everyone, they
can help you develop new business. Here are a few ways to
find joint ventures online:

-subscribe and participate in e-mail discussion groups, online
forums and newsgroups that deal with your target audience

-subscribe to e-zines that deal with your targeted audience

-note on your Web site or e-zine that you are interested in
doing joint ventures

-search in your favorite web directories and search engines to
find businesses to joint venture with online

Once you find a business simply e-mail them your proposal.
Tell the business owner the benefits of the joint venture.
Explain to him or her why it would be a win/win situation for
both of your businesses. Give them a lot of compliments about
their business, Web site, products and services. Using all three
methods above will greater your chance of constructing a
profitable joint venture. Good Luck!

Alternative Ways To Gain Lifetime Customers

2009-12-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

You will always have more people that turn down
your offer than actually buy. They might not have
bought because of your price, payment options,
or any other possible reason. You will just end up
loosing all these potential lifetime customers.
However, there are many ways you can minimize
the loss of these prospects.

One way is to accept barter offers for your product.
Maybe the person can't afford to buy your product.
They may have something you could use in your
business or personal life. If the barter deal isn't fair
enough, either of you could add in some cash. You
may not make money but, they might buy other
products you offer.

Another way is to include a negotiation offer at the
end of your ad copy. Tell your reader if there is
something they don't like about your offer, they
could contact you and negotiate a different buying
offer. They may not like your price, guarantee,
shipping methods, payment options, etc. You can
gain a potential lifetime customer by being flexible
with your offer and negotiating instead of loosing
them.

A simple way to attract lifetime customers would
be to give people a freebie. The freebie should be
related to the other products or services you sell.
You may not be getting paid for the freebie, but
you will get a lot more people using one of your
products because it is free. If they are impressed
by your free product there is a high chance they'll
buy your other products in the future.

The last way is to sell your product at the price it
costs you to produce or buy it. You will usually
sell more products at a lower price than your
competition which equals more potential lifetime
customers. You will break even in cost but you'll
make your profit from the upsell and backend
products your sell your lifetime customers.

Ten Ways To Indirectly Get To The Top Of Search Engines

2009-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

There are millions of web sites trying to get listed in
the top 20 spots of the major search engines. That
amounts to a lot of competition! I say if you can't
get listed at the top, indirectly get to the top.

How do you do this? Look up the top 20 web sites
on the major search engines under the keywords and
phrases people would find your web site. The key
would be to then advertise on those web sites.

The most expensive way would be to buy ad space
on those web sites. If you don't want to spend any
money, you could use the ten strategies below.
These strategies may not apply to every web site.

1. Participate on their discussion boards. You could
post questions, answer other peoples questions, and
join in on conversations. Just include your signature
file and link at the end of your messages.

2. Ask the web site owner if they would like a free
ebook to giveaway to their visitors. You could have
them link to your web site or include your ad in the
free ebook.

3. Submit content to their web site. You could write
articles for their web site and include your resource
box and link at the end of the article. If they publish
it, you'll indirectly be at the top of the search engines.

4. Write an excellent article review of their web site,
products or services. Then publish the review on your
web site. E-mail the web site owner and tell him or
her about it. They may link to your web site so their
visitors read it.

5. Ask the owner of the web site if they would want
to trade advertising. If you don't get as much traffic
as they do, you could throw in some extra incentives.

6. Propose a cross promotion deal with the web site.
You both could promote each others products or
services together in one package deal. This means a
mention and link back to your web site.

7. Give the web site a testimonial for their product or
service. Include a little text link for your web site with
the testimonial. You never know; it could end up on
their ad copy.

8. Post your advertisement on their free classified ad
section on their web site. You want to be sure you
have an attractive headline so they will read your ad.

9. Post your text link on their free-for-all links page.
You want to go back and post your link regularly so
it stays towards the top.

10. Sign their guest books. You could leave a short
compliment about their web site on their guest book.
Just include your signature file and link at the end of
your message.

Quote of the Day:

"The truth that makes men free is for the most part the
truth which men prefer not to hear." -- Herbert Agar, in A
Time for Greatness

Six Ways to Generate Traffic

2009-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Undeniably, traffic is the backbone of every website. Thus, every webmaster must know how to generate traffic in order to keep their web pages alive and earn money through their sites. Here are the 6 great ways to make money with traffic generation:

Search Engine Optimization. Search engines can tremendously help you drive traffic to your website. Thus, you must know how to optimize your site by using relevant keywords on your content and on your domain name. To get optimum results, you must also submit your website to various search engines like Yahoo! MSN, and Google.

Article Marketing. Dubbed as one of the most efficient and cost-effective traffic generating tools. You can utilize this by writing extremely useful articles and distribute them to popular article submission sites to get quality inbound links to your webpage.

Link building. Search engines will rank your website based on the number of quality links that points to it. To make this work for you, exchange links with other related, established websites by sending requests to their webmasters. The more links you get, the higher your page rank will be.

Social networking sites. MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking sites can drive traffic to your webpage. All you have to do is make your profile page compelling and interesting so you can attract your potential clients to join your network.

Forums or discussion groups. Joining forums frequented by your target market can help you increase not only your traffic but also your sales and profits. Post replies and comments that will establish your expertise on your field. Through this, your potential clients will trust you and eventually, buy from you.

Blogging. Create your own web log and talk about your website. This is one of the most effective means to drive traffic to your site as blogs are constantly indexed by major search engines that results to more visitors.

10 Shocking Ways To Super-Charge Your Sales

2009-09-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today's feature article is:

10 Shocking Ways To Super-Charge Your Sales

1. Test different web site color themes to see which
combination will sell your product better. You can
also test the size and style of your web site text.

2. Promise your readers an end result or outcome
in your ad. You must give them a solid guarantee
that your product will solve their problem.

3. Never assume people believe the information in
your ad copy. You need to back-up all your claims
with indisputable evidence.

4. Give your customers free shipping. If you can't
afford that, you can give free shipping to customers
that buy over a certain dollar amount to raise profits.

5. Test your web site regularly for ordering glitches,
bad links, broken graphics, etc. Those types of
errors will make your business look unprofessional.

6. Use free advertising as much as possible. Test a
wide variety of free advertising options like banner
and link exchanges, classifieds, newsgroups, etc.

7. Build credibility for your business by publishing
an e-zine and writing articles. Your customers and
prospects will see you as an expert and trust you.

8. Answer all your e-mail messages as quickly as
possible. Nothing will loose a sale quicker than not
responding to a prospect in time.

9. Build a professional looking web site even if you
have a small budget. You could use free graphics,
designs, list servers, and other tools offered online.

10. Enter to win awards for your web site. When
you display the award graphics on your web site
it will increase your credibility and professionalism.

Your Home Business: Turning Pennies into Dollars

2009-08-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd share an article written by Stone Evans to
get you thinking about how making and saving small amounts of
money can translate into a larger payoff down the road. Most
small businesses do not explode into huge profits immediately.
It takes time and perserverence to build a business and indeed,
pennies eventually turn into dollars.

Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy

Henry Ford taught us that to simplify the manufacture of
automobiles, that the best way to do so was to install the
assembly line. That one change revolutionized the auto
manufacturing industry permitting the industry to build cars at
a cost whereas the average person could afford to buy one.

The lesson we should take from this is that having the ability
to improve the process of getting the job quicker and cheaper,
without compromising the quality of the job being done, will
help catapult the person who simplified the process to the top
of his/her field.

Pennies saved in your home business can turn into dollars at the
end of the day, and dollars can quickly multiply into hundreds
or thousands of dollars over time.

Doubt me if you will, but let me ask you a question. Do you
think a saving of two fifths of a penny could make any real
difference in the profit margin of a home business? Of course
the right answer is "it depends on how many transactions are
done in a year, utilizing the savings of the two fifths of one
penny."

You only have to think back a couple of decades to really
appreciate this question. Do you remember the nut that lived and
died in a Las Vegas hotel room? You know the one who was a
billionaire, and was so worried about germs that he died of
starvation? If you guessed Howard Hughes (1905-76), pat yourself
on the back.

Now Howard did not make all of his money on his two fifths of
one penny. He did however make a ton of money from his two
fifths of one penny. It seems Howard owned a can manufacturing
company. And one day, Howard`s team figured out how they could
make one minor change in the design of their food can to reduce
the amount of tin necessary to make a single can.

As the story goes --- if my memory serves me correctly --- the
reduction in tin usage equaled a saving of two fifths of one
penny per can. Howard --- being the really smart businessman
that he was --- decided that he would not be so greedy as to
keep all of the savings for himself. What Mr. Hughes did do was
to keep half of the savings for himself, and give the other half
to his customers. The incredible thing about Mr. Hughes decision
is that by saving his customers an extra one fifths of one cent
per can, he managed to take more market share away from his
competition --- netting his company an additional and
substantial portion of the total market share in the canning
industry.

Let us return our thoughts to your home business. Have you ever
gotten the feeling of excitement --- when you read something or
thought of something --- that you could not wait to implement
this new idea? This could be one of those moments...

In every home business, there are certain processes that we do
over and again. Sometimes it may be possible to trim the time or
expense of a process which in turn will add pennies or dollars
to your bottom line. If it is a process that you do hundreds or
thousands of times per month, then your savings will multiply
into hundreds or thousands of dollars in monthly savings.

Imagine what running a home business was like BEFORE the
computer...

Before the personal computer, we had to hand type all letters
and invoices. Now, we can setup a letter or invoice that we send
out quite often, and we can save it in our word processor so
that when we need to use it again, we can print it quickly and
efficiently. There is no longer a need to type the document
again from scratch.

The computer has simplified our business communications and has
provided us the opportunity to reduce our costs of doing
business.

Think about all of the other processes that the computer has
enabled us to do for far less expense than what we could in the
past.

In this case, the computer is a tool that permits us to save
time and money.

So, my challenge to you is to begin examining the processes in
your own home business and look for ways in which you can save
yourself time and money. It is far better for you to contemplate
on this matter than it is for me to do so for you. Simply put,
you know your business better than anyone on the planet does.
Therefore, you are in a better position than anyone to find
those extra dollars that will decrease your costs and increase
your profits.

The extra pennies and dollars you could extract from your
business could spell the difference between success and failure
for your home business enterprise.

How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals

2009-07-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

When you are the owner of a home business, you will find hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and focus. Common distractions include: children, family, friends, neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail, household chores, video games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many more.

As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember your purpose in bringing your profession home. What was your reason for wanting to own a home business? Was your goal to work from home so that you can share in the lives of your children? Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical boss? Was your goal to have the freedom to work when it is convenient for you? Was your goal to make tons of money working for yourself?

Here`s a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your home business:

TIP #1: Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your reason for starting your own home business, you will not be working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let circumstance drive your activities --- and when circumstance is in the driver`s seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.

TIP #2: Remember --- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others --- most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment --- go to work to work and to make money. When you work for yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your productivity. Therefore, wouldn`t it make sense to stay focused on getting as much done in as short of a period as possible? Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and recreation for when your workday has ended.

TIP #3: When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible. With small children, you must take time when you must, but you should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific number of hours to your workday.With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you will be working between the hours of x and y. Your children and your friends must understand that certain hours of your day are devoted to the activities of your business.

TIP #4: Don`t permit your friends and extended family to run over you. Many people get the blind idea that if one works from home then they are not actually working. Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice about getting a real job. Others may simply believe that if you are at home, then you are fair game for chitchat and socialization. You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and family understands that when you are working, then you ARE working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home business.You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your home business, unless you make the effort to make sure that they have the same respect for your business that you do.

TIP #5: You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to handling your written communications. Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these communications, you will soon find yourself on the downward slope of decreased productivity.

TIP #6: When you find yourself spending too much time doing non-productive activities, then you should seriously consider finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in those non-profitable business activities.As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far too much time taking care of your books to take care of your advertising in the manner that you should. In this event, it might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial records for you.

CONCLUSION: In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make. You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self and your dedication to the success of your business. Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your foot down when necessary. Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then, you must have the discipline necessary to reach them.

Are Tech Companies Helping Iran Censor the Net?

2009-06-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

By Alex Goldman:

At first, technology appeared to be playing a positive role in Iran's uprising, giving protesters an online voice through services such as Twitter.

Now, however, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Nokia Siemens provided Iran's government with the Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology it needs to monitor communications and crush dissent in an article entitled "Iran's Web Spying Aided By Western Technology -- European Gear Used in Vast Effort to Monitor Communications."

Nokia Siemens Networks has denied supplying DPI technology to Iran, but admits supplying the technology Iran needs to monitor cell phone and telephone conversations.

Amid the furor, Internet experts paint a more nuanced story. They say that there's a limit to what we can know about what's going on in Iran, but that it's clear that a firewall is active, and that traffic statistics suggest but do not prove that the government is interfering with applications.

What we know

Nokia Siemens Networks is the only other company, besides SmartFilter, fingered in the Wall Street Journal's article as providing technology to Iran. A representative of Nokia Siemens Networks told InternetNews.com in an e-mail that the only surveillance technology the company provided Iran is that used to monitor phone calls as required by law.

"In most countries around the world, including all EU member states and the U.S., telecommunications networks are legally required to have the capability for Lawful Intercept and this is also the case in Iran," the representative said.

The company did not supply DPI technology to Iran, wrote Ben Roome, head of media relations for Nokia Siemens Networks in a blog post.

"The restricted functionality monitoring center provided by Nokia Siemens Networks in Iran cannot provide data monitoring, Internet monitoring, deep packet inspection, international call monitoring or speech recognition," Roome wrote. "Therefore, contrary to speculation in the media, the technology supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks cannot be used for the monitoring or censorship of Internet traffic."

What we can guess

Internet traffic experts and DPI firms have been hard at work assessing the traffic into and out of Iran, but such data only provides a certain level of insight into the motives and actions of the government of Iran.

Experts believe that specific applications are being targeted, but cannot prove that the government is using a specific technology such as DPI.

"Why are they allowing traffic to continue? Why not switch it off," James Cowie of Renesys, a company that collects Internet traffic data, asked InternetNews.com. The implication is that anything the government allows in is something it can monitor.

The article appears to contradict itself. First it says "the Iranian government appears to be engaging in a practice often called deep packet inspection … The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia Corp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed."

Then it admits "It couldn't be determined whether the equipment from Nokia Siemens Networks is used specifically for deep packet inspection."
Did the Wall Street Journal accidentally misinterpret what Roome said? Roome suggests that's the case in his blog post, but network expert David Isenberg suggested that the misquoting might be intentional in his own blog.

"Chris Rhoads, the reporter who co-wrote today's story, also co-wrote a story that painted what I said to support something I didn't mean," Isenberg wrote. "Two other sources for that story, Larry Lessig and Rick Whitt, also felt the same way!"

The Wall Street Journal's recent record on headline-grabbing stories is patchy. Its report that fighter plane data was stolen turned out to be true, but the Journal had not mentioned that the data was stolen in 2005, so it was not a story about events that happened this year.

A Journal story that the U.S. electrical grid was hacked by spies may have been true but was difficult to assess because it is impossible to prove that spies and not hackers or criminals did the work. Again, malicious activity dates back for some time, in this case possibly to 1997.

Also, did the Wall Street Journal follow the lead of another publication? CNET today noted that a similar article accusing Nokia Siemens Networks of supplying a "spy system" to Iran appeared in the Washington Times two months ago.

Send in the orcs!

Observers should not jump to conclusions. It's possible that that heavy usage, not censorship, is the true cause of Iran's net slowdown. "Interestingly, game protocols like XBox and World of Warcraft show little evidence of government manipulation," wrote Arbor Networks' Labovitz. "Perhaps games provide a possible source of covert channels (e.g. 'Bring your elves to the castle on the island of Azeroth and we'll plan the next Ahmadinejad protest rally?')"

Our Take on the Situation

It is hard to imagine that the government of Iran would not use any means necessary to keep the people repressed under the current tyrannical regime. With all of the applications to filter the web for businesses and parents, the belief that an oppressive government would not use these applications to spy on the populace is a bit naive. It makes someone who was around for the 1984 rollout of the Mac shudder at the full circle the industry has taken in regard to the individual computer user.

Free Ways To Advertise Your Business

2009-05-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

For many companies and individuals, advertising a new business is a challenge. Budgeting funds to cover advertising costs can drain away capital needed for operating expenses, but without advertising many times nobody will know your business exists. If your business has a website, there are several methods you can use to get free advertising.

First of all, create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business advertisement at the top of the directory's home page. This technique will get lots of people to link to your web site and give you free advertising.

Secondly, you can use bonus advertising. Do you have a product or service that doesn't sell very well? Offer it as a free bonus for someone else's product or service. Get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the product or in the product package.

Another method of free advertising involves your autoresponder. Trade autoresponder ads with other businesses. If both of you send out information with autoresponders just exchange a small classified ad to put at the bottom or top of each other's autoresponder message.

Starting a free tip line can also generate free advertising. Offer a free daily, weekly, or monthly tip recorded on your voice mail or embedded in your email. The tips should be related to your business. Include your ad for your web site or business at the beginning or end of your message.

Finally, you can use content swap as a way to generate free advertising. Exchange content with other web sites and ezines. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

Improve Your Business Through Networking

2009-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

As an entrepreneur you'll come in contact with numerous other business people as you conduct your day to day operations. They could be lawyers, suppliers, customers or other business services providers. These individuals are important to your business in many ways. If they bought your product or service or if you hired them, you can also gain their business knowledge, experience, ideas, and advice if you stay connected to them. This is what networking is all about. Networking is when two or more different businesses stay in contact on a regular basis to help build and improve each others business.

Some of the benefits which can be gained by talking to other business people are:
• Knowledge or information that you didn't have before
• Advice on how to solve a current business problem
• Leads to a new business project or opportunity
• Joint ventures and cross promotion deals
• Learning important skills that you didn't have before
• Constructive criticism that improves your business
• Brainstorming that sparks a profitable business idea
• Encouragement and motivation for your projects

There are several ways to network with other business people. You could participate in business expositions and trade shows. You might visit business clubs and or take part in on-line business related forums, e-mail discussion groups or chat rooms. By using your creativity, you could come up with even more ideas.

If you have the time, you could start your own networking group. You could hold meetings at a local seminar room, at a park, or at your own business facility. If you want to hold meetings on-line you can use a private chat room. You should publish a print or e-mail newsletter to keep members informed of meeting dates and times.

It is helpful to keep all of your business associates' contact information in one place. Make sure it is organized by business type or profession for easy searching, so when you need some advice on a new marketing campaign you can call your marketing expert. Be sure to follow up and stay in contact by phone or email on a regular basis.

Another fantastic way to network with other businesses is to operate a joint venture. This is when two or more businesses join together to work on a project for a set period of time. Participating in joint ventures with other businesses can increase your chances of beating your competition, increase your sales and increase your profits quickly.

Other advantages of a joint venture are:
• money can be saved when businesses share operating costs
• referrals can come from other businesses
• valuable time can be saved when businesses share the workload
• new products and services can be offered to your customers
• new business associates can be gained
• money can be saved by sharing advertising and marketing costs
• advice and information can be obtained from other businesses

You can find joint venture opportunities with businesses online or offline. I try to find businesses that have the same target audience, but are not in direct competition with my business. Here are a few ways to find joint ventures online:
• subscribe and participate in e-mail discussion groups, online forums and newsgroups that deal with your target audience
• subscribe to e-zines that deal with your targeted audience
• note on your Web site or e-zine that you are interested in doing joint ventures, such as exchanging articles utilizing an article directory.
• search in your favorite web directories and search engines to find businesses for joint ventures online

Once you find a business simply e-mail them your proposal.Explain to the business owner the benefits of the joint venture.Discuss why it would be a win/win situation for both of your businesses. Provide feedback regarding their business, Web site, products and services. Using the methods above will enhance your chances of constructing a profitable joint venture.

Online Business Ideas

2009-03-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

There are some home businesses that allow you to begin working with minimal or no start up costs. To begin such a business all you really need is a computer, internet access and a website, although some businesses will even develop your website and provide it for you. This may sound to good to be true, but here are three examples of online businesses that you can begin operating within a day or two.

Affiliate Marketing : You may have seen advertisements online for this type of business opportunity. It is known as Affiliate Marketing. This type of business utilizes a company's business model, which you join and promote the sale of information, software, consumer products and more. There are a number of products or services that you advertise from a website developed for you. There are also books, videos or DVD’s on various projects. You do not actually do sales presentations, as this business is more of an advertising campaign and you earn commissions on sales and through affiliate signups.

E-store Operator: This position can be through an ebay store or something similar. You can purchase items at under wholesale prices and resell these items for a profit through an online store. You simply set up a type of online display of your items with a photo and price as well as an order page and payment method. You don’t even have to have merchandise in stock, as many companies that you order from will drop ship merchandise to your customer for you.

MLM Representative: MLM stands for multi-level marketing. Clickbank is one such operation. As a MLM representative, you are offering another companies services or products via an online site. These reps may or may not take orders, depending on the franchise, but they do not handle funds as a customer service center operates to take and process funds. You simply offer the product or service and advertise.

The above positions are only three of the many online buisnesses that are available to the general public. In order to find these positions you simply need to take time to search for online jobs through the Internet. You will find that there are numerous choices for online jobs that do not need substantial startup capital. This is helpful for college students or parents who simply do not have a large amount of money, but still have the desire to work form home. You can also find online job listings through the newspaper and books in your local library.

An online home business can be wonderful for those who need to be close to home. If you have elderly parents or small children that you need to care for while still making an income, a home business that is run online is perfect. A home business can also be good for those who are home bound due to illness or injury as well as retirees. Online jobs are available for the taking, its all a matter of taking the time to find one that suits you.

Marketing to People With a Short Attention Span

2009-02-05T05:13:00.000-08:00

Why would you want to market your Internet business to a person with a short attention span? After all, are these not the folks that get lost stringing more complex thoughts together while at the same time not being able to sit still long enough to truly appreciate the depth of the information you are sharing with them? While it is true that a short attention span candidate may be a bit of a challenge to place into your down line, their value is indisputable.

Many times these people are social butterflies, highly energetic, the toast of the town and the life of any party. This is the person who draws others like a magnet. For every batch of leads which you have to obtain with your hard earned money, this kind of down line candidate will be able to bring you a similar batch within a fraction of the time at no cost! Furthermore, since these leads were generated by someone with that kind of enigmatic personality, the odds are good that the majority of these leads will be qualified, whereas the majority of the leads you can purchase are more or less generic. Thus, wooing a short attention span candidate for your down line could be a major success story, but it requires a bit of finesse!

Explaining your Internet network marketing business opportunity to an individual with a short attention span will require you to showcase the product and the network not only from the angle of fun, excitement and usefulness, but also from the angle of wonder, opportunity, and advancement. It is vital that you do not overwhelm this candidate with too many facts, but rather that you break down the information and only provide the kind of facts that are the most vital. The short attention span individual needs to get the facts and a general feeling for the operational success of the program, or they will walk away.

It is hard for novices to persuade these kinds of candidates to buy into an Internet network marketing business opportunity simply because they will mistake the jubilant personality of the candidate for definite buying in signals, only to realize that they failed to amaze the short attention span individual sufficiently to cause them to sign up. The trick to dealing with this kind of down line candidate is to first let them try the product, then turn them into a customer, and only later on, when the candidate has become a repeat buyer, to broker the suggestion that she or he will want to buy into the Internet network marketing business opportunity.

Knowing what makes this kind of customer buy your product time and again will tip you off to the course of action to take when involving this person in your down line. In addition to the foregoing, it will also help you to understand how to go about training them so that they will be able to train their down line in turn. Generally speaking, it is the experienced network marketer who will have the most success with this type of candidate while it is the newbie who will be wise to first hone their people skills and also sales skills prior to attempting a business partnership with this personality type.

Sensible Financial Outlays for the Home Business Owner

2008-12-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Like many aspiring entrepreneurs, you may have decided to break free of your job to live your dream of working from home. You're ready to seize the opportunity for freedom, unlimited earning potential and chance to live your life exactly the way you want.

One of the biggest challenges you will face during the first two years will revolve around cash flow and money management. In order to give yourself the best chance possible of surviving the first two years so you can thrive from that point on, it's imperative that you achieve mastery in five areas:

1. Gain control over your spending today
2. Create a personal and business budget
3. Increase your financial IQ
4. Explore sources of capital
5. Think like a successful business owner.

First things first. Gain control over your spending today. Honestly evaluate your spending habits and identify where your money is going. Are you living beyond your means and buying things you don't really need? In The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, a focus group interview of ten first generation millionaires revealed that most millionaires don't own expensive clothes, watches or other status objects, and you won't find them driving brand new luxury cars. A millionaire Texan coined the expression, "Big Hat No Cattle" to illustrate the fact that many people like to create the illusion of wealth by making extravagant purchases yet have little to no financial wealth. Many of these people are deep in debt and if they were to lose their jobs today, wouldn't be able to survive three months on their savings.

Take control over unnecessary spending. Do you NEED 50 pairs of shoes and a matching purse for each? Do you NEED a new vehicle every three years? Before making a purchase, ask yourself if it will contribute to your building a successful business or take you further away from it. Create a budget. Do you know how much money you're bringing in each month and how much is going out? Budgeting doesn't have to be unpleasant or difficult and if you don't know where to begin, there are a multitude of helpful resources and articles on the Internet to get you started at no cost. Successful business owners understand the importance of a budget and follow it faithfully. If you have no interest or willingness to learn how to budget your money, business ownership is not for you.

Increase your financial IQ: You don't have to become a financial genius or investment guru, but you do need to have the basic skills. You can access a helpful questionnaire at http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/ww1/pdfs/01financialiq.pdf to help you measure your financial intelligence and identify areas requiring attention. Also, get your hands on the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki.

Explore Sources of Capital: The first year may require significant investment in equipment, education and marketing and there's no guarantee your business will start making money right away. Unless you have significant savings put aside for the start-up period, you will need to explore alternate sources of capital. Explore financing options through government programs, start-up loans, angel investors, partnerships, friends and family, and although I don't recommend this one unless you are proven financially responsible, credit cards. Depending on your product or service, perhaps pre-selling to your clients and customers would be feasible. Suppliers might also provide the start-up money you need. If you borrow money, even if from family or friends, always get agreements in writing and make sure the loans are set up with proper security, terms and conditions and a payment schedule.

Think and act like a business owner: When you transition from employee to entrepreneur, you will require a shift in your thinking. You will quickly discover that trying to get everything for free or at a "deal" will actually hinder your success. In the business world, you will be required to develop win-win relationships. If you require something of someone, how will you help him in return? Practice the Law of Reciprocity which means, learn to give and take mutually. In other words, when someone gives you something, give something of equal value back.

Master these five areas and you will significantly increase your ability to succeed. As you make financial decisions and begin to build your business ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my money in terms of supporting my business?" This evaluation process will become second nature through practice and will support you in making smart financial decisions.

Why Not?

2008-10-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

I came upon this article while doing some research, and found it to be inspiring. It is very similar to the epiphany I had in my life when I decided to become an investment advisor. If you have a goal or a dream, take the bull by the horns and go for it. At some point, you may find that instead of WISHING you were this or that, you have actually BECOME what you wanted!

Why Not?

Like most individuals on this planet, I have spent a good deal of time fantasizing about the life I would have if only I could choose. I would be more confident. I would be more adventurous. I would get more education and get a better paying job. I would choose satisfying and complimentary relationships. I would feel like I had a valid place in this world.

As much time as I spent fantasizing, however, I probably spent even more time wallowing in the misery of my real life and making excuses about why I couldn't accomplish these things. I began to assume that every day would be the same as the last. I even started to believe that dreams were for kids and for irresponsible people that intended to bounce from one failure to the next.

Then, one day I had an epiphany. At the time, I was a housewife raising three small children. Though I have the amazing ability to stretch a dime into a dollar, money was always extremely tight. My life centered around taking care of my children and finding ways to stretch the budget just to pay for the necessities of life.

I really loved being with my kids. I felt it was an important job and was willing to sacrifice to do what I felt was the right thing for my kids. But I had a good number of aspirations that didn't involve cleaning up messes, rereading stories for the hundredth time, or playing with bugs in the park. I wanted to be able to pay the bills each month. I wanted to become more confident and able to be part of an adult world. I wanted the freedom and ability to drive my children to various places. I wanted to see and learn a little bit about the world. I wanted to go to university and get my archaeology degree. In short, I wanted to be Tami, the person, and not just Mommy or Mrs. Brady.

For several years, I stewed about my quandary. I had always said I was going to go to university but frankly no one believed I actually would. The most vocal members of my family questioned why I would even want to go to university, especially to take archaeology. Archaeology was a job for single men. The only mothers who would dare train for such a job were simply trying to run away from their responsibilities. I had no intention of abandoning my family and so I eventually decided to give up on my dream.

My brother came to visit one day. We were both venting about our lives and talking about our bleak futures. I told him that I had finally given up on my hope of becoming an archaeologist. He asked me why I had to give up on this dream. I remember him saying "why not". Rather irritated at my single brother's grasp of the seemingly obvious, I explained the situation to him: my responsibilities, my lack of finances, my confidence issues, my lack of an adventurous nature, etc.

Over the next few weeks, for some reason, I just kept replaying that conversation in my head. I kept hearing "why not". Yes, I could list a whole book of reasons why I couldn't become an archaeologist. Strangely, however, these reasons seemed more like excuses.

I started wondering what I would tell my children if they were in my place. Surely, I wouldn't tell them to settle and be miserable. I started questioning why I was so willing to run away from a challenge. Finally, I realized that if I didn't at least try to reach my goals, I was going to regret my decision for the rest of my life.

Within six months of that epiphany, I started taking university classes. I researched and found student funding. I volunteered and then got a part time job at the local museum on weekends so that my husband could watch the kids while I was working. I practiced my driving skills and learned how to take public transit. I pushed myself to interact with other students and resisted my natural urge to run away from the large crowded campus. I scheduled my classes around my children's school schedule, even taking a few late night classes, so that my children would not require daycare and would never come home to an empty house.

Seven years later, I had earned an undergraduate honours degree in Archaeology and graduate degrees in Archaeology and Heritage, awarded with distinction. I now run my own archaeological consulting company out of my basement. This allows me the freedom to choose my projects so that I don't have to stay away from my family for long periods of time. It also allows me the option to take on non-archaeological projects such as the writing of this book without the loss of income associated with working part time. Moreover, I found that as I reached towards my goals (sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing in my attempts) that in moving through or around these obstacles and challenges, I became happier in my life and more confident that I could achieve other ambitions that I had. My husband says I also became a lot nicer to be around.

In this way, the phrase "why not" changed my life. Perhaps, you too can change your life simply by asking yourself "why not".

Tami Brady

Truer words have not been spoken!

Search Engines Are Crucial to Home Business Success

2008-09-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

In the online business environment knowing about and understanding search engines is important. Search engines can make or break a business. A home business owner has to be current on the trends and the ways that search engines work in order to stay on top of their business and keep customers coming to their website.

Search engines are the tools that get people to websites. They basically rule the internet. Without search engines there would be no organization and no paths to anywhere. The internet would be a mess. However, search engines have faced challenges and they have had to come up with ways to provide people with good information. This has led to some strictness from the search engines and rules that business owners need to know.

In the past, search engines ranked websites through keyword use. It was not long, though, before website owners found ways to misuse that. People who would do searches were ending up with junk websites at the top of their search results and it was difficult to actual find anything useful. The search engines acted fast, though, and soon it become a combination of factors that the search engines now use to rank websites.

Here are the three top things used by search engines to rank websites:

Keywords: Keywords are still important. It is impossible to get rid of them because keywords are how searches are done and they have to be a part of the search engine rankings for organizational purposes. However, they are not given as much weight as they once were and only make up a small part of how a website is ranked.

Content: Now the big factor in search engine ranking is content. Content works well as a factor for ranking websites because it is hard to use junk and it is something that takes time to install onto a website. The criteria for content is that it must be useful, relevant and unique. People can not simply copy content from elsewhere around the web and assume that will work. The search engines are pretty smart about content and that is why it carries the majority of the weight when it comes to search engine ranking.

Links: Using links to and from a website that is ranked high on a search engine will make that website higher ranked as well. Search engines consider this because it is a popularity factor. It lets the search engines see who other website owners are happy with being associated with. It is a good idea of what sites are quality and which ones may not be quite so good.

These three factors come together to make search engines more efficient and effective. People still rely a lot on search engines and now can trust in them to give them quality results. What all this means for the home business owner is that by utilizing this information to build a business website will help the business owner to get their website to the top of the search engine rankings.

Crafting Newsletter Content that Customers Read

2008-08-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Newsletters are a great way to reach out to your current customers as well as attract the attention of potential customers. However, if customers aren’t reading the newsletter, then the effort and investment are wasted. The focus needs to be on designing a newsletter with content that your customers will read. It needs to be informative, eye catching, hold their interest, and leave them wanting more. They will then be eagerly awaiting the next issue of your newsletter.

Creating Informative and Readable Content
Content is very important when it comes to capturing an audience to read your newsletter. Take a moment to see things from the customer’s point of view. Ask yourself why they should read your newsletter, why will they want to read the next issue, and what makes your newsletter unique and better than that of your competitors. Answering these questions honestly will help you create a newsletter that customers will want to read.

Consumers enjoy newsletters with content that is informative but also energizing. They don’t want to be bogged down with lots of technical jargon. They want honest, straightforward information that allows they to be educated and to form their own opinions on issues. You can continue to hold the consumers interest by publishing helpful tips in your newsletter that relate to the areas of expertise of your business.

This makes your company appear to be credible and helpful. Offering customers the opportunity to submit questions that you answer in your newsletter is a great way of letting customers know you care about what they think as well as helping them develop a sense of being a part of the newsletter. You may also want to consider adding a section regarding customer comments and suggestions. This additional outreach to customers will be well received.

Maximize Your Contents Value
To ensure your newsletter reaches the maximum number of people possible, mail a copy to your former, current, and potential customers. Keep extra copies of current issues in your lobby or waiting room. Many people who come in will look through available materials while they wait.

Place a stack of newsletters next to the reception desk, payment desk, anywhere a customer might see it and decide to take one. If your company has a website, have the current edition of the newsletter available. It is also a good idea to have previous issues archived on your website as well.

While it may seem expensive to send newsletters to that many people, think of the revenue it will generate in sales. The more exposure your business gets, the more sales are expected to increase. Keep an eye on these marketing areas. If you need to make changes, you can make informed decisions based on who is responding to your newsletters.

Newsletters are an innovative way to reach more consumers than regular advertising. It is also cheaper. You can identify your target market, and create your newsletter to be appealing to that demographic group. Keeping your newsletter friendly, informative, and written in plain English will lead to loyal readers and likely an increase in customers.

Link Marketing

2008-06-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

Are you getting started in a network marketing program? One of the most frequently asked questions about affiliate marketing is what is an effective marketing link program. An affiliate will realize that link marketing is an important strategy for promoting their program.

It does not matter what program you are involved in or thinking about becoming involved in, without link generated traffic, your network marketing business will fail. A fast and efficient way to gain traffic is to use links. There is no more effective traffic generation tool than good links.

When you are talking about the short term, links will get your program traffic as you climb in the search engine ranks. You will begin to get more traffic to your site from the search engines because the links will have put you up higher in their ranks. In the long run, you will be getting a whole lot of traffic from your position in the search engine ranks.

You can find a lot of affiliate link programs on the internet. Some will cost you some money while others may be free. Either way, you will have to work at it. No matter how you look at it, the majority of all the successful, top high-earning affiliates are involved in some kind of affiliate link program.

Most likely, you will have to create, at the very least, 200 reciprocal links in order for your website to be considered important enough to appear in the top listings of the major search engines. It is not a very good idea to place all the reciprocal links on one page because a webmaster may not accept reciprocal link requests from you. You will want to create a structure of pages where the links will be placed. You will need to make a new page for each theme, similar to the theme of your website.

You will also need to make one or more web pages for links to websites that contain different themes. An index or directory page will need to be made for easy navigation around your site. Lastly, place the title of your home page, a description of your home page, and your home page’s URL in the links or directory page. A webmaster will use this information to place you in their links page.

Developing your First Internet Business Income Stream

2008-04-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

People get into Internet Marketing for various reasons, but the most important reason is because they want to make money. Hopefully lots of money! Or, at least that’s what many people who are marketing on the internet tell people. You know the stories I'm talking about, where the marketer tells you how you can make money while lounging on the beach, because your websites are selling for you while you’re gone. If only it was so easy!

What the hype doesn’t tell people is that making money online takes time. The gurus show pictures of their expensive houses and cars, and don’t talk about the years they spent learning the ropes. They didn’t start out making tons of money, they started out making a little money after losing money in their first years of business.

I think the first income stream you build is the most important. That’s the one that you can reinvest into other opportunities, to pay for outsourcing graphic creation, writing, programming, etc. The first income stream should bring money with minimal cost, so that you aren’t leaking money from your savings while you’re learning the skills you need to succeed. Getting that first income stream is a big confidence booster, and keeps you motivated to continue learning and growing.

Here are some possible first income streams.

Affiliate & Traffic Generation Sites:

These are the sorts of sites that pay you to do things. Click ads, complete offers, click on other sites and most importantly, joining other programs to leverage your reach. The Web Business Review provides information to help you get involved in this arena, since all of these types of programs rely on you getting referrals to earn more than you can earn alone.

Blogging

There are many free sites on the internet where you can set up a blog and get started immediately. The site I recommend is Blogspot because it is an affiliate of Google and so your writings get indexed faster in Google's search results. People come to your blog because they’re interested in the same topic as you, and they stay because they like the way you write.
Along the way, they click on ads on your site, they buy products you recommend, and you earn some money. How much depends on how many people visit the site. Some people have replaced full-time incomes via blogging. This is a good option for those who are confident writing regularly. Building an income from blogging will NOT come overnight! Blogging is also a way to advertise your other affiliate programs and build a downline.

Finally, one of the best affiliates I've found for getting the most out of your dollars spent is HOST FOR PROFIT. Their program is the fastest way to begin to earn a commission check. It also can function as a stand alone program with no other affiliates. However, if you use some of the other ideas listed above, you can leverage the results you get , especially if you use SFI in conjunction with the Plug in Profite Site.

Getting Prepared To Work At Home

2008-04-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

Working at home is something that more and more people are starting to do. Working at home comes with many advantages over working outside the home. That is why it is much more appealing to people. What many people do not understand is that working at home requires some preparation. It is very difficult to develop a home business without being prepared.

One of the first things a person needs to do to prepare to work at home is getting their home office set up. Most work at home businesses are going to require a few basic pieces of equipment. A person will need a home office with a computer, internet access and a telephone with a dedicated line. By having this basic set up a person has much more of a chance at developing a successful home business. Additionally, a home office makes working easier. It is also a good way to ensure that everyone in the home knows when working hours are in order to avoid distractions.

Another thing a person needs to do to get prepared to work at home is to develop a plan for searching for a work at home business. Finding a home business is something that takes time and effort. The business is not just going to fall into your lap. Therefore it is important for a person to do some research into work at home businesses so they can find good sources of information. It is smart to have a few different sources for research on home businesses. Having a plan will also help ensure that scams are avoided because a good search plan begins with networking.

Finally, working at home means developing a business mindset. Working at home needs to be perceived as a serious business, just as a job outside the home. It is going to require a quiet environment and focus. A person will need to ensure that their friends and family understand their working hours so they are not disturbed. They should also develop a work schedule. Staying on task can be very difficult in the work at home environment, so working at home requires a person to be able to focus and meet deadlines.

Getting prepared to work at home is an important part of working at home. Many people just jump into the work at home world and they often end up frustrated and unable to understand why they are having a hard time developing a good work at home job. Being prepared is the best way to get on the road to work at home success.

The Advantages of An Online Business

2008-03-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that people get into business online is because they believe that it is ultimately advantageous for them to do so. The question really then becomes one as to whether or not these people are correct in their assertions. Well, there are certainly some advantages to online businesses, so let's take a look at a few of the big ones and see if they apply to you.

First and foremost, there is the comfort aspect of an online business. The comfort aspect comes from you being able to work from your own home in your own chair, frequently in casual attire should you so choose to do so. This means that you don't have to go anywhere and can do all of the work, plus earn money from the comfort of your own home. It is definitely something to consider and something that a lot of people have been successful with. There are many people that claim that their online success has come from being helped by that comfort factor.

Secondly, there is a convenience factor to go along with that comfort factor. In addition to being in your own house, you actually don't have to leave it that often to get materials or other things. All of the components of your business are virtual and therefore controlled directly from your computer. Whereas customer service representatives or anyone else along those lines need to frequently leave their computers in order to do things for their customers, but you as an online businessman will probably not be hampered by that same need. Convenience is a big reason why some people are able to succeed in online business.

In addition to those two advantages, another one to consider would be cost. When you are starting up a business for a specific type of venture offline, there are going to be massive start-up costs associated with it that will warrant you taking out a loan and ultimately taking a big financial risk. However, if you are online you can start up your business for very little upfront cost. If you want to be professional about your business online, you can even do that without spending more than $100 or so in start-up costs. It is a very cost-effective way to do business and one that has helped a number of people that didn't have the stomach for offline business ventures.

These are the three biggest advantages inherent to online business. When it comes right down to it, all three of them can make a profound difference in a person's life and therefore for that reason deserve to be given consideration. There are downsides to online businesses and these downsides need to be carefully considered before you decide to embark on an online business venture.