Here are 3 quick tips to increase profits for your home business...
1) Increase the dollar size of each order
2) Increase the number of times people buy from you
3) Increase the number of people who buy from you
Try and see if it turns you profits and gets you onto that million dollar idea...
Are you one of those business owners that just passes up the chance for a "real" vacation. You work hard with your home business but it's years have passed and you guessed, you have never gotten around to taking a good Vacation.
It's not easy leaving your customers high and dry while you are out having a great time with your family at the beach. Here are a few great tips to actually feel like you are on vacation.
Tell People When You're Going Away.
Make sure everyone who has ties to your business has everything they need to manage without you while you're away. Taking a vacation during slower months of course is the best time to get away.
Change Your Answering Machine Message.
A quick and simple way to let people know that you've gone away is to change your answering machine message. This allows you to still hear what people have to say when you get back, and stops them from wondering why you never seem to answer your phone.
A good format for the message is as follows: 'Hi, this is [your name] at [company name]. I'm sorry I'm not in the office right now, but I will be back on [give a date]. If you leave a message, I will be sure to get back to you'.
Set Up an Email Autoresponder.
Similar to an answering machine message, but less commonly used for this purpose, is the email autoresponder. Again, you don't want people to wonder why their emails are going unanswered, so your best bet is to set up your email program to automatically reply to any email you get with a message saying that you've gone away.
Example: 'Hello, and thank you for your email. This is an autoresponder, as I'm away on vacation until [date]. I have received your email, however, and will respond to it upon my return. I apologize for any inconvenience to you, and I am willing to make an offer of 10% off your next order to make it up to you.' The special offer for people who get the autoresponder is a nice touch -- it makes them feel lucky that they emailed you while you were away, instead of frustrated.
Don't Stay Away Too Long.
Of course, when you go on vacation, you're relying on people being willing to wait for you. That means you can't really take the kids to Disneyworld for two weeks, or spend a month staying with a friend abroad -- it's just too long to be away from your business for.
You should regard a weekend away as ideal (it avoids the whole problem for the most part), and a week as the maximum you can allow yourself. Don't let people make you feel bad about only taking one-week vacations: after all, you could always have more than one each year.
Alternatively: Get Someone to Look After the Business.
If you really want to get away for longer, or it's essential that your customers don't have any break in service, then you could consider getting someone to look after your business. This could be an existing member of staff that you make your 'deputy', to be in charge while you're away, or it could be someone who's related to you and has some experience running a business. You could even hand the business over to a competitor that you're friendly with and share the profits with them, if you think they're trustworthy and they could handle it.
Enjoy your vacation!
Resource Box
Jennifer Schilling publishes a home business tips newsletter. Come get your free subscription at thinkingfaster@getresponse.com
I've got a few great ideas for someone who doesn't have a lot of start up money but wants to go into business. It may not be a million dollar business but you never know if it could turn out that way...
Start a Children's Party Business and become a birthday planner for parties. You could easily do this in your spare time and it's all about being creative with fun and games!
1. Use the Internet as your research and become an expert in the information you need.
2. Hire a friend or family member to play a clown or magician. Or just hire one.
3. Create a miniature golf course in your back yard. It's easy to dismantle.
4. Hire teens as your assistants.
5. Involve family members and the resources close to you in your neighborhood.
What child wouldn't love to live at "the party place"... Hip, happening and easy to start...
I just started reading The Greatest Secret in the World. The Greatest Secret is a quick and easy read to LIVE with. The realization I have come to distinguish is that millionaires take constant ACTION.
Millionaires like this have enough m0ney to live off their wea1th and never work another day, yet they continue to amass even more.
Why??
It's simply because of the habits these millionaires have developed. Their habits lead to the right actions. Thse Actions are exactly what has brought them the su ccess they now enjoy. Bottom line is People who have built and established wea1th and success for themselves have
different habits than people who are poor and struggling.
The Greatest Secret in the World deals with behavior modification and is definitely worth the $7 it costs for the book.
I'm sure you've been frustrated at one time or another trying to find information on the Internet. You're certainly not alone. The Internet is more like a disorganized database to which everyone can contribute. You'll see a lot of faulty information which doesn't even apply to what you are looking for categorized in the wrong place, maybe even at the wrong time.
Because of the diverse and widespread information input and the requirement to find specific information when one needs it, there is a need to bring some sort of organization to the Internet community. Today there are web directories and search engines as two of the most useful mechanisms responsible for bringing order to the Internet.
Read about how you can inhance your searches and get a bit more done on the Internet. Isn't it just a great feeling when you actually find what you are looking for....
Spreading Rumors is a form of viral marketing especially when it comes to Hollywood stars or famous singers and athletes. It's amazing how quickly a good rumor can fly, even if it is fact or fiction. Well of course I'm talking about my favorite Biker - Lance Armstrong. Lance is even considering an 8th tour! Even moreso is the fact that Lance proposed to Cheryl Crow. Way to go Lance!!!
With 15 companies and still growing, this millionaire in the making just keeps getting better. Most people who have been to Europe know of the airline company Easyjet.com from brand recognition. They have probably flown with them. Easyjet.com highly recognizable because of it's brand image of orange and white colored company that saves you money without the frills.
Now owner Stelios is adding another company to his bunch, making it 15 in all so far. EasyHotel is his newest venture and it's located in Basel. What is really neat is the price is absolutely cut throat compared to all other hotels in Switzerland.
The rates are so low because the sizes of the rooms are small. The biggest room is just 16 square meters. I feel like I'm living in Japan or something.
The multi-million dollar company is certainly doing quite well with over 100 airplanes in their fleet with a company that is just 10 years old and growing. Best is what Easy Co. gives as Stelios recently endowed this association with a further gift worth more than $600,000. In 2005 he made a pledge to his alma mater, the London School of Economics, worth £2m for the funding of 100 scholarships over 10 years. The students will be known as the Stelios Scholars.
Don't think this millionaire is about to sit back, he's got quite a few ventures in the making..
As most know Martha Stewart who recently got her designer bracelet off her leg, will be doing another spin off of the Apprentice. The cast was unveiled and as I am not a big tv watcher and more of a reader, I'll be all eyes to see if this is a success. As they quote the bunch of 16 as eclectic, we all will have to see if it's anything worth watching. Do you see any million dollar ideas in the making...
Read more...How authentic are your stories? Do you tell "great stories" about the products you buy or sell that give consumers a view they can relate to? Maybe you really elude your consumers to thinking something else.
I got a laugh at some of these stories eluding the sell of the product. Try buying expensive wine glasses which improve the taste of wine. I'm on that right now - Oh wait, there is a problem because Scientific proof says this just doesn't exist! Oops!
If you are a parent of a baby, you might have heard of Baby Einstein and actually watch these videos with your child. But there is one funny fact, the videotapes actually are useless for babies and are really just for satisfying parents. Oops!
In Seth Godin's Book - All Marketers Are Liars, he touches on these facts that consumers prefer fantasy to the truth, where when you market a product you will need to be authentic rather than honest when you are marketing your own product.
All Marketers Are Liars is a great book that makes you have your ideas work for you. A new idea in your business could be all that it takes to be a success. If anything All Marketers Are Liars will help you get ideas on how you can be more authentic with your writing!
Yesterday I finally got back to some good reading. I'm still laughing inside from a post Steve Pavlina did a few weeks ago about Employees failing in the work place. The reason why I am bringing up the post is because it has a few very good hints in it along with some great sarcasm.
The comments suggest that leaving one job and moving to another certainly does not mean one has failed. The main reason why a business might fail is because they don't put enough time or effort into their business. Now they never really account the learning experiences involved in your failed business.
Enough said from me - check out the amusing post Employees failing in the work place.
I want to Show You How To Make An Email Downline Builder That Is Better Than the Rest.
If you act fast you can get in at the top of a no cost email subscriber downline. Would you like to have hundreds or more people you can email to weekly? Heard it all before? Take a
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There is a brand new email mailer different from all the others.
It is not enough these days to just send email. What you need
is a more guaranteed way to get your message exposed to your
contacts and, more importantly, make sure they read them!
This site will be one of, if not THE first multi level rss feeds
publisher allowing your message to be seen across thousands of
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It gets even better. Since the downline is a forced matrix
(but not mlm, it is no cost) it means you could have an
even bigger subscriber list based on the efforts of your
sponsors.
The company is running a huge paid advertising campaign and
you are sure to get some extra subscribers just by joining
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the official launch begins.
You are one of the first to know about this!
Find out more - Viral Matrix
All of us want to know the secret formula to succeed. Here's a great article that touches upon two of these success secrets.
Read more...We all look for great content for our websites, but it's a known fact that many of us never really find what we really were searching for.
Here are a few quick tips to help you find that millonaire idea for your content:
1. Search Google News
2. Search Google Groups
3. Do this search (keeping in the punctuation as written):
+photography +free +filetype:pdf
As of this writing, Google shows 748,000 hits for this query. What you get here are free downloads in pdf format about your subject.
Now you can't simply copy and use it as your own information. You have to create your writing in your own words. But there's no law that says you can't summarize what you find in other people's works. To make the point, you could even call your work something like: "Survey Report: Latest from the Photography Front!"
How much easier do you find your content and millionaire ideas? For more info, read the full article.
Well as I was gone, my blog held up pretty well thanks to some of the traffic skills I've been working on over the past few months.
Bottomline is, you want traffic, but you need targeted traffic, so here are some tips on how you can generate exactly the traffic you need and bring the visitors you want visiting your site to you instead of chasing after them.
1. Create Content
2. Talk about your experiences with your subject matter.
3. Build or network in forums.
4. Start a blog
5. Create your own content with writing articles.
If you'd like to find out more visit the full article on 5 simple ways to advertise online.
A great way to have a lot of fun and gain a bit of traffic in the process is setting yourself up with an account from Blogshares. I've got 2 blogs myself and while they are still under rated, I find that partially true because of the lack of knowledge I have with trading my shares. It's a great tool to play around with if you are interested..
Go to Blogshares
Are you constantly stressed because you can't get organized at home, no matter how hard you try? Do you ever feel as if you are drowning in a sea of stuff? Are you frustrated because you are always running behind?
If so, here are a few steps towards a better organized you whether it's just in your house or for your home based business. The outcome should help you to become more of a success overall in your life.
Start with a plan. Don't try to do everything at once, or you'll get overwhelmed and give up before you even start. Junk accumulates in 4 areas: space, time, priorities, and paper/information.
Ask yourself
1. Why do I need this in my life?
2. Why do I want this in my life?
3. Why is this essential in my life?
As you use the 3 questions above, take baby steps in what will be a life-long progress that will help you be more successful and have less stress and more balance in your life.
For your online business information, organize your desktop and your email with well labeled folders, and make sure you only save information that is absolutely necessary: otherwise, you'll soon be overwhelmed. Make sure you use your excel worksheets for every aspect of your business.
Read more about how to organize your life to success
I've actually paired up this book with Mentored by a Millionaire because they combined make a perfect companion.
The Millionaire’s Notebook, written by Steve Scott, chronicals How Ordinary People Can Achieve Extraordinary Success through his trials of life in great detail. What The Millionaire’s Notebook does is gives you a sense that “I’m Surely Not As Bad As That”. This is done by detailing Steve Scotts many failures while showing that anyone can turn their life around and create success.
Check out the full review - Achieving Extraordinary Success.
I just finished reviewing a great book Mentored by a Millionaire. Part of me was so excited to do this but I think it's also because vacation time is upon me.
Mentored by a Millionaire is authored from the bestselling author of A Millionaire's Notebook shows how to get what you want–faster than you ever thought possible.
I don't want to spoil the book, but I'll just give you a bit in what you will learn about the book in my review. Mentored by a Millionaire : Master Strategies of Super Achiever.
You’ll learn how to use fundamental tools such as vision mapping, effective partnering, using criticism to your advantage, creativity, and persistence. As every great mentor knows, nothing is beyond possibility and no dream is too big to be achieved.
Mentored by a Millionaire offers the proven advice that can only come from those who are where you want to be. Check out the full review at Mentored by a Millionaire.
The “blogosphere” is continuing to grow at an amazing pace. In fact, the number of published blogs is expected to double about every five months.
Right now, there is a new blog published every second, according to Technorati, the search engine that keeps track of Weblogs. In March there were over 7 million blogs, that number is now over 14 million.
Find out more about why weblogs are so popular and why you should start one for yourself.
Goals - The necessity for success...
Goals are the roadmap to our success. With a good plan we get to our destination with minimal fuss including driving somewhere or reaching success in your business. Without a good plan, we often get caught up in more road blocks and obstacles along the way.
Whatever process you use to set yourself goals, this is one aspect of success that you should never procrastinate with in reaching your goals. The simplest method for me is to set aside Fifteen minutes each week to focus your mind on your life's 'most desires results.' This little exercise is taught by many people and it is a popular process that I follow as well. These are the goals millionaires follow.
Jot down the following goals in four column headings:
* 1. Goals for the next five years
* 2. Goals for the coming year
* 3. Goals for the coming month
* 4. Goals for the coming week
Starting in column 1, write down all your long-term objectives in the present tense, just as you were living them today. Write them in detail. So, you wouldn't put 'move to a bigger house', you would put, 'I now live in a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house set in 10 acres of land, with a detached three car garage, an indoor swimming pool and my own personal gym.'
Do the same for every aspect of your life or business you want to change in the long term.
Then move on to the one-year column. Do the same thing, but this time, try to make sure that your one-year goals don't conflict with your 5-year plan.
So, to continue the above example, you wouldn't have a ten-bedroom house in 25 acres in the one-year plan. But you might have a four-bedroom house in the smart part of town.
The one-month goals should be things that you need to achieve in the short to medium term in order to make the longer term things happen. They might include concrete business objectives or self-improvement plans.
The weekly goals are all the things that you are going to do in the coming week to make the monthly goals a reality. Be sure to rewrite them each week and date your work.
Focus - Reaching your goals takes focus
Real millionaires, and millionaires-in-waiting, have the ability to focus on achieving their goals without letting anything stand in their way. That's right - they don't make excuses for anything because they never become distracted or detered from their objectives and goals.
These millionaires don't skip from one good idea to another, attracted by the next big promise or clever sales line that 'might' make you money. Millionaires or those in the making do not complain that none of the schemes they try ever work because they make them work. These millionaires are people who are focused on their prime objective, to be successful.
Dale Carnegie once said, "Condition yourself to determine clearly in your mind the goal that you want to achieve, and then, without letting yourself get sidetracked, head straight for your ideal."
Believe in Yourself
Nobody ever got rich by thinking that they couldn't do it. Absolute self-confidence is a vital part of the real millionaire mentality. Everyone has doubts from time to time, but the successful millionaires conquer their negative thoughts and generate positive and better goals in the process, kind of like a form of reprogramming yourself out of those bad habits.
So go out and believe you can reach your goals
