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Procrastination Killer

2007-04-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

Success University sent me this amazing series of articles on procrastination. I am posting them here as procrastination can be the biggest business killer!

Jim Rohn's Sixth Pillar of Success: Time Management
Part Three - Breaking Through Barriers

Hello, this is Jim Rohn. This month we have focused on the topic of Time Management:

1. Developing a Philosophy of Time Management - Establishing your priorities and values. As important as the "how's" are, the "why's" are first and foremost. Because here's what's interesting, the "why's" are the force that pull us towards our dreams and that in turn determines the "how's". So first we will take a look at the philosophy of time management, and then how to determine our priorities based on the values that we believe in and hold in the highest place. We discussed these things two weeks ago.

2. Creating a Proactive Schedule - Allocating time based on your unique priorities and values. Once you know why you are managing your time and know the priorities and values you strive for, then it is important to understand where you currently spend your time and how to strategically budget for maximum performance. You see, something will always master and something will always serve. Either you run the day or it runs you. We took a deeper look into this aspect of time management in last week's edition.

3. Breaking Through Barriers - Eliminating time wasters and overcoming procrastination. Many folks know what to do, but it is often the things we shouldn't spend our time on that get us off track. And here's what we need to be watchful of:
don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being busy, but the key question is: Busy doing what? This week we will look at how to overcome procrastination and eliminate time wasters.

4. How to Gain More Time - We'll talk about time management pointers on how to add 1-2 hours a day through delegating, skill improvement, multi-tasking and improved focus. These are things that anyone can do to add more time to their day.

Yes, there are only 24 hours in each day, but we can maximize those hours by working "smarter" rather than longer, and employing other skills along with our time management. We will look at these ideas next week.

This week our focus is on eliminating time wasters and overcoming procrastination. Before we get started I just want to say that I hope you are making strides in developing and implementing your philosophy of time management as well as setting your priorities. You have also had a week to take an inventory of your time usage and begin working on budgeting your time. This should be proceeding nicely for you. Keep working on your time budgeting skills; it may not come overnight, but if you work on it--and yourself--you will get your life under control and see a whole new world open up.

With that being said, let's move on to this week's topic of eliminating time wasters and overcoming procrastination.

The key to all time management is to stay focused, have a plan based on priorities and actively follow that plan. If you do these three things, you will have your time--and your life--under control and moving along the way you would like it to.

But...just like every now and then when you are driving along and various things can slow you down, sidetrack, or distract you, there are many things that can do the same thing in regard to your time management. Have you ever been driving down the road when you come across a detour because of road work? Or maybe you see a store you would like to stop at... even though you have somewhere to go?

Managing our time is much like that. There we are, managing our time, knowing where we are going because we have our priorities set, and then a "time waster" presents itself. Or we waste time because we simply procrastinate. Either way, the same result happens--we don't get where we want to go.

So let's take a look at the issue of time wasters first, and then at the idea of procrastination.

What are time wasters? You may think they are obvious, but this isn't necessarily true. Time wasters are anything that keep you from accomplishing the proper use of your time based on your priorities and values.

Believe it or not, time wasters can be "good things". Now I don't mean they are good for you, but that they may masquerade as something "good". You may be able to look at them in a vacuum and say that the things you are spending your time on are inherently good... that is until you weigh them against your priority list. Then it becomes clear that these "good" things are actually "time wasters".

Time wasters fall into two primary categories: The urgent and the pleasurable.

The urgent: If we do not have a firm grasp on our priorities, and work hard to develop a schedule that keeps us working on the important things we want to achieve, eventually the "urgent" will be upon us. The urgent things cry out to us, telling us they are important, when in actuality they are not. The power of the urgent time waster is in the dramatic demand it makes on us. When it calls our name and appears to show us just how urgent it is that we spend time on it, it takes away from the very important things we should be working on. And I have found that urgent things can rarely be done in short order. They usually drag themselves out, keeping us even further from our true goals.
Perhaps the best way I have seen this demonstrated is in Stephen Covey's idea of the four parts of the time management quadrant. You have:

1. The important and the urgent
2. The important
3. The urgent but non-important
4. The non-important

The idea is to stay in what Covey calls "Quadrant Two". At first you may be in quadrant one (hopefully you don't spend much time in 3 or 4) but as you manage your time, you will see fewer and fewer urgent matters vying for your attention.

Always be aware of so-called "urgent" matters, because most of the time they are just time wasters. Have the courage to let them go. At the very least, take a serious look at your life and make sure you aren't constantly living in crisis mode. Crisis mode is a very dangerous thing when it comes to making good decisions and managing your time.

The Pleasurable. Pleasurable time wasters are extremely insidious. Sometimes when we waste time with urgent matters, we know we are wasting time and we wish we could get out of them. Not so with pleasurable time wasters. These are the things that we willingly and openly pursue. We know they are time wasters and yet we still pursue them. Why? Because they are Fun! They are pleasurable. We enjoy them, and that keeps us from disciplining ourselves to work on our priorities. It is much like the person who wants to lose weight yet keeps eating dessert night after night - they do it because it tastes so good.

As you think about time wasters, think about which are urgent and which are pleasurable for you. Work to get so far ahead in your priorities that you virtually eliminate urgent matters that call your name. In regard to the pleasurable, this takes brutal honesty with yourself. It takes a real ability to admit to yourself that you are choosing what is fun rather than what is important.

Remember, you don't have much time to waste in the first place. I realize now in the latter years of my life that time moves by quickly. It doesn't seem very long ago that I was only 30 years old! Time is a very precious gift, one that we can and should take seriously because once that moment in time is spent, it can never be retrieved. Stay focused on those very important things you desire for your life. Stay focused on those things that will build your business and fulfill your life's purpose. Stay focused on those things that will bring you a happy and joy-filled family life. Do not waste your time on those things that will quickly pass away and have relative unimportance.

Now, for procrastination. Paul of Tarsus said in his writing that, "the things I want to do, I do not do." This is a problem that is as old as humanity itself. I am sure that the wheel would have been invented and fire discovered much earlier if it weren't for procrastination!

Humans have two incredible abilities: First, they are able to become crystal clear about what it is they want.
Secondly, they are able to completely put off pursuing it!

So what drives procrastination? I believe there are a few primary things that cause people to procrastinate.

Fear. In my opinion, this is the biggest source of procrastination. People procrastinate because they are afraid. They are afraid of failure; they are afraid of success. They are afraid they will do a poor job or of what others will think of them. I want to encourage you to think about whether or not this is an issue for you. If so, do whatever it takes to deal with your fears.

Hard work. Some people procrastinate because they know that doing the work will be hard. Many people have an aversion to hard work so they procrastinate, putting it off indefinitely. Realize for yourself that being successful usually requires a lot of hard work. Sometimes it is physically exhausting, sometimes mentally or emotionally exhausting. But let me assure you of this, if you invest in the miracle of hard labor required to accomplish your goals, the rewards, the gifts, the feelings of increased self-esteem you will reap will far outweigh the pain of labor. For at the end of your efforts you will be able to smile with the deep satisfaction of knowing you have faithfully sowed and that now you can joyfully reap - and reap without complaint or apology! What a powerful opportunity to invest in the labor that creates miracles.

Lack of passion. In other words, whatever it is that they are doing isn't really something they are passionate about. Some people procrastinate because deep down they aren't really passionate about what it is they "should be" doing.
It isn't really a priority for them or for their life, even if they have called it one. This is an issue of going back to the drawing board and becoming clear about your priorities and values, then having the courage to live them out.

An inability to motivate themselves. Some people procrastinate because they do not know how to get themselves going internally. They wait until something externally moves them. You've heard me give the example of the guy who says, "I wish someone would come by and turn me on and get me motivated." Well, what if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan than that, you've got to be self-motivated because that is ultimately the best motivation. Now, everyone is motivated differently, and it is your job to figure out what it is that really motivates you. And then do what it takes to get there and stay there.

Time wasters and procrastination are the roadblocks that will keep you from reaching your goals. This week work to become aware of what things you waste your time on and what drives your procrastination. As you come to realize these things, as you become fully aware, you will be better equipped to overcome them.

In the next section, Chris is going to give you some thoughts on some of the primary time wasters and some very practical tips on how to overcome procrastination, as well as some questions for reflection and actions points to follow through on.

Until next week, let's do something remarkable!

Jim Rohn

Hi there, Chris Widener here.

The Top 3 Time Wasters and the Top 3 Ways to Overcome Procrastination

I want to take my space this week to talk about what I believe are the top three time wasters and the top three ways to overcome procrastination. Some of these time wasters will be those you find at work and some at home. These are the things that I have found to be almost universal. So, let's take a look:

The Top Three Time Wasters:

1. Television. Yes, the old one-eyed monster. Now, before you write this off, saying, "Chris, I just don't watch much TV," let me have you do a short exercise. Think about how much TV you watch. Go through each day, from Sunday to Saturday. For example: Sunday (one hour on Meet the Press, 3 hours for football). Monday (Half hour morning show, one hour news, half hour sitcom), etc. Add it up. Be honest! Do you know what I found was the average amount of television watched per week in rooms full of "busy professional people who didn't watch much TV?" 20 Hours!

Now think about this. That is 1,000 hours a year or 25 full work weeks! What could you accomplish if you had an extra 25 work weeks a year?

So, how can you overcome this time waster? Here are a few
ideas:

Get rid of the TV. Yes, that is exactly what I said. I did just that on January 1st, 1989, and have never looked back.
When people ask me how I get so much done I simply tell them that I have 1,000 hours a year more than they do!

At the very least, cut back on your TV viewing. Be proactive and take control of how much you watch. Budget your time.
Cut some shows out (believe me, most shows can be cut out and your life won't suffer!).

2. Telephone calls. The phone is what I call the "great interrupter". There is this very weird, almost magical effect that a ringing phone has: Like pre-programmed zombies, we "must" answer it. Try something the next time you have someone in your office and the phone rings. Just keep talking as though you don't hear it. Watch the person you are with nervously look over at the phone and then back at you before finally asking, "Do you want to answer that?"
Even though it would take away from them, they expect you to answer the phone!

The fact is that you do not have to answer a ringing phone.
Especially in this day and age of voice mail, you can let the phone ring through and schedule a time at regular intervals to return important calls (one side benefit is you will be amazed at how much time you save by not having to work your way off the phone with unsolicited sales calls).

How can you avoid wasting time on the phone? Here are a few
ideas:

Don't always answer it. 'Nough said.

Schedule your calls into time frames. Make all of your calls during regularly scheduled times. This will keep you from "spur of the moment" calls that distract you.

Know before you call what you want to talk about, talk about it, and then get off the phone. When you call someone, say, "Hi there, I wanted to talk to you about XYZ." Then talk about it. When you are done, say, "Well, I know you are busy and I have some things to get done too, so I'll let you go."
Bingo - you're off the phone!

3. Email. Email is the new phone. Except much worse. Why? A few reasons. Some of it is spam, but the main reason is because people can't type as fast as they can talk. Many times when someone writes me an email that I know will take a long response, I either call them or write an email that says, "Call me. It would be better to talk about this."

Another reason is just the volume of email we get. And the forwarded jokes from your aunt in Omaha. Just sorting through this takes time. (By the way, the best way to get off of Aunt Margaret's email list is to politely ask. Just tell her that you are trying to cut down on email and ask if she will take you off the list. It works! I did it with my own mother and she still talks to me!)

Some ideas for cutting out email time wasting:

Schedule email reading and responding. Depending on how much you get each day, maybe you do it once per day, maybe three times. You don't have to jump every time the inbox chimes!

Be ruthless about what is important. Not everything is.
Delete it and move on. Especially delete anything from Aunt Margaret that says, "Fw: Very funny - you will love this!"

The Top Three Ways to Overcome Procrastination:

1. Overcome your fear. Jim made a great point about fear. He is right. Much procrastination is because we fear things. A lot in life can be accomplished as we dig deep into who we are and what drives us. Do you have fears that cause you to procrastinate? Do some internal work and find out what you are really afraid of. Then face that fear. Get some help from a coach or counselor if you need it.

2. Get motivated. Motivation is something we have to work at. Read books, listen to tapes, go to seminars, and hang out with exciting people. Do whatever you can to stay motivated. It is much easier to get down to business when you are motivated than when you aren't.

3. Just start. Just begin doing what you said you need to do. Tell yourself you are going to just do 10 minutes. Then you'll quit. What happens though, is that you don't quit.
Much of the problem with procrastination is just starting.
So, just start!

Hope these ideas help you this week in getting over procrastination and in avoiding the big three time wasters!

Questions for Reflection:

Q. What are your major time wasters? Why?

Q. Are your time wasters usually of the "urgent" kind or the pleasurable nature?

Q. Of the urgent kind, which come up most often? What about the pleasurable kind?

Q. What is the major reason you procrastinate? What can you do to overcome it?

Q. Of the three best ways to overcome procrastination, which works best for you? Is there a better way that works for you? What is it?

Action Points

1. List the ways you waste time, in the greatest to least order for the problems they pose for you. Spend some time this week being specifically aware of these and do what you can to say "no" to them, focusing instead on your priorities.

2. Take some time to look forward at upcoming things due and work a little on them so they do not become urgent later on.
As you do, work as little as possible on those things that are telling you they are urgent now. This will begin the process of eliminating the "urgent" from your life and moving you to the important.

3. Spend some time this week working against the "pleasurable" that you spend time on instead of your priorities. Specifically turn away from them in an act of discipline.

4. Take specific action this week to watch less television and spend that time on other important things around the house.

5. Work on how well you handle phone and email time. These are major time wasters, so get a hold of them!

See you next week!

Chris Widener

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Work From Home Business Requires Serious Effort

2007-04-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

There are so many different circumstances that prompt people to start working from home ... and there are just as many of those businesses available.

What you need to ask yourself is whether you want a work from home business or a work at home business. The difference is the type of work you will be doing, but either way it should be something you are good at doing as well as something you enjoy doing. I can't underscore the importance of enjoying your choice. Lets face it: most people won't do things they don't want to do ... we will find a million excuses and other things to do instead and sure enough, the business will fail from neglect. Don't let that happen when making your choices.

Typically, most work from home business operations involves service-related jobs such as plumbing, electrical or some other form of home improvement. Consultants often develop a work from home business and this type of work can be done through telecommuting while working for someone else. While salaried work from home positions are few and far between, they are available on a very limited basis.

There are many advantages to a work from home business, beginning with a low overhead and being able to use a portion of your home’s operating expenses as a tax deduction. There are specific rules governing business use of your home so be sure to check with a tax advisor before claiming it on your income taxes. If you end up being ineligible for this deduction it could cost you dearly in the form of penalties and interest.

Robert Kiyosaki talks about building a business team and your account or tax advisors are critical members of your business team. They are worth the investment, and often the costs of their services are business deductions.

By working from home you can usually establish your own hours and your own dress code. This is great when you are sitting at the computer, but when you are out networking or meeting with clients, a professional appearance is a must.

Motivation is another must ... which ties back into the need to enjoy what you are doing.

You will also have to have the motivation to get up and work from home even on those days you really do not feel like it, just as though you were working for someone else in their office. You have to show up in order to get your work done.

If you are thinking of working from home, and you still have a full-time job, you should consider starting your business on a part-time schedule to get started. This will involve giving up some of your spare time to start building a business that will earn you more money. As the business establishes, you can then decide to walk away from the full time job. It's a less risky way to start, but again, requires motivation and dedication to go to work when others are playing!

You will also have to remember that when you work from home you are generally treated as a contract employee and all matters pertaining to taxes will be your responsibility. Money paid to your self will require certain tax forms and your income taxes will have to be paid on a regular basis, just like any other business does for their employees.

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Opportunity Is Knocking ... Are You Answering?

2007-04-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

When opportunity knocks you should not be afraid to open the door. That is why the peepholes are so popular. Without being able to see what is on the other side of the door, too many times opportunities are available but they cannot be seen.

Numerous Internet business opportunities present themselves every day and unless you can see the chance to become part of something special, you will constantly be on the lookout for a different opportunity that may have already passed you by.

With every opportunity that arises, there is someone willing to take a chance. If you are going to succeed in any business, and in life, you need to take calculated chances (or what some people call risks) to gain real rewards.

If you are not a person who can take a chance, then finding the right opportunity will never come your way, and you will find yourself looking and wishing but never doing.

The Internet can be an exciting place in which to do business, but many of the Internet business opportunities will involve taking risk.

Business people will tell you that success is an attitude. Others will say that success is a choice.

By having the right, positive attitude you can choose to make your business opportunity grow or you can choose to allow it to fail. However, the first choice you have to make is in taking advantage of the opportunity.

Henry Ford once said: If you think you can succeed, you can, if you think you can't, you can't. Either way, you are right. What he is saying is you control your destiny but your outlook.

Not all opportunities are readily identifiable. What may seem like a fleeting thought may actually be a fledgling idea that if nurtured and thought completely through will emerge into an opportunity for growth and success.

There are some online businesses offering people the chance to create their own business, following their model and business plan, which could be considered an opportunity. Robert Kiyosaki says that a business needs a strong system to succeed and with these kinds of opportunities a system is in place. If you follow it, you can replicate the success of others.

But, some folks are reluctant to take them up on the opportunity to own their own business based on their unwillingness to follow someone else’s direction.

Franchises are one of the Internet business opportunities that people sometimes shy away from because they will not have complete control over the business. However, a franchise is based on a proven method of doing business and a successful business model. Without the need to re-invent the wheel, you can have a business up and running in short order, or you can go against the grain and attempt to start over from the beginning.

When you see what may be an opportunity, you should study it and do the proper research to make certain it is not one of the many scams online.

Once you have made the determination that the opportunity is genuine and you are willing to exert the energy and put in the time, then it is time to take advantage of the chance to see success.

Imagine where you would be today if the people from Microsoft, Apple or Dell Computers left the door closed to their opportunity. Not only did their lives change based on their actions, so has the lives of everyone with a computer.

Take a chance and start peeping through the security hole at the opportunities out there. You might find success is a mouse click away.

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Find Legitimate Businesses To Earn Money From Home

2007-04-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

You have probably spent a lot of time thinking of ways you can earn money from home while the baby is growing up, or the spouse is recovering or you recently lost your job. The decision to stay at home can be a tough one and it will take time to determine the best and consistent means to earn money from home before you completely commit to the idea.

It many areas of the country it is a tight job market and with specific, in-demand skills a lot of workers are finding themselves with few prospects. This often sparks the decision to try to earn money from home and, unfortunately, also can lead to making desperate decisions that may not allow you to make the most of your situation. Many companies prey on desperate job hunters and take their money when they do not have the cash to give up.

Searching for the right opportunity takes time and effort and a willingness not to let that voice of reason get lost in the chatter of lofty promises. Deciding to start your own business at home is a decision that not only affects you, it affects your family as well as your bill collectors. If you do not make money, they will not care that you had to pay extra for additional training and may not be long before you do not have electric to keep the computer up and running.

Look objectively at your skills and before you send money to join a million dollars a month opportunity that claims to require no education or specialized training.

You might want to ask yourself what you will be doing to earn that kind of cash and who is willing to pay it. The two answers are usually nothing and no one. That should tell you where your cash is going. One of the most lucrative means of making money online is scamming others into sending you cash and when the voice of reason is silenced, the scammer’s voice is often heard loud and clear.

Assembling products at home can be a good way to make money as long as you are associated with a legitimate company. Those making the offer requiring you buy specialized tools and parts in order to assemble the product are only selling the tools and the parts. There is a 100 percent chance that no matter how well your products are assembled the company will reject them for quality reasons, typically not being up to their standards.

There are, however many companies who will pay a third party to perform assembly work for them offsite, and depending on the product they may even want to inspect your facilities to insure they are not wasting their time with someone who can produce a few a week when they may need thousands.

Take your time and do you research. Remember the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

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Monitoring Your Business: Keep Affiliate Links Up To Date!

2007-03-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

From a website owner’s point of view, affiliate marketing programs can add to your income as well as improve your credibility among your visitors. Signing up for affiliate programs should involve as much thought as the types of information you offer on your site, whether you sell products or services or simply have a blog site.

If you have a personal blog concerning dogs or cats and you place affiliate links for a pet products company on your blog, you are more likely to earn sales commissions than of your blog site promotes vitamin sales and you are linking to pet companies.

The products offered by affiliate companies should be related to the primary focus of your site.

With the number of affiliate marketing programs available, there is no doubt you can find an appropriate site with which to be affiliated. You will want to know ahead of time the commission structure and when payments can be expected. This eliminates future frustrations and disappointments.

Most companies will also keep you informed of any program changes, which would include changes to commission structure or other payment details that may affect your continued affiliation with them.

When you are working with companies as an affiliate, simply placing their link on your page does not end your involvement. Many offer seasonal merchandise or services and keeping your links up to date can make your website more credible to your visitors. The web is a dynamic marketplace and people notice if your site is static, or worse, out of date. If someone visits your site in March or April and you are still promoting free Christmas delivery, many will believe your site is no long active and may ignore your other links.

Many times companies will have sales offering coupons you can place on your site as links, but you need to constantly monitor the coupons for going out of date or for offering products or services that maybe you do not want to promote on your site. For example, if the focus of your site is for children’s education, you may not want to promote an adult-oriented site or a gambling site. This can happen when some of the smaller sites lose their domain name and another company picks it up and promotes products other than what you were used to seeing.

It has happened where a company will go out of business and their name is bought by a gambling or a dating site and all links to that name now are pointed at the new site. If you are not keeping track of your affiliated sites you could unknowingly be promoting a site that goes against your primary business focus.

If you are going through an affiliate marketing corporation that manages the programs for many companies and one goes out of business, the links on your page will typically disappear. However, if you are affiliated with a company and their own program that goes out of business, the link may remain but will give your visitors an error message. Another indication that your site may be out of date.

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How Affiliate Marketing Works

2007-03-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

There are several companies in the Internet marketplace that are capturing a piece of the affiliate pie by bringing affiliate marketers together with companies offering commissions for sales. Their role is to manage the affiliate programs for the companies while ensuring the sites offering referral links are paid commissions in a timely manner.

While a few companies manage their own affiliate-marketing program, the use of affiliate marketing corporations is growing with the trend becoming more popular, freeing company resources to concentrate on customer service. It also allows the companies to use the information from referred visitors for lead generation.

The landing page for most companies contains requirements to register to use the site. Minimum, information is requested (as opposed to mandated), enabling companies to gather visitor information. This works well for companies offering items or services, which are not considered renewable. For example, shoppers for music, food items and other disposable items will be shopping for them frequently, while those seeking mortgage information or for re-mortgaging their homes will generally do so only once or twice in their lifetime.

By using affiliate marketing, these companies have thousands of other websites sending visitors their way instead of relying on expensive advertising and marketing, possibly limiting their exposure to potential customers specifically searching for that specific type of information. It can tap into additional markets where they may have been missing the boat.

Affiliate marketing corporations can also help review websites applying to be affiliates, reducing the possibility of a website offering services that is not in the company’s best interests from displaying their ads. For instance, a website that sells religious materials may not want to be affiliated with websites for gambling or adult oriented materials. Of course, this goes both ways, as a church may not want to place ads for gambling on their site.

Generally, a company signed with an affiliate marketing corporation will supply a variety of link styles, including text links, graphics links, banners, and even search box links for affiliates to choose from. These links rest on the corporation’s website and are gleaned by the affiliate for the best fit for their sites. The corporation will then track the activity for the link including the number of impressions, the number of clicks as well as the amount of purchases and commissions due the affiliate site.

Affiliate marketing corporations however, do not work for free. They often receive a cut of the sale in addition to the affiliates. While this adds to the cost of making a sale, the companies realize that without the additional exposure the sales probably would not happen, and they get the additional benefit of customer information for potential future sales.

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Inside Affiliate Marketing

2007-03-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

While work at home moms are often the favorite target for Internet scammers, website owners are a close second.

You own a website and are possibly paying a bit of money to keep the site running. Do you not wish you could make some money with the website you work so hard to maintain? Imagine how wonderful it would be if you could you’re your hobby into a real business that would not only pay for itself, but even offer you a few extras that could be put to good use for the kids, or your family.

To a webmaster, affiliate marketing is almost always the answer to this dilemma.

In and of itself, affiliate marketing is a wonderful opportunity share in the profits of a reputable company by displaying their links and banners, and allowing interested parties to visit those sites and perhaps purchase a product. When they do so, the company will often offer you a small percentage of the sale as a finder’s fee.

But, there is a seedy underbelly to the affiliate marketing industry that will actually jeopardize your good name as a webmaster and will also result in payouts that are pennies on the dollar.

For example, have you ever been surfing the web only to suddenly stumble across a website that touts an amazing nutritional supplement that does it all?

Weight loss for the overweight, hair growth for the bald, an increased sexual stamina for those lacking it and a host of other items are cured or corrected with a pill after breakfast, lunch and dinner. These miracle cures are touted on the website via a long list of testimonials, and you can almost always recognize the feel of these sites simply by the long list of text they sport, the varying fonts employed, and also the different colors these words are written in.

You may simply shrug your shoulders at such a site until – about halfway down – you see a copy of a commission check the webmaster has posted and suddenly he or she has your undivided attention. The check is small enough to be realistic yet big enough to have you consider what you could to with the money and how it could ease the tension at home from lack of disposable income.

When you are hooked, the spiel usually involves a site owner who is so successful that he or she has decided to take on two or three qualified novices and train them to do the business as well. This involves selling the miracle product to your friends and neighbors and then just sitting back and waiting for the money to roll in. Additionally, you will need to post banners on your website. What has just happened, in a nutshell, is an affiliate scam that ties your success directly into a multi-level marketing scheme.

While your links will attract more interested parties to the originator’s website, you might end up meanwhile alienating your friends and families.

Let's be clear: This is not what affiliate marketing is all about, and it is important that you understand the implications of your putting links or banners of any business on your website before you get started.

There are some very good affiliate programs out there. By doing your homework and picking good solid companies, you can see some positive revenues and good results coming your way.

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A Dream Come True For Most Moms

2007-03-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

It is something that many women dream of: the chance to be able to stay at home with their children and to not need to take their children to the babysitters so they can go to work.

It is hard to find a place in this world that will allow you to work and contribute to the family income, but that will also allow you to stay at home with your children. Luckily, if you are working online there are many opportunities for a stay at home mom that will help your family make ends meet.

The important thing about working from home and being a stay at home mother is that you can set your own hours. This is very important if you have small children that are going to need your time.

Instead of making your children wait until your work is finished, you can figure out a way to make your work wait until your children have free time you can spend at work. Being a stay at home mom and working is something that requires a little bit of structure, but once you have figured it out is something that is easy to do.

You are going to be able to stay at home and get your work done, and you are also going to be able to show your family that you care about them by being there for your kids all of the time.

There are many things that a stay at home mom can do to work from home.

The most important thing that you can do is to figure out what kinds of things you are interested in.

This is critical. It is very hard to motivate yourself to work if you aren't interested in it.

After all, working is something that is going to be with your for awhile and you want to be sure that not only are you doing good work but you are making ends meet for your family in a way that makes you happy.

You can find something that you love to do, and you can find a way to do it at home, so your children never have to be at home without you, and your family time can be spent as a family. Working form home is something that has become quite popular with families and with other moms.

Try to find a way that it can fit in your lifestyle as well.

The online community has opened up infinite possibilities to you. Your job is to find the one that fits you best and go for it. You'll be happy you did.

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Taking Your Kids To Work: A Look At The Home Based Business

2007-03-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

More and more women are leaving the corporate world behind to try their hand at traditional homemaking. Being a wife and homemaker is a considerable responsibility in itself.

Many women choose to work outside of the home to supplement their husband’s income and experience personal fulfillment through success in their chosen profession. The two income family is now the norm.

With the arrival of the first bundle of joy, comes many conflicting emotions and struggles. Although it sounds old fashioned, the reality is that mothers juggle multiple conflicting demands on her attention including children, husband, cooking, cleaning and careers. The desire may be to nurture and protect her children and husband but the expectations and time constraints imposed upon her often force her to compromise on all fronts. This can result in guilt and depression in the over-burdened woman.

It may not be a coincidence that divorce has become more prevalent and children more delinquent since the rise of two income families. Women are often finding themselves drained emotionally and physically from the dysfunctional patterns of behavior that are imposed on them by today’s society. Many women are fighting back by starting a home-based business.

By working from home, women can now set their own hours, save time and money and spend more time with their children. With a little work and by choosing the right home business, this new opportunity can bring in a solid passive income with less hassles than the corporate world offers.

The benefits for mothers also include being able to hire part time nannies instead of full time sitters and arrange for childcare to be done in their own homes. This allows peace of mind for the mother and a chance to squeeze in quality time with the children during breaks, have picnic lunches on the lawn and never miss another chance to kiss away a fresh boo boo.

Hiring childcare help during busy seasons in your business can help you keep your sanity. On slower days, the children can do quite well if they are kept in a structured environment and on a schedule. This takes preparation. Plan quiet times around favorite television shows, set up crafts and activities that require minimal supervision and intervention on your part. Prepare snacks and sippy cups in advance so toddlers can help themselves when hunger strikes. By keeping mealtime and naps on a schedule, you can be better prepared to give an estimated time for that conference call or know when a meeting time is absolutely out of the question.

No mother wants a stranger raising her children. Deciding to work at home with your children can be a wonderful compromise that allows you quiet those conflicting emotions of being torn between work and motherhood.

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Make Money Online The Easy Way

2007-03-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Making money is something that many people take for granted in this world. The go to work and bring home a pay cheque.

Today, there are many more ways that you can make money. Just surf the web and you'll see huge numbers of opportunities to make extra money. This is one way that people who work at home earn money ... and if you can find the right opportunity, it's better than a work at home job because it has the opportunity to build a stream of passive income.

There are many different options for work online businesses. You can sell products or services online and make money this way. If you have a basement full of stuff you want to get rid of, or if you know of some places where you can buy things cheaply that can be sold for more money, you can sell it online. Lots of times people take a long time to figure out what they want to sell on line but once they do they find themselves making quite a bit of money.

There are other things that you can do to make money online. If you have a web site with good levels of traffic, you can allow advertising to be on your site, and you can make a part of the profits for these ads. Some of the ads will pay you money whenever they are clicked on, and others will get you a small amount of money just for being on the site.

If you like the idea of a JOB, there are places you can get online jobs. Just make sure you are careful and do your research. Too many of the work at home programs are hooks for scam artists. If you can find some of these small jobs, you can quickly add them up to a bigger pay cheque. For instance, there are some jobs that will pay you for going to different forums and adding in on the discussions. If you like to go and talk online, this is a great way to get money because you are getting paid to do something that you might do anyway.

Try not to stress too much about making lots of money online right away. Remember, you are building a business and it takes time to gain traction. If you want to business to be sustainable, not a flash in the pan, build it on a solid foundation. Take the time to find the sites that will pay you to do things you are interested in, and take time to make sure that the work you are doing is not worth more than you are being paid.

Once you are established, you are going to find that making money online is much easier than you thought it was.

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The Joys Of Working At Home

2007-03-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

In the fast paced job market, it might seem like there is never enough time to do what you really want to do – be at home with your families and take care of what you need to take care of while you are there.

Luckily, now there are many ways that you can work from home. OK, but you already know that or you wouldn't be reading this article.

Let's talk about the good stuff: There are many joys of being able to work from home, and make enough money to actually make it worth it.

First of all, if you have children, you are going to get to be there for them during the day when they are young, and after school when they are older. This is so important for families. You only get one chance to be wit you children because once they grow up, that's it. So, you should take every opportunity to be near them and take care of them when they are young.

By working from home, you don't have to pay for child care. Most of the time, people end up spending the money that they make working directly on child care, and unless they love their jobs and need to do their jobs, it simply isn't worth it for someone to work part time to get enough money to pay someone else to care for their kids. Think about how nice it would be to be able to actually make money, and not need to spend any of it on childcare.

There is a certain freedom that comes along with working from home. By being at home and staying at home you are there to tackle things that come up during the day. You can keep on top of household chores and take care of issues when they arise, without trying to squeeze them into an already packed day.

No more leaving in the dark and coming home after the sun has set for the day.
No more trying to do all of the house work and chores on the weekends.

When you work at home, you can simply allow yourself to be at home and enjoy the life that you are living.

Remember that the best part of working at home is getting to do the things that you really enjoy and getting to do them in your own environment. Nothing beats fact being able to stay at home with your family and with your house chores, and make just as much money (if not more) than when you were slaving away for someone else 40-60 hours a week.

Enjoy the perks. They are just a few of the joys of working from home!

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Working At Home Has Real Advantages

2007-03-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Many nine to fiver’s are bucking the system by starting a home-based business. Confinement to a cramped cubby hole in a perpetual maze of dividers and battling road rage heading to the office are things of the past for these entrepreneurs.

So what are some of the perks to having a home based business?

To start, you can keep your own hours. Your schedule is as flexible as you are. Need to see the dentist? Make your appointment for whenever. No more waiting around for that first appointment of the day or trying to find an office open after five. Kids have a mid-week soccer game? Not a problem. Better yet, you know that cable repairman that says he’ll show up sometime between 11 am and 4 pm? You can tell him, “That’s perfect.” and really mean it because you’re home all day anyways.

Working from home means that you can now embrace that chronic insomnia that made you late for traditional jobs and left you dozing off during meetings.

Here's one of the most startling advantages to starting a home-based business. Just think of all the money you save by working from home. (And I'm not talking about the tax benefits here).

There's no need to buy that new suit and impressive pair of heels. No more dry cleaning bills. Your cat doesn't care how professional you look. You can work naked if the urge strikes you, (just make sure the blinds are closed or you might get unsolicited visits from your neighbors).

You can save a bundle by eating last night’s leftovers for lunch and buying snacks in bulk at the grocery store instead of making trips to gas stations and fast food joints. Pay on average $0.35 for a a soda instead of $1.19 and watch the saving add up in a year’s time. You might even save enough to buy your own cappuccino maker and say goodbye to your local $5-a-cup coffee shop. I haven't even tallied the costs of buying lunch out which is so tempting when you're working in an office.

Remember the last time you took your car in for a tune up and the mechanic told you to start car shopping, immediately. Just think of how long your vehicle will last without those daily trips to and from work. Save gas money, get your oil changed twice a year, never replace your tires again! You don't want to know how much my gas bills have gone down since I started working at home four years ago.

These are all great perks of a home based business.

The government also gives home businesses fringe benefits in the form of tax breaks. Now, buying that computer you've been ogling for months is actually good for business, it can mean better tax breaks at the end of the year. Get money back for your telephone bill, rent, mortgage, heat, and other overhead expenses. And believe it or not, it’s completely legal. You will also have new tax breaks for travel and other perks. Talk to your accountant to make sure you qualify for, and are taking advantage of the benefits open to you.

The benefits of basing a business from your home are nearly countless. If a traditional office environment is leaving you stagnant, a home business may be just what the doctor ordered.

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Getting Home Businesses Off The Ground - Tips

2007-03-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

Now that you have made the decision to start a home business, you might think that it is all smooth sailing and that there is nothing you are going to have to worry about as you make your way into the work at home job market.

Sorry to say, that's just not true!

Working from home might be great once you get going, but in order to get to the point where it is going to be worth it, you are going to have to do some grunt work and do a lot of it, before it pays off.

You hear a lot of hype about work at home options that earn thousands in days or weeks. It is hype. Don't fall for it. It's important to know that working from home is like building any other business. It takes time to earn a sustainable income.

Some tips to streamline your business.
1. Decide what you are going to be
2. Determine the right market
3. Identify ways to target that market
4. Set a plan for building your market (including investments, timelines and strategies)

Once you know what it is that you are going to do, you need to begin to be able to market yourself. Whether this means advertising your business or taking care of your portfolio, you need to make sure that people know what you can do and that you can do it well.

Don’t expect to be able to simply start in at a large paying work from home job on the first day.

It might take you awhile to fully get a grasp on what the job market is, what people need, and to begin to make some connections when it comes to your field.

The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that you have a good example of what you can do and that you have it accessible online. Whether this means that you are going to develop a website or build an online portfolio, you need to get that done right away so you can start to apply for jobs or to find customers.

One of the most important thing about finding work at home is to make sure that you have a place where potential clients can look at what you can do and can hire you if they’d like.

However you decide to market your business or your company, you need to get your name out there and to get started.

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Time Management: An Illusive But Essential Tool

2007-03-16T10:46:00.001-07:00

Working at home to earn some extra income is a blessing for most, but for
some it can become a nightmare in very little time.

It is far too easy when you are working at home, to allow outside influences (dinner, laundry, kids) to infringe upon potential earning time. While you don't have to travel to get to the workplace, it is essential that you schedule structured time for work, rather than working when the mood hits ... trust me, the mood won't hit when you need it to.

Let's face it, if you are not on top of your schedule, and using some of the management tools available to us, you might quite possibly find yourself at the end of the day with precious little to show and huge deadlines looming.

Miss a few deadlines, and the odds are that you will lose that wonderful business opportunity that allows you to earn extra income while working at home.

Time management tools are greatly varied, depending on your needs and habits. It is possible to create a plan that works well for you (but won't work for someone else.) We are all individuals with different habits and needs. For example, I dedicate time in the morning to writing. It is when I am the most creative.

To this end, quite possibly the most important technique that will help you to remain focused while earning the extra income is to set an objective for each day that you have work to do at
home. Define your goal for the, identify which projects need to be completed and how you need to pace yourself to see them through to completion. The easiest way to achieve this is simply by breaking down your project into its varied components, assigning time values to them and then meeting these deadlines one at a time. The small sense of accomplishment you will feel when you achieve one or more of the deadlines will go a long ways to ensuring that you do not suffer from burnout or other frustrations which will take the joy out of earning extra income.

Do not, create a huge list of every to do you have. This will do nothing but make you feel overwhelmed. Instead, identify one or two priorities per day and do nothing else until they are complete. Then move on to the less important items on the list. The next morning, revisit the list and assign a new priority. It is easy to get distracted by emails or phone calls. Don't let them. Focus on the priority then work through the niggling other requests on your time.

One of the most overlooked time management tools for those working earning income is the schedule and calendar. It is not enough to simply block out a period time that you will use to work, but you will need to augment this block with reminders, as well as frequent breaks. No one can keep working to earn extra income when they are burning out. You were likely seeking extra money by working at two jobs, not headaches and frustration with no rewards. Take a few rewards, an afternoon walk, an evening out. Whatever reward fits your circumstance.

Adding frequent breaks also gives you time to you to interact with friends and family who will not mind the extra income you are earning as long as it does not interfere with your ability to also spend time with them. In the long run, this form of scheduling will benefit you as much as it benefits them.

As a final note, working from home or taking on an additional home based business to earn extra money is a great way to set the path towards a more profitable financial future but you need to treat it like a job and a business. Time management is one of the most overlooked aspects of business but it is one you can't ignore.

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Make The Most Of Your Opportunity

2007-03-16T10:45:00.001-07:00

The Internet is home of the business opportunity ad. While some are not legit, others have the potential of netting you a pretty penny.

Once you have found such an opportunity, it is important that you make the most of it. That doesn't mean sitting back and complaining that a system doesn't work. But is does mean to be wise about how you pursue this opportunity to help you earn money, and protect you from losing your hard earned cash in the process.

When you are starting out in pursuit of your business opportunity, you will need to juggle your full time job and your extracurricular pursuit. While it might be tempting to throw caution to the wind, quit your job and pursue the opportunity full time, it is extremely unwise to do so.

Let's face it. If the business is legit, it will take some time to build up the revenues to the point where you can replace your income. And, the bill collectors will still expect to be paid while you are building this new business. If you have a family, it is unfair to expect them to suddenly make do without the little extras they have come to appreciate.

Instead, continue to work your regular job while expanding on your business opportunity and spend your spare time working the business. This will prevent you from having to give up after a few unsuccessful months with maxed out credit cards.

Building a business takes time. There are many marketing opportunities out there to help you build the business and if you are seriously building the business, you won't be harassing family, friends and everyone you meet to buy your product. Your family and friends can provide other kinds of support while you are growing your business.

There's a great expression about this industry: you are in business for yourself, not by yourself.

If you have chosen a good opportunity, you will have coaching and mentoring support. Use it. The people who have been in this business longer than you have some good advice on how to build the business. Learn from them, and others around you.

Your business opportunity requires exposure, yet there is more to advertising than paying for a three by five ad in the local rag.

Instead, attend trade shows, hand out flyers, print up business cards (not the free ones that carry another company’s logo on the back) and network with other entrepreneurs.

Use the Internet, there are so many opportunities on the web to legitimately promote your business (and numerous marketing systems to give you a systematic approach to Internet marketing).

Go to where the business world is located and get out the word! This ensures that you will truly make the most of your business opportunity without having to spend money you may not yet have earned on costly advertisements that may not be as effective as you had hoped.

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Where NOT to find work

2007-03-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

In the world of working from home, sometimes people choose to take jobs that they find on the Internet. It is hard to open your email these days without being flooded by offers from a wide range of different people and places.

It is also very easy to do an Internet search and come up with several options for places that claim to have work at home jobs. Some of these are perfectly fine and legit, but some of them should be avoided at all costs for many different reasons.

First of all, you should avoid any job board or market that wants you to pay a large amount of money in order to have access to the jobs. This applies for many different situations, but especially for work at home freelance writers. Most of the places that will ask you to pay for your own job listings are probably not places you want to accept work from.

There are many places online where you should be able to search for jobs and to apply for jobs without having to pay for this service.

If you find that you cannot find these types of jobs, you should try to look in a different place or try to broaden your search because there are indeed several places which will post jobs that do not require you to pay to search for them.

Another important tip is to make sure that you are avoiding jobs where the person offering you the work only has a free email account, or doesn’t provide you with any company name. You are going to want to be sure to stay away from these jobs, because the possibility that they will be scammers is quite high.

You want to look for work from reputable companies that provide you with a contract, or at the very least, company information that you can use to track them down if payment is not made for the job you do. The best thing for you to do is to join some job boards or discussion boards and ask questions about which different options are legit, while sharing your experience with others.

After you have been doing online work or working from home, you are going to want to develop a portfolio so that you can showcase your work for others. There are many online sites that will help you with this task.

Being online and having your material readily available for viewing is a huge benefit for you. You can be sure to get many different job offers if you can get yourself some sort of online portfolio so that people can see what you are really all about.

Remember that this is one of the good things about working from home, you can market yourself successfully.

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Where to Find Work

2007-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

When you are looking for work from home, you have several different options.

That's the good news! It used to be that the only way to work from home was to work it out with your boss so that your work could be done at home and you wouldn’t have to always be in the office.

Today, everything is different. Many employers are making it easier for their employees to work at home and only come in to the office every once in a while. This is a great benefit to many people who have been working for a long time on certain projects or who have been working for a long time at a certain career and want to continue doing what they do well and what they love, but want to, at the same time, be able to do it from home.

However, now you don’t even have to worry about finding an employer who will eventually let you do your work from home. Now there are many ways that you can actually start a business, a career, or even part-time work, straight from your home computer and you can go about getting a job online just the same way you’d get a regular job. All of these jobs that you can find are going to provide you with money and a full time job, but the trick is knowing where to look for them.

There are many places online that offer work from home jobs. BUT, some of these places should be avoided because of obvious reasons.

A good rule of thumb is that you should never have to pay anything to find jobs. If you do decide to subscribe to a service it should be one that only requires a small start up fee or a once a year fee. Don’t pay by the month or pay a lot of money for access to jobs boards, because there are plenty of job boards out there that you can access for free.

Once you have weeded out the jobs "opportunities" that require payment just to apply, you still have several options. There are very few careers out there that don't allow you to work from home. And, your location shouldn't matter either. Technology is making a global marketplace available to you.

Start by doing an online search for your job, and then get looking. You might have to look at several sites before you find some with a good lead.

Remember that you need to market yourself exclusively by email and online sources, so your portfolio online should be very good.

Next: Where not to find work!

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Tips For Finding Work At Home

2007-03-09T11:27:00.002-08:00

So you want to work from home. Congratulations. There are some real advantages to working at home.

Now that you have made that decision, you might think that it is all smooth sailing. You might even believe that there is nothing you are going to have to worry about as you make your way into the work at home job market.

I'm sorry to say it's just not true!

Working from home might be great once you get going, but in order to get to the point where it is going to be worth it, you are going to have to do some grunt work and do a lot of it, before it pays off.

Like many things in life, success at a home business takes effort.

The first thing that you need to do is make a clear decision about what exactly you are going to be.
* You need to have a clear idea about what market you are going to go after
* You need to make a decision about how you are going to get that market
* You need to determine the best way to conquer that market

Once you know what it is that you are going to do, you need to begin to be able to market yourself. And thanks to the Internet, there are a myriad of marketing opportunities that will open up new markets for your business. Whether this means advertising your business or taking care of your portfolio, you need to make sure that people know what you can do and that you can do it well.

Don’t expect to be able to simply start in at a large paying work from home job on the first day.

It might take you awhile to fully get a grasp on what the job market is and to begin to make some connections when it comes to your field. The most important thing that you can do is to make sure that you have a good example of what you can do and that you have it accessible online. Whether this means that you are going to develop a website or an online portfolio, you need to get that done right away so you can start to apply for jobs or to find customers.

To recap: The most important thing about finding work at home is to make sure that you have a place where potential clients can look at what you can do and can hire you if they’d like.

After you know what you want to do and have taken steps to begin that process, you need to start to apply for jobs or contracts. To do this, you might visit many different job boards each day and apply for as many of the jobs that you think you can do as possible.

Or, it might mean that you visit job boards and other boards and recruit clients for your business. Whatever it is that you need to do, the important thing is to get your name out there and to get started.

If you decide to build an Internet based marketing business or start a network marketing business from home, much of the above business tips still apply. You need to market your business and you need to get your name out there. It's hard for people to buy from you (albeit services or products) if they can't find you, don't know what you do ... or worse, can't buy your products simply and easily.

There are numerous resources online to help with each of these steps. Take your time and do your research but above all ... stop waiting and get started. You business will only succeed once you actually start doing the work!

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Staying Sane While Starting A Home Business

2007-03-09T11:27:00.001-08:00

Starting a new business can be a harried experience.

There are a myriad of decisions to be made. Personal and business budgets get stretched. The new secretary quits before the end of the first week.

At times, you feel the struggles are endless.

When starting a business from your home, you can add a slew of unique challenges to the list. But, being aware of the potential pitfalls, and preparing for them can preserve your sanity.

Challenge # 1

Friends and family members frequently assume that if you are home, you are available. Nothing can set your work back hours, faster than an unplanned visit from your mother.

Solution: Set clear boundaries regarding your schedule and availability for phone calls and visits. This will go a long way in preventing misunderstandings early on in the life of your business.

Challenge #2

If you are choosing to keep your small children home with you while you work, that carefully planned schedule can quickly become fodder for your three year old.

Solution: Get up early is often the best way to increase your productivity while those little angels are still slumbering away.

Challenge 3#

There are always days when work piles up and you need more time than you were projecting.

Solution: Have contingency plans for days when the work load requires more attention than usual is an excellent way to head off disasters before they happen. Find local babysitters who are willing to come to your home to help out when needed. Recruit friends and family to provide occasional entertainment for short periods of time to allow you to work without interruptions.

Remember, when you are working at home, anything that helps you keep focused is a good investment in preserving your sanity.

Challenge #4

You need office support, supplies or other experts but don't know where to look. Business directories, Internet advertisements and even newspaper ads are clogged with scams and incapable providers.

Solution: Finding service providers that are both competent and trustworthy is a lesson in perseverance. Seeking the advice of a seasoned home business veteran can be your salvation. I have always relied on referrals. Word of mouth will reveal strengths and problems with service providers.

If you find that you have chosen poorly and end up with a full sized, ten year old copier in your den instead of that sleek, all-in-one model with all the bells and whistles that you paid for, don’t despair. Don’t back down either. You can explain your dissatisfaction firmly and politely while explaining that the services were not acceptable. If after bringing the blunder to the business’ attention, you are still left feeling cold, you can report the offender to the Better Business Bureau and call for legal advice.

Don't forget the perks!
While there challenges associated with working at home, running a business from your home has a few perks, especially at tax time. Consult with a tax expert or accountant early on will arm you with the knowledge necessary to save you time and money when filing your first year’s business taxes.

Using good old common sense, a little street smarts and a lot of charm and honesty will help your achieve your business goals, while allowing you to keep your sanity and your home life intact.

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Company Perks: Telecommuting

2007-03-09T11:26:00.003-08:00

When discussing the many benefits of telecommuting, it is almost always a foregone conclusion that it is the employee who benefits from this new mode of doing business.

The highlighted points usually involve not wasting valuable time being stuck in rush hour traffic, and the fringe benefit of being home when children are coming home from school.

While these facts are undeniably true, some of the benefits that are associated with telecommuting do not just have to do with the employee, but also the employer, including:
* the ability make do with less office space
* put the employee into a mutually ownership position of her or his work, so that customers and clients will receive a greater level of service.

Very often the many benefits available to the company at large are overlooked. While the employer itself may only be one dot on the map for a large company, the overall benefits to a company makes telecommuting a company-wide opportunity for qualified employees cannot be overlooked. When one small satellite office of the company succeeds, it is always a good time to see what works there that might work in other markets as well.

Productivity is almost always the first litmus test that must be met for a satellite office to be considered successful, while fiscal savings rank as a close second.

A company will benefit from telecommuting workers on a number of levels.

1. Employees no longer feel chained to their desks by an eight to five schedule. Sure, a worker may take a longer lunch, stop by the neighbor’s fence to chat for a bit, and perhaps even mow the yard during regular working hours, but on the upside this same worker is much more likely to remain at his or her computer and continue working until a project is finished than will be the worker who still has to fight traffic on the way home.

2. Telecommuting workers are much more likely to pick up the work again after family obligations have been met in the evening than it is likely for the office worker to once again get
into the car and return to the office to complete a certain project.

3. Another savings opportunity presents itself when you consider the reduced employee turnover your company will experience. After all, telecommuting jobs are hard to come by and it is not surprising that these employees will work harder to ensure that the company will be satisfied with their performance to ensure that their position itself is safe.

All in all, telecommuting is truly a win-win situation for the employer, employee, and the parent company.

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Try Telecommuting: Employee Benefits

2007-03-09T11:26:00.001-08:00

As an employee you know how much time is wasted each day, often before you even set foot inside the office.

You are stuck in traffic for hours on end. Instead of being on the telephone talking with
customers and clients you are forced to inch at a snail’s pace closer to the exit that will take you to yet another clogged highway.

It is therefore no surprise that so many employees clamor for a chance a telecommuting. If you have what it takes to work diligently and without direct supervision of others, then this mode of work will most likely yield great benefits for you.

While there are many benefits to this form of work, the one stated most often is the ability to spend time with your family.

There are a few other benefits that might not be as obvious, such as the fact while working at home, you are often building stronger ties with customers and clients. These important relationships ensure future growth for the company, which will help you to personally reap greater profits by establishing that one on one relationship so many consumers crave.

Add to this the heightened productivity you will experience as a result of no longer being subject of the traffic congestion that is so frequently found everywhere, and you can see how your personal sales will begin to take off!

Some wagging tongues will attempt to belittle your efforts, and quite possibly even make you feel guilty for taking a coffee break, taking Rover for a quick walk, or simply for doing a load of laundry in between assignments. As long as you are not taking more breaks than working, ignore these slights. Short breaks and a change of scenery are akin to the trip to the kitchen at work to refill your coffee ... and I'll bet those back at the office take breaks here and there as well!

The benefits of taking a break are many: You get away from everything for a bit, exercise, and then return quite often with a fresh perspective and ready to give it even more of an effort.

Interestingly, one of the greatest benefits to telecommuting for the employee is rarely mentioned: the fact that disturbances by other employees are all but eliminated. You know how frustrating it can be when suddenly someone enters your office to chat, or to ask for your help with a task, or simply because they want to discuss an aspect of a project with you. The time it takes for these briefings can be greatly curtailed by telecommuting, thus allowing you to complete your assignments faster and with much greater efficiency. This in turn might allow you a bit of leisure time toward the end of the day that you would not have been able to realize otherwise.

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Dial Up Telecommuting: Employer Benefits

2007-03-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

In a few previous posts, I've written about telecommuting as a work at home option. If that appealed to you, this next three part series should be of interest to you. While it is based on the employer perspective, consider these benefits when presenting telecommuting to your bosses. If might make the option palatable to them.

What could your employees do if they were not stuck in traffic every single day for two or more hours? I'll bet you are probably stuck in that same workday traffic. There are plenty of executives, data entry personnel, and others who are clogging the roads every single day. But think about it, is physical presence at your company really required?

Sure, you need a data entry clerk, but does she have to sit at a desk every single day to receive her work assignments? Could they not just as easily be delivered by courier or mail? Perhaps you could cut down the amount of time that she spends in the office while giving her the opportunity to work at home.

If your mind is working in that general direction, then you are probably ready to contemplate telecommuting for the people in your office. As an employer, you know that there are numerous benefits for you. While almost everyone thinks about the many advantages this mode of work has for the employee, the other side is rarely considered. Here are some of the most obvious benefits to your operation – and bottom line!

1. Save on space.
Space equals money, and instead of expanding your operation every few years when new personnel needs to be hired on to keep up with the growth of your business, you will be able to continue leasing the same space without making costly renovations to cram more people into the small space.

Having a number of telecommuters working for you enables you to stagger the times when they come in and thus three to five workers can share one work station (A concept that used to be called hoteling)! While the initial cost of setting up several of your qualified employees to telecommute might be off-putting, consider the money you will save in facility related costs, and
you will break even very soon.

2. Software makes connections easy.

With the many software innovations, you will no longer have to attend long and drawn out meetings that take time away from the many tasks you could be performing. Instead, online meetings, conference calls, and group emails will permit you to continue your supervision of the projects that are outstanding while at the same time freeing up time for everyone who would
normally have to travel to meetings and take up time that could be better spent working on a task.

These are but two of the many facets that make up the advantages telecommuting can offer to the employers. Do not make the mistake of dismissing the idea immediately.

Here's another benefit that you might not considered: telecommuting may enhance hiring. With more and more people seeking a work life balance, you can offer them the option of office or home based work and attract better/more qualified people to your company.

You will need to make sure that the person to whom you entrust this kind of work is disciplined enough to handle it, but once you have found them, you will be sure to reap great benefits.

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Want To Work At Home: The Possibilities Are Endless

2007-03-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

The typical dream image of the person working at home almost always involves
pink fuzzy slippers, an over-sized coffee mug, and a relaxed atmosphere.

While I can admit I've been known to work in my PJs and slippers, it's important to realize that "all that glitters is gold". There are some very serious pitfalls that have to be avoided in order to make working at home a profitable reality for anyone who is willing to give it a try. To this end, there are usually two avenues available to anyone ready to give it a go: self employment and telecommuting.

Before we move ahead, lets explain the differences between the two. First off, telecommuting means you are still employed by a company. You might be working at home but you are technically still an employee and bound by the company rules. As a self employed person, you are running your own business (and responsible for all aspects of the business including invoicing, accounting, managing workload and client relations).

While both of these options will allow you to stay at home in pursuit of profit, they each have their pitfalls. Before you decide to embark on either one of them, make sure that you weight the pros and cons!

For example, while so many late night commercials are filled with smiling
mothers who are seeing their little ones off to school only to return home
at a leisurely pace to sell a product for an international company. It is important in this situation to remember that you are selling a product and you will be required to handle customer concerns, complaints and even compensation if the product doesn't work for them as claimed. Before starting in this kind of a business, understand what the product does, how it does it and most importantly what the return policies are like. When you are starting any business, understand the legal ramifications. When you own your own business, you open yourself to potential law suits if things go wrong. Make sure you consult both an accountant and a lawyer to ensure you and your assets are protected.

While this may make you now consider telecommuting, keep in mind that this field has its pitfalls as well. For example, while your boss in the office will appreciate your hard work and dedication when she or he sees you burning the midnight oil to get a project finished, she or he will most likely not have the same appreciation for your efforts when you do the same thing at
home. Remember there are still bosses out there who believe if they can't see you working long hours, you must be slacking off (even if your results tell a very different tale.) Conversely, if you do manage to achieve the almost impossible deadlines while telecommuting, the odds are good that you will be facing tighter and tighter deadlines. Since you are most likely not an hourly employee, this means that you may end up working 20 hours in one day, and still only get paid what you normally would. As am employee, you earn a salary which does not always translated into profits when you are working long hours.

So, what should you do?

Sit down and find out exactly what it will take to make your work at home dream a profitable reality. Weigh the pros and cons of each option and make sure you have a clearly defined plan for your business or telecommuting solution. Do not too quickly lunge at an opportunity that at second glance is little more than an anchor weighing you down.

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Want To Work At Home? Try Telecommuting

2007-03-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

My columns often talk to people who are looking to get out of their 9-5 jobs and start their own business, but if you are one of the millions people who enjoy their professions and who actually do not mind working for someone else, there are work at home options for you as well.

Sure, the American Dream has always been to set out for yourself into the world of
business, make a name for yourself with a product or service that only you
have thought of, and then turn your life from rags to riches.

Considering that many Americans have families, mortgages, and bills to pay,
the number of people who manage to successfully quit their jobs and become
self employed is small. Some would say the risks are high.

Many try it and quite a few have moderate successes, but a far greater number will go through their life’s savings, and in the end stand to lose their homes in order to meet financial obligations that went by the wayside and suddenly seem to pile up.

As I always say, you need a plan to ensure you are protecting your lifestyle when embarking on any business opportunity.

Perhaps you have sat in traffic time and again, bemoaning the fact that you
are wasting two or more hours of your time each day simply getting to your
job – the kind of time that could be put to good use! This is probably also
the time that you remember the many articles you have read on telecommuting,
and you are wondering if you have what it takes to take this step. After
all, if you were to approach your boss with a well thought out plan, she or he would might give you a chance to prove yourself.

Yet telecommuting is not for everyone who wants to do it. You need discipline.

First and foremost you will have to still consider yourself employed and thus bound by a schedule. While it is tempting to procrastinate on work until you finish that last load of laundry, mow the yard, or groom the dog, you do have to remember that you are on the clock.

Additionally, you will still need to meet deadlines and work to accommodate the work schedules of others in your company. This means that working in the middle of the night so that you can accompany the kids on a field trip the next day might not work.

Secondly, you will need to have adequate equipment. While almost everyone
owns a personal computer, there are a myriad of software programs out there
that may not be compatible, and you need to ensure you can easily connect to your corporate servers, databases and programs from home. Some business security prevents this kind of access so test it out before you go to bat with your boss!

There are a few more things you will need to have at home to replace your office. Will you need a fax machine or a scanner? Maybe you need to change your long distance plan to accommodate long distance calls?

It is important to have all your ducks in a row before you start! Do you see a theme here: have a plan and telecommuting is a work at home option that may work for you.

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Forget The Daily Grind: Work At Home (cont)

2007-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Are you tired of the shuffle of the every day grind at work?
Are you stressed and tired when you come home
Do you hate the thought of having to do it all again tomorrow?

It might be time for you to make a change. Thousands of people are deciding that they want to work from home, and they are making it work for them.

Maybe it can work for you as well.

The first step is to figure out what you are doing with your life now and see if there is any way that you can do that at home. For example, if you work in an office, is there a way to move most of your work home. This is often called Telecommuting.

Of you are providing a service that you can do from home, perhaps you can do it from home as a freelancer or consultant. Many bosses today are helping their employees find ways that they can do much of their work from their home offices both as employees as well as self employed contractors. With advances in technology, this is getting easier and easier.

If what you are currently doing cannot be done from home, don’t despair. There are still some options for you when it comes to working from home. If you are willing to take the chance of quitting your job, and you are good at what you do, there's a pretty good chance you can connect with an online company that will need your services.

If you want to completely change what you are doing for a living, you are also going to be able to find online work, whether or not it is in the field that you currently work in. Start looking into different businesses or companies that strike your interest. You could even start it part time before quitting your job to see if it is really something you want to do.

Here are a few tips on how to start building your business.
1. Go get your portfolio and your resume online. This might mean setting up a website for yourself, so that you have a link you can send to potential employers. In a few mouse clicks they can look at what you do, and how you do it.
2. Sit down and make a list of the types of work that you would be willing to do. Then, you can begin your job hunt! You should be able to find several jobs that can match your desires and your needs and wants, as you go through life.
3. Set a schedule. Working from home takes dedication. You need to treat it like a job and work at it diligently. If you are easily distracted or have little internal drive, working from home will be a daily struggle to actually do the work you want (and earn the money you desire).

Remember that in the end working form home shouldn’t make you more stressed and more hateful of your job.

If you can’t find something that you can do at home to make money that will make you happy, maybe working from home isn’t what you should be doing.

Always keep your mind open for new possibilities.

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The Path to Freedom - Self Employment

2007-03-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Want To Work At Home? One of the most natural ideas if to become self employed.

Do you dream of skipping the endless commute to work every day ... I know that giving up the 2 hour each way commute to work every day was a dream come true!

Do wish you did not have to put up with your boss who would be
lost without you ... don't even ask me about this one.

If you answered yes, you might have what it takes to become self employed.

Consider the ultimate perk of being at home with your family during the
times they might need you, such as after school and at meal time. You can use big chunks of time for your work when all have flown the nest during the day to go to school.

If all this sounds appealing, then you simply owe it to yourself to look into the possibility of self employment.

There are different ways to go about achieving your goal. The road to self employment may be less traveled but it is nonetheless enticing. Yet before you bid your boss farewell, make sure you have what it takes to turn a dream into a profitable reality.

First and foremost, you must remember that you will no longer be able to look to a second party to hand you a guaranteed check every other week. Also remember it takes time to build up a business so you might be waiting for contracts or checks to come in.

Take a hard look at your current financial situation before making a leap. If you are heavily bogged down with credit cards bills, mortgage and car payments, and if your children attend private school, you will need to make sure you have enough money in savings to support yourself for at least year, so that you can give yourself ample time to pursue your dream while keeping up with your obligations.

Secondly, remember that you are setting yourself up as a business. As a result, you are not only the provider of the service or products, but you yourself are the figurehead, spokesperson, and image of the very business upon which you are embarking. That means, if an issue of liability arises, the customer or client will look to you for help and – if needed – compensation or a refund. You need to be very clear with customers about what you are providing and what the return policies are (in the event of a sales position.)

Depending on your business and the industry you are in, you should examine the possibilities of incorporating the business. This protects you, and your family from any legal threats that could be leveled against you (either rightly or wrongly) by a client.

For anyone desiring self-employment it is a good idea to invest a bit of money in one or two hours of a small business lawyer’s time to find out exactly where you stand. This step may save you a lot of money and grief in the long run.

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Tips to Avoid Being Scammed

2007-03-01T09:00:00.001-08:00

No matter where you on in the world, there are countless online and work from home jobs to choose from. But, just like anything else online, there are also things available to you that might seem too good to be true - and often, they are.

Here's the good news, there are several things that you can do to make sure that you don’t end up beings scammed out of your hard work or money.

1. Do your research.
If you are offered a paying position or even a temporary job by someone online, do a search on their name or email address and see if anything fishy comes up. Try to deal with people who have good reputations, or at the very least who don’t have bad reputations. You should try to avoid people who send you emails from a free email accounts, unless they include a lot of business information that you can check and verify. Remember that you should always be on the look out for potential scammers, and this includes in the job market.
2. Ask Questions.
Try to ask as many questions of the person who is hiring you before you begin work. Make sure there is a work contract that you can sign and keep for your own records, so that you will have written proof if anything goes wrong or if you do work that you aren’t paid for. The more information you are getting on the person who is offering you work, the better chance you have of staying clear of scammers, because often scammers will not give you very much information.
3. Keep Records.
It goes without saying that you need to keep track of your own work, and everything you are doing. Track what you have done and how much you need to be paid for it. Be sure to keep track of when that payment has been received. And, if you can, try to keep records of all of the communications that you have with the people who are recruiting you to work. Make sure that they are always answering your questions.
4. Trust Your Instincts.
Feel out a person before you take work for them. Make sure that you are able to trust this person, and that they have given you enough information so that you feel they are trustworthy. You should be able to know if you can really trust someone or not by the time you begin to work with them. Avoid the places and the people who you simply don’t trust. If you don’t trust someone, you shouldn’t take work from that person. That is just a good rule of thumb to keep in mind. Don't work for those that you do not trust, and this should go for all types of work, whether it is from home or not.

There are lots of good opportunities out there for entrepreneurs. You need to go into them with your eyes open and your radar on. There is a rule of thumb that always works: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Do you homework and you will find success not scams.

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Break Out of Your Cocoon - Eliminate Social Isolation In Your Home Business

2007-02-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

We've all heard about “cocooning”, which sociologists have been monitoring very carefully since the explosion of the Web. Cocooning is the process of social isolation where a society withdraws from physical interaction with each other. This “hermit-like” behavior can lead to the decline of many cultural and social traditions. Cocooning also affects the way we interact with other when do finally leave the house and meet face to face.

The Internet has changed the way that humans communicate and interact. We can spend hours in chat rooms pretending to be beautiful, successful and brilliant when in fact we are average looking, overweight and unemployed. The person at the other end of the keyboard has no way of verifying our claims or disproving them.

Internet chat removes an essential aspect of communication: body language. Such things as posturing, fidgeting and eye contact all are unconscious transmitters of our true intentions. We learn as small children not to make eye contact when telling a lie and to cross our arms to distance ourselves from unpleasant people or situations. But the computer screen has no way of converting these communication skills into data that can be observed as overtones in the written text of a conversation.

Cocooning may impact the communication skills of future generations. While excelling at expressing themselves through the written word, our children may lack the skills to give a convincing speech in public or carry on a comfortable conversation while waiting in line at the grocery store. Some youth even use text messaging to communicate when they are in the same room ... let's not even get into the challenges with spelling and normal communication this is causing.

Some people argue that the growth of the home business industry is accelerating this trend. As more and more people work for themselves, from home, and communicate with colleagues over the Internet, face to face meetings and more traditional forms of meetings are dropping.

Add to this trend the fact that many parents are home schooling children, you can email your mother and fax your clients. You can even order a pizza, shop for a birthday gift and have your groceries delivered: all without any verbal communication.

As in everything in life, a balance is needed. If you email your mother today, call her tomorrow and visit her on the weekend. If you work from home, make time to visit the park. Join social groups rather that Internet message forums.

For your children, limit the amount of time that your children use the Internet and cell phone for text messaging. Encourage teens to take a speech or debate class along with that computer programming class when signing up for college courses. They may not like speaking in public (after all it is one of the top fears) but it will go a long way in helping expand their communications skills ... which are vital for future business success.

Social interaction has another valuable role for the home based business owner ... it extends your network and builds a support net for you. Find outlets where you can talk, share and interact with others in person. It gets you away from the screen, and out into the world. It can also help spark creativity and a drive to keep going when the going gets tough.

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Promotion 101 - Money in the bank

2007-02-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

Marketing is an important aspect of any business. Home based businesses are no exception. Here are a few tips on promoting your home business.

1. Personalize your business cards with a company logo. Be sure to include email addresses and website URL on the front.

2. If you sell a product, carry several samples with you. Attach a business card to the front. You’ll be prepared the next time someone asks you “ What do you do for a living?”. Hand them a sample along with your contact information so they know how to get more.

3.Collect email addresses from everyone. Contact information can be as good as money in the bank.

4. Start a monthly newsletter filled with updates and special promotions for your products and services. Snail mail it and email it out to every address in your data base.

5. Learn to write good copy. If you don’t have time to educate yourself, hire an exceptional copy writer to assist you. Good copy makes a difference between booming business and lost sales.

6.Request testimonials form experts in your line of work, than use them to promote your business.

7.Publish your business in every available marketing directory in your area.

8. Word of mouth can make or break a business. Talk up your business when in public and enlist friends and family members to do the same.

9. If you don’t have one already, get a website. Keep it low key, professional, easy to navigate and full of quality content. Don’t overuse graphics and flashy plug ins that slow down the time it takes for your page to load. Spend some time creating a catchy headline or slogan for your business. Now would be the time to use the copy writer again. List your web site with directories like Google , Yahoo and Inktomi. Make sure you read the webmaster’s guidelines and ensure that your website conforms to the search engines terms of service.

10. Get the word out about your business online by joining discussion forums related to your area of business. Post links back to your website and exchange links with other businesses that compliment your service. Avoid associating your site with fly-by-night or shady businesses. Only allow your links to be posted on high quality, reputable sites. Only post links on your site to businesses or websites that you have researched thoroughly. This can improve your page ranking and help you move up on the search engine results page.

11.Purchase advertising. While this is more expensive, it gains attention. You can even promote the business on radio but you might want a professional speaker to read the script promoting your business to listeners in prime listening times.

Don't rely solely on one marketing initiative. It takes a campaign to successfully promote your business. Remember PR, marketing and advertising will help bring money into the bank.

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Marketing Your Home Business

2007-02-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

So you've decided to open a home business.

Good for you!

Who knew that you could actually get started and that you’d be able to follow through with it – well you have!

Give yourself a pat on the back, and take a breather.

But only a quick one, because one you have started up a home business, the hard part is just beginning.

As soon as you have started up your home business, you need to begin to market it.

This is something that you might not have even thought of, but it is something that needs to be done right away because this is where you are going to get your key clients from. Remember that this isn’t as hard as you might think it is. In fact, marketing your home business can be a snap, if you follow some key ideas.

1. Know your market. Determine who your key audience is. Are you going to be marketing to kids, to adults, or to another age bracket? Are you going to market more to men or women or both? Is there anything else about your clientele that separates them from the world at large?

2. Start marketing. There are many ways to market a business. If your business is based in a large city or somewhere that has a lot of traffic, you can do other kinds or marketing like flyers, signs, and other print media. However, if you are running a business that is mostly online, and you hope that most of your clients will come from the internet, here are things you should do to make sure that marketing is a success.

* Place adds on web pages that you know will get seen by your key demographic. Find some popular sites for the group of people that you have to target and try to get some advertising on those sites. Also look for pages that everyone will see, and try to get as many links out there as possible that have your name and your businesses name on them.

* Make sure that you are posting blogs and other articles all over the internet that somehow relate back to you.

* Get your name out there, do some surfing of your own. If you are in a certain type of business, go to some boards that deal with that business, and post on them with your internet address in your signature.

Remember the success of any business relies on the ability for your customers to find you. The more advertising that you can do, the more people are going to see your website and hopefully click on the link to visit your page.

Get out there and start talking. Customers are waiting

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Giving a gift

2006-12-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

People sometimes wonder why when they are working hard to build a business, they should give away their hard earned money to someone else.

For me, the reason is easy to figure out. For others, the concept of giving is a little harder to swallow.

Let me tell you one reason, I think its important for entrepreneurs, business owners and investors to give ... by giving, you receive. Sometimes the receiving is monetary, sometimes it is not. All times, the giving sends a signal out to the world that you are looking out for someone other than yourself and guess what, little by little, good things will start to come your way from a bunch of strange sources.

Here's an example. My Rich Dad club was playing last week and a new player landed on charity. She was looking at the square as a lost opportunity ... she hadn't landed one something that would allow her to make a purchase.

I took the opportunity to share some of Robert Kiyosaki's views on tithing and the importance he places on investing in three areas: savings, investing and tithing. It is so important to give back, he suggests giving an equal amount away to charity, as you would put into saving and investing.

The player took up the charity option and .... because of it, was able to make her first deal faster than anyone else on the board.

With the holiday season upon us, why not look at your tithing. Do you have a favourite charity? Do you give regularly to others? If the answer is no, you might want to wrap up some holiday cheer and give to someone less fortunate. The payback will be huge.

All the best to you this holiday season!

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Walk like a leader

2006-11-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

At Success University (http://jenniferlavoie1.successuniversity.com), there are several courses that you can take to enhace a range of areas in your life. One of them is leadership.

Why is leadership so important to an entrepreneur? Well, if you are in a people business like MLM or network marketing, you need to be a leader in order to have people willing or lining up to follow you.

When you look at the leaders in history, there are some untangeable characteristics they possess. It's almost like they resonate at a slightly different level which draws people to them. Some describe it as magnetism, others charisma.

Here's a checklist that Success University created on leadership. An important point: like many skills, leadership can be learned. Invest in your education and build up skills in a range of areas to achieve the success you want.

1. The Leader must have a dream larger than those he/she leads.
2. The Leader must have an attitude superior to those he/she leads.
3. The Leader is responsible and admits when he/she has made a mistake.
4. The Leader is a decision maker.
5. The Leader puts those he/she leads first.
6. The Leader sets the example by being in the front of the pack.
7. The Leader displays a commitment to integrity and character.
8. The Leader strives for excellence in all things.
9. The Leader displays a commitment to personal growth.
10. The Leader has the highest level of persistence and determination.

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It's Impossible To Fail

2006-11-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

Read the headline. Do you believe it?

Failure is a state of mind not a state of your reality. If you are focused on not failing, trust me when I tell you, you won't succeed.

Consider:
"Fear, uncertainty, and doubt are, and always have been, the greatest enemies of success and happiness." Brian Tracy

"If you do not do the thing you fear, then the fear controls your life."
Glenn Ford

Many, many people go through life trying to avoid failure and guess what, they are so focused on that result, it often comes to them. Scary thought. Focus too hard on failure and you are bringing it to you.

When you change your mindset to focus on success not avoiding failure, the results are spectacular. Achievement, wealth and all of your dreams start to be realized. It really does work. If you are focusing on what you want, not what you are trying to avoid.

The movie The Secret explains this concept in greater detail. It is interesting once you start to think more about what you want and less about what you don't want, doors start to open up for you.

A speaker from success University, Michelle Blood, further explained this concept in her course Be A Magnet for success. When you focus on what you want, your thoughts turn into feeling then action and results. And, when you are focusing on what you really want, the universe will start to deliver. Interestingly, it might not come from the source you are focused on. For example, if you are seeking infinite wealth, and working on building a business, the wealth might come from an unexpected source not the business you are focused on ... but rest assured it will come.

When you are thinking about want you want, turning thoughts into feelings and actions, it is impossible to fail. Brian Tracy says: When you make a consistent effort to say to yourself, "I can do it! I can!" you will replace fear with self-confidence.

And guess what, if you act like you can't fail, not only will you find success but you will be living a more powerful, positive life. Do it today.

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Opportunity In Disguise

2006-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

This morning I was listening to a fantastic speaker. A native of Ghana, this man very early in his life set a course to come to America .... what he calls the land of opportunity. Being raised in a home with no running water, no shoes to wear and disease abundant, he learned about America and set a goal to get there. It took hard work persistence and dedication. Today, he has realized his goal, and is using his wealth to give back to the community that raised him.

I wanted to give you the quick background because he opened my eyes, especially when he shared some stats (mroe than 30% of millionnaires in America are immigrants). Wonder why? We live with abundance and yet can't see opportunity. Many of these immigrants come from nothing and see opportunity everywhere.

He talked about taking a job at university where his roommates would wait for a cheque from mom and dad. He talked about the classified job sections, which immigrants see as listings for opportunities. Pages and pages of opportunities.

How many times has opportunity come knocking and you've closed the door with a polite no thank you.

How often do you see a big problem, not a huge opportunity. When you are facing obstacles or challenges do you run from it ... rather than standing up and facing the fear. When you face a fear, you have conquered it forever.

Today, there are so many opportunities for abundance and yet so many people have their eyes closed to it.

Resolve something: resolve to see opportunity where before you might have seen a problem. Take a fresh look at the world around you and revel in your abundance. The world has now, more than ever, so much to offer if you are willing to open the door and answer the call.

Your true opportunity might be in disguise ... disguised as a big problem ... see it for what it is and grab hold, don't run away. You might be very surprised by the outcome.

Adopt an attitude of gratitude. That's the difference between immigrants and us ... we take everything around us for granted. They see it as abundance. Maybe we can learn to see our own opportunities through the eyes of those around us.

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Want them to beg?

2006-11-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I was enjoying re-reading some articles by Kurt Mortensen, the master of persuasion. I was thinking today about how to turn prospects into recruits. I enjoy this one, as we all want people to beg us to join our business.

Here's Kurt's article:

GET YOUR PROSPECTS TO BEG: USE EXTERNAL DISSONANCE!
Have you ever dealt with a prospect and had them suddenly interject and say something like, "uhm...this all sounds great. How do I get started?"

If not, you're really missing out. If so, you probably got lucky...

Or you just know how to use external dissonance.

For you to understand this exactly, it's important to know what dissonance is in the first place. For more information, go to www.magneticpersuasion.com and click on free reports. Scroll down to the "what is dissonance" link. After you've done this, you're ready.

The more somebody commits to or participates in something, the more likely they are to be persuaded. Simple enough, right? There are some great ways to use this to your advantage as a persuader. You know that your prospects have some basic things they want and need, right? Let's say you are a real estate investor. You know that it is important to your clients to close on their property quickly. So you ask them something like this: "Bob, a lot of people I deal with in this situation want to be able to close quickly. Is that something you want?" Well, what's Bob going to say? Duh!

So, here's a big surprise: when you write up you real estate purchase contract will you have a "quick close date?" Absolutely. When you apply this technique while knowing your prospects core wants and beliefs, you achieve tremendous persuasive power! In a roundabout way, your prospects will have said "I want your product." As you close, make sure you let your prospect know that your prospect includes all of the features they "said they wanted." This creates a tremendous amount of dissonance. The easiest way for your prospects to relieve this psychological tension will be to purchase your product!

*Remember: only ask this kind of question if you know what the answer will be. If you were to get a "no" in this situation the technique would have the opposite effect.

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Environments for Winning

2006-11-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is part of the Why we want you to be rich series but I felt it merited additional discussion.

Robert Kiyosaki talks about winning environments ... and noted these environments are ones where you need to be exceptionally talented, driven and tenacious to succeed. He notes that sometimes the fastest way to change and improve yourself is to change your environment.

For many years, I have been active in community groups, investment groups and always investing in my education through courses, night school and even online training. Through these groups and education, I have consistently expanded my context and allowed my reality to expand beyond my up bringing. I was raised in a middle class family. I was taught to value my university education, strive for a good job that would look after me into my retirement at 65. From a very early stage in my career, I had other ideas but I was uncertain how to go about it. Everyone around me were in traditional careers and roles so ideas I bounced off people sank like a lead balloon!

So what changed: I kept talking to people and networking. Eventually, I started connecting with people who, like me, believed that the old 9-5 sucked. More than that, they wanted early retirement and more time freedom to enjoy while they were young enough to have fun.

What's the message: For me, persistence is the key. Not talking "you can't do that" for an answer and rather constantly look for the how to do something. Many people will think you are nuts but who cares ... they'll still be working for someone else while you are enjoying the good life. Looking back, who was really nuts ... certainly not you!

From the book here are some ideas to create powerful environments:
* for your intelligence to grow, go to a library, bookstore or school
* for your health to grow, go to the gym, ride a bike, walk or play more
* for your spirit to grow, find a quiet spot to meditate or go to church
* for your wealth to grow, go places where people are getting rich (real estate office, stockbrokers' office, join an investment group and meet new friends who want to be rich as well
* for your world to expand, visit new places and do things you've never done.

"In other words, sometimes the fastest way to change and improve yourself is simply to change your environment."

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Why We Want You To Be Rich ... Part 5

2006-11-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

Many who read Robert Kyiosaki's books thinks he tells people not to "go to school and get a good job". In this latest book, he clarifies what he means and I think it is an important clarification.

In fact, I think there has been such a misunderstanding about Robert's perception on school that he felt it was important to clarify it in this book. RK didn't like school and didn't do well at school, but he still recommends that all young people complete their education (which means at least 4 years of college).

Here's the rationale:
1. It gives you a time to grown up. "All I found out after I left school was how much I didn't know"
2. " A college degree is a ticket." There are still many things out there that require a college or university degree.
3. You are given the opportunity to explore many different subjects at school and you can learn different skills that will be useful later in life.

I agree wholeheartedly with this argument.

First, people are growing up way to fast. High school and university are times for fun, experimentation, and learning important life lessons, but often people are so focused on the next step in their career and life they miss it. Don't miss it.

Number 2, while I am not working as a journalist (I have a university degree in journalism), the skills I learned at university including writing skills, and management skills (honed as the production manager of our local university paper) were very useful later in my life.

One regret from my university experience was my narrow course focus. I studied journalism and history. I didn't stray into the areas of politics or economics (two subjects that would be helpful on my financial path.) Kiyosaki says that if there are two subjects he recommends, it is accounting and business law. Not because he thinks everyone should be accountants or lawyers but because they will help you see what others cannot ... Xray vision into investments. I have had to learn accounting and law on the ground and it's a big learning curve. I have a good team helping but it would have helped to have some fundamentals.

So, when you are told by people to go to school and get a good job, perhaps hear it in a different way ... go to school and get the education that will lead to riches. That sounds better to me.

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Why We Want You To Be Rich Part 4

2006-10-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

A subtext to the book Why We Want You To Be Rich highlights the importance of picking your battles, battlefields and the terrain in which you will achieve success.

What does this mean? If you go back to the cashflow quadrant, there are people who fit exceptionally well in the E quadrant and are happy there. Does that mean they should quit and become a B? No, but perhaps they can be and E and an I ... and through the I quadrant achieve freedom.

You need to really think about the characteristics of each quadrant. After all, this is your future that you are charting. No one can tell you where to focus your energies. It has to come from you. (Note earlier posts where each of the quadrants is described).

When considering the question of quadrants, you might want to also consider the question of Why you want to be rich? Is it for security? Freedom? For me, and in case you can't tell from the name of this blog, money brings me freedom ... freedom to choose what I spend time on, how I spend my days and what I buy. It is a lifestyle choice that goes beyond security.

What do you value and why. Think about that for a while.

Trump suggests writing the script to your life ... then producing it yourself and find yourself living the way you want. Writing a script of your life is a lot like manifestations. If you haven't done it already, stop now and do it. It's hard to find yourself living the life of your dreams if you can't articulate that dream!

An interesting sidebar to the discussion: Did you know that both Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki had military training? Both attribute some of their success to their military training because it taught them leadership, how to follow orders and how to get people to follow them.

That's all for now. There is so much in this book, I'll bring you another snapshot next post.

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A nation that's MAXED OUT!

2006-10-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from the review of Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki's book because I stumbled across an article today that warrants discussion. It's scary. Has anyone noticed the proliferation of television shows, businesses and articles being written about debt? As a nation, we are raking up the debt on what Kiyosaki calls bad debt or doodads. The scary part about it is that most people don't even know they are doing it.

Here's an excerpt of the article from Motley Fool, as well as a link to the whole piece: http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06102702.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ad Council, who are working together in this project, hope the dose of nostalgia will get more young consumers to skip the plasma TV purchases and become young savers ... (paints) a bleak picture of his targeted age group:

Their average credit card debt is $4,088.
Their average student loan debt is $20,000.
They spend 24% of their income on debt payments.
They have the nation's second-highest rate of personal bankruptcy.

A study commissioned by the accountants' group also showed that the proportion of young adults with a simple savings account fell from 61% to 48% from 1985 to 2004. Over the same time period, the median net worth of adults in that age group has fallen dramatically, from $6,788 to $3,746. This means lots of young adults are missing out on one of the biggest advantages of saving while they're still young -- the advantage of time. Several thousand dollars put away early will grow exponentially greater than several thousand stashed away a decade later.

When I was in my late teens, my parents gave me a copy of the Wealthy Barber. While I don't follow all of the advice outlined in the book, it gave me a start on the path I'm currently following. It also sparked an interest in wealth creation that has lived on to this day.

In a RichDad CD, Robert Kiyosaki says that the only problem with keeping up with the Jones is that the Jones are going broke. I believe this is true. With the mentality of instant gratification, need it now, don't pay a cent, people are racking up debt they can't get out from under. It's truly frightening and what is worse is that most people aren't aware of what they are doing to themselves until its too late.

Take some time to review your personal budget (manage your household like a business). Look at the expenses and income. If you are red-lining, take action now before you are in so deep you can't get out.

Now let me be clear on one thing: I'm not talking about becoming cheap. If you become rich by being cheap you are still cheap. I am talking about being responsible with your income and your expenses. A trick I was taught by Kiyosaki is to have passive income businesses pay for my doodads, that way you have the doodad you want, and you have the passive stream of income for life.

Next time: More on Why We Want You To Be Rich

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Why We Want You To Be Rich ... Part 3

2006-10-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

I can't put this book down. The two styles of Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are so different, yet complimentary. And, the message they deliver hits home.

Those who have been reading RD for a while, know that Robert advises learning one thing, mastering it, then moving on to the next area of expertise. In this book, he calls it FOCUS.
F = Follow
O = One
C = Course
U = Until
S = Successful

If we think about how we bounce about life, trying a few things, giving up and moving on to the next, it's no wonder there's such a big difference between playing to survive and playing to win ... those playing to win continue to focus on one thing at a time until successful. They overcome the challenges in front of them and continue forward.

Many people ascribe to the concept of diversification, but if you really look at this strategy it runs contrary to the concept of focus. It's a strategy that many financial planners use to convince people not to keep all their eggs in one basket. That through diversification, they can weather the ups and downs of a marketplace and protect themselves for major market shifts. It is, as Robert points out, a defensive strategy. These are the same advisors who tell people to work hard, get out of debt and save for the long term.

People like Robert and Donald believe in debt ... or using other people's money ... but they don't load up on bad debt which the poor and the middle class do. They use debt to buy assets that put more and more money into their pockets. And, the leverage those assets to buy more assets ... mastering one investment strategy after the next.

Now, I can already hear the protests and excuses that inevitably come up when I talk with people about this concept. The excuses will disapear if you conquer your fear, and set your mind to mastering one area of wealth creation, then moving on to another. Do you want to use your mind to make excuses or lever your mind to make money. I'll take the latter thanks!

We are all born rich. We all have been given the most powerful lever on earth, our minds ... so use your mind for leverage to make you richer rather than making excuses.

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Why We Want You To Be Rich Part 2

2006-10-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Before I continue with today's post, I want to underscore that I am not summarizing Why We Want You to Be Rich. I am simply sharing aspects of the book I find interesting or thought provoking. I think every book of this kind should be read more than once to truly grasp all the concepts being presented. I have found that going back and re-reading Prophecy, Rich Dad and other books, there were different elements that strike a chord because of the differing stages in my life.

3 Types of Investors: See if you can recognize yourself and the people around you in these three investors.
1. People who don't invest at all (and expect family, the government or their company to look after them ... see previous info on entitlement)
2. People who invest not to lose (safe investments and a saver mentality)
3. People who invest to win (those who invest in education, higher returns and greater control).

When Pete and I started RD Coaching this year, our goal was to further our education. We had set a goal to win ... within three years ... but knew we needed more education and experience to get there. So, we invested in the education we knew we needed to win.

Interestingly, Investing to Win, is a large section of this new book. Both Robert and Donald underscore that those who are investing not to lose will. Financial experts (who as Donald explains takes the subway to work and advise those driving BMWs) teach people to play it safe. "Those experts aren't focussed on winning. They are focussed on not losing. "

When you look at the so called safe investments, Robert and Donald say they are actually very risky. People socking their money away into these vehicles will get a rude awakening when retirement hits ... all the while they cling to job security ... and we all know there is no such thing as job security.

The majority of people are playing the game of life not to lose ... people like Robert and Donald are playing to win.

I found it very interesting that, in an interview with a reporter Robert confessed he hadn't set any goals for this year. When asked why (it goes against his teachings), he said he doesn't know what else to ask for ... then in the next breathe said: I think I need to dream wilder dreams.

Robert is not satisfied to stay in one place but is already looking beyond to see what else is possible. He reminds me of another business person I recently interviewed who said: I think I need to dream harder dreams because I keep reaching mine.

Living life beyond our dreams seems like a wonderful goal ... if you dare to take it on, but I fear few are up to the challenge. Are you?

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Why We Want You To Be Rich Part 1

2006-10-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump's new book is now on bookshelves, and its title is Why we want you to be rich. A compelling title that has some shocking reasons behind it: The book is about the shrinking middle class and how the future shows a widening gap between the rich and the poor, the have and the have nots. These two financial powerhouses, or as they call themselves, the millionaire and the billionaire met during a Learning Annex seminar and discovered they had a lot in common. That commonality lead to the creation of a book that I would suggest you read if you are serious about becoming rich.

As a side note, some of the proceeds from this book are donated to financial education charities ... a sign of the importance of tithing.

Get the book here

The book opens with both Robert and Donald writing about their first meeting and their concepts for a new book. They both talk about WHY this book is important to write and why they are so concerned about the state of the US and global economy. As they state, if there's one why for becoming rich, it's so you aren't poor. A pretty compelling reason to strive for financial freedom.

The eye opening part of the introductory chapters is that the shrinking middle class and the collapse that awaits us as baby boomers retire is something we've done to ourselves. Robert and Donald want us "to let go of our entitlement mentality and become rich so we can solve our own problems." In quoting Mark Twain they say: Don't go around saying the world owes you a living, the world was here first.

Donald shows the changes in economic powerhouses in the world and how China and India are emerging as major economic forces. They are viable competition for countries who believe they are the global economic engine. Today's a wake up call.

Why we want you to be rich starts where every successful project should ... with the why. It doesn't need to be complicated. The why for this book as written by Robert Kiyosaki is:
"We want to encourage you to become rich because American and many other countries are becoming two class societies - rich or poor ... One reason: If you do not decide to become rich, the chances are you will become poor"

I can't think of a better reason to strive for wealth, can you.

Get the book here

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Lemmings & Crowds

2006-10-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

The road less travelled will sometimes take you past some interesting landmarks. All too often, some of the most beautiful sites are a short walk from the highway, or a hike up the mountain.

I recently moved from Ontario to BC and one of my favourite pastimes is hiking. I take Kayley on awesome walks that often take us to peaks in the area where we can look over a stunning vista. It is worth the sweat-equity.

When we are walking, we pass few people along the pass. There are few cars in the parking lots and even fewer hikers on trails. The herd hasn't wandered off the road yet.

The same can be said for business and investing. Quite often, those who are willing to take the road less travelled, investigate options that the herd hasn't found yet, have greater chances of return. Even more often, by the time the herd tunes into the opportunity, it's too late.

I see the same thing every day in the stock market, particularly around people who think the market is "risky". They watch and watch a particular company until everyone is talking it about it and the share price goes through the roof. That's when the inevitable person will buy only to find the company can't sustain the high price and starts to fall ... and guess what happens to the followers who waited and watched.

The same is very true when you are in business, particularly when you select a business that might be considered by many to be "risky" or leading edge. You will get all kinds of people happy to tell you that you are nuts for doing it, and watch you succeed from the sidelines. It is at that point, they'll try something quietly on the side, likely fail, and then blame the system.

What can you do? Have faith in what you are doing and keep focussed on the end result. The herd could be running for a cliff and I doubt you want to be with them.

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Work to Learn

2006-10-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki introduces us to the concept of working to learn, not working to earn. For those who have read his books, you know he took a job at IBM to learn to sell. He worked for an investor to learn to invest. Throughout his career, he has taken jobs or positions to further his education not necessarily his income.

This is something I think we can all learn from. How many people do we know have been in the same job for many years and are simply running the treadmill. How familiar does this sound: get up, drink a coffee, get in the car, commute to work, do the job, come home, eat dinner, fall asleep unmotivated and exhausted. I'll bet anyone doing the 9-5 thing can relate. Here's the question: what are you learning between waking and bedtime. If the answer is nothing, you might want to revisit your choices.

There are a few ways to build your education without quitting your job (at least in the short term). Take a sales training course in your spare time. If you have the time and money, you could do personalized coaching: I am a huge fan of Magnetic Persuasion

The course teaches you the power of positive persuasion ... a tool we can use in all facets of our lives.

Another concept that I love about RD's recommendation about working to learn is the idea that you "want to know a little about a lot" I started my career as a journalist and what I loved about this position was learning about all different industries, businesses, politics and people. It was a dynamic (if poor paying) job that sparked my interest in lifelong learning ... and was the foundation of my outlook of today. The more time you spend investing in your education, the more you will profit in the long term.

So how do you apply what you are learning. Learn one thing, master it, then move onto the next. You then build expertise and excellence in so many areas that you have a diversified background in which to build multiple streams of income. Let me give you a tangible example, this year I've investing in sales training (through magnetic persuasion) and business planning through RD Coaching. I am now putting the skills of these courses into practice in order to "master" them.

Most people who know me, know that I am anti-JOB ... mostly because I abhor the idea of working for someone else. BUT, I would take a job if I thought there was something I could from it ... for example, I would work for a real estate agent or a mortgage broker to learn the ins and outs of this industry.

What's next? Stay tuned.

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Expect Success

2006-10-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

"Winners and losers aren't born, they are the products of how they think." Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach.

This morning, I read an article by a Rich Dad coach who explained some of the greatest achievements are realized because the individual expects to succeed, even in the face of adversity.

Many, many people already know that if you expect to succeed you will, and if you expect to fail, you will. Either way, you are right. What I loved about the coach's article was the connection he made to financial success. You need to approach every deal with the positive expectation that it will work out. I think that by approaching it in this way, you look for the opportunity and see if there's a way to make it work.

Lets take a real life example. A few years ago, we were looking to buy a property that we felt would be a great investment. We ran the numbers, knew how to make it work, and started shopping for a bank to invest in the property. Much to our surprise, we were turned down ... and not just once.

We could have given up and decided to let the property go but we knew it would be a great opportunity so we started looking for other options. We called the agent and asked if the vendor would take back the mortgage with 10% down. To our surprise, he was very interested. For tax reasons, getting smaller increments of the sale price made the sale more palatable.

We not only got the price we wanted for the property, we got the financing terms and we got the property. There were some hairy moments during the purchase but by focussing on the positive, we made it happen.

In another case, we owned a large piece of property, 1/3 of which was unusable and under the protection of a conservation authority. We knew the land had some potential if we could make some changes. Everyone around us told us it couldn't be done but we knew there was a way. We met with the authority, presented a plan, after 6 months of meetings, we got approval. The effort resulted in $150K profit when we sold.

I don't think anyone believes the path is an easy one, but it can be filled with positive possibilities.

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Marketing 101

2006-10-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

When I first started in this business, I thought there was some magic formula that allowed some people to be successful while others floundered around hoping to make money but never seeming to connect.

I looked around at the people who were realizing success and those who weren't to try and identify the different skill sets, characteristics or activities that made one person successful and the other not as successful.

Here's the secret: It wasn't about skill set. It wasn't about personal characteristics and it wasn't about talent.

So what does make a difference? Pure and simple. Marketing. Marketing both yourself and your product. It's really not rocket science. Like many people who are new to this industry, you seek the magic bullet. The one thing that will rocket you to success. The reality is that it's not one thing.

Now lets take a closer look at the people in this industry (or any business) who achieve success, and what do we find. They are really, really good at marketing themselves.

Am I saying that if you don't have marketing skills you won't succeed? Not really. Most good companies or programs will teach you what you need to know to market the opportunity effectively. What I am saying is you have to do it. You have to implement the marketing tools and tactics you are being taught ... and here IS the secret: You have to do it consistently. Day in Day Out while you are building the business. If you are in a true passive income business as taught by gurus like Robert Kiyosaki, momentum will build and you will be able to coast on auto pilot but you have to build it first.

I have been gathering some of the secrets from other top marketers and will start sharing them here but what is important is that you take action and start to implement them.

Oh yeah, just to clarify something. Marketing does not always mean spending money. Marketing can be as simple as publishing a blog (which is free), posting to forums (which is also free) or writing articles (which if you do it yourself is free). Marketing takes time, effort and diligence but the pay off is huge in both business growth and profits.

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Passion ... Do you have it?

2006-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Do you have passion for your business? Can you talk with anyone about it with pride and energy? It's very easy to start a business, be energized by its potential and then slide into mediocrity. Why? For every person the reasons are different. For some, it's the thrill of the hunt (finding that new business and starting it that' s exciting). Once it's strated, the shine dulls and it becomes routing. For others, success can wear at the enthusiasm we have for a business, and for still others it can be criticism or worse ridicule that we may be subjected to along the way.

Whatever the reason, when the energy wanes or the positive motivation dulls, often it has a ripple effect on the business causing a further spin toward unprofitability.

I was sent a copy of the movie The Secret this weekend. If you haven't seen it, the cost of a download is worth it. www.thesecret.tv The movie shows how the energy we are projecting, both positive and negative are attracting those things we think about towards us. That means if we are thinking about debt, bills, lack of money, we could be attracting more of it to us. The movie explains that the universe is constantly bringing us what we think about ... so why not think about positive things and have more of them come our way.

So, how does this related to the beginning of this blog? When you have passion for a business, an idea or even a person, you project that passion to others ... and guess what, the universe respond bringing more of it to you.

I am going to retire free in 3 years with cheques filling my mailbox and bank account every day ... I'm passionate about making that happen.

How about you? Take a few minutes and write it out, say it out loud. Then start making it happen for you.

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How Many Streams Of Income Do You Have?

2006-10-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki outlines the differences between assets and liabilities. Assets put money in your pocket, liabilities take money out.

When you build a business, the objective is putting money in your pocket. As you build a business, you are working to establish a business that will continue paying you even when you've decided to take a break from the business. That's called residual or passive income. And that's the key to retiring early and retiring free.

If you haven't read Multiple Streams of Income, within the pages is a great concept that is important to understand: You accelerate your earning potential, as well as the speed with which you can retire when you increase the number of passive income businesses you are building.

Another aspect of the streams concept is controlling the outflow of your streams (ie your expenses). By increasing your income with income from passive income businesses, while managing your expenses you will start to the path to financial freedom ... how these residual streams of income will allow you to quit your current job and spend more time on the things you enjoy.

Robert Kiyosaki outlines three asset classes and as you build your passive income, he advises having passive income in all three areas: business, real estate and investments. He also recommends learning one, mastering it and moving on to the next.

So, since this blog is all about business, we are focussing here on building a series of passive income businesses. Those passive income businesses ultimately provide money to invest in the other asset classes.

That's the road to stability and financial freedom.

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Are you really secure?

2006-10-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

I received a shocking email recently from a friend and business partner. It's someone I've worked with for a number of years and has been with the same Fortune 500 company for many years.

People would say, she has a good, secure job.

Here's the shocking part. The company announced downsizing a few months ago, and she just found out she is one of the casualties of the slowing economy. So, in the next two weeks, she'll be re-evaluating her options and considering a new career move.

When I hear about people like this, it tugs at my heart. How many others out there are keeping their heads down hoping the axe won't fall on them. How many people are sitting in their offices or cubicles figuring they have a good job, they don't have to worry.

It's an illusion.

No job is secure.

We have been watching as the governments have been making moves to protect our countries from a recession. Is is working? Time will tell but in the interim, companies are making moves to protect their bottom line and react to slowing consumer sales and weaker economic outlook.

For those of us who made the decision to start moving to the right side of the quadrant and build a business, we have a greater level of control over our destiny and future earning potential.

It's news like my friend received that reinforces my decisions, strengthens my resolve and gives me the determination I need to keep building a business that will provide the financial stability I need to retire early.

It's a wake up call for all. Safe, secure jobs ... are not so safe and secure.

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Investing in Freedom

2006-10-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

The last quadrant is the I quadrant. In RD's books, he talks about the differeny levels of investors from beginners to the highest levels of qualified expert investor.

Like the other quadrants, investors have a particular skillset that needs to be honed over time.

Here's what Robert Kiyosaki says about the I quadrant. As you'll see the I quadrant is where money gets turned into wealth. Like the B quadrant we talked about earlier, this quadrant is needed to realized financial freedom.

If you’re an I (investor)

You make money with money. You do not have to work because your money is working for you.

The I quadrant is the playground of the rich. Regardless of which quadrant people make their money in, if they hope someday to be rich, they ultimately must come to the I quadrant.

It is in the I quadrant that money becomes converted into wealth.

Now that we've reviewed the different quadrants and the characteristics of each of those quadrants. In my coaching program, we had to articulate and answer the following questions: Who are you? How do you earn money? What is your idea of risk—or security for that matter? Equally important—how does your spouse answer these questions?

When you've answered these questions, we can take a next step and start building your foundation for financial freedom.

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Move to the right ...

2006-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

In the past 2 posts, we've talked about being on the left side of the quadrant, the rat race side. It's the side most people are on.

To become financially free, you need to start moving to the right side ... the freedom side. Most financially successful people are active in both quadrants on the right side but Rich Dad says the ones who are the most wealthy know the skills of building a business. If you are reading this blog, you are also interested in building a business. The skills outlined on this site are the ones needed to build a passive income business.

For those building a network marketing business, keep at it, you're on your way to moving to the right and becoming a B.

Lets remember the difference between a B and an S ... a B could leave his business for a year, come back and find the company as profitable, if not more so, than when he left. A person leaving an S business would return after a year to find no business remaining.

If you’re a B (business owner)

You’re almost the opposite of an S.

Why?

Because rather than doing things yourself, you like to surround yourself with smart people from all four categories: E, S, B, and I.

Unlike the S, who does not like to delegate work, the true B likes to delegate. Many people know either the essence of leadership or the technical skills of business. To be a successful B, you really need to know both. Rich dad always said, “The technical skills of business are easy…the hard part is working with people.”

Many entrepreneurs who start up a new company to produce something no one else has produced wind up starting an S-quadrant type of business and not a B-quadrant type.

Not that one is necessarily better than the other, but many people who want to start the latter end up starting the former—out of ignorance or inexperience. And they become stalled in their quest to move to the right side of the quadrant.

B owners own a system, not a job. So when they go on vacation, they still make money.

To be successful as a B requires both:
a. Ownership or control of systems.
b. The ability to lead people.

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Independent streak? You might be an S

2006-10-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

This one is near and dear to my heart. For those who know me, you'll recognize many of the traits I exhibit.

Interestingly enough, my husband is also an S and many of the people we know are Ss (more on this later). As you will read in this post, there are many positive aspects of an S, as well as many things both of us are well aware that we need to mitigate in order to be successful on the right side ... or the freedom side ... of the quadrant.

If you’re an S (self-employed professional)
You’re a “do-it-yourselfer.” Often, when it comes to the subject of money, a hard core S does not like to have his or her income dependent on other people. In other words, if Ss work hard, they expect to get paid for their work. Those who are Ss do not like having the amount of money they earn dictated by someone else, or by a group of people who might not work as hard as they do.

If they work hard, they expect to be paid well. They also understand that if they do not work hard, then they don’t deserve to be paid much. When it comes to money, they have fiercely independent souls.

An S responds to fear differently than an E. An S doesn’t respond to fear by seeking security, but by taking control of the situation and doing it on his or her own. When it comes to fear and financial risk, he or she wants to “take the bull by the horns.”

Also in the S group are people who took educational paths other than, or in addition to, traditional schooling. In this group are direct-commission salespeople—real estate agents, for instance—as well as small-business owners such as retail shopkeepers, cleaners, restaurateurs, consultants, therapists, travel agents, car mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, preachers, electricians, hair stylists, and artists.

For this group, money is not the most important thing about their work. Their independence, the freedom to do things their way, and to be respected as experts in their fields, are much more important than mere money. They have a hard time hiring other people to do what they do simply because, in their mind, nobody else is up to the task. This causes this group to often say, “It’s hard to find good help these days.”

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Where are you today? A look at Es

2006-10-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

I talk a lot about the fundamentals of Rich Dad Poor Dad so I thought I'd dedicate the next couple postings to characteristics of each segment. Can you recognize yourself in any of them.

To recap, there are four quadrants ... the ones on the left are those getting income by trading dollars for hours ... they are firmly in the rat race. Those who are out of the rat race, or are getting out, gather their income from the right side of the quadrant. If you are on the left today, the goal is to start moving to the right side.

(Excerpted from Rich Dad Coaching Materials) If you’re an E (employee):

When you hear the word “secure” or “benefits,” you get a warm, fuzzy feeling. The
word “secure” is a word often used in response to the emotion of fear.

If a person feels fear, then the need for security is often a subject of conversation. This is a
“dead ringer” for someone who comes predominantly from the E quadrant. When it
comes to money and jobs, there are many people who simply hate the feeling of fear that
comes with economic uncertainty—hence the desire for security.

If you’re an E, the word “benefit” means you would also like some kind of additional
reward that is spelled out—a defined and ensured extra compensation, such as a health-care or retirement plan. The key is that you want to feel secure and see it in writing.
Uncertainty does not make you happy; certainty does. Your internal workings say, “I’ll
give you this…and you promise to give me that in return.”

As an E, you want your fear satisfied with some degree of certainty, so you seek security
and strong agreements when it comes to employment. You are accurate when you say,
“I’m not that interested in money.”

For you, the idea of security is more important than money. Employees can be presidents of companies or janitors of companies. It is not so much what you do, but the contractual agreement you have with the person or organization that hires you.

If this sounds like you, take a note, we'll work with this information onces we looked at the other quadrants.

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What are you thinking?

2006-10-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

"If you think you can do it or think you can't do it, either way you're right." - Henry Ford

Everyone has heard that expression, repeated as a motivational tool to help people understand the power of their own mind when it comes to success or failure.

Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich says: There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge. Both poverty and riches are offspring of thought.

Robert Kiyosaki in his coaching program outlines that money is just an idea.

So, why do these gurus spend time ensuring that "you've got your head right" before outlining other paths to riches? Because your conscious and your unconscious mind can undermine your efforts to attain new levels of wealth.

How? If you think you can't you won't. It's simple as that.

When you have a very strong belief - one that taps into your beliefs and your emotions - you will find that similar thoughts, feelings or beliefs are drawn to you. Have you ever smiled at a stranger, and found them smiling back? In the simplist of terms, the reaction you are looking for is drawn to you.

Try this: Have you ever had a really bad day and it seemed like everyone around you is in a bad mood. If during this bad day you started smiling at people and having a more sunny disposition, you would find that those around you seem to be in a better mood.

It's amazing how a conscious act, such as smiling, can be contagious. That one act feeds your beliefs (that people are in a good mood, as an example) and that belief translates into positive results.

How deep do you believe it? If you are speaking one set of words but don't believe them, your contradiction can be transmitted to those around you .. unconsciously and unintentionally ... and that can limit your success and even prevent you from succeseeding.

How strongly do you believe you can attain real wealth? The answer better be very strong ... you need that strength to conquer all the challenges that lie ahead ... and you need it to draw the success to you that you need.

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Power Investing

2006-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

When I start talking to people about Rich Dad and creating passive income to enable time and financial freedom, I immediately hear about people's plans for buying real estate. I try to listen patiently as I also believe that real estate can be a great investment vehicle ... but, as Robert Allen, Robert Kiyosaki, David Bach, and many, many more outline, having multiple streams of passive income is the true path to financial freedom.

So, what is RK's power investing principle?

1--Start a part-time business for the cashflow & tax advantages.
2--When the market is right invest in real estate. (Now is not the time.)
3-- Invest your excess cash from the real estate in paper assets.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are jumping into real estate without a lot of background knowledge about how to make that investment a lucrative one. Here's a clue, the property needs to generate passive income (that means it should be putting money into your pocket not taking money out).

When we were doing our personalized coaching program, one of the first steps was identifying how we were going to generate passive income from a number of sources; businesses, real estate and paper assets. The reason for this is to create a stable platform on which to build financial freedom you need all the elements ... and the first is to build a business.

Businesses provide the financial backing to support real estate investing. Makes sense right?

RK recommends learning a system, mastering it and then moving on to learning a new system. Start by learning the system of building a passive income business. (A passive income business is one that you could leave for a year and return to find it stronger than when you left.) Then, move into the business of real estate investing, learn the system, master it and then move on.

Taking it step by step will lead to prosperity and reduce your risks along the way.

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Lattes Anyone?

2006-09-25T15:23:00.001-07:00

Does this sound like a strange topic for my blog? Well, I'll take a Tall, Skinny .... We all have our morning routines. Drive through coffee before sitting in gridlock, lunches out on Fridays with the office, drinks on Saturday with friends ... We have the things we spend money on, without even thinking of it. Have you ever stopped to think about how much you spend on these little routines ... it's just 1.25 for a coffee right? Have you added that up over the course of a year?

It's funny how we scruntinize in minute detail the money spent on building a business, buying a business or promoting a business but the order for a Latte is flying out of our mouths without consideration.

David Bach called this the Latte Factor ... for all those people who think they don't have money for a business, don't have money to invest, don't have money to make a better future for themselves all have one thing in common ... everyone has a latte factor.

Here's the deal I've made myself. For every Latte Factor or in Robert Kiyosaki's words, Doodads that I purchase, I make an equal contribution to three funds: savings, investing and tithing (more on this in a later post). That way, I really think about the things I am buying because it will cost me double ... once for the latte and once for the rainy day fund.

If you take the time to review your savings and your expenses, you might be surprised at how much money is slipping between your fingers. The trick is, once you identify the money, is getting it to work for you. And by working for you, I don't mean putting it into a savings account and watching it NOT GROW. I mean putting it into something that will generate long-term passive income.

So lets recap: identify your latte factor, know what you are spending on and try to divert it to other productive purchases ... then, invest those funds in a business or investment that brings you closer to your goals for early retirement.

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Who do you hang with?

2006-09-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Look around you. Who are the people you spend the most time with? Are they entrepreneurs, employees, investors or business owners?

Robert Kiyosaki says the people you spend the most time with, are already in the quadrant you will end up in. Does that mean to move from one quadrant to another you need to change your friends. Not necessarily ... but it might mean you need to expand your circle of friends to include people in the quadrant you want to enter.

How do you do it? Join a club, take a course, go to a seminar. The more activities you undertake that introduce you to people who are interested in the same investing opportunities as you pursue. By doing this, you'll expand your circle of friends to include others who have interests in the same areas you are moving into.

Another way to expand your circle of friends is to see if there is a CashFlow Club operating in your city. For those who are new to Robert Kiyosaki, CashFlow is a game he developed to teach financial literacy. By playing CashFlow you can learn the skills needed to get out of the rat race ... and by playing with others in your community, you will network with people trying to be financially free, just like you.

Let me be clear: You don't have to shed all your old friends just because they are Es and you want to be a B. What I am saying is that to grow into the business owner and investor you want to be, you need to start networking, connecting and learning from others who are already where you want to be.

I will also offer you a word of caution. If the people around you are pulling you back into your old ways and holding you back from becoming the person you want to be, you should limit your exposure to them. When you are starting a business, you experience many days of self doubt and you need people around you who would be more apt to offer encouragement and support than criticism and skeptism.

Look around you today. Are the people you spend the most time with in the quadrant you want to be in? If the answer is no, you might want to expand your circle of friends to include a few new friends.

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Wishing or Desiring ... one wins, one doesn't

2006-09-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Do you wish you had more money, wish to win the lottery, wish for business success, wish for .... insert dream here.

If you spend all your time wishing, you won't get there. You need something deeper.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says: "Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches."

This is a powerful statement. It synthesizes all the elements you need to gain the riches you desire. Not only does it cover the desire (why), but puts steps in place to get where you are heading.

I think this is the greatest and overlooked element of a home business ... planning. So many people start out in business with a vague goal (translation wish) that they are pursuing. They have a vague plan to get there but no plan to handle obstacles ... and certainly not a plan that does not "recognize failure."

The how of a plan that does not recognize failure is harder. It involves digging deep inside to find the strength to continue on your path without letting disappointment smother you. You need to address contingencies ... how you will overcome challenges, and I would argue it includes a list of coaches and mentors you can call for help and support.

While we are all independent business people, we are not in business alone. Robert Kiyosaki says investing is a team sport. He's right. You need a strong team around you to be able to succeed. You team should be made up of professionals but also mentors and coaches who can provide you with guidance and support as you grow ... both personally and in business

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Don't get discouraged!

2006-09-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gotten discouraged? You start off with a bang, that fizzles.

Here's the good news ... it is normal. I would argue that if you ask anyone who has either built a business or changed their life if they felt discouraged from time to time, the answer would be a firm YES.

The measure of your ability to ultimately succeed is your ability to battled back from setbacks. Long term success will be realized when you overcome obstacles and keep you eye on the prize. As a side note, this is also the time when you should be reading your manifestations (your why) every day at least once so you can remember why you are doing this.

Common causes of discouragement include results that don't match up with your goals, people around you saying no (or telling you that you are crazy to be trying), and even you own self doubts (can I really do this?!). In my own experience, I have found that it's the self-doubt chiming away in my own head that can be the most destructive.

So, with constant reminders to "get out of my head", I refocus on the day's activities and keep pushing ahead.

Don't forget, it's only when you give up on yourself that you will fail, and I have seen it so often. Everyone can be successful in business, it takes dedication, internal fortitude, and often the support of a good mentor or coach.

So why do so many people fail? In my opinion, it is caused by a combination of factors: planning, dealing with challenges when they come up, and staying focussed on the end goal but taking small steps to get there.

Take credit for every success and stay positive about where you want to end up ... given time, success will come. When you give up on yourself, you won't reach your goal, you'll be stuck right back where you started.

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Get Organized ... It Saves Time & Money

2006-09-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

When you work from home, having a comfortable space to work is critical. Lets face it, if you are uncomfortable in your office, you will find 100s of reasons to do something other than work, and needless to say that will impact your success (and finances).

I recently met a professional organizer, Linda Andersson, whose contact info is below. She helps people get and stay organized. When I first met her, I was a little nervous. I am a self-confessed pack-rat and desperately need help but didn't want to live in a sterile environment. Her approach to organization works with your own habits to make getting and staying organized possible.

Her simple advice, both at the seminar I attended and through her newletter, is helping me to take one step at a time towards being better organized. I thought this would be a valuable resource to all of you as well. We can never be too organized!

Here's her most recent newsletter, as well as a link to her email and web site at the end of the aticle.

She is amazing. Take some time to read her advice and visit her web site.

Thanks Linda for giving me permission to share your article.

A New Perspective

Does getting organized seem to forever be on your “to do” list? Do you often find yourself saying “I really should get rid of some stuff and get better organized”, but then don’t manage to follow it up with action?

Saying we “should” do something is often not enough of a motivator to actually do it. We “should” ourselves into a guilt-ridden state then lose motivation or just don’t know where to begin.

What if, instead of feeling guilty and trying to force ourselves to do something, we looked at it from a different perspective?

Try this exercise: Sit down in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Mentally walk through your home or office, examining each room and its contents carefully. Once you are finished the tour of the entire space, begin to watch, in your mind’s eye, all of your possessions floating out of the house and onto the front lawn. Sit in the centre of each empty room and just look around and enjoy the empty space. Then, imagine only the items from the front lawn that represent who you are as a person, or family—just those things that you use and love—being brought back into your home, item by item. Imagine where you would place each item and how your new home would look and feel if it were just as you want it.

By envisioning the emotional and physical benefits of being organized, we are more likely to move towards creating that vision and let go of the things that no longer support this focus.

Simplicity is not about sacrifice. It’s about focusing on what truly matters and creating an environment to reflect that. This month, why not try a new perspective and see what wonderful simplicity you can create in your life.

Visit Linda's web site at: http://www.organizinghelp.ca
Email her at: info@organizinghelp.ca

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Pests, Guests and Pushovers

2006-09-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

While I was spending way too much time in airports yesterday, I remembered a saying used by Kurt Mortensen when talking about prospecting. He asked the call participants if they are pests, guests or pushovers.

If you think about your techniques, they will likely fall into one of these categories.

Lets start with Guests: This this where you want to be. Your prospect has invited you in and is actively listening to what you have to say. What does it take to be a guest? The right combination of confidence, assertiveness (matched to your prospect), listening and tapping into the needs and wants of the person. When you can consistently be a guest, you will see your business soar.

Now let us talk about the other two. You will likely lean towards one or the other more naturally.

Pests: These are the people who call many times to get hold of a prospect. Are so focused on the sell, they are not listening to what the other person is saying. You won't make the sale if you are perceived as a pest. You need to back off a little, listen more, and ask more questions. We've talked about the why for building a business, when prospecting, you will have more success if you know why they are looking at what you have. Stop talking and start listening.

Pushover: These people are wishy washy and allow prospects to control the conversation and the direction of the discussion. When you are a pushover, prospects know they can give you an objection and you will fold. If you find you are tending towards this area, you need to handle objections and keep the conversation focused on the prospect and what they need (tap into their why).

We all want to be our prospects guests and by asking questions, actively listening and not being distracted, you can understand their why and have a more powerful connection that will have them invite you in ... As a guest.

About the Author:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
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Source of Inspiration

2006-09-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

On a slightly different vein today. I heard a speaker today who moved and inspired me ... not only by what he has had to endure in his life and his ability to survive but also through the lessons he learned along the way.

The speaker Li Cunxin, is the author of Mao's Last Dancer's. Here is a snapshot of his life from his website.

"Li was born into bitter poverty in rural Qingdao, China. Certain years the peasants in his village even ate tree barks to survive ... One day, a delegation from Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy arrived at Li's commune school to find suitable children to study ballet and serve in Chairman Mao's revolution. At first they passed Li without taking any notice, but just as they were walking out of his classroom, the class teacher hesitated, and suddenly tapped the last gentleman from Beijing on the shoulder and pointed. `What about that boy?'. And that boy was Li. And so began Li's remarkable journey. He was 11 when he left home to begin a seven-year harsh training regime from 5.30 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week at the Beijing Dance Academy ... With incredible determination, resilience, perseverance and vision, Li graduated as one of the best dancers China has produced ... And became one of the first two cultural exchange students allowed to go to America to study under Mao’s regime ... In a dramatic defection, Li was subsequently locked up in the Chinese Consulate in Houston. This created a standoff between the Chinese and the American governments. Even George Bush senior, then US Vice President intervened. FBI agents surrounded the consulate in Houston, and negotiations between Chinese and US diplomats had begun. His defection was the headline story in America. Twenty-one hours later, Li walked out of the Chinese Consulate as a free man."

What impressed my about this man is his drive. He had a very poor upbringing but knew that if an opportunity presented itself, he would leap at it and try to get a better life for himself and his family.

He says you can't get anywhere without sacrifice and dedication. As a new dancer, his legs were not strong enough to perform the jumps he needed so he would wake at 5 before rehersals start, strap sand bags to his legs and run up and down the stairs. He would do the same at night when his rehersals ended at 9 pm, and eventually, his legs were strong enough. It took dedication to get where he needed to be.

Finally, he talked about passion. He said that after spending 2 years at the academy, he hated ballet (but continued to do it because it was an opportunity to escape his poverty. One day, a new instructor inspired him and a love of ballet grew. I also believe it is that love of the ballet that would have transformed him from an average dancer to an extrodinary dancer.

Think over your life, are there people who inspired you so much that you took on challenges you would have never conceived?

Think of your business, do you challenge others and instill a passion in them.

If not, why not. In our business, being a coach is critical but inspiration will lead to miraculous results in our businesses.

Is your mouth muted?

2006-09-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

I was at a convention recently and a wonderful speaker was talking to us about business development and growth. He had a phenomenal presence ... one of those magnetic personalities I've talked about before.

He used a great expression that I think we should all remember.

Get your mouth off mute ... you can't build a business with your mouth on mute.

What a great expression. During many of my training and coaching sessions, I encounter people who are facing challenges with building their business. They want to make more money in their business, they believe in their business and they really want to make it work ... but for some reason, they aren't having much success.

Here's the first question I ask: How many people did you talk to today.

More often than not, the answer is no one ... and then the excuses start ...

This is what we call having your mouth on mute ... no one can hear your message if you don't open your mouth and talk to people.

Take your mouth off mute and start talking, you'd be surprised at the success you can achieve.

What's in a plan

2006-09-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

I've talked before about having a plan for your business. Have you thought about a plan?
Lets talk about common elements you should include in your plan.
1. Business overview: If you can't explain it how can you sell it
2. Competitive analysis: who are your top competitors, where are they strong, where are you strong, what differentiates you from them ... and I'm not talking about the we're the best bavado.
3. Business objectives: what do you want to do and by when. Be specific and outline what it will take to get there
4. Marketing plan: how will you promote your business and how much will you be spending on promotion (include everything from samples to seminars and advertising, web hosting, travel etc.) You want a realistic picture of how much you need to invest in your business
5. ROI: Take your plan, your investment and start outlining the financial returns for the business. It doesn't have to be complex but make it complete.

If you've taken the time to do a good business analysis, the plan you have in your hot little hands after this exercise is a workable plan for business success. Now don't let it get dusty in the corner of your office, review it weekly or monthly, adjust the activities and the results.

Your business plan is a living breathing document that will allow you to forecast expenditures and project cashflow. It's a snapshot of your path to financial freedom.

If you need more help, Microsoft has some great free templates you can download but KISS (Keep it simple stupid) you don't want to spend do much time writing the plan you have no time to implement it.

What are you waiting for, start writing.

Do you have a business or hobby

2006-09-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Working from home is a great way to gain personal time freedom. It also presents lucrative tax savings, earning potential and if you build it right, passive income for life.

Here's today's question: Are you really running a business or do you play at it (more like a hobby.)

To decide which is which, ask yourself a few questions

1. Do I have a plan? (this includes marketing, promotion, sales, competition, business goals, financial projections etc). In a future blog I'll post a simplified business plan that outlines categories.
2. Do I have a schedule (do I work at this business consistently to implement the plan)
3. Have I set budgets for my business and am I spending within those budgets effectively (this may include sampling, promotion, advertising etc., whatever is appropriate in your business)
4. Do I have a contigency plan if my sales objectives aren't being met. How will I address it, what will I do, who will I call for advice
5. Am I investing in my education (all business people need to stay current. It's the best money you can spend.)

I hate to say it but if you aren't doing all of the above, you are playing at running a business and are not seriously running a business.

Take some time and answer each of these questions. Where there are gaps, start filling them in. This is another great step in your business development.

When you are starting a home business, it is tempting to play and enjoy your newfound freedom but you need to set the solid foundation first. Build the business on a solid footing and retiring free and early is possible.

Make your business real ... not a hobby and you are on your way.

Are You True To Your Word?

2006-09-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Do you act with integrity? Most people when confronted with this question will state firmly that YES, they have integrity. They don't promise things they can't deliver and their word is their bond.

But are you true to the promises you make to yourself? Most people who fail in their business-building dreams are so busy keeping promises to others that they back burner the promise they made to themselves ... the promise of more money, more time freedom and a better life. So why do we all do it?

There are a few reasons I've uncovered through coaching business associates. See if any of them resonate, and be honest with yourself.

1. I am too busy doing XXXXX . You can insert almost anything here. Many people keep themselves so busy doing what can only be described as busy work that they have no time to do anything else. Here's the reality: if you make your business a priority, everyone can find 1 hour a day or 10 hours a week to dedicate to a business. Sometimes beting busy allows you to avoid doing the things you need to do to make your business profitable.

2. FEAR. While many people don't admit to the fear, many are afraid of being ridiculed or criticised for their attempts to build a business or they are afraid of failing. Often, people will say they are "too busy to work at the business right now" but the reality is that they are afriad.

If you are in a business, or you are planning to start one, you need to make a promise to yourself (and show integrity in your dealing with that promise.) Promise to give it your all. To dedicate time to your business every day and not allow other commitments to infringe on your business building efforts.

Here's a tip for keeping focused on your priorities. Every day, create a list of critical and trivial activities. The only things that go on your critical list are the top 4 thing that will lead you to reaching your ultimate goal (of financial freedom). If you are in a business, it could be talking to 2 new prospects every day. You need to do the things on your critical list before anything on your trivial list. If the day ends and you haven't done the trivial things, you can head to bed. If your day is done and you haven't done the critical, better carve out a little more time.

Here's another tip. Don't turn on the TV or pick up a book until the critical list is complete.

Remember this list is not a to do list. It is a list of the things you need to do every day to get your business on the right foot and you are taking baby steps towards your ultimate goal.

Be true to your word, especially when you are making a promise to yourself and you will be more likely to be successful.

Don't Bring Me Down

2006-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has started a business or is thinking of starting a business knows how this feels.
You are excited about a new opportunity. You are looking ahead to greater prosperity and financial freedom. You've done your research and know the business will get you closer to your goals. AND THEN ... someone, usually someone you respect or love, dumps a huge bucket of cold water over your head and you are left shivering. More often than not, you also give up on the dream, and the idea that made you so energized in the first place.

WHY?

Why do we let others control our destiny? Why do others have such control over us? In a later article we'll talk about this but for now, ask yourself some questions about your critics: Are then independently wealthy? Have they gotten out of the rat race and are enjoying the type of life you aspire to have? Are they business owners? Have they taken any steps towards financial freedom.

Chances are the answers to these questions are No.

So, why are you listening. Tune out.

If the people around you aren't as excited by what you are trying to accomplish as you are, maybe they aren't the right influences. That's not to say that everyone around you should jump on the bandwagon and join you in business, but they should be supportive.

My approach to negativity is simple. Those people who consistently pull me down, are those with whom I don't share ideas I am excited about. Those people who undermine my efforts to improve my financial situation, are ones I limit exposure to.

I foster and spend time on the relationships and people with vision. Those who support my efforts and encourage me to grow and challenge myself. These are the people we want to spend time with, not those negative nellies who can't see anything positive in life.

You can't win the game when you're sitting on the bench. And, you can't win when people around you consistently tell you you're not a good player. How did professionals get good ... practice. In business, it means getting into the game and taking a few swings. Soon enough you'll hit one out of the park.

About the Author:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://jenniferlavoie.payitforward4profits.com
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2006-09-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today, I wanted to share an article by a master persuader. Wouldn't you love to have people banging on your door to do business with you? The secret could be charisma. Here's what Kurt Mortensen has to say about developing the skills that will draw people to you.

Enjoy.

GET ANYONE TO COOPERATE WITH YOU: CHARISMA
For some, charisma is a mysterious attribute. It’s challenging to describe someone who exudes charisma because there’s really no way to quantify the effect this kind of person seems to have on others. It seems that you either have charisma or you don’t. Charisma is not leadership, assertiveness, or enthusiasm and it’s not exactly personality either. It’s its own unique characteristic. Charisma empowers others to like you, even if they don’t know much about you and even when there hasn’t been enough time to develop trust in you. If you have charisma, not only do people want to be around you, but, whether they realize it or not, they also want to be influenced by you. Charisma gives you power, allegiance, and devotion with your audience, without leaving them feeling powerless and it creates instant support. So, are you born with charisma or is it learned? The answer to both questions is yes! Some attributes are inherent! ; others can be acquired.

The word “charisma” comes from the Greek goddess Charis. Charis’ character was one of total beauty and charity. Today, the word has to do with an individual’s magnetism, intensity, vivaciousness, and so on. Gerry Spence’s said it best:

“Charisma is energy from the heart zone. If the speaker has no feeling, there is nothing to transfer. Charisma occurs when the speaker’s feelings are transferred in the purest form to another. Charisma is not a diluted feeling. It is not disguised. It is a raw feeling. Charisma is the passing of our pure energy, our pure passion to the other.”

People who are charismatic often hold us in awe. Their energy prods us, motivates us, and inspires us. They fulfill our need to have heroes. We feel better for having met them, seen them, listened to them, and interacted with them. Why and how do they have this effect on us?

Jay Conger has identified four general characteristics of charismatic leaders. As you develop these characteristics, people will follow you! You will become magnetic!

1. They have a strong and clear vision, and they know how to present it in the context of their audience’s needs.

2. They know how to present their vision so that the weaknesses of the present condition are apparent and the recommended changes are not only justifiable, but also desired.

3. They have a history of success, expertise, and vision to make educated departures from old traditions that may be less effective.

4. They possess the behavior they encourage others to have, modeling the results of change and thus helping their audience feel motivated and empowered to do likewise.

THIS EDITION'S QUOTE
“Charisma is the result of effective leadership, not the other way around.”
-Warren Bennis

Persuade with Power,

Kurt W. Mortensen

Instant gratification vs delayed gratification

2006-09-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

We live in an instant gratification society. Why wait for tomorrow when we can have it now.

Robert Kiyosaki talks about the need to foster delayed gratification when it comes to financial matters. The example he uses is when he wants to buy a new car. He can afford the car. Wants the car ... so does he go out and buy the car ... no. He buys a business that pays the monthly payments for the car and has the business buy the car. He delays getting what he wants until he has a passive income business to pay for it and gets a double bonus, not only does he get the doodad that he wants, he has a business that keeps generating money long after the car has lost its luster.

So, why am I telling you this story. When it comes to building a business, we want instant results. We want success yesterday and when it doesn't happen, we can feel frustrated and even give up.

The only time you fail is when you give up. Look at it at this way. When you give up you are not giving up on a business you are giving up on yourself. You are letting that loser in your head tell you that you can't do it ... it's too hard ... it won't work. Is that voice right? NO. You are the only one who can control your outcomes and trust me on this one, giving up is easy but it won't get you any closer to that WHY we talked about earlier.

What we should be doing is keeping our eye on the prize and taking small steps towards our goal. Consistent effort is the key to success. Review what you are doing every week and tweak it. If you are not getting results, review your activities, ask for help, and make some changes to improve the results. Over time, the consistent effort will mean you reach your goals.

Don't cheat yourself out of potential success by making excuses. Excuses are the tools of the losers and are counter-productive. Learn from every activity. Admit to mistakes, and learn the lessons so you can improve your results.

Guess what. You keep doing this week in and week out and you will get to your goal.

Don't let instant gratification stop you. Go for delayed gratification, the prize is much more valuable.

Are you letting the loser win?

2006-09-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

"Don't let the losers win," Robert Kiyosaki writes in his book Rich Dad's Who Took My Money.

It is easy to agree with that statement. We all want to be winners but often we do things to ourselves that causes us to become more like a loser than a winner.

Inside every one of us is a winner and a loser. The loser is the one who complains ... it's to hard, I can't do it, it's too risky, I'll never be rich, I'll start when I have time ... it's the voice that stops you from taking action or talks you out of starting a business or making an investment that could be lucrative.

These common excuses are the loser inside preventing us from doing what we need to do to realize our dreams. As Kiyosaki says, the loser gets louder in our heads when we are doubting ourselves.

"One of the main reasons many people do not attain their financial potential is because when it comes to money, most people let the loser win," he writes, adding the loser plays an important cautionary role, making sure we look at an investment from all sides. It helps you evaluate the negatives and positives of an investment but if you only listen to the loser you will find yourself talked out of a good deal.

It is important to learn from the loser but act like a winner. By taking action and learning from any mistakes we make (rather than blaming others), we gather a wealth of knowledge that will lead to our ultimate success.

Don't talk yourself out of winning. Tap into the winners inside and success will come your way.

What's your why?

2006-09-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

For those out there who are serious about exiting the rat race and building a better life for yourself and your family, knowing why you want to be rich is as important as how you are going to get out.

I recently finished 12 weeks of Rich Dad Coaching. Want to know what we did for the first two personal coaching sessions. We wrote out in detail why we wanted to be rich, what it looks like and when we were going to get there. We also spent time writing out what we don't want. This exercise focused our minds so we had a reason to do work it would take to get out of the rat race. Financial gurus like Robert Kiyosaki know the cardinal truth ... you can't get somewhere if you don't know where you are going ... and you won't get there if you don't know why you are bothering.

The how is easy when you know why.

Why gives you drive, determination, and the perseverance you need to acheive success. Lets face it, when you start building a business that generates passive income, you will face critics and set backs. You need a strong why to pull yourself back up on your feet and keep going. And, its those people who have the strength to get on their feet and keep building when all the people around them are laughing or criticizing them who will find real success.

So how do you figure out your why ... chances are it is not the first thing you think of, but its a good place to start.

Start answering some very simple questions: why do I want to be rich, what will being rich look like (in colourful detail), how will my life be different, what will I be doing, where will I be doing it, what things will I be doing, what won't I be doing, when will I get there, what will it take to get there, what will I do if I fail at first, how will I ensure my success.

Don't do this fast. Take your time. Revisit the answers every day and rewrite them to reflect a deeper meaning.

Now ask yourself ... is it enough. Is it enough to keep you going when the going gets tough. If the answer is no, go back and review it again.

Remember, when you know the why, the how is possible.

Start today and define why you want to be rich.

Do you know why?

2006-09-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

One of the first steps in planning an exit to the rat race is knowing why you want out.

Sounds simple right? Well consider it is, and it isn't. You could say that you want out because you are tired of working for someone else, you want more time with your family, no more worries about the bills and want to control your own destiny. Sounds good. I can buy into that.

But is it enough? Is it enough to get you up in early in the morning to do a little work before the day begins. Is it enough to take time away from family at night, or spend a few hours on the weekend to get one step closer to that goal. Is it enough to maintain your drive for the goal line when the going gets tough ... and believe me, the going is going to get tough.

When you are focussed on dramatically changing your life, there will be people around you who undermine your efforts. The amazing thing is that the people who could lead the charge, might be the ones you count among your friends or family. They could be the ones who tell you ... you can't do that, it'll never work, why are you working so hard ... if you have ever started a part time business or made a financial decision that goes against the norm, this will sound familiar.

Just because they can't see your vision for the future, doesn't make them right.

It takes courage to make a big change in your life, but in the long run, it will be worth it. The time, energy, criticism and even ridicule will be worth it when you are spending your days on the beach, golf course, or driving around in your new Porsche Boxster. Don't you think so too?

Next time, defining your why.

Welcome To My Blog

2006-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Kelowna BC

As you can tell from the blog name, this blog is for people who really don't want to work for others until they are 65 ... only to retire with little money and scrimpting in their golden years.

Over the course of the evolution of this blog, I'll share tips for generating passive income, talk about books, articles and other things that I've encountered that are helpful to others who are looking to get out of the rat race.

Lets get ready to retire early ... and retire soon.