The One Secret You Need To Know To Market Any Product

There are some core ingredients to marketing your product and doing that successfully. A recent definition of marketing stated: Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers. Marketing might sometimes be interpreted as the art of selling products, but selling is only a small fraction of marketing. As the term "Marketing" may replace "Advertising" it is the overall strategy and function of promoting a product or service to the customer. What can you do that will help you in marketing your product?

If you research you'll find as many answers to this as there are available products. I specialize in helping women entrepreneurs avoid the learning vortex and take action. But sometimes as women in business we are not sure what action to take. When it comes to marketing there is a key ingredient one secret if you will: Communication.

Work on the first aspect of this definition

Communicating

Many us are expert communicators. However some of you may need some extra help. So here are a few things that you can do to become a better marketer.

Focus on some communication skills that will help clarify our message. These quick tips will help you become an amazing communicator which in turn will help you be an excellent marketer.

Listen

If all you do is speak you'll never hear what your clients needs, what they want, and how you can provide a solution to their problems. So in my slightly funny way I'm asking you to "Zip It"

Engage

Listen to a client, ask them valuable questions to help you define how your product is the perfect solution they need for their problem.

Be confident

Great communicators are confident. Uncertainty breeds inactivity. If you are unsure of your offer, or your product guess what? Your client will be unsure of their buying decision.

Be Clear

If you don't know what your offer is your client won't either. We've all made the mistake of not being crystal clear in what our brand or product is and how it can help. If we are not clear they again the client will be confused. A confused client will never become a client. So work on making your offer clear.

Smile

There is a lot happening in the world and in case you didn't notice and many are walking the earth like the Grinch in Dr Seuss. If you laugh and offer a smile it's contagious. That will make your client more at ease and enjoy doing business with you. Learn to smile.

Honesty

I hope I don't have to elaborate on this point. Be honest and sincere when you communicate it will do amazing things not only for your business but your soul. It's very important.

Owning Your Work Vs Working For Someone Else

People regularly talk about the idea of starting their own business to escape the doldrums of working for someone else. However, few attempt the idea and realize the actual differences between being an employee and being an entrepreneur.

Freedom vs. Contracted Servitude

The employee follows an age-old principle of a service to someone else in exchange for pay and benefits. As a result, the majority of people working trade at least half their life every day laboring for someone else. Our society is built on the pattern that a large group of people will provide labor for a few who then direct, charge and create those things that people want or need to life. This creates income which people then trade for food, shelter, transportation and wants. Aside from the concept of retirement, the average adult can expect to spend the majority of his grown life working for someone else as an employee to earning what he wants and needs for himself and family.

On the other hand, the entrepreneur works for himself, producing a product or service that others want to buy with their income, providing the entrepreneur revenue by which he can grow his business and live off as well. Unlike the worker, the entrepreneur has a freedom to control his own day, work, product and effort as long as his business remains successful. If it fails, he then either has to start a new business or convert to being a worker to have income to live off of. That said, where an entrepreneur is successful, most don't want to go back to being worker if they can help it at all, even if running a business means twice as much work.

Protection vs. Risk

Clearly the worker has a basic level of protection. As long as he performs adequately the worker will earn an income and enjoy benefits that pay for his health and possibly puts away money for his retirement. He won't get rich quick in most situations, but he will be able to earn enough to take care of his basic needs and to live off of. Being a worker involves low risk as the employee simply needs to have the correct skill set and availability to get hired.

On the other hand, the entrepreneur is going at life alone. He has no safety net to provide income to live off of if his efforts fail. While a successful business can be very rewarding and has made millionaires out of many people owning their own company, there are thousands more who have not been so lucky and barely eke out a livable profit month to month. So the entrepreneur side has much larger reward potential as well as personal risk.

Conclusion

Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, which is why so many people prefer to be employees. Being a worker is easier; there's less to worry about and take care of. That said, in exchange for less worry an employee also gives up control and creativity. For some this is a fine trade, but for those who strive to create and do more, being an entrepreneur is far more enticing and fulfilling, especially in terms of living one's life to the fullest.

The Author, Founder and Creator of Waiternomics - The 7 Steps To Escape The Employee Trap-Forever.

Thing You Need to Know to Start a New Business

As the title says, this article is to discuss the things needed to start a business. If you want to start your own business, you need to know and analyze many things.

First thing is the reason behind your decision to start a business. Some possibilities are as below:

• You are a graduate and are unable to find a suitable job for you in the industry.

• You do not want to work under someone else so want to start your own business.

• You are willing to make a career in business industry as an entrepreneur.

• You want to be your own boss (freedom of work)

There are many other possible reasons. You must know the reason of your decision so that you have a certain aim.

Second thing you need to know is how to take the start. If you are new to the industry, you may face some problems while doing the task. But if you are already working in the industry, things would be easier for you.

The thing you need to know is how to start with the task. Then, you will have to make a detailed step-by-step plan. As a starter, you will face several problems. Many things will be new for you. Since you do not have many contacts in the industry you will have to make some extra efforts to reach the people.

The possible difficulties you may face while starting a business are as below:

Finding a relevant Industry: This is the first step of starting a business and if you are not properly focused while choosing the industry, you may not get desired success in the business. You need to give some time to find the industry that is very much relevant to you and your interests.

How to Start: This is the second important thing. Suppose, you want to start a business in marketing industry, the question you will face is how to do that. For this, you have two options available. You can start a new business from scratch or can buy an existing business.

If you want to start a new business, you will have to arrange many things including finance, market for your product, audience, suppliers, employees, and a place to work, office supplies, and the most important the product that you will sell through your business. While if you choose to buy an existing business, you will get all these things along with the business, a ready-made product, an established market, customer, employees, suppliers, business plan, etc. So, choice is yours. Buying an existing business is the best option for a business start-up.

Why My Failure Was My Biggest Success

It started so well, 2012.

After months of planning, the end of March was going to decide it all. The Liquid Art Fair, Liquid Gallery's pet project, was due to launch on 31st March. At first I had worried whether artists would sign up to exhibit with us. Then I worried that people wouldn't come to see the show.

With something like an art fair, as with any event planned in London, adrenaline pumps until the very last moment. There's an internal sigh of relief when your first guest comes through the door, and the second

I needn't have worried - they just kept coming. Over 100 people crossed the threshold of the tiny gallery in Battersea, clamouring to see a range of eclectic art from a range of international artists. For most of the evening I was in a mixed state: delight, and shock. MP for Battersea Jane Ellison, who opened ths show said that Liquid were doing an amazing thing for the arts in London.

In my eyes, after months of hard work, we had finally arrived. I raised my glass to the future of the Liquid Art Fair programme, and the success of Liquid as a whole.

But then a very strange thing happened.

It started with an email from a close colleague I had come to regard as my business partner. This colleague had invested many hours into the business - plannning meetings, meeting colleagues, visiting venues and exhibitions with me.

Which was why I was surprised to receive an email one sunny morning in April in which this said person basically backed out of involvement in the Liquid Art Fair programme.

This was basically cutting me adrft, as I had relied on my colleague for technical support due to his extensive exhibition experience. He was a whizz with a hanging system, and now here he was, backing out of an arrangement which we had only discussed the week before.

Not only our own art fair programme: I had signed up and paid deposits on a number of third party art fairs. Now, without his assistance, I couldn't meet my obligations. Naturally, I lost money, as none of these third-party agencies refunded my deposits.

I emailed my colleague to find out what had brought on this sudden decision, but to this day, I never heard another word from him.

This wasn't the only thing that happened at this time. After a massive rush of interest in the Liquid Art Fair, applications died off. A combination of factors - the continually sinking economy, and the beginnings of an over-saturation of such events in the London art calendar.

For the June show, I had one applicant.

I had to think long and hard. It was now costing more to keep the business going, than we had ever made. After two years, I made the decision to close Liquid Gallery.

During this time, it became such that I had to drink long and hard as well. I began to empathise with those people you read about who commit suicide when their businesses end. You invest so much of your time, and so much of yourself - even though people tell you its not personal. I'm sorry - it is personal. Your business. It's as close to you as a child.

From April until September 2012, I lost my sense of purpose. It was such that it hardly seemed worth getting up in the morning. What difference was I going to make anyway? All I had ever wanted to do was help rising artists, and now I had been kicked in the teeth. I couldn't even write a poem anymore - nothing inspired me. Every day I tried to figure out where things had gone wrong.

The doctor told me she was worried about me. My husband was worried about me. I lost weight. I looked like everyone's idea of the 'before the makeover' photograph.

I came off Facebook - how could I face all those people who thought I was doing such great things. In the face of my failure, I hardly communicated with anyone in the outside world. What I thought I knew had disappeared - I felt so utterly alone.

I do believe I had a mini-breakdown during this time - I would sit on the sofa, staring into space for hours at a time. Other times, I would rave at my husband over the most banal of domestic errors. I was told, simply and without malice around the end of August, that I was becoming unbearable to live with.

I do also believe that this is where my recovery started. There's nothing like being told that you have turned into a screaming harridan to force you to get your backside into gear.

Realising how lonely and isolated I had actually become, in September, and for the first time in months, I logged back into Facebook. What I found there was amazing. I realised that I had a whole support network there, that had been there all along. The messages I received were warm, and supportive - like I'd never been away.

Slowly, my sense of purpose came back. Over dinner one evening, a close friend suggested that I not waste anything that was published in Nyne Magazine because people had really liked it.

Out of that came After Nyne, which is currently reaching thousands of hits a month.

I decided to resurrect my publishing house, Tempest, and started to take on work that was not my own. Again, I started to get that hunger to help, and influence as many people as possible.

Now things are going even better than they were before. Things are really starting to happen for After Nyne and Tempest - we have published Micheal O Coinn's debut poetry pamphlet, Five Words and Callie Carling's eBook Callie's Story has hit the bestseller list for Health books on Amazon.

Job Vs Business Owner

Why do we work and make that commitment day in and day out every single day, month after month, year after year giving 120% to a company who we work for? The answer is the majority of the time we do this is to provide for our families, and work week after week just to get by. Many people are working extremely hard with the reward of just getting by living paycheck to paycheck which is sad. We invest so much time into companies we don't own to provide for our families.

What is it that we enjoy about working for someone else? Is it the measly raises that we inquire every 6 months to a year? Is it the micro management we enjoy from someone in a "higher" position than us watching our every move even when going to the bathroom? Or is it the fact that you enjoy awaiting on another person to tell you based on their outlook on your performance if your ready to move up in the company? Which one is it? You decide!

Most people would argue that working a "JOB" is a security blanket. I'm here to tell you today that there is no such thing as a security blanket in today's economy. We cannot allow nor be accustom to allowing a company to determine our future and our families future based on the companies performance in the economy. I've heard a lot of individuals tell me "Well, I'm comfortable right now." That's the problem today. People get too comfortable and success is not built around being comfortable. Success is evolved around being uncomfortable and doing things most people don't do. That's how success is created.

I'm not saying quit your job. Still invest that 120% that you give at work at your "JOB". But what I am saying is to take action today so when that day comes when your boss comes to you and says " I'm sorry to inform you but unfortunately we have to let you go due to our profit last quarter not being where we needed it to be." Or even worse they cut you right before your retirement so they save tons of money. It sounds harsh, but it does happen. I strongly recommend you start investing time today into YOU, YOUR families future, and even more importantly reaching a level of success where you can help the families and people who actually need the help, and be not only blessed but a blessing through God's grace.

Quit making excuses and get started today! Invest in your future, so when that day comes when your Boss approaches you its not a tragedy, but a sign of relief knowing you planned in advance for your family's future!

The Fearful Mind and Working From Home

Working from home on the internet was an idea that was spun in the mid 90's. Once the internet was open to the public in 1994 it gave, birth to the concept of working from home. At one time data entry was one of the most used, phrases in the search engines when looking for home employment. People quickly realized most of these ventures were too good to be true. There were even so called companies back then that allowed you to purchase a list of work at home job leads for a fee.

I have bought into these ideas only to receive a vague list of job opportunities that did not exist or just lead to a dead end. So, after I and many others were presented with these types of opportunities in place of actually it caused much of us to develop a fearful mind when looking for online employment. To further this fear, the online business scams followed along with multiple others. The problems is many people seek to still work from home for a variety of reasons, but find it an almost impossible task.

How to Better Your Odds

Although it is frustrating to look for a work at home job or business that is actually legit there is no reason for you to give up, but instead prepare yourself.

For Work at Home Employment

First rule, never pay to work for an employer on or off line.

Research past, and present workers, there's always someone online who is already doing or has done the position you're seeking with a company.

Get an insight about the potential company that you are applying to by reviewing as many reviews as you can about the company. Be sure to think logical when doing this. If someone has an irrational complaint then I would not give that too much thought.

Gain experiences off line, a lot of people looking for an actual employment position online don't realize majority of these companies are looking for someone who has off line experience.

One way to do this is to find your area of interest such as phone work and find temp positions off line that will allow you to build your experience.

Contract work, I have found that there is a lot more contract work available online then actual employment opportunities. This may not be what you want in the long run, but you must realize a lot of contract work allows you to build your online resume while generating income.

For Online Businesses

Be realistic, If you go to a website and the website owner (webmaster) is promising that you will make large sums of money with little to no effort that only requires your onetime fee then your red flag for a scam should go up.

Don't allow the desire we sometimes have to achieve our goals with little effort to take over. If you do then you are making yourself a target audience for scam artist.

Find out what interest you first, In order for you to have any idea of what type of online business you want to have, you must first know what interest you along with what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Try starting with a scratch piece of paper and writing down what comes to mind. Allow yourself to write freely about what you would love to be doing for a living along with things you would not. This may not sound like an useful idea, but by following this simple first step you better your odds of building a business that was meant for you not somebody else.

Patience and the willingness to learn, an important lesson that you must understand when building a business online especially a website business, you must have patience and the willingness to learn. There are so many steps that come with having a website business. If you do not have the proper foundation to start, you will not build a successful website business.

The way you can help yourself be more patient and make it easier for you to learn is too set small goals. If you allow yourself to focus on one small goal at a time instead of building a six figure income, you will find that patience will come naturally.

You will also be more open to learn new things simply because you have become realistic and are not frustrated from trying to build a business the artificial way. You have realized having a business of any sort is an ongoing learning experience.

Remember...

It is understandable to have fear when looking to do anything online especially if it involves an investment, but do not let scam artist and miss leading information stop you from achieving a very achievable dream... To be employed on line or self-employed online working from home.

How to Keep Paperwork From Driving You Completely Insane

If you're a CEO, chances are that you HATE paperwork. The thought of facing that pile of paper on your desk makes you break out in hives and drives you to drink (more coffee that is). For most leaders, paperwork is the thorn in their side that takes all the joy out of doing their job. Does this sound like you? Read on.

For the past ten years I have worked in the financial services industry. (If you have never worked in this type of industry, let me assure you that the paperwork NEVER ends.) When you're dealing with money it seems like even the smallest task requires volumes of paperwork all of which needs to be processed immediately. It is not uncommon to have a stack of paperwork 6 inches high on my desk that needs proofing, scanning, faxing, signing, filing etc. I remember a Seinfeld episode when Newman explained why postal workers have such a high suicide rate by saying "the mail never stops, it just keeps coming and coming!" I empathize.

Let me share with you some tips I've learned when dealing with paperwork that have kept me from going completely bananas. (Feel free to share in the comments section your best tip.)

    Simplify. Look through your stack and separate out what could be done by somebody else. Physically get the paperwork off your desk and onto theirs asap.

    Prioritize. Review the remaining stack and do what needs to be done first, first. Don't leave an important task to the last minute. Take one action step towards getting it completed immediately.

    Don't multi-task. Handle one piece of paperwork at a time and don't put it away until you have finished doing whatever you need to do to it. Don't answer the phone, don't check your email, don't shift your focus. Your rate of making mistakes will increase if you're distracted from completing your task.

    Do it right the first time. The only thing worse than doing paperwork once is having to do it again. Don't cut corners, do it right the first time through so that you (hopefully) never have to see it again.

    Use a tracking system. Initiate a way to keep a record of what what sent to who and how it was sent. Do not rely on your memory when it comes to paperwork, your auditor will not be happy.

Handling paperwork is like running on a treadmill. You do it because you want to be healthy but it feels like you're running and running but never really getting anywhere. The road never seems to end!

Take heart, you're doing a great job and dealing with admin is usually an unavoidable part of the role of being the ED. Don't be shy to ask for help if you need it.

My Adventure When I Sold Gold and Silver Online

This is my adventure into buying and selling rare metals online and using eBay as an auction platform.

I've done this for about 4 years and I've been able to make a little profit here and there, although this is not my trade, it's a great way to have fun with the buying and selling of metals online.

Where I Started

I started with selling a small 1 gram of gold, then I went on to sell a half ounce of gold at a profit. My first big profit was when I kept a big bar of silver for over 2 years and was able to make a 1,500 dollar profit (well it was just keeping up with inflation) but my family was surprised by how much the value changed. Buy the end of it I was selling gold and silver bars and coins worth up to 4,000 dollars. Almost all of my gold and silver bars were kept in a bank safe. To rent the safe from the bank I lost about 18 dollars to keeping that bank safe drawer every year. It was weird going into the bank almost every other week just to take inventory and then doing some calculations when other bank clientele rarely ever used the safe.

How I Did It

I would actually buy them straight off eBay itself and then I waited for the value of gold or silver or even platinum (whichever one I was preparing to sell) to rise up before I put it back on eBay. Sometimes then took about a year or so could chance in a course of a week. This was during the height of the recession so people had more faith in gold and silver stock, not to mention platinum for a time as well. So it wasn't too hard to get the timing right because the price of gold and silver and other rare metals were on the gradual climb. There were times when it even peaked quickly although I wasn't quick enough to capitalize on the big peaks of value.

I've only been able to work with 24k gold and .999 silver and fine .999 metals such as .999 platinum. Anything less would have to be evaluated by a very good appraiser. That's on you to decide the cost. But for 24k gold there is always kitco.com which has a daily valuation of your gold or silver amount in ounces. If you have more than an ounce you can convert it back to one ounce to start the valuation. That's how I evaluated my metals. It was a daunting task to time the buying and selling right because I was unable to sell at the peaks immediately unlike people who actually owned actual stock.

Overall, I learned a lot about timing, and how rare metals were priced compared to the US dollar. Inflation just made the price of gold look higher than it is because it was compared to the US dollar. I also learned at sometime in 2008 there was a great demand for platinum and thank god I was also to capitilize on that. It was a lot of fun and it's an easy way to understand how money and rare metals are valued.

Part 22 - Develop a Role Model

The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".

Research is showing that role models are having a profound influence on the career decisions that people make. Therefore they seem to enhance the desire to become entrepreneurs and multimillionaires.

In my own research, which concerned the identification of future research topics in entrepreneurship, the variable called role model is shown to be one of the most important issues in the creation of new entrepreneurs.

Role models are increasingly being identified as a major influencing factor in explaining why people make the choice of pursuing an entrepreneurial career.

Autobiographies and life stories of successful entrepreneurs are serving as, not only a source of motivation and inspiration to prospective entrepreneurs, but also as an indication of what strategy should be used to achieve success within various environments.

Already successful entrepreneurs also enhance people's desire to become entrepreneur and experience the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of individuals and, ultimately, entrepreneurial independence.

If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur you need to take action now and find yourself some worthy candidates. You can look for potential people in magazines, books and among the people you know. Make a point of searching widely, identifying candidates and studying them so that you can choose the best role model that you can really admire and look up to.

You can even have more than one role model. You should preferably select a role model to which you have easy access. The person that you really admire in your environment that you can consult and possibly adopt as a mentor, with their permission of course, that can guide you through the process of becoming a millionaire.

You should also choose a guru from somebody that you respect and admire, but who is not within your environment, that is a highly successful entrepreneur, such as Bill Gates or Richard Branson. Read a lot of biographies and make your choice.

Reading the biographies of these amazing people can be highly educational and a great inspiration to yourself. In many cases they can also assist you in formulating your success strategy.

Read widely about the people involved in your field to become highly successful and learn from their experiences so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel. You can gain an enormous amount of valuable lessons and information from reading about their personalities, characteristics, and how they manage to overcome the difficulties and problems that they manage to solve in their path to success.

You will be truly amazed at how powerful a good teacher can be. Make sure you choose the right person and not somebody that could have a negative influence on your ethics, your behaviour and your personality.

Never stop reading about success. Steep yourself in a success environment. Mix with successful people and their success will rub off on you. Be willing to follow their example and take their advice and you will go a long way to shortening the journey to becoming a millionaire.

One particular observation that I made regarding online businesses or Internet businesses is that the successful ones follow system and guided by a mentor.

Develop the habit of having a Role Model. Get inspiration and guidance from your role models, learn from their roadmaps and strategies, and you'll be well on your way achieving success.

Part 21 - Be Decisive and Goal Directed

One of the most important qualities of successful entrepreneurs and millionaires is the ability to be decisive while being goal directed.

Decisiveness is the willingness to make decisions, even in the face of complexity or uncertainty. Decisive people evaluate available information, apply their judgement, and make a choice amongst the various possibilities it is easier to be decisive when we are clear about our values and goals.

Successful entrepreneurs have a tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty. The calculated risk takers would prefer to minimise and share the risk. Managers need to deal with paradox and contradiction and they know that any decision runs the risk of be wrong, but they also know that perfect clarity is rarely available and that indecision can be more costly. It also means taking responsibility for the outcome of the decision.

Sometimes a situation occurs where no action is taken but in those cases the specific do-nothing decision is taken. Think carefully, and then make decisions quickly, but you must also know when to say "we'll see" and do nothing for the time being.

You must develop the habit of making quick decisions but make sure that the decision outcomes are accurately monitored and that quick feedback is received so that if you find you have made a mistake, you can quickly self-correct and do something else.

Successful people are creative and goal directed. They try for more things than other people do, which means that the probability of eventually finding the right way of doing things, at the right time, is much higher than it is for people that try only one or two things.

Indecisive people get carried through life like Oak leaves in the wind, never establishing a fixed direction, and never being directed towards a goal.

To be directed towards the goal you need to know the detail of what you're going to do. I have asked people what they are going to do and they tell me; I'm starting an Internet business, I am going to work from home, and I am going to make money.

But if I ask them any details such as, "What are you going to do to make money?" they cannot give me an answer. When you adopt the habit of being decisive and goal directed your entire life becomes more productive and you move faster in your chosen direction and the people around you. This releases a higher source of energy that produces enthusiasm and increases your motivation that pushes you much faster towards your goal.

If you can clearly visualise your goals in your mind decision-making becomes a lot easier. If you are goal directed and your decisions made within the framework of desired outcomes, it allows you to be optimally creative and innovative in making the right choices to overcome the problems that arise. The actions that need to be taken are then more easily identified.

The action that you can take now to develop the habit of being decisive and goal directed is to clarify your goal and then ask yourself what single action, if done correctly and timelessly, will have the greatest impact on your goal.

In these exercises you should be as honest with yourself as possible. Be ruthlessly honest. Be obsessed with wanting to exploit opportunities that can result in you being a millionaire. Be goal and results orientated. Make sure your goals are set high but higher at realistic and develop the burning drive for achievement and growth.

Developing this habit will take you a long way to developing the skills required to be a successful entrepreneur, especially when combined with the other skills as covered in the 23 articles series on the Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs and Millionaires.

You Have a Choice to Make, What Will You Decide?

Do you remember the first time you rode a bicycle? You, like me, probably fell down a few times before you finally stayed up and actually rode the bicycle for a bit. What is it that helped you, in fact, made you determined to get back on the bicycle and try again after falling off?

Here are a few thoughts. Read these and then write down the reasons you think of:

    You have seen others ride their bicycles, possibly your older brother or sister. Maybe one or more of your friends.
    You had a great 'coach' or teacher working with you to instill the confidence in you that you could do it. The mechanics of riding a bicycle are a great example for how a coach should work. The reason is you must be the one to do it. The coach cannot step in and do it for you.
    The coach is there to support you and instill confidence in you. Asking you, what is working and what is not working to help you make the right decisions for yourself? What else is special and is a great teaching moment regarding riding a bicycle? Once you ride a bicycle, and know how to ride a bicycle, you always know how to ride a bicycle! Let's consider how this is important for you in your business success.
    The creation of habits that are learned, repeated and built upon, are critical for building a successful business.
    If you need to go from here to there, you can get up on a bicycle and go from here to there, anywhere, wherever you are, you would be able to do it.Translate this to your business. Are you building the flexibility into your business process where you are able to conduct business wherever you are?

Take a moment and review these items. Take some notes. Where do you need to take some actions steps right now and make a few decisions, which will bring you, closer to this type of thinking in your business? Building a business built for success requires that you do this, do it right now.

There are a few people who will make these decisions and map out their actions steps right now. Many more will not do anything. Which group are you in? Which group is made up of the business owners, who will be successful at whatever they choose to do?

Isn't it time that you joined them?

Mitch Tublin is ready to take you to the next level. Contact Mitch today for an Appointment.

Delegation for Entrepreneurs: Where to Start?

We are starting with the basics this week! As an entrep, your time IS money. So entrepreneurs: it's time to cut yourself a break. You don't have to do it all to have it all. Trying to manage every last detail of your business ultimately leads to burn out- not so awesome when you're the captain of the ship!

So it's time to stop being so "busy" and start being "productive." Time after time we hear from entreps that while they understand that they need to be delegating, they just can't figure out how to get started- or maintain it so that it really makes a difference in their day. (Hint: For inspiration/motivation read through some of our testimonials that speak to the success of efficient delegation).

We believe there are many layers to effectively mastering delegation- some tangible and some emotional. There's no quick fix way to finding a formula that works for you and your business. But there are strategies you can incorporate to delegate like a rockstar.

Your first step is to gain an understanding of what can actually be delegated off your plate into another set of capable hands. Yes, this means whipping out a timer and/or a notebook and keeping track of what you do each day. There are great online tools that you can use to track your time - we use a tool called Toggl, which is web-based, or even just start the timer on your iphone as you move from task to task each day. What's most important is that you take clear notes on your tasks and that you are committed to doing this for a set period of time. We recommend at least 3 days- just think of it this way, the longer you do it, the more tasks and trends you can identify and clear off your list. This is a helpful exercise to do periodically in your business, as your responsibilities change and evolve.

Next, analyze the results. As you're reviewing, think about these questions.

Always start with the positive:

Which tasks do I handle in my business that I really love (ie this is my passion!)?
Which of these tasks are actually a productive use of my time?
Put a star/smiley/heart next to these!
Then work through the rest with the following in mind- HINT- look for trends:

Which tasks are "busy work" that could be easily done by someone equally fabulous who actually loves working on this kind of stuff?
Which tasks do I handle in my business that I really don't enjoy (and am not very good at!)?
Which tasks are repetitive in nature (and could potentially be documented)?
Which tasks do not require my personal attention?
Which tasks can be easily explained and easily repeated (without me)?
Which tasks generate no direct revenue for my business?
After completing this exercise you will see a list of tasks emerge that are not only slowing you down time wise, but zapping your overall energy level and enthusiasm for your business. So not cool when you're energy level directly relates to the growth of your biz.

While looking at your new list, consider what resources, skills or training might be needed to move these tasks off of your plate.

Now, take action= get help. There's no time like the present and competing priorities will only continue to slow you down and hold you back from meeting your goals. We help entrepreneurs each day to clear their plate and make room for their dreams to flourish. Let's talk about how we can help!

Next Up: MINDSET! "No one can do it as good as me!"-> We'll be digging into this entrepreneur catch-phrase next week when we interview coach to the stars- Michael Melcher. He will be discussing how people deal with the discomforts of delegation and why they need to blow past this mindset in order to be successful. Don't miss it!

In the meantime here's a cheat sheet list of items you could easily delegate to our team:

Email mgmt and organization (*a client favorite!*)
Scheduling
Contact Management
Writing your SOPs
Email marketing
Website Maintenance
Travel Planning
Presentation Prep
Internet Research
Drafted Correspondence
Drafting/Scheduling Tweets
Expense Reporting
Proofreading
Project/Team Mgmt
Meeting Confirmations
Customer Service Support
Transcription
Bookkeeping
Article Marketing
Managing your SM profiles
Shopping Cart Management
Webinar/Teleseminar Setup
Affiliate Mgmt
Gift ordering

Passing On The Family Business to the Children - Pros and Cons

I was recently offered the opportunity to find a buyer for a family company that five years earlier had been passed from the founder to his four children. For the last couple of years the company had struggled. The difficult economy had taken its toll, and reduced profits were causing friction with two of the siblings who were not working in the business. One of the non-working shareholders had been through an expensive divorce and now wanted the other shareholders to buy her out. The business was not making enough money to fund a buyout so a decision had been made to explore a sale.

After meeting with the shareholders in the company's wood-paneled boardroom we decided not to take the project on. There was a huge variation in motive, price expectation and emotional commitment to the business amongst the shareholders, and I just couldn't see them agreeing on an offer. The meeting with the shareholders did however set me thinking - Just what are the pros and cons of transferring a business to the children?

For many owners keeping the business in the family is a decision driven by emotional preference rather than commercial logic. It certainly avoids the expense, disruption and stress of a company sale process. If the children have the ability, drive and personal compatibility to run and grow the company it can also provide a better standard of living than paid employment. These are genuine benefits to keeping a company in the family, but I have seen enough failed transfers to know that there are some genuine risks as well.

The first and most basic rule of wealth management is to build a diverse portfolio to spread risk. Passing the company on could well result in an unhealthy concentration of wealth in one asset. Some founders solve this problem by requiring the younger generation to buy them out, but the resulting cash drain on the company can hobble growth for years.

Hard as it may be the founder has to find a way to take a dispassionate view of his children's ability to grow the company. Could I do this? I'm really not sure. You also need to be sure that running the business is what the children really want to do. Successful owners have a passion for the business, not a sense of obligation.

Building a business takes independence of mind and belief in your own judgement. These are not character traits that make it easy to let go. Will you really be able to manage this? It is likely that at least one of your children will have inherited these qualities. Inter-generational strife can quickly sap energy and leave the business without a sense of direction.

Is the business in need of fresh ideas or an injection of capital to take it forward? Children that have grown up in the business may not be the best source of a change of direction. New owners may be better placed to invest in taking the business forward.

I can understand the emotional attraction of passing a company on to the next generation. Experience tells me that it is not the right decision in every case. It might well only be the right decision for a small minority of families.

Robert John Kemp is Managing Director of UK Business Broker Select Business Sales.

Select Business Sales are specialists in retirement sales of private companies. Our active approach quickly connects clients with the buyers in the best position to complete a purchase.

Can I Use My Mobile Car Wash or Auto Detailing Rig To Help The Community After a Disaster?

Back in 1997 and 1998 I was running a franchise company and selling mobile car washes and mobile auto detailing rigs. I was also a member of the International Franchise Association and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was a group of franchisors that had gotten together to help out in natural disasters. Some of them were restaurant chains, some were service firms, and then there was a whole gamut of other types of franchises. It was almost as if it was an auxiliary of FEMA, kind of like the Merchant Marines that helped out in World War II.

Why do I mention this? Well, because I realize how much firepower each of our franchisees had with those mobile cleaning units. I also realize how many mobile car washers there are now these days. Altogether they represent quite a bit of potential for disaster cleanup and aid to displaced people. Let me tell you a little story; after the 7.7 Earthquake in Northridge California I sent my mobile car washing rigs to the park to give water to the people there. Our water tanks held 200 gallons, and we also had portable generators onboard.

People living in the park with no electricity were in desperate need of water and energy; simple things such as using a blow dryer, or charging their cell phone. You'd be surprised how much you need these things, and what your life is like once they are gone. We were happy to help out, and amazed at how happy people were with our generosity. I didn't realize at the time, but later we had created so much goodwill in the public that when things came back to normal our business was flooded with new customers. It truly was a win-win situation. We helped those people in their time of need, and they were helping us to more business after it was all over, even during that recession.

What I'm saying to you is this; if you run a mobile car wash business or a mobile detailing operation that you should come to the aid of the community with as much services as you can provide them in their time of need. As long as you can afford to put fuel in your vehicle, and you have volunteers who will help out, you should do this. Not only is the right thing to do, but it pays dividends down the road. Indeed I hope you will please seriously consider all this and think on it.

Start Your Own Aluminum Can Recycling and Advertising Business

With people's attitudes toward recycling and prices for aluminum and other metals at near all-time highs, a Tampa Florida entrepreneur's business idea as reported by The Tampa Tribune, 09/24/12, may have just the right timing.

Being an apartment building painter for 15 years entrepreneur Dennis Gallagher noticed that apartment renters had no easy and convenient way to recycle their aluminum cans. Now thanks to Mr. Gallagher, and his business idea which became his own aluminum can recycling and advertising business he calls the Green Can Project, they do.

The Green Can Project places large plastic containers around apartment buildings giving people an easy opportunity to participate in recycling their aluminum cans with all the proceeds going to a local charity.

Since the recycling proceeds go to charity, Mr. Gallagher apparently plans to monetize his business by selling advertising space on the barrels to local businesses around the area.

This idea for an aluminum can recycling and advertising business seems to this writer that it has the potential for duplication in other areas of the US and in other countries as well, with the added benefit that an enterprise like this would probably only require several thousand dollars to start on a small scale.

It should be relatively easy to place attractive containers at many types of locations free of charge considering the public's current level of interest in legitimate environmental issues.

Gaining advertising accounts would be the more difficult task but calling on businesses in the general vicinity of where their ads would be placed might very well meet with the greatest success, at least in the beginning.

Someone interested in starting a business like this would, among other things, have to find a supply of inexpensive but appropriate barrels, work with a good printer, or better yet have your own printing equipment to produce the advertising signs and/or banners to attach to the barrels, and have the means of hauling the cans from the barrel locations to the recycling centers.

Once up and running you might get help from businesses who would request barrels be placed at their locations just to participate in a good cause, and if advertising on the barrels produced good results then ad sales should eventually get easier as you build good testimonies from customers and have word-of-mouth advertising working for you.