By John M Bauer

Franchising allows smaller companies to effectively compete with larger competitors. As a growth strategy, franchising provides you with the ability to gain market share and increase your points of distribution (number of franchise units).

Starting A Franchise Is One Of The Most Exciting And Yet Difficult Things A Person Can Do.

Should you jump in before someone else beats you to it?

Before you start working toward your dream, you should consider if your business would work best as a franchise. Not every business concept would make a good franchise system. As well, setting up a franchise is a long-term endeavor and one that involves a lot of people, as well as their hard-earned cash.

You want to be a responsible franchisor, not just a franchisor. A franchisor has ethical, moral and legal responsibilities to the potential franchisee. You are asking people to risk what they have acquired over time. The franchisor's responsibility in the relationship is to offer: a sound business concept and operating system; capital to grow the business; a marketing plan; a strategic plan to grow the brand; complete training and support in running the business; a plan to anticipate and increase growth within a targeted market; and a culture that franchisees can respect.

The franchisee's responsibility is to operate the business according to the franchisor's standards, find and work with customers, and supply capital to the franchisor in the form of initial franchise fees and ongoing royalty payments.

Building A Successful Franchise System And Becoming A Successful Franchisor

To franchise or not often depends on where your business is at the time. Certain steps are necessary and must be put in place to protect ones self. Essentially, a franchisor needs an original business concept with a support system that builds the business. The franchisor sells agreements to people to develop the brand, and these franchisees use this system to acquire and keep customers. This seems rather simple until you consider all that goes into the franchising way of doing business.

Some of the elements a franchisor must have in place to be successful are:

• An original business concept that can be duplicated and create standard results across all franchise units.
• A broad geographical appeal.
• A broad market appeal.
• A well prepared business plan possibly put together with the help of a franchise consultant.
• Legal documents and registration-clearing the legal hurdles.
• Franchisee recruitment and screening process-develop a franchisee profile.
• Identify a growing market and develop a sales plan.
• Market share-dominating a specific market is the goal of any franchisor.
• Adequate capital to develop your business infrastructure and carry the business until it begins generating revenue.
• A highly developed training and support program.
• Research and development to anticipate your client's needs.
• Unit profitability. Be concerned the economics are enough to cover your expenses but not so high that your franchisees cannot stay in business.
• Management structure that will develop and implement strategies; be an inspiration to franchisees; and satisfy investors.
• Identify franchise territories and assign franchise units.
• Supplier and Vendor relationships create standards.
• Equipment for each unit.
• Field support staff -- the eyes and ears that identify and defuse problems with franchisees.
• Ethical culture and decisions that franchisees can respect.
• A franchisor needs a strong business infrastructure as well as a clear concept before signing a franchise agreement with its first franchisee.

Monetary Realization

A misconception is that you make money as soon as you start franchising. Realistically, you are lucky to break even. An adage that makes sense is that it may take 10 franchisees to become a profitable franchisor until then you will need to use your own resources to provide your support.

As you successfully expand, the real money is in the stream of royalties. Royalties are calculated in two ways. The most common being a percentage of the franchisee's gross sales (usually 5 to 10 per cent), the other is an annual flat fee.

Does Your Business Fit The Definition Of A Franchise?

There are several reasons you may decide to franchise your business. One reason is that you believe your concept is unique; however, before you decide to clone your business and transfer your idea to someone else you must be sure that it will work.

Franchising is a complex process. You need to have put your concept in the marketplace and overcome problems. Is your idea something you are selling yourself on, or is it something you can actually deliver?

To see if your business can fit the definition of a franchise, test it by opening up additional locations of your business to develop the support system that is so integral to franchising. You will need to build a new unit, develop an operating manual, work out agreements with suppliers and vendors, and so on. This will help you understand a bit about what it means to be a franchisor. If your business just cannot support another unit, it should not be turned into a franchise system.

Franchising Is A Lot More Than Having A Good Idea!

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness -- it is a sign of strength. Instead of thinking that seeking advice is a sign of weakness, see it as a sign of growth and maturity. Expert advice can help you build your business if you approach it wisely.

Franchise support services are an important component of the success of franchisors and franchisees alike. Look for these experts who specialize and focus their business on the franchise industry. Find professional help to guide you on your journey through the exciting world of franchising.

Franchising is a lot more than having a good idea!

John Bauer, a 20-year veteran of franchising, shares his extensive knowledge on his website http://www.whyfranchising.com. Start right. Finish successful. Here's how.

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Franchising - Do You Own a Business That Could Be Franchised?

By Peter Vajda, Ph.D

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

As businesses continue to face challenging and uncertain times, more and more leaders are leaving - either of their own accord, or being shown the door. While many have lost their way due to egregious moral and ethical missteps, just as many are facing a dead end due to their inability to see the big picture from a higher not-so-common perspective. Many of these leaders are intelligent, but, unfortunately, not wise.

"We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom." Stephen Vincent Benet

Our minds work on two levels - a lower level and a higher level. The lower level deals with the concrete - our immediate physical environment and reality, information, facts and logic. Accessing the lower mind, we move through our day as aware, conceptual and reflective. Our lower mind is rational, analytical, opinionated, busy and most often skeptical. It is bound by time and space. We use our lower mind to make sense of our complicated and emotional world. The lower mind is the stuff of MBAs, business school and "operations-focused" education and experiential learning.

"Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions." - Cullen Hightower

The lower mind brings one to reductionist thinking and mechanistic, conventional approaches to life and living. The main drawback of living in one's lower mind consistently is that the lower mind represents one's internal map of reality. It's like being stuck in your own intellectual zip code, never moving beyond your nine-digit thoughts, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, worldviews, premises, etc. It's like living in one town, knowing it completely, and never venturing outside the borders of that town. Intelligent leaders are usually engaged with their lower mind, and, relatedly, left-brain thinking. The lower mind focuses on the corner of the painting. Wisdom does not arise from this place.

The higher mind deals with the abstract, that accesses intuition, aspiration, heart, soul and spirit. Our higher mind connects with the Universal mind, the impersonal and abstract realms and with Universal truth, beauty and goodness. Our higher mind speaks in the language of ideas, ideals, symbols, principles, archetypes and impulses. It is intuitive, and guides us to the truth. It is loving and universal. The higher mind see the threads woven between the mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, environmental and social aspects of our life. The higher mind see the entire painting - the place where wisdom arises.

"Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack." - Henry Miller

Wise leaders live their actuality and their potential - accessing both their lower and higher minds. Wise leaders understand they are spiritual beings living in a human form and allow their lower minds to access their higher. Allowing their higher mind supports the wise leader to access intuition and impressions that give one insights into the larger picture of life. Wise leaders understand the importance of focus, presence, self-discipline, meditation, study, loving service and creative expression. They seem to consistently seek to grasp the next higher level of awareness. They venture outside their historical map of reality - willing to jettison their old, "safe" beliefs, assumptions, expectations, worldviews, etc., and explore the possible and the unknown. They're open to knowing what they don't know.

Wise leaders understand that spiritual and personal growth means connecting with higher concepts and energies such as values, ideas, ideals, potentials, archetypes, higher guidance and intuition. The wise leader develops the capacity to not only connect with these higher concepts, but, as importantly, seek to ground them into forms, tasks, projects, relationships, and details, etc., that inform the way they lead in their day-to-day life at work. Wise leaders don't stop with experience, but transcend experience, both their own and others', in a way that they spend an appreciative amount of time and energy in deep self-reflection and thoughtful consideration around their experience, leading to higher insights, enhanced value and a deeper sense of self-awareness.

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." - Marcel Proust

Wise leadership is not about having experiences, but consciously learning from those experiences. The process of learning from experience engages one in a process of inquiry - looking with curiosity, not judgment, into the who, what, when, where, how and, most importantly, the why of their experiences. Inquiry is a matter of punctuation; it's about question marks, not periods. Curiosity.

Wise leaders understand the connection between diverse, and seemingly disconnected, elements to create something new. Wise leaders are adept at using analogy and metaphor and seek to recognize patterns, spot trends, draw connections and discern the big picture even when, at first glance, there seem to be nothing there. A wise leader interacts with her world in terms of a richer and more varied spectrum of possibilities and opportunities. A wise leader understands the importance of relationships, human and otherwise. A wise leader is a systems thinker, a gestalt thinker a holistic thinker. Wise leaders are comfortable being oriented to their right brain, as well as to their heart and soul.

Inquiry, for the wise leader, is not about "futurizing the past" - using their past experiences, the known, the tried and true to explain present experiences that are un-common, un-usual, un-familiar. Inquiry involves delving deeply into the self, even parts of the self that, heretofore, might have been unknown, in order to search for new insights, perspectives and understanding - seeking familiarity with the unknown.

"To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future." - Plutarch

Inquiry means creating an internal space, a space unencumbered by one's old thoughts, beliefs, premises, stories, worldviews, solutions, etc. - a clear, inviting and open space and entering into a fresh "new" realm, without preconception or expectation, to be informed with new learning, new sense, new meaning, new WHYs and new HOWs, i.e., new clarity - new wisdom.

Many intelligent leaders don't know they aren't wise. Here are some indications to help them see where there's room for wisdom-making:

They are task-oriented and focused on short-term gains, i.e, the corner of the painting, and often fail to step back and view the painting from 25 miles out - the painting being their respective business and their respective profession/industry.

They choose to limit alternatives when engaged in analysis. They fear ambiguity and are closed to myriad possibilities and perspectives; they fear the unknown and taking risks. They buckle under stress and tend to back away from challenges.

They are linear thinkers and feel they must be rational and logical. They are unable or unwilling to allow their "gut" or intuition to inform their decision-making process.

They can't or won't act "for the common good" when they are faced with conflict between or among multiple parties, or differing priorities. They refuse to consider "right action" or the well-being of the group, team or community in favor of relying on the conventional or prevailing attitude or perspective, or their own personal goals.

They have no deep sense of self-awareness, and lack spiritual and emotional intelligence. They focus on their strengths, deny their weaknesses and never allow their emotions to surface.

They lack a people-orientation. They can't be bothered making an effort to see others from a personal (as opposed to a functional) perspective. They don't know how to, or are unwilling to, deal with others' emotions, or emotional well-being. Relationship building is not their forte, by choice.
They lack harmony - there is no alignment or congruence between what they think, feel, say and do.

"Not by age but by capacity is wisdom acquired. Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" - T. S. Eliot

When we reflect and contemplate from a deeper level, when we choose to "go inside" and honestly, sincerely and self-responsibly ask ourselves if our stories are true, we are using our higher mind and engaging the wisdom of our heart and soul. Relying on our heart and soul's inner wisdom and intelligence open us up to new ways of seeing, do-ing and be-ing - discovering and exploring new territory and new maps of reality, new zip codes - supporting us to understand and deal with today's uncommon challenges in new ways.

Using one's higher mind is what will support today's intelligent leaders to become tomorrow's wise leaders.

So, our $10 food for thought questions are:

Would you characterize yourself as largely "left-brained?" What would others say about you?
Do you consider yourself "emotionally intelligent?" On a scale of 1-10, how emotionally intelligent are you? What would your close friends and co-workers say? Would you feel comfortable asking them? If not, why not?
Is your organization using its "higher mind" as it considers strategies to deal with future challenges?
Do you consider your leaders to be "wise?" How about you? Are you a "wise" soul? How do you know?
What was your experience of "wisdom" as you were growing up? Was engaging with the "unknown" a way of being, or were you encouraged to engage with life in a safe and secure mode?
How often do you take time to seriously and deeply reflect on your life's experiences?
Would you say you are a "task-oriented" or "people-oriented" person at work? How about at home? Would others agree?
Would you generally rather be right or happy? Why?
How do you deal with the unknown?
Can you envision a world at work where people are regularly encouraged to take time out for meditation, self-reflection and discovery?

"The best mind might be the wisest mind if it were a mind alone that produces wisdom." (anonymous)

---ABOUT THE AUTHOR---

Peter Vajda, Ph.D, C.P.C. is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta-based company that supports conscious living through coaching and counseling. With a practice based on the dynamic intersection of mind, body, emotion and spirit, Peter's 'whole person' coaching approach supports deep and sustainable change and transformation.

Peter facilitates and guides leaders and managers, individuals in their personal and work life, partners and couples, groups and teams to move to new levels of self-awareness, enhancing their ability to show up authentically and with a heightened sense of well be-ing, inner harmony and interpersonal effectiveness as they live their lives at work, at home, at play and in relationship.

Peter is a professional speaker and published author. For more information: http://www.spiritheart.net, or pvajda@spiritheart.net, or phone 770.804.9125.

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Intelligent, But Not Wise - Why Some Leaders Are Failing

What Is Customer Buying Behaviour? (Definition)

Customer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of final consumers - individuals and household who buy good and services for personal consumption. All these consumers make up the consumer market.

What Influence Customer Buying Behaviour?

It is very important to know more about your customer behaviour and it is even more important to know what actually influence buyer behaviour.

-Culture Factors: subcultures, diversity marketing and social class.

-Social Factors: There are two main section here which are "Family" and "Role and Statuses".

-Psychological Factors: motivation, perception, belief and attitudes and Learning.

About Customer Buying Behaviour

By Ethan Allen B

Infrastructure is most costly part for your business. Every business needs more and more space to store important documents. They have to spend more of their cost for infrastructure and managing documents rather to spend on core activity.

Most companies experiencing low storage capacity. There are various important documents in row of cabinet which has to be managed properly. To manage the document companies are spending their time and money. Sometimes they also have to face the problem of not getting important document at proper time because of misplace. There is always an issue of privacy and theft, if document is easily accessible to any one. These are the common problem that most of the companies are facing while managing document.

To avoid this type of hazards, document scanning is best option. Through scanning, less storage space requires. Document can avail at any time you want within some second. This option also enables you to give more security for your important document.

Point to consider while choosing document scanning solution:
1. Cost: This is important factor while choosing. You have to consider the cost of the service they are offering to you. It must be lower.
2. Digital Scanning Document Service: You have to check that scanning services provider is providing digital scanning document services or not! They are having latest technological scanner for digital output of scanned document.
3. Scanning Storage: You also consider their facilities of storing the documents. If they do not having huge place to store your document to scan, how they can manage your document properly.
4. Staff for Scanning: You must check that they are having enough staff to manage and complete your document scanning project at proper time. You also can check that they are having any experience of scanning the documents.
5. Scanned Document Format: The Company offering scanning service is offering the output format which you desire. If they are not providing a format you desire, it's not wise to hire services from them.
6. Quality of Scanned Material: You can also check their quality of scanned document. Some companies in scanning industries offer 'free trial'. By using this type of service you can always check their quality the offer.
7. Organized Document: The Company you are hiring for document scanning, is offering full process of scanning? If they are not offering the organized scanning of document to you then it is worth less to hiring their scanning services.

I tried my best to cover the check points. If any left out please post in comments so other can get better idea of what to look forward while choosing document scanning service.

Ethan Allen is online marketer for Scanning Indexing. Scanning Indexing is a company providing all types of document scanning services as well as indexing service. They follow 4S model to deliver services. They provide Speedy, Secure and Superiority scanning services at huge Savings.

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7 Checkouts For Choosing Document Scanning Service

By Gardner Wilkinson

Saying that attendees are the key to a successful event is cliched. Every one of us knows and agrees that attendees are essential. How to attract attendees and build a customer database is the true dilemma. Sometimes a customer database is simple to acquire. For example, if you are organizing an event Neurologists in India, the Pharmaceutical Company for whom you are organizing the event will probably have a ready list of potential delegates. If not, it is a simple matter of contacting the Neurological Association for a list of its members. Not all events have such a specific audience and purchasing multiple customer databases for your event is neither feasible nor cost effective. So, it is extremely important for you to build your own customer database.

Before building a customer database, let's understand what a Customer Database is and why it is important to build your own database. A customer database is not just a collection of names. It is a collection of individualized, consumer behavioral information, isolated to each customer. It will provide you with comprehensive, up-to-date and relevant information about customers, thus, enabling you to target selected audiences easily and cost effectively.

A customer database is useful when planning events and promotions as it can help you maximize profits through conversion, retention and repeat sales. It can help you market smarter and reduce costs. It can also help you keep in touch with customers' year round, thus providing you with a ready database to leverage new events.

Here are 3 ways as to how you can build a customer database:

Previous Customers
Your customer database and potential customer database is the source of your trade. You need it to generate repeat business in the future, or as a fall back when times get tough and as an asset of your company when you want to sell up. You can start building your customer database by organizing previous attendee information. It is also important to include all your business associates, clients and anyone who has shown even a minute interest in your company or in a previous event.

Tip: One of any business's greatest assets is its list of customers as it is a record of past sales and a source of future revenue.

Event or Corporate Website
Your event and corporate website are excellent methods to build your customer database. There are two main techniques of collecting customer information using your website. The first is inquiry form. Every time a visitor makes an enquiry on your website you can collect personal information about the visitor such as name, email address, profession etc. The second option is newsletter subscriptions. If you send out monthly newsletters, you can add a 'Subscribe Now' option on your website. This will help you inform all interested parties about the latest news and happenings. It will also help you promote and market new events. Also, include a 'Book Now' link for new events to make it easy for customers to register or book tickets.

Social Networking Sites
An innovative way to build a database is social networking sites like Facebook. You can start or join different groups such as Book Enthusiasts, Indian Rockers etc. By starting or joining such groups, you get access to a database of interested audiences, which will make leveraging your event or future events easier. For example: If you are organizing a concert in India, you could post details about the concert - 'Coldplay is performing live in Mumbai on May 25th, tickets available at coldplaytour.com'. This post will serve two functions - one, it will help market and promote your event online and two, by proving a link to your event website, you make it convenient for interested parties to book tickets immediately.

Customer databases are useful marketing tools. They can help minimize reduce your expenditure and increase your revenue. The purpose of this article was to help you manage your events more cost effectively by building and using a customer database to leverage future events. We hope the 3 database building techniques discussed in this article proved to be helpful.

EventAvenue is a perfect solution for online event management, conference management and webinar management.

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Leverage Future Events & Close Sales Easily With a Customer Database

By Richard Wong

According to the BDC small medium sized businesses spend 45 to 65% of their revenue on purchasing materials and services. This large percentage of the total costs of a business means that small savings, even 1% can mean instant addition to the bottom line but in today's economy you can achieve even greater savings in the 10% to 20% range is possible.

Try some of the following to cut your spending:

1. Have your controller or hire a consultant do an expenses analysis

- Review all parts of the product or service cost, break them down individually into:

- Raw materials costs

- Taxes, brokerage, tariffs, duties

- Freight

- 3rd party warehousing/logistics handling costs

- Extra vendor charges

- Vendor payment terms

2. Review your purchasing process on how to evaluate the best choice

- What type of process is used for deciding to use one supplier over another?

- How many people need to be in the decision making process, the fewer the number of people, the less the overall internal cost?

- When deciding to purchase equipment is there a "Net Present Value" analysis of the different choices which examines the benefits over the asset's life?

- Have your staff included used equipment purchases as an alternative to purchasing new? Have they visited auctions?

3. Potentially sources from offshore countries

- Start looking to buying from other countries to compare suppliers. BDC studies show that only 42% of Canadian companies are saving money, but you could be one of them.

4. Review standardizing the number of parts in your product.

5. Reduce the number of suppliers & forge strategic partnerships with a few to get better pricing, terms, or delivery.

6. Think about using technology to help track your business

Best Practices For Buying Goods & Services

Process of Business Management

[Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 0 comments ]

By George Edmondson

Business process is the important process of planning, co-coordinating and controlling a business. Every successful business has a business management team, whether it is one person or many. The main purpose of businesses is to be profitable, and the main function of managing businesses is so that the business creates sufficient value for its customers so that its revenues exceed its total cost. Business management departments deal with all the aspects of a business. They ensure that everything runs smoothly and that every department communicates and cooperates with the other, to complete assignments and deadlines on time.

Business managers are generally required to have sharp problem-solving abilities and skills, and should also have knowledge and experience in the seven functional areas of business: production, accounting, managements information systems, marketing, finance, human resources, and product research and development. They should be able to co-ordinate these activities and balance the amount of time spent on each, to increase the value of the company to other people, such as its stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the surrounding community.

Different businesses give varying amounts of authority to their management teams, and management can be divided into three levels. High-Level Management teams need to have an extensive knowledge of the roles of management and skills. They need to have to be aware of key external factors such as markets as they are responsible for strategic decisions.

Their decisions are generally of a long-term nature and they usually chalk out a plan of what they think will be effective in the future. The middle management teams have specialized understanding of specific managerial tasks and are generally responsible for carrying out the decisions made by the High level management. The Lower Management teams ensure that the plans and decisions made by the Upper and Middle level are carried out, and their decisions are generally short term ones, such as the what the business will do in a day.

Communication skills are very essential for Business Managers, as they have to deal with many people; including the people employed by the business, freelancers that need to be told what job they are required to do, as well as communicating with clients and understanding exactly what they require from you and your business and when they want it done.

Time management is also an extremely precious skill which every Business Manager should master. When a client gives a business a job to do, the business manager needs to give a rough estimate of the time it'll take for the job to be done, which is what the pricing will be based on.

Written by Richard Wong, CMA rwong@firstchoicecapital.ca http://www.firstchoicecapital.ca/Blog Article Source

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Process of Business Management

By Richard Adams

Advertising in the local newspaper often costs £200 or more for a single week and the Yellow pages can cost over £1,000 for a single advert so advertising your business in the old ways isn't cheap. Furthermore, not only do you have to remember to keep on putting that advert in the paper each wee for maximum results but you also need to be aware that more and more people are actually now using the internet to find businesses that they want to deal with.

Small business online advertising therefore represents the most powerful and cost effective means of growing your small business. The number of internet users grows every day and so too does the opportunity open to you. The only real problem is information overload.

You see, whereas local advertising really only gives you a few limited options, there are hundreds of possible options online and so it can be difficult to know where to start. In a medium that can beam your message worldwide in a matter of moments, what are the most powerful and cost effective ways to get your advertising infront of your potential customers?

And for this I have to admit that my own preference is on using the free search engines like Google and Yahoo. The reasons are pretty simple. Firstly, if you run a dog kennel in London and someone types in a search of "dog kennel London" you can be pretty sure they are a potential customer of yours. So we can advertise your small business website to ensure that it shows up when someone types that phrase in. And secondly, once you are there, visitors will continue to find you day and night thereafter without you having to constantly remember to place your advert again!

For a free report on small business online advertising and how to go about it please visit A Website Is Not Enough

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Small Business Online Advertising

By Michael Kazmark

Like your first kiss, like buying your first car, like any of the other major firsts in your life, starting your first business can be terrifying. And just like many of the other "firsts" in your life, it can be the source of many rewards.

People vary in their apprehension of many things including starting a business. I'm sure you've seen those who seem to jump into everything, while others methodically check out every detail before making a decision. There are those who talk about "how nice it would be to work for myself" without ever looking seriously at any business. On the contrary, most of us also know someone who seemed to fit into one of these more "careful" categories, but one day did ask the girl out on a date, and by the end of the night even kissed her! Though most of us can tend to act in a certain way, few are bound to carry those traits into every situation. With most people there is some amount of fluidity in our behavior that can at times go against our normal tendencies.

So what can nudge some of us who are normally more cautious to start the business that we've always dreamed about? What can reduce our anxieties enough to actually "take the plunge?"

I think one of the most effective methods is to find a mentor who has a certain amount of success in the pursuit that we are considering. Sometimes just knowing that someone you trust is there can bring a tremendous amount of confidence in pressing forward. That person can not only be a source of information and inspiration but can be a source of accountability. That person can set up a schedule of baby steps that can walk us through to our goal. When I first started my bird business breeding exotic macaws, I had a very experienced breeder working with me. I would not have even considered this kind of business without such a mentor. It was a great comfort that any aspect of the operation from feeding the babies, to marketing, could be discussed with my mentor and friend. Because I saw that what he did worked I always knew he would give me sound advice.

If you really want to bring down the anxiety level, get a group of people to all engage in the same kind of project at the same time. You can all work with a mentor and all support one another by regularly meeting to discuss what has worked and what hasn't. If you can't find people near you interested in this, I think it would be very easy to find such people online. A Google group could be started for people who are all starting the same kind of business. It should not be difficult to find an expert who would be willing to act as a mentor to the group. Such a person might be entice by free ads on your websites, or it may even be a retired "expert" who would love to work with a group of young folks to pass on his knowledge. This can not only reduce the anxiety but can be a lot of fun too. I've heard of investment clubs that work this way but I think it has been greatly under-utilized by beginning entrepreneurs.

Another way to reduce the anxiety of starting a new business is to have a healthy perspective on failure. None of us like to fail but most great people in history have failed at various endeavors. A number of biographies of Abraham Lincoln mention that he failed in a many endeavors including a law practice, failed bids for the Senate, and in various business pursuits before becoming our President. It helps to realize that it is not a statement about yourself that a business you pursued has failed. Most successful entrepreneurs became successful in their business by getting knocked down, getting back up, getting knocked down again; and keeping that up until what they tried worked. We don't have to view failure as an acceptable option, but neither do we have to be devastated when it occurs.

Some may argue that the fear of failure isn't so much emotional as it is a practical matter of wasting resources that need to be allocated to basic living expenses. A person whose family is relying on those resources may have to invest less, bring on a partner for awhile, or choose a business that has less risk than other businesses. Remember too that by doing nothing, one can never taste any of the rewards of a successful business. Having a healthy perspective on what it means to fail can reduce the anxiety of starting a new business and probably increases it's chance of success. And when you are successful in your enterprise you can be an inspiration to others and perhaps a mentor as well!

A resource that may be very helpful as you start your own business is called 30 Businesses! This is a special report detailing 30 businesses that are easy to start, and require little money up front. Many of these will start paying fairly quickly. I am offering this download on my wine sorbet website. Click on the tab that says "30 Businesses." Most of these businesses I have become familiar with through talking to the people that run them. A few I have run myself. The discussion of each business is designed to spark other ideas as well. I kept the cost low so most people can afford it ($4.95). There are so many good ideas and great information in this report that will help any entrepreneur interested in starting a new business.

About Mike:
I love small business. I love it so much because it represents freedom to me. I think it is the most wonderful thing to see someone create a thriving business from just an idea. To see that business begin to give that person and their family options they never would have had before is the most exciting thing. To see the reflection of that person in the way they have structured their business and in the way they run it is fascinating.

I have started and run a number of small businesses over the years. Our family has recently started a new business selling an awesome, great tasting, dessert called Wine Sorbet. I mentioned WineSorbetCafe.Com already as being where you can get the download.

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Starting a New Business Without the Fear Factor

To achieve a good research, you need to do many meaningful activities.

The first step is to define the problem. This is where you set the objectives of your research.

Step 2 is to develop the research plan. In this step you can make your voice to the research if it is a survey research, observation research or experimental research. The research approaches can be behavioral data and focus group research.

Coming to the third step is collect the information. Within this data collection, you will see many sources that you can get valuable data. It is the most important part in research since the main purpose of research is to get data. For observational research, you ll get data by observing people, actions and situations. Survey research is done by asking individuals about attitudes, preferences or buying behaviors. Experimental research uses group or people to determine cause and effect relationships. Anyway no matter what you are doing, a good researcher would have collected data by developing questionnaires, direct interview and existing resources. Taking advanced of today technology there are many online methods that most companies prefer to use.

Step 4 is to analyze the information by extract pertinent from the collected data.

Step 5 is to present your finding to the manager. If you are the manager, you don't need to make the presentation.

The last step is to Make Decision. Anyway if you want to make sure that your decision is effective, an evaluation process should be carried.

Marketing Research in More Detail

Usually doing a research may go through thevsame process. For marketing research, you may think of the following steps.

-Define the problem and research activities
- Develop the research plan
- Collect the information
- Analyze the information
- Present the findings
- Make the decision

Basic Marketing Research Processes

By Martin Sawdon

"What kind of bird-brain are you? Gee-Whiz, a three year old could have done a better job than that!" As contributors to the future success of your organization, those words might be the most counterproductive in the English language. How often have you seen or experienced a response like this to an error at work and the victim, already downcast by disappointment at failure feels even worse after a thorough tongue-lashing.

What do we teach by behaving like this or condoning it? We demonstrate our belief that success is everything, the only acceptable outcome of every initiative. Had Edison thought that way we would still be relying on candlelight for those long, dark winter evenings!

If you want your workplace to be ultra-successful, cutting edge technology, a unique product, the best processes and people alone will not, cannot take you there. Yes, the workplace ultra-successful in bean-counting terms shares all those qualities but the magical additional ingredient is becoming a place people would almost die to join, becomes more successful by encouraging discovery and innovation. As leaders, this is something we must nurture............and failure is a stepping-stone on the way to success.

The workplace ultra-successful in bean-counting terms will not, cannot achieve that status unless it becomes a workplace which people would almost die for the opportunity of joining. That's the difficult part. The easier components are those which typically come to mind immediately: securing great technology, a unique product well made or delivered, the best processes an accomplished sales force..........and one thing more:the encouragement of discovery and innovation. Part of that is putting in place the characteristics of the appropriate environment and there are two. The first is the easier: the physical environment and requirements. More difficult is creating a culture which encourages discovery and innovation and even more importantly, accepts mistakes, our people's and our own.

How many of us learned to ride a bike without ever putting a toe to the ground.........became fluent in a foreign language without embarrassing moments...........or learned to dive without experiencing the occasional bellyflop? Failure is not the problem. The problem is failing to learn.

The emergence of a pattern of errors signals the need to take some steps very quickly, there are important discoveries to be made, questions to be asked. One of the most important is whether this staffer is working in an area which they love, is he or she practising their values? Unless that is the case she will never excel. Sometimes we might discover that the best option both for our organization and the individual is to find another role, one they enjoy and in which they can succeed.

The ultra-successful workplaces practises enlightened management but that does not mean it guarantees employment for life. When it has failed in its goal to hire for values, when it recognizes that a staffer's talents are incompatible with those needed in the organization, rather than fire them dramtically and with hard words, with respect and compassion it guides them to another organization, more suitable.

The next time one of your people fails, ask the questions contributing to their future success. Harness the power of failure as a springboard to success!

The Top Ten Questions To Ask Following A Team Member's Failure...in an atmosphere of collegial exploration.

1) What was the desired outcome?
2) What were the unheeded early-warning signals?
3) What were the most important resources which were not consulted?
4) What intuitive signals did you overlook?
5) To what extent were you on your best game and what was standing in your way?
6) To what extent might the result have been influenced by better time management?
7) If starting again, what would you do differently?
8) In terms of benefiting the organization, what's the most important learning ?
9) What's the most important learning about your self?
10) What's the best way in which I can support you right now?

Martin Sawdon, May 2009.

Martin Sawdon champions creation of The Sustainable Workplace™, that's the workplace ultra successful in beancounting terms which can only be achieved by creating a place people would almost die to join. He does this through his speaking and coaching. You can visit Martin at http://www.coachingworks.ca and http://www.thinktanksummit.com and contact him via martin@coachingworks.ca

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Failure - The Springboard To Success

By Theo Gilbert-Jamison

Most people don't look forward to attending training classes. Why? Because they are often facilitated by boring, disengaged trainers. What many trainers fail to realize is that facilitating an informative training session that is also memorable and lively takes lots of planning, practice, and preparation.

Whether you are training a large group or one person, you know your training session is lackluster when participants:

Uncontrollably yawn throughout your entire presentation. No matter how much they try, they have a hard time staying awake and energized during your presentation.

Keep looking at their watch. To them it seems like time is standing still, and no matter how much they try to keep track of time, your presentation feels to them like an eternity.

Start sidebar conversations during your presentation. Your topic is so uninteresting that they don't hesitate to start a mini-conversation with the person sitting next to them, maybe even adding a joke or two about you.

Speed read through the entire training manual before you are finished. You belabor one point to the extent that they go ahead and just read the rest of the manual. While you are still focused on page 3, they have read all the way to page 15 just to make the time go by quicker.

Go to the bathroom and never come back. Once they get out of the training room, they feel a sigh of relief and feel sick at the thought of having to go back in and continue listening to you talk.

Doodle on your training materials. They feel that drawing is a way of escaping from your annoying, monotone voice and endless series of confusing information.

Have a blank stare, especially when you ask them a question. They have been daydreaming of being in on some topical island throughout most of your presentation, and have no idea that you have called on them to answer a question.

The best advice for overcoming boring training presentations is to know your topic inside and out; create visual aids and handouts that are colorful, informative, and lively; animate your tone of voice so it is interesting and not monotone; don't just stand in one section of the room, but walk around; add humor; and most of all get the audience involved by asking open-ended questions. Following these few simple tips will not only help engage your learners, but also inspire them to look forward to attending future training sessions that are facilitated by you.

Theo Gilbert-Jamison is CEO of Performance Solutions by Design, a global performance consulting firm that caters to luxury and premium brands with an emphasis on transforming organizational culture. She is also the author of two books, The Six Principles of Service Excellence (2005), and The Leadership Book of Numbers, Volume I (2008). As the creative force behind Performance Solutions by Design, Theo is a highly sought after speaker and consultant to CEOs and senior executives in high profile organizations. Please visit Theo's website at http://www.psbydesign.com

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Seven Signs of Bad Training and How to Overcome Them

Being a marketing manager is to design and implement marketing programs. Anyway before designing the programs, we must understand the specific marketing situation.

In order to understand the marketing situation, the manager must have information. Before the marketing manager can have information, there must be data.

All in all, to get the data, research must be done and it is very important factor. A manager can make a wrong decision if we fail to deliver a good data.

Why Research Is Important for a Marketing Manager?

It is very important to know more about your customer behaviour and it is even more important to know what actually influence buyer behaviour.

-Culture Factors: subcultures, diversity marketing and social class.

-Social Factors: There are two main section here which are "Family" and "Role and Statuses".

-Psychological Factors: motivation, perception, belief and attitudes and Learning.

What Influence Customer Buying Behaviour?

Customer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of final consumers - individuals and household who buy good and services for personal consumption. All these consumers make up the consumer market.

What Is Customer Buying Behaviour? (Definition)

If we are talking about how one organize his or her constitution, you ll think about three main management systems which are top management, middle management and front-line management. Usually top management are the one who make decisions but how can they make a good decision? In marketing, one a manager wants to make decisions, he or shell collect information from front-line manager. Since those front-line managers are the one who directly enclose themselves with customers, they are the most valuable resources in making an effective decision.

Here how Customer-Orientation Organization goes:

Customers
Front-Line Manager
Middle Management
Top Management

Nowadays marketing is getting more and more valuable than in the past. Getting people to know your product is one of the most important thing to help your business grows faster.

Customer-Orientation Organization (Marketing)

By Sean R Mize

Here's how you can easily build a profitable business:

1. Identify a need. The first thing that you need to do is to identify a need that you can possibly fill. Do your research, interview potential customers, and send surveys and questionnaires. If your research suggests that hundreds of business owners within a certain geographical location are in need of advertising services, you can go ahead and start with this kind of business as long as you have the needed skills, tools and equipments, knowledge, and experience.

2. Check on your competitors. Identifying a need is not enough to jumpstart a business. Aside from this, you also need to get to know your existing competitors as these will surely have an impact on your projected sales and revenue. Know what they are currently offering and how much they charge. Understand how they do business and how they deal with their customer base. You will need to know all these information so you'll easily figure out how you can outplay them.

3. Check the demand and the supply. Do another research and determine if the supply is greater than the demand. If this is the case, you are in for a bumpy ride as you'll surely struggle to generate decent sales. In addition, this scenario will not let you set your own prices. Strive to avoid getting into stiff competition if you want to increase your chances of earning huge profits from your business.

4. Initial investment. Don't start building your business unless you are 100% sure that you have enough financial resources to get started. You will need to do this so you can avoid wasting time, money, and energy in the long run.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide. Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site? Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"

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How to Start a Business - The Latest 4 Creative Ways to Jumpstart a Business

By Sean R Mize

Do you want to grow your business exponentially? Here's what you need to do:

1. Widen your reach. Don't be content with the number of your potential clients. Identify additional group of people who might be able to find your products and services appealing or useful without major development or design changes.

2. Keep yourself posted on the every-changing needs and demands of your customer base. Invest on research to discover new market pain/problem that can easily be converted to great product/service idea. However, make sure that your prospects are willing to spend their precious dimes on your new offerings before you go to the development and production stage.

3. Improve the quality of your products. Buyers simply love it when they get what they pay more. Continuously improve the quality of your offerings to make them more useful and more enticing to the eyes of your potential clients. You may include new features or make them more user-friendly.

4. Check on your competitors. Make it a habit to check on your competitors on a regular basis. As an entrepreneur, you need to know what these people are doing so you can easily device a plan on how you can outplay them.

5. Marketing strategy. Don't stop looking for ways on how you can effectively promote your products and services without burning your pockets. If you are operating online, I recommend that you use free but efficient online marketing tools that are guaranteed to help you capture the attention of your potential clients. These include article marketing, blogging, social media marketing, forum posting, email marketing, and ezine publishing.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide. Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site? Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"

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Business Development - Uncover 5 Compelling Development Tips For Your Business

By Sean R Mize

Here are some tips on how you can properly manage your business and grow it exponentially in as little time as possible:

1. Create a fool-proof selling process. Every business has something to sell. Your goal is to secure as much sales as possible so you can grow your business and increase your earnings. You can do this by creating a compelling sales process that you can use to easily get people to do business with you. It must be designed to push the emotional buttons of your clients and it must be geared towards making your offerings look more useful and valuable to the eyes of your prospects.

2. Employees. If you've got people working for you, make sure that you treat them right. If you want your business to thrive, you will need to treat these people right. Aside from giving them just salary on time, you must also offer them with incentives each time they contribute to the success of your business.

3. Marketing techniques. Of all the elements of business management, this one is the most important. You need to design and implement a very effective marketing campaign that will help you promote product awareness and at the same time, connect with those people who are most likely to buy from you.

4. Customers. Keep in mind that without your customers, your business will not possibly exist. So, make your business all about them and all about their satisfaction. Make it a point to give these people nothing but top-notch, high quality products along with world class customer service.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide. Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site? Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"

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Business Management - 4 Useful Management Tips in Business

By Sean R Mize

Here's how you can easily build a profitable business:

1. Identify a need. The first thing that you need to do is to identify a need that you can possibly fill. Do your research, interview potential customers, and send surveys and questionnaires. If your research suggests that hundreds of business owners within a certain geographical location are in need of advertising services, you can go ahead and start with this kind of business as long as you have the needed skills, tools and equipments, knowledge, and experience.

2. Check on your competitors. Identifying a need is not enough to jumpstart a business. Aside from this, you also need to get to know your existing competitors as these will surely have an impact on your projected sales and revenue. Know what they are currently offering and how much they charge. Understand how they do business and how they deal with their customer base. You will need to know all these information so you'll easily figure out how you can outplay them.

3. Check the demand and the supply. Do another research and determine if the supply is greater than the demand. If this is the case, you are in for a bumpy ride as you'll surely struggle to generate decent sales. In addition, this scenario will not let you set your own prices. Strive to avoid getting into stiff competition if you want to increase your chances of earning huge profits from your business.

4. Initial investment. Don't start building your business unless you are 100% sure that you have enough financial resources to get started. You will need to do this so you can avoid wasting time, money, and energy in the long run.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide. Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site? Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"

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How to Start a Business - The Latest 4 Creative Ways to Jumpstart a Business

The main purpose of marketing is to get people into your store and buy your products. What do you think of a direct marketing in which you try to attract your target customers by your marketing agents? Will this method work? How much do you need to spend on this issue? No matter what method you are using the main purpose is to get your products sold and gain more market segmentation.

We never forget how important your outdoor marketing is but you also must understand that the store itself is the most important factor to get them buy your product. Usually when people go into each store, they must have their purpose of buying any specific product. Many people claim that they will buy more if the store offer any special package.

Regarding to the special package, you should take advance of some special holiday since many people are free from their work so they can more around more than their weekdays. Such occasions can be Christmas, Valentine’s Day, New Year and more.

Let your marketing spread the word of your promotion to the world.

Marketing Not End When Customers Enter Your Store

By Sean R Mize

Selling a small business is very much different when you are selling certain products and services. In here, you will need to take into consideration a lot of things to make sure that you'll comply with federal regulations while you generate as much profits as possible.

Here are some powerful tips in selling your small business:

1. Think of an exit plan. You may think that this is something that you can put on the back seat but let me just tell you that this is one of the most important things that you need to consider when letting go of your business. There are quite a few business owners who are backing out from the selling process just because they don't have an exit plan in place. You need to know what you are going to do after your business has been sold and you need to be 100% sure that you really want to sell it.

2. Valuation. For your own protection, I recommend that you hire a certified public accountant who can help you prepare your profit and lost statements together with other documents that can help determine the real market value of your business. You may also hire an experienced appraiser who can enhance the value of your business.

3. Hire an attorney. You will need the help of the lawyer in preparing the contract of sale. Unlike when selling your car or your real estate properties, selling business involve more complex variables and this can really confuse you especially if you don't have relevant experience.

4. Hire a broker. If you don't have the time nor the patience to look for potential buyers, I recommend that you hire an experience business broker who's got great selling and negotiation skills. This person will be in-charge of advertising and selling your business so you can just relax during the whole process. You will need to pay your broker up to 10% of the purchase price.

5. Know the best time to sell. You'll be able to sell your small business at a higher price if you sell it while the profits are on the increase. This communicates success and provides your prospective buyers more incentive to buy. If you'll sell your business when the sales and profits are decreasing, your prospective buyers will have more negotiating power and they'll most likely to buy your business at much lower price. You don't want this to happen, do you?

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide.

Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site?

Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"

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How to Sell a Small Business - 5 Powerful Tips on Selling a Small Business

By Andrew J. Logan

If you own a small business you undoubtedly already know that you need a line of credit to operate. But, what kind? What are your options as far as terms and conditions go? These are the questions that this article will attempt to answer.

Your options really consist of straight loans from a bank, personal loans, and credit card loans, because credit card loans are the most accessible to new businesses, this is the type I will focus on.

There are two types of credit cards, or rather terms that you may want to look at; secured small business credit cards and unsecured. The former is the most attractive because it allows new small businesses to establish credit, even if they have no prior credit history.

Secured business credit cards offer the cardholder the option of putting up company and/or personal assets as collateral for the line of credit in which they are applying. This can allow you to leverage you business and personal assets in order to gain more working capital, and establish a business credit record.

There is a positive and a negative side to this type of loan, so I will give you the good news first. With no credit record, you can leverage you business assets including your business car, furniture, building, warehouse, land and other physical assets in exchange for a opportunity to prove your trustworthiness to the lending firm, which can be a good way of getting your foot in the door.

Now let me give you the bad news, after all, most people only here what they want to hear, but I ask you to consider both sides and talk to your lawyer before jumping in. Here is what you have to lose; potentially everything. That is kind of harsh, but it is true. If you sign all of your personal and business assets over as collateral and then default on the loan, you can lose everything you have.

This is intended to be for educational purposes only, always consult your attorney before making serious financial decisions such as this one.

Andrew writes articles about secured business credit card and he also likes to focus on Unsecured Business Credit Cards.

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Secured Or Unsecured Small Business Credit Card?

By Les Tyler

The foreclosure market has made starting and running a Foreclosure Cleanup & Property Preservation company a very lucrative entrepreneurial venture - there were over 175,000 foreclosed properties last month alone! The banks need someone to cleanup and fix up these properties prior to putting them back on the market.

But banks often pay 30 - 60 days after you service the property, and this poses some cash flow problems when you're first starting out. The larger banks and asset management companies generally pay 30 - 60 days after invoices are submitted (although most of them pay around the 30 day mark). Now most of the time this is OK, because these larger companies are generally sending vendors 10+ properties to service/clean out per month, but if you're just getting your feet wet, you'll need your money faster.

Unlike banks and asset management companies, smaller companies and investors generally pay upon completion of the project or within 15 days. Unlike the larger companies though, they may only send a few projects your way, but this is fine if you're starting out and doing most of the work yourself (and in the beginning you will definitely have to do most of the work on your own. Many companies I know that just started out asked family/friends to help out instead of hiring staff as they are usually willing to help you out and willing to wait a bit to get paid).

I would recommend targeting investors who have bought properties that they are intending to rent out or flip and/or smaller asset management companies in your area. Here are some ideas for doing this:

1. Put an ad online on Craigslist or Kijiji saying something like, "ATTN INVESTORS - We'll clean up and repair your property for the best prices in ________ (name of city where you live)" or "We Clean Up & Fix Up Bank-Owned Properties" or even "We Clean Up & Repair Houses" and then in the main text, describe your services and contact information.

2 Look for companies or investors that "wholesale properties" - this is a group of investors will purchase a house (usually for cash) for way under market value and then turn around and sell it to another individual investor that is willing to put the time and money into the property to fix it up. You can find these companies by Googling terms like, "Wholesale properties + (your city)", "wholesale real estate + (your city)", "real estate investors + (your city)". You may have to sort through some unrelated links but this is probably the best way to locate these wholesale investors. Once you do, give them a call and tell them that you're in the property preservation business and you'd like to offer them your services. You can also tell them that if they refer your services to an investor that buys one of their properties that you'll give them a "finders fee" commission (usually 10% of the value of the contract). The best thing about these investor groups or individual investors is that they will sometimes give you a deposit (25%-50%) to start the project and then pay you the rest as soon as the work is done.

3. Contact Realtors and ask them if they know of any individual investors that require property preservation services. Make sure you follow up with a phone call if your first contact is an email, and vice versa.

4. While you have the Realtor on the phone, ask them if they have any current listings that need a move out clean or some minor repairs. Sometimes a regular seller (including homeowners and investors who currently own property) will realize that their house needs a good clean or a paint job in order to move it off the market. This is a good opportunity to get some "before" & "after" photos as well as a good reference for your services. And, as a bonus, these people usually pay immediately also.

You will definitely have to spend some time on the phone and on the internet (searching for potential customers and sending out introduction emails). It does take a bit of time to plant the seeds but eventually, something will grow. Also, make sure you get some business cards (try www.vistaprint.com) and give them out to everyone you know! If you belong to a church, sometimes they will let you advertise in their church bulletin for free or for a very small fee (i.e. $20). Let everyone you talk to know that you've started a business and that you would appreciate any referrals, no matter how small the job - word-of-mouth referrals is a very effective way to advertise (and it's free!). Again, you can also offer 10% finders fee as a "thank you" for anyone who refers you a job.

Another really important thing: when you do a job, invoice immediately and ask them when you can expect to be paid (on your estimate you should put payment terms, such as "Payment due upon receipt" or "Payable within 7 days of invoice receipt"). Don't wait around to get your invoice to them because the longer you wait, the longer it will take for them to pay you.

So, in summary, look for the smaller jobs first to help build up your "before & after" photos as well as your references. Since they usually pay faster, it's also a good way to build up some savings so you can afford to go after the big companies and then wait the 30+ days to get paid. You have to spend some time working at it, but you'll definitely see big payoffs if you put the time and energy into getting the word out. Once you have a solid portfolio and a steady stream of cash, you can start submitting your company information to the larger asset management firms.

Les Tyler has been happily and profitably cleaning out and fixing up REOs for over a year. She is the author of "Foreclosure Cleanup Cash", a 200 page e-book on How to Start A Foreclosure Cleanup and Property Preservation Company in 7 days or less with little or no money out of your pocket and also writes a blog and forum on REO Cleanups & Preservation which you can find at http://www.ForeclosureCleanupCash.com

You can reach Les at info@ForeclosureCleanupCash.com

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Running a Foreclosure Cleanup & Property Preservation Company - How to Get Paid Sooner

By Bob Mason

I've always made it a point to recognize people who do good things. I think I got better results that way, though I've never been able to effectively quantify my beliefs. The Carrot Principle by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton did two things for me. First, the authors confirmed, with empirical data, my belief in recognition as an effective management technique. Second they showed me that I hadn't been doing it right, or at least as well as I could have been. Have you ever thought of recognizing new people at the 90 day point?

Using four leadership tenets as a baseline, the authors show how effective recognition can act as an accelerator that will take organizations to new heights. They show how a business with marginal employee engagement improves with an effective recognition program. What I think is more significant though is how employee engagement improves at an already successful business when a recognition program is in place. Some leaders provide recognition but expect something in return; the "Expectors". Others, the "Altruists" feel a need to recognize people. I found this a very fine line. If, as a leader, I'm going to spend resources to recognize people, I do expect them to continue producing results. As the authors point out, recognition improves the bottom line. The "Altruists" though, go above and beyond just a mechanical "do this and I'll give you that" type approach. Their personalized and careful approach to recognition is, well, altruistic and they are much more successful. This is when the "acceleration" occurs.

What first drew me to The Carrot Principle was the promise of results from a worldwide study on the effects of recognition in the workplace. Does recognition work as a motivator across cultural boundaries? Quite simply, Yes! Though the authors cite some specific cultural differences in the most effective way to recognize, the data from over 10,000 people in 13 countries revealed that a good recognition program transcends culture.

I'm constantly amazed when one of the leadership tenets that I think should be obvious to the most casual observer apparently isn't. After all, how could a book that simply tells leaders to recognize their people be a national bestseller? The answer to that question is I believe, one of the reasons this book is selling well. (Its #6 on the New York Times Hardcover Business Bestseller list). A good recognition program is not as prevalent as it should be. I was amazed at the results of the authors' study that revealed a staggering 74% of leaders worldwide don't have an effective recognition program.

The authors point out that several large companies actually have a department in charge of recognition run by a senior level manager. These departments coordinate the program and train the company's leaders to properly recognize their people. That worries me as I've noticed an interesting paradox in leadership and management. In order to properly implement a new management program, it's often necessary to create an office that manages training for and implementation of that program. However, as soon as that office is up and running, it tends to toll the death knell of the program it is supposed to be championing. I find there are two reasons for this. First, the new department draws resources, and second, it is usually staffed with highly motivated people who tend to push for more and more growth. I hope this is not the case for companies who form a department to make an effective recognition program work. The authors understand that there are resources required to create and sustain an effective program, and even spell out suggested spend plans.

If you aren't sure if you should buy this book, go to the library or bookstore, open the book to page 172 and glance through the 125 recognition suggestions. If you can go through all 125 without saying "I hadn't thought of that," then you may not need the book. While you have it in your hand though, take a peek at the other chapters and then go buy the book. I found it to be a valuable how-to guide to a great recognition program and I believe you will too.

Bob Mason is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and president of RLM Planning and Leadership, a consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses meld smart strategic planning with leadership excellence. To receive his newsletter with this review and other articles, go to http://www.planleadexcel.com/tinc?key=TDbJOb7x&RegistrationFormID=64197, or visit his website at http://www.planleadexcel.com

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Employee Recognition - A Review of the Carrot Principle

By Joe McLee

Techniques for securing personal training clients are like the techniques in business used to get most any client, with a few minor exceptions. If a trainer isn't asking what it takes to get clients, then he or she either isn't serious about the business, or he or she is already a complete success and has a ready-made client base from which to draw.

In our digital millennium, the first step will always be to have a well-designed website or fitness blog stood up. If you can't do this for yourself, find a friend or a professional who can do it for you. The Internet is filled with sites who will even host it and teach you how to design it, free of charge. They'll walk you through it slowly and thoroughly.

The question of how to get people - and potential clients - to visit the site is a completely different issue. In this matter, it's necessary that the site itself be checked for its optimization. By that, we mean is it easy for customers and all the big Internet search engines to find? If you don't know anything about optimization (called SEO), have someone who does go in and check out your site.

It's important, also, to gain some sort of credential as a trainer, especially if you're new to the business or just starting out. If you're not famous as an athlete, most people will be more comfortable hiring you if they can see a certification that implies you know what you're doing when it comes to fitness.

After you've taken these first baby steps, start to think on what sort of marketing and advertising you're going to do. Doing these two things isn't actually that hard, though you should review your marketing efforts at least weekly. The Internet has made it extremely easy to get word of your new business at and around the world, literally. But the fitness business revolves around promoting yourself and, be extension, your business. So build up an email list and prepare some sales letters. You can buy a ready-made list from a broker, or you can create a submission page on your website where people can leave an email in return for a free fitness report, for example.

Include, also, the nuts-and-bolts of spreading your name around. This means getting some business cards made, and then passing them out. Also, it means having flyers and brochures created and then passing them around, too. None of these three things are very inexpensive in the digital era we live in, by the way. Any printed product needs to look professional, though. Nothing screams amateur! more than a pen and ink (or crayon) rendering on a flyer.

Take a minute to think about having a phone listing in the local directories. This can get expensive, so be cautious at first. And consider having a few introductory-rate coupons made up and then included in those local value pack coupon mailouts that you always find in your own mailbox. All of these techniques fall under "word of mouth," but all of them have a place in the fitness game. Never forget to regularly check on what your marketing and advertising programs are doing for you, and then revise them as necessary.

Techniques on how to get personal training clients aren't all that hard to engage in, in the short and long runs. Take the time to address each issue logically, for starters. And always make sure that what you're doing is related to the overall goal of growing your business. Try to obtain a fitness certification if you're able. This is a big help, especially if you've just started a new fitness business. Additionally, make sure you have a website up and running, and that you're taking steps to build its own recognition. By doing just these few things, you'll find that you've increased the chances of your success by a measurable amount. Kickbacklife is a great resource for personal trainer advertisement.

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Techniques For Securing Personal Training Clients

By Wally Conger

I Rescue a Duck from Certain Doom

So there I was, jawing with friends at Starbucks, when the place erupted with shouts and plaintive cries.

"Oh my God, oh my God!"

"Why doesn't somebody do something?"

A half-dozen teenage girls pressed against the large floor-to-ceiling windows. They were watching a mallard duck from a nearby lagoon waddle across the busy street, dodging traffic.

It was horrible. Every time the little green-headed guy began to amble toward the curb, a speeding car or truck sent him scurrying back to the center divider.

"Oh no! Eeek!" the girls yelped.

I couldn't stand it. I excused myself, pushed my way outside, and marched into the street. A horn blared. I ignored it and approached Dewey. (I'd named him in my head after Donald's wayward nephew.) To be honest, I wasn't sure what to do when I reached him.

But that wasn't my decision to make. The duck took one look at me, quacked an expletive, and launched himself into the air and to safety. Last time I saw Dewey, he was winging west.

I re-entered the coffeehouse. The teenagers cheered and applauded.

"Thanks!" one of them said.

"You're a hero," my wife Debbie said, beaming a smile.

The barista on duty snorted and didn't even offer me a free mocha for my selfless deed.

However, my adventure did teach me three valuable business lessons.

Three Lessons in Business Leadership

1) Most people look toward others to lead. It's easy to be a leader in business, in your community, or in the course of day-to-day living. Just take the teensy-weensy step no one else will take. Your potential customers or clients want you to make their decisions so they don't have to.

2) Take action! When you spot a problem and are positioned to do something about it, act -- and do it quickly! Procrastination is the enemy. Heck, it can even get a duck killed.

3) Your leadership will earn applause. But it will also be taken for granted by many, and even resented by a few. Be thankful for the kudos; shrug off the rest.

Which reminds me. Ducks, like some people, can be ungrateful little buggers.

There are plenty of business-building and money-making lessons you can learn hanging out at your local coffeehouse. Claim your FREE Instant Access to the eBook, "Fire-Up Your Cash Flow Over A Donut And Coffee -- In 10 Minutes...Or Less!" at http://www.fireupyourcashflow.com

From Wally Conger - Smashing Wage-Slavery One Job at a Time

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Leadership Lessons Learned From Saving a Duck's Life

By Musa Aykac

If you have ever worked in a kitchen before then you will come to realise that it's probably one of the hardest and difficult jobs in the entire world. The job is non stop, when you first begin the day, especially if you are working in a fast food chain, your first point of call is to set up the place so that you can open the doors. The next thing to do is preparation, whilst working in a kitchen you have to prepare all of the ingredients, food and drinks so when it does get busy you will not end up getting stuck.

The next thing is when the day does get busy; everything must be perfectly and precisely controlled so that you do not burn food and deliver it all on time. Busy periods depending on where you work last between 2-4 hours so things can get a bit hectic. But you cannot rest once the busy period is complete, because you need to make preparations again for gradual customers that may come in.

Then when the end of the day comes you have to deal with all of the cleaning and tidying of kitchen utensils and the shop floor, after this you will then be able to go home and look forward to the next day.

Working in a restaurant can be very hard indeed, but the worst thing about it is that employees in this type of scenario barely get the minimum wage and for a long time, owners of such shops have been boosting up the wage by using tips that customers may leave.

But a new government proposal could change all of this as they look to iron out tips being used as a top up for people's wages and so they should. Why should people that work as hard as that just scrape by on the minimum wage? They should in fact be getting the minimum wage and then get that topped up with their tips to leave them a reasonable income.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said that the practice of allowing firms to use service charges to pay staff was unfair. Unions, which have long campaigned for change, welcomed the move. "When people leave a tip for staff, in a restaurant or anywhere else, they have a right to know that it will not be used to make up the minimum wage. It is also important for employers to have a level playing field on wages," Mr McFadden said.

Looking for Online Poker, Rakeback or Poker Tips. Article Source

Why Restaurants Are Being Banned From Using Tips to Pay Wages

By Sam Miller

A lot of companies use different kinds of training measures to improve their efficiency and productivity. They are very much aware that the importance of such measures will spell the difference between success and failure. Every organization will gather sufficient data and information before applying them onto their training programs. The only way for them to do this is to gather feedback from their own employees.

Before building up their menu for the training "cookbook" they are going to use, they will have to plan carefully the measures they deem important enough for their program. The problem with this approach is that if the feedback they acquire is not enough, it will have a negative effect on their line of business. That is why they put a lot of emphasis in feedback gathering. The surest way to handle this dilemma is to plot benefits and costs. It is only normal for a company to spend a lot on money in training their employees. They have to make sure that their training program will result in the increasing the productivity of their employees. That is the only way they can get the money back they spent on training. This is the costs versus benefits scenario. If the program is failing, then they will have to abandon their program and build something out from scratch. They could also opt to remake it to something else. Whichever the case may be, benefits must outweigh the costs.

By gathering the scorecard of an employee before training is a good way to know if the program is doing well or not. After training, the employee's scorecard is again taken into account. Any difference between the past and present scorecard will definitely show. Obviously, you do not just dwell on one sample employee. You have to significantly increase your sample population. This will involve a lot of money and time. But the great thing about it is that the results of the program will be clearly defined.

Since we all know that feedback from the employees themselves will certainly help the cause for their training program, emphasis must be put into the fact that these programs are investments. Just like any investment, the returns will take time. In this regard, caution must be on the side of the organization. They will need to have sufficient funds to keep them afloat until training pays off. Companies will also have to consider the risky possibility that the employees they are going to train will quit or resign after the said training. Many companies require their employees to stay with them for certain duration before allowing them to leave while others do not. Whatever the case may be, companies must tackle this dilemma before anything else. It is up to them how to handle this kind of situation since labor is always a sensitive matter.

Training measures can certainly help companies improve in terms of productivity and profit. It is the only way for a company to move forward. Another point to consider is the fact that employees will feel appreciated if their employers will enroll them in these programs. They will certainly feel appreciated, thus appreciation will eventually turn into productivity.

If you are interested in Training Measures, check this web-site to learn more about balanced scorecard measure.

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How Can Training Measures Help Businesses?

By Jonathan Robert Taylor

Are you concerned about earning money with your detailing business during this recession? If so, here is some good news. By definition, a recession is not all that bad. While it is true people spend less, if you can cut your costs and discover a solid strategy for marketing in a recession, you will discover the ability to earn revenues is much less complicated than you think. In fact, here are five great, low cost methods for marketing in a recession:

Develop an E-Newsletter. As the name implies, this is an electronic newsletter than is sent out via email. The cost of sending the newsletter is free and does not come with the postage expenses found with print newsletter. For those worrying about the actual design process for the newsletter, this should not be a concern either. There are many ready templates out there that even a novice can use. You can use services like Constant Contact or Aweber.

Word of mouth advertising never hurts. Ok, some may think that this is a strategy that requires a lot of legwork. To an extent, it is but it is also a very low cost recession strategy. For example, taking part in local community events as a way of raising awareness and positive word of mouth are inexpensive methods of marketing in a recession. Really, when it comes to spreading positive word of mouth, you are only limited by your creativity.

Taking part in common public relations strategies can be a wise move during a recession. For example, if something unique and newsworthy happens with your business, you could release a press release to the print and online media. If these press releases are effectively promoted, the amount of new business you could acquire might prove surprising. And, once again, this strategy is a low cost one that can work effectively well in a recession.

Taking advantage of free online options is great for marketing in a recession. Many blogging platforms are completely free and they could provide a valuable source for promoting your detailing business. Also, there are a number of sites that offer free web hosting. These sites allow you to create a web presence without any of the high costs of website design or development. And, as with the e-newsletter, free blogs and websites come with ready made templates. That means there is no need to possess professional design experience to give the blog or website the right look it needs to be competitive. You can get started with a free blog at www.Wordpress.com, or www.Blogger.com.

Increase your advertising dramatically when in a recession. Now, may wonder if a recession is a good time to boost advertising. Well, if you need your business to earn revenues, you need to attract customers and advertising is a way to do this. While there are certain expenses best cut in a recession, advertising budgets are not one of them! Actually, it is best to boost advertising to ensure you attract the most customers as possible during the lean times. These are but a few of the many ways to boost business during a recession. If nothing else, they should show that marketing in a recession is not as tough as some assume and businesses can even thrive in such an environment.

Jonathan Taylor is president of Strategic Marketing Practices in Knoxville, TN.

You can get his Free report, "The Referral Card Sales System- 5 Referral Secrets that Will Bring You an Endless Amount of New Referrals in Any Economy" at http://www.JonathanTaylorBlog.com

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5 Simple Ways to Market Your Small Business in a Recession