Five Steps to An Effective Business Plan

Keywords: Business Plan

You have an idea for a business. You know what you want to sell, who you can sell it to, and how much you stand to earn from it. There's just one more thing you need: a business plan.

Many people dread the idea of preparing a business plan. They think of them as complicated, unnecessary documents that exist only to make it more difficult for them to get started as an entrepreneur. They are wrong.

Business plans are necessary because they help you “see” your business. Instead of just talking in abstract ways about your “customer base” and your “profit potential,” it lets you put those things in writing and in concrete terms. It forces you to think through every aspect of your business in advance so down the road you don't realize you've made a mistake that's cost you your business, your life's savings, and your job.

Besides all of that, they are also important tools for getting other people interested in your business. For one, if you've taken the time to create a business plan, others will realize that you are serious about this endeavor and that it isn't just some pie-in-the-sky dream. A business plan also shows people that you are a professional and that you understand what it takes to start and manage a business. This is all extremely important, particularly if you need any type of outside funding, such as loans or investors.

Three Easy Ways to Keep Customers

Keywords: Maintaining Customers

It is far more easy, and less expensive, to keep customers than to try and get new ones. So even though your company relies on adding to its customer base, don't make the mistake of only investing in new customers! Here are some strategies that will help you retain your customers and will even get them to purchase more of your company's products and services.

Make it easy for customers to give you feedback. Probably one of the most profitable activities you can engage in is to hear your customer's complaints and other comments. Provide customer support as quickly as possible. If you are unable to fix a problem right away, assure the customer that you are working on it and promise to provide regular progress reports. Make sure you keep your promise!

It is beneficial to learn how to comfort angry customers. Allow the customer to vent. Assure them that you understand his or her feelings. Find out exactly what they want and suggest a solution or see what he or she would consider to be fair. Follow-up with the customer to ensure that they are satisfied. Keep in mind that it's the customers who have had problems who become the most loyal when their problems are handled effectively.

Ten Ways To Improve Your Customer Service

Keywords: Customer Service Improvements

Here's some simple yet POWERFUL ideas on how to improve your customer service. Nothing can do more for a business than having "happy customers".

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.

2. Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.

3. Make it easy for your customers to navigate on your web site. Have a "FAQ" page on your Web site to explain anything that might confuse your customers. Ask them to fill out an electronic survey to find out how make your web site more customer friendly.

Working at Home and Time Management

Keywords: Home Business Time Management

Time management and organisation is so important in life and when it comes to working at home it is doubly important. As a matter of fact Time management, oganistaion, schedules are all prominent in any successful organisation.

Time is the one thing that we do not have enough of it is the one thing in life that is constant. Time will wait for no one so we have to utilise it the best way we can.

It makes no sense to try and cram everthing in to a short space of time because it will become counter productive. can you imagine a plumber trying to make a deadline of finishing 3 days work in one day. His work would become sloppy he would make mistakes then he would have to go over the job again.

So really the answer to the question of not having enough time is organisation, writing schedules and keeping a diary. This is vital for a home based entrepeneur!

Catch More Clients Using Strategic Networking

Keywords: Networking

Is networking helping you bring in the new clients you want? If you are like most independent professionals and small business owners, you put hard work into getting your name out there and distribute your business card wherever you go. You may even attend a weekly or monthly networking group or occasional business conference where people share leads. And like most people, your time and effort isn't generating a steady stream of new business.

The problem is that most people think that networking consists of telling as many people as possible what they do, and handing out as many business cards as they can. They waste the few precious moments they have with new and existing contacts by focusing on themselves.

Its possible to meet someone in the airport, hand them your card after a brief conversation, and have them call you to request your services, but this random approach is like playing the lottery. You can't count on it to produce results. It is a Push and Pray technique: you push your information out to others and pray that they respond.

The Missing Ingredient To Success

Keywords: Success Tips

Today, I want to talk to you about something that's missing in a lot of our lives.

This missing ingredient is the thing, that if we would add it to our lives it, it would have a powerful effect on us.

I want to talk to you today about a simple idea.

A simple idea that could help you grow to the next level in your life. A simple idea that could help you to experience new things and see results like you never have before!

But first, I want to talk to you about a strange phenomenon that happens with caged canaries.

I know it sounds strange but you'll see how this fits in a minute, so READ CAREFULLY!

Caged Canaries If you have 100 canaries that have been raised from an egg and spend their whole lives in a cage, then what do you think will happen in you left the door to their cage open one day?

You're going to be surprised at what happens...

Brief Experiences on How I Started Making Money Online

Keywords: Online Business Tips

I started selling different products as a mail order business in 1996, however, a month later, after buying a computer and discovering the Internet I decided to open an online store. Very soon I found out that selling books and information online in general was a hit and also a very convenient way for an extra income home business, considering that my personal life had very little money, little space, a lot of work and a family to support. Therefore I registered a domain name, I sign up for an Internet connection and then finally opened my bookstore named QualityBooks.com.

Setting up the store at the beginning was very hard, I had to design my own pages, plan and put in action my own marketing strategy, take orders, ship the books, and do by myself whatever else came up.

At first, I only had a few books for sale (approximately 20), after two months there were absolutely no orders, I even sent out a catalog by mail to possible clients with zero response. I was completely frustrated and seriously considering doing something else. I decide then to sign up for a book drop ship dealer program with the idea to increase the number of products to offer and consequently the chances of sales, and also started advertising at the pay per click search engines. That is when orders finally started coming in. But don't think that there were many, only two or three per week. However this was only what I needed in order to keep working on this project.

Organize Your Time

Keywords: Time Management

Most people want to start a home-based business to make more money to supplement their income. The issue though, is finding the time to make this happen.

Most people are busy, with family, an existing job, and the general feeling that there are not enough hours in a day. However, extra time to start a home-based business project can almost always be found. It may mean giving up or changing a few of your favorite pastimes, like watching TV but if you become successful with your home-based business project, you will have all the time you want for doing whatever you want to do.

The first thing you need to do is take inventory of your daily schedule. What time do you wake up? Then step-by-step, list everything you do each day. Most people will find that they have about three hours each day that can be utilized in a more constructive or efficient manner. As noted above, you may have to give up a few television programs you watch, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Bringing Your New Business Back to Life

Keywords: Home Business

You drag yourself into the kitchen after a hard day at the office. Staring glumly at the empty fridge, you try to block out the sounds of the kids squabbling, the dog barking to go outside, and the blare of the TV in the background.

You are just *so* tired.

Day after day, week after week, you promise yourself that you're going to work on your business.

'What business,' you think bitterly, 'The one that still hasn't produced a single thin dime?'

That's the one. It is incredibly easy to get discouraged when your business isn't making money ... and even more so when your life is filled with other priorities. You're just plain worn out - and you don't savor the prospect of spending your precious free time struggling with a business that has yet to turn a profit.

But the simple fact of the matter is: If you don't work your business, who will?

How To Improve Your Personal Success

Keywords: Success

When it comes to your personal success, which we’ll define as your sense of happiness, satisfaction and significance, you want the best results. However, if that’s not happening, you’re probably not practicing.

Producing the best results takes practice, even if you’re gifted, or if things come to you naturally. This is as true for personal success, as it is for business and career success.

Most people expect personal success to just happen, but it’s usually not that simple. You’re busy with work, family and easily become distracted by the day’s demands, the expectations of others, and the confusion of your own negative self-talk and doubts. All of this erodes your focus.

Creating and maintaining personal success is a choice and requires effort, but you can succeed if you know what to practice. These five tips can help:

Dealing With Failure

Keywords: Failure

You are not a failure if your project fails. Making mistakes and having failures is a part of life. You can accept them and learn from them, or be bitter and give up on your dream. Failures are actually your training ground. You can learn valuable lessons from them. If you do, you can make them the stepping stones to your success.

There is a simple truth that many never learn: If you keep on doing what you have been doing, you will keep on getting what you have been getting. It is insanity to expect different results with the same efforts. This holds true for your business life and with your personal relationships. If you are happy with what you're getting, keep doing it. If not, try something else.

Don't give up on your dream. Keep fine tuning it until it works. Most people have to make a few adjustments before they find their niche. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. What works for someone else won't necessarily work for you. You have to discover what harmonizes with your unique attributes.

10 Nifty Tips for Better Business Cards

Keywords: Business Cards

Not having a business card is as bad as using an eMail address that ends in AOL.com It's just not professional.

With domain names costing less that 9 bucks a year, there's no excuse for anyone in business to have an AOL.com address. With business cards costing less than 9 bucks at the big box store, there's no excuse for anyone in business not to pass them about.

Here are BIG Mike's 10 Nifty Tips for Better Business Cards

Don't Do It At Home For what you spend on blank microperf cards and the time to get it right, you could pay to have them look professional instead of home baked.

Get your Own Logo No logo at all looks better than a logo from a clip art book. Same with cards with bars of color or circles. Your card should be you, not something from a can.

3 Ways To Re-Invest In Your Business For Maximum Profits

Keywords: Investing

If you are not re-investing your profits in your business, you are killing your business. Your profits should be put back in your business for growth, not buying your groceries.

Granted, you need to eat, but if you have started a part-time business, and you have another source of income, you need to re-invest most of your profits back into your business. Re-invest for growth. When your business grows, then you can start taking a profit.

Marketing expert Jeffery Fox calls this “paying steak and eating hot dogs.” The concept is simple: keep your expenses low, but don’t cut costs. Here are 3 ways you can re-invest in your business for growth:

1. Re-invest at least 50% of every dollar you earn in advertising.

You might think that you deserve to spend your profits, as a return-on-investment. You are right! But if you want your business to grow, you must re-invest in the business. For example, perhaps you spend $100 a month on leads for your business opportunity. These leads result in $200 in new sales. Instead of taking the $100 profit and spending it, what if you re-invested it, and bought $200 worth of leads for your business? You could end up with $400 in new sales the next month. Re-investing your profits this way can grow your bottom line, but you must be patient in the meantime.