Saturday, September 23, 2006

Home Business Income Program: The Shortcut To Financial Security

Do you have a work from home income program that you currently promote?

Are you doing any affiliate program?

Have you achieved any meaningful success in the work from home internet program which you’re doing?

Do you desire financial security, freedom and success?

Read on, to discover how to succeed in any make money from home business program and create true wealth.

Most people are like the hound dog which lies on its back and howls all day because of pains and feels lazy to get up and do something about it.

They waste their time and lives in dead end jobs that they hate.

Some dabble in various work at home business income programs.

They seem to think that their lives are like a TV show which will have a happy ending.

So they stay in the same job for years, waste their lives and whine.

Like a hound dog.

Some of them will retire, but will walk around for the rest of their lives wounded and miserable because of the stress they accumulated from their jobs.

The others will get downsized, and end up in the skid row, where they will continue howling and whining for the rest of their lives, unable to figure out where their happy ending went.

You don’t have to be a hound dog because you can do something about your current financial situation.

Most people desire to earn money from home for various reasons.

Some people are tired of working hard at their jobs and desire to earn money from home in order to escape from the 9-5 job rat race.

Other people desire a work at home business income program so as to earn extra incomes to supplement the money they make at their jobs.

Other people desire work from home income opportunity because of the comfort and freedom of working from their homes and the power it gives them to control their financial destinies.

There are some people who have bought a work from home business program because they are retired and need something to keep them busy.

When the internet gold rush happened about 7 years ago, millions of average people all over the world rushed into different types of work from home business programs because they bought the internet hype of get rich fast.

Millions of companies were born overnight and they began to offer free affiliate programs.

Millions of people signed up with the mistaken notion that just by signing up and getting a free website to promote a work at home business program will make them rich over night.

This gave birth to various internet promotions and marketing.

One of the most annoying internet promotions was spa-mm-ing.

This in turn gave birth to anti-spam activism which has almost wiped out spamming.

After 1 or 2 years, most of these millions of people who rushed into work at home business income program had to admit failure because they were not making any money.

Their dreams of fast internet wealth were shattered.

As a way to console themselves, they started labeling every work from home business opportunity as a scam.

Most of these people will buy a work from home business program or e-book and after they download or receive it will claim that the work from home business program is a sc-am (even though they have not tried it yet and have no proof) and apply for a chargeback and a refund so as to eat their cake and have it also.

By so doing, they ripped off the sellers of these work from home business opportunities.

While some of the companies who promote work from home business opportunities may sometimes engage in deceptive advertising, it is not true that all work at home business income opportunities are scams.

Most work from home business income opportunities are valid and can make the buyer a lot of money.

The problem is that most people who buy work from home business opportunity are not capable of doing them because they are not business oriented.

Most of them don’t have a clue about marketing and internet promotion.

Most of them buy the programs or sign up in free affiliate programs and after they get the websites they don’t do any serious marketing.

A lot of these people don’t even know the difference between selling and marketing.

Some don’t even know how to write a simple business letter or e-mail.

They write an e-mail without beginning it with a salutation and at the end of the e-mail, they don’t include their names or phone numbers or physical addresses.

When they phone you and leave a message on your answering machine, they don’t even know that they have to state their names, the reason why they called and their own phone numbers and the best times you may call them back.

Most don’t even know how to create a folder or save or upload a file or install a software and yet they had signed up in 100 different affiliate programs and work from home business opportunities and had dreams of making a million bucks overnight!

Is it any surprise that these people fail miserably?

The least that any serious business person should know how to do should be how to write a business letter.

Most of the people who fail to earn money from home business internet program have no discipline and are disorganized.

They have the mistaken notion that working from home and doing a work at home business opportunity program means that they can wake up anytime they like and that they can choose whether to work or not and when to work or not.

They fail to realize that doing a work from home business program can be more demanding than doing a regular job.

Doing a work at home business program requires more discipline and competence than a regular job because you may have to do many different chores all by yourself because at the beginning, you probably will be working alone and may not be able to hire helpers.

This means that you may have to play many roles and do so many things all at the same time.

You may be forced to become a website designer, a copy editor, a sales person, a customer service person, a spokes person, an attorney, a book keeper, an accountant and a publisher all at the same time.

This is one of the biggest reasons why most people fail in work from home business opportunity because they are unable to play all these roles at the same time.

Another reason why most people fail in work from home business program is that they don’t spend enough money to promote it.

To attain success in any work from home business program may require that you spend thousands of dollars.

But most people spend $25 a month to place an ad and if they don’t make any sale, they conclude that the work from home business program doesn’t work and give up.

To succeed in any work at home business program may require that you do different types of marketing and internet promotions.

Your website must be optimized and competently submitted to both the major directories and the search engines on a regular basis.

You must have a link exchange program that is effective.

You may have to do pay per click campaign.

You may have to do both online and offline marketing.

You may have to do many press releases in order to get free publicity and generate free traffic to buy your work from home business program.

You may even have to do direct marketing to drive traffic to your websites.

This depends on what type of product or service that you promote.

You may have to go offline to find the targeted customers who need what you promote.

To succeed in doing this, you must know how to locate a targeted mailing list and how to test it.

You may have to do magazine and newspapers advertising too.

Above all, depending on the type of product or service that you’re promoting, it may take time for you to start seeing a return on your investment and to become profitable.

Unfortunately, most people that get into work from home business opportunity lack patience because they are looking for quick ways to make money.

For that reason, they don’t do enough marketing and internet promotion and don’t network and don’t spend enough money to generate traffic and so consequently they fail.

But when they fail, they are unable to admit that they are at fault.

Instead they blame the work from home business opportunity and the company who sold it to them and label all work from home business opportunities as sc-ams.

May these insights about work from home business internet income business programs open your eyes to the possibility of infinite wealth and success which can be yours.

Please feel free to print or publish this article anywhere, read and also send it to your friends and well wishers. Please preserve and include the author’s resource box and website below.


Finding the Right Work at Home Opportunity

Choose the right work at home business opportunity to reach your goals.

Choosing the right work at home business to start or join can be a daunting task. However, if you do your homework and thoroughly investigate it, the choice can be much easier. Finding a good, legitimate work at home opportunity for a newcomer is really easy once you know where to find them. Look for them where all of the successful internet marketers are hanging out! Do a Google search for “internet marketing forum” or “affiliate marketing forum” or “work at home business” or “work at home opportunity”. When you enter a forum, look for how fresh the content is. If most of the posts are from today or the day before, then you are probably in a good spot. Once you are in the forum, you can try to search the forum for the name of the work at home opportunity you are interested in and read what others are saying about it. If there is nothing about your particular prospect or you do not have one, do not worry. A good, active forum will present you with numerous opportunities.

Resist the urge to join the forum and ask a general question like “how do I make money online”? That question is probably asked daily and may get ignored or answered in general terms or worse. What you are looking for here are the answers to your questions and also the more experienced members that are generally helpful to the newbie. Start out by looking for threads that may have the answers you are looking for. When reading the posts by more experienced members, look down at the bottom of their post for what is called a signature. This is usually a link to that members’ web site and often a work at home business that you can also join. While at a member’s site, most likely you can join their newsletter or some subscription they offer and, in addition, look for a way to contact them other than the forum. If their e-mail is listed or even a phone number, then get in touch with them and ask any questions you may have about the program they promote. This should give you a feel for how helpful they will be if you join their program. You may have not only found a good work at home opportunity but also a great mentor.

I cannot stress enough the role a few good forums will play, not only in choosing the right work at home business, but also what they offer in helping you on your way to a good, solid income and reaching your goals.


Is Working From Home The Latest Greatest Trend In Business?

With unstable gas prices, rising daycare costs, company downsizing and the forever shrinking dollar; the latest greatest trend is "stay home and earn".

There are many home based businesses available promising a huge increase of wealth while you work from the comfort of your home or on a sandy beach in Maui. The "Short and Skinny" is that not all home based businesses are created equal and most don't succeed.

In order to have a business you must have a trade, service or a marketable product and the majority of home based businesses are Home Business Marketing of a Product or Products which all seem to follow the same or similar recipe for the business owners failure.

The majority of the business plans seem to scream no and shroud the eyes of yes when the word Pyramid is spoken. Business entrepreneurs seem to speak the same language, MLM, Network Marketing, Binary System, Pay Level, Up line, Down line, Cross line, Dream Build, Car Qualify and the words go on and on. One is in need of "waders" to get to the true core of many Home based Businesses.

What Are the Characters Of A successful Business?

A successful home base business has a plan that can be duplicated with ease. It is easily managed and allows itself to be fully automated. It is profitable and features good commissions. It can be worked either passively or actively and is not a multi level marketing business.

Discover a respectable, legitimate business with no selling, no phone calling, and no talking to anyone! It is possible; there are high quality home based businesses that you can work easily and without high tech knowledge.

Earn easy, extra money; explode your income, no matter how busy you are!

When looking for a home based company or business to work with you should tried to find a company that is debt free and has a process in place to prevent you from failing.

Most entrepreneurs have been conditioned by the things they dislike about traditional business opportunities, it may be difficult for your brain to accept a superb business opportunity that makes traditional seem to be, the business of the Ice Age.

Ever heard the statement, rules are made to be broken? In most cases the rebel rule breaker loses but in this case; it's all about changing traditional setbacks of the traditional Home based business.

A sneak preview of two traditional Business foes

Other business opportunities have strict policies against promoting other products. They see it as competition or a conflict of interest. If you want to promote other products, you will have to manage separate businesses. You'll spread your time thin between each, when making just one of them successful is painful enough. Sure some opportunities have full product lines, but they generally pay nickels and dimes.

Most people cannot find enough time to work their regular job and promote another business that requires countless hours per week in advertising, promoting, selling, convincing, conference calls, meetings, learning, training, etc.


Thursday, September 21, 2006

Start an Event Planning Business From Home

Some of the events for which event planners are hired are:

* Celebrations (fairs, parades, weddings, reunions, birthdays, anniversaries)

* Education (conferences, meetings, graduations)

* Promotions (product launches, political rallies, fashion shows)

* Commemorations (memorials, civic events)

Qualifications

The best way to set up an event planning service business is to start as an apprentice with an event management company. This gives you useful exposure to the industry, and you learn the tricks of the trade without investing anything. You may also acquire knowledge about the industry by getting an event planning or management degree or certificate from a local university and also become a CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional) or CMP (Certified Meeting Planner).

Target Market

The target market for event planning service business is huge. Companies as well as charities and non-profit organizations host gala fundraisers, receptions and athletic competitions, among other events, to expand their public support base and raise funds. Companies also organize trade shows, conventions, company picnics, holiday parties and meetings for staff members, board members or stockholders. Besides this there is a large social market. This includes organizing of weddings, birthdays, anniversary parties, Sweet 16 parties, children's parties, reunions and so on.

Start-up Costs

The start up costs of an event planning service business depends upon your business profile. A low-end event management business can be started for $8,000 while a high-end may cost $30,000 to $50,000. The main expenditure is on three heads: equipment, number of employees and office space.

Tasks and operations

Social events generally involve more weekends and holidays than corporate events. Some events have "on" and "off" seasons. The main tasks of an individual running an event planning services business are:

Research: Find out everything about vendors and suppliers, talk to other planners who have produced similar events, read about issues of custom and etiquette. Ask your client a lot of questions and write down the answers.

Design: You need to sketch the overall "look" of the event. To get good ideas you should have brainstorming sessions, either by yourself or with your employees. Consult your notebook for client's answers to the questions you asked in the research phase. These responses will help you thoroughly check each idea for feasibility before suggesting it to the client.

Proposal: The production of a proposal can be time-consuming and expensive, especially if you include photographs or sketches. You should receive a consultation fee, which can be applied toward a client's event if he or she hires you.

Organization: During this phase, you'll rent the site, hire vendors and take care of many more details. Make sure to discuss all major decisions with your client or someone acting on client's behalf, but avoid consulting many people.

Coordination: Ensure that everyone is on the same wavelength, that all vendors have a general idea of the overall event schedule, what's expected of them, and when. Make sure all your staff members know their roles.

Evaluation: Ensure your customer satisfaction so that your client will provide a great word-of-mouth advertising for you. You may also hire an event planning consultant to evaluate your work.

Earnings

There is no fixed fee in the event planning service business. The fee varies from event to event, and is proportional to the volume and quality of work involved. Generally, you can expect to make 15 to 20 per cent on every event. Given the size of the industry, part-time event planners can gross around $20,000 annually while full-time event planners can hope to earn $100,000 or more.


How To Easily Begin An International Home Based Business

When planning to start an international home based business, it is just as important to make sure you have a product that people will buy, as it is to actually enjoy what you are doing. Enjoying your work is the best part of running your own home based business. Find something that you really enjoy doing then it will not seem like work when you have to do it everyday.

It is important when running a business to not get caught up in the daily management of the business. Basically this means that in order to run a successful business, you as the owner cannot afford to get caught up in "micro-managing". Leave the everyday mundane things for the people that work for you.

With that said, how do you find the perfect home-based, international business idea? There are so many different businesses available to you that can easily be worked from home. But finding the perfect one is often very difficult for people just getting started.

An excellent resource, especially if you are just starting out, is an international home business startup kit that can offer you the guidance you need to start your business. This type of kit is a great way to get informed and get started on your road to owning and running your own home based business.

Another way to get started is to look into franchises or other similar business opportunities. Franchises offer a quick and easy way to get set up, since most of the ground work; marketing, name recognition, etc has already been done.

Keep in mind that franchises and startup kits all require some initial investment. So if you don't have a bank account already bulging with money you are willing to invest, then perhaps you should consider starting your international home business part time. Many entrepreneurs get their start by setting up part time, and a large majority of them use the Internet, or e-commerce.

Online businesses are very popular, and take little capital to get off the ground. Plus, an online operation has the ability to generate business internationally, very quickly.The Internet is one of the fastest growing home based business opportunities available today.

Here are a few tips you will need to become a successful, online entrepreneur.

First, know the product you will be selling. Consumers will have lots of questions about your business, so you need to be as knowledgeable and as honest as possible.

Next, use current product listings as a guide to determine how much to pay for certain items. Doing this will help keep you from 'losing your shirt' online!

Lastly, be sure to ship the items you sell on the same day you receive the order. Consumers want to receive their purchases quickly.


Things You Need To Know To Protect Yourself Against Home Business Scams

So you want to start your home-based business, and it's going to make you rich. Perhaps you want to start one because you've been approached by a friend or family member, and what you saw or heard made you stay up late last night just thinking about the possibilities! You are so excited aren't you... and you are ready to be your own boss, right?

Before you jump on the home-based business bandwagon though, there are some things you need to know that are really tough to hear, especially after you have just found the "one thing" that will get you your dreams. If you have never looked into this kind of thing before, then now is the time to really sit up and pay attention.

First of all, it is important to realize that most home business offers are not what they seem. To put it bluntly, the majority are illegal scams that will suck your checking and savings accounts dry. Think about it, if it really was that easy to invest a little cash and strike it rich in ninety days, wouldn't everyone be doing it? What I would like to do for you is offer some real information that will help you to recognize and avoid the most prominent scams.

The Right Location

Chances are you saw your "dream opportunity" on the Internet. Or perhaps a very personable guy named 'Joe', who you don't really know sent an email to you. Or maybe a poster caught your eye, or maybe you got something via 'snail mail'. If either of these is the case, then I can guarantee you that it is not legitimate. There are better sources for home-based business opportunities; job magazines, newspapers, job search websites, etc. The important rule is to always thoroughly investigate each offer before spending any money! Assume it is a scam until you have strong proof otherwise.

Envelopes

Envelope stuffing as a business, can you really make money? You will probably spend hundreds of dollars trying to establish an envelope stuffing operation, and I would not be surprised if you get a serious letter from the Postmaster General telling you to cease and desist! Envelope stuffing is the oldest form of home based business scam. In short, you pay the money to sign up, and then you receive a set of envelopes and ads just like the ones you responded to! This is a classic example of an illegal pyramid scheme, and there is absolutely no money in it for you. Repeat after me: "Chain letters are illegal!" And yes, the high tech way of doing this sort of thing is via email. It's called spam and you should not try this as a way to make money.

Pay for your supplies upfront

Let me put it to you this way: The phrase "you have to spend money to make money" should have you running for the cellar, the bomb shelter, the hills, or wherever. Just run from it, because if you don't you will end up in the poor house. Real companies do not require you to pay upfront for materials that you will need in order to work for them. If anything, they should be willing to deduct any costs from your first paycheck, if there is ever really going to be one. There are few exceptions to this rule, very, very few.

Working for Free.

Some opportunities look so real don't they, and especially when it's crafts, making clothes, ornaments, toys, etc. And you didn't have to spend any money getting the materials, so it's the real deal right? The scam goes like this: After you have completed the work and sent it in, the company you did the work for tells you that it did not meet their quality standards and therefore you don't get paid! THEN they sell what you made at a profit and move on.

If you are great at crafts, wonderful. Sell it yourself! Find a wholesaler or retailer who accepts home made crafts. You might actually make some money on your own terms.

Home Typing, Medical Billing, and More.

Yes, there are a lot of legitimate work from home opportunities. Yes, there are lots of companies with work that needs to be done, especially the tedious kind of work that involves the typing of medical documents, billing, etc. But you shouldn't have to pay anything or buy anything in order to work for them! These scams have the same basic hook: they emphasize that all you need is your computer, but then you will have to purchase the 'proprietary software' you'll need in order to make your job easier and faster.

What it really boils down to is an elaborate marketing scheme by the makers of the proprietary software, and the only thing easy or fast about it is going to be how easily and quickly your bank account gets emptied. Remember, the legitimate opportunities out there generally do not require you to spend anything up front except your time.

Some last important points. Know whom you are dealing with. Also, realize that you will certainly not make any great amount of money working at home for only one business. Lastly, owning your own business, in whatever form, takes an extraordinarily huge amount of time, money and effort. Unless you are willing to invest your full attention and your entire bank account to the venture, then it's probably best that you leave it alone.


Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Home Business – Be Your Own Boss and Don’t Even Leave the House

These days there are an increasing number of businesses being run from home. Due to the huge boom in e-commerce and mail order, people wanting to run a small business find it increasingly practical to do so from the comfort of their own home.

Picture a person who has a talent for sewing and a good eye for design. They might be put off the idea of trying to turn their skill into a business because of the cost of renting a building and the worries of choosing a location where their skills are in demand. Instead, this person can start a home business. All they need is the raw materials to turn their sewing skill into a product (handbags, clothing, whatever they prefer) and a way to advertise the business, usually a website. Now they can advertise their designs online, receive orders, make the items and deliver them to the customer by mail order.

Home businesses cut a lot of costs but there are also disadvantages. It is important to check several things, which can be found on government and business related websites. You should check that your mortgage or tenancy agreement does not prohibit running a business. You should confer with your insurance company in case you need to pay more insurance. If you need to make structural changes then you will need to speak to planning permission department of your local government, and health and safety usually need to be consulted. The rooms you use may be charged business tax rates. Lastly, a home business can cause problems with domestic life and is not a choice taken lightly.

A home business is still a great way to start up a small business that can always grow larger in the future. Start up costs are drastically reduced, as is time to start up. You are not tied into any agreements with property agents. You can set your own working times to allow more family time, and of course you can get help from your family if they want to chip in with production or administration. Best of all, you don’t need to travel to work!


Work At Home Assembly Jobs You Too Can Take The Advantage of Working At Home

Even if you're only remotely interested in increasing your income for the weeks, months and years to come, then PLEASE, I urge you to take just a few short minutes to read this article.

You can be a homemaker with young children at home, a college student needing some extra cash, someone who is retired but wants to keep busy, or even a person needing a full time job. If you're willing to work, you too can earn money - GOOD MONEY - by working full or part-time from the comfort of your own home doing work at home assembly jobs. You're limited ONLY by your own DESIRES and MOTIVATION!

It's been reported that more than 20-million peoples now are doing work at home jobs that earns them a good money. Working at home has steadily become more popular for past few years. Best of all, home workers are in great demand and are needed immediately by established, reputable, large and small companies. The demand for hand made items has become overwhelming and many companies don't have the man power to keep up with their orders. They've learned that they can use assemblers to do the work out of their own home. In order to compete with foreign manufacturers, companies use home workers to cut their costs. The companies do all the selling! All they want you to do is to follow their easy instructions, and pay you for the completed assembly work.

Here are Some of the advantages of doing assembly work at home jobs:

- You can keep set your own schedule and have the freedom to take breaks whenever you choose.

- You can schedule your work around your family and still make money.

- No more worries about day care cost.

- Work as little or as much as you like and earn as much as you like.

- You won't have a boss staring over your shoulder all the time.

- No more dress code to contend with & No more daily rush hour.

- Choose the type of products you want to assemble.

It's all up to you!

Many work at home assembly jobs position require no previous experience and some companies are even willing to train you to perform the type of assembly work they desperately need completed. Each company is different, but most will send you the required materials along with the simple and an easy to understand directions. You simply assemble the product at your own pace and return the completed items for payment. Some may require that you supply your own simple tools like a sharp pair of scissors, a glue gun or a screwdriver. If other special tools are needed they are often included in the startup materials you receive from the company.

These companies offer assembly work at home opportunities that will pay you by the hour or by the piece, pay you a commission or a percentage of the profits. You can also set up your own assembly business or you can work directly for them, whichever you prefer.


Home Business – Doing Your Daily Grind Without the Morning Traffic Jam

Conducting business from home is not an old method but is still not very prevalent. The practice of telecommuting or working from home allows a person to do their job from the comfort of their own home, using an internet or similar connection to deliver work to their boss.

A home business is just like this, maintaining either your own business or working as part of a larger company without the need to go to an office. Working from home is often linked to goal orientated management styles which focus more on results that on watching employees. The system works very well with jobs that require set end results in a set time such as processing forms or making a set number of sales by telephone. Jobs that need constant interaction like a design group work poorly with telecommuting.

With the advent of cheap and user friendly computers and laptop computers, a person can set up an office in their own home, needing only a telephone, computer and internet connection. Then, the list of forms that need processing, or spreadsheets that need filling in, can be done entirely at home and then sent electronically to the boss without needing to go to an office building. A company network system can allow the home worker to login to the companies’ central computers and access any information needed or contact other workers. Another advantage is the time and cost saved by not needing to travel. Without commuting the workers do not spend as much on petrol, they cannot be late for work, they produce less carbon emissions. The company saves on office buildings and parking, and can employ mothers, disabled people and people from rural areas, which is a tremendous boon for both the company and these people.

Of course there are drawbacks. There is less social interaction between workers which can reduce job satisfaction, and some people just are not disciplined for working without a boss watching over them. When left to their own devices, the worker is more tempted to cut corners or put work off. Also computing costs are higher at the main office and the chance of confidentiality leaks are higher.


Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Work at Home: Where to Start?

When considering working at home, options are abundant, but nonetheless you really have to do some planning ahead of time. I found one of the best resources to go to is sba.gov.

SBA stands for Small Business Administration and the number one goal of SBA is to help make sure small businesses succeed. I would advise you take some time to get familiar with SBA. They are a great resource whether you're looking at financing a business or looking for business opportunities. When you start thinking about owning your own business, you will hear about business plans.

Business plans are one of the most overwhelming, yet beneficial aspects of running a business. If you want a loan, you're going to need a business plan, sba.gov provides great templates for business plans. When you're finished with your plan, you can look at the vast loan and grant opportunities. Be careful, however, you could spend a great deal of time there, it really is a great resource.

SBA has taken a lot of heat recently because some people have accused them of making it difficult for small businesses to obtain loans. What's positive is that you have to have a superbly written business plan. This can only be a good thing because it will truly help you start your business in the right direction! Make sure one of the first things you do when you decide to work at home is get familiarized with SBA, even if you're not looking for a loan, you will not be disappointed.


Start a Gift Basket Business

Location:
The ideal place to start your gift basket service business is your home. It allows you to start your business with a small amount of capital, save commuting expenses and operate part-time or full-time. However, to operate from home you need a decent sized room with display facility.

If your home is not suitable for this business, you may rent or lease a separate location, which may be costly. When doing so, you should look for a location that is in a high traffic area, and has parking facility. It should have enough inventory storage capacity and a customer friendly layout so that customers can easily view all products without tripping or squeezing themselves through narrow corridors. Inventory:

The items for gift basket service business may be purchased through both wholesale and retail channels. The items that should be bought through wholesale channels are baskets, 'filler' items such as tissue paper, brown paper, string, tape etc.

You may also build your inventory by:

* Attending gift shows to get crafts and 'hard to find' gifts

* Joining supplier mailing lists

* Buying your items in bulk thus getting quantity discounts

However, initially you must limit your inventory to a manageable level. It is bad business practice to block capital.

Skills Needed:

You can run your business on your own but may need to hire employees in the peak season, like Christmas, when the orders are more than you can handle alone. Thus you need to know how to recruit, interview, motivate, train and develop personnel. With this, you should also be familiar with skills like bookkeeping, purchasing and advertising basics.

Products to Offer:

Some of the standard baskets that you may offer are:

* Gourmet/Food Baskets: These are great gifts for friends and families. They can be thematic like chocolate baskets, wine and cheese baskets, etc.

* Toiletry Baskets: These can include items such as oils, lotions, scented soaps, fragrances, etc. When making such a basket please make sure that these supplies should last a family for a month.

* Shower Baskets: These are perfect gifts for wedding and baby showers, and are usually stocked with a variety of every day necessities. Customized Baskets: These are baskets that are packed with items selected by customers. They are more expensive as you have to create a made-to-order basket so the price should be negotiated with the customer before you begin your shopping.

Pricing:

You need to consider the following factors while pricing your baskets:

* The labour, materials and time required by you to assemble the basket

* The cost of merchandise in the basket

* The delivery charges for delivering the basket to its destination.

* The overhead operating expenses associated with your location and business.

* The profit percentage you want to earn from each basket.

* Your competitor's price so that you can price your own baskets competitively.

Advertising and promotion:

While word of mouth publicity based on customer satisfaction can make or break your gift basket service business you should also adopt other advertising methods to reach out to new customers. Newspaper advertisements and direct mail may be a good help to:

* Convince customers that your baskets are the best.

* Enhance your company's image.

* Create a desire and draw customers to your service.

* You can also put up colorful fliers in shopping malls, grocery stores etc. Yellow pages and targeted online advertising can also be considered to increase customer awareness.

* Tools of the trade: You will need to have regular office equipment, shrink-wrap equipment for sealing fresh food items and a company vehicle for custom shopping, and deliveries of your baskets.


Start Your Own Handyman Business

How do you start

The easiest way to get started as a handyman is to get the word out. This doesn't have to be an expensive, or even complicated advertisement, just something that reaches the audience that you think will need your services.

Think about posting a small sign or a few business cards at the local home improvement store. You might also want to post your cards at any of the smaller paint stores or home supplies shops around your neighborhood. Since the customers will already be ready to do some repairs because they're buying the supplies, perhaps you can help them finish the project as well.

Start off your clients with a free estimate of the time and the cost of the materials and labor. This will let the client know that you are honest about your services and let them make any changes to the project.

You might even benefit from adding on additional smaller services for free.

Tools that you need

If you're going to be fixing things, you'll need to have the tools to do it. You can start out with the standard tool set and add to it as you find the need. You won't need anything too complicated in most home projects, but that's where your estimate will come in handy. You'll be able to see if there are more tools that you will need to finish, and then factor the cost into your hourly rate.

You will also want to have the proper safety equipment (goggles, gloves) in order to keep yourself safe.

Another consideration for tools is a nice uniform to wear when you are performing the job. You might not be taken too seriously if you show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Look like the professional that you are.

Costs and earnings

While it's true that the tools will be expensive, the advertising doesn't have to be. As said before, buying only what you need at first will help keep the overall costs low.. and then you'll have the tools for other jobs.

Earnings also vary depending on the skill level that you have. The more complicated the job, the more money that you should charge overall. But most handymen can expect to make anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour for smaller jobs, with a markup for larger projects.

While this doesn't seem like a lot, the fact that you're going to be cheaper than any 'professional' repair service will get you the numbers to make this business worth your time.


Monday, September 18, 2006

Special Home-Based Income Report

ANY Business has a failure point. The Special Home-Based Income Report identifies this issue, and provides solutions to prevent failure.

Think about it: What if you, had the opportunity to work with a company, which through research, identified business failure points, and automated a process to avoid them.

The Prosperity Automated System was launched in October of 2003 (Owned by the Prosperity Network, Inc...A 12-year-old Corporation, based in Citrus Heights, California) with a simple but very powerful purpose. That purpose is to totally eliminate each and every "failure point" faced by virtually all home-based business.

Even if you’re a complete novice, and you have no business, internet or marketing experience that’s not a problem. Simple steps are outlined, plus you have the complete support of the company, you simply cannot fail.

The whole evaluation process will take no more than 10-15 minutes but believe me, the time you spend evaluating the business will be very well worth it - compared to the endless hours you could spend (or have already spent) scouring the Internet for a viable home-based business program. The Company provides free access to its private website, a video and a free report simply by signing up for the information.


How to Professionally Clean a Home

You have decided you want to start a house cleaning business and clean homes professionally. Cleaning your own home and cleaning someone else's home professionally is totally different.

You have to be very thorough when cleaning professionally. Clients are paying you for a service and they expect and deserve top notch cleaning. It takes quite awhile to learn how to clean a home professionally.

The best thing to do when starting out is ask some friends and family members if you can clean their homes for free or at a discounted rate. I know the thought of cleaning for free is not appealing but you will not only gain much needed experience but you will get some good testimonials and references (which you will need when you obtain those first clients).

When first starting out don't worry about how long it takes to clean a home. Always do a thorough cleaning. After you have been cleaning for awhile you will become more efficient and will be able to do a through cleaning in a lot less time.

Make sure you have all the supplies and equipment needed before you start.

Supply List:

window cleaner

furniture polish

clorox soft scrub with bleach

anti-bacterial cleaner

sos pads

stainless steel cleaner

wood floor cleaner

bathroom cleaner

mops

broom/dustpan

supply caddy

dust mop

wood floor mop

grout brush

small toothbrush

cleaning cloths (terry and micro fiber cloths)

step ladder

Start at the top of the home and work your way down. This cleaning routine is for a one person cleaner just starting out. Of course the routine changes with more cleaners. When you have more cleaners in the home each person is responsible for different tasks.

Empty all trash and replace trash bags

Pick up/straighten/make beds if needed

Remove cobwebs, dust baseboards

Dust ceiling fans

Clean window sills and wipe down doors

Dust all furniture including bottoms and sides

Clean all glass surfaces including smudges on windows

Clean and disinfect bathrooms (dust light bulbs and wipe down cabinets)

Sweep, Vacuum, Mop all floors

Clean kitchen (including inside microwave, top of refrigerator)

Wipe down kitchen cabinet facings

Polish all glass surfaces and stainless steel in kitchen

For initial cleanings, include all the above plus the following:

Wet wash all baseboards and doors

Clean all light fixtures

Clean all wall hangings

Clean all knick-knacks

Clean vents

Remove books from book shelves and clean

For Move-in/Out Cleanings or Real Estate Cleaning you will need to add cleaning inside refrigerator/freezer, oven cleaning and window cleaning to your services. Also, for these types of cleanings you should clean inside all cabinets and drawers and inside closets.


Profitable Home Based Business

So you want to start a profitable home based business, but you want it to be profitable quickly. While most business do take a period of time to become profitable, there are some businesses that allow you to break-even faster than others. Here are the top 5 home based businesses in which you can break even in two months to one year:

Profitable Home Based Business #1: Business Plan Writer - While others have great business ideas, they may not be the best at putting together a winning business plan. If you have a good combination of writing skills, business expertise, and creativity you can use them to create a profitable home based business. You will most likely be working for entrepreneurs that are seeking loans and investors, so you will need to understand how to create a plan that effectively relays strategies, market position, financial needs, and start-up costs.

Your start-up costs, though, will be very low. You will basically need to purchase liability insurance to cover any predictions that do not come to fruition. Yet you can earn anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 per project.

Profitable Home Based Business #2: Public Relations - Do you have great social skills and an ability to promote things? Then starting up a public relations company may be right for you. The possibilities are endless in the niches you can fill. Some public relations firms focus on government affairs, lobbying, media, public affairs, publicity, advertising, and more. You should try and invest in professional accreditation, and your own promotional ability can lead to incomes ranging between $65,000 and $175,000. There is little overhead with a maximum of 20 to 40 percent of your income making this a profitable home based business.

Profitable Home Based Business #3: Financial Planner - If you have some finance experience, you can get the qualifications needed to become a certified financial planner. In this position you will help people make informed decisions as to what they should do with their money and investments. While a broker looks mainly at stocks, you would be looking at a person’s whole financial pictures. You should look into what areas of financial planning you want to focus on and get certified, as it will help you build clients. It is also a good idea to take continuing education classes. Still, your expected income could be in the range of $40,000 to $90,000 per year.

Profitable Home Based Business #4: Personal Chef - Got a knack for creating healthy and tasty meals? Then you may want to consider starting a personal chef business. Many people are too busy today to do their own cooking, and hiring someone to cook meals for $7 to $8 per meal is much cheaper than going out to eat. The job takes a budget conscious and creative cook, but many personal chefs have a profitable home based business making anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 per month.


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