22May
How Anyone Can Profit From Internet Marketing

If you can think up a concept for your business you can profit from Internet marketing. In actual fact it does not matter how old or young you are, there is something for everybody when they start an Internet business. You need to develop a successful system, stick with it and duplicate your success.
The 5 keys to success are as follows:
1. Develop a concept: your business idea or concept is very important. It is one of your key foundations of your business. It is important to like what you are doing and not just be in it for the money. Of course you want to make a profit; it is a business after all. However bear in mind you will be spending quite a bit of time to create and run your business. for this reason you should love your topic and be enthusiastic about it. In this way you will succeed because you are doing something you love to do.
2. Define your market: Understanding your market is one of the critical aspects of your business. You will need to analyze your visitors and be in tune with their wants and needs. You will also need to know where they go and what publications they are interested so you know where to market your business.
3. Set goals: setting goals is important, when you set goals and decide on timelines to complete them you will stay focused on completing them and progressing with your business.
4. Develop an action plan: you will need to set up an action plan to achieve your goals. The easiest way to do this will be to create milestones; for example 3 months, 6 months, one year and set goals for each milestone. You can then think of ways to accomplish these objectives. Put these methods into an action plan and record all your results good and bad.
5. Duplicate your successes learn from your mistakes: one of the fun things about business is that no two days are the same you will make mistakes and you will have successes. You need to learn from your mistakes and pick yourself up after catastrophes. An example if this would be Donald Trump, you may or may not like him but many people have respect for him when it comes to business. He has had spectacular crashes but has always picked himself up and risen to glory again. This is because he never let mistakes and crashes crush him.
So make your system with these five points and start enjoying the thrills and spills of Internet Marketing no matter who you are and how old you may be.
20May
Start Your Own Aluminum Can Recycling and Advertising Business

With people’s attitudes toward recycling and prices for aluminum and other metals at near all-time highs, a Tampa Florida entrepreneur’s business idea as reported by The Tampa Tribune, 09/24/12, may have just the right timing.
Being an apartment building painter for 15 years entrepreneur Dennis Gallagher noticed that apartment renters had no easy and convenient way to recycle their aluminum cans. Now thanks to Mr. Gallagher, and his business idea which became his own aluminum can recycling and advertising business he calls the Green Can Project, they do.
The Green Can Project places large plastic containers around apartment buildings giving people an easy opportunity to participate in recycling their aluminum cans with all the proceeds going to a local charity.
Since the recycling proceeds go to charity, Mr. Gallagher apparently plans to monetize his business by selling advertising space on the barrels to local businesses around the area.
This idea for an aluminum can recycling and advertising business seems to this writer that it has the potential for duplication in other areas of the US and in other countries as well, with the added benefit that an enterprise like this would probably only require several thousand dollars to start on a small scale.
It should be relatively easy to place attractive containers at many types of locations free of charge considering the public’s current level of interest in legitimate environmental issues.
Gaining advertising accounts would be the more difficult task but calling on businesses in the general vicinity of where their ads would be placed might very well meet with the greatest success, at least in the beginning.
Someone interested in starting a business like this would, among other things, have to find a supply of inexpensive but appropriate barrels, work with a good printer, or better yet have your own printing equipment to produce the advertising signs and/or banners to attach to the barrels, and have the means of hauling the cans from the barrel locations to the recycling centers.
Once up and running you might get help from businesses who would request barrels be placed at their locations just to participate in a good cause, and if advertising on the barrels produced good results then ad sales should eventually get easier as you build good testimonies from customers and have word-of-mouth advertising working for you.
With 200 barrels placed at locations and $50 dollars per month in ad revenue from each one, an entrepreneur might have a $100,000 operation going in a short period of time?Business Is Booming For Entrepreneurs Cleaning and Repairing Foreclosed Properties
18May
The 3 “Must Do’s” Before You Start A Small Business

So you’ve got your small business idea and you want to start a small business. What do you need to do to get your small business off to a flying start?
I am going to share with you what I believe are the 3 most important things to consider when starting a small business, especially a bricks and mortar business.
1. Research
You will need to carry out thorough research on the products or service that you are going to be selling. When I started my first business more than twenty years ago, my original business idea was to open up a pet shop. I wasn’t actually sure whether there would be a demand for that type of shop, so during one of my week’s holidays I actually parked in the main shopping street for 6 hours a day for the whole week and carried out thorough research including:
Counting the number of people who visited the shops each day.
Speaking to shoppers to ask whether they felt that there was demand for a pet shop in that area.
Speaking to other shop owners in the locality to ask for any tips that they could give me on the best ways to start a retail business.
Checking what other competitors were doing in order to offer better.
Checking location i.e. making sure that there was a market for what I was selling within a given area and that I could achieve the desired profit margins within that location. Location is very important when considering a bricks and mortar business as property leases and the prices that you can charge for your goods or services, are largely governed by location.
Needless to say I did not open a pet store but I opened up a chain of convenience stores instead based on using the same research techniques.
2. Create a Good Business Plan
You can have the best small business ideas in the world, but you will seldom get them off the ground without financial backing. In order to gain that all important backing you will first of all need to present your potential lender with a business plan.
Do not be out off by this. All too often you will already have the business plan already in your head and will merely need to put in down on paper. Some things that you need to include when writing a business plan are;
The product or service that you are going to provide.
Who your targeted customers are going to be.
The cost to make or buy the product to sell on or how much it’s going to cost you to provide the service that you are going to be offering.
Your operational costs including rent, staff, fuel, vehicles, equipment, stationary, materials, legal fees, advertising etc, etc. You will need to ensure that you list them all.
The location where you are going to be offering your goods or services.
3. Financial Planning
Financial planning for a new small business is not just about how much money people they spend but more about planning the amount of sales that you hope to make each day, the purchases you will need to make, and the income that you expect to make after deducting the overall costs of trading. Many small businesses fail in the first year of trading because of poor cash flow. Below are some suggestions of how to avoid cash flow problems within your first year of trading:
Create a “small business cash flow forecast. Simply write down all of your expenditure costs for each month for the first year of trading and then add them up. Then write down what you think you will achieve in sales. Deduct one from the other and this will provide you with the targeted amount of sales that you will need to make in order to break even or make a profit.
If you don’t feel confident to create your own cash flow forecast, you could ask an accountant to do it for you. They could also create a profit and loss statement for you at the same time.
It is advisable to have some emergency funds set aside when starting a small business. Every new business needs money to get started, even if is only to buy stock or stationary.
If possible try to allow a sum of money equal to the projected turnover for the first year of business to allow for any cash flow problems.
Get the best deals from your lender. Some banks like Nat West and HSBC now offer free banking for 2 years for all new small businesses. Check out a few banks as they all offer something unique.
Don’t be disheartened if you get a few refusals. Just remain focused on your business idea and remain confident in your approach when discussing your business plans with the business advisor.
I can remember when I started my first business, eighteen lenders turned me down. However I didn’t give up and eventually a bank manager situated 90 miles away believed in my passion and drive to start my own business and decided to lend me the money that I needed.
So there are, what I believe, are three most important things to consider when you start a small business.
18May
How to Get Free Funding for A Christian Business

Finding free funding for Christian business may not be as easy as you think. Starting a new business of your own may be a good way of earning an income that you can rely on for long term. However, any new business would require some capital. In order to get the necessary funds for your new Christian business, there are several different ways that you can consider. Given below are two such ways that you may want to consider.
Start a Free Business
One of the easiest ways to get free funding for Christian business is to start a free business. There are many different businesses today that you can start without any capital, though it may seem to be a little unbelievable. You would require planning in order to be able to start a free business. An online business can be free if you set up a free site using a platform like Blogger. There are also several MLM business opportunities as well as affiliate marketing programs that you can start without any capital at all. Most affiliate marketing companies today will provide you a readymade website with no capital required on your part so it would be a good way for you to get going with the business without having to worry about the capital.
Finding Philanthropist for Free Funding for Christian Business
Another great way to get free startup capital for your new Christian business is to find a philanthropist. Although this might take some time and effort on your part, it is possible to find various charitable organizations and people who may be willing to help you out. Start locally by contacting your church and fellow Christians and talk to them about your new business. Use your contacts and the contacts of your friends and families to find such people or organizations. There are several Christian organizations that you can also find online that help others network with investors around the world. If your business idea is strong and if you can manage to convince the investors about your capability of making your business successful then there are high chances that you may be able to get the required funds.
You should know that before you approach such investors or philanthropist you should have a business plan ready to you so that you can discuss various important points with them. Your business plan must cover various necessary details like your business idea, your qualifications, credentials, experience and recommendations from others. You should also include details about the target market, the demand for your product or services in the market currently and your marketing plan. If you follow these steps finding free funding for Christian business would be slightly easier for you.
15May
The Elevator Pitch – A Small Home Business Idea

What floor of success are you on. Are you ready to ride the elevator to success? What you are about to read will change the way you deal with the elevator. You are about to learn about a business technique that can help your business grow. Never has there been a better time to become a business networker.
Abound, there are plenty of industry gatherings, trade shows, card exchanges and Chamber of Commerce meetings. “What do you do” is the most frequently asked question at these events. What is the answer you will give? If you are serious about increasing your business, that moment is not the time to go blank. Having an answer that is well thought out, timely and easy to understand is vital for your business survival and prosperity. You have a 15-30 second window to dazzle and describe how your business will benefit theirs.
Have you ever struck up a conversation with someone in the elevator? If you have, you are more than half way to understanding and using your elevator pitch. The elevator pitch is business jargon for a quick and powerful description of your business that can be given to someone before they get off of the elevator. The elevator pitch is not just a small home business idea. It is a powerful tool than can transform your business.
An effective elevator pitch is absolutely, positively necessary for your business promotion. It needs to become a major part of your business success arsenal. Once you develop it, you will use your elevator pitch time and time again. It will not be used exclusively at networking events. You will use it whenever someone wants to know “what do you do”. It will become of your advertising, website description, letterhead and other promotional items.
As you begin to develop your elevator pitch something amazing happens. You begin to focus on the core theme of what your business is about. This thought process will naturally allow you to ground your business model. It allows you to figure out what makes your business unique and what makes it stand out from your competition.
Try it soon. People want to hear your story! Every day millions wake up looking for solutions to their problems. Head to the local office building, (one with more than one floor of course) and start having some fun. Try doing this: Ask the person riding with you, “oh, did you ask me what I do?” Of course they will be a little startled. Just smile and tell them I am working on my elevator pitch for a big business meeting. Then just spring it on them! 99% of the time, you will get a smile. Don’t forget to ask the magic question, what do you think? What they think is not as important as what you just accomplished. You promoted your business to a perfect stranger who now knows you have something to offer. You never know, that practice session may lead to a million dollar sale! Just keep practicing.
After all, it takes pondering and practicing to make your business crystal clear and enticing to others. Here is an important key. Your pitch must be short and some parts of the services you provide will be left out. That is why it is so important to focus on your companies core value proposition.
Another key element is that your pitch must be very clear. Your neighbor or brother in-law must be able to understand what you do. After all, brother in-law will be needed to promote your business too. He wants his god-children, (niece and nephew) fed properly!
“Hi, I help people turn their ideas into income using the internet. Everybody has one or two special talents and we help them profit from those talents. What set’s us apart from our competition is our phone policy, if you have a phone, you can call us.” Your elevator pitch should talk a little about what makes you different from your competition.
Make sure your elevator pitch gives them something to remember you for. As business networking becomes more and more important, we all need to spend time telling others what makes us someone they want to do business with. Your elevator pitch will provide that brief window into your business and what you have to offer. So, is the elevator pitch a great small home business idea? Without a doubt it is. Create your elevator pitch today and start sharing “what do you do” to everyone who has time between the 1st and 15th floor! Here’s to all the success you are willing to work for.