A Successful Home Business

"Never stop walking in the shoes of those who are looking for you, and you will find that you never go barefoot."

Over half of all small businesses which are started fail within the first two years. Many people quit on their dreams after a few bad days, and get back into the groove of the norm of society. You know the norm: the safe and secure job, the 9-5 struggle just to live, pursuing despised money ventures instead of passions, just to name a few. We can discuss the negatives of home businesses for days, but here's another truth. Those who don't quit succeed. Those who pursue passions honestly with integrity, love for all, and faith receive blessings from unexpected back ends. One must be surrounded with positivity and productivity at all times in order to truly grasp ultimate success, which is right after the step where you're expected to quit. Here are just a few requirements a successful home business must have:

1) A successful home business must have leaders who don't think of themselves:
This may sound crazy to many, but the less you think of yourself, the more you will prosper. Many individuals are too concerned with making money, rather than honestly helping others and changing their lives. Business is about building relationships. Solve people's problems, remain honest, loving, and friendly with everyone, continue walking in the shoes of others, and you will never go barefoot.

2) A successful home business must have a complete understanding and devotion to help a specific target audience:
The first thing to think about in business is your target market. The show might be perfect, but it is your audience that makes the show successful. Think about it. You wouldn't promote nursing homes towards college students would you? You wouldn't promote a network marketing business to all of your family and friends would you? Oh I'm sorry... or do you? The key is to figure out your true target audience, know their problems, and provide HOW TO solutions. I say how to solutions because it's important to understand that a particular business opportunity is NOT a solution to one's problems. It's how to go about doing something, knowledge, which provides a true solution. Business opportunities are just the icing on the cake after knowledge is acquired and relationships are built. Know your audience, know their burning problems, and concentrate solely on helping them solve their problems. For example, network marketers' audience are other network marketers, entrepreneurs, people willing to chase their dreams and work for it rather than settling for society's norm. As I always say, become the photographer of your business and take yourself out of the picture. Having love, knowledge, and value to offer a specific audience at all times, along with your persistence, determination and faith will guarantee your success.

3) A successful home business must have a 9-5 with a projects mentality:
One reason home businesses fail is because many are not treated like businesses. Many are treated as hobbies. This is a common and crucial mistake. A home business is a perfect opportunity to reach your goals IF it is treated as a business. You can be associated with the most helpful business and efficient system which can make work a little easier, but let's not get it twisted; you have to treat it like a 9-5. The problem is that many start down this road to get away from the dreaded 9-5, but fail to realize that in order to be truly successful, one must sacrifice their most precious asset in life (time) in order to produce desired results. My father always told me that no matter how great an opportunity or million dollar idea may be, you still have to get in a persistent rhythm, so when your steps are right, people will have to adjust to yours. I can personally say that he was so right. Start 9-5'in and taking business seriously with a projects mentality. What is a projects mentality? Well I came from the streets of Bronx, New York, and I find it interesting how many that have succeeded and continue to succeed usually come from nothing. In the Projects, people work hard for what they want because they have no other choice. Therefore it makes success a necessity rather than a possibility. Have that mentality. A wise man once told me that there's no half stepping when it comes to hustling. That means treat your business as your only option and work non stop until you reach your goals.

4) A successful home business must have a reality:
You have to be able to be yourself and keep it real. Don't lie or try to con people, for that will always come to the light eventually. Remain honest and with integrity. Liars need good memories, and you will slip once if you're lying so just save yourself the trouble by just keeping it real with yourself and others.

5) A successful home business must have knowledge:
You have to know how to solve your target market's problems, or at least be involved in and be able to benefit from a system that does. Knowledge is everlasting, and taking action with that knowledge to help others is the knockout combo. So continuing to learn 'relevant' knowledge and providing value is crucial to the success of any home business.

6) A successful home business must have a 1st place space pace:
Always strive to be the best. Whether it be in the form of providing the most knowledge, creating the most efficient system, and/or being the most helpful, etc, strive to be the best at it. Make sure your worst races always end in first places. However, the other key, which is missed by many, is to also wish and help others reach 1st place as well. Wish the best of success for everyone, and actually do the best you can to help them get there. There's enough of everything to go around. Don't be envious of others. If you loathe the fact that others are successful, you are actually pushing away your own success. You must want success for you and everyone else. These are a few requirements a successful home business must have. I wish you the best of success, happiness, and prosperity.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2173507

How To Choose The Best Investment For You

"Becoming wealthy is not a matter of how much you earn, who your parents are, or what you do.. it is a matter of managing your money properly." - Noel Whittaker

Creating an investment plan can be a tricky but rewarding experience. The key to having a solid and fully customized plan is to know what your financial goals are and make sure your plan fit your needs. Investment plans are extremely popular because many people, due to the unstable job market and insufficient social security, are trying to save for their retirement. Investment plans help investors buy a set number of stocks, bonds, and funds at regular intervals. This occurs automatically and does not require the investor's constant attention. If you are interested in an investment plan below is some basic information and helpful tips about investment plans and how to choose the one that best fits your needs.

How does it work? Investment plans automate the investment process. Initially the investor picks out stocks which they want to regularly invest in. Then money is automatically removed from one of your financial accounts (checking, savings, or money market) and stocks are purchase for you by the investment plan coordinator. As the investor you can make adjustments to how much money, how often, and what type of stocks will be purchased. Most brokerages, which offer investment plans, allow you to make changes at a small fee. However, one of the benefits of online investment firms is that many of the traditional fee based options, like adjusting your financial plan, are free of charge.

How much? Deciding how much you should invest is never an easy question. Only you know your financial situation and how much you can afford to put toward an investment plan. It is important to not over invest only to leave yourself short in paying your monthly obligations. You need to make sure the money you choose to invest will be available at the same time each month in the same amount. Think about the future. Perhaps this month you have more disposable income available however, most months you do not. It is better to invest less and not run short at the end of the month.

Which investments are best? Choosing the best stock vehicles takes time and research. Be patient and really spend the time getting to know your options. Focus on stocks that have a successful history and have consistently shown growth. These may be more expensive, however they are also more secure. Remember the goal is to build your stock portfolio over time. Do not invest in companies you do not understand or you do not like. Investment plans are a great ways for the average investor to slowly build their stock portfolio and eventually find financial freedom.

Business Strategy Rules

Is your business a hobby? Did you look for something that you are passionate about and then go for it? Were you able to turn that hobby or passion into a real money-maker?

The truth is that about 90% of small businesses fail. There are multiple reasons for the disasters. An important and not so obvious truth about all these failures is that the failure starts in the planning process. The battle is won in the mind before the game even begins. So, how do you create a master plan that will give you a great chance of success? The beginning, of it all, is to understand strategy.

Business Strategy Rules to Live by

1- A business owner must gain proprietary intellectual property.

Selling a commodity is nearly impossible to make a profit on. And, small businesses can't compete on price against large rivals with superior purchasing power. Since consumers are so price motivated, the small business must find a way to innovate. The innovations do not have to be large or "earth shattering". Innovations can also be small. For example, you might discover faster ways to organize your materials than your competitors or see a way to do something cheaper and better. Holding onto these good ideas and protecting them will go a long way towards long-term profitability.

2- A business owner must understand short-term thinking.

If you study game theory or the prisoner's dilemma, you learn that people always go for the short-term strategy. Some strategists point to long-term win-win scenarios, but these strategies rarely, if ever, play out as planned. Instead, people are always looking to get the best advantage possible. This results in short-term thinking. What a business owner must realize is that their employees, their suppliers, and their competitors will do what is best for the short-term. It's sort of like Keynesian economics. Take care of the short-term and the long-run will work out. Of course, this type of economics also states that in the long-run we're all dead.
We can always come up with reasons why long-term planning is best and even look to a few examples of it being applied correctly. However, the science of business proves short-term thinking works and that it is prevalent within companies and individual motives. In other words, put this into your planning process.

3- A business owner must understand deception.

There are many ways to interpret the word deception. It does not mean you have to lie, cheat, and steal. Instead, it might mean finding ways to hide your secrets from competitors. It might mean managing employees in ways that they do not know enough to compete with you. It could also mean that you use clever ways to gain proprietary intellectual advantage. One example of this would be to use spies. Large companies are adept at using spies. How many times have you seen a competitor hire an employee from another company for the sole purpose of learning what they know? This is common practice. Everybody is trying to do the same thing. The people doing it best win!

4- A business owner should only accept challenges they know they can win.

Many business owners are pretty cocky. They think they can compete with anybody and that they can do anything they want. This is not realistic. There are many battles to fight that will only result in you losing it. One of the most important things to learn is to only take on battles that you know you can win. How do you figure that out? Well, according to Sun Tzu, the master battle strategist, the most important thing is to know thyself and thy enemy. If you understand these two things, you will win in every battle. It sounds so simple and yet most business owners don't really understand the competition or what their main strengths and weaknesses are. According to Sun Tzu, without this knowledge, you will lose very battle. If you gain some of this knowledge, you will win some battles and lose others.

5- A business owner must understand leadership.

A great leader will motivate the employees to do great things. For this to happen, there has to be a level of respect for the leader. The employees must be moral and follow strict rules. The enforcement of the rules should be done quickly. In addition, feats of bravery and strength should be rewarded quickly and openly. These are some of the basic tenets of great leaders.

According to Sun Tzu, the highest form of leadership is to first: Balk the enemy's plans. And Second: Prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; and third: Attack in the field and fourth: Attacking a besieged city. There is so much that can be said about each one of these leadership principles.

Planning the Strategy

It's impossible to tell you exactly how to build your strategy. However, there are three most important points you must follow.

1- The most important thing is to get proprietary intellectual advantage.
2- The second most important thing is to understand your competitor and yourself.
3- The final point is to fight in battles you know that you can win.
If you follow these points, you will be on your way to a great business plan.

Keys to Successful Online Marketing

Several times a week, I speak with perplexed business owners who understand they need to do a better job with their online marketing; these owners want to create qualified leads and generate more revenue but find online marketing to be overwhelming. I even speak with long-time marketers who find certain parts of online marketing difficult to grasp.

The confusion is understandable. Keeping up with changes in online marketing is a full-time job. The big players like Google, Facebook, and Linked in regularly move the goalposts. And new technologies emerge every hour. I want to simplify and demystify online marketing by providing these keys to successful online marketing.

One. The Business Model is THE Fundamental. Your business model is the foundation of your marketing. Simply saying, "I want more business" won't achieve the results you want. Successful online marketing begins with a clear vision of the direction of the business and the revenue goals.

Two. Use Direct Marketing. Yes-building and maintaining 'brand integrity' is important but getting people to buy what you sell is much, much more important. So this means using a direct response approach to selling. Yes-there's room for creativity and fun but you must apply the fundamentals of direct marketing if you want your online marketing to produce a significant ROI. If you know everything there is to know about direct marketing, proceed to key #4.

Three. Learn Everything You Can about Direct Marketing. Attend seminars. Read books. Hire a direct marketing expert for a day. Understanding direct marketing is one of the best investments you can ever make in your business.

Four. Only Work with Direct Marketing Specialists. If you're hiring internally, find employees who really understand direct response. If you're hiring consultants or an agency, make sure they're card carrying members of the 'direct response' party.

Five. Get the Strategy Correct. I'm all for companies plunging in and getting started right away. Eventually, you have to base your online marketing on a sound strategy.

Six. Measure Everything. Test. Find out what's working and what's not and move forward based on real data-not hunches.

Seven. Get Traffic but Don't Overspend. You can generate website traffic through pay per click, search engine optimization, online advertising and, get this, the mail...but don't overspend. Again...measure everything so you allocate resources to what works. Understand the havoc Google's "Stupid Tax" can wreak on your marketing budget.

Eight. Use Old School Tactics. Guarantees. Testimonials. Upwelling. Downselling. It's all extremely effective.

Nine. Get Current Customers to Buy More. Getting customers is hard so work to maximize lifetime value.

Ten. Build and Maintain a Huge Database. You may not be able to get people to buy immediately. That's life. But get them to opt into a database and nurture the leads.

Eleven. Remember that Content is King. When you provide information to current and prospective customers, make sure the information (the content) is extremely valuable. Investing in superior content is a relatively inexpensive way to separate yourself from the competition.

Twelve. Study and Emulate the Greats. The great 'offline' marketers quickly became the great 'online' marketers by taking the same strategies that worked in print and applying them to the online marketplace. Study the big names of the online world and emulate them.

Thirteen. Make it Simple. Make your website easy to navigate. And make it easy to buy. Many companies spend small fortunes on their online marketing only to see it fail-because the website is difficult to use.

Fourteen. Use Social Media to Generate Leads and Traffic. Social media is not a strategy. It's one of many tools to generate leads.

Fifteen. Enjoy the Online Marketing Journey. Getting it right is a lot of fun and I enjoy helping clients succeed. Follow the proven principles knowing that you'll succeed.

Sixteen. Bring Your Personality to the Fore. We don't gravitate to boring people and we don't like boring websites. So give your online marketing plenty of personality.

Ins and Outs of Internet Markting

So you are looking at getting into Internet Marketing, but where to start and how?.......

The benefits that working from home online are plenty. Other than the great passive income that can be earned if done correctly, the simple fact of the matter is, that this way of working can also give you so much more. For example, having the freedom and flexibility to work wherever and whenever you choose may enable you to spend more time with friends and family and it can also offer an escape route from the 9-5 drudgery, that many people are tied into. This is why so many people are getting into this whole working from home online thing!

So is it hard work?......Well it certainly can be to start.

Does it take time?..... Like any business it takes time to be successful. This is not a get rich quick scheme. Instead we are talking about building the foundations for a sustainable long term income.

Is it worth it?.... You bet it is! There is nothing greater than taking a two week vacation and still seeing money flood into your account. Or, alternatively waking up in the morning and checking your Paypal or ClickBank account and realize that you have made sales whilst you were sleeping. What other type of business gives you this!

I guess you're saying..Okay...so I totally get the whole lifestyle thing..... but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of internet marketing, where do I start? right

Well like any job, learning exactly how to make money online is a skill. But you know the great thing about a skill?........ Just like learning to cook or to drive, learning how to make money using the internet is a skill that is most definitely teachable!

One of the main problems is that there are a lot of people who will get the beginner to sign up under the pretense of some sort of teaching program but what they are really doing is to use the program as a vehicle to promote lame products. In cases such as these, all this does is to leave the newbie even more confused and frustrated than they were before they started their online journey and certainly more out of pocket.

Okay so what's the good news?

Well, there are a handful of very good internet marketing teachers out there, that aren't trying to sell you their latest product, or service. On the contrary, they want you to succeed. Your success is their success and when you start making money, they gain a lot of credibility. Some of these courses will take a complete newbie and guide them through the minefield that is internet marketing, using the exact same methods that they have also used to make some serious money online. So it is important to align yourself with somebody who has some excellent credentials and positive teaching reviews. And this is probably the best place for a newbie to internet marketing, wanting to know where to start

One thing worth mentioning here is that all good businesses need some kind of a system in place in order to work, and this is certainly no exception and in order to begin internet marketing, you will need four other vital ingredients to build a successful online I.M business. They are as follows...

The correct mindset

Having a positive attitude to learning new skills is vital to this business and there may well be days that you want to throw in the towel. However, remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint and having the correct mindset will get you through these barriers.

Marketing skills

This business is called internet or affiliate marketing therefore it is important to understand how to market a product in the correct manner. You could have the best product or service in the world but without the vital marketing skills needed to promote your product, you won't have a business.

Understanding some very simple web skills

Having a web presence is vital to your business and this is something that you cannot do without. Therefore this means acquiring the ability to implement some very simple web skills in order to succeed. This isn't as hard as it seems, but it can be a little overwhelming to someone who has never contemplated having their own website. Again this is a teachable skill and once you have learnt this, it is with you for life.

Having something to sell

The end result and the way that internet marketing works is to ultimately sell products and services to people that need it. Therefore product selection is important and can come in many different guises. They can be a "physical" type product or they can be a digital product in the form of a downloadable Ebook. Or finally they can be a course of some kind that people sign up to. However one thing to remember is that this is the "end" result and therefore the product should be thought about last. I will explain this in a little while.......
These 4 fundamentals are the main ingredients to successfully understanding the components of internet marketing.......where to start on the other hand, is where some people get it horribly wrong.......
You see,, there is one other vitally crucial point that countless people fail to grasp in this business and it is as follows.

You may have heard the saying that "the money is in the list" right! Well this is probably the most important thing in internet marketing.. You see without your list, the cold fact of the matter is that you simply won't have a sustainable business! I mean, sure... you might be able to sell a few products, but this business is all about repeat customers. This is how the vast majority of people make money online, and this is probably something that not everybody tells you.

So how does this work?

A savvy internet marketer will build a list by creating and nurturing relationships, then when they have a product that they deem worth selling, they blast out an email to their entire list. In other words they sell to people who are directly on their database. This is basically selling to people who have already signed up to your list because you had something of real value to offer. The would be buyer already trusts the seller and therefore when a product is eventually offered to them, chances are that they will feel more inclined to make that all important purchase.

This in effect is internet marketing - where to start 101
So to sum up....... if you want to be good have a successful internet marketing business, you need to learn the skills necessary in order to become good at marketing yourself. If you can change your thinking processes and ask yourself "how can I add value?" rather than... "how can I make money?", then you will be way ahead of most people who enter the world of internet marketing. The simple fact of the matter is that once you have nurtured relationships by giving your customers something of real value, then the money side of things will inevitably follow. Hopefully this has given you an insight into the theory behind internet marketing. - where to start, and the understanding of it at least, might just be that little bit clearer.

Success Training to Build Wealth

Almost all of us want to think the way to make money is as simple as wanting it. Like most myths there is a grain of truth that wanting wealth is part of success training. There are many steps in success training that can help build wealth. For many people the steps are too hard or they would rather give up than try.

Do you want wealth? Do you want success?

If you really want to build wealth and create success you must be willing to make a commitment. Your want must be greater than your desire to stay where you are.

Why would I want to stay where I am?

Success training requires that take action and make changes. You are comfortable where you are. You know what to expect, when you make changes you do not know what the outcome will be. For many people rather than take action and make life unpredictable for a bit, they would rather stay exactly where they are.

How do I embrace change?

If you want to build wealth and success you must move forward through your fear. Change is not always easy and painless creating success is worth it. Make small changes, make daily steps, do what you need so you can walk through your fears and into your future. This is essential to your success training.

What should I do to build wealth?

While money is important and can help achieve your goals, it is not the only thing. Money does not change your actual life. The truly wealthy people build wealth by building wealth on multiple fronts. Relationships with family and friends can help you feel blessed on even the worst of days. The beauty of sunrise is better than the finest painting the richest person in the world can buy.

Are you worthy?

Part of success training is accepting that you are worthy of wealth, worthy of success. This is a secret the wealth know. It does not matter if you have loads of money if you do not feel worthy of it, you will never feel wealthy. Others will see you building success, admire your talents and wonder how you can be that smart, but if you do not believe in yourself you will never see these things.

What will help me feel worthy?

Surround yourself with positive people, who believe in you and support your desire to achieve your goals. Perhaps you can not entirely surround yourself with positive people, you can increase the number to outweigh those who would discourage you. Believe in yourself, your dreams and encourage those around you to achieve their goals.

Surprising Ways To Build Wealth

Everyone is looking for the key to build wealth. Problem is most people are looking in the wrong place. You can build wealth right from home by starting your own home business. In fact, tax benefits for home businesses are the bridge from poverty to wealth!

Home Office-You can deduct some, even all, of the expenses of having a home office. This includes the square footage of the space as well as a portion of the utilities. Here are the qualifiers: You must have an area that is set aside as the main place where you conduct business-and that's how it must be used. So if you're looking to build wealth through a home business, set up a home office and dedicate the space for business use.

Mortgage Interest, Property Taxes & Insurance-Got a mortgage? Great! It can cut your tax bill and build wealth for you by reducing your tax burden. How much it lowers your taxes depends on the size of your home office-specifically, the percentage of the total space of your home. That percentage of your mortgage interest can be deducted from your taxes. And that same percentage comes off of your property tax and insurance bills, too, in the form of a federal tax deduction (Cha-ching! More wealth for you!).

Building Expenses-Any repairs and/or improvements you make to your home office can be deducted from your taxes (Do you hear the cash register ringing? Your wealth is growing!). Let's say you want to paint the room or put a door on so you can hear yourself think. Something like that is deductible in full!

Utilities, Phones & the Internet-For home utility bills, you can write off your home office's percentage of the total square footage of your home as a tax deduction (can you hear your bank account screaming "more wealth"?). With additional (not the first phone line, only subsequent ones) landlines and cell phone lines, 100% can be written off. As well, a percentage of your Internet service can be deducted also, leaving you with even more wealth!

Meals & Transportation-Business meals can be deductible if you take a client out and business is the topic of the conversation! If you have to travel for business, your meals can be deductible as well as your transportation to get there. In fact, traveling from your home to a client's location is a tax-deductible expense (the IRS has a per-mile reimbursement rate). If you are looking to build wealth using this tax deduction, keep good records of your car's odometer readings, where you went, and why. Always better to have too much documentation than not enough!

Other-A percentage of the cost of installing a security system-as well as the ongoing fee for having that protection-can also be deducted from your taxes, staying in your pocket and contributing to your wealth. Use the same percentage you used in figuring your mortgage interest, property taxes, and insurance. Also, a portion of your moving expenses can be written off, too.

As you can see, a home business allows you tax breaks that can act to seriously build wealth for you and your family. Do your due diligence, and get an accountant's advice when you file. There may be even more tax benefits than there was space to list here. And of course, you can't deduct more than the net profit of your business!

How to Build Wealth in a Bad Economy

We had tried Multi-Level Marketing before. Even with all the struggles of building a downline and leads list in the past, we were still open to finding a great business opportunity. After all, having your own business is still one of the most sure ways to take control of your financial situation. It's tough when you first join an MLM company and don't have a team that will help guide you. You're excited at first and ready to share it with everyone you know but you can't find the right people that will have the same enthusiasm. No matter how many people you talk to, they either never sign up or you can't find anyone that can duplicate you. That's something we've found to be the most difficult in any business but very lucrative if successful. You want to find business people that are just as enthusiastic about it as you are. That's one reason so many people fail in MLM and write if off as a failure business model. But hey, we've been there. Trust me.

We knew if we're going to ever give it another try we needed an exceptional product and marketing plan. Something special too, not just the typical lotion and cream products. We started hearing buzz about MLM gold and silver coins opportunities. The idea of combining the precious metals coins industry with MLM was definitely new to us. We had never seen anything like this before and were sold that it was unique and the first of it's kind. It definitely piqued our interest and we wanted to know more. So we spent some time looking at several companies.

We are interested in not only building a lucrative business but preserving wealth for the future. And now we know there is no better way to do this than with precious metals. It's like having a savings account that isn't subject to the rise and fall of the dollar, the economy, or interest rates. And we are building up our net worth at the same time with each coin that we purchase. We like to buy the American Silver Eagle ungraded and also the MS70 (MS70: which means it's graded mint condition, never touched by human hands. Comes sealed in a plastic case). You've got to remember. We're talking about buying solid one ounce U.S. Mint silver coins. You just want to be sure to lock these up in your safe.

And as you may know, precious metals prices keep rising in this economy. We're trying to buy as much as we can right now before the price of silver is out of reach. Like Robert Kiyosaki says, gold and silver is God's money. It truly is the only real currency in the world and the most stable. One tip: When purchasing numismatic coins in the hope of having an asset that increases in value, it is safest to deal in coins that are pure gold or silver. Numismatic coins have 3 layers of cost built into their pricing. 1) the metal content, 2) The numismatic premium, and 3) The dealer profit. It is best to minimize the second one and eliminate the 3rd. If you know how and where to buy at wholesale, you can do that.