It is the end of the first quarter and time to check the score.
Just as planning your goals for the coming year should always begin with a look back at the year in review, so planning your business for the rest of this year should take a look back at the first quarter. Business planning isn’t just a numbers game, but also an accounting and analysis of the year’s overall progress.
Begin by asking the hard questions:
• What happened in your business this past year? Past quarter?
• Did you meet your goals? If not, why not?
• How did you accomplish your successful goals?
• Where did your business come from?
From there, analyze the specific sources of success or failure.
• Were your lead systems facilitating your goals?
• Did the number of listings support the number of closed transactions?
And yes, now analyze the numbers: closed sales, closed commissions, expenses, how many listings taken, how many listings sold, how many active? Quantify where the business came from in comparison to your goals: how many sales from sphere? Referrals? Websites? Print media? Signs? Other lead-generating systems?
Also take a look at the team. Who do you have working with you and what are their roles? Did they support last year’s business? Did they reach their goals? Were their goals congruous with your business plan? And let’s not forget that important last count: the one where you evaluate yourself, including how many hours you worked per week and how much vacation time you took during the course of the year or quarter.
Think of this business in review task as a report to imaginary shareholders in the business. They would need a reminder of last year’s goals, a comparison to the actual numbers, an analysis of the year’s operations and relative success, and an evaluation, ultimately, of your business strategy. The success of the past year forms the basis of your business plan for the next. You are able to determine if you need to completely overhaul your “to-do” list or merely fine-tune it. You are able to focus on the past year’s strengths in order to maximize their results for the future. You are also able to isolate weaknesses or “misses” and problem-solve them to a positive resolution.
The business “flashback” in review cannot be ignored if you hope to continue to grow your business into tomorrow. The necessary steps to planning for that future can only happen once you’ve seen what came before. That is when you learn not just from your mistakes, but from your successes. It’s then you can set the new goal and create the plan. It’s then you can focus your time and resources. It’s then you can make accountability a part of the process. It’s then you can move forward with the confidence that you have planned for an incredible year ahead.
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Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9936.shtml
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
How to Choose the Right Home Business Opportunity
As the internet continues to grow and expand into almost every industry, it can be difficult to determine which home business opportunities will produce a lucrative income, and which ones are simply a waste of time. Choosing the right home business opportunity is a simple process, and you can start by choosing a niche topic or industry that you have an interest in. After a few brainstorming sessions, you'll be able to consider a variety of options in sales, marketing, affiliate products, or even creating a resource website. Here's what you need to choose the right home business opportunity:
1. Decide if you want to sell a product or a service. Products take the form of retail or consumer goods that are sold through an online storefront. Sometimes this is connected to an affiliate program, but not always; many home business owners choose to stock inventory and sell their items through eBay listings or other classifieds in order to make the sale. If you are choosing a service as a business, you may need to learn more about how the industry is doing online, and seek out additional education or training to sharpen your skills. Deciding if you want to sell a product or service is a fundamental step in your business planning, but will help you close the doors to some home business opportunities while opening up the doors to the one that suits you best.
2. Decide if you want to be an affiliate. Affiliate programs are a great way to generate a residual income since you're rarely involved with developing a product and selling it yourself. As an affiliate, you join a network of other sales people to promote a particular product and will earn a commission on each sale. Affiliate products in the digital world have become increasingly popular over the past few years as more people turn are interested in buying eBooks, podcasts, and informational services. You can set up a storefront just like an online retailer, but will link all products sold with your affiliate codes instead. Affiliate sales can be a very profitable home business opportunity and entrepreneurial venture, but you do need to remain consistent and maintain a steady marketing plan and program.
3. Consider selling information yourself. Many people turn to the web to sell knowledge and tutorials about a particular subject. Seek out your passion and turn it into a profitable home business opportunity by creating your own website. A website that can draw a large amount of traffic has a lot of potential to make money from advertising, and you may also be able to sell affiliate products through it after building a steady flow of visitors. This is a valuable home business opportunity for you if you can update your site regularly and really focus on your niche topic. Becoming an expert on a niche subject or industry is a great way to build a steady stream of visitors to your site which can lead to subscription lists, newsletters, and many opportunities to sell a product or service.
4. Set your income goals. Sometimes deciding how much you want to make over the course of a year can help you narrow down your search. For example, if you only want to make a part-time income while working a 'day job,' you would choose online business opportunities that do not require a daily commitment. This includes any retail stores or sales-oriented sites that require you to fill orders and track inventory. If you do want to focus all your energy on making a full-time income, then a complete affiliate sales and marketing program, or information product selling and services may be a good choice.
Finding the right home business opportunity can take time, and sometimes it's even a matter of trial and error. Still, you can narrow down your search with a few simple questions and focus on these key areas for the right fit.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5569.shtml
1. Decide if you want to sell a product or a service. Products take the form of retail or consumer goods that are sold through an online storefront. Sometimes this is connected to an affiliate program, but not always; many home business owners choose to stock inventory and sell their items through eBay listings or other classifieds in order to make the sale. If you are choosing a service as a business, you may need to learn more about how the industry is doing online, and seek out additional education or training to sharpen your skills. Deciding if you want to sell a product or service is a fundamental step in your business planning, but will help you close the doors to some home business opportunities while opening up the doors to the one that suits you best.
2. Decide if you want to be an affiliate. Affiliate programs are a great way to generate a residual income since you're rarely involved with developing a product and selling it yourself. As an affiliate, you join a network of other sales people to promote a particular product and will earn a commission on each sale. Affiliate products in the digital world have become increasingly popular over the past few years as more people turn are interested in buying eBooks, podcasts, and informational services. You can set up a storefront just like an online retailer, but will link all products sold with your affiliate codes instead. Affiliate sales can be a very profitable home business opportunity and entrepreneurial venture, but you do need to remain consistent and maintain a steady marketing plan and program.
3. Consider selling information yourself. Many people turn to the web to sell knowledge and tutorials about a particular subject. Seek out your passion and turn it into a profitable home business opportunity by creating your own website. A website that can draw a large amount of traffic has a lot of potential to make money from advertising, and you may also be able to sell affiliate products through it after building a steady flow of visitors. This is a valuable home business opportunity for you if you can update your site regularly and really focus on your niche topic. Becoming an expert on a niche subject or industry is a great way to build a steady stream of visitors to your site which can lead to subscription lists, newsletters, and many opportunities to sell a product or service.
4. Set your income goals. Sometimes deciding how much you want to make over the course of a year can help you narrow down your search. For example, if you only want to make a part-time income while working a 'day job,' you would choose online business opportunities that do not require a daily commitment. This includes any retail stores or sales-oriented sites that require you to fill orders and track inventory. If you do want to focus all your energy on making a full-time income, then a complete affiliate sales and marketing program, or information product selling and services may be a good choice.
Finding the right home business opportunity can take time, and sometimes it's even a matter of trial and error. Still, you can narrow down your search with a few simple questions and focus on these key areas for the right fit.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5569.shtml
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Government To Make Billions From The Mortgage Crisis
The mortgage crisis has had a negative impact on everyone, not just homeowners. Elected officials are working hard to pass legislation that is designed to prevent future banking debacles. Unfortunately, history has proven that when legislators over-regulate banks that it tightens the reins on lending. This is done by raising the bar on what it takes to qualify for a mortgage or installment loan. Predictably, it’s the middle class that will feel the pinch more than anyone. Specifically, it’s the middle-class, self employed small business owner that be injured the worst.
Most people are aware that you can reduce your taxes by deducting expenses and qualified charitable contributions. What most people don’t realize is that small business owners live and die by those deductions. Tax rates have risen on the self employed more than any other segment in our society. To counter these tax hikes, legislators created more “loop-holes” write off’s and deductions for small business owners to use.
For this reason, small business owners rely on creative CPA’s to maximize their deductions in order to show less income and pay less taxes.There are nearly 23 million small businesses in America and over 35 million sole-proprietors and almost every one of them employ savvy CPA’s to keep them in the black. The draw-back is that by doing this most self employed borrowers are unable to prove enough income on paper when applying for a loan or a mortgage.
Traditional mortgage lending practices of yester-year required that borrower’s prove sufficient income when taking out a loan. Over the years, taxes have risen for small business owners at staggering rates, far above what they have for W2 employees. At the same time the self employed borrower's “provable” income has dwindled proportionately. Under traditional banking rules most of the self-employed people wouldn’t be able to qualify for business loans or mortgages. This would ultimately force small business owners out of business and cripple our would economy.
This new business paradigm literally forced the banking industry to create lending products that catered to small business owners who could not prove all of their income. These products were called “stated” income loans and did not require borrowers who had good credit to prove their income. These products originally required good credit and sufficient assets in order to qualify for them. Responsible guidelines and common sense underwriting kept default rates on these products in line with conventional mortgages. Unfortunately, as competition for this segment of borrowers stiffened between lenders the stringency to qualify for these mortgages softened, thus the mortgage crisis.
It is exactly this type of loan that our law-makers are trying to do away with through legislation. The new mortgage bill being bounced around has specific remedies for irresponsible lending. Meaning, if a bank loans you money and it can be proven in court (attorneys like this law by the way) that the bank was irresponsible in doing so they could be penalized. The definition of “irresponsible” is did the borrower have the capacity to repay the loan, meaning did they prove enough income. This bill will kill stated income loans, period.
So where does this leave the responsible self employed borrowers who needed these loans to live and operate their businesses? This leaves them with higher taxes. Should this bill pass self employed borrowers will be forced to claim more income each year on their tax returns in order to qualify for car loans, mortgages and even business loans. This will negate any of the loop-holes and deductions they were promised in lieu of higher taxes.
This means the government will rake in billions in extra revenue as a result of this bill. For example, let’s assume that a small business owner claimed $40,000 in income last year after deductions and business expenses. If she was in a 40% tax bracket she would pay roughly $16,000 in taxes. Under the new banking guidelines that same business owner may have to claim $80,000 In order to qualify for mortgages, car loans and business loans. Assuming she’s in the same tax bracket, she would now have to pay $32,000 in taxes.
Multiply $32,000 by 23 million business owners and that’s one huge pay-day for Uncle Sam. You can bet that the Senators pushing this bill through congress are well aware of this left handed tax raise. You will never hear them mention it either, I wonder why?. You will hear about the naughty lenders that put good wholesome red blooded Americans in the street through predatory lending practices. You will never hear about the 20 million business owners who paid their mortgages on time and actually need these loans to stay in business.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9792.shtml
Most people are aware that you can reduce your taxes by deducting expenses and qualified charitable contributions. What most people don’t realize is that small business owners live and die by those deductions. Tax rates have risen on the self employed more than any other segment in our society. To counter these tax hikes, legislators created more “loop-holes” write off’s and deductions for small business owners to use.
For this reason, small business owners rely on creative CPA’s to maximize their deductions in order to show less income and pay less taxes.There are nearly 23 million small businesses in America and over 35 million sole-proprietors and almost every one of them employ savvy CPA’s to keep them in the black. The draw-back is that by doing this most self employed borrowers are unable to prove enough income on paper when applying for a loan or a mortgage.
Traditional mortgage lending practices of yester-year required that borrower’s prove sufficient income when taking out a loan. Over the years, taxes have risen for small business owners at staggering rates, far above what they have for W2 employees. At the same time the self employed borrower's “provable” income has dwindled proportionately. Under traditional banking rules most of the self-employed people wouldn’t be able to qualify for business loans or mortgages. This would ultimately force small business owners out of business and cripple our would economy.
This new business paradigm literally forced the banking industry to create lending products that catered to small business owners who could not prove all of their income. These products were called “stated” income loans and did not require borrowers who had good credit to prove their income. These products originally required good credit and sufficient assets in order to qualify for them. Responsible guidelines and common sense underwriting kept default rates on these products in line with conventional mortgages. Unfortunately, as competition for this segment of borrowers stiffened between lenders the stringency to qualify for these mortgages softened, thus the mortgage crisis.
It is exactly this type of loan that our law-makers are trying to do away with through legislation. The new mortgage bill being bounced around has specific remedies for irresponsible lending. Meaning, if a bank loans you money and it can be proven in court (attorneys like this law by the way) that the bank was irresponsible in doing so they could be penalized. The definition of “irresponsible” is did the borrower have the capacity to repay the loan, meaning did they prove enough income. This bill will kill stated income loans, period.
So where does this leave the responsible self employed borrowers who needed these loans to live and operate their businesses? This leaves them with higher taxes. Should this bill pass self employed borrowers will be forced to claim more income each year on their tax returns in order to qualify for car loans, mortgages and even business loans. This will negate any of the loop-holes and deductions they were promised in lieu of higher taxes.
This means the government will rake in billions in extra revenue as a result of this bill. For example, let’s assume that a small business owner claimed $40,000 in income last year after deductions and business expenses. If she was in a 40% tax bracket she would pay roughly $16,000 in taxes. Under the new banking guidelines that same business owner may have to claim $80,000 In order to qualify for mortgages, car loans and business loans. Assuming she’s in the same tax bracket, she would now have to pay $32,000 in taxes.
Multiply $32,000 by 23 million business owners and that’s one huge pay-day for Uncle Sam. You can bet that the Senators pushing this bill through congress are well aware of this left handed tax raise. You will never hear them mention it either, I wonder why?. You will hear about the naughty lenders that put good wholesome red blooded Americans in the street through predatory lending practices. You will never hear about the 20 million business owners who paid their mortgages on time and actually need these loans to stay in business.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9792.shtml
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
10 Tips On Buying Small Business Insurance
Small businesses need dedication and vision. And as protection they need comprehensive insurance to protect themselves from disasters, illnesses, disability and loss of property and goods among many others.
Every small business owner needs a business owner’s policy cover. This kind of policy is designed to protect every kind of risk possible: property insurance, liability insurance, business income, machinery insurance, human failure, employee protection and management protection, and more.
There are many options and the choices can be mind boggling. Here are a few tips for buying small business insurance coverage:
1. Surf the internet and download a “business owner’s insurance check list.” This will form the basis of your effort to get small business insurance cover.
2. Make the effort to do a comprehensive search for the many options available both online and offline. Or ask your insurance agent to create a docket of options.
3. Understand what your business will need and seek coverage accordingly. An ideal source for insurance coverage is trade associations and business groups; they often have tie-ups with insurance companies for coverage at reduce premium rates.
4. Check the website of the Institute for Business and Home Safety for recommendations: www.ibhs.org and the Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov.
5. Ask for quotes and recommendations from at least three leading small business insurance providers. Making a comparison of the coverage and rates will help you get a good deal.
6. Use a small business liability tool available online to determine the risks faced by specific small business. Note down the risks and get a quote for an insurance policy that covers all the delineated risks.
7. Contact the same insurance company that covers your life, health hone and vehicle. Often when a company knows a person as a client then they offer better insurance rates and facilities.
8. Often online polices are offered at better rates. Surf the internet for a small business insurance directory and explore buying insurance online.
9. When buying a small business policy online ensure that the company is reputed and has been in business for a long time. Check with the better business bureau whether there are any cases pending against the company.
10. Buy insurance from a leading insurance company that follows fair business practices. This way you will maximize your protection as the insurance company will be reliable.
Choose a comprehensive policy and ask for a COLA option; the cost of living adjustment option will ensure that the insurance plan stays current with inflation. Before buying a policy online or offline check the financial ratings of the insurance company.
Ensure that you check the United States small Business Administration’s standards and requirements before buying an insurance policy to cover your small business. Check the World Wide Web for updates on insurance laws and needs. Read articles and tips written by insurance professionals. Learn how to protect your interests by making informed choices.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9127.shtml
Every small business owner needs a business owner’s policy cover. This kind of policy is designed to protect every kind of risk possible: property insurance, liability insurance, business income, machinery insurance, human failure, employee protection and management protection, and more.
There are many options and the choices can be mind boggling. Here are a few tips for buying small business insurance coverage:
1. Surf the internet and download a “business owner’s insurance check list.” This will form the basis of your effort to get small business insurance cover.
2. Make the effort to do a comprehensive search for the many options available both online and offline. Or ask your insurance agent to create a docket of options.
3. Understand what your business will need and seek coverage accordingly. An ideal source for insurance coverage is trade associations and business groups; they often have tie-ups with insurance companies for coverage at reduce premium rates.
4. Check the website of the Institute for Business and Home Safety for recommendations: www.ibhs.org and the Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov.
5. Ask for quotes and recommendations from at least three leading small business insurance providers. Making a comparison of the coverage and rates will help you get a good deal.
6. Use a small business liability tool available online to determine the risks faced by specific small business. Note down the risks and get a quote for an insurance policy that covers all the delineated risks.
7. Contact the same insurance company that covers your life, health hone and vehicle. Often when a company knows a person as a client then they offer better insurance rates and facilities.
8. Often online polices are offered at better rates. Surf the internet for a small business insurance directory and explore buying insurance online.
9. When buying a small business policy online ensure that the company is reputed and has been in business for a long time. Check with the better business bureau whether there are any cases pending against the company.
10. Buy insurance from a leading insurance company that follows fair business practices. This way you will maximize your protection as the insurance company will be reliable.
Choose a comprehensive policy and ask for a COLA option; the cost of living adjustment option will ensure that the insurance plan stays current with inflation. Before buying a policy online or offline check the financial ratings of the insurance company.
Ensure that you check the United States small Business Administration’s standards and requirements before buying an insurance policy to cover your small business. Check the World Wide Web for updates on insurance laws and needs. Read articles and tips written by insurance professionals. Learn how to protect your interests by making informed choices.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9127.shtml
Monday, 10 March 2008
Common Mistakes In Business Plans
Your business plan is typically the first impression potential lenders of investors get about your business idea. Even with a great product, team, and customers, and you are unable to convey to properly convey your image, it could be the last impression if your plan has some of the following, common mistakes.
Lenders and investors review hundreds of business plan every year and with every plan, lenders and investors become more cynical because the same mistakes pop up with regular frequency. With so much competition for a limited amount of capital, it is imperative to not make these mistakes.
1. Financials
Unrealistic Financial Projections - Simply saying that you are going to do $100,000 in sales is not enough nor can you simply say there is no way of knowing. Everyone knows there is no way to accurately come up with financial projections over the next three years, especially in a start-up. But, what is required in your plan is that reasonable assumptions are made and supported with research. By incorporating a detailed list of assumptions and how you arrived at your numbers, the lender/investor can judge your analysis and decision making process. If you are projecting to generate high sales outside of industry norms, explaining how you arrived at this conclusion is a must. Lenders and investors have seen many, many plans that claim sales are going through the roof once funded and as a result are very jaded at statements like this. Financial data that is inconsistent with industry averages and overly aggressive sales figures will raise flags. Explain every number.
Confusing Cash with Profits - Revenues do not always equal cash. For example, suppose you make a sale this month for $100 that cost $50 to produce. Assuming your buyer doesn’t pay for 30-60 and even 90 days if dealing with state or federal sources (and assuming they all pay), the effect on your cash flow is significant. Suppliers and employees still have to be paid for their work while you are waiting on payment from the buyer.
While you may not have a significant portion of sales coming from receivables, the timing of cash flows is critical for developing a financial strategy as cash flow is much more important than profits. Profits are an accounting concept while cash is money in the bank. If you don’t believe me try paying your bills with profits.
No Adjustment for Seasonality - All businesses are seasonal to some extent, some more significant than others. Seasonality refers to the percentage of sales that are made in a month. For example, most retailers have huge November and December sales and lousy January and February sales. Did you make enough cash during the good months to cover the slow months to cover salaries, rents and lights?
If You Build It They Will Come - Be careful in assuming once your doors open people will be streaming in to buy. You have a new, relatively unheard of business. This is a time when your business is particularly vulnerable as most of new owner’s cash reserves have typically been used to open the store. If sales projections are off during the first couple of months and you don’t have enough working capital to keep the lights on, you may be quickly going out of business.
Insufficient financial projections - Basic financial projections consist of four elements: Income Statements, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flow Statements.
For most businesses a three-year projection is sufficient, but if yours is a capital intensive one and will take longer to show profitability then use five. Actual figures are a must if you can get them and any number in the projections needs to be in the business plan narrative. If you are purchasing an existing business use the historical financials to show support for your sales figures.
No Quotes - Any significant expenses should have a quote accompanied in the appendix, especially for construction or remodeling as this is an area where most entrepreneurs slip as they do it themselves and greatly underestimate the costs.
2. Marketing
Failing to relieve the customer’s pain - Businesses are rewarded to make consumer’s pain go away. Pain can include; my car stopped working, my doggie is sick or my tax returns are too hard to prepare.
If your business plan can’t show how you are relieving the customer’s pain, then the chances for success in the marketplace is extremely limited.
Remember pain equals market opportunity. The greater the pain, the greater number of customer’s with this pain and the better you can relieve the pain equals greater market potential.
One Billion Customers Served - Claiming everyone needs your product/service will send a strong message to the reviewer that you don’t know your market and remove any credibility to your plan. In the good old days the shotgun approach to marketing could work as there were limited channels for advertisement. Today with unlimited outlets and more narrowly defined markets, this approach does not fly.
While it’s true everyone eats, not everyone will eat at your restaurant, nor could you effectively advertise to everyone. By researching the segments that are most likely to use your product/service and showing how your message will get to them will ultimately make your endeavor more successful. Having clearly defined target markets will show you have done your homework and be the cornerstone of a marketing strategy that can succeed.
We have no competition - Use this statement if your want your plan rejected. Every business has competition. While there may not be a direct competitor, meaning one that offers the same or similar product, there is always an indirect competitor.
Saying there is no competition tells the reviewer that you have either not done any market research or there is not a market for your product.
3. Organization
Writing For The Wrong Audience - A plan for a lender should be written differently than one for an investor. Banks are interested in seeing the likelihood that debts be repaid and investors are interested in the upside profit potential. Be sure to write your plan to your audience. For both, keep to the facts, keep it clear and keep it simple. If you don’t feel you have the writing abilities to make your plan shine, then get help.
Poor spelling and grammar - Leaving spelling and grammatical errors in your plan only tells the reviewer that you are not paying attention to details and may not pay enough attention to the business. Use spelling and grammar checkers and let others review your plan to make sure there are no errors.
Too repetitive - Many times, plans will cover the same points over and over. A well-written plan should cover key points only twice: once in the executive summary then again in greater detail in the narrative of the plan.
Remove the Jargon - Using simple language is imperative to getting a technical business funded. Don’t think that by using complex terms that lenders/investors will be so impressed with your knowledge that they will whip open the checkbook. Businesses that can’t be understood don’t get funded. If you can’t explain your business to a sixth grader your chances of funding are in jeopardy.
Investors are really only interested in your technology if it solves a problem that people will pay for, is better than the competition, can be protected through patents and can reasonably go to market without spending a lot of money.
Keep the technical details out of the business plan and in the white papers.
Appearance matters - Make sure your plan looks professional. Use professional printing, binding, keeping fonts consistent and easy to read. The more money being requested means investing more time in making sure your plan will stand out from the crowd. Be careful that you don’t go overboard and give the impression that the plan is all style and no substance.
Length - A long business plan does not make a better business plan. All of the industry and marketing research won’t save a flawed plan. Too many plans have been immediately rejected because they are too long. Lenders and investors favor entrepreneurs who can efficiently demonstrate the ability to efficiently get to the point.
An executive summary should be no more than 1-3 pages. Ideally it should only be one page but some complex plans require more. An ideal business plan is 20-30 pages, including financials. Remember less is more!
Use operating plans, white papers and marketing plans for the in-depth details.
Fluffing - Using phrases like "unmatched in the industry;" "narrow window of opportunity;" or "ground floor" are empty phrases filled with hype. If anything, the cynical reviewer will be turned off by the hype and trash your plan. Stick with laying out the facts – what is the problem, how will you solve the problem, how big is the market, how will consumers buy it and what is your competitive advantage. If the opportunity is there the lender/investor will be able to make the decision for themselves.
Overvaluing the business idea - What gives a business value is not the idea but the execution of the idea. A great idea is a start, but almost everyone has had a great idea at some point in their lives. How you will execute this idea is what sets apart a real business from the dreamers.
4. Execution Mistakes
Waiting too long - Funding a business takes a long time. Expect three months at a minimum after finishing your business plan to get funding. Unless you have sufficient capital, other sources of income and can be funded in-house at a bank, this number may be reduced. Bank financing for business with less than two years of operating history are typically funded through an SBA guarantee, which requires additional time, patience and paperwork. Financing through investors is usually an even longer process as they have a lot of people competing for their money and they tend to do significant due diligence to secure their investment. Waiting until you need the money is a sure way to keep your business from launching.
Unreasonable time lines - Many business owners underestimate the timelines for completing milestones. Its human nature to think we can do things faster than is possible. When getting a business started there will be several tasks you could not have anticipated and the some tasks you think will be easy which will end up taking much longer. It is best to overestimate and finish early, rather than scramble and execute your opening poorly.
Failing to seek outside review - When preparing your plan, be sure that you have at least a few people review it before sending it out. Preferably look for people in your industry or who have a specialization in sales, distribution, etc that could lend a fresh set of eyes and find any flaws in the plan. Being so close to the action can keep you from being objective and this additional scrutiny may save you countless headaches and money down the road.
Perfecting - It can be easy to spend countless hours perfecting your plan and ultimately never launching. Remember, your plan will never be perfect and in practice should be continually updated as you learn more about the business, market and customers. Don’t make your plan an academic practice, finish it and get in front of investors and lenders. Use this feedback to see if your plan really needs the additional perfection.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9180.shtml
Lenders and investors review hundreds of business plan every year and with every plan, lenders and investors become more cynical because the same mistakes pop up with regular frequency. With so much competition for a limited amount of capital, it is imperative to not make these mistakes.
1. Financials
Unrealistic Financial Projections - Simply saying that you are going to do $100,000 in sales is not enough nor can you simply say there is no way of knowing. Everyone knows there is no way to accurately come up with financial projections over the next three years, especially in a start-up. But, what is required in your plan is that reasonable assumptions are made and supported with research. By incorporating a detailed list of assumptions and how you arrived at your numbers, the lender/investor can judge your analysis and decision making process. If you are projecting to generate high sales outside of industry norms, explaining how you arrived at this conclusion is a must. Lenders and investors have seen many, many plans that claim sales are going through the roof once funded and as a result are very jaded at statements like this. Financial data that is inconsistent with industry averages and overly aggressive sales figures will raise flags. Explain every number.
Confusing Cash with Profits - Revenues do not always equal cash. For example, suppose you make a sale this month for $100 that cost $50 to produce. Assuming your buyer doesn’t pay for 30-60 and even 90 days if dealing with state or federal sources (and assuming they all pay), the effect on your cash flow is significant. Suppliers and employees still have to be paid for their work while you are waiting on payment from the buyer.
While you may not have a significant portion of sales coming from receivables, the timing of cash flows is critical for developing a financial strategy as cash flow is much more important than profits. Profits are an accounting concept while cash is money in the bank. If you don’t believe me try paying your bills with profits.
No Adjustment for Seasonality - All businesses are seasonal to some extent, some more significant than others. Seasonality refers to the percentage of sales that are made in a month. For example, most retailers have huge November and December sales and lousy January and February sales. Did you make enough cash during the good months to cover the slow months to cover salaries, rents and lights?
If You Build It They Will Come - Be careful in assuming once your doors open people will be streaming in to buy. You have a new, relatively unheard of business. This is a time when your business is particularly vulnerable as most of new owner’s cash reserves have typically been used to open the store. If sales projections are off during the first couple of months and you don’t have enough working capital to keep the lights on, you may be quickly going out of business.
Insufficient financial projections - Basic financial projections consist of four elements: Income Statements, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flow Statements.
For most businesses a three-year projection is sufficient, but if yours is a capital intensive one and will take longer to show profitability then use five. Actual figures are a must if you can get them and any number in the projections needs to be in the business plan narrative. If you are purchasing an existing business use the historical financials to show support for your sales figures.
No Quotes - Any significant expenses should have a quote accompanied in the appendix, especially for construction or remodeling as this is an area where most entrepreneurs slip as they do it themselves and greatly underestimate the costs.
2. Marketing
Failing to relieve the customer’s pain - Businesses are rewarded to make consumer’s pain go away. Pain can include; my car stopped working, my doggie is sick or my tax returns are too hard to prepare.
If your business plan can’t show how you are relieving the customer’s pain, then the chances for success in the marketplace is extremely limited.
Remember pain equals market opportunity. The greater the pain, the greater number of customer’s with this pain and the better you can relieve the pain equals greater market potential.
One Billion Customers Served - Claiming everyone needs your product/service will send a strong message to the reviewer that you don’t know your market and remove any credibility to your plan. In the good old days the shotgun approach to marketing could work as there were limited channels for advertisement. Today with unlimited outlets and more narrowly defined markets, this approach does not fly.
While it’s true everyone eats, not everyone will eat at your restaurant, nor could you effectively advertise to everyone. By researching the segments that are most likely to use your product/service and showing how your message will get to them will ultimately make your endeavor more successful. Having clearly defined target markets will show you have done your homework and be the cornerstone of a marketing strategy that can succeed.
We have no competition - Use this statement if your want your plan rejected. Every business has competition. While there may not be a direct competitor, meaning one that offers the same or similar product, there is always an indirect competitor.
Saying there is no competition tells the reviewer that you have either not done any market research or there is not a market for your product.
3. Organization
Writing For The Wrong Audience - A plan for a lender should be written differently than one for an investor. Banks are interested in seeing the likelihood that debts be repaid and investors are interested in the upside profit potential. Be sure to write your plan to your audience. For both, keep to the facts, keep it clear and keep it simple. If you don’t feel you have the writing abilities to make your plan shine, then get help.
Poor spelling and grammar - Leaving spelling and grammatical errors in your plan only tells the reviewer that you are not paying attention to details and may not pay enough attention to the business. Use spelling and grammar checkers and let others review your plan to make sure there are no errors.
Too repetitive - Many times, plans will cover the same points over and over. A well-written plan should cover key points only twice: once in the executive summary then again in greater detail in the narrative of the plan.
Remove the Jargon - Using simple language is imperative to getting a technical business funded. Don’t think that by using complex terms that lenders/investors will be so impressed with your knowledge that they will whip open the checkbook. Businesses that can’t be understood don’t get funded. If you can’t explain your business to a sixth grader your chances of funding are in jeopardy.
Investors are really only interested in your technology if it solves a problem that people will pay for, is better than the competition, can be protected through patents and can reasonably go to market without spending a lot of money.
Keep the technical details out of the business plan and in the white papers.
Appearance matters - Make sure your plan looks professional. Use professional printing, binding, keeping fonts consistent and easy to read. The more money being requested means investing more time in making sure your plan will stand out from the crowd. Be careful that you don’t go overboard and give the impression that the plan is all style and no substance.
Length - A long business plan does not make a better business plan. All of the industry and marketing research won’t save a flawed plan. Too many plans have been immediately rejected because they are too long. Lenders and investors favor entrepreneurs who can efficiently demonstrate the ability to efficiently get to the point.
An executive summary should be no more than 1-3 pages. Ideally it should only be one page but some complex plans require more. An ideal business plan is 20-30 pages, including financials. Remember less is more!
Use operating plans, white papers and marketing plans for the in-depth details.
Fluffing - Using phrases like "unmatched in the industry;" "narrow window of opportunity;" or "ground floor" are empty phrases filled with hype. If anything, the cynical reviewer will be turned off by the hype and trash your plan. Stick with laying out the facts – what is the problem, how will you solve the problem, how big is the market, how will consumers buy it and what is your competitive advantage. If the opportunity is there the lender/investor will be able to make the decision for themselves.
Overvaluing the business idea - What gives a business value is not the idea but the execution of the idea. A great idea is a start, but almost everyone has had a great idea at some point in their lives. How you will execute this idea is what sets apart a real business from the dreamers.
4. Execution Mistakes
Waiting too long - Funding a business takes a long time. Expect three months at a minimum after finishing your business plan to get funding. Unless you have sufficient capital, other sources of income and can be funded in-house at a bank, this number may be reduced. Bank financing for business with less than two years of operating history are typically funded through an SBA guarantee, which requires additional time, patience and paperwork. Financing through investors is usually an even longer process as they have a lot of people competing for their money and they tend to do significant due diligence to secure their investment. Waiting until you need the money is a sure way to keep your business from launching.
Unreasonable time lines - Many business owners underestimate the timelines for completing milestones. Its human nature to think we can do things faster than is possible. When getting a business started there will be several tasks you could not have anticipated and the some tasks you think will be easy which will end up taking much longer. It is best to overestimate and finish early, rather than scramble and execute your opening poorly.
Failing to seek outside review - When preparing your plan, be sure that you have at least a few people review it before sending it out. Preferably look for people in your industry or who have a specialization in sales, distribution, etc that could lend a fresh set of eyes and find any flaws in the plan. Being so close to the action can keep you from being objective and this additional scrutiny may save you countless headaches and money down the road.
Perfecting - It can be easy to spend countless hours perfecting your plan and ultimately never launching. Remember, your plan will never be perfect and in practice should be continually updated as you learn more about the business, market and customers. Don’t make your plan an academic practice, finish it and get in front of investors and lenders. Use this feedback to see if your plan really needs the additional perfection.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9180.shtml
Monday, 3 March 2008
At Your Own Risk: 10 Countries Where Travel Insurance Won't Be Able To Help You
The foreign and commonwealth office draws up an extensive list of countries that should not be travelled to quite regularly, and is from that, that our, and other global travel insurance providers’, underwriters decide which countries travel insurance should be provided for. We look at the government travel advice and decide from that whether or not we can provide insurance to travellers.
Although global travel insurance does, by its nature, cover the majority of the world, the current climate ensures that there are some places where the likelihood of incident means that UK travel insurance providers are unable to offer protection. Thankfully, the list is clear of the majority of popular holiday destinations, and you’re unlikely to have your big holiday plans affected. The most likely group to have their travel plans altered by the foreign office’s travel advice are business travellers.
The foreign office’s travel advice is not to travel to the following countries, even if it means losing business – the risk from the warzones listed below is just too great to make the reward worth the danger:
Here’s our top 10 countries to avoid travelling to, and the reasons for the high risk factor! The risk is far from conclusive (the foreign office’s travel advice lists many more countries), but to me, these are the ones that all travellers should avoid like the plague:
10) Liberia
Economic hardship in Liberia is currently making outbreaks of violence common, and foreigners (especially westerners) are at risk targets due to their affluence. This extra likelihood of incident ensures that no UK travel insurance provider would risk offering you cover if you choose to visit Liberia
9) Nepal
Occasional acts of terrorism and political violence in urban areas make Nepal off-limits for those who want to get travel insurance. In September this year, three nearly simultaneous bombs went off in the capital of Kathmandu, killing 3 and injuring many innocent bystanders.
8) Haiti
Haiti is considered off limits to many travellers on account of the high risk of kidnappings and civil unrest that is prominent. At the time of writing, there have been 12 kidnappings of American travellers in 2007 – mostly criminal in nature. In the past, these kidnappings have ended in physical and sexual assaults and shootings. The potential for spontaneous protests and demonstrations has also been known to result in unexpected violence, day or night. It’s no surprise that the government’s travel advice is not to travel here!
7) Yemen
Due to the high levels of terrorist activity in Yemen, westerners are advised to steer clear of Yemen. If this is not possible, then all travellers are encouraged to stay vigilant and to keep a low profile to avoid attacks or kidnapping. The situation is so grave that the US Embassy often restricts American citizens from certain hotels, restaurants and shopping areas.
6) Israel
The Gaza Strip and West Bank has seen immense violence in recent months between Israeli and Palestinian factions, and shootings, kidnappings and violence demonstrations have occurred in each. The region’s continued instability makes travel to Israel widely recommended against – the risk of abduction or worse makes travel insurance impossible to obtain.
5) Democratic Republic of Congo
The democratic republic of Congo remains one of the most dangerous places to travel in Africa, where violence, neglect and corruption has left the country distinctly damaged. Fighting erupted in the streets of Kinshasa in March this year, and the situation remains volatile despite the immediate threat of violence calming down. Travel outside of Kinshasa is difficult and dangerous with security, especially in the north and easy, being unstable. Any traveller brave enough to travel to the Congo should be extremely cautious, avoid the North Kivu district which is the backdrop to armed conflict between government troops and army rebels, avoid crowds and keep a close eye on local media.
4) Burma (Myanmar)
While the human rights situation makes Myanmar an ethically uneasy place to visit, currently there is a lot of personal risk involved as well. Throughout September, the anti-government protests sparked a violent crackdown from the authorities and made international headlines. Although the dusk-til-dawn curfew imposed in some of the towns has been lifted, it still remains an uncertain time to visit the country and you’re unlikely to find any global travel insurance company who will insure you.
3) Colombia
Colombia remains one of the most dangerous places to travel in the world thanks to the crime the country suffers from. The illicit drug trade in urban areas such as Cali and Buenaventura means that there is often a high risk of violence, while the more rural areas expose visitors to the country at risk from narcoterrorist groups who will often kidnap civilians to use for ransom or to gain media attention. Naturally UK travel insurance companies are loathe to insure travellers who choose to ignore these warning and travel to Colombia anyway.
2) Afghanistan
With the war on terror in Afghanistan still fresh in the mind, it’s no surprise that the country remains a big no-go area. Western tourists are obvious kidnap and assassination targets, as many of the disbanded Taliban and Al-Qa’ida forces remain at large and hostile to the new regieme. Additionally, the country remains unsafe due to tribal groups, explosive devices, landmines, military operations and acts of terrorism. Unsurprisingly, the government’s travel advice is to avoid travelling here at all costs!
1) Iraq
Given the high profile nature of western kidnappings by various insurgent groups, and the regular acts of terrorism and hostility to Western troops, it is no surprise that no travel insurance companies will insure travellers to the troubled country. The instability is caused by various groups – Ba’ath regime remnants, transnational terrorists and criminal elements have been known to attack convoys en-route to venues, hotels, restaurants, checkpoints and police stations.
While holidaymakers are unlikely to be affected by these less touristy locations, their riskiness means that business travellers will have to forgo their travel insurance if they are unable to cancel their trips.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/travel_and_leisure/article_3153.shtml
Although global travel insurance does, by its nature, cover the majority of the world, the current climate ensures that there are some places where the likelihood of incident means that UK travel insurance providers are unable to offer protection. Thankfully, the list is clear of the majority of popular holiday destinations, and you’re unlikely to have your big holiday plans affected. The most likely group to have their travel plans altered by the foreign office’s travel advice are business travellers.
The foreign office’s travel advice is not to travel to the following countries, even if it means losing business – the risk from the warzones listed below is just too great to make the reward worth the danger:
Here’s our top 10 countries to avoid travelling to, and the reasons for the high risk factor! The risk is far from conclusive (the foreign office’s travel advice lists many more countries), but to me, these are the ones that all travellers should avoid like the plague:
10) Liberia
Economic hardship in Liberia is currently making outbreaks of violence common, and foreigners (especially westerners) are at risk targets due to their affluence. This extra likelihood of incident ensures that no UK travel insurance provider would risk offering you cover if you choose to visit Liberia
9) Nepal
Occasional acts of terrorism and political violence in urban areas make Nepal off-limits for those who want to get travel insurance. In September this year, three nearly simultaneous bombs went off in the capital of Kathmandu, killing 3 and injuring many innocent bystanders.
8) Haiti
Haiti is considered off limits to many travellers on account of the high risk of kidnappings and civil unrest that is prominent. At the time of writing, there have been 12 kidnappings of American travellers in 2007 – mostly criminal in nature. In the past, these kidnappings have ended in physical and sexual assaults and shootings. The potential for spontaneous protests and demonstrations has also been known to result in unexpected violence, day or night. It’s no surprise that the government’s travel advice is not to travel here!
7) Yemen
Due to the high levels of terrorist activity in Yemen, westerners are advised to steer clear of Yemen. If this is not possible, then all travellers are encouraged to stay vigilant and to keep a low profile to avoid attacks or kidnapping. The situation is so grave that the US Embassy often restricts American citizens from certain hotels, restaurants and shopping areas.
6) Israel
The Gaza Strip and West Bank has seen immense violence in recent months between Israeli and Palestinian factions, and shootings, kidnappings and violence demonstrations have occurred in each. The region’s continued instability makes travel to Israel widely recommended against – the risk of abduction or worse makes travel insurance impossible to obtain.
5) Democratic Republic of Congo
The democratic republic of Congo remains one of the most dangerous places to travel in Africa, where violence, neglect and corruption has left the country distinctly damaged. Fighting erupted in the streets of Kinshasa in March this year, and the situation remains volatile despite the immediate threat of violence calming down. Travel outside of Kinshasa is difficult and dangerous with security, especially in the north and easy, being unstable. Any traveller brave enough to travel to the Congo should be extremely cautious, avoid the North Kivu district which is the backdrop to armed conflict between government troops and army rebels, avoid crowds and keep a close eye on local media.
4) Burma (Myanmar)
While the human rights situation makes Myanmar an ethically uneasy place to visit, currently there is a lot of personal risk involved as well. Throughout September, the anti-government protests sparked a violent crackdown from the authorities and made international headlines. Although the dusk-til-dawn curfew imposed in some of the towns has been lifted, it still remains an uncertain time to visit the country and you’re unlikely to find any global travel insurance company who will insure you.
3) Colombia
Colombia remains one of the most dangerous places to travel in the world thanks to the crime the country suffers from. The illicit drug trade in urban areas such as Cali and Buenaventura means that there is often a high risk of violence, while the more rural areas expose visitors to the country at risk from narcoterrorist groups who will often kidnap civilians to use for ransom or to gain media attention. Naturally UK travel insurance companies are loathe to insure travellers who choose to ignore these warning and travel to Colombia anyway.
2) Afghanistan
With the war on terror in Afghanistan still fresh in the mind, it’s no surprise that the country remains a big no-go area. Western tourists are obvious kidnap and assassination targets, as many of the disbanded Taliban and Al-Qa’ida forces remain at large and hostile to the new regieme. Additionally, the country remains unsafe due to tribal groups, explosive devices, landmines, military operations and acts of terrorism. Unsurprisingly, the government’s travel advice is to avoid travelling here at all costs!
1) Iraq
Given the high profile nature of western kidnappings by various insurgent groups, and the regular acts of terrorism and hostility to Western troops, it is no surprise that no travel insurance companies will insure travellers to the troubled country. The instability is caused by various groups – Ba’ath regime remnants, transnational terrorists and criminal elements have been known to attack convoys en-route to venues, hotels, restaurants, checkpoints and police stations.
While holidaymakers are unlikely to be affected by these less touristy locations, their riskiness means that business travellers will have to forgo their travel insurance if they are unable to cancel their trips.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/travel_and_leisure/article_3153.shtml
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Learning To Compete In A Very Competitive Industry: Travel
Over the years, many of us have heard about the opportunities available in wholesale travel. As a consumer, we can recognize that if these wholesale travel packages are legitimate, then we will have access to vacation packages that would make the average traveler drool over their possibilities in travel destinations. When we slide the shoe to the other foot and consider wholesale travel as a business opportunity, we question whether we have the knowledge or fortitude to succeed in this type of business.
Read on as we examine wholesale travel from the perspective of the consumer and the online businessperson seeking new opportunities in profit.
Beware of The Discount Travel Scams
While the wholesale travel industry is a legitimate industry offering legitimate travel packages, there are a few people out there offering deals that are less than favorable to consumers.
The most common travel scam is the kind used to sell timeshare packages in real estate. The real estate agent will give you a free three-day package to an attractive destination, IF your yearly salary meets certain minimums AND you agree to sit down and listen to a sales pitch for timeshare properties.
Now, there is nothing wrong with timeshares per se, but the methods that some unscrupulous agents employ to sell timeshares are shameful to say the least. Timeshare supported vacations are well known for their hard-sell approach to the sales process.
As a result, when most people speak of discount travel or wholesale travel, the first thought that comes to the mind of most consumers is the timeshare sales pitch. As a result, consumers generally have a poor opinion of discount travel or wholesale travel, based only on their fears of timeshare selling scams.
Be Aware Of Travel Restrictions With Some Packages
There are three types of restrictions that may accompany some discount travel packages:
* Expiration Dates: Many packages come with defined expiration dates that make them difficult-to-use by the stated due-date. Not all of us can gear up to take our vacation within the next 90 days. So, be certain to read the fine print of any offer that is made available to you.
* Blackout Dates: Blackout dates were made famous by David Spade's representation of Capital One Credit Cards. Some travel rewards carry blackout dates to limit the expense of those rewards. They don't want you using your travel rewards over the Thanksgiving weekend, since that is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and prices are generally higher for that peak period. Travel rewards aside, some travel packages employ blackout dates as well. Check the fine print to make sure that any blackout dates offered with a package do not interfere with how you want to use the travel package.
* Non-Transferable Vouchers: In theory, if you buy a hotel room and an airline ticket to Jamaica for the weekend and if something were to happen in your life that prevented you from using your purchased services, you could give the tickets and reservations to your best friend, so your money would not be wasted. Some travel vouchers may prevent you from transferring your vacation to another party. As always, read the fine print to know what restrictions might limit your vacation plans.
In a lot of cases, even if these restrictions exist, they will not interfere with your vacation plans. But, it is far better to be aware of a limitation before you buy your vacation, than it is to find out about those restrictions when you are ready to plan your trip.
How Do Service Providers Profit From Vacation Packages?
Where the value of discount travel or wholesale travel packages distracts many people, is this underlying question of how companies can offer these types of packages. The consumer is confused by the whole concept of free vacations, so we will look into the profit motive here.
When people are looking at an offer of a free vacation that consists of three days in a hotel room, many people are dumbfounded that such a thing could exist. If we use Las Vegas hotels and Orlando Florida hotels as examples, it is a much easier concept to understand.
When a Las Vegas hotel offers a free three-day stay, they do so with the expectation that you may spend several hundred or thousand dollars in their casino. If you did not take the free stay in their hotel room, you may have taken your vacation in Las Vegas anyhow, but stayed in one of their competitor's hotel rooms. If that were to happen, then their competitor would have won your money in their casino instead.
Hotels in vacation spots such as Orlando Florida may be receiving rewards from Walt Disney World to ensure that you spend your vacation at Walt Disney World, instead of Six Flags Over Texas. The hotel will receive money from Walt Disney World for your stay, and you will eat several meals and use several services at the hotel that gave you the hotel room for free.
Free services frequently provide the lubrication that helps a local economy soar, so many businesses will offer rewards to the hotel chains to offer free hotel rooms to visitors.
Do keep in mind that if you do get a free hotel room, there will still be a small cost to you in terms of the taxes excised on that hotel room stay. State laws mandate that all visitors pay taxes on their hotel rooms, and even though your stay might be free, you will still be required to pay the taxes on the room.
How The Airline Industry Profits From Discount Air Travel
When an airplane flies from New York City to Los Angeles, they always have a specific number of seats on that flight. Even if only twenty people paid for that flight, they airline would be required to make the journey, with all of its empty seats in tow.
So, airlines have constructed a very unique business model to make sure their empty seats are filled. When you buy a seat directly from the airline company, you will most always pay full price for the seat. If you buy your airline seat from a travel company, you can often find discounts on those seats.
Very literally, airline companies calculate how many seats they will sell on their own for each flight, and then they wholesale the remaining seats to travel agencies and other travel companies, to ensure that they will fill most or all of their seats.
The travel industry will buy seats on the airplane for as much as 90% off the retail cost of a flight. Then they will turn around and sell those flights to their customers at a markup. The actual discount rate will vary by the company making the offer, since only the biggest wholesale travel companies will get the deepest discounts, and the travel agencies usually buy seats from these airline seat wholesalers.
Can The Little Guy Compete In A Market Saturated by Big Players?
Simply put, yes. A friend of mine at Dreams By Vasrue has built his own little travel empire selling wholesale travel packages. In a recent month, he was able to generate $18,000 in profits – these were profits, not total sales.
With a saturated market filled by big names such as Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and many others, you would think it impossible to compete in such a crowded marketplace. But, you must remember that these big travel websites are operating as the travel agency, buying travel services at wholesale and marking up their prices to make a significant profit.
This leaves the little guys lots of opportunity to reach the buying public in ways that the big websites cannot do themselves. The big websites are not in the business of offering true wholesale travel, because they are like travel agencies selling retail travel to consumers.
The Lesson In This Story
The lesson in this story is that the Internet is offering lots of entrepreneurs a way to stand up and compete with the largest corporations on the planet in a multitude of industries.
As an online businessperson, you should always be looking for that new opportunity that could make you very wealthy. When you take the time to learn the internal workings of any industry, you will uncover opportunities to compete successfully and prosperously with the biggest names in your own industries.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8777.shtml
Read on as we examine wholesale travel from the perspective of the consumer and the online businessperson seeking new opportunities in profit.
Beware of The Discount Travel Scams
While the wholesale travel industry is a legitimate industry offering legitimate travel packages, there are a few people out there offering deals that are less than favorable to consumers.
The most common travel scam is the kind used to sell timeshare packages in real estate. The real estate agent will give you a free three-day package to an attractive destination, IF your yearly salary meets certain minimums AND you agree to sit down and listen to a sales pitch for timeshare properties.
Now, there is nothing wrong with timeshares per se, but the methods that some unscrupulous agents employ to sell timeshares are shameful to say the least. Timeshare supported vacations are well known for their hard-sell approach to the sales process.
As a result, when most people speak of discount travel or wholesale travel, the first thought that comes to the mind of most consumers is the timeshare sales pitch. As a result, consumers generally have a poor opinion of discount travel or wholesale travel, based only on their fears of timeshare selling scams.
Be Aware Of Travel Restrictions With Some Packages
There are three types of restrictions that may accompany some discount travel packages:
* Expiration Dates: Many packages come with defined expiration dates that make them difficult-to-use by the stated due-date. Not all of us can gear up to take our vacation within the next 90 days. So, be certain to read the fine print of any offer that is made available to you.
* Blackout Dates: Blackout dates were made famous by David Spade's representation of Capital One Credit Cards. Some travel rewards carry blackout dates to limit the expense of those rewards. They don't want you using your travel rewards over the Thanksgiving weekend, since that is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and prices are generally higher for that peak period. Travel rewards aside, some travel packages employ blackout dates as well. Check the fine print to make sure that any blackout dates offered with a package do not interfere with how you want to use the travel package.
* Non-Transferable Vouchers: In theory, if you buy a hotel room and an airline ticket to Jamaica for the weekend and if something were to happen in your life that prevented you from using your purchased services, you could give the tickets and reservations to your best friend, so your money would not be wasted. Some travel vouchers may prevent you from transferring your vacation to another party. As always, read the fine print to know what restrictions might limit your vacation plans.
In a lot of cases, even if these restrictions exist, they will not interfere with your vacation plans. But, it is far better to be aware of a limitation before you buy your vacation, than it is to find out about those restrictions when you are ready to plan your trip.
How Do Service Providers Profit From Vacation Packages?
Where the value of discount travel or wholesale travel packages distracts many people, is this underlying question of how companies can offer these types of packages. The consumer is confused by the whole concept of free vacations, so we will look into the profit motive here.
When people are looking at an offer of a free vacation that consists of three days in a hotel room, many people are dumbfounded that such a thing could exist. If we use Las Vegas hotels and Orlando Florida hotels as examples, it is a much easier concept to understand.
When a Las Vegas hotel offers a free three-day stay, they do so with the expectation that you may spend several hundred or thousand dollars in their casino. If you did not take the free stay in their hotel room, you may have taken your vacation in Las Vegas anyhow, but stayed in one of their competitor's hotel rooms. If that were to happen, then their competitor would have won your money in their casino instead.
Hotels in vacation spots such as Orlando Florida may be receiving rewards from Walt Disney World to ensure that you spend your vacation at Walt Disney World, instead of Six Flags Over Texas. The hotel will receive money from Walt Disney World for your stay, and you will eat several meals and use several services at the hotel that gave you the hotel room for free.
Free services frequently provide the lubrication that helps a local economy soar, so many businesses will offer rewards to the hotel chains to offer free hotel rooms to visitors.
Do keep in mind that if you do get a free hotel room, there will still be a small cost to you in terms of the taxes excised on that hotel room stay. State laws mandate that all visitors pay taxes on their hotel rooms, and even though your stay might be free, you will still be required to pay the taxes on the room.
How The Airline Industry Profits From Discount Air Travel
When an airplane flies from New York City to Los Angeles, they always have a specific number of seats on that flight. Even if only twenty people paid for that flight, they airline would be required to make the journey, with all of its empty seats in tow.
So, airlines have constructed a very unique business model to make sure their empty seats are filled. When you buy a seat directly from the airline company, you will most always pay full price for the seat. If you buy your airline seat from a travel company, you can often find discounts on those seats.
Very literally, airline companies calculate how many seats they will sell on their own for each flight, and then they wholesale the remaining seats to travel agencies and other travel companies, to ensure that they will fill most or all of their seats.
The travel industry will buy seats on the airplane for as much as 90% off the retail cost of a flight. Then they will turn around and sell those flights to their customers at a markup. The actual discount rate will vary by the company making the offer, since only the biggest wholesale travel companies will get the deepest discounts, and the travel agencies usually buy seats from these airline seat wholesalers.
Can The Little Guy Compete In A Market Saturated by Big Players?
Simply put, yes. A friend of mine at Dreams By Vasrue has built his own little travel empire selling wholesale travel packages. In a recent month, he was able to generate $18,000 in profits – these were profits, not total sales.
With a saturated market filled by big names such as Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and many others, you would think it impossible to compete in such a crowded marketplace. But, you must remember that these big travel websites are operating as the travel agency, buying travel services at wholesale and marking up their prices to make a significant profit.
This leaves the little guys lots of opportunity to reach the buying public in ways that the big websites cannot do themselves. The big websites are not in the business of offering true wholesale travel, because they are like travel agencies selling retail travel to consumers.
The Lesson In This Story
The lesson in this story is that the Internet is offering lots of entrepreneurs a way to stand up and compete with the largest corporations on the planet in a multitude of industries.
As an online businessperson, you should always be looking for that new opportunity that could make you very wealthy. When you take the time to learn the internal workings of any industry, you will uncover opportunities to compete successfully and prosperously with the biggest names in your own industries.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8777.shtml
Monday, 9 July 2007
Running A Home Business & Working Full Time Outside Your Home
Very few people will claim they are bringing enough money home to meet all their needs and wants. Several will begin a home business to supplement their income while remaining at the full time job outside. This can take a toll on the personal life as well as the health of just about anyone running a home business and working full time outside the home.
One of the first considerations should be whether or not the home business in conflict with the full time job as many employers will not tolerate competition from one of their employees. For example, a person working in a retail environment in nearly any capacity may find themselves in conflict with company policies if they begin an online retail outlet. Or someone working for a carpet cleaning company starting a home business offering cleaning services part time as a home business. Being in conflict often forces the employee to make a choice of keeping their full time job or finding work elsewhere.
There are many home business opportunities available that will not conflict with outside work environments, but the time involved in operating the home business will need to examined to determine if it can be done effectively while working full time. The business operator will only have limited availability as well as time to spend on the business and the time needed to run the business will have to be reallocated from another part of the day.
A person with a family will need to know that any time needed to run the home business will have to come from time usually used for family functions or just spending time with the wife and kids. The full time employer will not tolerate someone spending time on their home business while being paid so dividing the time between work, running the business and family may or may not be worth the extra income from a home business.
In some cases, there are home business opportunities that require little time and enable it to be run at the convenience of the owner. With these jobs time can be arranged in which to run the business without losing time with family and friends, although sacrificing sleep or relaxation time may be necessary. Overall, there will be some sacrifice of time and personal involvement when running a business and working full time outside the home.
Time management will be essential in creating work-life balance as well as remaining organized so as not to allow important aspects of work, home business operation and family slip through the cracks. A single schedule guiding the commitments for all obligations will be needed in order to accomplish everything that needs done and to stay ahead of the work.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_5971.shtml
One of the first considerations should be whether or not the home business in conflict with the full time job as many employers will not tolerate competition from one of their employees. For example, a person working in a retail environment in nearly any capacity may find themselves in conflict with company policies if they begin an online retail outlet. Or someone working for a carpet cleaning company starting a home business offering cleaning services part time as a home business. Being in conflict often forces the employee to make a choice of keeping their full time job or finding work elsewhere.
There are many home business opportunities available that will not conflict with outside work environments, but the time involved in operating the home business will need to examined to determine if it can be done effectively while working full time. The business operator will only have limited availability as well as time to spend on the business and the time needed to run the business will have to be reallocated from another part of the day.
A person with a family will need to know that any time needed to run the home business will have to come from time usually used for family functions or just spending time with the wife and kids. The full time employer will not tolerate someone spending time on their home business while being paid so dividing the time between work, running the business and family may or may not be worth the extra income from a home business.
In some cases, there are home business opportunities that require little time and enable it to be run at the convenience of the owner. With these jobs time can be arranged in which to run the business without losing time with family and friends, although sacrificing sleep or relaxation time may be necessary. Overall, there will be some sacrifice of time and personal involvement when running a business and working full time outside the home.
Time management will be essential in creating work-life balance as well as remaining organized so as not to allow important aspects of work, home business operation and family slip through the cracks. A single schedule guiding the commitments for all obligations will be needed in order to accomplish everything that needs done and to stay ahead of the work.
----------------------------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_5971.shtml
Friday, 22 June 2007
The Disney Difference: How One Man Rose Above Bankruptcy And Failure To Building A Multi-billion $$
Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without his magic, optimism and childlike fantasy. Walt Disney pioneered the fields of animation, and transformed the entertainment world. He did more to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of Americans than any other person in the past century.
The Walt Disney Company - now a mega-empire whose profits (yes, profits!) are $1.3 billion - was the creation of a high school drop out who suffered bankruptcy, risked it all 4 times and suffered repeated financial and business disasters. How did one man overcome the greatest of challenges to become a legend ... a folk hero ... a master of enterprise?
Walt Disney’s creative and business magic can be summarized in one word: Imagineering. The term, trademarked by Disney in 1967, combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
Today, Walt Disney’s Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. A powerful insight into the Imagineering process is provided by one of Walt Disney’s co-workers who pointed out “… there were actually three different Walts: the dreamer, the realist and the spoiler (or critic). You never knew which one was coming to a meeting.”
Through the modeling technologies of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), you too can cultivate the same business genius of Walt Disney. You too can learn Disney’s Imagineering process to make your boldest visions into reality.
Applying the Disney Difference in Your Business:
The Benefits of the Imagineering Process
Whether you are a soloist business owner or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation, Imagineering is a simple yet powerful process that can help you:
•Be successful at the “inner game” of reaching future goals
•Build powerful teams, strategic partnerships and alliances
•Maximize the return and minimize the risk in new “virgin” situations – such as launching a new product, expanding to new markets or acquiring a business
•Lead and manage change throughout your organization
•Develop clear compelling plans that inspire you/your team to action
•Communicate and work more effectively with diverse groups of people
•Ignite your creativity and problem solving capabilities
The Imagineering Process: An Overview
Whether you are an individual or a team, Imagineering involves the coordination of three “hats” or roles. According to Robert Dilts, NLP pioneer who modeled the Imagineering process, all three roles are critical to effective problem solving and transforming visions into reality.
The Dreamer
The dreamer’s role is to provide the visionary big picture … with no boundaries, limitations or restraints.
The Realist
The realist’s role is to evaluate what is realistic, think constructively and organize action plans.
The Critic
The critic’s role is to test the plan, look for potential problems, difficulties and consequences. That is, what could go wrong, what is missing.
Very few individuals, teams or organizations are strong in all three roles or capabilities. What happens when one or two of these roles are missing? Do any of these sound like you or your organization?
•A Dreamer without a Realist gets stuck in fantasy, a “some day” mentality.
•A Realist without a Dreamer or Critic is like a robot. They are task masters. They are driven by “to do” lists.
•A Critic and a Dreamer without a Realist get caught up in perpetual conflict.
•A Dreamer and Realist without a Critic are an R&D department – lots of prototypes but lack quality standards for success.
•A Critic without a Dreamer or Realist is a Spoiler. They stop themselves even before they get started.
•A Realist and Critic without a Dreamer are a Bureaucracy.
To make your dreams come true … with ease, precision and passion, it is critical to master and synthesize all three Imagineering roles. Below is a peek how I work with individuals, teams and organizations in modeling Disney’s Imagineering to create extraordinary business results.
Imagineering Your Business Success:
The Process for Transforming Your Dreams into Reality
Your ability to transform your business goals into reality requires mastery of the following phases of the Imagineering process.
The Dreamer: Envisioning Your Future
Walt Disney’s genius always started with a dream. He would see clearly in his own mind the vision of what he wanted – whether it was a theme park, a cartoon character, a movie or any of his other creative endeavors.
As the Dreamer, you want to think about your long term future, address the big picture and generate many alternatives for reaching your goal. The primary focus is on the “what” of your idea or vision.
To model the Dreamer in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What do I want in an ideal world?
•What is the purpose of this project or goal?
•What are the benefits?
•What will be the impact once my goal is achieved?
•What alternative strategies will help me get there?
Key Points: Always state the goal in positive terms and establish the purpose and payoffs of reaching your goal. Think big … very big.
The Realist: Defining the Plan
The purpose of the Realist is to turn the dream into a workable plan. While wearing the Realist hat, you want to “act as if” the dream is possible and identify steps, time frames and milestones for getting there.
Your focus needs to be more action-oriented, on the “how” -- ie., procedures and operations -- for implementing your plan or idea.
To model the Realist in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•How specifically will the idea be implemented? What will be the first step? second step? third step? By when?
•How will I know when the goal has been achieved?
•How will I get the resources (people, money, skills, etc.) I need to reach my goal?
Key Points: Create a “storyboard” of your plan by finding simple images to represent the steps required for reaching your goal or dream. Disney developed the very powerful process of “storyboarding” in 1928 and is now used by many successful businesses, such as GE.
The Critic:: Identifying Potential Problems
The purpose of the Critic is to evaluate the proposed plan and look for potential problems and ‘missing links.” The Critic role must follow the Dreamer and the Realist in this process.
The Critic identifies external factors or individuals that may influence the outcome of the plan (either positively or negatively). The primary purpose of the Critic is to focus on “what if” concerns, along with solutions to avoid them.
To model the Critic in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What if I can’t find the necessary resources or funds to implement my plan?
•What if my competitors _____ ?
•What if I don’t meet the plan’s milestones? How will that effect costs? Time and resource requirements?
•What if certain people object to my plan or can negatively impact its success? How will I handle that?
Key Points: While most people and organizations look at critics as negative people, their role is essential to your future success. You want them on your team. For the Critic role to be most effective, allow the critic to present their concerns only in the last step, after the dream and plans have been formulated.
Summary:
One man – Walt Disney – not only built one of the most successful US businesses of all time, this one man also left a magical legacy spanning almost a century and will continue for many generations to come.
How has one man accomplished so much? The answer is his Imagineering process – his secret for transforming ambitious, creative visions into extraordinary realities. By following Walt Disney’s cycle of Dreamer, Realist and Critic, you too will realize a compelling business future and a clear path that will take you there.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_7981.shtml
The Walt Disney Company - now a mega-empire whose profits (yes, profits!) are $1.3 billion - was the creation of a high school drop out who suffered bankruptcy, risked it all 4 times and suffered repeated financial and business disasters. How did one man overcome the greatest of challenges to become a legend ... a folk hero ... a master of enterprise?
Walt Disney’s creative and business magic can be summarized in one word: Imagineering. The term, trademarked by Disney in 1967, combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
Today, Walt Disney’s Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. A powerful insight into the Imagineering process is provided by one of Walt Disney’s co-workers who pointed out “… there were actually three different Walts: the dreamer, the realist and the spoiler (or critic). You never knew which one was coming to a meeting.”
Through the modeling technologies of NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), you too can cultivate the same business genius of Walt Disney. You too can learn Disney’s Imagineering process to make your boldest visions into reality.
Applying the Disney Difference in Your Business:
The Benefits of the Imagineering Process
Whether you are a soloist business owner or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation, Imagineering is a simple yet powerful process that can help you:
•Be successful at the “inner game” of reaching future goals
•Build powerful teams, strategic partnerships and alliances
•Maximize the return and minimize the risk in new “virgin” situations – such as launching a new product, expanding to new markets or acquiring a business
•Lead and manage change throughout your organization
•Develop clear compelling plans that inspire you/your team to action
•Communicate and work more effectively with diverse groups of people
•Ignite your creativity and problem solving capabilities
The Imagineering Process: An Overview
Whether you are an individual or a team, Imagineering involves the coordination of three “hats” or roles. According to Robert Dilts, NLP pioneer who modeled the Imagineering process, all three roles are critical to effective problem solving and transforming visions into reality.
The Dreamer
The dreamer’s role is to provide the visionary big picture … with no boundaries, limitations or restraints.
The Realist
The realist’s role is to evaluate what is realistic, think constructively and organize action plans.
The Critic
The critic’s role is to test the plan, look for potential problems, difficulties and consequences. That is, what could go wrong, what is missing.
Very few individuals, teams or organizations are strong in all three roles or capabilities. What happens when one or two of these roles are missing? Do any of these sound like you or your organization?
•A Dreamer without a Realist gets stuck in fantasy, a “some day” mentality.
•A Realist without a Dreamer or Critic is like a robot. They are task masters. They are driven by “to do” lists.
•A Critic and a Dreamer without a Realist get caught up in perpetual conflict.
•A Dreamer and Realist without a Critic are an R&D department – lots of prototypes but lack quality standards for success.
•A Critic without a Dreamer or Realist is a Spoiler. They stop themselves even before they get started.
•A Realist and Critic without a Dreamer are a Bureaucracy.
To make your dreams come true … with ease, precision and passion, it is critical to master and synthesize all three Imagineering roles. Below is a peek how I work with individuals, teams and organizations in modeling Disney’s Imagineering to create extraordinary business results.
Imagineering Your Business Success:
The Process for Transforming Your Dreams into Reality
Your ability to transform your business goals into reality requires mastery of the following phases of the Imagineering process.
The Dreamer: Envisioning Your Future
Walt Disney’s genius always started with a dream. He would see clearly in his own mind the vision of what he wanted – whether it was a theme park, a cartoon character, a movie or any of his other creative endeavors.
As the Dreamer, you want to think about your long term future, address the big picture and generate many alternatives for reaching your goal. The primary focus is on the “what” of your idea or vision.
To model the Dreamer in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What do I want in an ideal world?
•What is the purpose of this project or goal?
•What are the benefits?
•What will be the impact once my goal is achieved?
•What alternative strategies will help me get there?
Key Points: Always state the goal in positive terms and establish the purpose and payoffs of reaching your goal. Think big … very big.
The Realist: Defining the Plan
The purpose of the Realist is to turn the dream into a workable plan. While wearing the Realist hat, you want to “act as if” the dream is possible and identify steps, time frames and milestones for getting there.
Your focus needs to be more action-oriented, on the “how” -- ie., procedures and operations -- for implementing your plan or idea.
To model the Realist in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•How specifically will the idea be implemented? What will be the first step? second step? third step? By when?
•How will I know when the goal has been achieved?
•How will I get the resources (people, money, skills, etc.) I need to reach my goal?
Key Points: Create a “storyboard” of your plan by finding simple images to represent the steps required for reaching your goal or dream. Disney developed the very powerful process of “storyboarding” in 1928 and is now used by many successful businesses, such as GE.
The Critic:: Identifying Potential Problems
The purpose of the Critic is to evaluate the proposed plan and look for potential problems and ‘missing links.” The Critic role must follow the Dreamer and the Realist in this process.
The Critic identifies external factors or individuals that may influence the outcome of the plan (either positively or negatively). The primary purpose of the Critic is to focus on “what if” concerns, along with solutions to avoid them.
To model the Critic in Walt Disney, you must ask yourself such questions as:
•What if I can’t find the necessary resources or funds to implement my plan?
•What if my competitors _____ ?
•What if I don’t meet the plan’s milestones? How will that effect costs? Time and resource requirements?
•What if certain people object to my plan or can negatively impact its success? How will I handle that?
Key Points: While most people and organizations look at critics as negative people, their role is essential to your future success. You want them on your team. For the Critic role to be most effective, allow the critic to present their concerns only in the last step, after the dream and plans have been formulated.
Summary:
One man – Walt Disney – not only built one of the most successful US businesses of all time, this one man also left a magical legacy spanning almost a century and will continue for many generations to come.
How has one man accomplished so much? The answer is his Imagineering process – his secret for transforming ambitious, creative visions into extraordinary realities. By following Walt Disney’s cycle of Dreamer, Realist and Critic, you too will realize a compelling business future and a clear path that will take you there.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_7981.shtml
Monday, 18 June 2007
Researching An Internet Home Based Business Opportunity
If you are a looking for more ways to earn more, consider an internet home based business. When choosing the right internet home based business, it is important to choose the opportunity that matches the skills you have, in a field that you enjoy. Shifting through the different advertisements and flyers, you will find that there are lots of internet home based business opportunities being promoted, and it might be hard finding the right one. There is also the problem of finding a home based business opportunity, which is legitimate. There are a number of people looking to sell you an "opportunity" which is really a scam. Therefore, all these things must be considered when starting to look for the right internet home based business opportunity.
To choose the right internet home based business, start with the field that you already know something about. For example, if you have experience in the healthcare field, look for opportunities to work from home in the healthcare field. This is actually one of the most important factors for any job - finding something you like and putting all your energy into making it work.
After you have determined the area or field you want to look for your new internet home based business in, the next step would be to actually research the different opportunities available to you as a home worker. Home based business opportunities can be found almost everywhere we look. You can search for your new business opportunity in the newspaper, magazine ad, Internet, posters in your neighborhood, or on the Internet. The Internet is one of the best places to look for home based business opportunities, as it is not limited to your local area, but will have information about opportunities occurring worldwide.
When a list of internet home based business opportunities has been compiled in an area or field you feel comfortable in, spending time comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of each business opportunity. It is important to really consider every aspect of an internet home based business, before taking the plunge into it. Things to compare and contrast about your different internet home based business opportunities would be criteria such as the amount of time needed to set it up, the amount of money involved in running it, the amount of support given from the parent company, and the length of time estimated before you start achieving a profit.
After all the different advantages and disadvantages have been considered in regards to your internet home based business opportunity, it should be more clear to you, which opportunity will cost the least of your time and money, and be right for your to promote. But it should be cautioned to not rush into any opportunity before carefully considering all the disadvantages attached to it. The worse scenario to occur would be for you to decide midway into your internet home based business, that you are ill-suited for it, after investing so many hours into your new business.
In the end, when researching internet home based business opportunities it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to choose the create opportunity for you. A new internet home based business opportunity can be something that comes "prepackaged". In these types of opportunities, you are more likely to have the support of the company's more senior members. However, some people opt to choose a business opportunity that they have heard about from somewhere else and perfected themselves. In this scenario, less or almost no support is available. Regardless, of which of these options you choose, the bottom line is find an internet home based business opportunity you can enjoy!
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5075.shtml
To choose the right internet home based business, start with the field that you already know something about. For example, if you have experience in the healthcare field, look for opportunities to work from home in the healthcare field. This is actually one of the most important factors for any job - finding something you like and putting all your energy into making it work.
After you have determined the area or field you want to look for your new internet home based business in, the next step would be to actually research the different opportunities available to you as a home worker. Home based business opportunities can be found almost everywhere we look. You can search for your new business opportunity in the newspaper, magazine ad, Internet, posters in your neighborhood, or on the Internet. The Internet is one of the best places to look for home based business opportunities, as it is not limited to your local area, but will have information about opportunities occurring worldwide.
When a list of internet home based business opportunities has been compiled in an area or field you feel comfortable in, spending time comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of each business opportunity. It is important to really consider every aspect of an internet home based business, before taking the plunge into it. Things to compare and contrast about your different internet home based business opportunities would be criteria such as the amount of time needed to set it up, the amount of money involved in running it, the amount of support given from the parent company, and the length of time estimated before you start achieving a profit.
After all the different advantages and disadvantages have been considered in regards to your internet home based business opportunity, it should be more clear to you, which opportunity will cost the least of your time and money, and be right for your to promote. But it should be cautioned to not rush into any opportunity before carefully considering all the disadvantages attached to it. The worse scenario to occur would be for you to decide midway into your internet home based business, that you are ill-suited for it, after investing so many hours into your new business.
In the end, when researching internet home based business opportunities it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to choose the create opportunity for you. A new internet home based business opportunity can be something that comes "prepackaged". In these types of opportunities, you are more likely to have the support of the company's more senior members. However, some people opt to choose a business opportunity that they have heard about from somewhere else and perfected themselves. In this scenario, less or almost no support is available. Regardless, of which of these options you choose, the bottom line is find an internet home based business opportunity you can enjoy!
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/online_business/article_5075.shtml
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Getting the Most Return from Your Sales Time Investment (ROI)
Another good read on investing from Article City...
--------------------
Getting the Most Return from Your Sales Time Investment (ROI)
by: Joe Leech
Let's face it: you are probably working for far less than you need to. And the sad thing is, you may not even be aware of it or the options you have! As of now, we're going to change that for you, and possibly share with you not only a thought but a vehicle that can change your financial life.
We are going to show you how to get much more out of your sales time investment.
This probably applies more to the part time, home based business person than the professional...but we have seen, met, and talked with professionals who really are under- valuing their return on time investment. I know.. we are using that "time investment" word alot all ready. But you MUST consider it just as you do a cash or money investment.
In fact, it's even more important because once spent or invested, you can't ever get that particular moment or minute back. It's gone. You can always invest more money, but you only have so much irreplaceable time. Your sales time investment is one of the most precious ones you can ever make.
As we look at business models, we find on one end, the model that proposes high volume but low profit per sale.
Walmart has certainly shown this works, and many, many, many supermarkets work this same way. It will work if you have the ability to create large volumes of sales. The question is: Do you. If you are a individual sales rep or a small business, just how much of an opportunity do you have to create really large volumes. The appeal to the small business person is to do this by creating some type of a multi-level (also and probably incorrectly referred to as a pyramid) sales organization. In the ideal world, IF you can do this, you can create volume. But this could take years to accomplish, and still never guarantee any income or security because (1)The company behind it could go out of business, be taken over.. or any number of things, (2) The pay plan could change, or (3) The group suddenly dissolve, particularly if or when a heavy hitter or group leader decides to switch to another business and takes his distributors or sales force with him. Did you make a good sales time investment if you chose this model?
Of course you still have the ability to sell the product or service yourself, but (1) Can you do volume, and (2) Is the profit per personal sale worth your time?
The second business model, at the other end of the spectrum, is one that provides a relatively high profit or earning per sale. Sometimes we think of real estate people and car sales people in this category, as well as sales people of specialized capital equipment. But that's not the majority of us.
The downside here is that if we are thinking about selling a high ticket/high profit item, we have to ask (1) Is there a large market and prospect base? and if we are thinking in terms of an ability for a part time person--possibly a "stay at home mom", can this high ticket, high profit product or service be first mastered in terms of the technology, and second, is the customer prospect base readily accessible?
In most cases, the answer to those two questions is "no, not available".
But if it is or was, then here's a fact that can be virtually carved in stone:
IT TAKES NO MORE TIME OR SKILLS TO SELL THE HIGH PROFIT PACKAGE THAN IT DOES TO SELL THE MASS PRODUCT WITH ONLY PENNIES OR DIMES IN PROFIT!
Think about that! This is ALL relative to your sales time investment, and once more: It's the MOST IMPORTANT investment y ou have to make.
Ask yourself: "Am I working for pennies or dimes when instead with the right vehicle I could be working for dollars?"
If the answer is yes, and this is so true of particularly home based business entrepreneurs who are involved in sale of nutritional supplements, skin care, fad gadgets, etc., then ask yourself, "Am I doing this because I want to earn a nice income, and do it as quickly as possible... or am I kidding myself about that goal and I just want to get products wholesale or discounted and have some fun?"
Nothing wrong with that, by the way, if you have an hones assessment of what you are doing and why.
But..... If your goal is in the area of $4000-$5000 a month or more, and you also don't want to spend all your waking hours "working your business", then it's time to change.
As your article writer, I can tell you this is an article written from the school of hard knocks and one that really had us so emotionally involved with the businesses. Rah rah rah; recognition, pins, etc. Amway. Free Life. Primerica.
Herbal Life. Been there, done that. Made some money? Yes, but far, far, far less than in other options. And that's just the part time side of things we did to supplement our "real" job. Made some money, but had no security, and worked for far less than we could have been doing. Plus we just sold our time for money there. No residual income.. but that's the subject for another article.
We hope this has helped you focus some thinking and our resource block will point you to one tool that will let you change your life.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8365.shtml
--------------------
Getting the Most Return from Your Sales Time Investment (ROI)
by: Joe Leech
Let's face it: you are probably working for far less than you need to. And the sad thing is, you may not even be aware of it or the options you have! As of now, we're going to change that for you, and possibly share with you not only a thought but a vehicle that can change your financial life.
We are going to show you how to get much more out of your sales time investment.
This probably applies more to the part time, home based business person than the professional...but we have seen, met, and talked with professionals who really are under- valuing their return on time investment. I know.. we are using that "time investment" word alot all ready. But you MUST consider it just as you do a cash or money investment.
In fact, it's even more important because once spent or invested, you can't ever get that particular moment or minute back. It's gone. You can always invest more money, but you only have so much irreplaceable time. Your sales time investment is one of the most precious ones you can ever make.
As we look at business models, we find on one end, the model that proposes high volume but low profit per sale.
Walmart has certainly shown this works, and many, many, many supermarkets work this same way. It will work if you have the ability to create large volumes of sales. The question is: Do you. If you are a individual sales rep or a small business, just how much of an opportunity do you have to create really large volumes. The appeal to the small business person is to do this by creating some type of a multi-level (also and probably incorrectly referred to as a pyramid) sales organization. In the ideal world, IF you can do this, you can create volume. But this could take years to accomplish, and still never guarantee any income or security because (1)The company behind it could go out of business, be taken over.. or any number of things, (2) The pay plan could change, or (3) The group suddenly dissolve, particularly if or when a heavy hitter or group leader decides to switch to another business and takes his distributors or sales force with him. Did you make a good sales time investment if you chose this model?
Of course you still have the ability to sell the product or service yourself, but (1) Can you do volume, and (2) Is the profit per personal sale worth your time?
The second business model, at the other end of the spectrum, is one that provides a relatively high profit or earning per sale. Sometimes we think of real estate people and car sales people in this category, as well as sales people of specialized capital equipment. But that's not the majority of us.
The downside here is that if we are thinking about selling a high ticket/high profit item, we have to ask (1) Is there a large market and prospect base? and if we are thinking in terms of an ability for a part time person--possibly a "stay at home mom", can this high ticket, high profit product or service be first mastered in terms of the technology, and second, is the customer prospect base readily accessible?
In most cases, the answer to those two questions is "no, not available".
But if it is or was, then here's a fact that can be virtually carved in stone:
IT TAKES NO MORE TIME OR SKILLS TO SELL THE HIGH PROFIT PACKAGE THAN IT DOES TO SELL THE MASS PRODUCT WITH ONLY PENNIES OR DIMES IN PROFIT!
Think about that! This is ALL relative to your sales time investment, and once more: It's the MOST IMPORTANT investment y ou have to make.
Ask yourself: "Am I working for pennies or dimes when instead with the right vehicle I could be working for dollars?"
If the answer is yes, and this is so true of particularly home based business entrepreneurs who are involved in sale of nutritional supplements, skin care, fad gadgets, etc., then ask yourself, "Am I doing this because I want to earn a nice income, and do it as quickly as possible... or am I kidding myself about that goal and I just want to get products wholesale or discounted and have some fun?"
Nothing wrong with that, by the way, if you have an hones assessment of what you are doing and why.
But..... If your goal is in the area of $4000-$5000 a month or more, and you also don't want to spend all your waking hours "working your business", then it's time to change.
As your article writer, I can tell you this is an article written from the school of hard knocks and one that really had us so emotionally involved with the businesses. Rah rah rah; recognition, pins, etc. Amway. Free Life. Primerica.
Herbal Life. Been there, done that. Made some money? Yes, but far, far, far less than in other options. And that's just the part time side of things we did to supplement our "real" job. Made some money, but had no security, and worked for far less than we could have been doing. Plus we just sold our time for money there. No residual income.. but that's the subject for another article.
We hope this has helped you focus some thinking and our resource block will point you to one tool that will let you change your life.
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Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8365.shtml
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Starting a Business
An interesting article I found recently on Articlecity.com regarding starting a business...
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Starting a Business
by: Vernon Anthony Johnson
Many people today are looking to own and run their own business. To do that they mainly have three main choices.
1. Buy a franchise
2. Start from scratch to develop there own type of business.
3. Buy an existing business.
When talking about capital to start or buy a conventional business we are not talking peanuts here; all these types of businesses will most likely require a substantial sum, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They will usually require staff so suitable computer expertise for accounts and wagers and also people skills in the workplace are required. There are always some problems with staff which can cause difficulties.
In a conventional business you will require premises. If you have bought an existing business then probably rates and maintenance are your two main expenses with the existing building bought with the business. If you need to rent a premise then you may require a refit for your purposes which may cost tens of thousands of dollars. This would depend on the type of business which may require certain expensive machine or electronic devices which could be various and very expensive. Then you would need computers and office furniture in varying quantities. All quite expensive items. However you look at it there are considerable costs involved when starting a business some of which will be ongoing. i.e. interest on the loan, staff wages and rent etc.
If it comes to the worst and it all goes belly up look at what you might lose? The equity which was used to finance the loan - most likely the property you live in because you couldn’t pay off the bank overdraft. The fixtures and fittings which you purchased which now would be of use to you and any equipment you purchased which may have to be sold invariably at a loss.
So you sold everything to try and pay off your debt but that wasn’t enough so you have to leave the home you loved and look for rented accommodation. Then many years later you might crawl back to where you were before the time of the crash. The statistics for new conventional type business success are not good.
In a conventional business if you need advice you usually have to pay for it although with a franchise some is available free. With a franchise I understand it does not usually include business mentoring. So if it’s new to you, you may have to pay for that help. In MLM home based business with a good company the marketing help comes as part of the deal.
Why you may ask?
Well because the MLM I am recommending is structured so that the person who does the recruiting also helps the people they recruit. In making them successful they all financially benefit. This team building is the essence of success in MLM marketing and people who have done this for a few years reap large rewards without having taken a huge gamble to raise equity.
So if we look an MLM business which costs less than $2000 initially and potentially enables you to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a few years down the track why wouldn’t that be much more attractive to you than risking your house?
There is the company which excels in all respects and is ideal for MLM people:
? It is debt free
? Publicly listed on the NASDAQ
? Achieved 1.5 billion turnover in the first five years
? Is a global business operating in ten countries and six more 2007.
? Ranked number 5 in the 200 Best Small companies by FORBES in the US.
If we summarise the benefits then we are talking about a business which:
1. Does not require a large amount of capital
2. Does not require you to hold stock.
3. Does not require staff.
4. Does not require you to rent or buy expensive premises because you can work from home perhaps from one room set aside as your office.
5. Enables you to make an income relative to your efforts which could be in the six figure bracket after a few years.
6. Does not confine you to office hours - you can work at a time convenient to you and your family.
7. Will still function once established without loss of income if you decide to take a long holiday.
Why then would anyone wanting to start a business not want to take the least expensive option?
The MLM choice comes without all the financial risk and headaches.
You can have the same earning potential as the conventional business with total support as part of the deal.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8357.shtml
--------------------
Starting a Business
by: Vernon Anthony Johnson
Many people today are looking to own and run their own business. To do that they mainly have three main choices.
1. Buy a franchise
2. Start from scratch to develop there own type of business.
3. Buy an existing business.
When talking about capital to start or buy a conventional business we are not talking peanuts here; all these types of businesses will most likely require a substantial sum, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They will usually require staff so suitable computer expertise for accounts and wagers and also people skills in the workplace are required. There are always some problems with staff which can cause difficulties.
In a conventional business you will require premises. If you have bought an existing business then probably rates and maintenance are your two main expenses with the existing building bought with the business. If you need to rent a premise then you may require a refit for your purposes which may cost tens of thousands of dollars. This would depend on the type of business which may require certain expensive machine or electronic devices which could be various and very expensive. Then you would need computers and office furniture in varying quantities. All quite expensive items. However you look at it there are considerable costs involved when starting a business some of which will be ongoing. i.e. interest on the loan, staff wages and rent etc.
If it comes to the worst and it all goes belly up look at what you might lose? The equity which was used to finance the loan - most likely the property you live in because you couldn’t pay off the bank overdraft. The fixtures and fittings which you purchased which now would be of use to you and any equipment you purchased which may have to be sold invariably at a loss.
So you sold everything to try and pay off your debt but that wasn’t enough so you have to leave the home you loved and look for rented accommodation. Then many years later you might crawl back to where you were before the time of the crash. The statistics for new conventional type business success are not good.
In a conventional business if you need advice you usually have to pay for it although with a franchise some is available free. With a franchise I understand it does not usually include business mentoring. So if it’s new to you, you may have to pay for that help. In MLM home based business with a good company the marketing help comes as part of the deal.
Why you may ask?
Well because the MLM I am recommending is structured so that the person who does the recruiting also helps the people they recruit. In making them successful they all financially benefit. This team building is the essence of success in MLM marketing and people who have done this for a few years reap large rewards without having taken a huge gamble to raise equity.
So if we look an MLM business which costs less than $2000 initially and potentially enables you to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a few years down the track why wouldn’t that be much more attractive to you than risking your house?
There is the company which excels in all respects and is ideal for MLM people:
? It is debt free
? Publicly listed on the NASDAQ
? Achieved 1.5 billion turnover in the first five years
? Is a global business operating in ten countries and six more 2007.
? Ranked number 5 in the 200 Best Small companies by FORBES in the US.
If we summarise the benefits then we are talking about a business which:
1. Does not require a large amount of capital
2. Does not require you to hold stock.
3. Does not require staff.
4. Does not require you to rent or buy expensive premises because you can work from home perhaps from one room set aside as your office.
5. Enables you to make an income relative to your efforts which could be in the six figure bracket after a few years.
6. Does not confine you to office hours - you can work at a time convenient to you and your family.
7. Will still function once established without loss of income if you decide to take a long holiday.
Why then would anyone wanting to start a business not want to take the least expensive option?
The MLM choice comes without all the financial risk and headaches.
You can have the same earning potential as the conventional business with total support as part of the deal.
--------------------
Article sourced from: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8357.shtml
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