Having What It Takes To Start Your Own Business

By Jim Zurbrugg

A big step for many individuals to take in life is that of owning their very own business. Being a business owner presents its own set of challenges. Yet more and more people are starting their own businesses and stepping up to the challenges that come with it. Many businesses can turn into successful ventures, and there are many different businesses you can undertake. It's wise to take a look at a few things to determine if you have what it takes to start your own business. The time to do that is prior to starting it up.

Financial Background

Starting a new business costs a good deal of money. This is true both in the beginning and throughout the business venture. To determine if this is something that you can afford, you should consider your financial background. Savings, loans, or taking on financial partners are ways of funding your new business. As a hopeful future business owner, you can see whether or not this is the right time to start a new business by looking at the financial situation right in the beginning.

Schedule and Time Availability

Another factor which must be considered in relation to starting one's own business is time. It takes quite a bit of time to start and pursue your own business. Being sure that you have the time to devote to your new project is crucial. The more time you put into a project, the more success you are likely to have. This is something that you should take into account because some businesses will require more time and effort than others.

Sheer Dedication

More than time and money is required when starting and cultivating a new business. Sheer dedication on the part of the business owner is what it takes. When you decide to start your own business, you must have the desire to pursue your occupation to the utmost of your capabilities. You must follow through on things from start to finish. You will be more likely to turn your business into something wonderful if you have the sheer dedication.

Ability to Ask for Help

When getting your business off the ground and running, you should also possess the ability to ask others for help. This can be enlisting the aid of friends, family members, or even paid workers. Without asking others to pitch in and help from time to time, it is often difficult for one individual to start a new business. There is often something that others can do to help make your business even that much more successful, whether it is asking for tax help or having family members help out with caring for your children.

About The Author:

Jim Zurbrugg is owner of z2marketing and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more about this topic, Jim recommends that you visit http://www.itvVentures.com/104465.

Using Adsense Templates To Boost Your Site

By Seth Willis Jr.

Your AdSense program can benefit greatly by using a pre-made Adsense tool. Today's most dynamic and robust sites can offer better traffic, increased Web clicks, and a stronger Web presence to keep your AdSense program profitable and consistent. Pre-made Adsense programs allow you the freedom of organizing your data and information easily and effectively.
Instead of the ads being placed haphazardly across a site, with minimal chances of getting clicks, a template can help you put together an appealing and attractive site format.

Pre-made Adsense Websites should be designed with simple and minimal colors for high impact. Take a look at sites you currently visit, and notice the color themes, schemes, and backgrounds. It's likely that the most appealing and user-friendly have only four or five basic colors. Adapt this to your site, and you'll easily create a more attractive site for your potential Web traffic.

Pre-made Adsense Websites make your site simple and easy to navigate. Too much media-rich content, flashing ads, banners, or other pieces will lose the attention of your visitors very easily. Incorporating an AdSense template will make sure that the most important areas are seen first, and a user can be comfortable and more likely to click your ads in the process!

An effective AdSense strategy will include additional articles and links to your subject, topic, or blog. This works even better if you can set up other sites that link to your particular subject, and add additional click-through ads on the sites! Articles keep the reader engaged, more likely to continue reading your site or blog, and encourage them to review the ads around the textboxes.

Pre-made Adsense Websites also allow you to easily track visitors and traffic. When you use this template-style site, you'll easily be able to analyze and see how well your site is doing on a daily basis. Almost all AdSense Website packages offer some form of measuring tools and traffic count devices for you to use. You'll be able to review where people are clicking, how often, and even during what times of the month. If you're linking out to other sites, you'll be able to see how and where these links are coming in from. This information can help you adjust and coordinate your campaign and strategy to make the most of potential Web traffic.

There are multiple benefits to using pre-made AdSense Websites and incorporating blogs. Even though your Website may be full of strategically placed ads, the number of inbound and outbound links on your site can greatly increase your search engine automatically. This is just one great way to generate more traffic without too much extra work! RSS feeds let your visitors and users subscribe to any new information that you post; whenever you update your blog or publish an article, the headline gets sent to your RSS users. This gives them an efficient link to your site to review the whole article, and can give you more traffic whenever you introduce new content.

When creating your pre-made Adsense Website, do keep in mind the value of color coordination, making your site user-friendly, and providing valuable and insightful article information. You'll gain increased user interest, and let people become more comfortable clicking and reviewing your AdSense advertising!

About The Author:

Seth Willis Jr. is the webmaster for http://www.adsenseschool.com he is an experienced internet marketer and has a lot of expertise with adsense." I created adsense school so that I could help others who are starting out and needed a resource and tutorial site to get started, the school is completely free and there for anyone with a desire to learn how to make an income using adsense."

6 Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back

By Rich Brooks

By the hammer of Thor there's a lot of blogging myths out there; myths that keep you from generating more online leads and building lasting relationships with clients.

The problem with these myths is that if they're not challenged they turn into conventional wisdom. If you've been looking to drive more traffic to your Web site and improve communications with customers, you owe it to yourself to give a business blog a try.

Below are some of the hurdles--exaggerated or imagined--I've heard business owners use to avoid starting a blog, and real-world experience to debunk these myths.

1) My customers don't read blogs. I hear this all too often by business owners who don't completely understand what a blog is. Now, perhaps your customers don't subscribe to any blogs, or they don't return daily to a favorite blog. However, if they use Google or Yahoo for search, chances are they stumbled upon a search result from a blog. Since blogs often rank high at the search engines, if your customers use the Internet, you can capture their attention with a blog.

2) Blogging is for teenagers to share the minutiae of their lives and what they think of the remaining American Idol contestants. While teens certainly took to blogging quicker than businesses, these days companies of all sizes and shapes have realized the benefits of a business blog. You wouldn't dismiss the telephone as a communication device just because your teenager spends hours each night on it, would you?

3) Blogging is just a fad/This too will pass. Didn't you say the same thing about the Internet back in 1997? Of course no one can predict the future and much of the hype about blogs is just that. However, it's important to realize that blogs are a powerful, easy-to-use communication tool, and communicating with customers and prospects will never go out of style.

Besides, blogs are an effective marketing tool today, so don't worry if in five years you've moved on to your next communication medium. If you've cultivated an active audience, they'll follow you to other distribution channels.

4) Blogging takes up too much time. I run a growing business, sit on the board of MEBSR (Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility), participate in a business-owners group, do a lot of writing and speaking, and carry my share in raising our two daughters. Trust me, I know from being busy.

However, in the past two-and-a-half years of blogging, I've discovered that it's probably the most effective use of my marketing time. Blogging helps establish your expertise, generates loads of search engine leads, and delivers your message through three distribution channels each time you write. (Read more on the three faces of blogs.)

As business owners we have limited time in the day to market our services; blogging provides great return on that investment.

5) Blogging is fraught with dangers, like people leaving negative comments. These days, consumers can vent their frustration with your product or service anywhere on the Web, whether it's a post at their own blog, a review at Epinions.com, or a scathing YouTube video. If I had my choice, I'd rather have that conversation happen where I have home court advantage. How you handle negative feedback can establish your authenticity, and help you win over new converts.

And, if you happen to find yourself with a PR nightmare, you don't have to worry about letting the media tell your side of the story. By using your own blog you have unfettered access to anyone with a connection to the Internet.

People are looking for transparency and authenticity from companies these days, and your blog is the perfect tool to match these needs.

6) My customers don't read blogs. Whoa. Feelings of deja vu. Didn't we respond to this earlier? Oh, you mean that you don't get leads from the Internet? That they only use the Yellow
Pages or go on advice from a friend? Well, then your audience is shrinking. The average consumer is much more likely to use the Web to search for a product or service, or at least visit
your Web site to learn more about your company.

If you haven't gone after this audience before, you're missing an opportunity of getting in front of a younger audience...your customers and clients of tomorrow.

And trust me, they read blogs.

The truth about blogging is that it's proven an effective marketing tool for a wide range of businesses. You can start a blog on your own through a service like TypePad or by
installing a blogging platform like WordPress on your own server. Alternatively, you can hire a Web design firm to design, develop and promote your blog and get you up to speed quickly.

Whatever path is right for you, don't let these myths keep you from giving business blogging a chance.

About The Author:

Rich Brooks is president of flyte new media, a Web design and Internet marketing company
(http://www.flyte.biz/). Download his free article, "The 11 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Bloggers Make." at http://www.flyte.biz/special/free-report/

Making The Best Of Work At Home Based Business Opportunitiess

By Tobias Smith

Admit it. When you think of a work from home business you imagine a mother with three kids who is working from home just to get by. That little picture is fine and dandy, but it is really limiting you to not being able to take advantage of all of the work-from-home opportunities that there are out there. If you don't fit the above stereotype you may think that there is no place for you in the work-from-home world. Instead, try to imagine your self working at home for your own business making just as much money as you would at a normal job. There is tons of opportunity out there for everyone, no matter what their profile is.

Finding a work at home based business opportunity is not difficult at all if you know where to look, and once you have found a few, you can begin finding out which ones work best for you. After you have selected only the most successful work-at-home businesses to work with, you will see how effective this method of doing business really is. Don't automatically jump to the conclusion that you are making more money at your day job than you would be with a work-at home business. Do a little bit of research and find out exactly what it will take for you to make the same amount of money from home as opposed to out in the work force. This should make the comparison easy, and you can make your decision based on that.

And if you aren't interested in quitting your current job, but you think it would be nice to bring in a little extra money, the home based business is great for you. By using a work-at-home business opportunity you can easily add several hundred dollars to your income each month, which isn't bad at all, and it is much better than going out and getting a second job doing hard work.

There is a ton of potential out there if you want to start a home based business, and you don't have to worry about fitting a certain stereotype. Instead, you should be happy that you have this opportunity available to you because in the big business world, you definitely have to have a certain persona about you to be successful. Take advantage of what you have available to you now through work-at-home businesses and you will find that even if you can't quit your current job, you can still bring in a ton of extra money that you would otherwise be missing out on. Just think, somebody has to make this money somehow, so it might as well be you. With this mentality, it won't be hard at all to get yourself on track to start making big money from the comfort of your home.

About The Author:

Start your own home business and earn multiple streams of income online. To learn more visit: http://www.easymoneyonlinenow.com

A Distance Learning Bachelors Degree Can Open Doors

By Candice Sabrina

When life has to go on while college classes are taken, turning to the Internet can really help. A distance learning bachelors degree can open doors while allowing students to matriculate on their own schedules.

Distance learning bachelors degree programs used to only be offered in a few fields and by a few "select," unknown institutions. That is simply not the case anymore. Students interested in earning this very important, employment-benefiting degree will soon find there are plenty of options out there now. There's no reason to expect to have to go to class all the time to earn a valuable bachelors degree.

Distance learning, for those who are unclear, involves college classes that are taken over the Internet. Books might be mailed to a students' door and access to professors is also still generally available via chat, forums, telephone or in person, but the bulk or all of the material is handled online. The type of programs available for full degrees will vary. Some of the most common include such areas of concentration as business and accounting, education and criminal justice, and history and theology.

The benefits to this type of learning situation can be many, especially for those without the time to physically attend classes. Some of the perks can include anytime learning, accredited courses, sometimes discounted fees and a variety of program offerings. Many students find this is one of the best options for them to completely earn a degree or fill in needed classes on a better time schedule.

Looking for the best distance learning bachelors degree programs can be a little tricky, but the truth is this trend is growing in leaps and bounds. Even some of the Ivy League schools are offering at least a few classes online.

The places to look for distance learning bachelors degree programs include:

* State universities. Many state-funded universities offer online degree programs, or at least classes. It is possible for students to take a mix of these classes in some locations or to completely finish a degree online in others.

* Private colleges. Accredited, private institutions are often opening their doors, so to say, to online students. How many or few classes they will allow online toward a degree will vary. Some colleges allow for a degree-seeking student to go from start to finish online.

* Specialty schools. Many specialty schools, such as arts institutions, business colleges and more, have gone online in a lot of cases. Some locations offer complete course work online, others provide this opportunity for only a few classes.

* Junior colleges. Many of these typically lower-priced institutions are also available for students online.

As long as they come from accredited institutions of higher learning, distance learning bachelors degree programs carry a lot of weight in the real world. This didn't used to always be the case, but the reality is as this "trend" sets into common practice, more and more people are understanding the Internet can be a powerful tool for teaching and learning.

About The Author:

For more information on distance learning, try visiting http://www.distancelearningopportunities.com - a website that specializes in providing distance learning related tips, advice and resources including information on distance learning bachelors degree.

Self-Promotion Writing Tips for Companies

By Tammy M. Ratcliff

One of the best ways for companies to "get their name out there" is through self-promotion. This is a little different than straight up advertising and usually more effective. Self-promotion involves providing information to potential clients by way of a written article instead of the standard sales pitch. Any company can proclaim their greatness on a banner or a billboard; however, when a company offers free advice concerning their area of expertise, it makes a much stronger statement to the potential clients. Here a few things to keep in mind when writing articles for self-promotion.

Catchy Titles

An article's title is one of the most important devices used in getting a reader's attention. The title can literally make or break an entire article since it will most likely determine whether or not a reader keeps reading. If the reader doesn't finish the article, he will not see the link at the bottom that leads to your company's website. So, while creativity is always appreciated, accuracy is much more important.

In other words, the title really needs to say exactly what the article is about. If George Clooney's name is in the title, the article better be about him. People do not like to be tricked
into reading something that has nothing to do with the subject they are looking for. The goal with self-promotion articles is to provide useful information to people who might use your services. George Clooney may be the hottest man in show business, but if he doesn't use or endorse your product or service, it is best to keep his name out of it.

Beginning Paragraphs

An article's first paragraph is just as important as its title. This is, hopefully, the attention getter! The first paragraph should feed off of the title and set up the rest of the article. It should do so in an informative, interesting way that encourages the reader to keep reading. This is also a good place to set up a general scenario that most readers will be able to relate to. If the first paragraph is successful in grabbing a reader's attention, the likelihood greatly increases that the reader will finish the article, thus discovering the company responsible for its content. Mission accomplished!

Length and Language

Time is so important to people today. Therefore, when writing self-promotional articles, keep them relatively short (around 700 to 1000 words). Make sure they are written so they are easy to understand. When a person is seeking information today, they want to be able to find it fast and read/learn it even faster. Big words and long articles are just not compatible with this
mindset.

The Professional Edge

You may know everything there is to know about cars, but if you can't put your thoughts to paper in a clear, concise manner, consider hiring a professional writer. Self-promotion through writing Internet articles can only be successful if the final product provides a positive representation of your company. Therefore, if your article is filled with misspelled words and dangling modifiers, the only thing it will succeed in doing is making you look incompetent. People who run their own companies often do not have time to spend looking up the rules of punctuation and parallelism. However, writers do! If need be, take advantage of someone else's writing expertise to help promote your business in the most professional way.

Editing

Editing is another area where outside help could be needed. Even the most careful writers make mistakes. Unfortunately, once an error is printed, it is too late to correct, and even the tiniest typo can mar the judgment of a potential client. Because of this, hiring an editor may be a worthy investment. An experienced editor will go beyond checking for misspelled or misused words and look for shifts in voice or tense, as well as subject-verb agreement. Using an editor doesn't guarantee an error free article, but it increases the likelihood a great deal.

Conclusion

Self-promotion using Internet articles can be a great way to increase your business. This type of instructional marketing emphasizes knowledge instead of gimmicks. Taking the time to create a well-written article may seem counterproductive to your actual business, but the results will speak for themselves.

About the Author:

Tammy M. Ratcliff is a staff writer and editor for the Phantom Writers(http://thePhantomWriters.com) and Links And Traffic (http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com).
The Phantom Writers specializes in ghost writing articles and distributing them as free-content on the World Wide Web. If you would like to promote your business using self-promotion articles, the Phantom Writers will be able to help you. If you would like to talk to a person about our services, call Bill Platt at (405) 780-7745, 9am-6pm CST, Mon thru Fri.

Writing Short Articles Is Easy

By Eric Hartwell

Short article writing is as not as difficult as you think. No, it is not a daunting task if you know what to do. Just remember that when you write, the important thing is that you catch your reader's attention. You must make them want to read what you wrote. Here are the tips that you can follow when writing your article?

You and Your Readers

Grab you reader's attention. Remember that at first glance your title must reflect the benefit they would receive from reading your article. Writing compelling titles is an art itself. It must have pizzazz and it must sizzle by itself. You must create a title that will grab your reader's attention and hold it. Do not be afraid to be outrageous even. Your introductory words or paragraph must tell your readers how reading your article will help them out or improve them. It must be formatted in such a way that when your readers scan your article, it would be viewed as a light, easy and interesting reading. How do you ensure that your article is easy to scan? Use bullets, headings, sub-headings, numbered lists, and steps.

Talk to your reader. Learn to be specific in your purpose and narrow down your article to its exact target audience. Make sure that your articles will be understood by varied audience regardless of their age, educational background or race. Connect to your reader as a friend, giving him an advice. Make your article friendly.

You and Your Topics

Prepare an outline. Writing would be easier also if you have an outline on hand. Determine the number of paragraphs you would like your article to have, your outline headings and sub points for each heading. Your outline headings must not vary from the main topic of the article but must be supportive of the main heading. Your subtopics for each outline headings must be related to the main heading and to each outline heading.

Take note that your article should be concise, informative and interesting. Do not write lengthy paragraphs that would bore your reader. Keep it short and readable. You can give examples, but make sure that they are short. It is also important to write simple sentences and use words that are understandable to almost any reader. Use the simplest words. Avoid using words which are very technical except when it is really necessary. Use words of direct and powerful actions and expressions. Use active voice in writing sentences. This would be more positive in impression. Do not include unnecessary or excessive words.

Be informative and substantive. Your article must be practical and valuable. You must do your research to make sure that your article will come out like you really know what you are talking about. Avoid lengthy idioms, analogies, quotes, anecdotes, and stories, but if you must give an example, make it short. This will ensure that your reader will get the information while appealing to their emotions. Your readers want information and definite summary of the whole article. It is this way that they will connect with you.

About The Author:

Eric Hartwell oversees http://theworldsbesthomepage.com intended to be a
user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit his associated site for jewelry - http://www.jewels2love.com

Work From Home Business Opportunity: Earning Extra Income While Studying

By Tobias Smith

Unless you have a scholarship and your parents have provided you with more than adequate college funds, you will need to earn some money while studying. Getting a descent and good
paying job off campus isn't really easy when you are a student and sometimes, your work schedule will come in conflict with your studies. In most cases, you end up cramming for exams and burning your midnight candles just to get through the semester. It's not really a pretty situation isn't it? Fortunately, there is a way out of the vicious cycle of running across town from school to the workplace.

The advancement of technology now allows students to work from home and have a more flexible schedule. If you are looking for work from home business opportunity, look no further than your computer. There are a number of online home businesses that are suitable for students. The good news about some of these online work-from-home business opportunities is that they offer possibilities of big income. In fact, if you are really good at what you do, you can easily earn a full time income while working in the comforts of your home.

Work opportunities for students

Working as a freelance writer online will give you a lot of flexibility. You can work anywhere and anytime you want if you are freelance writer. At first, the pay may not really be so good but once you are able to establish a good reputation as a writer, you will soon be earning enough money to see you through college. Note that there are many students all over the country who were able to finish a degree while working as freelance writers.

If you are a medical student with good writing skills, medical transcription will suit you well. The good thing about doing medical transcription is that you get to work well within your areas of expertise. Since you are already very much familiar with the terms and jargons used in the medical profession, you can easily understand and transcribe medical records. Another advantage of doing medical transcription is that you get to learn something while you listen to the audio files that you are transcribing. Most of the audio files that you will transcribe contain information that is valuable to the medical profession. On the other hand, if you are a political science or a law student, legal transcription is best for you.

What if you are not a good writer? Can you still work online? Yes of course you can still work online even if you are not a good writer. The internet offers unlimited opportunities for entrepreneurs and students. If you are resourceful and creative, you are bound to find a good work from home business opportunity online.

About The Author:

Start your own home business and earn multiple streams of income online. To learn more visit: http://www.easymoneyonlinenow.com

How To Select The Perfect Home Based Business

By Kal Bartal

Today, many people are taking advantage of the flexible work and turning to home based businesses which means there are plenty of opportunities and options for those who want to start a home based business. One of the first steps towards having success with a home based business is making sure you have a good home computer with internet access. However, after this it can be difficult to decide between the abundant opportunities available for those starting a home based business. It is often more a matter of finding a business that works for you since all of the home based businesses can bring you profits as long as you work at it. So how can you determine which home based business is best for you?

The first step you should take is identify what you are specifically interested in doing. While a home based business can be fun, it can also be boring if you find yourself doing something you don't like to do. You should then look at your interests and find which ones will match with the schedule you and your family has. If you have a family or young kids then you may not want a business that requires meeting with clients or one that requires you to work during the day time. Make sure your management and time plan for a specific home based business will be able to work with your family schedule.

Consider whether or not you are willing to learn. There are many opportunities on the computer that you may be interested in doing, but without additional learning you may not be suited to the job. However, with today's online learning it can be easy to take seminars online without having a conflict with your work schedule and family schedule. It may also be a good idea to follow this trend of online learning and start selling educational products since you will have a large market to work with and growth potential for your home based business.

You should also consider the company you are going to work for. Most of the companies that have home based jobs will want a payment of some kind. These payments can have a variety of
variations and it is important to make sure the company is known for their honesty and integrity before going with them. Make sure you look into the companies history and profile to make sure they are a good company to go with before starting your home based business. Consider looking for success stories and if possible talking with others who have already worked with the company in order to get adequate information about the company you are looking to work for.

About The Author:

Kal Bartal is owner of http://bartal.biz and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more about this topic Kal recommends you visit: http://www.bartal.biz

Would You Like To Improve Your Search Engine Ranking?

By John J Jackson

Get the basics right.

Your first step to making sure your site is search engine friendly is to make sure the search engines can "read" your site easily. This means getting the fundamentals right.

In this article we are going to cover the main building blocks of your site:- HTML, frames, keywords, title, description. Alt and keywords tags. We have assumed a basic understanding of HTML. At the end of this article we will show you how you can check your search engine rankings.

HTML - get it validated.

Make it easy for search engines to "read" your site. Check your HTML code. Search engine spiders are computer programs. They work to a predefined set of rules. The easier you make it for them to crawl your site the more likely it is that you will get your pages crawled without problems. Make sure you check your code for errors and that it is well formatted.

Keywords - take the guesswork out of finding keywords.

It's a good idea to do some brainstorming when choosing your keywords. Try to compile a list of all possible keywords that your potential customers would use to find your product or service. The secret of picking high performance keywords is to aim for those phrases that generate a lot of searches but at the same time have limited competition.

The Title Tag - how to optimize your page title.

When search engine spiders crawl your website they give a lot of weight to your page title. The search engine crawler uses the title to judge what the site is about. You should aim to place your most important keywords at the beginning of your title tag. Remember that the search engines will display your title as part of the search results. Try and make the title attractive to your potential visitors. The Title tag is an essential part of getting a better search engine ranking.

Meta Description Tag

When the search engines return their results it is quite often the contents of the description tag that is displayed on the search engine results page. Use your keywords in the description and make sure it is as appealing as possible. The number of visitors you get will depend to a large extent on how much they are attracted by your description. In other words no point being on page 1 of the search results if nobody clicks on your site.

Meta Keywords Tag

Search engines are putting less and less emphasis on the Meta Keywords tag. The keywords tag has been abused in the past and improved search engine rankings are less likely to be as a result of the keyword tag. Nevertheless it can do your site no harm to enter your top keywords into the Meta Keywords tag.

Body text

Remember that not all search engines use the description tag. This means that the results shown on the search page will be the first few lines of your body text. Try to put your keywords at the beginning of your text and remember to make them as appealing as possible. You are trying to get people to click onto your page rather than your competitors; so give them a reason to visit your site. Try to make use of the heading tags and if possible use some bulleted lists. Place keywords within your text in a natural way and do not spam the engines by cramming your text with keywords.

Alt tag

When you insert an image into your webpage one of the image properties is the Alt tag. In the description of your image mention your keywords. The keywords in your alt tag will not necessarily give you an immediately higher search engine ranking but they will certainly not harm your chances.

How do you check your ranking progress?

How do you know if the changes you have made are working. For a limited time we are offering a free website ranking report. This will show you your position, for your chosen keywords on Google,MSN and Yahoo. Reserve your report today. Visit our website now for full details

About The Author:

For the last 20 years John Jackson has been helping all sizes and types of businesses solve their IT problems. He has a proven track record of providing sound, business focused solutions, that are both reliable and affordable. http://www.computer-support-services.co.uk

The Glamorous Life Of A Self Employed Mom

Sheila Hull-Summers

Each morning, my 4 year old goes to preschool, followed by daycare for a few hours in the afternoon. During this time, I answer email in sweats, process orders to customers from my warehouse (the garage), and know both the UPS guy and my postal carrier on a first name basis. I am the founder and owner of Sunrise Imports, making decisions and taking care of every detail required of running a small business. And I love it! However, on a recent Tuesday, there was a glitch in my plan.

The previous night, my daughter had a temperature of 101 degrees and didn't sleep much, which means I didn't sleep much. Instead it was children's Tylenol, damp washcloths and lots of comforting hugs all night long. When 6 am rolled around, miraculously she was awake, alert and ready to watch her favorite DVD, "The Wizard of Oz" for the twenty-second time that week. All I cared about was who would make coffee. By 7 am though, her fever had returned and she was curled up on the floor with Clifford, her stuffed red dog, and her favorite fuzzy blanket, hardly noticing that the Wicked Witch was melting. Obviously, this little person I brought into the world, needed to be with her Mommy today. Shouldn't be a big deal, right? She can rest, watch t.v., draw and recuperate, and I can get a few things done in the office in between. (Insert chuckles here) I'm sure you know how the day turned out, especially if you're a parent. But for kicks, I'll give you the gorey details anyway.

The day was all about eating, playing, resting and watching t.v., unfortunately I forgot to factor in the part about a 4 year olds not wanting to do these things alone. She wanted mom's attention and reassurance every minute of every hour. Each time I'd try to sneak off to the office to check my email, she'd hunt me down then pull on my arm to come play with her. She wanted to do puzzles, draw with me, play hair salon, have a tea party - all the usual things little girls like to do. The psychological battle in my head began and it was torture. Was it more important to take on the role of entrepreneur or Mom today? Of course Mom won out, so we played. We played Chutes and Ladders, Ants in the Pants, did puzzles and painted pictures of rainbows. We ate soup while watching Dorothy and Toto follow the yellow brick road. We even had a tea party complete with 16 of our closest (stuffed) friends. It was a lovely diversion from the real world for this 42-year-old, until... the business phone rang. Back to reality, I quickly reminded my daughter of the rules when Mommy's on the telephone. Then I ran into the office, mustered up my best professional voice, and answered with confidence. An event planner had questions about making a large gift purchase for a corporate client. A minute or two into the conversation, I could hear a certain little person at the door yelling for Mommy. I became distracted and knew it would only get worse, so I took the customer's number and decided to call her back after I returned my child to sick bay.

Still in our jammies, we went back into the living room and had a chat about Mommy's work. Reasoning with a 4-year-old, hmmmm. Perhaps a bribe would work better. I made a deal with ice cream as the pay off. She took the bait and I went off to the back bedroom to make my call. Two minutes into the call, a knocking at the door. I fled to the bathroom which was further away from the bedroom door, hoping the customer wouldn't hear any of the commotion. My little monster, er, daughter got louder. Knocking and calling my name turned into banging and screaming. I finished up the call and hung up. For just a brief moment, I nearly burst into tears. Was this my life? Barricaded in the bathroom to make a phone call? Forced to do business using the toilet lid as my desk and the floor as my chair? Hiding from my child who was ready to break down the door just to be near me? If it wasn't so ridiculous, it would be comical. I smiled. Then I laughed. When I finally came out of the bathroom and opened the bedroom door, I was greeted with a big hug and a smile.

A little while later, we ate bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream while watching the tin man sing "If I only had a heart". Mom and daughter got to share quality time, and the entrepreneur took a much needed afternoon off. Apparently everyone was a winner that day.

About The Author:

Sheila Hull-Summers is the owner of http://www.sunriseimports.net Sunrise Imports, a web retailer specializing in unique home & garden decor and handcrafted gifts from Latin America and the United States.

3 SEO 'w' Factors To Consider When Marketing Your Business Online

By David Bain

Web analytics provide tools on understanding your market; from their behavioral patterns and purchasing capacity to the probabilities: what your niche market wants, how to make your site visitors keep coming back and ultimately how to convert them into devoted customers.

Today's booming internet marketing has become more challenging and competitive not only with the mushrooming of online businesses, but also because more and more online businesses fold-up just as soon as they have started. This is primarily due to the poor analysis of market trending, demographics; and several qualitative and quantitative factors.

--- Three Factors to Consider in Online Marketing:

There are several factors online businesses take into consideration to determine their success or failure. Hits, or the number of times the site was viewed, used to be one such factor. These primarily say a lot about how web surfers see your site. But then, online marketers wanted to find out more than how many times they were viewed. Web analytics devised a formula that would profile each unique visitor and store their information for future reference so it can likewise be determined when repeat visits occur. From these profiles, the marketer gets an idea of three important W's: Who, What and When.

Who - visits you. Who was interested at first sight, but never looked at any other pages on your site? Whom did you keep engrossed so much so he/she acquired your products/services? Who took the time to fill-out your survey forms or who dropped-out of purchasing something in midstream? When answering these questions, you can now see who are those who can become potential buyers and those who just dropped in your site.

What - were they looking for that led them to you? Did the search engine they used correctly brought them to you? What kind of products/services do they need that you can perhaps provide in the future? This way, you'll know which products or services you can improve to better suit your visitors. What pages did they spend most of their time on? What generated more income? Maybe the search wrongly led them to you but through the web analytic information, you may have found out their specifics and strategize a game plan that would enable you to provide them with what it is they're looking for, in the near future.

When - they viewed your site. This information is a vital part of your formula for success. Determining the peak and off-peak hours you were viewed, you may formulate marketing schemes that could increase site visits, decrease bounce rates and drop-outs.

--- How These Factors Help To Zero in On your Market:

These three W's will help in determining what parts of your website need improving. You can also know how to alter your web design in a way that will cater more to your niche market and influence their purchasing powers or do a general make-over by using the demographics of your audience. You have surely gathered these from the intricate and detailed report of web analytics. These can likewise tell if you're attracting the right traffic. If you have numbers of visits but bounce and drop-out rates are almost in parallel to them, chances are you are very likely attracting the wrong crowd. Since the onset of internet marketing and online businesses, this industry has never had more help than when web analytics came into the picture.

About The Author:

David Bain is the author of the free report Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Mistakes. Visit
http://www.Top10SEOMistakes.com to download the report today.

Earning Website Revenue From Advertising

By Connie Limon

There are two "common and very popular" ways you can make money from your website. These are:

1. Selling Goods and Services
2. Earning Money from Advertising

Earning money from advertising, if you are a first time website owner, may be difficult for you to believe. It is possible. Earning money from advertising is what this article will address.

When I first came to the internet I wondered why almost every website I was on had banner advertisements almost everywhere. I soon learned anyone with a website can display advertising banners and get paid for it. The process is through joining affiliate networks. An affiliate network is an intermediary where you can select from a variety of advertisers. Or you can simply look on the menu on most websites selling goods or services for a "join our affiliate program," or something similar to this. Usually it just involves completing an online form and copy/paste an html code onto your website wherever you want the banner to appear. When your visitors click on the banner, it takes them to your affiliate's site. Sometimes you get paid for just the referral, other programs pay out when the referral leads to an actual sale. One huge affiliate program that is very popular is http://amazon.com.

Different payment schemes:

• Pay Per Impression: You are paid according to the number of times the advertiser's banner is displayed on your site. If your site attracts a lot of visitors, you have the possibility of earning more.
• Pay Per Click: You are only paid when visitors click the advertiser's banner on your site. You will probably have better results if the banners you select suit the target consumer of your site.
• Pay Per Sale or Lead: You only earn if your visitors click through the banner on your site and either purchase an item from the advertiser or take some other action such as sign up for a service they are offering. This is like the pay per click in that you will probably get better results if you choose advertising banners to target the consumer of your site.

When do you get paid? Most advertisers will generally wait until you accrue at least $25 before they make a pay-out.

One of the most popular programs for earning revenue with your website is the Google Adsense program. This is where you run Google ads on your website. Google pays out when you accrue $100 or more.

Most programs will either send you a check or directly deposit into your bank account.

Probably the best way to choose an affiliate program is not to choose according to the payment scheme. You should choose your affiliate programs according to the kind of consumers or people who will be visiting your website. The number one most important rule for choosing affiliate programs is probably to know who your website audience is. If your website is about "cats," then choose programs to cater to cats, such as cat food, cat toys, cat books. Google Adsense Program chooses the ads that best suit the page they are displayed upon.

Some studies suggest you only choose a few affiliate programs for your website. Otherwise, your website and establishment may get labeled as an "affiliate farm," and you will not be taken seriously as an affiliate marketer.

Earning revenue from advertising is one of the easiest ways to earn money from your site. All you need is to get visitors to your site and the banners or codes in place. You virtually make money while you sleep. You might call it an extra check for marketing services of your website to gain visitors, of which, you have to do anyway if you want your website to thrive on the internet.

About The Author:

Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.websitedesignarticles.info. Website Design Articles
is a collection of articles all about website design available for information and FREE reprints to your newsletters, websites or blogs.

Which Internet Marketing Strategy Will You Choose.

By Markus Skupeika

To talk on Search Engine and its Optimization the first thing that will come to mind as the thoughts. There is a lot of talk as to whether or not certain of the search engine optimization techniques and methods are ethical. There's been much fuss lately as to the need for Search Engine Optimization of the right kind; some will tell you that to be effective Search Engine Optimization has to be "organic"; others will swear by the power of using the right software, coincidentally, their software. Then there are those who say that if you find the right "niche market", the world will beat a path to your door and leave their money when they get there. Arguments against their usage do not stand up in the face of good, old-fashioned common sense. It doesn't mean that the techniques cannot be used in unethical and unscrupulous ways; it simply means that they are not intrinsically unethical, they are not spam and it is not wrong to use them.

SEO is the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.

In the modern business world Organic search is very essential to ensure the smooth running of the online business. If the website is expected to rank on the top with the organized manner, the organized key words are the unique criteria as per the Search Engine Marketing or SEO Services. Through the key words search the Internet crawlers will find your site rather your products and services. The URL key words search plays an import role. Paid listing also can be purchased. If your URL shows up for keywords and paid listing on the same page, it may help push a visitor to your site. The problem is you don't have control over what sites your ads are placed on. It could hurt your brand if your link was found on an inappropriate site. Some search engines like Yahoo have become smart enough to associate a person to a website or a company.

Give your business a human presence. The Internet for the most part is just words and images. Letting people associate a name and a face with your company will let then know that there is a person in charge and that he is accessible, whether it is through email, telephone or instant messenger. Letting them know you are there if they need you can be a big selling point.

Podcasting is a new way to get the word out about your company. Podcasting is basically audio to go. People can download the audio files to their computer or iPod. You can provide news about your industry, tips, ideas etc. This powerful marketing tool is growing by leaps and bounds. If your industry doesn't already have a few podcasts, start one. Be the pioneer in your field, or do something that separates you from the others. If it's informative as well as entertaining, you can grow a steady fan base. The fans are a very important resource to you. You can ask them for feedback, concerns or problems they have in your area of business.

Sometimes free advice can go a long way. Also, If your make it entertaining and informative enough, people will tell others and these are the basic things of some website marketing firm and they do follow it cordially.

About The Author:

There are more ways to achieve successful http://monopolizingmarketing.com/seo-tips/ internet marketing strategies than you know. Discover the secrets to local

Reach More Customers With An Email Marketing List

By Kirk Smith

Many online businesses are using email marketing lists to send ads and other promotional materials to people in an effort to generate traffic and sales. This opt in email marketing can come in the form of newsletters, updates and special discounts as well as software upgrades announcements. This is a chance for website owners to keep in touch with those on their email marketing list and to hopefully gain new and repeat customers.

By submitting an email address, a web site visitor agrees join an email marketing list and to receive updates and other promotional information from the website. Use only opt in email addresses for your marketing campaign. There are many legitimate email suppliers out there but with any email marketing list that you purchase, be sure that the addresses also include full name, IP and date stamp in case you need proof.

Using email marketing lists, companies can send their promotional materials in a number of different formats from plain text, to pages complete with animated full color graphics. Each business has their own unique layout design, but more important than the style, is the content. Email content is what grabs the attention of potential customers subscribing to an email marketing list. So what is essential when sending promotional materials to your email marketing list and what keeps subscribers interested?

Preparing Your Email Marketing List

Keep your promotional materials light, creative and original. Most people on your email marketing list don't have the time or interest in reading a stuffy emails filled with technical information. So keep it light and friendly. Short is better than long but if necessary divide your promotional email into several short articles. Taking in several smaller bits of information is easier to digest than one long run on article.

Your email promotional materials should be clear and informative but not overly technical and should appeal to a wide range of people. In creating an opt in email marketing campaign, well written content and articles are important, Effective copy should outline the benefits of your product or service and why those on your email marketing list need what you are offering. This is where a professional copy writer can come in. They can write content that builds trust between your company and your customers.

Add photos and color in your marketing materials. Provide clear and crisp images of what you have to offer subscribers to your email marketing list. An image might be just the thing to get a reader to click through to your site for more information.

Email your promotional information or newsletters from Tuesday to Thursday. On Mondays people are usually busy with getting back to work and on Fridays they are just too busy looking forward to the weekend. So an informative and light email arriving in the middle of the week might be a pleasant little break.

About The Author:

Kirk Smith is an expert author on SEO, Affiliate & Internet Marketing. To get up to date news, information, Reports, Tips and special promotions, please visit Kirk Smith's Official Internet Marketing Blog Today http://kirksmiths.com

The Secret Of Thinking Big In Building A Home Internet Business

By Chang Wee Teo

What is the latest wave on the internet? Internet Marketing of course! Millionaires are created even in their sleep. But there are also many people in internet marketing that are not making any money at all, not to mention the millions of dollars that are spend on training materials and courses.

So how to do it?

First, we talk about being focused. Surely, with focus and determination, you could make it online with minimum help. But there are so many new opportunities to make money on the internet everyday. Before you barely start to understand how something works, you tend to jump over to another opportunity.

The key is to be consistent. Pick one thing online, start working on it and become an expert or guru in it and you will succeed.

Follow these 5 steps and you will not go wrong:

1. Decide what you are going to do, then just do it!

2. Track and test everything you do. This is the path to success.

3. Be the very best in all that you do. We mean, be the best, it is not enough to be just good. Know everything you can know about the subject. You are the expert, the guru. You are
selling information, not just books. Remember, people want to buy information from the experts, and not just someone hawking the latest book or video.

4. Share willingly what you learn. Create back links to your site in your articles. Start a blog. Start putting your information on your web site. You must create the awareness that you know what you are talking about.

5. No breaks, do something everyday. You need to spend at least 30 hours if you are working the internet part-time. If you are full-time, spend at least 50 hours every week, until you have reached your desired income.

In a nutshell, to succeed in your Home Internet Business, think big and use the 5 steps right away!

About The Author:

CW Teo is an expert in personal development. He created the Secret X Factor: Secret eXpert Series to help you turbo charge your internet business. Click http://www.SecretXfactor.com to download the Free 6 Modules Secret eXpert Series Set.

How To Use Viral Marketing To Drive Traffic To Your Webpage

By Eric Fields

Viral marketing is a great way to gain exposure for your site. The key of viral marketing is having your info passed from person to person. There are many different ways to use viral marketing, we will go over a few of them.

1. Writing Articles- Writing your own articles and submitting them to websites is a great way to viral market. Webmasters are always in need of content and all you have to do is provide them with quality content. Also be sure to try and write to the best of your ability.

2. Writing Ebooks- Another way is writing your own ebook and giving it away for free. If you have never written an ebook before do not worry. Just go to google, there is a ton of info on how to write an ebook. Once you have your ebook you can also give it away as a free bonus for ordering your product.

3. Signature Files- Use signature files in every email you send out. Think about how many emails you send to family and friends. One way to really use your sig file is to send out a joke or something funny to the people you know. In turn they will forward it to their friends and so on.

The great thing about viral marketing is there are many different ways to use this method. All you have to do is be creative and think of new ways to use this technique. Here are a few other examples. Give discounts on your product for every new customer referred or instead of a discount give away free things. Or have a contest, where the customer who refers the most new customers gets 1,000 dollars. You should get the idea. Be creative and this technique could blow your sales through the roof. Viral marketing is a very effective way to get your product out there without breaking your bank account.

About The Author:

This article was written by Eric Fields. For 400 dollars worth of free business ebooks go to
http://www.zipbz.com. This article may be reprinted provided no part thereof is edited in any way and this resource box is included.

Tips for Video in Internet Marketing

By Roger Hutchison

There's another revolution taking place on the internet and this one *will* be televised. Sort of. It's more like on video. And it's everywhere on video.

With increased rate of internet users turning to online video to satisfy their needs for entertainment and information it follows that as marketers we need to become savvy in yet another medium. This may seem daunting, but it's becoming easier to put a message into video as the software tools develop features geared towards new users and the cost of equipment and software continues to drop.

What To Put On Video

In the savvy marketing circles people know that to promote a product or service, generating good quality articles is a vital part of the advertising make-up. Articles are typically written about a particular topic and then distributed. These generally then go to your own site, another webmasters site, or into an article directory where it can be found by webmasters looking for your kind of content.

Video is the new article posting.

Whatever you put in an article can be made into a video. There are, of course, special consideration with video in that it does need to be engaging and relate something unique that cannot be put into an article.

This can be a voice-over while going through a powerpoint presentation, or better yet a demonstration done on your computer of how to use a certain piece of software or technique for running your business.

How To Get The Raw Material (Content is Still King)

A very simple way to get content into your video is just to talk to a video camera about the topic you have chosen. Some people are more comfortable with this than others, but having yourself "front and center" you put a human face on your business. People connect with people and a connection will be made to your business through you.

There is also screen capture software that will make a video of actions you take on your computer. Demonstrate using or ordering your product. Show how easy it is to place an order and what kind of confirmations can be expected.

Putting It Together

A very good tactic is to combine the two. You can do a short introduction where you talk to the camera and mention what will take place. Then switch to the screen capture video demonstrating your product or ordering process.

The basic software needed to edit video comes free with many computers (iMovie with Apple Macintosh computers and Roxio software with many PCs). This software will allow you to put together video taken from different sources, add subtitles with your site URL and other effects that you may want to play with.

Then you save the file as something that can be uploaded to your site or a video hosting service.

Finding An Audience

This is the really easy part. Now that you have your video ready to go, you just submit it for free to video hosting sites. This is a lot like submitting articles. Just go to site like YouTube, Google Video, AOL Video and others to sign up for an account.

Each site will have instructions on how to place the video in their archive, assign keywords (tags) to it, put it in the right category etc. One of the big advantages to having these kinds of sites host your video is that you can now show the video on your own site without taking up your web server's bandwidth or disk space.

Now is a great time to learn how to do online video. It's still new, so people are more forgiving of something that looks "amateur". Get good now, because this honeymoon will not last forever.

About the Author:

You can find more advice on using the internet for network marketing at TheCompleteMarketer.com (http://www.TheCompleteMarketer.com ) blog. Roger encourages you to go there and join in on the discussion! Heck, you just might learn something - like how a doctor and an engineer balance home life, child rearing and helping you get ahead.

Free Website Hosting Vs. Paid Website Hosting Basics

By Roger McLean

Web site hosting service companies on the Internet permit the user to make their web site accessible through the World Wide Web. There are huge numbers of companies that offer web space on their server for their customers and also offer Internet connectivity in general in a data center. There can be various types of web site hosting companies. The main classification is the free web site hosting and the paid web site hosting service companies.

In case of free web site hosting, the user has the right to upload his or her web site content on the server space that is provided by the web site hosting company without any cost. This type of web site hosting service is great for people who are new to to internet and plan to get familiar with web site creation and functionality of web servers. On the other hand, to get your web site uploaded on a web space that is provided by a paid web site hosting company, you need to pay the company periodic fees. The fee amount may vary from company to company. The paid web site hosting companies are best suited for professional web site owners. People who need large web space to upload their web sites and who expect a certain amount of web site visitors which is restricted on free hosting accounts to a minimum.

The revenue that the paid web hosting service companies get is through the fee that is paid to the company by the web site owners. In case of free web site hosting companies, the main source of income are the ads and banners that can be placed on their clients web pages.

The main advantage of using a free web site hosting service is that they are free of cost and hence make a perfect choice for people who are new into the business and are just looking to start out. They are perfect for people who just want to display a minimum content on the World Wide Web in small amount of web space. The other advantage of using the free web site hosting service is that most of these companies provide integrated, easy tools to upload the pages on to the hosting account. They do this realizing the fact that the free web site hosting services are generally utilized by the newbies.

There are also certain disadvantages of using the free web site hosting services. When using the free web site hosting service, you are forced to place the ads and banners by the web site hosting company on your web pages. Also the revenue that is obtained by the ads goes to the web site company. In case of paid web site hosting service, ads and banners placed on your web site are according to your will and the revenue of the banners and ads placed on your web site goes in your pocket. Also in some case of free web site hosting, the domain name of your web site starts with the web site hosting company name followed by your web site name. This is not the case of paid web site hosting service. You get a unique web site domain. The web space provided by free web site hosting service is limited whereas in case of paid web site hosting service you can buy the web space according to your requirements.

About The Author:

Roger McLean is marketing executive of http://www.mojoscripts.com. Copyright 2007 by Tela IT Inc. The article may be reproduced in newsletters or on websites provided that the complete article text is included, unchanged, and that neither the copyright declaration nor this license are removed.

How To Have Success With A Home Based Business

By Kal Bartal

Profitability is the main key to success with any home based business. A home based business can operate for a long period of time as long as you make it profitable. However, since many businesses don't have a profit to start with this is often the first goal of the home based business owners, and you should reach this goal as soon as possible. To achieve this goal you need to focus on business growth, be careful with your expenses and focus on what you are offering.

Focusing on growth is a key way to build your home based business profits. In order to influence your results you need to have the right mindset. If you don't have a profitable mindset then you are likely going to stay where you are. Rather focus on growth and have the mindset to notice opportunities when they come along that can lead to gain, then take action on these opportunities right away before they are gone.

Next you are going to have to consider your expenses. All businesses have some expenses when they first start out even home based businesses. Make sure you set up a budget that includes room for advertising, a phone line, office supplies and anything else that may be necessary to the specific home based business you are considering. On your list mark down the expenses that are necessary to operating your business, these should be items that you need in order to make your home based business profitable.

You will likely run into some expenses that you don't really need to operate your home based business. These are the expenses that don't help your business grow and only take away from the profits of your business. Carefully consider if you truly need these expenses and if they don't help with profitability then you should cut them for something that will actually help with the growth of your business.

However, you can only move your business so far by restricting your expenses. You also need income in order to gain profitability from your home based business. Promotion is the key to developing any business and gaining profitability. Basically you need to focus on making your business known to people.

You can't expect people to do business with you if they aren't aware of your company. While this may seem like an obvious point, the fact is that many home based businesses fail simply because individuals don't spend enough time promoting their business.

If you have more than one product that requires