Part of Owning a Home Based Business, is Having Fun. Taking Time Out to Laugh… This Video Had Me in Stiches. I Hope You Enjoy It!
Month:
Some Food for Thought
This Video Will Really Make You Stop and Think.
Using the Right Words in Your Marketing
Are You Using the Right Words in Your Advertising and Marketing?
Because the right words can work wonders when it comes to lead generation and conversion.
But if you are like most home based business owners, you are most likely great at what you do – you just 'hit a brick wall' when it comes to marketing what you do.
Well if that is the case, you are going to love this little report.
It contains a handy collection of the very Best Headline Words and Phrases.
I suggest that you print this one out and keep it next to your laptop, PC or Mac because this will be one resource that you're going to refer back to often. Only two pages but it really packs a punch!
Writing Headlines That Work for Your Home Business
If You Want Your Home Business to Work – You MUST Use Winning Headlines… No other words in any ad, sales letter, brochure, web page, or any other type of written communication will ever be as important to your success…
Every Home Business Owner needs to be able to make people do three things.
1. Stop! – You have to be able to get your prospects attention.
2. Pay Attention! – You want them to listen carefully to what you have to say to them.
3. Take Action Now! – After they have heard your ‘Sales Story’ you want people to ‘Do’ something.
This report contains 600 of the best headlines ever written. Download it Here and see how many of them you can adapt for YOUR Home based business.
Time Management Secrets – The Secret to Overcoming Procrastination
STOP! Before You Read This Article, Make Sure You Download My Free Time Management Guide
Why do you procrastinate?
Why don't you do the things you want to do?
Why do you have great dreams, but don't take massive action to make them come true?
The answer lies in Newton's first law of physics: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"
Let me explain:
Let's say you want something, whatever that 'something' is. Let's call it 'success' to keep it simple.
The bottom line is this: if you want success, and you want it more than anything else in the world, you will get it.
However, if you want to run away from your fears to a safe place, a place you feel secure, that means you want security MORE than you want the success. This is why you don't achieve those great dreams.
The excuses or 'reasons' will ultimately sound like:
- "I'm not smart enough"
- "I don't have the money"
- "I don't deserve more than I already have."
- "I don't have enough education"
- "I don't have the qualifications to do this"
All of these excuses are what keep us from our dreams. The way to discover what we are hiding from ourselves is to learn to ask the right questions.
We KNOW all the answers. The problem is that we don't ask the right questions. Here are two questions you can use in almost any quandary:
- "What is the BENEFIT I gain by not realizing my dreams?" or "What am I getting by not realizing my dreams?"
Trust me; you ARE getting a benefit or a PAYOFF for not realizing your dreams and you must discover what that benefit is in order to eliminate it.
One of the most common hidden benefits is that you get to stay in your comfort zone. Even if we are unhappy where we are, many times, we have convinced ourselves that going after what we want is more difficult and more painful than staying where we are. We may be miserable, but at least we are comfortable.
- The second question is: "What am I afraid will happen if I…………………. (fill in the blank with the dream)
This encompasses the changes in lifestyle we will have to make in order to achieve our dreams. This includes what we thing other people will think.
In order to have the success you want and deserve, you must answer and resolve these two simple questions.
Okay, so what do you do now?
First, turn off the phone, TV, stereo, and all other distractions. Then get a pen and paper and write at the top of the page:
"The benefits of NOT realizing my dreams are:"
List a minimum of 20. If you can't 'think' of any, then just 'guess' and write them down. About the time you reach 10-15, you subconscious mind will take over. Write anything that comes to mind, no matter how trivial or insignificant.
Just allow your mind to wander and go where it takes you. Get as specific as possible.
Very few get past this point before they have some very interesting answers come up.
Now ask yourself how your fear or procrastination has served you thus far. Realize the fear is there for a specific purpose. Find the purpose and ask yourself if it still serves you to have this fear. Perhaps it is time to let go of your fear and stop procrastinating once and for all.
When you have lost the need for the fear, you will just naturally let it go (if you are ready to do so).
And when you let it go, you will be free to move toward the things you say you want—-and you'll do it with ease and joy.
Are you ready to stop procrastinating or are you going to put if off a little longer? The choice is yours.
In life you can only have two things – Reasons or Results – and Reasons don't count! You either have what you want, or you have 'reasons' why you don't have it.
Procrastination is a disease. The cure is convincing yourself that it no longer serves you.
Want to bypass your inner gatekeeper and finally become unstoppable?
Click Here to Discover how to use the power of Instant Self-Hypnosis to change your blueprint in minutes instead of months or years…
http://thesecretofdeliberatecreation.com/dcshaudio6min.html
Welcome and Invite People’s Questions and Boost Your Sales
Do you invite your prospective customers to ask questions …or do you try to avoid getting questions from them? You’re walking away from a lot of easy sales if you don’t encourage and invite prospects to ask you questions.
1. Prospects Who Ask Questions Are Usually Ready To Buy
Prospective customers who take the time to ask questions usually have a high level of interest in your product or service. By asking questions they identify themselves as likely buyers.
A prompt and complete answer to their question along with a gentle reminder of the benefits they will get is usually all it takes to close the sale.
Tip: Make it easy for prospects to ask questions when they are at your web site or in other selling situations where there is no personal contact. For example, list your phone number or an email address they can use for questions.
2. Set up A Procedure for Managing Questions
Answering questions from prospects does not have to take a lot of your time. Many of the same questions will be repeated over and over again. But you only have to answer each question once …if you save the answer to each question to a permanent file.
Every time you get the same question again, just copy the answer from your saved file into your reply – and customize it appropriately. You will be able to answer questions quickly. And you will impress prospects with your promptness and personal attention.
3. Always Reply Promptly
Answer questions promptly. Your prospect’s level of interest and your chances of getting the sale will decline as time passes without a reply. Prospects are also likely to judge your commitment to serving customers by how long they waited to get the answer to their question.
Tip: If you find yourself personally answering a lot of questions, add a Questions and Answers page to your web site – or to your printed sales material. Include the answers to your most frequently asked questions. This reduces the number of questions you have to answer individually.
4. Take Advantage of the Selling Opportunity
People tend to pay close attention to what you say when you answer a specific question they asked. Take advantage of this. Don’t just answer their question. Include a reason for them to buy as part of your answer.
For example, a typical question may be whether or not your product or service applies to the questioner’s situation. If it does, expand your answer to remind them of the specific benefits they will get. Then tell them exactly how to order it so they can get those benefits immediately.
Remember, prospective customers who ask questions are usually close to buying. A gentle nudge from you will often get them to take action. Provide that nudge when you answer their question.
Many businesses try to avoid questions from their prospects and customers. They are making an expensive mistake. Answering questions from prospects and customers is a highly effective and very low-cost way to boost sales.
Copyright Bob Leduc
4 Easy Ways to Boost Your Home Business Sales
Here are 4 easy ways you can boost your sales for little or no new expense …and without making major changes in your selling process.
1. Focus on What Your Customers Really Want
Your customers really don’t want your products or services. They don’t even want what those products or services do for them. What they really want is to gain the specific feeling they get after buying and using your products or services.
Keep this in mind when you create web pages, sales letters and other selling presentations. Emphasize the feelings produced by using your product instead of talking about what your product is – or how it works.
Tip: Convert the benefits delivered by your product or service into vivid word pictures. Then put your prospect in the picture by dramatizing what it feels like to be enjoying those benefits.
Example, if you sell financial products, describe what it feels like to enjoy an affluent life style without debt.
2. Keep Communicating With Your Previous Non-Buyers
You’ve heard it before – but I’ll say it here again. Most prospective customers will not buy the first time they see or hear about your product or service. You’re losing a lot of sales if you do not persistently follow up with those prospects.
Your follow up procedure can be as simple as periodically contacting them with a new offer. Or it can be more complex like distributing a newsletter or providing updated product information.
Tip: You cannot follow up with prospects if you don’t know how to reach them. Set up a system for collecting the names and contact information of all prospects who do not buy from you.
Example, offer a special report, a list of sources or some other valuable information your prospects cannot get anywhere else. Deliver it only by email or postal mail so you can get their contact address.
3. Encourage Questions
Questions from prospects may be a nuisance. But answering them can be very profitable.
Prospective customers only take time to ask questions when they have a high level of interest in your product or service. Providing a satisfactory answer to a prospect’s question often leads directly to a sale.
Invite prospects to ask questions when in live selling situations. And make it easy for them to ask questions when they are not …such as at your web site. For example, list a phone number or email address where you or someone else can answer their questions.
Tip: Include a Questions and Answers page on your web site with answers to frequently asked questions. It will reduce the number of questions you have to answer individually.
4. Make Buying Easier
Every non-essential action in the buying process is an opportunity for the customer to reverse their decision …causing you to lose the sale.
Look for ways you can make your buying procedure easier and faster. For example, many marketers use a multi-step shopping cart to get online orders when a simple online order form would do the job with just 1 or 2 quick clicks.
Tip: Don’t ask for unnecessary information during the ordering process. Instead, send a personalized “thank you” message after the sale and include a brief request for the information.
These 4 selling tactics may not be new to you. But are you using all (or any) of them? If not, they can easily boost your sales …for little or no new expense – and without making major changes in your sales process.
(c) Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com
4 Marketing Myths That Threaten Your Home Business Sales
These 4 marketing myths can cause you to lose sales if you base your marketing decisions on them. But the related marketing tips I included with each myth will boost your sales if you act on them instead.
Myth 1:
People Always Buy Where They Get the Cheapest Price
If this was true, only businesses that charge cheap prices would exist. Some people buy where they get the cheapest price. But most people are more interested in getting value for their money than in getting a bargain.
Tip: Look for some low-cost ways you can enhance the perceived value of your product or service. Then test raising your price. Don’t be surprised if both your sales and your profit margin go up.
Myth 2:
Offering Your Customers Many Options Will Boost Your Sales
Presenting your customers with options usually reduces your sales. Here’s why…
When confronted with several options, most customers have difficulty making a clear decision. They often react by procrastinating – and never making a decision. When this happens, you lose a sale you already had.
Tip: Try to limit your customer’s decision making to either “Yes. I’ll buy.” or “No. I won’t buy”. Don’t risk losing them by including “which one” decisions.
Myth 3:
Everybody Needs My Product/Service
That’s what YOU think. Most of them don’t think they need it…and most aren’t ready to spend their money for it.
The hazard of this myth is that it causes many marketers to believe they can succeed without doing much marketing or selling. They think their product or service is so special that it should automatically generate hordes of paying customers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way.
Building a successful business is hard work – most of it devoted to finding customers. Even if most people can use your product or service, you still need a marketing strategy to reach them and a persuasive sales message to close sales.
Tip: Look for narrowly defined niche markets where your product or service solves a unique need of the customers. Focus your marketing on them instead of trying to reach a broadly defined general market. You’ll generate more sales and enjoy a better return on your advertising expense.
Myth 4:
Keep Changing Your Advertising or Your Sales Will Decline
This sounds logical but it’s not true. Never abandon advertising that’s working. I know many businesses that have been using the same advertising for years and they’re still growing. Here’s why…
The goal of most advertising is to attract new customers. Once someone becomes a customer, they won’t respond to that advertising again. But you can use different (and cheaper) advertising to generate additional sales from them.
But there’s still a large population of non-customers who didn’t respond to your regular advertising. Most have not seen it yet …and those who have usually need to see it numerous times before they will respond.
Don’t abandon advertising that’s working – but keep trying to improve it. And regularly test new things to see how they work for you. If you never make any changes in your advertising, your sales will eventually decline.
Tip: You can automatically keep your advertising up to date by allocating 80 percent of your budget to proven promotions and 20 percent to testing new things. When something new works better than your proven promotions, move it to the 80 percent group and start testing something else in the 20 percent category.
Don’t believe these 4 marketing myths. They’re not true. Marketing based on them will cause you to lose sales. Instead, apply the related marketing tips I included after each myth to boost your sales.
Copyright Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com
How To Recover Your ‘Almost Customers’
You’ll always need to find new prospects for your business. But don’t overlook the prospects you already attracted. Many are close to buying. Use these four simple procedures to convert those “almost customers” into paying customers.
1. Make A Memorable Impression
Create a reason for prospects and customers to notice you …and to think of you when they encounter a competitor.
Many prospects who do not buy from you the first time will come back to buy later. Existing customers will also remember you. They’ll come back to buy again — and they’ll send pre-sold referrals to you.
One easy way to establish a memorable identity is to create an important reason for customers to do business with you instead of with your competitors.
The advantage you offer doesn’t have to be dramatic to be memorable IF you promote it aggressively. It can be as simple as delivering faster results, more personalized attention or a better guarantee than your competitors.
Tip: Combine several small advantages like those described above to create a big (and more memorable) advantage over your competitors.
2. Follow Up Consistently
Most prospects do not buy the first time they see or hear about you. But they will if you follow up with them.
Your follow up can be as simple as contacting them occasionally with a new offer. Or it can be more complex such as publishing a weekly newsletter with useful information and articles.
If you don’t already have a way to collect their address, you can get it by offering a valuable gift that you deliver only by email or postal mail.
For example, offer a special report, a list of sources or some other valuable information they cannot get anywhere else. These are valuable to customers and prospects — but they won’t cost you much to provide.
3. Make Sure You Answer These 7 Buyer’s Questions
Prospective customers will not buy from you until all 7 of the following questions are answered. Customers may not consciously think about these questions. But they will not buy until all 7 are answered in their minds:
1: Exactly what are you offering?
2: Why do I need (or want) it?
3: How can I believe your claims?
4: Why should I get it from you?
5: How fast can I get it?
6: What if I don’t like it after I get it?
7: What do I need to do to get it?
Make sure you answer all 7 of these buyer’s questions in your web site, sales letters and other selling tools.
Tip: Present everything in term of the benefit it provides to customers. For example, don’t just list testimonials from satisfied customers (your answer to question 3). Point out that those testimonials prove you really do deliver what you promise.
4. Keep Your Ordering Procedure Simple
Use an uncomplicated and fast ordering procedure. Every additional action you ask customers to perform and every additional decision you ask them to make after they already decided to buy can cause them to reverse their decision.
For example, many online marketers use a shopping cart to process their orders when they could use a simple online order form. Each unnecessary step in the shopping cart process is an opportunity for customers to abandon their order …a sale lost needlessly.
Tip: Don’t ask for unnecessary information during the ordering process. Instead, send a personalized “thank you” message after the sale and include a brief request for the additional information.
Don’t overlook the easy sales you can get from old prospects that are almost ready to buy? Use these 4 simple procedures to cultivate your “almost customers” and turn them into paying customers.
(c) Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com
9 Highly Effective Marketing Tips
Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits fast.
Tip 1:
Look for some low-cost ways you can enhance the perceived value of your product or service. Then test raising your price. Don’t be surprised if both your sales and your profit margin go up.
Tip 2:
Try to limit your customer’s decision making to either “Yes. I’ll buy.” or “No. I won’t buy”. Don’t risk losing them by including “which one” decisions. The more options you offer, the more likely some customers will procrastinate and never make the decision …causing you to lose a sale needlessly.
Tip 3:
You can demonstrate a low cost for your product or service by breaking down the price to its lowest time increment. For example, “Enjoy all of this for less than 90 cents a day” (for something priced at $325 a year).
Tip 4:
Add an unexpected bonus to every sales transaction just before completing the sale. It prevents customers from developing any last minute hesitation …and changing their minds about buying.
Tip 5:
Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Postcards are inexpensive and easy to use. Most recipients who ignore other types of advertising will read a brief ad when it’s delivered to them on a postcard.
Tip 6:
Prospects who ask questions are usually close to buying. Take advantage of this. Don’t just answer their question. Include a reason for them to buy as part of your answer. Then ask for the sale …or tell them exactly what to do to place their order.
Tip 7:
Collect testimonials from your customers and use them in all your advertising. Testimonials provide evidence that your product or service delivers the results you promise. For maximum impact, use only testimonials that describe specific results the customer enjoyed.
Tip 8:
Include “benefit rich” headlines on all your web pages. Many visitors arrive at a web page then immediately click away …unless something instantly catches their attention.
Tip 9:
Continually test and evaluate everything you use or do to promote your business. Allocate 80 percent of your advertising budget to proven promotions. Use the other 20 percent for testing new variations. Most businesses using this system continue growing – even in highly competitive markets.
Bonus Tip:
Handle customer complaints quickly and with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with them instead of your immediate profit from the transaction. They will reward you with repeat sales and referrals …instead of punishing you by telling everybody they know about their unhappy experience and causing you to lose future customers.
Each of these marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for you to boost your sales and profits quickly. All you have to do is to put them into action.
(c) Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com
7 Home Business Marketing Tips
Here are 7 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any home business find customers and generate sales quickly.
1. Don’t Advertise Like a Big Business
Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. A small business can’t afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales …now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising – and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.
2. Offer a Cheaper Version
Some prospective customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped down version of your product or service at a lower price.
3. Offer a Premium Version
Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive product or service …or by combining several products or services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.
4. Try Some Unusual Marketing Methods
Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
5. Trim Your Ads
Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that some of your short ads generate a better response than their longer versions.
6. Set up Joint Promotions with Other Small Businesses
Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. This usually produces a large number of sales for a very low cost.
7. Take Advantage of Your Customers
Your customers already know and trust you. It’s easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Take advantage of this by creating some special deals just for your existing customers …and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market.
Also, convert your customers into publicity agents for your business. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising – and it is much cheaper.
Each of these 7 marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for any small business to find customers and generate sales quickly.
Copyright Bob Leduc http://BobLeduc.com
6 Home Business Secrets
Looking back on many unsuccessful attempts at home business, we wish we had received guidance from someone who had already been down the road we wanted to travel. We had so many failures that we were starting to doubt that success in a home business would ever happen for us.
Thankfully, we didn’t give up and through perseverance we were able to achieve the success that had eluded us for years. Along the way we discovered many things that we wish we had known when we started this journey.
Our success has literally transformed our lives. We believe that to whom much has been given, much is required. Consider this information our gift to you. If we can be of assistance please, do not hesitate to fill out the contact form at TheHomeBusinessPodcast.
1. Success doesn’t happen overnight.
For some reason people think that they should become rich in a few months with their new home business and some people believe success should happen within weeks or days! We introduced a man in his early 50’s to our business and he was excited. When we first met he complained that he had been working hard for more than 30 years and he was broke.
He said he never had any time for himself or his family. We told him what it would take to become successful and he agreed to do it. Then, he disappeared. A few weeks later he called to tell me that he was quitting. He hadn’t even started and here he was ready to give up.
We asked him if he would be better off quitting his full-time job and keeping his home business! Of course, we didn’t really mean that he should quit his job, but he had been working full-time for more than 30 years and he was still broke. He started his home business just a few weeks earlier and he never gave it a chance.
Why is it that so many people think that they should become wealthy in a few weeks? The answer probably lies in all the get rich quick schemes that are so prevalent in our society today. You’ve seen the emails or read these lines in your junk mail. No Selling, We Do All The Work For You, Make $30,000 in 90 days and on and on.
Those get rich quick scams cause people to think that every home business is a scam and that’s not true. We just got off the phone with Doug, a nice guy who is seriously considering our home business. During our conversation we made it clear that he wouldn’t be rich in 60 or 90 days and his response was the kind of response we hear often, “Thanks for telling me the truth. I’m happy to know that I’m dealing with people of integrity.”
We were frustrated so many times in the first year of our home business that quitting seemed like the sensible thing to do. After all, these things don’t work. Who do you think you are? Why don’t you just get a job like everybody else? These thoughts and many like them nearly kept us from success.
If you already have a home business, perhaps you are facing the same thoughts. Don’t let the negative thoughts crowd out the life changing success that a home business offers. Sure, we struggled at first, but after 20 months we were making $100,000 a year in lifetime residual income! When you find yourself facing bankruptcy and foreclosure as we were and then apply for food stamps you have a firm grasp on the tough times life can bring.
Occasionally, we’ll say “What If?” As in, what if we hadn’t stuck it out through the hard times? What if we had taken the advice of supposedly well meaning people who said that we would never have success in a home business?
What if it took you two to four years to become successful in a home business? What if you could make $100,000 without a boss and a job to go to? What if you could actually be home for your children and know them as people instead of looking at them as the little people who live in your house?
Most people who start a home business quit in their first 90 days and go back to their dreadful lives of desperation. Most people aren’t really living. They are only existing. They’re going from one day to the next without any hope of a better life. Benjamin Franklin said “most people die at 18, we just don’t bury them until they turn 65.”
2. Success doesn’t happen without work.
I talked to a woman who said she was interested in changing her life. When it was time for her to make a decision she asked me, “Do I have to do anything?” “No” I replied, “once a month we just back the money truck up to your house and unload!”
If you had a traditional business you’d have to open your business every day. If you have a job you’ve got to show up if you want to get paid. When you start a home business you can’t simply sign up and expect the money to start being deposited in your bank account. There’s work to be done.
Is it hard to become successful in a home business? Compared to giving all of the best years of your life to your employer and missing birthdays, anniversaries, your child’s first words, your child’s first steps and realizing that life is nearly over and in your golden years you don’t have the money to do the things you want to do, no it really isn’t that hard at all!
If you’re in a business like ours when you employ leverage, getting paid for other people’s efforts, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor so much more. Even if you have a home business where you do all the work it’s better than working for an employer.
We are convinced that to live a great life your home business must employ the leverage concept. It’s the only way you can have money and the time to enjoy it. The wealthiest people in America became wealthy by owning businesses. The businesses that created great wealth were out in front of a trend and the business owner got paid based on the efforts of thousands of people. We wouldn’t be enjoying the life we live today if we were getting paid only on our own efforts.
We worked really hard with very little success in our first year. Our 2nd year was the breakthrough that we were looking for, success was on the way. What we failed to realize was that during our first 12 months we were improving our skills and our confidence and that’s when success started to happen.
So, how much did we work in our first two years? We worked as much as it took. How much should you work your home business? That depends on a variety of factors. How bad do you want it? How fast do you want to achieve success? We recommend that you work your home business a minimum of 7 to 10 hours a week, and do it consistently for at least two years.
Success doesn’t happen without work and it isn’t limited to working your business. Are you committed to improving your skills and working on you? Read at least 10 pages from a great book every day. Books like “Think and Grow Rich” will change the way you think and when you change the way you think you will change your life.
Expecting success without work from your home business is like expecting a paycheck from a job that you never started. It just doesn’t make sense.
3. You must be disciplined to achieve success.
So, you’re working your new home business and a friend calls offering to take you to lunch. Can you afford to go? Your favorite show is on TV, but you know you need to be working your home business, what will you do? Perhaps the biggest adjustment most of us need to make is to be disciplined in our home business.
Let’s face it in a work environment there is usually supervision. Many people fail in a home business because there’s nobody looking over their shoulder to see that they do what they need to do.
Since most people who start a home business have never owned a business, we must learn to be disciplined, if we’re going to operate a successful home business. There were times when somebody told us no and that was devastating. We’d usually mope around and fail to do anything else the rest of the day. Had we maintained that attitude, we’d have a job right now instead of an successful home business!
Consider setting business hours. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but asking friends and family members to respect your business and your business hours is an important step to success. We’ve got a good friend who makes more than $100,000 a year and when you come over to his house during business hours you can visit with his wife, but he excuses himself and works his business. If you have a small child, work when he or she is napping and when they are in bed at night.
It’s also a good idea to have a permanent work space, so you can shut the door, eliminate distractions and get your work done.
This is a difficult adjustment for some people to make, but your children can learn that when Mommy or Daddy is in this room with the door shut that they are working. You’d be amazed at how many children will respect your space and time if you ask them too. We’ve seen many successful stay at home moms and dads work with children nearby. Don’t let screaming children or children that interrupt you on occasion become a big deal, the person on the other end of the phone may be convinced that your business is right for them BECAUSE they hear your children in the background.
When you promise to call somebody back at a certain time you’ve got to find the time. Children will appreciate knowing why Mommy or Daddy isn’t available at certain times and you can explain to them that it will be worth all the sacrifices once you become successful.
Discipline can be difficult with all the distractions that can occur in your home, but it is one ingredient that you must have to become successful.
4. Who you’re involved with is more important than the business you’re in.
Let’s face it, most people don’t really have a clue how to operate a business, any kind of business not just a home business. When we’re young we are told to go to school to get good grades so we can get a good… JOB! That’s exactly the path most of us start on, get a job, work hard, work long hours and try to get a promotion so we can work more hours and hopefully make more money.
We do that for 10, 20 or 30 years and then realize that we are never going to get ahead. That’s when the idea that a home business could change our life hits most of us. We’ve been told to be good employees and that’s what most of us have done all of our lives.
There is no substitute for leadership. If you are blessed to find somebody who has been successful in a home business and you know that they can sincerely help you change your life forever, you should jump at the chance to work with them. Make sure you’re comfortable with them before you get started. So, what should you look for? You should look for somebody that knows exactly what they are doing. When you ask questions are they comfortable or uncomfortable? Do they have a system that you can plug in to and have immediate success?
One of the reasons I failed in other home businesses is that I didn’t understand the importance of finding the right person to work with. I am not blaming my failures on somebody else, but if I had been associated with people who really knew what they were doing they would have given me guidance that I did not get. Perhaps I would have failed anyway, but there is no doubt that working with successful people will cut your learning curve and save you a lot of time and money. Only you can assure your success, but finding the right person to work with and then listening to that person gives you a tremendous advantage over most people working business from their homes!
Let’s say you have what you think is a great idea and you’ve got a little extra money stashed away for a rainy day. Your spouse isn’t overly supportive, but he or she wants you to succeed. You decide to invest $1,000 or $2,000 in your new business by taking out an ad in a local magazine. You get no response at all. How do you think your spouse feels about your home business now? That kind of mistake destroys most people and they never recover.
Last week I received an email from a so called marketing guru offering his services. I could get his marketing expertise if I paid him almost $800. Almost everything he offered we give to our team members for FREE! We know that what we’re doing works for our business because it has been tested and proven to be successful or we wouldn’t do it. His material, although similar to ours, hasn’t been tested in our business and could prove to be a waste of both time and money. What would happen if you sent that $800 and it didn’t work? How supportive would your spouse be then?
5. Technology has changed everything.
Many years ago you had to get out and meet people and most business was done face to face. You could call people around the country, but if they had any interest in your business you had to send a package overnight. That proved to be very expensive.
When we were broke, I thought everybody that sounded serious, was serious. I was sending out packages several times a week only to find that these people weren’t serious at all.
Then, the internet changed everything. You don’t have to meet people face to face anymore, although I must admit it’s still my favorite way of doing business. Today, you can upload a video in seconds, so people can see you. You can send an email with links to websites, videos and your contact information. Auto responders make you look like a Fortune 500 company, and nobody knows how big your business really is because anybody anywhere can have a great looking website.
When I started my business more than 10 years ago my long distance phone bill was nearly $1,000 a month, today we can call as much as we want for $20! You can use conference calling and web casts to present your business to hundreds of people at a time.
People can automatically receive your latest Pod cast and watch it in the subway or at lunch. This is the information age and you should capitalize on the shift in technology in your home business. Don’t worry about all the latest gadgets when you start your business because the personal touch will always be important. Even if you don’t have a lot of money technology allows your home business to operate and look like a very big business.
Don’t get too preoccupied with technology. You can, however, use it to enhance your image and your productivity if you know what you are doing. Today, we don’t mail anybody any information regarding our home business. With internet access almost everywhere, we realize that if somebody needs us to mail them something, they probably aren’t the person we were looking for.
6. It’s a home business, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a big business.
Most people that start a home business are looking for an extra $300 to $500 a month. What would an extra $50,000 or $100,000 a year do for you and your family, seriously! Maybe it’s because so many of us have failed so many times that we just don’t believe in ourselves anymore.
Once you understand the basic fundamentals of your new home business and once you’ve achieved some success, you’ll understand that the sky is the limit. We make much more money than we ever thought possible and we have friends that are making more than $1,000,000 a year! Hard to believe? Of course it is! Just because it’s hard to believe doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening.
After we struggled at so many other businesses I wanted to believe that we could become incredibly successful, but my past was holding me back. Today, we operate a home business that generates almost $10,000,000 in annual sales! Years ago I never knew anybody that made $1,000,000 a year, so it was hard for me to “see” myself ever reaching that milestone. When a good friend of mine did it, I could then start to see that I could have that kind of success.
So, do you really want to struggle all your life? Then why do we settle for mediocrity? Here’s why, we’re unsure of ourselves, stuck in a rut, scared, we lack confidence, we tried and failed and tried and failed, what will my spouse, mother, brother, best friend think? We care too much about what other people say, think and do!
7. As a Man Thinketh…
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Joyce Meyer is fond of saying that where the mind goes, the man follows. Of course, it makes no difference whether you are a man or a woman, you are what you think you are. As we struggled in our home business it was easy to become discouraged. We had always failed. Those constant thoughts of failure surrounded us.
Then, we realized that others had succeeded. Why did they succeed where so many others had failed? Could it really be that the only reason they achieved success was that they thought differently? We were so broke and so desperate for a breakthrough in our lives that we realized that we could not afford the luxury of having negative thoughts. There were plenty of other negative people that we could have listened to, but what was that going to get us?
What if we listened to the people that were positive, which by the way were the same people who were achieving success? When we started our home business we felt like the biggest loser on the planet. If something positive didn’t happen soon we were going to have to move out of state to live with Judith’s mother. How were we going to explain to our children that we had lost our home? If our home business was going to change, we would have to change first.
We couldn’t afford the luxury of one negative thought. We started making good choices. We would distance ourselves from anybody that had anything negative to say about anything! We would surround ourselves with positive, uplifting people who would speak life into our lives.
We didn’t listen to people who laughed at us and yes, there really were people who laughed at us. We believed that we would have life changing success even before there were any real signs of success. Some people call that the “fake it till you make it” concept. While we wholeheartedly endorse that concept we do not recommend that you mislead people.
There is nothing wrong with having a positive attitude. It is wrong to misrepresent your current financial situation. One of the most disappointing things we encounter in home business is the tendency that people have to inflate their incomes. There must be some school of thought that this is appealing or O.K. and it is not.
Once you lose your integrity, you can never get it back. We have done everything we can to make it clear that a home business will not typically solve your financial pressures overnight. We know many people that have made $500 to $2,000 in their first month in a home business. Very few make more than that in their first 30 days. If you think you have to lie to become successful you are wrong. We made just over $300 our first month in the home business that has paid us more money than we ever thought possible.
Negative people tried to convince us that we would never have success. We didn’t listen to them then, and we don’t listen to negative people now. We know that you can have success in a home business. We know that it won’t be easy. We know that if you get guidance along the way from successful people that you will live an extraordinary life.
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Scott Miller and his wife Judith are blessed to have been married for almost 26 years. They have two children, 22 year old Brittany Rickaway (married to Nathan Rickaway in January 2006) and 18 year old Cody who will attend Dallas Baptist University in the fall of 2007. Scott, Judith, Brittany and Cody all work together in their home business. To download 5 FREE CD’s that will change your life no matter what you choose to do go to http://www.getoutnow.com |