White House Photo-Public Domain

I was reading a post by Carrie Wilkerson on what it has taken to get to this moment in her business career. It's a story not filled with all flowers and rainbows, but real honesty of what it takes to build a business. For many of us who are really active on social media networks sometimes we can get the idea that all a certain segment do are fly around the world giving lectures to thousands of adoring fans and money just flows down from the heavens above.


News flash. The reason they can fly now is because they laid the groundwork. They did the tedious work, wrote the books, held the webinars, built their fan base while they were home. Their names didn't just drop from the sky, but good relationship building went into it. They blogged, did podcast, met countless people at events who just wanted  a "piece of advice."

They spent hours alone working with accountants, lawyers, partners, and clients. All that while trying to keep some semblance of a family life and not becoming strangers to their friends. You can say they actively worked towards their dreams.

Way too many are under the illusion that if they quit their job, set up a blog and yap on social networks then all the doors of prosperity will open with a flood. Uh, nope. Sorry, the get rich quick line is down the hall overflowing with fools waiting for that same thing. It takes work to make a dream come true. Mr "Four Hour Work Week" didn't start out there, he had to build his systems to get to that place. He had to have a team to help him. No work fairies, sorry.

So, if you are waiting for someone to notice you, might I suggest you will be waiting a very long time. Not meaning to hurt your feelings, but people hire people who are busy getting results. They don't hire the person with the open calendar. So, that blog you built might be indispensable if you actually filled it with information that people find valuable.

Before you follow the trend and hang out that "expert" shingle perhaps you might want to have your actions speak for your expertise. People are impressed by results not titles anyway. If you will spend the time doing the work you need to do, then you are well ahead of those waiting for that golden egg to roll to their feet.

As I have said often, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. Want to be a renown photographer, then you might want to take some pictures. The days of being an expert in a weekend are over. It's time to get to work and earn the right to give those speeches to your adoring fans. Not to swipe a line from Fame, but if you want a business, it costs, and this is where you begin to pay.

Work at home· Work Productivity

Bon Bons Delivered Fresh Daily, Naked Fan Boys and Other Lies

White House Photo-Public Domain

I was reading a post by Carrie Wilkerson on what it has taken to get to this moment in her business career. It's a story not filled with all flowers and rainbows, but real honesty of what it takes to build a business. For many of us who are really active on social media networks sometimes we can get the idea that all a certain segment do are fly around the world giving lectures to thousands of adoring fans and money just flows down from the heavens above.


News flash. The reason they can fly now is because they laid the groundwork. They did the tedious work, wrote the books, held the webinars, built their fan base while they were home. Their names didn't just drop from the sky, but good relationship building went into it. They blogged, did podcast, met countless people at events who just wanted  a "piece of advice."

They spent hours alone working with accountants, lawyers, partners, and clients. All that while trying to keep some semblance of a family life and not becoming strangers to their friends. You can say they actively worked towards their dreams.

Way too many are under the illusion that if they quit their job, set up a blog and yap on social networks then all the doors of prosperity will open with a flood. Uh, nope. Sorry, the get rich quick line is down the hall overflowing with fools waiting for that same thing. It takes work to make a dream come true. Mr "Four Hour Work Week" didn't start out there, he had to build his systems to get to that place. He had to have a team to help him. No work fairies, sorry.

So, if you are waiting for someone to notice you, might I suggest you will be waiting a very long time. Not meaning to hurt your feelings, but people hire people who are busy getting results. They don't hire the person with the open calendar. So, that blog you built might be indispensable if you actually filled it with information that people find valuable.

Before you follow the trend and hang out that "expert" shingle perhaps you might want to have your actions speak for your expertise. People are impressed by results not titles anyway. If you will spend the time doing the work you need to do, then you are well ahead of those waiting for that golden egg to roll to their feet.

As I have said often, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. Want to be a renown photographer, then you might want to take some pictures. The days of being an expert in a weekend are over. It's time to get to work and earn the right to give those speeches to your adoring fans. Not to swipe a line from Fame, but if you want a business, it costs, and this is where you begin to pay.

The internet changes daily as far as what works and what doesn't when it comes to making money online.

If you are new to work at home online businesses, your head can spin with all the hype, sales pitches , and outright lies as far as the reality of starting up an online home based business.

There are however a few things to look for in your search for a work at home business that can become some nice additional income, or even better, your "job". Working at home, generating $1000 a day is far from what I call a "job".

To help ease your frustration, and point you in the right direction for what you should be looking for in today's online marketplace, the following summarizes the 5 essential ingredients in a winning work at home online business opportunity.

Later in this brief overview, I will offer a "secret" to online success that is rarely mentioned in the many articles written on the subject.

1. SYSTEM- This may be the most crucial item to your success. You need a System that generates prospects, educates them on your business opportunity, sorts and weeds out those that are not interested in your offer, then closes the sale at a conversion rate that ensures profitability. The System must be as automated as possible so you aren't spending hours cold calling or following up with people that are probably not interested, then trying to use your sales closing skills to make a sale.

Think of the successful off line businesses such as McDonalds, Tim Hortons or Subway. Do you think they could duplicate those businesses all over the country, setting up new franchise owners to run these businesses, without a SYSTEM that works?

2. BIG Profits- This is important as the advertising needed to result in sales can be quite costly. For some $1000 price point business programs, it isn't unusual to spend $200, $400 or even $600 to make that $1000 sale. Of course, there are ways to also spend $0 in advertising, but the reality is advertising is often on the range where to make $1, you may need to spend $0.40. Your profit is still $0.60. Would you do that over and over if you had a automated system in place to make this happen? Big Profits allows enough profit so your advertising cost is well covered by your selling price. You can't do much advertising to make a profit on selling a $20 ebook for example.

3. Hot Products- Yes, the product must be tangible and have use and value. There are many new business opportunities that offer $75,000 or more worth of downloadable products that sell for $1000. That's pretty HOT, and full of value. Having a product that can be downloaded, means NO shipping. Now that is just way too easy.

4. Leads and Traffic- This is probably the most perplexing for most new work at home business owners. An online business will never make any money without a source of leads (prospects). The key to providing leads to an online business is they need to be targeted.

This means you need to advertise to a niche market of people looking for exactly what your offers. Seems so simple a concept, but so may people struggle in building their prospect list.

5. Support and Training- as with any business start up, you need to learn your work at home online business program.Make sure that your business program has ample training and resources so you know exactly what to do to get those prospects to your System. This is not always easy to figure out when doing your due diligence on an offer.

As a suggestion, make sure you ask for examples of where and how you will advertise. Also ask where will you get the wording for the ads,who will write the ad copy and the followup messages, what the conversion rates are for your system. If your sponsor can't provide good answers, then they may not be that successful themselves.

This is just a brief overview of what today's online business programs need to cut through the many offers out there and make your business stand out to others.

Earlier I mentioned I'd offer a "secret" to successful online work at home business programs that is rarely mentioned in the various sales pitches. The true secret just might be you.

Most people do not realize they are starting up a real business. There will be ups and downs, profitability may not come overnight, or you may expect riches in the first few days.

I am sure some people have had such success, but most starting out, very likely start with leads, no prior list of prospects, and a small advertising budget. You then need to make good decisions to leverage your sales to grow your business.

The best way to accomplish an online business start up is with the very best automated SYSTEM. Then you can spend most of your time on advertising and growing your prospect list- leaving the rest to the system to close sales which will deliver you paying customers. Then you can train your new customers to do what you know how to do!

For more information on automated systems, please take a look at our main business review website.

To your success!

http://www.businessreviews4you.com

Work at home

5 Essential Ingredients of a Successful Online Work at Home Business

The internet changes daily as far as what works and what doesn't when it comes to making money online.

If you are new to work at home online businesses, your head can spin with all the hype, sales pitches , and outright lies as far as the reality of starting up an online home based business.

There are however a few things to look for in your search for a work at home business that can become some nice additional income, or even better, your "job". Working at home, generating $1000 a day is far from what I call a "job".

To help ease your frustration, and point you in the right direction for what you should be looking for in today's online marketplace, the following summarizes the 5 essential ingredients in a winning work at home online business opportunity.

Later in this brief overview, I will offer a "secret" to online success that is rarely mentioned in the many articles written on the subject.

1. SYSTEM- This may be the most crucial item to your success. You need a System that generates prospects, educates them on your business opportunity, sorts and weeds out those that are not interested in your offer, then closes the sale at a conversion rate that ensures profitability. The System must be as automated as possible so you aren't spending hours cold calling or following up with people that are probably not interested, then trying to use your sales closing skills to make a sale.

Think of the successful off line businesses such as McDonalds, Tim Hortons or Subway. Do you think they could duplicate those businesses all over the country, setting up new franchise owners to run these businesses, without a SYSTEM that works?

2. BIG Profits- This is important as the advertising needed to result in sales can be quite costly. For some $1000 price point business programs, it isn't unusual to spend $200, $400 or even $600 to make that $1000 sale. Of course, there are ways to also spend $0 in advertising, but the reality is advertising is often on the range where to make $1, you may need to spend $0.40. Your profit is still $0.60. Would you do that over and over if you had a automated system in place to make this happen? Big Profits allows enough profit so your advertising cost is well covered by your selling price. You can't do much advertising to make a profit on selling a $20 ebook for example.

3. Hot Products- Yes, the product must be tangible and have use and value. There are many new business opportunities that offer $75,000 or more worth of downloadable products that sell for $1000. That's pretty HOT, and full of value. Having a product that can be downloaded, means NO shipping. Now that is just way too easy.

4. Leads and Traffic- This is probably the most perplexing for most new work at home business owners. An online business will never make any money without a source of leads (prospects). The key to providing leads to an online business is they need to be targeted.

This means you need to advertise to a niche market of people looking for exactly what your offers. Seems so simple a concept, but so may people struggle in building their prospect list.

5. Support and Training- as with any business start up, you need to learn your work at home online business program.Make sure that your business program has ample training and resources so you know exactly what to do to get those prospects to your System. This is not always easy to figure out when doing your due diligence on an offer.

As a suggestion, make sure you ask for examples of where and how you will advertise. Also ask where will you get the wording for the ads,who will write the ad copy and the followup messages, what the conversion rates are for your system. If your sponsor can't provide good answers, then they may not be that successful themselves.

This is just a brief overview of what today's online business programs need to cut through the many offers out there and make your business stand out to others.

Earlier I mentioned I'd offer a "secret" to successful online work at home business programs that is rarely mentioned in the various sales pitches. The true secret just might be you.

Most people do not realize they are starting up a real business. There will be ups and downs, profitability may not come overnight, or you may expect riches in the first few days.

I am sure some people have had such success, but most starting out, very likely start with leads, no prior list of prospects, and a small advertising budget. You then need to make good decisions to leverage your sales to grow your business.

The best way to accomplish an online business start up is with the very best automated SYSTEM. Then you can spend most of your time on advertising and growing your prospect list- leaving the rest to the system to close sales which will deliver you paying customers. Then you can train your new customers to do what you know how to do!

For more information on automated systems, please take a look at our main business review website.

To your success!

http://www.businessreviews4you.com

Lately, I have been getting in these little rants about the "jobs" that some work-at-home moms are taking. Most, are nothing short of piece work, paying as low as a penny. These women are targeted by companies, because they know women routinely undervalue their skills.

Research seems to bear this out: "There are 10.5 million women-owned businesses in the United States today, yet only 3%, or 250,000, generate a million dollars or more in annual revenue." source: The M3 RACE

EnterThe Association of Work at Home Women . Founded by Carrie Wilkerson, known as the Barefoot_Exec, this association attempts to fill in the gaps that many associations has left. Many of the other sites tended to undermine the value of women business owners by partnering with those that wanted to exploit them.

What Makes AWHW Different?

1. It is for women: Many of the other sites are for anyone who hangs out a shingle.

2. Economical: Some of the other sites price the new business owner, or aspiring business owner out of the market. AWHW offers 3 levels of membership at prices to fit any budget. Those sites that were free came at the expense of non-ending spam.


3. Offers REAL information: The SBA can handle whatever is going on in DC, but what business owners REALLY want to know is how to balance their life, be taken seriously as a business, or what structure is best for them.

4. Opportunities to connect with others: A one-person show is tough no matter how you go, but the needs of a work-at-home woman are different, particularly if there are children in the home. With the AWHW, there is the sounding board that many have craved.

5. Practical: One of the things about Carrie Wilkerson (Barefoot_Exec) is she does things with integrity and excellence. This is not JUST another organization. By looking at her other sites, reading her newsletters, and listening to her interviews; one thing is crystal clear, Carrie has a heart for mentoring women. She has gathered some of the best to help build this organization, so that it serves the needs of work-at-home moms.

6. It's tax deductable. YES!!

Watch this Movie and answer the question: Do You Deserve More?



Why joining is a No-brainer
1. The founder is one of you. She has been a work-at-home mom for over 10 years.

2. She is successful at it. There is a difference in how a person speaks when it is coming from the place of experience. You can spend your time on sites put up by nameless, faceless people or you can align yourself with the proven.

3. For the price that the AWHW is charging on a monthly basis, you can't buy a month's worth of Starbucks. But the value of the content which is being provided far EXCEEDS what she is asking.

For Example:
A. Printed Newsletter (Imagine that, something you can touch, and go back to without doing a google search)

B. Online only content (For those who need more, you get it online)

C. A Directory filled with contacts (Just think of how many rubber chicken dinners that saved you)

D. Forums: This is your place to connect, without the penny-a-piece offers that someone has put in trying to recruit others. Consider it your space.

In short, AWHW is for any woman who is tired of working in isolation or being taken advantage of by clients because there was no place to ask questions. It is time to be a part of something positive for women. Quite frankly, this Association was long overdue.YOU deserve more!.

barefoot exec· carrie wilkerson· Work at home

Association of Work-at-Home Women was Long Overdue

Lately, I have been getting in these little rants about the "jobs" that some work-at-home moms are taking. Most, are nothing short of piece work, paying as low as a penny. These women are targeted by companies, because they know women routinely undervalue their skills.

Research seems to bear this out: "There are 10.5 million women-owned businesses in the United States today, yet only 3%, or 250,000, generate a million dollars or more in annual revenue." source: The M3 RACE

EnterThe Association of Work at Home Women . Founded by Carrie Wilkerson, known as the Barefoot_Exec, this association attempts to fill in the gaps that many associations has left. Many of the other sites tended to undermine the value of women business owners by partnering with those that wanted to exploit them.

What Makes AWHW Different?

1. It is for women: Many of the other sites are for anyone who hangs out a shingle.

2. Economical: Some of the other sites price the new business owner, or aspiring business owner out of the market. AWHW offers 3 levels of membership at prices to fit any budget. Those sites that were free came at the expense of non-ending spam.


3. Offers REAL information: The SBA can handle whatever is going on in DC, but what business owners REALLY want to know is how to balance their life, be taken seriously as a business, or what structure is best for them.

4. Opportunities to connect with others: A one-person show is tough no matter how you go, but the needs of a work-at-home woman are different, particularly if there are children in the home. With the AWHW, there is the sounding board that many have craved.

5. Practical: One of the things about Carrie Wilkerson (Barefoot_Exec) is she does things with integrity and excellence. This is not JUST another organization. By looking at her other sites, reading her newsletters, and listening to her interviews; one thing is crystal clear, Carrie has a heart for mentoring women. She has gathered some of the best to help build this organization, so that it serves the needs of work-at-home moms.

6. It's tax deductable. YES!!

Watch this Movie and answer the question: Do You Deserve More?



Why joining is a No-brainer
1. The founder is one of you. She has been a work-at-home mom for over 10 years.

2. She is successful at it. There is a difference in how a person speaks when it is coming from the place of experience. You can spend your time on sites put up by nameless, faceless people or you can align yourself with the proven.

3. For the price that the AWHW is charging on a monthly basis, you can't buy a month's worth of Starbucks. But the value of the content which is being provided far EXCEEDS what she is asking.

For Example:
A. Printed Newsletter (Imagine that, something you can touch, and go back to without doing a google search)

B. Online only content (For those who need more, you get it online)

C. A Directory filled with contacts (Just think of how many rubber chicken dinners that saved you)

D. Forums: This is your place to connect, without the penny-a-piece offers that someone has put in trying to recruit others. Consider it your space.

In short, AWHW is for any woman who is tired of working in isolation or being taken advantage of by clients because there was no place to ask questions. It is time to be a part of something positive for women. Quite frankly, this Association was long overdue.YOU deserve more!.

Many companies are supporting a virtual work environment, which means that their employees have the freedom to work from wherever they wish. These companies don't believe in long drawn out meetings, endless phone calls, and wasteful "office chatter". However, they do support work/life balance and team building. Because of this, these companies are often far more efficient than most, i.e., work that a normal 40 hour a week employee can do, their employees typically get it done in about 15-20. Also, companies that choose to go virtual have an overhead that is extremely low, are reducing their carbon footprint by reducing waste.

Here are the top 10 tips for taking your office virtual.

1. Be comfortable with the technology - Instant Messaging Programs, Skype or another web based phone system (for international calls) and e-mail are all necessities when going virtual.

2. Phone service - Thinkbright.net is a good, reliable internet phone service provider. You buy the phones, give them to your employees, and can have anywhere from 1-4 extensions. As long as your employees have internet connections at home, they plug them in, and calls can be transferred to them just like you're in an office. It doesn't affect their internet connection. This is an inexpensive alternative to the larger phone companies.

3. File sharing - A great file sharing program like Yousendit.com or Google Docs, helps to eliminate the need to print out large documents

4. Virtual faxing: The online fax service, myfax.com, is ideal for sending and receiving faxes. Your documents can be scanned, uploaded and sent, just like a real fax machine. You also get your own fax number with whatever area code you'd like.

5. Be flexible - Find other places to work, rather than the home office, at least twice per week. This change of environment will help to keep your mind sharp, and eliminate the onset of boredom. Remember, you're doing this to stay away from cube life, not to enhance it. If you don't need to be by the phone all day, or don't mind making calling back from your cell phone, find a local library, coffee shop, or outdoor venue that you can work from. This will keep things interesting.

6. Regular meetings - Have regular weekly meetings with your staff - with a pre-set agenda for each meeting. Keep these meetings to no more than 1.5 hours. Encourage everyone to become prepared with a brief summary of their reports, and any un-resolved issues that weren't able to be solved during the week. This also encourages team building.

7. No matter who you are meeting with, always have an agenda and stick to it

8. Be-communicative - Encourage lots of communication between your co-workers and employees.

9. Independent contractors - Look into hiring independent contractors. Websites such as sologig.com, guru.com and elance.com are good places to find qualified people to do projects that you just don't have the time for.

10. Tracking - Track the results of your virtual program and record how much you are spending, vs. how much you are saving by going virtual.

Although working virtually may not be for everyone (surgeons, heavy equipment operators, actors, etc.), there are many opportunities for those that would like to ditch their office and have more flexibility in their work life.

Since 2002, we have been providing marketing departments, under the direction of Prachel Carter, to companies who just don't have the time to handle it themselves. We have assisted over 200 busy managers and entrepreneurs with marketing support tasks such as News Releases, Copywriting, Marketing Research, Customer Surveys, and Brochure Development & Design. Because we are a Green company, we offer our services primarily to companies that are Eco-Friendly. Visit our site at http://www.soulstice.net

Environment· Green· Marketing· Virtual· Work at home

Going Green by Going Virtual - Top 10 Tips For Creating a Virtual Work Environment

Many companies are supporting a virtual work environment, which means that their employees have the freedom to work from wherever they wish. These companies don't believe in long drawn out meetings, endless phone calls, and wasteful "office chatter". However, they do support work/life balance and team building. Because of this, these companies are often far more efficient than most, i.e., work that a normal 40 hour a week employee can do, their employees typically get it done in about 15-20. Also, companies that choose to go virtual have an overhead that is extremely low, are reducing their carbon footprint by reducing waste.

Here are the top 10 tips for taking your office virtual.

1. Be comfortable with the technology - Instant Messaging Programs, Skype or another web based phone system (for international calls) and e-mail are all necessities when going virtual.

2. Phone service - Thinkbright.net is a good, reliable internet phone service provider. You buy the phones, give them to your employees, and can have anywhere from 1-4 extensions. As long as your employees have internet connections at home, they plug them in, and calls can be transferred to them just like you're in an office. It doesn't affect their internet connection. This is an inexpensive alternative to the larger phone companies.

3. File sharing - A great file sharing program like Yousendit.com or Google Docs, helps to eliminate the need to print out large documents

4. Virtual faxing: The online fax service, myfax.com, is ideal for sending and receiving faxes. Your documents can be scanned, uploaded and sent, just like a real fax machine. You also get your own fax number with whatever area code you'd like.

5. Be flexible - Find other places to work, rather than the home office, at least twice per week. This change of environment will help to keep your mind sharp, and eliminate the onset of boredom. Remember, you're doing this to stay away from cube life, not to enhance it. If you don't need to be by the phone all day, or don't mind making calling back from your cell phone, find a local library, coffee shop, or outdoor venue that you can work from. This will keep things interesting.

6. Regular meetings - Have regular weekly meetings with your staff - with a pre-set agenda for each meeting. Keep these meetings to no more than 1.5 hours. Encourage everyone to become prepared with a brief summary of their reports, and any un-resolved issues that weren't able to be solved during the week. This also encourages team building.

7. No matter who you are meeting with, always have an agenda and stick to it

8. Be-communicative - Encourage lots of communication between your co-workers and employees.

9. Independent contractors - Look into hiring independent contractors. Websites such as sologig.com, guru.com and elance.com are good places to find qualified people to do projects that you just don't have the time for.

10. Tracking - Track the results of your virtual program and record how much you are spending, vs. how much you are saving by going virtual.

Although working virtually may not be for everyone (surgeons, heavy equipment operators, actors, etc.), there are many opportunities for those that would like to ditch their office and have more flexibility in their work life.

Since 2002, we have been providing marketing departments, under the direction of Prachel Carter, to companies who just don't have the time to handle it themselves. We have assisted over 200 busy managers and entrepreneurs with marketing support tasks such as News Releases, Copywriting, Marketing Research, Customer Surveys, and Brochure Development & Design. Because we are a Green company, we offer our services primarily to companies that are Eco-Friendly. Visit our site at http://www.soulstice.net