The Finney School of Real Life

One of the reasons why it is so easy for many people to start a home based marketing consultant business is because getting clients is relatively easy. Especially when compared to most other home businesses.

And the reason why it is so easy to get clients — whether you do telemarketing or direct mail — is because (at least when you target small business owners) it’s usually pretty simple to get the decision maker — the owner — on the phone and to meet with them.

Again, this applies mostly to smaller businesses, and not the corporate giants (more on this below).

Because you see, the smaller a business is, say in sales from half a million to maybe five million, you’re going to be able to get through directly to the owner, and you’re going to be able to talk to the owner either through a direct mail piece or through the phone.

Either way, if they want your help and are struggling with their marketing, you’re going to be able to contact them.

On the other hand, if you start to choose to work with larger corporate clients, then you’re going to have to get in probably at the marketing level, establishing credibility perhaps with the person
in charge of marketing already, and then have them introduce you to the corporate decision maker or a division head.

I’ve worked with a $370 million public company. I never met the CEO, and worked only with a division head. So, you’re not going to have a very easy time contacting directly the actual owner or CEO. It’s going to have to be more through a network approach.

But really, I don’t even recommend people waste time on the big boys. Stick with the small business owners. The ones who don’t have a VP of marketing or a marketing director already. The smaller businesses are the easiest to get as clients, the easiest to grow and the easiest to make a long term income from.

Napoleon Hill, famous author of an equally famous book, “Think And Grow Rich”, discussed a concept you can use to build your website’s fortress against failure.

I recommend this book everytime I meet someone who has that “fire” in their eyes, so if you haven’t read it, I recommend it highly!

This concept is one that many website companies use already to ensure they meet all the needs of their target audience.

This concept Dr. Hill wrote about was the “Master Mind Theory”. It’s the “strength in numbers” concept. Many famous men he was fortunate to interview like Henry Ford attributed this practice as being one of the main reasons their companies were so strong.

They were convinced they could not have grown their corporations as large without the power of several minds coming together.

You can use this principle to create alliances that will outlive other companies on the Internet. I’m sure you’ve been watching all those Dot-Coms fall down like dominoes lately!

Some people shy away from alliances because they want to keep their company secrets to themselves. You can still keep some secrets and share a few. There are hundreds in your mind, I am sure!

Seek out other website owners with similar or even not so similar talents and interests. Write ebooks together, colloborate and build new websites together, or just about anything you feel like doing.

Brain-storming will make all of you powerful, and chances are 100 to 1 that whatever you come up with together will be far more powerful than anything you could’ve done on your own.

The Internet was built on community and sharing. Find someone to share your successes with!

Success to you!

Lynne Schlumpf

About The Author

Lynne Schlumpf is the CEO of a very successful ecommerce store, Route 66 Cyber Cafe, and the author of the new book “The Little Website That Could” Win a copy of this new book at this website! http://www.littlewebsitethatcould.net

It’s absolutely the easiest thing to start up your own online jewelry business! You’ll need to get your license via your local chamber of commerce, but once you’ve got that you can begin searching for wholesale jewelry products that you’ll be selling online.

Unless you are planning on making your own jewelry (something to think about in the future?) you’ll need to develop a relationship with a wholesaler. A wholesaler is the company or organization or person who buys large quantities of a product and sells to merchants or retailers (you) who then sell to the public. Wholesalers, because they buy their product in bulk, are able to sell the product at a much cheaper price than you would find in a retail store. Say, for example, that you want to sell Italian charms. In order for you to make a good profit and yet keep your products at a reasonable price, you’ll need to find Italian charms at wholesale prices.

The Internet is the perfect place to locate wholesalers and there are literally countless suppliers of Italian charms. The first thing to do is to try a search for “Italian charms wholesale” or something like that. That will bring up lots of websites and you’ll have to sift through them all to find the appropriate wholesaler for your needs. You should already know exactly what you want to be selling. Try to find a wholesaler who’ll be able to provide you with all the Italian charms you want as well as any other jewelry or materials that you’ll need. It will be much easier, especially in the beginning, to develop a business relationship with the one company that can deliver all your needs at once.

Do try to determine that the company you choose is a wholesaler or manufacturer who sells wholesale, that way you’ll probably be securing the best price. A broker is a business person who sells on behalf of a company for a commission. This will probably mean a higher price for you. Read up on the company’s history, usually found on the “About Us” page. Determine the level of experience of your wholesaler. A long history in online ordering certainly makes for a better service.

The next important thing to check up on is the policy your wholesale supplier has on returns and faulty merchandise. As a retailer you need to be happy about your product in order to sell it. As such, you need the assurance of the wholesaler that if you are not satisfied with the product you buy they’ll accept it back, no questions asked. Any wholesaler who cannot do this is not worth getting involved with.

Lastly, make sure your Italian charms wholesaler has a massive selection of charms. Italian charms are always popular so you’ll need to think about your future sales right from the start. Make sure you find a wholesaler with an impressive selection of charms and one that is always updating stock. That means you’ll always be able to provide your customers with the best products.

Dean Erickson - Journalist, and web site builder Dean Erickson lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://italian-charms-wholesale-finder.com on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Starting a home based business is less complicated and takes less preparations than most off home business need. No search for an office or a shop, no money you need to pay in advance to rent or buy a place. Not need to order a stock to be able to sell or to buy any machines to manufacture any goods to make some profits from. Even not need to go with a calculation plan to your bank and ask them for a credit.

Most home based businesses you can start right out of almost nothing.

But does that mean you don’t need to plan your actions? Or you don’t need to be prepared? NO!

Most people fail because they just run without a plan and without a target.

Let’s focus here on internet marketing. Uncountable opportunities and uncountable broken and disappointed people. But why? Because they run without a plan. Even the smallest business needs planning.

So what is it that you have to plan?

First you check your computer. Clean it from unneeded stuff and make sure that you have enough free space. Upgrade your computer if necessary, make it fast and able to download some tools without being on the limit and getting slow. Your computer is your No 1 work tool, so treat it as such.

Now take an empty file with alphabetical sheets. This is for your IDs. Print each membership confirmation you’ll get and keep it in this file. If you change your password write it down on this confirmation right away. Believe me you’ll get lost over the time without doing it.

Organize your emails. Set up files to store your emails so you can find them when needed. Like one for each company you’ll become an affiliate/member, one for training, one for IDs, one for interesting stuff you will maybe check out later and so on.

You will now have to think about the opportunities you want to join. Take a sheet of paper, or a ring file and calculate your budget. You will need to advertise and if you found yourself an opportunity you would like to upgrade to make a better money out of it, you need to pay a monthly fee. You probably need to pay a Host if you want to get seriously into the business. Write all possible monthly payments down. Don’t forget about your online charges. Do not go to extreme limit of what you are able to pay, as it is important to keep upgraded memberships if you don’t want to lose all your referred downline.

Even if some opportunities are free to join, do not go for more than two or three in the beginning. Join any company you think it is worth it and get to know the company, the products and take yourself the time to go through the training. All good companies have training and e-courses and you will profit from each and learn how to do. Join a forum (some companies have own forums) and ask about everything you would like to know. Sign up for one or two newsletter about home based business or about specific themes and give yourself a bit time to understand all the biz you are part of now.

If you sign up for too many opportunities at one time, you will not be able to get to work on each of them enough. This is what most people do. They sign up as it sounds great and it is free and then they get lost and can’t advertise none enough to turn it into profit. If you want to join more programs right at the beginning, you should get a website immediately so you can advertise this site and all your programs at once.

So here we come straight to the next planning: Plan and track your advertising. Every ad you place. You will have to control the results and change your ad or/and the site you placed your ads. You want to know that the time and the money you spend is worth it, right?

Plan all your activities and track it. Take the first three to six month as your learning phase and do not expect the big money rolling in during this time. Sure you can earn and even get into profit but do not dream about the five figure income during your first three month, as many do and than are disappointed.

Now plan your day: Time for emails reading/responding, time for training, time for searching the net for good advertising possibilities, time to study some tools and so on.

Internet Marketing is exciting and a very profitable business if you do it right. Plan your business and work with the plan. That is how Pro’s do!

Copyright 2004 D C Wartenberger

About The Author

D.C. Wartenberger is the owner and webmaster of http://www.reachoutforprofit.com

Training - Opportunities - Resources - Tools - Links - eBooks - Articles

“I love my internet business for its challenges and it enabled me to live and work part time here in Europe and on my farm in Brazil.”

Email: support@reachoutforprofit.com

INTRODUCTION

Economists like to use the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator for how well a country is doing. In order to make predictions regarding the future of countries and the industries that support the country it is essential to be able to evaluate just what makes the GDP vary so dramatically over time and across countries.

Over the past 130 years the output of countries has dramatically improved in a good portion of the world. Some countries have improved much better than others. Many studies have been done to determine what the factors are that influence the growth of the GDP. We will briefly touch on the major factors that have the most influence and then explain in a little more detail the important factors that have helped stable, mature industrial economies sustain long-term growth. After that we will discuss why the majority of these factors will not sustain continued growth in established economies and finally we will offer a solution for providing real sustained growth over the long term.

THE BUSINESS CYCLE

All businesses and economies, just like a stock market, have trends. There are also fluctuations to these trends over short term. These fluctuations above and below the output trend are known as business cycles. It is believed that over short-term analysis business cycles do affect output, however when one looks at the long-term, these cycles, or deviations from the trend (average), tend not to be as influential in the level of output as we would think. The long-term output tends to be the average of the peaks and troughs of the cycles of business.

FACTORS THAT GO INTO THE GDP (OUTPUT)

The GDP per capita is a function of the (hourly productivity) x (the average hours worked per person) x (the employment rate) x (the participation rate).

These three functions in the equation are all considered to be a part of LABOUR and thus can be simplified as such:
(the average hours worked per person)
(the employment rate)
(the participation rate)

Hourly Productivity is dependent on many different factors: the physical infrastructure in which the worker works (buildings and machinery); education, skills, technology level and efficiency of the worker and more.

We could further subdivide this “hourly productivity” into two more categories:

Physical Capital Stock (buildings and machinery), and
“Other” (education, skills, technology level and efficiency, etc.).

In economics terms, this “other” is known as Total Factor Productivity (TFP).

Now if we look at the equation, we can see that GDP (output) is affected by Physical Capital, Labour, and TFP.

GDP = Capital x Labour x TFP.

DECREASING MARGINAL PRODUCT CAPITAL (DPK)

Decreasing marginal product capital (DPK) tells us that as each new machine is added to the system; it boosts productivity less than the previous machine until at one point the last machine added offers no boost in productivity. This line is the point of equilibrium for productivity beyond which we no longer have positive results. As long as the net investment is positive a company will continue to invest, but as soon as it crosses over the line of positive output growth, they will no longer invest.

PHYSICAL CAPITAL EQUILIBRIUM STATE

We can accumulate physical capital and thereby allow the worker to work more efficiently. Capital includes machinery and buildings in which to work. Usually there is a depreciation factor in these physical products therefore over time, their value works toward equilibrium, such that the input of capital equals exactly the same value as the depreciation. It is at this steady state point that capital ceases to provide increased growth output. All companies and industries eventually move toward this steady state position. If all companies achieve this steady state, as shown in Figure 4.12 on page 71 of our text, they will converge to the same position, and competitive advantage due to physical capital will no longer exist.

In order to continue growth beyond this point, industries must therefore focus either on labour or TFP. Since it is impossible to achieve a 0% unemployment rate, eventually companies will all move toward equilibrium as well in the use of labour.

LABOUR EQUILIBRIUM STATE

As work becomes busier, more people are employed. And increase in workers (labour) will increase the productivity of an industry. There comes a time, however, where, as the industry becomes more advanced, the labour factor can get saturated beyond the point of effectiveness and actually exceeds the optimum productivity. Further research has shown that as productivity increases, GDP increases and the standard of living also increases. The general incentive to make more money by working harder begins to be replaced by a desire to sacrifice more money for more private time. Because people are social creatures and not machines they value time away from work with friends and family. Because they make higher salaries, they trade off more money for more time knowing that they can now live the same lifestyle if they work less.

In so doing, the actual productivity of the labour force reaches an equilibrium point where it stops being beneficial to the industry, and levels off. Table 3.8 of our textbook (p48) confirms this assumption.

As industries become more advanced, the efficiency of the Labour unit tapers off.

Of course, the richer nations are able to invest more in capital and labour which allows them to have a higher level of (equilibrium) output in comparison to the developing nations who cannot invest as much and operate at a lower level of (equilibrium) output. We must also keep in mind though, that it is possible to over-invest in capital at the expense of spending and consumption which would negatively impact the economy.

UNRELIABLE CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL

Human capital, “the skills and knowledge that accumulate in people, the labour force and society over time”, is another valuable asset for improving output. Even if companies have reached an equilibrium stage for investment in physical capital and labour, simply by increasing the knowledge of the worker, one can shift the output curve upward, resulting in an increase in output, and a constant capital investment rate.

The problem with this asset is that there are a great deal of variables which can affect the education of individuals in a negative way. It is difficult to control these and therefore it becomes difficult to rely upon human capital for sustained growth over a long period of time.

UNRELIABLE INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Another important factor, as seen by many economists is the role that many institutions play in the development of the industry. However, due to the difficulty in controlling things that affect the benefits of institutions, such as stability, corruption, regulation etc. as well as the continuing change of the guard in various institutions, leading to changes in policy it would not be a wise decision to consider these institutions as a major force for continued growth in established economies.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Theoretically, if economies reach the equilibrium steady-state of growth, then diminishing marginal products of capital (MPK) predict that there should be zero growth in the GDP. However, looking at real life results show this is NOT HAPPENING; although advanced countries and economies are not advancing as quickly as developing countries, their GDP is increasing which means growth is occurring.

As time passes, people are continually producing new products, developing new ideas and concepts and researching into new technology. Technology is constantly changing, and morphing to meet the ever-demanding needs of the future. We can see throughout history that technology is always progressing. Since technology positively affects the development of the economy, if industries have reached their steady state, that equilibrium must also be advancing in harmony with the advancement of technology.

Research and Development (R&D) will provide a vertical shift of the output curve, leading to greater output (from the same input due to an increased efficiency), as well as a horizontal move along the curve because new technology leads to advancement in production practices allowing for better machines to be made, and thus the continual increase of physical (and human) capital. Figure 5.11 on page 102 of the textbook sums this up very nicely.

Because growth is diminishing over time, the amount of output is not as great as we move along the curve, but as long as we move along the curve, and shift the curve up, there will be an ever-increasing output of GDP.

The diminishing MPK rule for established, richer industrialized nations pushes them to focus less on capital and labour as the major factors of production, and instead leads them to expend more time, effort and money on research and development. If we look at figures 5.12 and 5.13 on page 103 of our textbook, we can see that countries shift to spending more of their investments on research and development in order to continue sustained growth.

CONCLUSION

There are many factors of productivity that affect the output of nations. In the developing stage, capital growth and labour growth dramatically improve the GDP. As time passes, and the nations become richer, they run into a wall, or a state of equilibrium in which these factors no longer provide what is needed for continual growth.

Peter’s Law explains the capital and labour equilibriums very well:

“In any hierarchy, each individual rises to his own level of incompetence, and then remains there.”

When this happens, nations need to rely on other factors that will assist in continued growth in order to prevent a no-growth situation which leads to stagnation, and eventually a negative growth or decline in output.

Total Factory Productivity (TFP) encompasses “any factor that affects output other than capital accumulation or labour input” (pg 86 of text). There are a huge number of factors that affect the growth of the national GDP however the only reliable one for continued growth of richer, established nations is research and development. This is because as nations progress, and time progresses, technology is also continually advancing. It has, to date not seemed to hit a wall, or reach any stage of equilibrium. Employing the advanced knowledge from research and development, companies can improve their capital, thus receive better returns once again. In addition to that, they are also able to reap the benefits of improved technology.

Cameron Switzer
Intrmarket Solutions
Fukui, Japan

=============================================

Cameron has lived and worked in Japan for over 15 years. Originally a researcher and educator he has a penchant for details and a natural born flair for communication “soul to soul”. His extensive experience in the culture, coupled with language fluency and a deep understanding of Japanese ethics, morals and thought processes has allowed him to develop a special niche market in the business world.

While working to develop a global presence for a titanium material, parts & accessories distributor for the global eyeglass industry for 5 years, Cam saw the difficulties small/medium sized companies were having trying to expand their businesses outside of Japan. He decided they needed help.

Currently Cameron owns and operates a one-man (one dog) SOHO business designed to help foreign and Japanese companies in a variety of industries come together in business in a very efficient, effective, and cost-effective successful manner.

Reach Cameron @: http://www.intrmarketsolutions.com
Visit his blog @: http://360.yahoo.com/intrmarket

Business success is essentially the result of successful
leadership. Contrary to the popular myth, leaders are not
just born. Leadership skills can be learnt and developed.
A business is a distinct reflection of the leader, who may
be the owner or manager. A business is never successful
despite the leader, it is always successful or otherwise
because of the leader.

7 LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES

There are 7 key attributes that a leader must develop if
the business is going to succeed. A leader must have
vision, must be an entrepreneur, must inspire others, must
set standards, must orchestrate methods, must understand
people and must measure results.

1 Vision
Vision is the attribute that drives the leader, the reason
for existence and motivation behind being in the business.
The vision the leader has allows him or her to clearly
visualise what the business will be like when it is fully
developed. If the leader is passionate about the vision and
allows that passion to create an intensity or internal drive,
then that drive will become an unstoppable force that drives
the future of the business.

2 Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is someone who creates a business. For the
leader with intense vision, the business is a means to an end,
the vehicle which allows the vision to be fulfilled. The
leaders’ function is to develop the business and if the vision
is intense, they will never allow themselves to become
bogged down by the day to day details. The end result is
always the focus.

3 Inspires Others
A strong leader affects others and inspires them to join the
quest to fulfil the vision. For the leader, it is much more
important that the people recruited to the cause are committed
to the same vision, rather than having all the appropriate
skills to do the work functions. Skills can be learnt, but
commitment is inherent.

4 Sets Standards
The leader sets the standards of performance in the business.
If this is not done deliberately it will happen by default.
The employees will automatically follow the example of the
leader. It is best that the standards are clearly spelled
out so there is no misunderstanding of what the leader expects.

5 Orchestrator
To the leader, the way things are done are important. The
quality of service the business provides must not be left to
chance. The leader takes the trouble to determine the best
way for things to be done and orchestrates the methods used in
the business to perform the work. This allows the business to
be well organised. Quality Assurance systems are based on
orchestration.

6 Understands People
The leader understands that the business must meet the needs
of people, it must motivate them. It must motivate customers
to buy and it must motivate employees to perform the work.
In the orchestration process, the leader establishes systems
that are designed to motivate both customers and employees to
produce the required results.

7 Measures Results
Results is what it is all about. The leader is results
oriented and measures progress towards achieving the results,
which leads to fulfilling the mission. Knowing the results
allows the leader to redirect employees if results are not on
track and to reward employees for good performance.

Developing these leadership attributes will help you achieve
greater success in business.

Greg Roworth is the Managing Director of Progressive Business Solutions Limited, a business development consultancy firm with branches in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Greg has created a unique business development program that assists business owners transform their business from a state of total dependency on them to a state where the business works so well they don’t have to.

Greg is also the author of “The 7 Keys to Unlock Your Business Profit Potential,” which descibes the fundamental keys a business needs to achieve this transformation. Find out more, get 2 free chapters, or buy the book online at http://www.small-business-success.ws

Organizations have to be especially savvy in making wise financial decisions. Budgets are typically contracting rather than expanding, and donor dollars are harder to come by these days. Special events can be especially tricky as you need to deliver high impact on a very limited budget. Anything that offers multi-purpose utility is far preferable than single-use materials and equipment.

Actually, multi-purpose has become a way of life. Toothpaste cleans, whitens, and freshens breath; ottomans provide a comfy place to elevate your feet along with built in storage. The smart consumer looks for the most cost-efficient way to meet their needs and multi-purpose accomplishes that goal.

When it comes to organizational event planning, portable floors are an excellent and affordable multi-purpose solution. Portable floors can be used for dancing, sporting events, trade shows, flea markets, weddings - the possibilities are endless!

There is often no tighter budget than within a school district, where both space and money are often at a premium. In many schools there is usually one multi-purpose space. It may be the location of sporting events, dances, fundraisers, fairs, and other special events. Each event will have its own needs but the one commonality is the floor. In all cases, the floor must be safe, durable, reliable, and comfortable. Portable floors are able to meet all of those needs. The hardwood finish is a complement to any décor and is easy to maintain. A quick dust mop will get it ready for a volleyball game or a dance. The hardwood also makes it easy to decorate, since you do not have to worry about coordinating with the color of carpet!

Portable floors are also a convenient, affordable solution for using different spaces for different events. The portable floor can be used in a hotel, aboard a cruise ship, in an event hall, on a lawn, or in a banquet room. Organizations appreciate the ease and consistency of always having the same floor. Multi-chapter organizations may even choose to maximize their budgets by sharing the floor with other regions or chapters.

The right portable floor can also save money by protecting your organization from liability. Nothing ruins an event (or budget) faster than a nasty trip and fall caused by a floor. Carpet can often pull apart at a seam causing a shoe to get snagged which can lead to a fall. Portable floors can also expose you to injury risks.

When choosing a portable floor, you want one that is seamless and will not separate or de-laminate. The best portable floors do not have sticky sides or uneven surfaces. Finally, you do not want a floor that has screws or nails that can stick up and cause injury.

Portable floors offer a high impact, multi-purpose solution for any organization’s events. This is the kind of versatility that will help to maximize those budget dollars.

This article was contributed by Master Portable Floors. Master Portable Floors is the floor of choice by professional dancers. The floors have been rated highest quality by the American Swing Dancing Association and the Ball Room Dancing Association. Master Portable Floors has a unique flex action that provides a comfortable dancing surface that reduces hip and joint injuries. To learn more about Master Portable Floors visit http://www.masterportablefloors.com.

Do you get happy when outside? If so then a landscaping & Lawn Care franchise can often be the business that fits you and your personality best. Many families will use lawn Care and Landscaping products and services of one variety or another occasionally, and this need has created many opportunities for smart entrepreneurs. People spend the best times of their lives at home and really do love their homes and yards and they rely on agents to keep their houses and yards looking as good as possible. If you could be interested in buying a lawn care business then keep on reading lawn care person.

Inside the lawn care and landscaping industry are sub industries. Numbers of lawn Care and Landscaping franchises try to keep the day to day operations simple and only do the basics like mowing lawns and laying down pine straw. Then there are others that deal with pesticides, fertilizers, and similar products. for any kind of lawn, whatever it might be, there are landscaping professionals ‘unique .

When buying a lawn Care and Landscaping franchise opportunity you need to look at some of the characteristics associated with this business. One is that the work is seasonal. however, there is work that must be completed during during the colder months, but the majority of your income will be made during the summer. If you and your family are not a person that is good with budgeting his money then a landscaping franchise may not be the best business for your personality.

An additional thing to look at when buying a landscaping business is the supplies and equipment needed for operation of the business. With any chemicals they must be taken care of the right way. More than just the rules there are problems of safety to learn more about. These chemicals are often dangerous and you should be prepared for accidents and do everything you can to defend against them. So, when bad things do occur you will be required to be prepared.

Long before starting a franchise you must make sure that the franchising opportunity is reliable and has a good reputation with its current and previous owners. If you invest your investments into a new franchise, and then determine they don’t give the assistance required to be successful, you will be in a true mess when tough times arrive. Anyway, make sure that the franchise for sale has the best educational program possible and then that the franchise provides continued support as long as you own the franchise. It is also a smart move to talk with owners of the franchise investments you are considering. Since the current owners know how well the franchise deals with problems they can tell you the good and bad about each and every franchise.

Owning a business should be the best thing event in the life of a family. If you dream of working outdoors and desire to take hold of your own future then a landscaping business should make you very happy. Owning a franchise opportunity is a better bet than trying to start a business from the ground floor up and then trying to stumble a path through problems all of the time. With a good franchise business you receive the support and guidance you need to increase your chances of success. This is the best time to buy a franchise and with the assistance of a winning franchise everything will work out well.

Franchise Opportunities provides you with the Web’s largest directory of available franchise and business opportunities. We offer concepts ranging across all industries, including Lawn & Landscape Franchises, and welcome all investment levels.

Creating a ‘kick ass’ Sonic Personality© for your business requires that
your business have a personality in the first place. Of course every
business has one, whether you are aware of it or not, and this is a real
danger. Your customers’ understanding of who you are, and what you
do, as a business, may be very different from the vision you have of
yourself. This can be a very serious problem for owner-managed
businesses, where the personality of the entrepreneur oft times gets
substituted for the personality of the business - big mistake! So what’s
the first step in crafting a marketable business personality?

What Business Are you Really In?

OK kids, its story time. Back in the day, the railroad barons were the
most powerful business leaders in the country. They had the money, the
power, and the political ’shlep’ (that’s drag for the uninitiated) to do pretty
much whatever they wanted. Today railroads are a depressed industry.
So what happened? Simple, they didn’t know what business they were
really in.

If you could have asked Leland Stanford or Collis P. Huntington, what
business they were in, they would have most likely answered, ‘the
railroad business’. And in the long run, that was their downfall. Instead,
they should have thought of themselves as being in ‘the transportation
business’ and if they did, they surely would have used their money,
power, and influence to control the emerging automobile, trucking, and
airline industries.

Before you can craft a Sonic Personality© you first must understand who
you are, what you do, and why you do it better than the other guy. If you
can answer those three questions clearly, then you have the beginning
of a coherent business personality that must exist before you can have a
Sonic Personality©.

Focus On One Core Value

One of the hardest things for entrepreneurial businesses to do is to
focus on one core value. This may sound, on the surface, to be contrary
to the lesson learned from the railroad barons, but it isn’t. Your core
value focus has to be broad enough to be able to sustain your business
through the onslaught of competition and fast moving technological
change. When the railroad barons focused on just one form of
transportation they let all the other transportation opportunities slip
through their fingers and ultimately overtake them.

Most accountants and bankers will tell you to ’stick to your knitting’ and
not let yourself be spread too thin with secondary initiatives. This is
generally good advice, however there is a fundamental difference
between going off on a tangent and sticking to your core values.
Knowing who you are, what you do, and why you do it better than the
competition will help you keep your focus while at the same time allow
you to critically determine whether new opportunities are ones that you
should pursue.

Create Definition: Lift and Separate

So far I have managed to avoid using the term, brand, because it is
generally misunderstood and ignored by most owner-managed
businesses. Substituting ‘personality’ for ‘brand’ puts the notion of brand
in context. Think about it. You may have thought your business doesn’t
relate to branding concepts, but you’ve accepted, or at least are
intrigued by the idea, that your business needs a clearly defined
personality.

Al Ries and Jack Trout have written numerous books on branding and
marketing, including ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.” One of the
lessons to be learned from this book is ‘The Law of Opposites’. Simply
stated, unless you’re the ‘top dog’ in your industry, you have to define
who you are in contrast to the industry leader. This is not dissimilar to
The Theory of Contrary Thinking.

The example sometimes used to explain The Theory of Contrary
Thinking is Tulip Mania. When tulips were first introduced to Holland in
the middle to late sixteenth century, people fell in love with them. By the
early 1600s, an exchange market had been created that dealt with tulip
futures. Similar to what happen in the Roaring 20s, everyone got
involved in purchasing tulip futures for ridiculous prices, until some wise
guy yelled SELL! Panic set-in and like in the 1920s, the market
collapsed. The moral of the story is simple; if everyone is doing it, you
better do the opposite.

By defining your business in contrast to the industry leader, you create a
separate and distinct business personality that gives your audience an
alternative to the ‘big guy’. You no longer are a second banana ‘wannbe’
imitator, but rather a distinctive company with your own image,
strengths, advantages and of course, personality.

Customers Are An Audience

Finally, this distinctive personality needs to be communicated to your
audience, and you’ll notice I’ve called your customers an audience,
because that is exactly what they are. If you think in terms of audience, it
will open up a whole new understanding of communication techniques
and media, that will lead to better audience recognition, acceptance,
and ultimately sales. Now we have to give your finely crafted personality
a voice. Tune-in next time for ‘How to Give Good Sonic Personality©.’

Jerry Bader, is a partner in MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that
specializes in creating multimedia websites that enhance their clients
business opportunities by delivering their marketing messages using
the latest audio, video, Flash, and interactive techniques.

MRPwebmedia developed the Sonic Personalities© concept that
effectively conveys your brand, image and message on websites and
DVD/CD presentations using custom-crafted voice-overs.

For more information and sample sites visit
http://www.sonicpersonality.com or contact Jerry Bader at (905) 764-1246.

So, you decided to fire your boss and become a work at home mom. Sounds absolutely amazing. No 5a.m. alarm clock, no rush hour traffic, no dropping the children off at the sitter’s. Everything is going to be great from this point on. Or is it?

Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are taking the leap and walking away from their 9 to 5 jobs and working from home. It sounds very tempting and because of the explosive impact the internet has had on our society working from home isn’t just a dream, it’s reality.

However, before you venture into unchartered territory, make sure you’ve got your game plan in order.

Working outside the home has always been a dilemma for women, especially mothers. We are torn between work and family battling feelings of guilt on a daily basis about not making the dance recitals, or the soccer games because of that most important project that had to be finished or else.

Still, traditional employment does afford us some benefits working from home does not.

On the “job”, we have paid vacation and sick days, health insurance, retirement/pension plans and sometimes we’d even get a free turkey at Christmas.

So, before you take the leap, make sure you’ve checked into a few things.

Shop around for reasonably priced health insurance. Insurance alone will probably be one of your biggest expenses. Also consult with a financial counselor about retirement investing.
Social security (as bleak as it’s future seems) won’t be available to the work at home community.

But more importantly than anything I’ve shared with you, speak to your accountant. If you don’t have one…find one.

Having a home based business can qualify you for some pretty substantial tax deductions for things you wouldn’t have dreamed of deducting while working your 9 to 5.

Working at home has been so very rewarding. I’m enjoying my home and family in a way I never could have imagined. The opportunities are endless and the sky truly is the limit with dedication, hard work, and exceptional planning. So, establish your game plan and follow it through.

Roschelle Nelson is the founder and publisher of WAH4life.com. She lives and works at her home with her husband and two sons. http://www.wah4life.com