How are you feeling about the downturn? Governments may not yet officially have declared a recession, but the media and millions of ordinary people have. A knee jerk response for many businesses is to ‘batten down the hatches’, cut budgets and let people go.

But no matter what the economic climate, people will still buy what they want and need. The real battleground will be the value people see they are getting for what they spend. And the winners will be companies who take the opportunity to build a really strong organization. The biggest risk you can take is to try to survive doing business as usual!

What is the Opportunity? Read the rest of this entry »

As a customer, I know what it’s like to be on the customers side of the counter. You want to turn over your hard earned money for goods or services. You are then confronted with attitude, rudeness and utter disregard for just how hard you have worked for your dollar. Either the service is slow and the quality of the goods are poor, or worse the company you are patronizing rigidly enforces poor policies for handling customer issues.

As a business owner I realize the cost of poor service. Poor service decreases impulse purchases, leads to a reduction in repeat business, causes lack of referrals and negatively impacts customer relationships. When you are trying to build a business in a competitive market each of these are critical to your success. In an environment where customers have a dozen or more purchase options it is imperative that great care be taken to build your business.

How are you doing at building your business with customer service? Consider how you would handle the following customer interactions: Read the rest of this entry »

Writing an article doesn’t just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the interest of your readers and give them a reason to keep reading. You have to get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity. Here are five ways you can get creative.

The main ingredient in writing an article is creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some of us get writers block. It can be a hair pulling ordeal just to get your creative juices flowing.

Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence of the article.

So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? That’s a fair question but unfortunately, there’s no surefire ways to get those perfect ideas to pop into your head. But, there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing and put you into a perfect mindset and state of mind. Here are five of them Read the rest of this entry »

Marketing a Virtual Assistant Business is crucial to your success whether it’s through networking, word of mouth, or other methods. There are several ways to market your Virtual Assistant Business, but we are going to discuss some of the common methods.

1) Networking

Many Virtual Assisstants (VA) utilize this method and have been very successful in growing their businesses. By networking with other Virtual Assistants, not only are you building relationships, you’re also building possible partnerships. The majority of Virtual Assistants subcontract out work to other VAs that they know and trust.

Building genuine relationships can have a two fold effect. One is that you have gained a friend who you can exchange problems, business advice, and successes with. The other is that they will be more willing to subcontract work to you, and this can help you to build your business and portfolio. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet is a modern day Gold Rush! It seems that almost everybody is looking to start an online business and make their fortune! Just search for “Online Business Opportunities” and you will be overwhelmed by the thousands of options available.

Before you go parting with your hard earned cash it is worth thinking the process through. You are entering into the world of the online entrepreneur and you will need certain skills to survive and flourish there. This article looks at the characteristics you will need in this world; some you may already have, others you will have to learn. But without them you will certainly struggle with your new endeavour.

The word “Entrepreneur” can be defined in many ways. It is about clarifying one’s vision, taking action, and bringing that vision to life. In simple terms it’s getting your butt off the sofa and actually making something happen – rather than drifting through life as a couch potato who’s biggest concern is what’s happening in the latest TV soap!

There are certain qualities or attitudes of mind that all successful entrepreneurs have: Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve built a successful business or practice. You have an established customer base and you’re well-known in your geographical area – but now the economy is ruining your best laid plans! How do you weather the economic turbulence? How do you take your company to the next level during a recession?

Here are some ways to save money and grow your business during these difficult times:

1. Create worst case scenario/year-long cash flow scenario.

Take your current budget and give your revenues a huge haircut. This will allow you to see if you can weather the storm with less income coming in, but all of the same costs. Create a Plan A and a Plan B.

2. Incentivize cost savings.

Ask employees for cost saving ideas, after all they know the details of the business better than you. Offer to give them a percentage of the cost savings, or a gift certificate, or paid day off for their cost saving ideas.

3. Don’t sacrifice quality when cutting costs.

You could downsize your staff, but would your business run as smoothly. You can order cheaper supplies, but will you need to throw away half of them because they are sub par. Read the rest of this entry »

The economy being what it is, I’ve been wondering how secure my job is and how to best set myself up should the friendly pink slip be on my desk tomorrow morning.

Last week a friend put a help wanted ad in the newspaper. This is something he does in March for seasonal help. The past couple of years he received two resumes in response to his ad. This week he received 75.

These days, more than ever, a resume has to have some punch to even get noticed. Imagine having to read 200 resumes and short list it to 10. Until the stack of resumes is whittled down to Read the rest of this entry »

Securing a loan for a home business is possible, although it may be a little harder than obtaining a loan for a traditional business. On the good side, women’s home businesses are flourishing today, as many people are choosing to telecommute from home, and are operating legitimate businesses from their homes. Many mothers have been running businesses from home for many years.

Securing the loan requires much of the same work for a home business as any business. It is necessary to put down on paper a business plan, and a cash flow statement. When approaching a lender such as a traditional banking firm or loan broker, having concrete facts and projections is very helpful in making the case for getting that loan.

It may be necessary for women to obtain…
Finish: Securing a Loan for a Home Business here

The last few decades the number of African American women who participate actively in the business and general economical and financial life of the US is increasing, bringing a new wind of change to many aspects of the business life. One of the major changes that have been observed is women’s ability to apply and take loans more easily.

Whether looking for a capital to start a business, or enhance its performance, since many women are involved in the field of engineering, PR or marketing, or seeking to buy a house, there is an array of loans and loan givers today for African American women.

American and International organizations, profit or non profit, favor the African American Women, supporting their engagement in business of efforts to succeed personally. This is why there are many loans given to them, with relatively better conditions and rates. These organizations announce their grants online and inform all public offices so women who are interested in examining the option can always look on the Web, or ask at a local public office.

There is a wide selection of projects supporting African American Women run by the Government. The majority of fields of public sectors provide…
Finish: Finding Loans for African American Women here

An excellent and rather simple way to start a business or add income flow to your existing business is to start an affiliate business. An affiliate business offers an individual the opportunity to become an affiliate, or business sales partner. An affiliate is paid a certain amount of money for either a click through from the partnering web site; a fixed amount for a lead generated by an ad on the affiliate’s web site; or a percentage of a purchase made by a visitor as a result of a click through created by the affiliate.

There are two ways to successfully create your own affiliate business.

1. Creating an Affiliate Business Promoting Other Businesses
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If you have a web site with a decent amount of traffic, and you have time on your hands to search out some great affiliate programs and continue to increase your web site traffic, then you might consider starting an affiliate business promoting other merchants. While this is not a get-rich-quick scheme by any means, it can, over time, generate a fair amount of income.

Promoting your chosen affiliate business partners can be a tedious process, and can become a bit tricky at times. While banner ads are often the preferred method of promotion by an affiliate business, choose an affiliate business that…

Finish: Creating Your Own Affiliate Business here