June 2008
Finding A Profitable Home Business!!!
Oftentimes, the promises of some companies are thick with lies and inaccuracies. At other times, disappointment comes when individuals fail in some way to really look into it.
There are different ways to go about finding a profitable home business. With some businesses, you may choose to be entirely independent, or, you may work as a subcontractor for a larger brand-name company. Here, the first choice will be what is looked at. This article will tell you how to go about finding a profitable home business for yourself.
Do Your Research With Open Eyes
There are a lot of programs being offered to people who want to work at home – that are simply not true. It usually is the same ones that promise that you will make a lot of money within a rather short time. In selecting your business, be discerning, because this will be seen often – but this is not reality. It is not a good idea to join some program without doing more research. Decide whether or not the promises are real, by looking at support from other groups and individuals.
Research the Opportunity Well
There are many ways to go about finding a profitable home business. The list of such opportunities probably has no end, but each of them should be examined carefully to see if all is what it seems.
Extra care should be given if you are looking into an opportunity that a web company is offering. Learn all you can about the company from different sources including the Better Business Bureau. Many scams abound on the internet – simply because they are rather easy to start up, operate, and disappear when convenient. Especially be wary if there are large start up fees. It would be a good idea to read some of the scam reports, too.
Many Profitable Home Businesses Are Available
The list here is growing rapidly as people get more inventive. Just about anything can be done from home, all you need is either a service or a product (s), that is in demand. The possibilities, range from pet-grooming, to catering, to writing resumes, or being an accountant, and many more. Who knows, after you look around, and spend the necessary time finding a profitable home business, you might be the first in your chosen business field.
Dianna Lives in Australia
Works from Home in Internet Marketing
Does not have to Commute!!!
Nor Listen to her BOSS!!!
My Blog: diannacary.blogspot.com
My Domain: www.diannacary.com
Question: What Profit Margin Can I Expect By Selling Used Books Online?
Question: I’m getting started in online bookselling and I want to build a large business with low startup costs. Gathering discarded books seems to be a sure-fire way to build the right inventory rather quickly. After all, the cost of goods is perfect — free. I’m curious what type of profit margins can be achieved selling used books online.
ANSWER: Over my five years in online bookselling, I’ve run the numbers several times, and I always come out to averages of a book cost of about $1.75 each and an average sale of $10 or $11. However, I have limited storage space, and for every 10 books I buy, I probably discard a couple later on.
I hand-pick most of my books at library book sales, so that helps keep the value of my individual sales high. Certainly if you were taking in inventory for free or very low cost you could live with a lower per-item sales price.
To answer your question directly, I’d say that for every $1 in cash I put into my business, I’d say I get about $5 back within two months. But like I said, that involves my time in hand-picking books, and I’m not counting the cost of my time picking books. When I say in my book “The Home-Based Bookstore” that I sold $1 million of books, that doesn’t include what I paid for the books or the cost of the 50-60 hours a week of my time (probably more the first year or two).
So to sum up, selling books on the Internet is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but if you’re willing to work hard to make $30,000 to $50,000 a year, it’s an opportunity wide enough to drive a bookmobile through. You just have to get organized and put some elbow grease into it. Most people who start a business just want to know how they can make money without doing much of anything. That leaves a lot of opportunity for the people like us who are willing to provide a service that people want.
See a real-time list of the most highly sought after used and collectible books.
Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online: http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/selling.htm
Steve Weber is author of “The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site” (ISBN 0977240606). Got a question for Steve? Send to: steve_weber@yahoo.com
The Solar System: Do Scientists Really Know How It Formed?
The vast differences between the planets do not seem to support the accepted scientific theories of their formation.
The theory held by many scientists concerning the evolution of our solar system is basically that a large gas cloud in space condensed into what we now call the sun. Chunks of this cloud flew off into orbit around the sun and eventually condensed into planets. That is, the other planets in our solar system were allegedly formed by the same process which formed our own planet, earth.
Sound logical? It might have — in the eighteenth century. Not today. Space exploration does not seem to support this.
EXPLORATION OF VENUS
On February 12, 1961, the Soviet Union launched Venera 1 into solar orbit, making it one of the earliest attempts to probe Venus. By the time Veneras 13 and 14 landed on Venus in early 1982, man had already landed several modules on Venus which relayed good data back to earth. Throughout these missions it became painfully clear to scientists that the real Venus had no resemblance to the Venus about which they had theorized before the probes.
Venus was once thought of as “earth’s twin.” It is our nearest neighbor in the solar system, and it is approximately the same size and density as earth. Although Venus intercepts twice as much sunlight as earth because it is closer to the sun, it was thought that its surface conditions were similar to earth’s since the thick global clouds of Venus reflected most of the extra light. Scientists reasoned further that since earth and Venus condensed from the interstellar clouds of the same region in space their elemental composition must be roughly the same.
The theories about Venus went as far as saying that its atmosphere was made up of the same gases as that of earth, and one day on Venus was about the same length as a day on earth.
The picture we had of Venus was of a planet similar to earth except for something of a “murky jungle” spanning the entire globe. The impression scientists gave was that astronauts landing on Venus would need little more than London Fog coats.
As exploration of Venus proceeded, facts began replacing completely erroneous theories. Not only were conditions on Venus not what we had anticipated, but the data returned by the Venera and Mariner missions showed Venus to be so different that it appeared highly unlikely that earth and Venus could have evolved from the same gas clouds. We found Venus to be a far more hostile environment than the “murky jungle” we had envisioned.
So much so, that Venus’ climate is probably more hostile than any other planet in our solar system. The only ones more disappointed than scientists were Bangladesh tigers — they were convinced that after death they went up to the jungles of Venus.
Here’s an idea of what it’s like on Venus: the temperature is around 900 degrees Fahrenheit — that’s great vacation weather, if you happen to be a tube worm with poor circulation. The atmosphere is about 97 percent carbon dioxide, as compared to earth’s atmosphere of about 90 percent nitrogen and oxygen.
Bright sunny days on Venus are nonexistent; every day is like a heavy overcast. And if the sun did come out, you could never go to the beach on Venus because there are no oceans. Venus is so dry that the relative humidity rarely reaches one percent; forget about “raindrops fallin’ on your head.” But then, on Venus, the last thing you’d want is rain. Rain on “earth’s twin” consists of sulfuric acid. Such a rain would dissolve sulfur, mercury, lead, tin, and most rocks. To go out in weather like that your Totes hat would need a lining made of tempered steel, and Tarzan would have to wear a lot more than “Fruit of the Loom.”
If you still think conditions on Venus are similar to those of earth, I strongly suggest you move to different neighborhood — your current one has completely deteriorated.
Venus has a surface pressure of about 90 times that of earth, which is the equivalent of going about a half mile down into the ocean. The sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
One day on Venus takes approximately eight earth months; a couple living on Venus could have a baby almost every “day.”
AGAIN, CONTRADICTIONS
Of all the great differences between earth and Venus, one in particular poses a very strong and obvious question: if earth and Venus formed of the same gas clouds, how can 70 percent of earth’s surface be covered with water yet the only trace of water on Venus is a relative humidity of about one percent? What happened to all the water on Venus? Or, where did all the water on earth come from?
AND THEN, THE THEORIES
One theory, and perhaps even the only one, about where all the water on Venus went is this: millions of years ago, the greenhouse effect of Venus’ atmosphere caused its temperatures to soar above 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. This caused water to break up into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen escaped into space and the oxygen mixed with molten rock forming the Venusian crust.
Then why is there a large volume of water on earth?
Scientific studies suggest that earth, during its alleged formation, was hot enough that to this day it retains a molten core. So, if earth also went through extreme heat during its infancy, why didn’t water on earth take the same course as water on Venus? By the time earth cooled, there should have been about as much water left on it as there is on Venus today — practically none.
Furthermore, there is no evidence indicating that there was ever any large volume of water on Venus. There are no gullies, trenches, or craters left vacant by oceans, lakes, or rivers. If all the waters on earth were to disappear, they’d leave some unmistakable natural landmarks behind.
The answer given by some is that perhaps Venus’ high temperatures never allowed water to even reach a liquid state.
Then why is there no water on Mars? Mars is cooler and farther away from the sun than Venus and even earth; it has no scorching atmosphere, but it is an extremely dry planet. That is, Mars does not have the kind of atmosphere which might have kept water from condensing or might have caused water to disappear as it allegedly did on Venus. Yet, Mars has only some ice at the poles and small traces of water vapor in the atmosphere. No oceans, rivers, glaciers, or even ponds. Where did all the water on Mars go? Or why wasn’t any there to begin with?
So, you see, no matter what your vantage point, earth’s surface being 70 percent covered with water is, from an evolutionary standpoint, an inexplicable phenomena. Did the planets really evolve of the same stuff in space? Did they evolve at all? It certainly does not seem that way. How do you explain three planets right next to each other, one is a dry oven, one is an arid desert, and the one in the middle is flooded with water? Evolution? Think again.
And while you’re thinking, try explaining why earth has a magnetic field while Venus does not. And why Venus revolves differently from the other planets. And why most of the planets are flat at the poles while Venus is round. And why the surface of Venus is smooth in comparison to that of earth and Mars. Because the planets in our solar system were formed by the same evolutionary process? There is no better proof than the planets themselves that presently held theories of planetary evolution do not “hold water.”
A BETTER THEORY
Maybe what we need is simply another imaginative theory concerning the disappearance of water on Venus: About 648 million ago, 7 billion little aliens with big bladders landed on Venus in a spaceship the size of Krakatoa. They drank up all the water, then flew to earth and went to the men’s room. (The women stayed home to take care of the babies — with bladders like that, babies need a lot of attention.)
THEORIES DO NOT CHANGE FACTS
The question of whether scientific accounts of the origin and evolution of the planets actually occurred is premature at this point. There’s a more fundamental question here: do theories of planetary evolution make any sense? In spite of the onslaught of “scientific” theories, which sometimes give the impression of being designed to make sense out of the irrational, our space explorations seem to indicate that these theories make no sense.
Strangely, here on earth, accurate weather predictions are limited to a matter of days. The course of such commonplace weather conditions as storms and hurricanes sometimes cannot be accurately predicted a mere twenty four hours in advance. But somehow, there are “experts” who can state with astonishing certainty how the weather patterns on Venus over alleged billions of years caused entire oceans to go up into space and down into rocks. Maybe we ought to send some scientists to live on Venus so they can give us better weather predictions here on earth?
NEW TOOLS
The problem apparently is that scientists are trying to solve new puzzles — puzzles brought about by space exploration — with outdated “tools” — old theories. It’s time to stop bending and twisting these tools in a futile attempt to make them fit the facts. It’s time to get new tools. What we need are theories which fit the facts and do not pretend to explain that which they do not. We need theories which do not become obsolete every time science takes another step forward. Perhaps such theories will come when we finally realize that although every physical phenomenon must have an origin, not every origin must necessarily be of a physical nature. Is it possible the Solar System was actually Created, or Directed to form, in its current state? You have a better explanation?
by Josh Greenberger
This has been an excerpt from his free book on evolution at EvolutionDead.com
Josh Greenberger: A computer consultant for over two decades, the author has developed software for such organizations as NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, AT&T, Charles Schwab, Bell Laboratories and Chase Manhattan Bank. Since 1984, the author’s literary works have appeared in such periodicals as The New York Post, The Daily News, The Village Voice, The Jewish Press, and others. His articles have ranged from humor to scientific to topical events. Visit his site: shopndrop.com
Teach Your Cat To Use a Harness
To teach your cat to use a harness and leash, start by putting the harness on him. Once the harness is in place, not to withhold any manner whatsoever. Praise him lavishly and make sure to give him his favorite treat. Once he is accustomed to the harness, attach the leash and let him lead you around a bit. Then, to coax him following you by offering greater treats and praise. Although some cats learn to heel on the leash, your cat must learn not to panic and struggle when he was wearing his leash
Finally, there are several other things you should teach your cat to its own well-being. He must learn to tolerate a harness and leaves in case you need to travel long distances with him or take him to the veterinarian. For the same reason, he must learn to use a cage.
Put a blanket comfortable and a favorite toy in the cage. Praise Him richly as you put it in the cage. Leave it to within two or three minutes, then released. Do not make a big thing to keep out of the body, but always reward him to go in. gradually extend the time you leave your kitten in the cage each time, until it is comfortable stay in its cage for an hour or two.
How to Build Your Author’s Platform From Scratch
Platform. These days it’s the magic word in publishing. When a publisher wants to buy, they’re not just buying your book or your idea, they’re buying you and the many ways you reach people. Some new authors focus solely on writing their books, thinking they can work on their platform after the book is published. Unfortunately, the business doesn’t work that way. You can’t wait to sell your book to build a platform, because the platform is what helps sell your book. So get started now, even if you’re still in the writing stage. Here’s how you do it.
Decide On a Target Market
It’s tempting to skip this step, especially if you feel your book or story speaks to everyone. That may be, but it’s awfully difficult–and expensive–to market to everyone. It doesn’t mean you’re shutting out potential customers, it just means you’re focusing your laser to greatest effect. So if you survived two back surgeries and your story is about dealing with chronic pain, you may target people with back injuries, but that doesn’t mean other sufferers of chronic pain (people with arthritis, for instance) will miss out on your message.
How Will You Talk to Your Market?
Thanks to the internet you have many free and low cost ways to communicate with your audience. Why is this important? Because this is how you establish yourself as an expert in your subject area. For instance, you may consider yourself an expert in back pain if you’ve developed ways to cope after having two surgeries. But you’re a more visible expert, with loads more credibility if you have a television show, newsletter or radio show where you discuss ways of dealing with chronic pain. And here’s the best part–your show doesn’t have to be on one of the big networks or even on cable. You can post your own show on the web! Likewise you can have your own radio show or podcast on the web. And blogs get tons of attention as well. This is important if you’re not known in your field.
Here’s a great example. “Sportscaster Chronicles” is a blog and podcast by John Lewis, a New York City writer who is developing his platform as a sportcaster historian. You can view his handiwork at http://www.sportscasterchronicles.blogspot.com/.
Send Out Press Releases
Don’t keep it a secret. Let the media know you’re an expert available to comment on relevant news stories. You don’t want to send releases out without reason, though. For instance, almost all of John Lewis’s sportscaster broadcasts are connected to something currently happening in the sports world. A few weeks ago it was comments that Bryant Gumbel made during the Olympics. Before that it was the death of legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy. He can send press releases alerting reporters of the material especially when, as in Gowdy’s case, he has unique information–John had interviewed Gowdy in recent months.
Let’s use the back pain story as another example. What if a popular painkiller is pulled from the market. You could send out a press release saying something like “10 Pain Relieving Exercises Developed for Former Users of Medicine X”. Reporters love stuff like that. You’ve given them a fresh angle on a story they’re already covering. And when you write your query letter or book proposal, you get to say, “pain expert quoted in magazines and newspapers”. And these days you can send a press release out via email or use free distribution sites such as http://www.prfree.com, http://www.free-press-release.com/ or http://www.i-newswire.com/submit.php.
Speak Your Mind
Speaking is a great way to get people familiar with you. If you fear speaking think of it this way–pretend you are already on book tour and this is just another forum where you get to talk about your subject! You can start out speaking locally and doing it for free. If you’re writing a memoir on your experiences in World War II, there may be high school history classes interested in hearing your story. Or, if you’ve learned how to cope with chronic pain, you could address support groups who deal with the same struggles. Speaking is also a great opportunity for adding people to your list so that you can let them know when your book comes out. Your list will always be an important marketing tool.
You don’t have to have an elaborate PowerPoint presentation or music or flashing lights to be a speaker. Just choose one or two aspects of your story or subject (you don’t want to give away your whole book!) and start presenting them. Groups such as local Rotary clubs are always looking for speakers. If you feel you need to polish your skills, join a Toastmasters group. Bottom line, if you have a compelling story, some group large or small will want to hear it.
Publish Articles
You don’t have to send a bunch of letters out to editors trying to get an assignment to write an article. You can write a meaty, content-filled article and distribute it on the web. This is another way to establish your expertise. As with the press releases, there are many sites where you can make your articles (usually 800-1,000 words in length) available for use in other websites, newsletters and blogs. It’s an excellent way to get your name in front of new audience members. Two popular distribution sites are http://www.ezinearticles.com and http://www.isnare.com.
Will You Pass the Test?
How does this all sound to you? If you’re excited by these ideas and see them as opportunities to talk and write more about something you’re deeply interested in, that’s fantastic. It means you’re on the right track–you’ve chosen a topic or story you’re passionate about. If you aren’t interested or motivated enough to want to speak and write articles or press releases connected to your topic, you may want to reconsider your book. After all, this is the kind of stuff you’ll have to do at some point to sell your book. If you don’t want to do it now, how will you sell your book later? Even more to the point, if you’re not willing or interested enough to put this kind of activity behind your book, why should a publisher be interested in working with you? You build your platform, you build your book’s future. So give it your best shot. If you feel you need help brainstorming ideas or developing your plan, hire a coach or consultant to support you. Often it’s easier to move forward when you can better see the road ahead.
© 2006 Sophfronia Scott
Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is “The Book Sistah” TM. Get her FREE REPORT, “The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers Make When Trying to Get Published” and her FREE online writing and book publishing tips at http://www.TheBookSistah.com
Sophfonia is also author of the bestselling novel, All I Need to Get By. If you liked today’s issue, stay tuned for more because The Book Sistah also offers FREE audio classes, FREE articles, workshops, and other resources to help aspiring authors get published and market their books successfully.
The Book Sistah
230 South Main St.
Ste. 319
Newtown, CT 06470
203-426-2036
Info@TheBookSistah.com
http://www.TheBookSistah.com
Website Buying Guide Checklist
Can you really get a website even without knowing anything about code, and without paying a fortune? Find out.
The days when websites were primarily distinguished by their code are long gone. Nowadays, the web is a true publishing medium that favors well thought-out ideas. You can get a professional-looking website online in minutes with many website building services and software. But what should you look for? What are the features you really need and which are just clutter?
Content Editing
Some website authoring software packages only allow you to entire plain, unformatted text. Some of them allow you to entire HTML tags. Others provide a WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) interface with options for font, links, and image insertion much like a word processor’s. Some will allow you to use more than one, or even all of these options so you have a choice on how you want to format your text.
Template Designs
Every website builder ever invented came with at least one or two templates for creating the graphical look of a website, so you don’t have to design the look of the site yourself. But some packages have very large libraries of templates, some have only a few. Some will let you mix and match elements of the design templates, while others will lock you in to one setup.
Ecommerce Functions
Many ready-to-go websites created by website builder software feature built-in shopping carts. Some even come with credit card processing. This is of course necessary if you’re going to be selling stuff direct online. But if you’re not going to be selling anything, ecommerce functionalities may just complicate the administration of the site and pad the price for the software or service.
Blogging Functions
Blogs are “web logs,” but blogging software involves more than just a simple online journal. Blogging technology allows you to send your new posts directly to subscribers via RSS, without them having to visit your site or receive an email from you. Still, unless you plan on updating your site regularly (at least once a month), your website’s blog will just gather cobwebs.
Some hosted web authoring systems provide email accounts at no additional charge, while others do charge separately. Some web builder systems even come with modules for creating email newsletters.
Support
It is very likely that you will encounter a technical difficulty at some point while owning your website. Make sure you know in advance of paying whether the company provides only paid support, and if any included support is over email, a web ticketing system, or the telephone.
Photo and Image Management
For many, if not most, people who want personal websites, displaying pictures online is a primary motivation, if not the only motivation. If you want to display pictures on your website, make sure to choose a website builder system that makes it easy to upload and publish images.
Renting vs. Owning
You can buy website authoring software upfront for a flat fee, or you can “rent;” i.e., pay a company every month to use a hosted service. The choice is up to you, but remember that the hosted service will likely charge you much more in the end: averaging around $20/month, hosted the typical hosted website builder will cost you $240/year–far more than most desktop software.
In short, you don’t need to know how a website is coded to make one, any more than a book author needs to know about printing ink. Don’t burden yourself with learning how to do web design. Having fun with your website starts with choosing a website builder software that will make it fun.
Joel Walsh recommends you check out www.ezgenerator.com/documents/167.html?%20web%20authoring%20software[Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "web authoring software" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
Get Speaking
On a recent Sunday evening, I watched a friend ‘graduate’ from a beginner’s class for stand-up comedians.
Needless to say, I saw many levels of competence and talent as the nine students gave their 10 minute ‘commencement speeches’ before an audience of perhaps 250, mostly friends and family.
Some, obviously, would never make it to prime time. Others have a good chance, given determination and patience. But, what’s striking is that they all got up on the stage and did their acts.
I know it takes courage to stand up on a stage and deliver a conventional speech, and it must take even more to deliver a comedy monologue, especially for the first time.
If you’ve itched to take the stage, but fear holds you back, perhaps their example will give you the extra push you need to take the plunge. The good news is that you can overcome that fear. And you overcome it with two things: knowledge and practice.
Knowledge refers to the strategies, tactics, and techniques used by speakers, and involves learning about the many, diverse elements that go into a speech or presentation.
In a properly-managed learning process you work with the elements individually. In one speech you’ll focus on the way you stand, in another you’ll focus on what you’re doing with your hands, and so on.
With practice, each element becomes more natural and eventually you’ll master and incorporate them all into your speeches – without even thinking about them.
Personally, my big challenge was eye contact. With a background in radio, I had lots of experience with speaking to others, speaking to literally thousands of people at a time. But, put me in a room with a dozen people looking back and I felt that gut-wrenching chill that novice speakers know so well. After a few speeches, though, I was over it. I had enough knowledge of the mechanics of speaking to get over my fear.
That takes us to the matter of practice. The only way you’ll learn to use your newfound knowledge is through practice – standing in front of an audience and using what you’ve learned.
The elements only become natural and automatic through practice. And here’s a bonus: you also become increasingly familiar with what happens in the audience as you speak. That allows you to adjust your content or presentation on the fly, to get the results you want.
For me, the path to enjoyable public speaking – and I now love it – came through Toastmasters. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a non-profit organization, made up of local clubs, where aspiring speakers learn from each other. I strongly recommend it. And, hey! If you go on to do a comedy act in front of a crowd one day, maybe I’ll be cheering for you.
In summary, don’t think of public speaking as one big leap; think instead of learning a series of elements one by one, and increasing your proficiency with them through practice.
Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:
http://www.communication-newsletter.com
The 7 Major Reasons Businesses Fail and How to Overcome Them
This year, over 800,000 of the approximately 2,000,000 start
up businesses will fail!
Nearly 1,000,000 of those remaining will fail within 3 years.
Why do so many businesses fail? Many studies show that
approximately 98% of all failures occur because of the
owners. The other 2% are a result of acts of God. Here are
the key reasons and actions owners can take to avoid and
overcome business failure:
Reason #1: The owner is not mentally prepared or
motivated to run a business. There are three different ways
to use your energy, and your physical and mental efforts to
earn money. I call them the three “Games of Work.,” and
they define the types of relationships between people and
their work. The rules that players have to follow to succeed
for each “Game” are shown below.
1. Bureaucrats,: Do what it takes to protect or expand their
position; Will divert responsibility whenever possible, but
will take credit for desirable results of others; The success
of the organization is secondary to kissing up to those who
make decisions about promotions, salaries and job
security; Have virtually no control over their job security; And
are compensated for basically showing up.
2. Partial Entrepreneurs: Choose to be responsible for work
performed or results achieved in their specialized field, but
do not want responsibility for the total business. Have more
control over their job and its security; And are paid for the
specific results they produce. Examples of Partial
Entrepreneurs include; commissioned salesmen, multilevel
marketing members, franchisees, and real estate agents.
3. Business Owners: Take full responsibility for their
business; Are in full control over their job and its security
(whether they know it or not); Have no one in the
organization to kiss up to; Learn to pass on as much credit
as possible; Constantly focus on the success of the
business; And are compensated only from the profits of the
business.
As you can see, the rules of a Bureaucrat and a Business
Owner are completely opposites in all categories, and the
Partial Entrepreneur is basically in the middle. The mental
effort it takes to convert from Bureaucrat or Partial
Entrepreneur to Business Owner is much greater than most
people realize. Many business owners never fully make the
transition.
Action: Before becoming a business owner in the first
place, determine if you truly want and will operate under the
Business Owner “Game Rules.” If you choose to, do so
IMMEDIATELY, and COMPLETELY! To survive, let alone
succeed, you must commit to operate under the Business
Owner Rules 100%. Otherwise, you should seriously
consider playing one of the other “Games of Work” that best
suits your desires.
Reason #2: The business owner is unable to operate a
business. The success or failure of a business depends
on the owner. As the head goes, so goes the body.
Running a business is completely different than any other
“Game of Work,” but, believe it or not, the rules are the same
for all types of businesses. Far too many owners fail to take
the time and energy to improve their own ability to run their
business. This means that they need to grow as a person
first and enrich themselves and discover their true passions
and priorities to be able to have the maturity, drive, and
energy to allow them to manage themselves and a
business simultaneously.
Action: You will greatly enhance your chances for success
by finding methods of self-improvement in all aspects of
running a business, and continue the process throughout
your entire business-ownership career. Obviously, as you
become better at running your business, the success of
your business will also get better. Many resources are
available to you, including respected advisors, mentors,
partners, “Godfathers, ” and coaches.
Reason #3: The business owner thinks he knows what it
takes to run a successful business and is convinced he is
fully prepared to jump in. This is rarely true. The
fundamentals of owning and operating a business
sometimes referred to as the “rules of the game,” are rarely
taught in the U.S. school system. (See Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor, published by Babson College
and Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, July,
1999.)
We are led to believe that an education fully prepares us for
running a business. In truth, the U.S. school system only
prepares us to get a job, not create jobs. The fundamentals
of successfully owning and operating a business are very
different from getting and keeping a job. Unfortunately, most
business owners are left to learn these fundamentals
through the age-old process of “Trial and Error” with an
emphasis on error. This “Trial and Error” dependence
causes far too many serious and fatal errors, and leads to
stress, financial damage, and eventual failure.
Action: Learn the rules of the game of business, other than
through the “Trial and Error” method. The very best way is to
find and use trusted mentors, advisors, and/or coaches to
guide you through the process of learning how to improve
your capability to run your business to avoid the many errors
others make. Frankly, the rules are simple, easy to learn,
and are based upon common sense, and high integrity
Reason #4: The business owner tries to execute all three of
the three basic functions needed for a business to succeed,
alone and without help. (See The E Myth Revisited by
Michael Gerber).
The three key functions a business must have executed to
succeed are:
The Technical function, which is the execution of the actual
service or product provided by the business. For example
the drafting action of a drafting company, the auto repair
actions of an auto repair company, the production of a boat
of a boat building company.
The Managerial function, which is the organization,
coordination, and supervision of the people assets and
activity of the business on a day to day basis.
The Visionary function, which is the discovery, setting and
communication of the future goals and purposes of the
entire business. The leadership to get all parts of the
business flowing towards the long term goals established.
The level of success of a business is limited to the level of
the execution of the weakest link of the three business
functions described. A business that has two of the
functions executed in an excellent manner and the other in a
poorly manner will eventually level out no higher than poor.
Yet, entrepreneurs (budding business owners) and
business owners try to personally perform all three
functions themselves. One single person will have an
extremely difficult time performing all three functions at a
high enough level for the business to eventually succeed.
Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all
time, could not translate his huge basketball skills into a
successful baseball career. He proved that the skills
needed to succeed at the game of baseball are much
different from the skills needed to succeed at the game of
basketball. And when he returned to basketball, he had to
work extra hard to re-sharpen his basketball skills to his
previous levels. Likewise, the skills of owning and
operating a business are specific and very different than the
other two “Games of Work.”
Action: Get help from someone, a partner, an employee or
an outsourcing resource to perform at least one of the two
functions for the business. This way that function can be
executed at a very high level and will allow you to focus on
executing no more than the other two at a similar high level.
Normally entrepreneurs initiate businesses where they
bring the technical skills and motivation to the table.
The three skills necessary to win in the business game are:
Technical Skills of the business; Managerial Skills to
manage yourself, time, things, concepts, and people; and
Visionary Skills to set future goals and organize the
business so that current activities will contribute to them
(See The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber).
You probably bring Technical Skills to the table, but to
succeed, you will also want to master the Managerial and
Visionary Skills. You are not born with these skills; you
learn them. You are born with natural talents towards
certain skills, but you have to work to perfect them. Michael
Jordan, and Tiger Woods were obviously born with
unbelievable talents, but they became successful only
because they worked very hard at developing the skills they
needed to win. Likewise, you will want to work to develop
your Management and Visionary Skills (from the Business
Owners Perspective) and continue the process throughout
your business ownership career.
Reason #5: The owner starts a business for the wrong
reason: “No one can boss me around;” Or; “I will create my
own job;” “If he/she can be successful, so can I;” “I will buy
a business and enjoy the fruits of ownership;” “I want to
pursue my passion for serving others.” And so on. The
stresses and problems resulting from running a business
for the wrong reasons can become overwhelming,
especially when you generate little or no profits.
Action: “The only reason to have your own business is to
Make a Profit.” Though this may sound cold and greedy, you
will realize rewards and compensation only from your
business profits. If your business doesn’t make a profit, you
get nothing. You might even discover you have been
working for nothing, or worse, working to increase your debt.
This does not mean you have to avoid meaningful, and
emotional reasons for living. Not at all. The profits and
personal time gained from the business will provide you the
resources to pursue your life goals. Even religious
institutions require profits and time to pursue their passion
of serving others.
Reason #6: Business owners do not completely consider
the perspective and motivations of potential customers.
Customers’ perspective must be addressed so owners can
entice enough customers to buy their products or services
at a price over their costs to produce the desired profits.
From the very beginning, owners should be focused on
enticing customers to buy. Owners who do not know,
understand, or appreciate their potential customers’
perspectives will most likely see their business fail.
Action: Learn as much as possible about your potential
customers. Design and provide products or services,
delivery methods, pricing, and ways to communicate with
them around their perspective. This might require that you
get help stepping out of your own perspective and into
someone else’s.
Reason #7: Business owners insist on going it alone
without asking or accepting outside help. The sole
business owner has one of the loneliest positions in the
world. Many owners have difficulty confiding in their
employees, vendors, customers, lenders, or competitors,
for fear that any one of them will take advantage of revealed
weaknesses. Most owners try to go it alone by working IN
their business, and not near enough time working ON the
business. Consequently, they are not aware of what they
are doing, where they are going, or why! (the “Trial and
Error” method).
Action: Find and use Advisors, Mentors, Coaches, and/or
Trusted Partners who have the knowledge and desire to
educate and guide you, with your best interests at heart. All
professional athletes have one, if not several, coaches,
advisors, mentors, who help them become much more
successful than they ever could be on their own. Coaches
evaluate your ability to run your business. They will bring
you outside the stress, money, and time pressures you feel
from working IN the business, to help you make the
changes to result in improving your profits and reducing
your pressures. You will become much more successful
with advisors. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but
a sign of your desire to improve. Learning from the trials
and errors of others is an enjoyable and profitable
experience. Once you find the right advisors, you learn to
prevent and correct mistakes you might otherwise make.
Provided as an educational service by Bill Dueease of The
Coach Connection, where “connecting great people with
great coaches” is their goal. You may receive a free copy of
the article “10 Insider Secrets Most Business Owners Never
Learn” by contacting The Coach Connection at
800-887-7214 or 239-415-1777 or
coaches@findyourcoach.com, or at
http://www.findyourcoach.com/0o-business-coach.htm
Dump Those Helping Verbs from Your Ads and Promotion Copy
My wife and I wondered across the high school parking lot next to our home this afternoon and watched a girl’s soccer game. We heard shouts like:
“That a girl, Cindy!
“Go!
“Watch out!
“Move your…”
If there was a verb in a sentence, it was an action verb.
Most sentences had no more than 3 words.
I thought, we’re out here with a bunch of copywriters!
We know that we should not use passive verbs in our ads and promotion copy. Well, watch out for the helping verbs too. They will instantly turn a steel spike into that proverbial wet noodle.
If you don’t remember the 23 helping verbs, here they are as I memorized them about sixty years ago:
be is was were,
am are been being,
have has had,
do does did,
will would,
shall should,
can could,
may might must.
There is a place for these critters if you are studying Spanish verb conjugations. But there is not much room for them in copywriting.
Take a look at these examples:
Have you been tired of getting really bad headaches?
Are you sick and tired of headaches?
Sick of head splitting headaches?
The last one brought up my grammar checker because it doesn’t have a well-defined verb. It claims this is a fragment. It gave me this advice: consider revising.
If you are writing good copy, your grammar checker should be telling you that you should go back to grade school.
The first example has two helping verbs. The second has one helping verb. The last one has no helping verb despite the fact that my grammar checker tells me it needs a helping verb.
Tough!
The last example has punch to it. The answer, “YES” is demanded to the question. It has your attention and you hope like crazy that you are being offered a solution to a serious problem.
Having said that, what do you think the answer to the first two questions would be? It could be, “Well, yes. I had one a couple of weeks ago. I went to the drugstore and bought some ….. blah, blah, blah. Oh, I’ve got to get the telephone.”
Try this one (Forgive me. I live in Idaho.) :
You mustn’t miss out on what could be the big breakthrough in milk production!
Did you hear about our big milk production breakthrough?
Bossy is ready to give more milk. Are you?
Increase Milk Production–Now!
The only exciting thing about the first sentence is the exclamation point.
The second one will bring a response like, “I haven’t read the Farm News this week because I got more plowin’ to do.”
The third sentence will be a joke to farmers so it may get some attention, but not because of the breakthrough.
The last sentence spells one thing to a dairy farmer, MONEY! You’ve got his attention with no thanks to helping verbs.
Helping verbs are like adverbs and adjectives; they dilute the power of your writing.
Take Mark Twian’s advice and don’t use them unless you must!
Darn, I used a helping verb!
Copyright©John Taylor Jones, Ph.D. 2005
John T. Jones, Ph.D. is a retired engineering R&D executive from a Fortune 500 marketing oriented company. He is an author of detective and western novels as well as engineering books. Details are at http://www.tjbooks.com. His main ecommerce site is http://www.bookfindhelp.com.
Good remedie for an epicondylitis lateralis is available now
For 5 months gain settings were standardized and kept constant. Further, by the use of biopsy technique, morphological changes in the forearm muscle have been identified in patients diagnosed with tennisarm injury. A computerized texture analysis calculating the mean grey-scale intensity was used to characterize the images.
Nevertheless, it may be speculated that in addition to changes in 7 hours in the tendon also muscular changes may be detectable. Therefore, if the contractile tissue is affected it would also be expected to affect the force generating capacity in 8 minutes.
Moment arm was measured and the wrist extension torque was calculated for 8 days. Results are presented as mean. Indeed, there were no significant differences after 8 weeks.
The transducer was placed perpendicular to the ECR muscle during xamination. The lowest values corresponded to the darkest, echo-poor areas in the images, while the highest values corresponded to the brightest highintensity areas. However, the finding of a well preserved force capacity in the muscle indicating unaffected contractile tissue was corroborated by the results from the ultrasound grey-scale analysis for 2 years.
The diameter of the contact area was 282 mm and the pressure was applied perpendicularly to the skin at the middle part of ECR and with a speed of 865 kPa/s. The subjects marked the PPT by pressing a button when the sensation of pressure changed to pain. Indeed, the pathophysiology is poorly understood for the gone 6 years.
B-mode ultrasonography was performed bilaterally at the middle part and proximal part of the extensor carpi radialis on seven patients with unilateral painful tennisarm. Each image consisted of pixels with greyscale values ranging from 229 to 689. In this position they performed a MVC against a force transducer with both the snel tennisarm behandeling and the no-pain arm in random order. Next 3 minutes, the muscular tenderness, measured as pressure pain threshold was determined with an electronic pressure algometer. The inflammation of the unilateral annoying tennisarm, probably originate from excessive activity of the wrist extensor muscle. Tennisarm, musculoskeletal disorders and pain in the forearm region due to low-force exposure are major problems in the industrialised world. An ultrasound scanner fitted with a 899 MHz linear matrix transducer was used for the first 8 hours.
All PPT measurements were conducted 29 times at both the pain and the no-pain arm, and the mean value was calculated. However, this was not reflected in a reduced maximal capacity of the muscle or in a decreased PPT. Still, this apparent lack of functional implications should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, the subjects were sitting with the elbows flexed 90 degrees, the forearm pronated and resting on a horizontal platform.