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Saturday, December 29, 2007

$1 million in Google AdSense Earnings

They are calling him the million dollar man. Jason Calacanis recently revealed in his blog that he is on track to earn a million dollars from AdSense over the year ahead.

And if that number doesn't wake you up and have you sitting on the edge of your seat, consider for a moment that he reached this level in less than a year. His company only started using AdSense in September 2004.

Calacanis runs Weblogs Inc., a network dedicated to creating trade weblogs across niche industries. And he's quickly proven that AdSense is a credible advertising partner.

As their network has grown, so has their AdSense revenue. In January 2005 they earned an average of $580 per day. In March it was $737. In May it was $1,585. One day in July, just before he made the blog entry referred to above, they earned $2,335. Remember that is just for one day. If they can take that daily average to $2,740 they'll be earning a rate of $1 million for a year. And Calacanis predicts that reaching daily earnings of $3,000 or even $5,000 is quite achievable.

That's quite an achievement. Keep in mind that Calacanis has 103 bloggers on the payroll and nine staffers. Even so, many webmasters would give an arm or a leg to have even a third of that.

Google’s AdSense has been revolutionary. It has become firmly established as the darling of the online advertising industry. Although rumors are heard of major competitors launching a similar service, AdSense’s premier position seems secure for now.

In essence, AdSense has made it possible for almost anyone with a web site or blog to earn some revenue from advertising, without having to employ sales people or spend precious time searching for advertisers.

AdSense works like this. Webmasters sign up for an account in just a few minutes. They receive a small snippet of code to include on their web pages. Google will then automatically serve advertisements that are relevant to the content on the webmaster's pages. When someone visits the webmaster's site and clicks on one of Google's AdSense advertisements, the webmaster earns a fee. Advertisers can pay anywhere from five cents to a hundred dollars per click, and the webmaster receives a percentage of that fee.

Many webmasters are content with earning five to ten dollars from AdSense to cover the cost of web hosting. But many, unsurprising, have higher ambitions. At a popular WebmasterWorld forum, participants share tips and encouragement on reaching a goal of $300 per day from AdSense. So it is no wonder that Calacanis created quite a buzz when he made his million dollar blog entry.

Google have proven once again that they excel at designing innovative Internet services. If you are in the web industry and have not yet used AdSense, then perhaps you should try it out. Or if you are already using it, perhaps Calacanis’ impressive results will encourage you to track the performance of your AdSense units more closely, fine tune their positions and formats, and take your earnings to a new level.

Calacanis’ million dollar blog entry can be viewed at:
http://calacanis.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000403051129/

Scott Adams is an internet entrepreneur, and earns a living by marketing affiliate programs on pay-per-click search engines, including Google’s AdSense. He explains the remarkable system he uses in his book, Affiliate Adventure, which is available at http://www.AffiliateAdventure.com .

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Start a Service Business

Everyone has skills, knowledge and experience--and anyone can turn those assets into a thriving business.
By James Stephenson


Who can sell a service? The answer is simple--anyone and everyone. Everyone is qualified because each of us has skills, knowledge or experience that other people are willing to pay for in the form of a service; or they're willing to pay you to teach them your specific skill or knowledge. Selling services knows no boundaries--anyone with a need or desire to earn extra money, work from home, or start and operate a full-time business can sell a service, regardless of age, business experience, education or current financial resources.

What Are the Advantages of Selling Services?
There are many advantages associated with starting your own business selling services. Perhaps the biggest advantage is you become your own boss, take control of your future, and in effect become the master of your destiny. I've been self-employed for a number of years, and for me the lure of self-employment is the freedom and independence that calling the shots affords, which can be difficult to achieve when you work for others.



Operating your own business also gives you the potential to earn more money, in some instances two, five or even ten times more than you're currently earning. Why? Simple duplication. When you work for someone else, there is only you and only so many hours in the day to work for an hourly wage or a salary. When you operate a business, you can duplicate yourself by hiring employees and salespeople to increase revenues; you can duplicate your customers and find more just like them to purchase your services; and you can duplicate your business model and open in new geographical areas to service more customers and earn more profit. These are all things you can't do when you work for others, and if you do, chances are it will financially benefit the boss a lot more than you.

Capitalize on Your Skills
Don' t worry if you lack business skills and experience in areas such as time management, personal-contact selling, negotiating, bookkeeping and the ability to create effective advertisements. There's no question these are all important skills to have, but at the same time they're also skills that with practice can be learned and mastered. More important is the question, "What skill(s) do you have that can be sold as a service?" Any skill(s) you possess can be your best, and by far your most marketable, asset. If you know how to safely walk a dog, that's a skill people are willing to pay you for. If you know how to plan and throw one heck of a party, that's also a skill people are willing to pay you for as their event and party planner. If you know how to play the piano, this is a skill other people will pay you to teach them. If you know how to sell products and services online, once again that's a skill that people are willing to pay you for as an online marketing consultant. All are examples of skills that people pay other people to perform, or teach them how to learn.

Every person has one or more skills other people are prepared to pay for in the form of a service provided to them, or to learn. However, with that said, most people have a tendency to underestimate the true value of their skill sets and experiences. You have to remember, what may come naturally to you may not come so naturally to others. Likewise, you might think your particular knowledge or expertise may be of little value, but if someone else needs or wants to learn about that knowledge, it's very valuable to them.

Selling Services Part Time
The first option is to start off selling your services on a part-time basis, which is a good idea because it enables you to eliminate risk by limiting your financial investment. It allows you to test the waters to make sure that being self-employed is something you enjoy and want to pursue. If all goes well, you may decide to transition from your current job, devoting more time to your new enterprise each week, all the while decreasing the time at your current job until you're working at your new business on a full-time basis. There are many advantages to starting off part-time, including keeping income rolling in, taking advantage of any current health and employee benefits, and building your business over a longer period of time, which generally gives it a more stable foundation. If it turns out you're not the type of person who's comfortable being the boss, you've risked little and still have the security of your job.

Of course, if your ambitions are only to generate extra money to pay down the mortgage, save for retirement, put yourself through school, or pay off credit cards, selling services part-time is the perfect choice. It's important to do what you want to do and what best suits your individual needs. If selling services part-time works for you, then go for it.

Selling Services Full Time
You can also jump in with both feet and start your new business selling services full-time. This option would appeal to people without a current job or people who are confident about being the boss and operating a business. There's nothing wrong with starting off full-time, especially if you take the time required to research the business, industry and marketplace. You must also develop a business and marketing plan, and have the necessary financial resources to start the business and pay yourself until it becomes profitable.

The main downside to starting full time is risk. If you jump ship and leave your job, you risk loss of current employee benefits and have no guarantee of steady income, contributing spouses or partners excluded. The upside to starting off full-time is potential rewards, including the opportunity to make more money than you can at your current job, and to gain control of your future. Your decision to operate your new business on a full-time basis will largely be determined by your current financial situation, your own risk-reward assessment, and your goals and objectives for the future. Jumping in full-time will appeal to the true entrepreneurial mindset--people who prefer to blaze the trail rather than follow behind in the wagon train.

Selling Services Seasonally
Another option is to start a seasonal business selling services, which can be operated with a full- or part-time effort. But most are run full time to maximize revenues and profits over a normally short time span. Examples of seasonal businesses selling services would include snow removal in winter, yard maintenance in summer in northern climates, income tax preparation service in spring, and serving as a vacation property rental agent. Just about any business can be run seasonally or occasionally, but some are obviously better suited than others.

A seasonal venture will appeal to people who want the ability to earn enough money during part of the year in order to do as they please with the remainder of the year--travel, pursue education, or work a job in another season. The potential to earn a very good living operating a business only part of the year is a genuine opportunity, as proven by the thousands of people who are currently doing it. The main downside to a seasonal business, especially one that can be operated year-round, is that you don't want to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours promoting your business only to shut it down for half the year, sending current and potential customers running to your competitors while your business is closed. It may prove very difficult to lure them back when you reopen for business.

Selling Services to Supplement Your Retirement
The fourth option is to sell services to supplement your retirement income or just to have fun and stay active in your golden years. Retirement businesses have become extremely popular in the past decade, mainly because the cost of living has dramatically increased, often outpacing wages and retirement savings. The result is that many people head into retirement needing a little extra income to cover expenses and provide an adequate lifestyle or to maintain their pre-retirement lifestyle.

People are living longer and much healthier now than in decades past, and because of this many are seeking new challenges; starting and operating a business is a way to stay active physically and mentally. Older people also have a proverbial ace up their sleeves when it comes to starting a business and selling services: a lifetime of knowledge and experience that can only be acquired by spending lots of time on this planet. Because of the value of these skills, many people are willing to pay big bucks for them. This is why many people who are reaching or have reached retirement age have chosen to start a consulting business selling their experiences, knowledge and skills for the benefit of their clients.

Financial Compatibility

Before you decide to get into business for yourself selling services, there are two issues to consider regarding financial compatibility--income and investment money. First, when deciding what type of service to sell, you have to consider how much money you want to earn and how much money you need to earn. If you need to earn $75,000 per year to pay your personal expenses, there is little sense in starting a dog-walking service. Perhaps there are a few dog walkers earning this much, but it's not a realistic expectation. How much money do you want to earn--that is, how ambitious are you? Again, you must be realistic and relatively sure the service you choose to sell has the potential to generate enough income to live on in the short-term, and the potential to match your income goals in the longer term. Income doesn't have to factor into the business startup equation for everyone. If you want and need to earn only a little money from a part-time or retirement business, the income equation will not factor as heavily as other issues.
The second big financial compatibility issue affecting your decision about which business to start or purchase is the amount of money needed to start or purchase the business. Not only will you need to have or have access to the investment needed to get rolling, but you'll also need extra money for working capital to cover day-to-day operating expenses until the business achieves positive cash flow. This can take a week, a month or even a year.
Ultimately, financial compatibility is important when starting a business and deciding what services to sell. If you cannot afford to start the business and don't have the financial resources to pay operating expenses and your wages until the business can break even, you'll probably have to look at alternative options, such as starting part time, choosing a different business to start, or waiting until you have acquired the money needed to get started.

Finding a Good MatchYou also must be well suited to start and operate the business and services you're considering providing. You and your business must be a good match. You may have an interest and even experience in a specific business or in providing a specific service, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good match. Here are a few points to consider when determining a good business match.
Do you have the financial resources to start or purchase the business, and enough money to pay the day-to-day operating expenses until the business breaks even and is profitable? If not, it's probably not a good match, and you should consider alternatives.
Does the business have the potential to generate the income you need to pay your personal expenses, and does it also have the potential to generate the income you want to earn? This is very important because if you can't pay your own personal bills, you'll soon be in trouble. And if, over time, you can't earn the income you want to earn, you'll lose interest in the business--a recipe for disaster.
Are you physically healthy enough to handle the physical strains of starting and running the business? If not, you may end up having to hire people for the job, which can be problematic if the business revenues aren't there to support both management and employee wages.
Do you have experience in this type of business or service, and do you have any special skills that can be utilized in the business? You can gain experience and knowledge on the job but skills that can be utilized and capitalized upon right away are extremely valuable.
Are there any special certificates or educational requirements to start and operate the business, and are these readily available? Find out the upfront costs associated with these, how they can be obtained, and the time frame needed to obtain specific certificates. Training and certification shouldn't be viewed negatively because often the return on time and investment is substantially rewarded financially. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
Will you enjoy operating the business, and does it match your personality type and level of maturity? This is very important. If you don't think that you would enjoy it, then don't start. Again, the loss of interest in a business is almost certainly the kiss of death. You can't stay motivated and rise to new challenges if you don't like what you're doing.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

HOT: How to use google adwords for free

It is amazing what people can do.

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How to build a mailing list fast(2)

Incentive.

Your visitors should be given a reason to sign up with your
mailing list. You cannot just expect them to leave their email
addresses without receiving anything in return, right? If you
were in their shoes, would you even bother to give out your
contact details without deriving something from it?

The mistake that most internet marketers make is that they
expect people to sign up by simply promising future updates.
This isn't enough incentive. People need something more than
that, something valuable, something that is very much worth
their time. If you will be able to give them such in exchange
for their subscription, you'd be able to boost your number of
subscribers really fast.

Here are some incentives that are guaranteed to work:

• Ezines or newsletters. Information is always a valuable
commodity in the World Wide Web. If you could commit to create
and deliver a regular eZine or newsletter for them, you'd be
able to win their subscription and eventually their trust. Just
make sure that your eZine or newsletter would be of premium
quality.

• Freebies. Who would say no to something that is offered for
free, right? It may be an eBook, a special report, a PLR
product, a software program or another kind of digital item
which your prospects could download in exchange for their
subscription.

• Contests. You could offer a valuable digital product as a
prize for a random drawing, with your prospects' subscriptions
serving as their raffle entries.

Any of the suggestions above are sure to make your prospects
take notice. And as such, you'd have greater chances of bagging
their subscription and building your mailing list to enormously
profitable levels.

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within
your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article
fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box.
Thanks! :-


About The Author: Nial Robbins owns the work at home directory
website located at: http://www.NDR-HomeBiz.com

How to build a mailing list fast(1)

"Gold is in your mailing list."
----------------

You've heard many veteran internet marketers and established
gurus preach these very words time and time again, and for good
reasons at that. It has been established as a fact that most of
your sales would come after the 4th to the 8th contact. But
before you could ensure that you'll be able to keep in touch
with your prospects for such number of times, you'd have to
capture their contact details first.

This is accomplished through an opt-in list. An opt-in list,
basically, is a system that would allow you to capture the
contact details of your visitors. The way it works is that your
visitors would be presented the choice to leave their contact
details (usually their email addresses) so that you could follow
up on them later on. This is the reason why an opt-in list is
also called as a follow-up system.

An opt-in list is essential for your online business.

For starters, as we have discussed in the statistics above,
most of your sales won't come after the first contact. Your
prospects should be given time to warm up to your offer. You'd
have to contact them again, and again, and again, to assure them
of your credibility and to make them believe that your offer
would be truly beneficial for their needs.

Also, they may not be interested with your current offer, but
this shouldn't be taken to mean that they won't be interested
with what you could come up with in the future. An opt-in list
would allow you to contact them for the future deals you will
bring to the table.

There is no doubt that a follow-up system, or a mailing list,
or an opt-in list, whatever you want to call it, would be very
important for your success in the online field.

But the question is: how do you build the same?

I will not sugarcoat any answers. A lot of internet marketers
are struggling to acquire subscribers for their mailing lists.
They may have been in the business for a couple of years
already, yet their mailing lists are composed of only a dozen or
so subscribers.

If we are to peg an average, the conversion rate of your
mailing list would hover around the range of 1% to 3.5%. Hence,
the success of your mailing list would greatly depend on the
number of users who would decide to subscribe to the same. If
you only have 10, 15 or 20 subscribers, you won't be able to
make the most out of this system.

So again, how do you build your mailing list? How will you be
able to acquire thousands upon thousands of subscribers at the
soonest possible time?

There is only one answer to give. It's not even a secret, as it
is quite simple.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dealing With Difficult People at Work(1)

Some People Are Difficult People

Difficult people do exist at work. Difficult people come in every variety and no workplace is without them. How difficult a person is for you to deal with depends on your self-esteem, your self-confidence and your professional courage. Dealing with difficult people is easier when the person is just generally obnoxious or when the behavior affects more than one person. Dealing with difficult people is much tougher when they are attacking you or undermining your professional contribution.

Difficult people come in every conceivable variety. Some talk constantly and never listen. Others must always have the last word. Some coworkers fail to keep commitments. Others criticize anything that they did not create. Difficult coworkers compete with you for power, privilege and the spotlight; some go way too far in courting the boss’s positive opinion – to your diminishment.

Some coworkers attempt to undermine you and you constantly feel as if you need to watch your back.

Your boss plays favorites and the favored party lords it over you; people form cliques and leave you out. Difficult people and situations exist in every work place. They all have one thing in common. You must address them. No matter the type of difficult situation in which you find yourself, dealing with difficult people or situations is a must.

Why You Must Deal With Difficult People

Trust me. Your situation won’t get better; left unaddressed, it usually gets worse. Unaddressed, necessary conflict simmers just below – and often erupts counterproductively above – the surface at work.

Initially, people go into shock when they are treated unprofessionally, so if you take some time to understand exactly what is happening to you, you are not alone. Once you are fully aware of what is happening, deciding to live with the situation long term is not an option. You become so angry and feel so much pain that your efforts to address the situation become irrational. It’s far better to address the difficult person while you can maintain some objectivity and emotional control.

Constant complaining about the coworker or situation can quickly earn you the title of whiner or complainer. Managers wonder why you are unable to solve your own problems – even if the manager’s tolerance or encouragement of the situation is part of the problem.
Worse Case Scenario If You Fail to Deal With Difficult People

Most importantly, if you are embroiled in a constant conflict at work, you may not only get blamed for being “unable to handle the situation like a mature professional,” you may be labeled as a “difficult” person, too. This label is hard to escape and can have devastating consequences for your career.

Finally, if the situation continues to deteriorate over time, the organization and your boss may tire of you. The boss may decide you are a “high maintenance” employee, easily replaced with a more professional or cooperative person, and you could lose your job.


Dealing With Difficult People at Work(2)

Dealing With the Difficult Coworker

I’ve experienced workplaces in which all sorts of dysfunctional approaches to dealing with a difficult coworker have been tried. Putting an anonymous note in the person’s mailbox is not an option. Placing a can of deodorant on a hygiene-challenged coworker’s desk is not a productive option either. Confronting the bully publicly can often lead to disaster. Putting dead bugs in his desk drawer can leave your boss no option other than to fire you. So, let’s look at more productive ways to address your difficult coworker.

Five Tips for Dealing With Difficult People

These are ten productive ways to deal with your difficult coworker. Let's start with the first five.

* Start out by examining yourself. Are you sure that the other person is really the problem and that you're not overreacting? Have you always experienced difficulty with the same type of person or actions? Does a pattern exist for you in your interaction with coworkers? Do you recognize that you have hot buttons that are easily pushed? (We all do, you know.) Always start with self-examination to determine that the object of your attention really is a difficult person’s actions.

* Explore what you are experiencing with a trusted friend or colleague. Brainstorm ways to address the situation. When you are the object of an attack, or your boss appears to support the dysfunctional actions of a coworker, it is often difficult to objectively assess your options.

Anger, pain, humiliation, fear and concern about making the situation worse are legitimate emotions.

Pay attention to the unspoken agreement you create when you solicit another’s assistance. You are committing to act unless you agree actions will only hurt the situation. Otherwise, you risk becoming a whiner or complainer in the eyes of your colleague.


* Approach the person with whom you are having the problem for a private discussion. Talk to them about what you are experiencing in “I” messages. (Using “I” messages is a communication approach that focuses on your experience of the situation rather than on attacking or accusing the other person.) You can also explain to your coworker the impact of their actions on you.

Be pleasant and agreeable as you talk with the other person. They may not be aware of the impact of their words or actions on you. They may be learning about their impact on you for the first time. Or, they may have to consider and confront a pattern in their own interaction with people. Worst case? They may know their impact on you and deny it or try to explain it away. Unfortunately, some difficult people just don’t care. During the discussion, attempt to reach agreement about positive and supportive actions going forward.


* Follow up after the initial discussion. Has the behavior changed? Gotten better? Or worse? Determine whether a follow-up discussion is needed. Determine whether a follow-up discussion will have any impact. Decide if you want to continue to confront the difficult person by yourself. Become a peacemaker. (Decide how badly you want to make peace with the other person and how much you want your current job. Determine whether you have experienced a pattern of support from your boss.) If you answer, “yes,” to these questions, hold another discussion. If not, escalate and move to the next idea.


* You can confront your difficult coworker’s behavior publicly. Deal with the person with gentle humor or slight sarcasm. Or, make an exaggerated physical gesture – no, not that one – such as a salute or place your hand over your heart to indicate a serious wounding.

You can also tell the difficult person that you’d like them to consider important history in their decision making or similar words expressed positively, depending on the subject. Direct confrontation does work well for some people in some situations. I don’t think it works to ask the person to stop doing what they’re doing, publicly, but you can employ more positive confrontational tactics. Their success for you will depend on your ability to pull them off. Each of us is not spur-of-the-moment funny, but if you are, you can use the humor well with difficult coworkers.

Five More Tips for Dealing With Difficult People
If you have done what you can do and employed the first five recommended approaches with little or no success, it’s time to involve others. Note that you are escalating the situation. Prepare to talk with your boss. Take notes and address the issues, not as interpersonal problems, but as issues affecting your productivity, the work and your progress on projects. Tell your boss exactly what the difficult person does.Make a plan to address the issues. Perhaps involve your coworker's boss. Recognize that a good boss is likely to bring your difficult coworker and his supervisor into a three or four-way discussion at this point. Expect to participate in follow-up over time.
Rally the other employees who might have an issue with the difficult person, too - carefully. Sometimes, a group approach convinces the boss that the impact of the behavior is wider and deeper than she had originally determined.
zSB(3,3)

Be careful with this approach, however. Know what works with your boss. You want to solve your problem, not make it look as if you are rabble-rousing and ganging up on another employee.
If these approaches fail to work, try to limit the difficult person's access to you. Protect the needs of your business, but avoid working with the person when possible. Leave voluntary committees, Choose projects he or she does not impact. Don’t hurt your own career or your business, but avoidance is an option.
Transfer to a new job within your organization. Depending on the size of your company, you may never have to work with this difficult coworker again. Fleeing is definitely an option.
If all else fails, you can quit your job. What, flee, you ask? But, I wasn't the employee with the problem. I was not the difficult coworker. All I tried to do was my job. You're right. But, what price, in terms of your happiness and success, are you willing to pay to stay? You need to decide whether the good in your current situation outweighs the bad or whether the bad outweighs the good.If the good wins, stop complaining and get back to work. Back track on these recommended steps and retry some of them when appropriate. If the bad wins, redirect your energy to leaving your current employment. You'll be glad you did. Check out the second part of this article to find out how to conduct a stealth job search and much more about job searching.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

How To Sell Books Online(1)

I have never been much of a fan of high-pressure sales; either as a salesman or as a consumer. It is with this perspective on home-based business "opportunities" that I set out to find one that I could do part-time to supplement my income, but one that could be scaled up if I chose to pursue it full-time. I found all the pill pushing, lotion promotion, potion sales, gadget gizmos, copy writing cons, affiliate networking, and other scams that I am sure you found too.

Ultimately, I settled for online bookselling because it did not require me to buy an inventory from a con man or to sell my books through questionable channels. It also provides every customer with a product - presuming they are literate - that matches their expectations, and whether they enjoy the book or not, I don't have to worry about whether or not they lose weight reading it.

I can sell through reputable online marketplaces like Amazon.com, Alibris.com, Half.com, and Abebooks.com, all of which are well known. I also found that it was a very inexpensive business to start and how I choose to expand it is up to me.

To be continued

How to sell books online(2)

The business essentially works like this:

1. Buy used books (new too if you have good sources).
2. Grade the books, e.g., Good, VG, Like New, etc.
3. Determine the online value of the books.
4. List the books with an online marketplace.
5. Pack and ship the books when they sell.

The key to being successful is to know the value of the books you are considering for your inventory BEFORE you buy them. The process of finding good books is called book scouting. It involves the use of a cell phone or PDA to look up the book values using a scouting service, and determining if buying them will be profitable. The last thing you want to do is go out and buy a bunch of books, lug them home, and find out they only have a firewood value. Book scouting does not require any expensive tools to do either, just an Internet enabled cell phone or PDA and a service that allows you to enter an ISBN (or title/author for pre ISBN books) and this will cost about $10 per month for a good service. Don't get too wrapped up in the $10 per month cost, the service can easily pay for itself ten fold in a single one-hour scouting adventure. Yesterday, I picked up a book that another dealer had passed over because the scouting service they were using was not a very good one. I paid $1.99 for the book and it currently sells on Amazon.com for $194.42. Just selling this one book can pay for my marketplace listing fees and my scouting service for over three months, and it wasn't the only good book I found.

Once you have an inventory of 200 - 500 books, you can start a marketplace account and efficiently sell books online. This requires that you enter your books into a database or spreadsheet and upload them to one of the marketplaces. Not too difficult, but it does require that you learn to price and grade your books, and there are acceptable standards for grading as well as some marketplace rules regarding the conditions that can be listed.

So, now you can start to recover the small investment that you have made by receiving orders from the marketplace with shipping instructions. You package your books and ship them to your customers. Payment to you is for the most part automated. Some marketplaces have direct deposit features, and some will mail you a check each week/two-weeks/monthly, depending on the marketplace.

This is no time to relax, you need to keep scouting for more inventory to replenish the books you sell online and to grow your inventory to a level that provides the income you are looking to make.

There are many other nuances of the business that are easy to learn without having to do everything by trial and error, but you need to enjoy books, being around people that enjoy books, and spending time in places where they sell books if you want to enjoy this business.

The best part about the idea is that you don’t have to take my word for it, you already know about the online marketplaces that books are sold through, and you know they are legitimate. You can become a successful online bookseller, selling your books online through these marketplaces as a third-party seller too.

Michael E. Mould is the author of "Online Bookselling: A Practical Guide with Detailed Explanations and Insightful Tips," ing. If you would like to learn more about online bookselling, please visit: www.online-bookselling.com or send Mike an email at: mike@online-bookselling.com

Saturday, December 15, 2007

anoda biz opportunity

Bookkeeper

Every business needs a bookkeeper to pay the bills, send out invoices, reconcile bank statements, and handle all those record-keeping tasks that send most of us running the other way. If you're a whiz with figures and you like the satisfaction of putting things in order, you can earn a tidy sum and help fellow small-business owners as a part-time bookkeeper. You'll need to stay abreast of current tax rules and regulations, and you'll want a computer, printer and accounting software--with a laptop, you can even travel to clients' offices. Send brochures to local businesses, place ads in your local newspaper, and be sure to have a business card at the ready for word-of-mouth opportunities.

Dress for Work Success: A Business Casual Dress Code

From Susan M. Heathfield,
Your Guide to Human Resources.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

* More about work dress codes: Work Dress Codes and Image Collection

Your Company's objective in establishing a business casual dress code, is to allow our employees to work comfortably in the workplace. Yet, we still need our employees to project a professional image for our customers, potential employees, and community visitors. Business casual dress is the standard for this dress code.

Because all casual clothing is not suitable for the office, these guidelines will help you determine what is appropriate to wear to work. Clothing that works well for the beach, yard work, dance clubs, exercise sessions, and sports contests may not be appropriate for a professional appearance at work.

Clothing that reveals too much cleavage, your back, your chest, your feet, your stomach or your underwear is not appropriate for a place of business, even in a business casual setting.

Even in a business casual work environment, clothing should be pressed and never wrinkled.

Torn, dirty, or frayed clothing is unacceptable. All seams must be finished. Any clothing that has words, terms, or pictures that may be offensive to other employees is unacceptable. Clothing that has the company logo is encouraged. Sports team, university, and fashion brand names on clothing are generally acceptable.

Certain days can be declared dress down days, generally Fridays. On these days, jeans and other more casual clothing, although never clothing potentially offensive to others, are allowed.
Guide to Business Casual Dressing for Work

This is a general overview of appropriate business casual attire. Items that are not appropriate for the office are listed, too. Neither list is all-inclusive and both are open to change. The lists tell you what is generally acceptable as business casual attire and what is generally not acceptable as business casual attire.

No dress code can cover all contingencies so employees must exert a certain amount of judgment in their choice of clothing to wear to work. If you experience uncertainty about acceptable, professional business causal attire for work, please ask your supervisor or your Human Resources staff.
Slacks, Pants, and Suit Pants

Slacks that are similar to Dockers and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel pants,dressy capris, and nice looking dress synthetic pants are acceptable. Inappropriate slacks or pants include jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, Bermuda shorts, short shorts, shorts, bib overalls, leggings, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants such as people wear for biking.
Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits

Casual dresses and skirts, and skirts that are split at or below the knee are acceptable. Dress and skirt length should be at a length at which you can sit comfortably in public. Short, tight skirts that ride halfway up the thigh are inappropriate for work. Mini-skirts, skorts, sun dresses, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are inappropriate for the office.
Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets

Casual shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, golf-type shirts, and turtlenecks are acceptable attire for work. Most suit jackets or sport jackets are also acceptable attire for the office, if they violate none of the listed guidelines. Inappropriate attire for work includes tank tops; midriff tops; shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans; halter-tops; tops with bare shoulders; sweatshirts, and t-shirts unless worn under another blouse, shirt, jacket, or dress.
Shoes and Footwear

Conservative athletic or walking shoes, loafers, clogs, sneakers, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable for work. Wearing no stockings is acceptable in warm weather. Flashy athletic shoes, thongs, flip-flops, slippers, and any shoe with an open toe are not acceptable in the office. Closed toe and closed heel shoes are required in the manufacturing operation area.
Jewelry, Makeup, Perfume, and Cologne

Should be in good taste, with limited visible body piercing. Remember, that some employees are allergic to the chemicals in perfumes and make-up, so wear these substances with restraint.
Hats and Head Covering

Hats are not appropriate in the office. Head Covers that are required for religious purposes or to honor cultural tradition are allowed.
Conclusion

If clothing fails to meet these standards, as determined by the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources staff, the employee will be asked not to wear the inappropriate item to work again. If the problem persists, the employee may be sent home to change clothes and will receive a verbal warning for the first offense. All other policies about personal time use will apply. Progressive disciplinary action will be applied if dress code violations continue.

Biz opportunity

Educational Tutor

For parents wanting the peace of mind that their child is receiving the proper education, extracurricular tutoring can be the preferred method of extending educational training beyond public school. There is one main requirement for starting this type of instruction business: You must be an expert in the field in which you intend to teach or tutor. Beyond that, this business is very simple to start. It can be operated on a mobile basis by going to the client or from your home office with the client coming to you. Building a customer and referral base for this type of business can be accomplished by joining community business associations and parent teacher associations. Networking and self-promotion are probably the best marketing strategies. Tutoring is a competitive industry and to gain the upper hand requires explanation and disclosure of credentials firsthand.

Twelve Tips for Team Building: How to Build Successful Work Teams

* How to Build Powerfully Successful Work Teams

People in every workplace talk about building the team, working as a team, and my team, but few understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an effective team. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than yourself. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of your organization.

In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the organization. You work with fellow members of the organization to produce these results. Even though you have a specific job function and you belong to a specific department, you are unified with other organization members to accomplish the overall objectives.

You need to differentiate this overall sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal. People confuse the two team building objectives. This is why so many team building seminars, meetings, retreats and activities are deemed failures by their participants. Leaders failed to define the team they wanted to build. Developing an overall sense of team work is different from building an effective, focused work team when you consider team building approaches.
Twelve Cs for Team Building

Executives, managers and organization staff members universally explore ways to improve business results and profitability. Many view team-based, horizontal, organization structures as the best design for involving all employees in creating business success.

No matter what you call your team-based improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, lean manufacturing or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for customers. Few organizations, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why. Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention to each of the following.

* Clear Expectations: Has executive leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created? Is the organization demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money? Does the work of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders?


* Context: Do team members understand why they are participating on the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization’s goals, principles, vision and values?


* Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team? Do team members feel the team mission is important? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes? Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity?

Six More Tips for Team Building

In the first part of this article, three tips for effective team building were presented. Here are six more tips for effective team building.

* Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating? (As an example, in a process improvement, is each step of the process represented on the team?) Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs? Does the team feel it has the resources, strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission?


* Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission.

Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task? Does the leadership team or other coordinating group support what the team has designed?


* Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions? Are limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework?

Is the team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the organization? Has the organization defined the team’s authority? To make recommendations? To implement its plan? Is there a defined review process so both the team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose? Do team members hold each other accountable for project timelines, commitments and results? Does the organization have a plan to increase opportunities for self-management among organization members?


* Collaboration: Does the team understand team and group process? Do members understand the stages of group development? Are team members working together effectively interpersonally? Do all team members understand the roles and responsibilities of team members? team leaders? team recorders? Can the team approach problem solving, process improvement, goal setting and measurement jointly? Do team members cooperate to accomplish the team charter? Has the team established group norms or rules of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision making and meeting management? Is the team using an appropriate strategy to accomplish its action plan?


* Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there an established method for the teams to give feedback and receive honest performance feedback? Does the organization provide important business information regularly? Do the teams understand the complete context for their existence? Do team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other? Do team members bring diverse opinions to the table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?


* Creative Innovation: Is the organization really interested in change? Does it value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo? Does it provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?

How to Ask for a Pay Raise

Want more money than you're currently making? If your goal is to stay in your current job working for your present employer, you'll need to ask for a raise. Planning and preparation are key when you ask for a raise. So are timing, your employer's pay practices, and the market-based pay rates for your job.
Steps in Asking for a Pay Raise - Research an Appropriate Pay Raise

Your goal at this step in asking for a raise is to know your employer's pay practices and the market pay rate for your job.

* Familiarize yourself with your employer's pay practices. If the standard practice is to offer salary increases once a year after an annual review, you are unlikely to receive a raise at any other time.

If your company offers more frequent increases, you'll have more luck asking for a raise.
Listen to your employer. If the employer announces that the pay increase will be four percent across the board, you are unlikely to negotiate more money.


* Research the market pay rates for your job. Getting information has never been easier, although you'll want to take care with online projections and salary calculators. They rarely reflect your local market conditions including the number of open positions in your area. If you are already paid above your market pay rate, negotiating a pay raise can be difficult.


* Read your employee handbook. The handbook may present the process whereby salary increases are granted. If a policy or a process exists, your best bet when asking for a pay raise, is to follow the process exactly.


* Network with other employees in similar jobs in similar industries to determine your salary competitiveness. Professional associations also do salary surveys and provide networking opportunities with people in similar jobs.

Steps in Asking for a Pay Raise - Prepare Your Presentation for the "Ask for a Raise" Meeting

Once you've done your pay research in the above steps, you should have a good idea about how competitive your pay is in your industry. Next, you need to look at your work contributions to determine how you will present the request for a pay raise to your boss.

Or perhaps you've determined that your pay is competitive. Ask yourself why you deserve more pay because you will need good data to support your request for a pay raise. Determine whether the topic of the meeting you schedule is to ask for a pay raise. Maybe it's smarter to ask your boss what you need to do to qualify for the highest possible raises and bonuses in the future, if you cannot justify a higher salary now.

* Make a list of the goals you have accomplished for the company. Determine how their accomplishment has helped the company. Document costs savings, productivity improvement, superior staff development, important projects achieved, above-the-call customer service, and ways in which you have contributed more than your job required. Documented, these accomplishments may justify a pay increase.


* Make a list of any additional responsibilities you have added to your job. An increase in responsibility, more employees supervised, or special projects are often grounds for an increase, if you ask.


* Set a pay increase goal, in your mind, that appears to reward the contributions and additional responsibilities you have documented.


* Learn about negotiation from books, resources, networking, and friends who have successfully negotiated a pay raise.


* Set up a meeting with your immediate supervisor to discuss your compensation. You will not want to ambush your supervisor. If the supervisor is unprepared to discuss an increase with you, nothing will happen at the meeting. Your boss will also want to do his research with the Human Resources staff and his own industry sources.

A successful negotiation for a pay raise is always based on your merit and accomplishments. A successful negotiation for a pay raise is never based on why you need additional money. While your employer may care about you, providing additional money to fund your chosen lifestyle is not their responsibility.

* Be straightforward in addressing your request for a pay raise to your supervisor. Tell the supervisor you are asking for a pay raise at this time because of the accomplishments and contributions you have made, and the additional responsibilities you have taken on. Be prepared with your documentation.


* Tell your boss the specific pay raise you'd like to see. Be prepared to present your research that supports your request for a pay raise.


* If the boss tells you he cannot provide a pay raise currently, ask what you need to do to make yourself eligible as soon as pay raises are available.

Remember that a difference exists between an employee who is performing the job as expected from a superior performer and an employee who is truly giving the employer superior performance. Pay raises are based on the second.

* If you are using an offer from another employer to negotiate a pay raise with your current employer, be prepared to fail. Plus, in your negotiation, the employer learns that you're looking and career development, training, plum assignments, and other opportunities may cease to come your way. This can occur even if you receive the requested pay raise. The employer hates to be held hostage - and the employer will remember. It's a vicious cycle, once begun.


* Likewise, threatening to quit if you don't receive a pay raise is counterproductive and unprofessional. Plus, the employer may take you up on your offer. Instead, quietly and professionally go about your job search, if you have determined a pay raise merits changing employers.

Asking for a pay raise, when you have planned and prepared, can still be somewhat scary. Asking for a pay raise without planning and preparation is a crap shoot. And, you've wasted your best shot. Your boss isn't going to want to have that pay raise conversation with you again unless something changes at work.

Asking for a pay raise gets easier as you learn to plan and prepare. A successful negotiation or two helps, too. You build your confidence that asking for a pay raise is a task you can do. And, you increase the possibility that you will achieve your maximum income potential in your chosen field.