Month: June 2023

Make Money On YouTube

YouTube has made video publishing a great way to earn money and also to promote your business or service globally. It has gained significant popularity as high-quality video recording becomes less expensive. All you need these days is a decent stand-alone camera or one good smart phone and you can create some footage to rival big budget videos. It’s all about creativity and a good angle on forging a response from your potential viewers.The Set-up

Before you begin fancying yourself as the next Danny Boyle, it’s best to look into what kind of video you want. Are you looking to make direct money, or are you looking to use your video to promote engagement? Sometimes it’s common to be doing this for both reasons. What and why you film and post on YouTube determines the type of content on your uploads. In view of direct or indirect income from your video it’s clear that the measure of success is the number of views and shares your video can harvest. So what goes viral? We can never really predict what will, but based on past trends we can make some reasoned guesses. Even if your video doesn’t become a global hit, you can still cash in on the camcorder income, and a bit of any extra cash for your trouble.

The Delivery

Depending on the aim of the video, you can gather interest by presenting facts in an authoritative manner to keep the viewer informed or curious, and add external clips that relate to your subject as and when it is appropriate. If you opt for the light-hearted informal approach, keeping your video both entertaining and funny whilst still relating to your area of business is key to its success. Use informative tutorials or ‘how to’s presented with a tongue-in-cheek attitude to boost your viewing figures. Humour is always a good angle. There are quite a lot of free video editing tools that would make for good graphics for your clip, text sliders and integrated audio is easier to create and add than you think. A videoed opinion works well for direct sales or promotion if it’s well put together. Short, sharp and quick is the way ahead. Remember, online viewers have a very short attention span. You have the first 8 seconds to keep the viewer in your space. Start with a bang and maintain interest by editing out any irrelevant bits.

Sell! Sell! Sell!

If you sell a product or service, it pays to get customer testimonials that can be embedded into your website. It goes miles further than text testimonials, as anyone can do a fictitious one in a matter of seconds. This will not only enhance your YouTube representation, but its also useful footage that can be edited into your other venture – a video advert!

If you’re introducing a new product or service you could film an instructional video to go with it, giving both your business and your new gadget a boost. Publishers and authors do it all the time. Offer useful information around the subject your product is related to. Tell your viewers things they don’t know and then introduce your product without too much of a hard sell.

The dollar shaving club clip is still trending as the benchmark of all YouTube trade-focused videos. A total cost of $3,000 and some jobless members of staff helped Michael Dubin gain over 5 million views and huge volume sales of $1.00 shaving sticks. It’s an example of what imagination can do to get your message viral. He gained a huge viewing fan base, but to also gain 3% global sales conversion is nothing short of genius. View the Dollar Shave Club hit.

As a good starting point, make a fun video commercial showcasing your company culture or typical customer scenario. Showing footage of your busy work environment, fulfilling orders or demonstrating the benefits of your business would need entertainment or shock to transform one viewer into 10 or 20. A good video is only great for a single viewer to respond or engage. But to get viral it has to be funny, controversial, or very informative. A video that your viewers share on social networks is what you want. That’s the true meaning of a viral attack spread by those exposed to it. We’d advise that traffic by controversy should be left to the professional marketers or those that are just seeking a multitude of viewers and nothing else. It can produce risky results.

For those new to posting on YouTube, it’s probably best to be yourself. Be sure to present your unique selling point. As tempting as it is to hire a glamorous blonde as your spokesperson, this tactic usually succeeds in putting people off, so get some real people in front of the camera and let your customers see you can be trusted. Successful videos that have worked like a dream for the originators are typically make-up artists, business coaches, quirky retailers and entertaining web ventures. Music has also enjoyed commercial exposure on YouTube, and we are not talking about a major artiste or record label. Dub FX was a dub performer plying his trade for a few pounds around Camden and other similar European streets. Footage of his performance on YouTube reached a huge viewing number and, now, let’s just say he had his baptism at Glastonbury.

Click And Buy

New media technology doesn’t sit idle, especially when it comes to finding ways to create direct sales as you engage with media. Some started the idea with product placement as you watch a clip on YouTube. Now you can actually click on a highlighted object in videos and buy the item through the click through link. The set-up is much cheaper than when the technology was in Beta a few years back. You can have the programme running in your £20 YouTube video for a monthly package. A good way to more or less set up a YouTube shop is to have a scrolling catalogue with audio comment and some interesting footage to keep the viewer interested. Your content should capture the viewer’s attention and keep them there. If it’s fashion – talk about trends, tips and styles, throw in the odd celebrity picture and then display your items. The same goes for services. You can have clickable scrolling text as you introduce your unique service. Order now, book your place, and other calls to action phrases can bring you some direct revenue.

Ranking And AdSense

YouTube is great vitamins for your Google health. Search engines and web ranking your web presence can do wonders for surfer engagement and trade. After you’ve uploaded your video, be sure to enter a title, description and tags. After you’ve managed your key words and set phrases with supporting descriptions you’re on your way to getting a bit of a traffic boost courtesy of Google. Your video should be making a few hundred hits if you harness strategic links and spread the word on your social network or from your website. You video should start appearing on Google, riding on the back of your key phrases. Click-throughs to websites enjoy a healthy percentage from video searches commonly connected to YouTube. Page ranking with the help of your video on YouTube is therefore worthy of great consideration. Do your homework with how AdSense works and revenue from here can be realistic and consistent. Payments are made by YouTube into a Google AdSense account, and once you are fully enrolled in the programme you will also be able to switch on Google ads either to the side of or on top of your videos. This can earn additional income through pay per click and affiliate profits, and all you have to do is keep your video content fresh and enjoy the proceeds. Apart from direct payment, there are other ways you can build up your YouTube reputation to develop other revenue streams. You may be selling a few products on eBay or needing to get more visitors to your revenue-generating blog; it makes sense to include a link back to your site. You can engage with other businesses in your industry and offer to endorse their products in your videos, for a 5-10% commission on top of what YouTube pays you, or simply enter into an affiliate partnership. Do this without the middle men affiliate companies and your commission is yours alone.

The Partner Programme

The Partner Programme is where your videos really start working for you. Once you are a partner, you can expect to earn about $2.50-$5 (£1.56-£3.13) per 1,000 views of your video, and whilst this doesn’t sound very much right now, if you do manage to create the next viral sensation that brings in millions of viewings, you can expect to earn quite a dotcom lot for your hard work. Consider making money by selling scrolling text integrated into your video. A certain number of viewers is all the proof needed to have a platform for a related business to be interested. Product placement and endorsements as part of the content is an effective means to promote the business of a paying advertiser, big or small.

Fan Currency

Make your uploads unique and positively different and you are sure to build up a dedicated following of fans. Video marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and to a certain extent it can be unpredictable; patience and thoughtful planning should help. It can be a lot of fun making the videos, and once they do start earning for you, they are likely to continue to do so month on month. Feed your fans, introduce videos from others that have some sort of connection to yours. By the time you’ve built up a library of 15 or more videos, you should be achieving a good number of views per video. Once all your videos achieve a minimum of 1,000 views each, you are sure to be contacted by YouTube asking if you would like to apply to become a Partner.

Posting videos on YouTube is a very public thing to do. You therefore need to be clear about permission and the terms for posting a video. Play it safe and make sure you have permission where applicable so that you don’t find your good work is not a wasted exercise. Situational footage where you bear witness with your video are exempt in some cases, so it’s a good idea to know what the parameters to this are. Make sure your video does not infringe someone else’s copyright. Take a few minutes and read through YouTube’s guidelines. They are also there to protect your own good work from others; you’d need to know when your copyright interests have been subject to infringement too. See YouTube copyright tips and guidance. Making money by way of YouTube has more options than we may be used to. It’s all up to you to put some catchy material together and manipulate income once the viewing figures begin to rise. It’s an open playground – let’s get filming.

Commitment & Determination – What Makes You an Entrepreneur

What makes you an entrepreneur?; this question is simple but very difficult to answer. For a long time, people have studied the science behind entrepreneurial process, what drives a great entrepreneur, the things that make an ordinary person transforms into a job creator.

To answer this question, it’s much better if we try to understand what’s behind entrepreneurial process. At the heart of every entrepreneurial process is the founder, the opportunity seeker, the creator and initiator, the leader, problem solver, and motivator; the planner and the guardian of vision and mission. Without this human energy, behavior, drive, and vitality, the greatest ideas-even when they are backed by an overabundance of resources and people-will fail, grossly underperform, or simply never get off the ground. Brilliant athletic aptitude and potential is not equal with the great athlete. The difference is invisible and intangible: commitment, tenacity and determination.

Commitment and determination are seen as more important than any other factor that inspiring an entrepreneur. It makes an entrepreneur can overcome incredible obstacles and also compensate enormously for other weaknesses. Almost without any exception, entrepreneurs live under extreme, constant pressure (when they start their business, for them to stay alive, and for them to grow). A new business requires top priority of entrepreneur’s time, emotion, patient, and loyalty. The level of entrepreneur’s commitment can be measured in several ways: through a willingness to invest a substantial portion of his or her net worth in the venture, through a willingness to take a cut in pay because he or she will own a major piece of venture, and through the other big sacrifices in lifestyle and family circumstances. Clearly, commitment and determination usually demand personal sacrifice.

What you should keep in mind is that the desire to win never equal to the will to never give up. And this is actually a critical distinction. So many lead entrepreneurs say that they really want to win, but only few have the dogged tenacity and unflinching perseverance to make it happen. Just take an example of a young entrepreneur who made several phone call but none were returned. He made a few more calls but still, no response. Over the next week he made yet another series of calls that once again received no response. At that point, what would you do? Would you keep trying, or decide to move on and not waste any more time? Only you can answer this question, and the answer will gives a clear picture of your persistence’s level.

Entrepreneurs who successfully build new business seek to overcome hurdles, solve problems, and complete the job. They are disciplined, tenacious, and persistent. They are able to commit and recommit quickly. They love to win and love to compete at anything. However, if tasks are unsolvable, an entrepreneur will be the first person to give up than the others. There is a fair opinion says that while entrepreneurs are extremely persistent, they are also realistic in recognizing what they can and can’t. They know where they can get help to solve a very difficult but necessary task.

The Road to Success in Home Business: Passion, Commitment, Self-Discipline, and a Good Plan

Starting a home business is an adventure, full of exciting twists and turns – and challenging detours, too. It can take you to places you never dreamed. It can make your dreams come true. Running your own home business can teach you things about yourself you may never learn while working for others – how creative and resourceful you are, how much you would like to make a difference in the world. If you do the research and take time to learn the essentials, a home business can enrich your life in many wonderful and sometimes surprising ways. All it takes is a marketable product or service, boundless enthusiasm, enduring commitment, and a good solid plan of action. It also helps to have a big vision for your small home-based business. And let’s not forget self-discipline – one of the most common reasons a home business fails is a lack of self-discipline. It’s not easy operating a demanding business steps away from the hub of family activity and countless distractions.

Home Business Ideas: Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Preeminent business philosopher, Peter F. Drucker wrote, “Entrepreneurs innovate. Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. It is the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth. Innovation, indeed, creates a resource. There is no such thing as a “resource” until man finds a use for something in nature and thus endows it with economic value.” At another point in the narrative about innovation Mr. Drucker states that “There is no greater resource in an economy than purchasing power. But purchasing power is the creation of the innovating entrepreneur.” Focus your vision on opportunity. Check out the demographics and come up with something new – social or technical – or re-invent something old. It’s all about innovation, a new take on a traditional service, a brand new product that makes life easier, a specialty service that appeals to a small but growing niche market.

The number of home-based businesses is growing by leaps and bounds every year. The entrepreneurial spirit runs deep, just look to the phenomenal success of eBay. Many people derive great personal satisfaction from working at home. After all home is our sanctuary, we feel safe in our homes and free to be ourselves. We are more creative when we are comfortable. The Internet and computers have made it possible for us to build wealth sitting at home in our pajamas or dressed to the nines, it’s our choice when we work from home. Whether we work from a fancy fully equipped home office or a cubbyhole in the kitchen pantry, a home business can be anything we want it to be. And like traditional business, there is no magic ‘get rich quick’ scheme. There is only dedication. Perseverance and persistence are key requirements on the road to success. The winning results are always worth the extra effort you put into your home business.

There are hundreds of great ideas for home businesses. Brainstorm your idea with friends and associates, people whose advice you respect. Utilize your existing talents and skills and acquire the education you need to be expert. If you love cooking take gourmet cooking courses -perhaps there’s a market for home delivery of gourmet food in your area. Learn about your competition, can you compete with them on the same level, or carve out your own specialized niche in the catering business. Love animals and have a country property with acreage? Dog parks and doggy camps, dog and cat daycare, and overnight pet boarding is a booming business. Are you fit and like working out? If you have the space and either already have or can invest in some exercise equipment, open an exclusive home gym. Become a Personal Trainer. Bookkeeping, Freelance Writer, Seamstress, Internet Marketer, the list of home business ideas is almost endless. A home business should ideally be built around a product or service you know well. You will be successful if you expect success, and know your product or service inside out. Believe there is a need for your product or service, and believe in yourself.

Marketing: How to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back

Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, author of numerous books, including ‘How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life’ and ‘Working Smart’ wrote, “There is absolutely no substitute for an honest, unshakeable, enthusiastic belief that the products and services you offer are the best available anywhere. Couple that with a sincere passion for helping people and you have an unbeatable combination for creating and keeping customers. People are persuaded more by attitude than logic for two basic reasons that you should always keep in mind as you deal with customers or with people in general, people are ruled by their emotions and emotions are contagious. In the final analysis, persuasion (winning customers) isn’t converting people to your way of thinking. It’s converting people to your way of feeling and believing.”

It’s not enough to be excited about your business. Knowing how to generate enthusiasm in others for your product or service is the key component to being successful in any business. You have to find a market. That means developing an effective marketing strategy. There is a wealth of free information readily available on the Internet and in the library. Marketing geniuses like Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, and other popular ‘gurus’ have websites rich with wisdom and inspiration. Seek out books, magazines, and attend seminars about marketing. It’s amazing how many sources of expert guidance you will find – all brimful of how-to information from people who have traveled the same road and established successful home-based businesses. Talk to business people in your community – whether they are home-based, a retail store, real estate professional, or other small business, their feedback will be invaluable to you. Effective marketing is prerequisite to selling everything, including your credibility. Making the commitment to educate yourself is essential to your long-term success. Learning from the experts gives you a good head start, and helps you avoid some of the inevitable potholes you’ll encounter along the way.

Recommended Reading

For timeless business advice these step-by-step how-to guides, time management, and motivational tools, are excellent resources. Here’s to your success!

  • The Perfect Business by Dr. Michael LeBoeuf

  • The Millionaire in You by Dr. Michael LeBoeuf

  • How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life by Dr. Michael LeBoeuf

  • Working Smart by Dr. Michael LeBoeuf

  • Making Time Work for You by Harold L. Taylor

  • Homemade Business “A Woman’s Step-By-Step Guide to Earning Money at Home” by Donna Partow

  • The Ultimate No B.S., No Holds Arred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners, and Make Tons of Money Business Success Book by Dan Kennedy

  • Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono

  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

  • Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill with W. Clement Stone

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker

  • The Psychology of Winning by Denis Waitley

    • Build Your Own Website Easily With WordPress

    If you work from home or are trying to get that elusive first project, creating a professional website is an important step. As a home for your business, your website can showcase your skills, provide details of your experience, and give potential clients and customers a convenient way to get in touch.

    What’s more, being able to create or work with a website is a useful skill in itself. For many people that work at home, the ability to get a website up and running is an additional service that can be sold to your existing clients.

    You don’t need to spend a fortune getting a website developed for you. You can do it yourself, even if you have never had any experience. Thankfully, there is a secret – WordPress. WordPress is a free system that streamlines and simplifies the process of web development and, as you will find out, can still be flexible enough for just about any website imaginable.

    What Does WordPress Do Besides Blogging?

    Many people have heard of WordPress, but do not understand the full capabilities of the system. Most people think that WordPress is a platform for blogging when, in fact, it is far more than that.

    Today, WordPress has grown into what would be called a content management system, or CMS. A CMS is a tool to store all of the information required for your website and present it to your visitors in a professional, organized way. Other content management systems include Joomla and Drupal, but the reality is that WordPress is the easiest to understand, the easiest to work with, and the most easily adaptable.

    Let’s look at – in simple terms – how exactly WordPress works once it is installed:

    • You access a convenient WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface to securely work with all of the content on your website
    • You can create new web pages in a variety of formats
    • The content that you create is stored in a database
    • You can use the same interface to edit your content in the database
    • When visitors access your website, the information in the database is presented to them in a website layout. You can change this layout at any time and your content will automatically adopt the right look

    In technical terms, WordPress is fairly advanced. In the nine years since the platform first launched, this advanced functionality has been used in all kinds of exciting ways.

    Why Should You Use WordPress?

    You may be wondering why people choose WordPress as their CMS. The answer is because WordPress can make just about anything that you want to do easier, quicker and more convenient!

    Press agency Reuters uses WordPress to keep journalists up to date with the latest news as it happens. Music streaming service Spotify powers its entire website with WordPress.

    WordPress makes creating, editing and organising your content simple and, as a result, less time-consuming. That gives you more time to focus on other areas of your business. WordPress also gives you the chance to get a professional design to make your website look great – often free of charge.

    The best way to see how WordPress streamlines setting up your website is to try it for yourself. WordPress is easy to install on your web hosting or, if you sign up on the WordPress website, you can explore its features with no set-up required.

    Installing WordPress Made Easy

    There are a few different ways to get started with WordPress, depending on your budget, your expertise and whether you use a web hosting service.

    If you are just trying out WordPress and do not have your own web hosting, visit signup.wordpress.com and sign up for a free account. You will be guided through the entire process of creating your WordPress site, which will be stored on the WordPress servers for you. It is also possible to pay for a custom domain name (the address of your website) during the sign-up process.

    Alternatively, if you already have a web hosting plan that supports PHP and MySQL, you can install your own WordPress on your server. This can be done by visiting WordPress.org and downloading the necessary files. The website also offers a convenient guide to installing WordPress in 5 minutes.

    Finally, see if your web hosting provider offers an automatic script installer such as Softaculous. If so, you will be able to log in from your web hosting control panel and install WordPress in just a few clicks.

    Finding A Great Theme

    Once WordPress is up and running, you will need to log in with the details that you chose during set-up – usually at yourdomain.com/wp-admin. You will see the WordPress dashboard, a control panel that lets you work with your website, and a range of different menu items on the left-hand side. A good place to start is by selecting a theme, under the Appearance menu.

    Using the ‘Install Themes’ tab at the top of your screen, you can explore an extensive database of layouts and designs for your website. From conventional business layouts to distinctive and unusual looks, there are currently 1,607 themes available. After finding one that you like, installing is as easy as clicking the ‘Install Now’ button.

    As well as these free WordPress themes that are available from within your control panel, many websites offer a great selection of themes – some of which are free, and some of which are ‘premium’ themes that incur a charge. If you are just getting started with WordPress, a free theme is a good choice. Of course, paying for a premium theme guarantees high quality, good performance, and continued support from the theme developers.

    For professional WordPress themes, check out these websites:

    • ThemeForest
    • WooThemes
    • GetYourThemes

    Once you have installed your theme, you will be able to conveniently customize it to suit your specific requirements. You can do this using Widgets.

    Using Widgets

    Many people choose WordPress because there are so many professional-looking themes available for it. However, it can be useful to tweak your chosen theme to make it more individual.

    When a developer creates a theme, he will name specific areas of the layout that you can customize. For example, you may be able to change the menu at the top of your layout, a sidebar that runs down the side of every page, or the footer.

    Under the Appearance menu on your WordPress control panel, select the Widgets option. On the right, you will see a list of the different areas of your theme that you can customize. On the left, there is a range of included widgets that you can simply drag and drop into the relevant section.

    Standard WordPress widgets include Links to other websites, an automatic list of your Pages, and a calendar of when Posts have been published. You can also install other Widgets free of charge, in the form of Plugins.

    Use Widgets to personalize your theme. Once you are happy, it is time to start thinking about the most important thing of all – your content.

    Pages And Posts

    A common obstacle for people that are new to WordPress is the distinction between two similar types of content – Pages and Posts. Whenever you want to publish something on your website, you will need to decide whether it is a Page or a Post and select the appropriate option.

    Originally, WordPress only offered the ability to create Posts – a term that is short for Blog Posts. Posts are content items that are time-specific and, when they are created, they have the current time and date attached to them. Creating a new Post causes two things to happen:

    • An individual web page is created with the content of your post
    • Your post is added to a single page that collects together each individual post

    This is perhaps clearer as an example – let’s imagine you have a blog section on your website, at yourdomain.com/blog. When you publish a new blog post, a single page will be created – for example, this could be yourdomain.com/blog/my-post-name. But, at the same time, your blog post will be added to the central page at yourdomain.com/blog, giving your visitors the chance to see all of your most recent posts in one convenient place.

    Posts are also added to your website’s RSS feed – more on that in our next article on advanced WordPress tips. Pages, on the other hand, are static items that do not have a date attached to them. They are the pages of your website that stand alone, offering general information about your business.

    If you’re still unsure, ask yourself this question before you create your content – is this something that will stand alone (a Page), or something that is part of a section of the website that I will update regularly (a Post)?

    Explore And Learn On The Fly

    You now understand the concepts of WordPress, including what it can do, common terminology, and why you should be using WordPress to build your site. So start exploring!

    The great thing about WordPress is that it is intuitive and easy to use. Anything that you create can be deleted or edited with ease, so the best advice is to check the menu options included in your control panel and start working on your content right now.

    Once you’ve made a start, be sure to read our next article on making the most of your WordPress installation to create a website that really stands out from the crowd.

    Home Based Working Mothers – Get The Three Way Balance Right In Your Home Based Business

    Home business owners come in every age, nationality and description you can imagine. It is easy to run a home business as a part-time occupation and this makes home business ownership attractive to all sorts of people, both male and female, from students to senior citizens. However, the largest category within this varied group is made up of women, in particular stay at home mothers who are caring for young children. There are stay at home dads in evidence amongst home business owners but they are hugely outnumbered by the ranks of stay at home moms.

    It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this predominance of stay at home moms running their own home businesses is due to the fact that most women want to bring up their children themselves but also need to work at least part-time in order to supplement the family budget. Instead of reluctantly handing the care of their precious children over to strangers, these home based working mothers have found ways to combine childcare and working for a living and are doing it under their very own roofs.

    Working from home while bringing up their children is the perfect dream scene to many working mothers and that dream can be turned into reality, but it doesn’t just happen, it takes careful planning and organisation. If unrealistic goals are set or organisation is lax, the perfect dream can rapidly deteriorate into a nightmare scenario. Then the mother/home business owner, instead of having the best of both worlds, ends up harassed and frustrated and regretting her decision to start a home business.

    The key to making a success of a home business and, at the same time, giving your children the attention they need, lies in planning which takes into account three elements. These elements are the needs of the child, the requirements of the business, and the needs of the mother. Many work at home mothers make provisions for the first two elements but don’t factor in their own needs. In order to achieve a perfect balance it is essential that the mother, when planning her daily routine, recognises her own limitations as a human being and does not try to work to a schedule that would stress even Superwoman.

    Looking after young children is stressful in itself, it is the biggest responsibility any of us can ever take on. Running a business can be stressful, particularly when you first start the venture. Add on the fact that most mothers put themselves last in any consideration and the danger will be obvious. To succeed, indeed in order to survive, any mother of young children who is thinking of starting a home based business must make a realistic assessment of her personality and abilities right at the start. This will enable her to choose the right business, set achievable goals and to formulate a sensible daily schedule.

    If the work at home mom feels confident and able to cope with her dual roles as a home business owner and mother, she will be relaxed and happy. The children will pick up on their mother’s mood and, in turn, they will feel secure and happy. A happy frame of mind and a relaxed atmosphere will make children (even from early toddler stage) more inclined to be co-operative and to play independently while their mother gets on with her work. If children don’t feel they have to compete with mom’s business to get her attention, they won’t feel the need to behave in a nagging, demanding way: just knowing mom is there will be enough for them.

    If the mother feels she is doing her best for her children as well as her business, she won’t be burdened with the negativity caused by feelings of guilt. Get the three way balance right and being a work at home mom will be just as you dreamed it should be.

    Gift Ideas – Find Great Gift Ideas For Your Loved Ones

    One of the greatest ways to celebrate a moment, an occasion or express love is by presenting nice gifts. A gift can express the emotions that even words may not be able to portray. However, often there is a lack of original gift ideas and it can become difficult to choose a special gift item for a special person or a special occasion.

    Unique Gift Ideas

    There are a range of gift ideas depending upon the recipient (man, woman, child, babies, pets), relationship (father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, friends, girlfriend, boyfriend) and occasion. Some of the unique gift ideas are as follows:

    Gift Ideas for Men: Gifting a man can be a little difficult as they tend to have very specific tastes and preferences. However, a bit of research can throw up some really nice ideas.

    Almost all men are gadget freaks and any of the latest electronic items can completely floor them. An advanced cell phone, iPhone, iPhone accessories, multiple gadget charging stations and wireless headphones can be excellent gifts.

    Apart from gadgets, another very good idea is to treat their taste buds by present food or drink packages. From fine wine to beer baskets and from assorted cheese packets to an expensive dinner at an exotic restaurant, these options would definitely be adored by them.

    Some other unique ideas include golf club drink dispensers, personalized portraits, coasters with light, convertible luggage bags etc.

    Gift Ideas for Women: A lot of people think that gifting a woman is the toughest. This is a myth and there are innumerable unique gift idea for women that can impress them a great deal.

    Gorgeous apparel, jewelry, accessories and make-up items are some of the standard but effective gifts for women. To try something different, gifts like modern kitchen gadgets including meat thermometers, electric carving knives and cookie cutters can be very helpful.

    Most women these days are fitness conscious and gifting them some fitness gifts can be quite unconventional. These can include health food baskets, herbal teas, calorie burning sandals, massaging mats, stress relievers, foot spas and yoga gift sets.

    More extravagant gifts can include dream car tours, a vacation to an oriental or an exotic land, gourmet dinner cruise or even a precious gem stone.

    Birthday Gift Ideas: Birthdays are the most frequent occasions to gift someone. There are some excellent offbeat birthday gift ideas for everyone. These include engraving the name in custom art, crazy cake pans, life size wall murals, personalized birthday chronicles, personalized birthday magazine cover, hot air balloon trip or even a poem.

    Anniversary Gift Ideas: An anniversary is a celebration of the union of two people and there are many exclusive anniversary gifts available. These include romantic art decor, rose bouquet with custom messages on every rose, home spa gift sets, bottles with romantic messages, personalized photo lamps, personalized marble plaques, a trip to some of the best vineyard or even pencil sketches.

    Presenting an offbeat gift item can surprise the recipients but they would make the occasion and the presenter extremely memorable for them.

    Simple Fundraising Ideas? One Woman’s Crazy, Adventurous Quest in Search of Ideas For Fundraisers

    When I began my parenting journey several years ago, I didn’t realize that I was also embarking on a never-ending search for simple fundraising ideas. Truly, I had no idea that one of the primary responsibilities as a parent would be continually drumming up ideas for fundraisers.

    Even after I had resigned myself to the fact that fundraising would be a regular part of my life, I still had no idea that it would be such an adventure.

    You see I’ve got three kids in school selling everything from pies to pizza. We’re involved in drama, soccer, basketball AND I sit on a hockey board that is solely self-funded by–you guessed it–fundraisers.

    I’m trading commodities with friends, “I’ll take that pie and trade you cookie dough…good we’re even.” My family members won’t even answer their phone anymore, afraid they’ll be buying more things they don’t need.

    We’ve done ’em all!

    Let’s see, there are the gift-wrap/specialty item/trinket sales. If you ask me, these types of fundraisers are overused and overpriced. Every time I turn around my child has yet another catalog! In this economy when I can buy wrapping paper for $1.00 at the local dollar store, why would I want a roll of wrapping paper that costs me $9.00? (So what if it is better quality, it just gets ripped off the gift anyway.) I would actually rather write the school a check then try to sell this stuff.

    Of course, we’re so tired of selling stuff anyway, so half the time, I just place a good sized order for my own family (reluctantly, of course).

    Case in point: My daughter recently came home and mentioned that the “The Cookie Dough Guy” said that if they wanted enough money for their field trip to the Boston Museum, they were “encouraged” to sell at least two tubs of cookie dough (for $14.00 each!). I spent $28.00 on two itty bitty tubs of cookie dough. I could have gone to BJ’s, bought a BIG tub of Tollhouse Cookie dough for $6.99 AND bought my daughter’s admission into the museum for less than that! Why didn’t they just ask for the money for the field trip? It’s absurd!

    And, how about those booths at craft fairs or festivals?

    Okay, so if you’re ever asked to “man a booth for a couple of hours” be very wary. Our organization signed up for a booth at our community’s Summerfest in June. I signed on for the early shift (I’d get my shift over with and enjoy a fun filled afternoon with my family). Yeh, first mistake. Funny how your “replacements” never seem to show up to actually replace you. So, there I was, 6 hours later “manning the booth”. If that wasn’t annoying enough, suddenly, the skies grew dark, the wind kicked up and we were in the middle of one of those horrific thunder and lightning storms. Everything was blowing wildly; the canopy was about to take flight. And the rain was coming down in droves. Needless to say, we earned very little money that day. (Even putting the

    “severe thunderstorm factor” aside, the event was not very profitable because even though there was a lot of traffic, there was also a lot of competition.)

    Oh and let’s not forget one of my favorite “simple” fundraising ideas, pizza kits and pies.

    Okay, yes they are pretty decent sellers, but the logistics of the whole thing are crazy. First of all, you need to arrange an EXACT delivery time with the company because they need to keep the goods frozen. Then, you need to let everyone know when that EXACT delivery date is and pray that they actually come to pick up their products. And, when they don’t . . .well, let’s just say, it was a darn good thing I had a spare freezer in my basement to store some of those overly large boxes! And, don’t get me started on how I had to make a bazillion phone calls to those people who failed to show up at our EXACT delivery time.

    But, my all time favorite adventure was “The Bottle Drive”. The most basic of simple fundraising ideas. You collect, basically, people’s trash and exchange it for money. Piece of cake.

    That’s what we thought too. The conversation went something like this: “We’ll have a bottle drive!” “Yes!” “On New Year’s Day.” “Great idea!” “All those New Year’s Eve parties! We’ll make a ton of money!”

    It became an obsession. I’m in the grocery store and I run into Mike. He says, “Hey, we’re having a New Year’s Eve party, you and John should stop by.” Great, I’m thinking. Give his address to one of the drivers to pick up their bottles in the morning. I get so swept up in it, that I actually find myself eavesdropping to find out where everyone is going to celebrate.

    So it’s New Year’s Day and with maps in hand and addresses of all those parties that happened the night before, we jumped into our trucks and headed out. Did I mention we live in Maine? We had been hit with several December storms and today we were in for a Nor’easter, as they are so endearingly called. (In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, this basically means that the snow falls in unassuming small crystals at a moderate but relentless pace until you suddenly realize that you are completely socked in.) That wasn’t going to deter us though . . . no worries, just bundle up and get an early start.

    Here’s a curious concept…an early start on New Year’s Day. Okay, so not everyone spent New Year’s Eve like me — in their pj’s, snuggled up next to the woodstove, going to bed early so we could get an early start in the morning for the bottle drive. At 9:00 a.m., if you had a party, you are NOT likely to be moving around, much less cleaning your house. So, many doors went unanswered.

    Finally, one neighborhood proved to be promising until we saw…the Boy Scouts. We couldn’t believe it. They were having a bottle drive as well! (It’s amazing how fast a bunch of not-so-thrilled-to-be-up-this-early-on-a-weekend teenage hockey players can actually move when they are trying to outrun the Boy Scouts.)

    My friend and I decided, enough of this door-to-door stuff, we’ll hit up the local restaurants and pubs. We hit the mother load at our local Thatcher’s. We rock! Our hopes were high. Then, we hear, “Sorry, you need to talk to the manager and they aren’t working on New Year’s Day” or “We have lots of bottles in our shed out back but unfortunately the plow guy hasn’t plowed us out from the last storm. Come see us in the spring.”

    Okay, this was getting discouraging. We traded cell phone calls and met at regular intervals at the local redemption center. The snow was coming down faster than the plows could get the roads clear and we realized that it was getting too dangerous to have vehicles on the road. With an army of twelve trucks, we headed back to the redemption center only to discover it had closed due to the weather!

    Now what do we do?

    “Bring them to my garage” (What, who said that? Me? Note to self: you are far too accommodating.) Of course everyone thinks that is a great idea!

    Before I know it, my garage is full of stale smelling beer bottles, my hands are sticky and cold, I’m exhausted, my husband is ready to divorce me AND my car is now outside covered by 18 inches of heavy, wet snow because there isn’t enough room in my garage!

    Over the course of the next week, my husband and I bagged up the bottles and made several trips to the redemption center. Woo Hoo! We made $350 for 15 people, spending a cold, snowy day, driving all over town. There has got to be a simpler way to fundraise!

    Cost-Effective Marketing Strategies of Small Business Marketing Experts

    Whether your business is old or new, you marketing should be dynamic and timely. Often times marketing in small business involves sending several outgoing calls and walk-in customer service satisfaction. But are these small business marketing ideas still operational today? Or is Internet marketing becoming the next norm for small or big business.

    Adding to the dilemma is that, these days, the business magazines, newspapers, Internet and even your email Inbox are filled with small business marketing ideas from just anybody. Inexperienced businessmen or women can easily feel lost in these barrages of small business marketing views, advices, strategies, etc. So let me give you more centered strategies that harness one effective small business marketing strategy: Internet marketing.

    Six Top Ideas for Internet Marketing

    1. Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC)

    For a tech-savvy business man or woman, Pay Per Click marketing proves to be a strong business marketing method. But, entrepreneurs using Pay Per Click should know what they’re doing or their cost per conversion could rapidly break unknowingly. The key to a productive Pay Per Click marketing drive is continuous oversight.

    2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    Unlike Pay Per Click advertising, Search Engine Optimization pays off slowly but a lasting prospect is feasible. On average, 75% of a business website’s traffic come from organic search engine queries. Remember that search engines wouldn’t mind your advertising budget. What they look into is the SEO strategies you employed on your site What are important are the SEO strategies that you have on your site.

    3. Public Relations (PR)

    Public relations are perhaps the parent of all small business marketing ideas since advertising campaigns was started. Nailing your offline and your online PR campaign is a very good way to build-up awareness, authority, trust, and loyalty to your business. Online public relation through PR Wire is very cost-effective small business marketing strategy, for example.

    4. Twitter and Facebook Places

    Adding to the micro blogging and the syndication power of Twitter and Facebook are their new free service to all business marketers: the Twitter and Facebook Places. This application allows you to integrate your Tweets and Facebook updates to display a map where your business is located.

    5. Online Business Directories

    Today, clients are prepared to junk yellow pages in favor of the more interactive online business directories to find local businesses. If you’re not included on several online business directories, then it means you’re losing on a lot of small business marketing ideas. You’re missing on citation burst that could have tremendous positive impact on search engines.

    6. Online Word of Mouth

    And the last small business marketing strategy that’s paying huge dividend is online word of mouth. This includes glowing customer reviews on online directories, blogs, and social media sites. Seventy percent of future clients trust online reviews, so it’s time to start looking into ReviewBiz, for example, and start strategizing.

    I know that was a lot of online small business marketing ideas to study let alone implement. In fact, imposing and managing all these online marketing ideas can even be time consuming. Don’t worry though because there are solutions you can find on the Internet that should help you implement the marketing strategies above.

    In closing, small business marketing ideas such as online directories, etc. are a potent means to reach more local clients. These tried & trusted methods are permanent, and your business will fall if you don’t have these strategies in place.

    Uptalk – What it is and Why You Don’t Ever Want to Do it!

    Carol doesn’t understand why no one seems to take her ideas seriously in business meetings

    Sophie complains that every time she makes a suggestion in an Executive meeting the idea gets tossed around until finally some ‘guy’ says the same thing she did and is congratulated for his contribution.

    Both of these women experience similar difficulties. They are not given credit for their ideas. One of the biggest causes of women not being taken seriously is the use of ‘Uptalk’ when speaking.

    In English, the use of a question mark at the end of a sentence indicates that the sender is asking a question. The speaker therefore raises their inflection at the end of the statement. It is this upward inflection, or lilt, that lets the receiver know that we are asking them something; that we are looking for a response from them.

    Uptalk occurs when we inject that same upward inflection at the end of our sentences, rather than inflecting downward, as we should when we read a period. This upward inflection takes our definitive statements and softens them, making them sound as if we are asking a question or looking for approval. The use of uptalk is one of the most common elements undermining women’s credibility with men around the boardroom table.

    Consider the impact of uptalk on the following statements. I’ve inserted question marks in parenthesis to indicate where the inflection rises and exclamation points to indicate where the inflection should fall. Practice saying these out loud to ‘hear’ the impact that the uptalk has.

    With uptalk: It’s a nice day today(?)
    Without uptalk: It’s a nice day today(!)

    In the first example, your inflection rises at the end of the statement, making it sound as if you are unsure of whether the day is, in fact, nice or not. Certainly it makes you sound more hesitant and less confident. The second statement however clearly lets others know how you feel about the day. Although this is a simplistic example, the following is an excerpt from an introduction given by a woman in one of my training sessions. Try to follow the upward inflection indicated by the arrows above the phrases and read it out loud. Again, I have inserted question marks to indicate where Susan’s inflection rose as she was delivering her introduction.

    Hi(?), my name is Susan(?). I’m the Manager(?) of Information Services(?) for a large Telecommunications company(?)

    In this example, you can see that uptalk can occur much more frequently than simply at the end of a sentence. Often people’s sentences are punctuated with uptalk throughout, making it a stronger message. Susan’s use of uptalk made her seem very hesitant and unsure of herself. In fact, it seemed that she should have pulled out a business card to verify that, in fact, her name was Susan as well as her title and employer! If this is the effect that the use of uptalk has on simple, very direct, very definitive statements, is it any wonder that women’s ideas, when presented with uptalk, are often overlooked or ignored?

    Women often develop uptalk early in life in an effort to ‘play nice’. Young girls learn early to soften their orders and directions to others by using uptalk. They sound less directing and controlling, less ‘bossy’, and therefore will still be allowed into other little girls’ play circles.

    Little boys, on the other hand, will give very direct orders during play, without alienating other boys in the process. It seems that boys are more open to having other boys displaying leadership traits, without any hard feelings or animosity arising, while girls take it as a personal affront when another girl attempts to do so.

    In a recent Women in Business networking event I attended, each woman was given two minutes to introduce themselves and their businesses. I was astounded as I listened to these women. Easily 75% of the women present uptalked their way through their personal introductions. They sounded hesitant and ineffectual!

    If you find that your statements seem to lack credibility or conviction, that your ideas are lacking strength, take the time to listen to yourself on tape. Listen for the uptalk. Once you train your ear to identify it, you will be amazed at how easily you can begin to control it. You cannot change what you cannot identify though, so get out that tape-recorder and start taping! We have had many past training participants come back to us and say that learning to hear and control their uptalk was one of the biggest contributors to their ongoing success in business. As one participant shared “I can’t believe that such a seemingly small element had such a major impact on how I was perceived. Once I began working to eliminate my uptalk the change in others perception was almost instantaneous. What’s funny is that others knew something was different about me but couldn’t put their finger on what it was. My boss kept asking who lit the fire under me!”

    Is Internet Business the Best Home Based Business?

    Would you like to work from your home computer? I’m sure many of us here would, if not you won’t be here reading this article. In my opinion, Internet businesses is one of the best home based business that anyone could start.

    To start an online business, you basically need a computer or laptop and an Internet access. I’m sure many of us knows a thing or two about using the computer, since it has been a daily routine in our life. Big companies are using computer to aid their business process and families are using computers at home to shop online and do internet banking, the list goes on.

    How about making use of your computer and Internet access to make you some money off the Internet? I’m sure you and I would like the idea but you ask yourself, “Can I do it?, I only know how to surf and check emails?” I’m sure you can because I was like you when I first started. What you need is the will to learn and apply what you learn, do you agree?

    Did you start your own traditional business before? If you have, I’m sure to start one you will need a huge sum of money and not only that, you will have monthly overhead. Ok, now lets put traditional business aside for the time beginning, and take a look why Internet could be the best home-based business that you can start.

    To start an online business, besides having a computer or a laptop and Internet access, you need to have something to sell, either a physical product or a service. You can either create your own product and sell it online, or be an affiliate of a company and sell their products or simply buy and sell at eBay. These are some ways you can start your online business venture from home.

    Unlike traditional business, the cost to start an online business is very little. You basically need, a web hosting, email account and a product to sell, all in which will cost you as little as $50 per month. This is why starting your own online business could be the best home based business you can start with basic cost of only $50 a month.

    However, you may think where are you going to get your products from or how are you going to create your product. This could take time to develop a suitable product. Indeed, I truly agree with you that this can be tedious but there are always alternatives. Remember earlier I mentioned about being an affiliate and sell the company’s product? Signing up as an affiliate is one of the best ways that you can start your internet home based business. Your affiliate company will have everything ready for you, your product, website, salescopy etc. All you need to do is to promote the product or service online and leave the rest to your company, isn’t it simple?

    Internet businesses is definitely one of the best home based business that anyone can start with, considering that the start up cost is so low. All you need to do is to find the right product and market it online. And in no time, you probably be making 10 times more than your monthly cost.

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