Tag: Work

Blur the Line Between Work and Play

Make your vocation your vacation. I think that’s one of the smartest business concepts that I’ve ever run across. I learned it from a book called Work is My Play by Wallace E. Johnson, one of the founders of Holiday Inn.

One of the things that Johnson says in his book that I like so much is this: the secret of success is to work half a day. It doesn’t matter which half you work; just make sure you work half a day. Now, you have to take that in its proper context, because he isn’t talking about a standard eight-hour workday. He’s talking about a day, the full 24-hour period from sunrise to sunrise, which means your “half-day” is 12 hours long. If that just shuts you down flat, consider this: when you study all the great business successes, you’ll see that they were not accomplished by people who punched time clocks like most people do. Average workers put in their 40 or 50 hours, but their real life exists beyond what they do for a living.

Well, folks, the secret here is to throw your whole heart and soul into your business. Just put it all out there. My best analogy for that is the farmer. Farming isn’t really a job that people do for money. Farming is a lifestyle. It’s a part of who they are, and it’s every cell in their bodies. It’s what they live for; it’s their whole identity.

When I think about blurring the line between your work and play, I can’t help but think about the standard job mentality. It’s all about the money for most of us, isn’t it? Most people just naturally assume that that’s what I’m all about, too, because during the past two decades I’ve been “successful.” But they’re wrong. For me, it’s all about the game. It’s about the excitement. It’s about the freedom. It’s about the fun, the adventure of competing.

I’ve successfully blurred the line between work and play, and you should too. Find out what you’re really good at and run with it, putting your whole passion into the things that you really enjoy and do well. I often get up at five AM and start working immediately. Noon rolls around, and I think, “Wow, seven hours just went by — and it happened so quickly!” Sometimes that shocks me, and I wonder, What did I do? Simple enough: I got absorbed in my work. It became as enjoyable for me as any play. The flow of it makes me feel alive. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s interesting.

I have a little sign on the treadmill where I work out, and it says, “Do whatever makes you feel totally alive.” That’s what a business should be about. It’s not only about making money; that’s just a necessity, like breathing, and to me there’s nothing more boring. Whenever you focus on the money alone, or any other single thing, as far as I’m concerned you’re going to make the wrong decisions. That’s why you focus on the game of it, in its totality, and revel in the excitement, the adventure, of trying to build something substantial.

Try to do something that makes you feel passionate, and just fall in love with your work. Do what makes you feel most fulfilled, and spend as much of your life as you can in those areas, playing with whatever gives you the greatest sense of joy and fulfillment. For me it’s marketing, writing, communication. It’s anything that has to do with selling and developing business plans and strategies. Just don’t take it too seriously, or you’ll lose track of what really matters.

Now, does that mean you should laugh at all your problems and just skate by them? Of course not! But this whole idea that being in business is like a prison sentence, where you have to keep your nose to the grindstone and it’s wrong to get loose and to relax and have fun… that’s an old, worthless idea that you need to set aside right now.

Consider professional athletes, who offer the ideal example of blurring the line between work and play. They get paid to play games… though it’s a lot of work, too. It’s no easy job to be, say, a baseball player who plays 160 games a year from April all the way through September. That doesn’t account for all the training and the playoffs, either. They work incredibly hard on it; these athletes are very fit, because they stay active and train all the time. But they’re playing.

Even more amazing, they’re basically playing a kid’s game. Pick-up games of baseball are being played every day across the U.S. and all around the world in their thousands. These guys are doing it for a living… and some are making millions at it. That’s a classic example of getting paid to have fun. Their play is their work, and vice versa. They work hard at it, just like us entrepreneurs.

Now, don’t take this attitude too far, because in order to be successful in business, you’ve got to take it seriously at some level. That doesn’t mean you have to let it give you a heart attack or a nervous breakdown. Don’t take it so seriously that you’re exhausted all the time, either. It’s okay to be exhausted occasionally, in the same way that a good play session or a good workout exhausts you. In fact, that’s a great way to think of it: it’s hard work while you’re doing it, but you like the results that come from doing it.

Even if you lose sight of the enjoyment in the heat of the moment, you like seeing what you’ve gained from it, and you like keeping score. You like going to the scale to see how much weight you’ve lost or how much muscle tone you’re gaining. It’s challenging, but it’s fun.

Business should be like that. Take it seriously and play to win, but remember that it’s just a game, and have fun playing.

#1 Best Work at Home Moms Web Host – How to Find It?

You made the decision that your most important job was to be a full time mom to your children and give them as much of you as possible. But now you want to start working from home so you can be with your children and earn some additional income to help the family finances.

You decide to build a website so you start looking for the right web host for your site. You go to Google and search for “web hosting” and you get 153,000,000 pages. Wow! Overwhelming! How do you find the right one?

Let’s set search criteria.

As a work at home mom, what do you never have enough of other than money? — How about time?

With the value of your time as a major consideration, time savings should be the driving factor in evaluating and finding a web host.

To make the most effective use of your time, you need a web host that will provide:

  • A world class research tool to assist you in researching your market and the associate keywords. This tool helps you make certain that your market niche is large enough to support you, but not so large that you cannot compete with the big websites. Your largest waste of time could be several months spent building a website that did not have a chance of success.
  • Detailed instructions in written or video format on how to go through the process of building a successful website. This saves you hours of floundering around on your own trying to figure it out.
  • A web page builder that is easy to use. You want one where you fill in the blanks and it builds the page for you. This saves you from having to learn HTML programming.
  • A tool that evaluates each page you build and tells you what to change to make the page rank high on Google search results. Why waste time building a web page that will not rank well on Google and not bring visitors to your website?
  • A service that automatically builds your site map (listing of all your web pages). This is necessary to assist Google in ranking your web pages. Doing this yourself eats up your time.
  • A service that automatically notifies Google that you have updated or changed a page on your website so Google can come to your website and evaluate your page. This accelerates the listing of your page on Google search results. You can do this yourself, but again, it consumes your time.
  • Traffic analysis tools to tell you about your visitors, what keywords they used to find your website, and other data that you need to increase visitors to your site.
  • Responsive support so you don’t waste your time trying to find the answer to your question.
  • And finally, you want a webhost that will provide quality uptime hosting for your website. This is what other hosts do, but what about all the other time saving features that you need?

Does this sound like an impossible task? You think to yourself, “There is no way I will find a web host that does all this”.

I thought the same thing when I started looking for the ideal web host which would allow me to accomplish the maximum in the very limited time I have available to work on my online business. Since I have a full time day job, I can work on my online business only a couple of hours each day. Thankfully, I found Site Build It. I have used Site Build It to build four successful websites, and I plan to build more.

In my opinion, Site Build It is the most work at home mom friendly web host since it will allow you to work very efficiently. In reality, it is much more than a web host. It is an all in one solution for building a successful online work at home mom business.

Site Build It provides a free eBook written by Site Build It work at home moms. This eBook explains how to use Site Build It and succeed. Download your copy of this eBook now and start building your successful work at home mom business.

Ingredients For Work at Home Mom Success

Have you ever wondered why you aren’t doing as well at your work at home business as you originally envisioned you would? Have you ever wondered just what does it take? After 4 years in business as a work at home Mom I would love to share the ingredients I sifted together to answer your questions.

All too often Moms want all the answers handed to them all at once and fall prey to one experts advice. What is an expert anyway? My dictionary says skills and knowledge derived from training or experience. It does not say someone who knows everything, who will lead you into success for free and will never unintentionally lead you astray. The truth of the matter is, there is just to much information for anyone person to have it all and while experience aids us in making decisions concerning our business, just when you think you’ve learned all there is to know about a subject, things change. The same products weren’t sold in 1950 as they were in 1960 or will they be today. Times change, fashions change, technology changes, therefore business changes. I didn’t get my web sites to the top of the Google search engines from any one Internet “expert’s” advice. I got to the top of the search engines by using one piece of advice from many different Internet “experts”.

The #1 ingredient to work at home Mom success is research, research, and research some more!

All too often Moms think once they have their business all set up, the orders will start flowing in, their pockets will start filling up and it’s all smooth sailing from then on. Not true. When I had my 1st beautiful web site full of beautiful products, I soon realized my web site was no where to be found in the Google search engines and I wasn’t getting orders because of it. I knew I had to be listed on the 1st page of the Google search engine to get customers. I did research, I made changes, I monitored the results and the I did the same time and time again. Did every change I made work? No. Did some? Yes. Now both of my web site are on the 1st page of the Google search engine. I will continue to monitor my status and make changes if necessary.

The #2 ingredient to work at home Mom success is trial and error, trial and error, continuous trial and error!

All too often Moms believe they will work less hours with their own business than when going out of the home to work. Not true. Your own business requires more hours. Hours to learn, hours to apply what you learned, hours to actually provide your product or service, hours for accounting, the list goes on and on. However, there certainly are advantages of working from home. Being at home with small children or home when your children return from school, working the hours and days you prefer not your employers, no travel time, traffic, save money on gas, uniforms or expensive office clothes and more. Personally, I find having lunch at home with my 3 year old much more enjoyable then sitting in a business lunch room with an hours old sandwich!

The #3 ingredient to work at home Mom success is work, work harder and then work some more!

All too often Moms give up because they are not an overnight success. National statistics say it takes a new businesses 3-5 years to become profitable and most businesses close up shop before they have even worked at it for a full year.

The #4 ingredient to work at home Mom success is don’t give up!

Put it all together and what do we have, research, hard work, trial and error and don’t give up! I truly believe that God wants us to succeed. He simply asks us to plant the seeds of our business, harvest the grain that is available to our business, prepare the flour for our business, mix the dough in our business and bake the foundation of our business before we get to savor the bread of our business which is our success!

Work at Home With Google AdSense Online Business Opportunities

If you’re one of those people who want to easily earn money online through your blogs and/or website if you have, then signing up for Google AdSense is the best way to start with. It might be somewhat unfamiliar to most of us, but once you know how it works, it will definitely add an increase to your income without taking so much time.

Many people have already gained a lot from signing up to Google AdSense, but its advantage is not that known to everyone. So for beginners, let’s take the steps one by one going up to its critical points to know more on how it works.

First thing to do is to have a blog and/or website and you can sign up at Google AdSense for free. After you sign up for a free account, you can already put ads that are relevant to your content on your site. Available also in your site are the adverts relevant to your area, because of the information you are giving to Google. By this, buyers from different places who will visit your blogs and/or website can relate to your ads.

Making your ads appealing and with relevance to the buyers helps you make money from Google. With every click you will receive from your blog and/or website visitors is a credit in your AdSense.

So, you would ask, “how can I make my blog appealing”? It’s just simple. AdSense offers a lot of choices for you to make your blog attractive such as its color scheme, color and borders that will suit to its appearance. For a beginner like you, experimenting is never a bad idea for it helps you gain knowledge about Google AdSense.

On the other hand, though many earn a lot from integrating Google AdSense in their blogs and/or website, still there are some who are less fortunate to have fewer visitors in a day as compared to others. Because of this, some resolve to find other strategies in which they can earn more.

For that instance, going to the AdSense’ advanced level and starting other sites with different but common topics catches the attention of many. These AdSense are then located in the most advantageous position to get more clicks. You may even add up links to the site which will also add a bit to your income.

The advantage of having these types of sites is that, when you have already created and have an own domain name, all you have to do then is to endorse and update them each day which is also done by putting news stories that are related to your subject to have more visitors by having a higher rank in the search engine results.

The last yet the most important thing in here is to wisely choose a subject. Something that would really jive in the interest of the visitors such as topics relating to health, fashion trends, high-earning jobs and a lot more.

To sum it up, integrating your blogs and/or website in a Google AdSense is the best way to start earning money. It won’t just five you income but also knowledge and skills in improving sites and blogs. It may even take you to the edge of becoming an AdSense expert which again, will give you extra income without hassles in the job.

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A Guide to Building Websites That Work

Caution:

If you are looking for “Get-Rich-Quick,” close this page. You are at the wrong place. Common sense dictates that is impossible. If you intend to build a major online corporation, you need a Webmaster and programmers.

But if you are willing to work to build a genuine small business with long-term value and profits, read on. You have come to the right place, the only place, where the average small business person can indeed build a profitable online business.

We all have different reasons for building businesses online.

It depends on who you are, from raw “newbie” to marketing expert.

It depends on what you want out of business and life…

* Freedom and self-reliance?

* Increased revenues from an existing business.

* Growth and independence?

* Living life with passion.

* Recognition and support?

* Community and belonging.

* The right skills and control?

* Additional family income & time.

No matter your reason, you surely want to succeed. But the bitter truth is that only a few people have or know what it takes. Your Web site either makes the sale, or it doesn’t. Ninety-nine out of a hundred sites still don’t get the order.

We blame that on suspicious, scared Web-consumers.

Wrong.

No matter what you offer on the Web, your site must SELL! Are you selling digital goods like software, video games, or info-products? Do you sell freezers to Eskimos (to store the ice you sold them), or other hard-good widgets?

Got a store with dozens, hundreds, even thousands of items to sell?

Think there’s no way you could sell hamburgers on the Web? Why not use your site to sell visitors on registering for digital discount coupons for your special of the month?! Just print and present one to the restaurant nearest you!

Maybe you’re looking to expand regional sales into global distribution? Or do you want to generate leads for your OEM business? Are you considering adding an online profit-center to take advantage of your existing offline store’s infrastructure (1-800 number, warehouse, inventory, database, etc.)? A no-brainer… if you do it right!

Or… has your own profitable Web site just been a dream until now? Well, everyone’s an expert on something!

So…

Think! Brainstorm a little. Can you offer…

* world-class consulting services on your special area of expertise?

* special travel services, like bike tours through the Andes?

* unique info-products, based on knowledge from your job or hobby?

* Multi-national corporation? Entrepreneur with an idea?

It doesn’t matter. Here’s the bottom line.. you can make our site sell.

Just last week my family(extended) had a get together, something small. Like most of such occasions everyone wants to know what everyone is up to and we all make jokes about the little things. I am a natural, I usually get everyone’s attention for being outspoken, sort of a Bilbo in the Baggins family.

During dinner we had hardly eaten a chunk or two when my little niece turned to me and said,” Can you help me make my site sell?

I was taken aback because before now I had no idea she had a website or was trying any making ventures online. The truth is that she had secretly spent all her pocket cash for six months on paying for hosting, and a domain. She had installed a shopping cart, tweaked it in every possible way. But after 8 months she had received just 18 unique visitors and made no sales of her art works even though they cost just 20 dollars.

I decided to help, of course I had no choice.

I took her through a 3 week class. I am going to try to summarize the process in this article, cos I found out that there a lot of out there struggling with building a website and fail miserably talk less of making money from it.

So many people out there even go a step further buying resale rights products, books etc.

These are not wrong in themselves as I have personally written some myself. But if you do not understand the fundamental principles about businesses on online you will fail and loose your hard earned cash too.

But first lets out line the problems my niece was having. She mentioned so many things but here is a summary

1. No traffic

2. No sales

3. Domain Name irrelevance

Everything we build in life should be anchored a good foundation, this also goes for building websites for profit. In our case here’s the foundation. . .

C-T-P-M

Content Traffic Presell Monetize

Step 1 – Understand the difference between “PREselling” and “Selling.”

Content -Traffic – PREsell – Monetize.

What’s it all about? Where’s the magic?

No magic. And it’s all about your “pre-customer,” about the hundreds of millions of people who surf the Net every day…

People use the Web as a searching tool. They search for credible high-value information or solutions, anything that can fulfill a wish that they hold dearly or solve a troublesome problem that they are experiencing.

Success on the Net all begins with a critical mindset shift. This means replacing that well-known offline strategy of “location, location, location” with…

“Information, information, information.”

In the online world, no one just happens to walk past, see your business and enter your Web site. Surfers on the Net are not looking for you or your business. People search for information, for solutions. After all, if they knew you existed, they would not be searching. They would already be customers.

Online, you must generate your own traffic to thrive and be profitable. Therefore, your primary task, well before you make your first sale or recommendation to a customer (often well before that person is even aware that s/he is shopping!), is to provide the information (i.e., content) that people are searching for, in a way that Search Engines like. In other words…

Give them what they want.

A Theme-Based Content Site contains information based upon a main subject. Each page focuses upon a single topic that is related to that theme. The net sum of all the information on all your pages forms the Content of your site.

These specific “topical pages” are called “Keyword-Focused Content Pages.” They rank well with the Search Engines (SEs), attracting lots of targeted Traffic.

The high-value content “warms up” (i.e., PREsells) visitors by OVERdelivering what they came for… information.

Visitors start to like and trust you (based on what you write about on your site). Your content-rich site builds trust and credibility… “PREselling!” The visitor begins to like and respect you… you are a knowledgeable expert.

This credibility creates an open-to-buy or open-to-hire mindset. You are now a mere click away from Monetizing (converting PREsold traffic into dollars)… affiliate links, order pages, contact forms, Google ads, your own store, eBay auctions, or any other way to monetize — they are now just one friendly click away!

This proven, results-generating process…

CONTENT -TRAFFIC -PRESELL – MONETIZE

… works. No matter how you plan to monetize…

* merchant-partner sites that you represent as an affiliate

* an order page on your site where a prospect can buy your own products (hard or digital goods)

* a contact form which visitors can use to follow-up with you for more details about your professional services or Network marketing business opportunity

* your own online store

* a site that sells a related, non-competitive service or product, in return for a referral fee

* your established sales site (become your own best affiliate!)

* an ad from Google’s AdSense program

* any combination of the above or others!

PREsold visitors convert more easily and more frequently into paying customers… which is exactly the result that your online business wants and needs in order to grow. That is the winning advantage of a “Theme-Based Content Site.”

Contrast that to a visitor who arrives at a sales site… no inspiring, relevant, editorial content. Selling merely tries to get the sale. If you do not have a brand (and most of us do not), if you have not built a relationship with your visitor, your chances of selling are near-zero.

Why? Well, which person would YOU respond to? A stranger with a sales pitch or a knowledgeable friend/expert making a recommendation? Become that knowledgeable friend/expert.

Great content encourages your visitor to think about you as a “friend/expert” rather than a stranger. And if you create a truly info-rich site, you’ll actually become a trusted expert, sharing your wealth of information. You basically create your own brand… your “brand of one.”

People “buy” from those they know and like. They resist sales efforts from everyone else.

And that is why 99% of small businesses fail online.

Selling is not your site’s first priority. (In fact, you may decide not to sell anything and become an “infopreneur” instead!) Your #1 priority is to PREsell through the delivery of the information that visitors seek.

You “monetize” (i.e., convert visitors into money) later.

Step 2 — Act upon the “PREselling Reality.”

As just mentioned, the reality of PREselling is that it works… if YOU work it! Thousands of ordinary, everyday business people have done exactly that.

The reality is that it is all under your control, far more so than in the risky, offline business world.

What about building traffic, ranking highly at the Search Engines? Do you think that only professionals (called Search Engine Optimizers or “SEOers”) can do that? No, in fact you have the huge advantage.

Search Engines are in the business of delivering relevant and high-quality results.

No need for luck. No need for SEO expertise. Simply follow and trust the C – T – P – M process.

It’s through the Search Engines (SEs) that you will reach your visitors. Most surfers won’t scroll past the first 10-20 listings on a Search Engine’s search results pages. That is where you will be.

And second, the description about your site will have to be interesting and credible. So you will “get the click.”

When a visitor finds you through a Search Engine like Google (or Yahoo! Search or Windows Live), think of how smart s/he feels. After all, s/he found you. You didn’t advertise (actually, once you build traffic, you can sell advertising!). All that remains is for you to OVERdeliver — PREsell!

Once you realize the logic and power of C – T – P – M, then you know that success really is DO-able. It is indeed “yours to be had.” And if you don’t succeed immediately, keep trying until you find the right approach.

You only fail when you quit. Patience and persistence ultimately rule the day. Or, to quote Calvin Coolidge…

Persistence wins. Keep pushing it… the business you build will take on its own momentum. It will fulfill all your objectives, if you put in the BAM (“Brain and Motivation”), the time and persistence that are required to grow anything that is worth achieving.

Bottom line…

You understand C – T – P – M. More importantly, you are ready to invest (and “invest” is the perfect word!) time to build C – T – P before you Monetize. Once you do, converting PREsold visitors into money is the easiest (and most fun!) part of your online business

Step 3 — Monetize! Maximize Conversion Rate and profits.

Monetizing PREsold visitors is easier than falling off the proverbial log. DAY 4 discusses the wide variety of ways you can monetize. We’ll cover this topic at that time.

The key point for now is… You are not your monetization model. Do not think about “being an affiliate” or “selling an e-good.” As a matter of fact, do not decide upon any one monetization method.

First and foremost, you are in the “Content Delivery Business.” Then you monetize.

And… Diversify. Have several strong streams of income. For example…

One of your pages may feature Google AdSense ads and affiliate links. You might choose to add an e-commerce store to sell hard goods. And you sell some e-books via ClickBank, too.

However you monetize, do not push your visitors. Let the content pull them through to your revenue-generating locations rather than stopping them in their track.

This could be a link to a sales page for your product or service, to your merchant-partner’s site or to a click on a Google AdSense ad, for example.

Instead of pushing them, make them want to click. It makes all the difference if your visitors feel that it’s their idea to deliver your “Most Wanted Response” (“MWR”).

Once you have PREsold traffic, monetizing is limited only by your imagination!

So let’s not worry about that now. Instead, let’s talk about the broader concept of profits…

There is an easy business equation to follow in order to maximize profit. It’s the same equation, whether you are working online or off…

INCOME minus EXPENSES equals PROFIT.

It’s not a complicated equation, true! But people tend to forget about it.

If you can increase the amount of money that is coming into your business, and lower the amount of money that is going out of your business, you will have more money staying with your business.

So let’s start shifting that profit equation in your favor (and your bank account’s!) by improving the first part of the equation…

Income

There are two major ways to increase income (i.e., the amount of money you make through your products, services, and/or other monetization efforts). You need to…

1) Expose more visitors to your monetization models…

This means that you need to attract more targeted traffic, people who are specifically interested in your theme and your topics (related to that theme) on your Web site. High-value content is the key factor behind traffic volume and your ability to increase and sustain it. And here’s the good news…

If you get the keywords “right” on your page and if you have great content, you will have substantial, evergrowing traffic! And here’s the best news…

Lets move on

* Offline, it’s all about “location, location, location.” You put your business where crowds go. Passerby traffic!

-AND-

* Online, millions search for “information, information, information.” But they do it solo. There is NO such thing as “passerby traffic.”

You are really ready if you understand that the M is the easiest part of C – T – P – M . And speaking of C…

To succeed online, you must start where your “pre-customers” start…

People search for information, look for solutions. They are not looking for you. Give them what they want by converting your knowledge into high-quality, in-demand CONTENT.

Before you can do that, you must figure out…

* what they seek

* how often they search for it

* how badly they want it

* what competitors already provide, and how they do it

* what Content you will deliver, and how

Your next goal is to find your best Site Concept.

The rest of your business rides on your choice of Site Concept.

Let’s talk a bit about site concept.

Here is how you will get to your Best Site Concept…

1) Create a list of potential Site Concepts and choose your top 3.

* Everyone Knows Something About Something

* Three Site Concepts? Why Three?

* Do Some Quick Research.

2) Use tools like wordtracker dotcom and Google AdWords reserach tool to research Site Concept(s). Research keywords for each of your top 3 Site Concepts.To arrange and research your keywords even further,I recommend you use keywordresearchlab dot com/

3) Evaluate the following factors for each Site Concept…

* Number of Keywords

* Profitability

* Knowledge

* Passion

* Theme “Sexiness”

* Monetization Potential

What Is a Site Concept?

It is the central theme, the niche, upon which you will base all of your site’s Content (hence the term “Theme-Based Content Site”). Every page that you write will be about a topic that is related to your Site Concept. Each one of those topical pages focuses on a Specific Keyword, which is why I also call these pages “Keyword-Focused Content Pages (“KFCPs”).

Now to finding your Site Concept… your theme… your niche that you CAN master.

There is plenty of room for more than one Web site in any niche. Don’t worry when you find competitors. You have a huge advantage, — remember that 99% of small business sites fail, even the most gorgeous ones that cost $20,000 to build! So…

How to Recognize Your Best Site Concept

Bottom line on choosing your Site Concept?…

It takes just as much time to build a low-potential business as a high-potential one. So invest the time now, get the Site Concept right, and you will maximize your returns later, earning far more income per hour invested down the road.

The Plan… How to Develop Your Best Site Concept

Most people fail in any business because they don’t plan adequately. If you pick the wrong concept for your site, if you develop the wrong topics for your Web pages… you’ll get the wrong results…

No traffic = No income.

This will not be your fate. So get to work on your Best Site Concept Plan… Step 1 – Create a list of potential Site Concepts and choose your top 3.

Write down ideas for good “Site Concepts” as they hit you — make your list as long as you can. What do you know and love? What have you learned “on the job?” As you read the daily newspaper, or watch a talk show on TV, or chat with friends/colleagues, or browse a book store, keep your antennae up for new ideas.

Think… you may know so much about something that you overlook it

Everyone Knows Something About Something

What’s under your nose?

Use Common Sense

What is “too broad?” It’s any idea where the market is too big. For example, “travel” was an extreme example. “Italy” is too broad. Choose “Sicily” instead (if you know it.) And “New York” is too broad. Instead, try “Tribeca”… or go with “New York Pizzas” instead (if you love them!).

“Too n-” is the opposite. There just aren’t enough people interested in Caltanissetta, a city in Sicily. Sicily is “just right.”

“But how do I know whether it’s too n- or too broad if I’m just starting out?”

Good question! Use your common sense and knowledge of each niche, of course. And there is one good technique that helps, too!

So what are the key factors and their guidelines?

#1) Number of Keywords

A Site Concept that delivers more keywords is better. It offers the ability to create more Content. So, everything else being equal, choose the Site Concept with 300 pruned keywords over the one for which only 100 “made your cut.”

#2) Overall Profitability

The more keywords that have higher Demand, lower Supply and higher Profitability (Value Demand/Real Supply ratio), the better. Again, this is not an absolute, just an indication. Use your judgment.

Compare the overall Profitability of one Site Concept to another. How many solidly profitable keywords does each have? (Remember… the Profitability numbers are useful, but use your judgment to make the final decisions.)

#3) Knowledge

Think about each keyword as the topic for a future Web page (that is what it will become). Do you already know what you could write for those words? Obviously, lean towards the Site Concept that you know the best.

#4) Passion

Just as important… which Site Concept excites you the most? Choose a less profitable Site Concept if the thought of building a site about it excites you much more! It will be fun to create interesting Web pages about the subject area and to do the necessary research to stay current. It’s not work if it’s fun.

#5) Theme “Sexiness”

It’s not just your excitement that counts. Some Site Concepts are more apt to excite visitors. Trust your gut feel about which would excite visitors the most . It’s easy to PREsell your way to a strong “Brand Of One” with a fun, exciting theme.

#6) Monetization Potential

Look for a Site Concept that offers the potential for you to build multiple streams of income. C T P is useless if there is no M potential!

You must be able to Monetize your PREsold traffic. And the more ways to do that, the merrier. How many of the following could you (eventually) implement on each Site Concept, and with what kind of financial potential?…

* Represent the products/services of related, non-competing online businesses (i.e., affiliate income).

* Partner with an offline business, sending them customers, on a pay-per-click, per-lead, per-sale, or per-month basis

* Sell your hard good or e-book.

o Earn income by placing advertising on your site, such as Google AdSense, or by selling advertising directly. (Guess what? As your site grows, advertisers will approach you!)

o Sell your services (ex., develop clients for your copywriting or java-programming business).

o Supplement/build your local offline business.

o Attract more bidders for your eBay auctions.

o Build warm leads for your Network Marketing (“MLM”) venture.

o Rent — anything from heavy equipment to extras for movies to your own Cayman Island villa.

o Traffic — send traffic to your own e-commerce business (ex., your Yahoo! store or e-commerce site).

Finalize your Site Concept and get a good Domain name.

Visitors know great content when they read it. Winning, PREselling content “works” at several levels…

1. It has a “been there… done that” voice and flair.

2. It has specific, “zing knowledge” that comes from real experience.

3. It is supported by a depth of useful information. This is where good reference material plays an important part.

4. It is consistent, from page to page, from e-zine issue to issue, from week to month to year.

5. It is for the customer, absolutely.

Step 4 – Ready? Name that domain!

A good domain…

* is short and sharp

* is meaningful — conveys a clear message

* is easy to spell

* is easy to remember

* is unique, descriptive, and “you”

* is solid, classic, not hokey

* contains your VPP for human visitors

* contains your Site Concept keyword for spider visitors

* is attractive to humans (ex., “cayman-island-beaches dot com” “cayman island” is there for the engines and “beaches” is there for humans)

* ends in the classy ” dot com,” ” dot net” or ” dot org” (by far, the best regarded by surfers).

When do you use dashes in your domain name?

If both versions of a 3-or-more-word domain are available, use dashes because they make the word breaks more obvious to the eye. Also, the engines usually treat a dash as a space. So it may be more likely to “see” the entire string as separate words.

Dashes are less important if your domain name has only two words in it. See how netpricing dot com and cyberpricing dot com don’t really need the help of a dash?

Use dashes (even if the domain only has two words) if the non-dash version is already being used by someone else. But be sure that you are not violating anyone’s trademark (details on this below).

Note: If your business is 99%+ online, the offline issues of dealing with dashes are not so important (i.e., telling people how to spell it, people forgetting to put the dash after reading your print ad, etc.).

Here’s the bottom line…

Domain names are so cheap that it’s a good idea to take both versions (with and without the dash), just to make sure that a competitor does not take names that could be confused with yours. You can always make one domain point to the main one.

Offline vs. Online, and Branding

If you already have an offline business, it may be important to use your business name as your domain name rather than create a new domain name for it. On the other hand, you could give the site a name that uses your VPP, then use a domain redirector in your hosting to park and redirect your business name to your site. This works particularly well with business cards and other forms of offline, local marketing.

If you want to brand your site, you’ll want to get really creative and come up with a one word domain name. For example, if you wanted to brand a site about credit cards, you might use the name “creditopia dot com” or “crediteria dot com” (sorry, they’re both taken!). Easy to remember, and have a VPP (“credit utopia” or “credit cafeteria”).

Or you may find a domain name by simply adding a letter or two as a prefix or suffix to your site concept keyword (ex., icallcard dot com).

You’ll have to be more creative to come up with a short domain name that’s still available, but a little extra time spent now could pay big dividends later.

Why most people fail

Why did most people fail? I think the reason was that the whole process of running an online business is just too complicated for most people. There are lots of ways to screw it up. It pained me to visit some of those sites and notice a dozen glaring mistakes within the first few seconds – blogs that didn’t enable permalinks, cutesy headlines with no keywords in them, bad choice of topics, page titles that still used the WordPress default format, hideously suboptimal ad layouts, hidden or missing contact info, etc. Any one of those mistakes could cripple a site’s results. More than one is a practically a death sentence. Such mistakes cause problems both for human visitors and search engines.

But at the same time, there were teenagers humming along just fine, generating four figures in monthly income after working on their sites for 6-12 months. They didn’t necessarily get everything right, but they were Internet savvy enough to fix the big problems early.

What bothered me most about this was that people were too often failing because of the technology. Many of them had great ideas and very good content. It was a shame to read some of their articles and think to myself, This is great stuff… too bad no one will ever see it.

The cruel and unfair part of online business is that if you aren’t very Internet savvy, you’ll make mistakes on the technical side that you’re totally oblivious to. You may get the content side right, but the technology will bite you and cripple your results.

But it’s still a pretty unfair situation. There are people who can write great content who really deserve to be getting a lot of readers, but because they don’t understand permalinks, RSS feeds, pinging, or other technologies, they’re doomed before they start.

Once I saw this happening, I basically decided I’d better shut up about encouraging people to run an online business. People kept asking me for new articles on the subject, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. I was concerned I’d be doing more harm than good.

A new solution

Recently I came across a vastly superior solution to this problem – a way for people to build a successful online business that doesn’t require them to become technology gurus.

What I recommend is a service called Site Build It! – it’s an all-in-one solution for creating and building an online business. You pay an annual fee for the service, and they provide you with all the tools you need to build an income-generating web site. They host the site for you, they help you register your domain name, and they provide integrated tools like point-and-click page generators, built-in blogging, form builders, RSS feeds, and lots more. Many of these details will be handled for you, so you don’t have to worry about them.

You still create your own content, and you use their tools (or your own familiar tools) to create a site based on your unique ideas. You focus on the content side. They help you with the technical implementation side.

I don’t recommend this solution for everyone. If you’ve already built a successful website that generates thousands of dollars a month for you, you won’t need this. I don’t need it myself. But if you’re one of those people that have been held back by the technical complexity, then this is definitely something you should look at. This is the kind of solution I’d recommend in a heartbeat for my non-programmer friends who want to get something going online but quickly become lost in a sea of jargon.

There’s a lot to explain about this service and why I think it’s a great idea for most people interested in building a successful online business. So I wrote a whole separate article about that here

Site Build It is a suite of tools for building a website. Site Build It! (Site Build It!) the only all-in-one site-building, site-hosting, and site-marketing product that makes it easy to build a professional, popular, and profitable business.

they follow all the techniques I have listed here and even add more to ensure success.

I’m probably turning into a bit of a salesperson for Site Build It! because I really believe this is a great deal for a lot of people. Not only will building your own online business give you a quantum leap in your own personal development, but it can also provide income to fuel your ongoing growth.

I wish you all the very best.

Shrink Your Technology – How to Work Anywhere, Anytime Out of a Backpack

1) Introduction

Years and years ago, as payment for a consulting job, I got an early NCR laptop. I bought a HUGE briefcase to hold the thing. Ever since then I’ve been on a quest to pack a complete office into a single, easy-to-tote bag. Not a laptop bag or briefcase or tote with wheels and a handle – a simple shoulder or messenger bag. This is how I did it – with some ideas on how you can too.

2) Goals for my “system in a bag”

Web Access

What I wanted to be able to do was access the web and email from almost anywhere. While I realize this probably doesn’t include the Gobi desert, I wanted to work MOST places where cell phone coverage can be had. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was moving into the “cloud”; I’ve found that I do more and more of my work in web-based applications. The main benefit is the ability to move from computer to computer without having to carry files with me.

Local Access

Obviously, I need access to files locally – both on a spinning hard drive and on various USB drives. Again the goal – never lose access to files no matter where you are. If I was writing an article and left it on my desktop; forgetting to copy it to a card or memory stick, I was out of luck till I got back home.

Secure

My friend Mike James has hammered security into me over the years. If I was access to email or file transfer, it had to be safe and secure. Information needed to be shared as necessary, but at other times files needed to go back and forth securely.

Messenging

Web access includes access to g-talk from Google as well as the possibility of web-based phone, though I don’t use that yet. I wanted to be able to stay in touch with the world from whatever machine I was on.

Documents

I’m trying SO hard to eliminate paper. The PC I’ve chosen has a touch screen, but I’m not fully using it. Documents I use are more and more in PDF, Word, or even Google Doc format. I wanted to reach the point where I didn’t even need to take notes using pen and ink. I’m close, but as you’ll see, there’s still a step further I hope to go.

Presentations

I’m a ‘sometimes’ speaker and presenter, so I wanted access to PowerPoint if needed. I also wanted to have the ability to make web presentations even if I didn’t have access to laptops, CDs or thumb drives.

File backup

Being somewhat paranoid, I want copies of copies of copies of important stuff. Some onsite, some offsite. This solution has to offer ways to save and access files remotely. What else needs to be said? If you’ve ever lost a hard drive, scratched a CD or lost a portable drive or thumb drive, you KNOW the pain of not having a backup.

3) Equipment

I chose equipment I could afford that met the criteria of multi-functionality and portability. There are multiple ways to do what I have done with different equipment; I’m simply outlining the categories of equipment and software that will allow you to work anywhere.

UMPC

UMPC is an acronym for Ultra Mobile PC and stands for any extremely lightweight PC. For that matter, my Palm Treo SmartPhone could count as a UMPC. The point is to have a small, easy-to-carry PC that will function long periods on battery power. Since most of us huddle over a desktop or laptop PC all day, doesn’t it make sense to have one that doesn’t require a separate, heavy-duty wheeled tote to carry around?

Fujitsu P1610

The 1610 is a small, light Windows PC with built-in WIFI and a PC card slot which I use for the Verizon mobile broadband card. It also has an SD storage card slot which allows me to interchange the data files in my Treo and Exilim digital camera. The main downside is the smaller keyboard since I have large hands, but I’ve learned to cope.

The 60 GB drive is more than adequate since most of my storage is remote; the extended battery gives me over 3 hours of use. There is no CD drive, but I can copy things to the hard drive or my external 120 GB USB drive. This device is the beginning “platform” on which the overall system is built.

Windows Smartphone

Why a Windows Smartphone? Why not Symian, Palm or Blackberry? Mainly because I’m already comfortable with Windows and, no matter what you think of Microsoft, Windows and Windows Mobile “play well together”. Windows Mobile offers email, Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as calendaring, contacts, etc. And later you’ll see that I’ve incorporated (free) software that allows me to mostly eliminate handwritten notes.

Palm Treo 750

The Treo has become my “mobile computer” in many ways. It is a bit bulky, but the battery lasts a long time and it’s taken many drops. With a 4 GB SD card (postage-sized card with 4 gigabytes of storage space) installed I have tons of storage space. I have music, podcasts, and books from Audible.com.

The phone has mobile-sync enabled which means that my email is checked automatically and “pushed” to the phone.

An enormously useful tool is having Word Mobile. I can read and edit documents or open text files that I might need. But if I get an idea for a blog post or an article, I can call up Word and thumb-type, then choose “send as email”. The mail client comes up and I choose my Gmail account.

Later, when I check Gmail from a “real” computer, I can choose to open the note “open as Google document” and there it is. This has eliminated handwriting notes – in fact it’s eliminated a LOT of handwriting altogether.

Windows Mobile has Windows Media Player. This means I have all my music and audio on the 4 GB SD card. Combined with a set of Etymotic earphones, Windows Media allows me to listen to music or audiobooks or podcasts anywhere. An additional benefit – if a phone call comes in while I’m listening, WMP pauses and I answer the call. The microphone is active even with the earphones in so I can talk and listen – when the call completes, the music starts back up right where it paused.

Since I have a dataplan from my cell phone carrier, I can access my Google account and use a separate free program called GooSync to sync my Google calendar to my phone. The upshot is that I can make an appointment from any browser using Google Calendar and hit a button on my SmartPhone to show that new event on the phone – and even have it send me reminders!

Bag/Pack

I started out with a messenger bag, but have graduated to a shoulder laptop. The point here is to have EVERYTHING you need to get work done in one bag. A shoulder backpack has literally become my mobile office holder. I recommend a single sling-type bag or the slightly geekier over the shoulder, plastic clip type that lets you take it off and put it on more easily.

Digital Camera

I am currently using a Casio Exilim digital camera for its small size. Again, the key to data portability is the SD storage card. My Fujitsu Lifebook UMPC has an SD card slot so I can copy pictures and videos to the PC and from there upload them to Gspace or Strongspace (more on these later) or simply email them or post them to Facebook.

I did say video; most digital cameras will shoot video. The Exilim, being a little older, shoots AVI (lower resolution) video. Most new cameras shoot MPEG files which are higher resolution.

So keeping a small digital camera has allowed me to catch things I wouldn’t otherwise. It may not seem to be part of an “office”, but since you are mobile it pays to keep a camera for other reasons. The Casio has photography modes that let me shoot up real close so I can take pictures of business cards or handwritten notes on a napkin. Again, the point is to eliminate handwriting as much as possible.

On a side note; how often I’m working at a Starbucks or somewhere similar and see others with their laptops open and a notebook and pen next to it. Going digital can eliminate the paper – or at least that’s MY goal!

High Capacity SD cards

I’ve mentioned SD (Secure Digital) cards several times. These are postage sized memory cards that are used in most cameras and phones today. They are available in sizes up to 16 GB (!) which is a LOT of data storage.

It means local storage and easy file copying. I have a 256 MB card in my camera and 4 GB card in my phone. Picture a teeny tiny hard drive that swaps easily.

High Quality earphones

These are important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they plug into the Smartphone for listening to music or audio AND they also allow you to take phone calls and hear the call in both ears. This ability is HUGE if you are in the car.

Because most phones use a 2.5 mm jack and the headphones have a 3.5 mm jack, you’ll need an adapter. I have no need of a separate media player (iPod or other) as the Treo using Windows Media Player will playback music, podcasts or even YouTube or other video.

Mobile Broadband Card

Mobile Broadband is a fancy way of saying that you’re connected to the Internet via the cell phone network. These cards are available from all cell vendors but – be warned – you’ll need a ‘data plan’ from your vendor and, depending on how much you intend to use your mobile setup, it may get a bit pricey.

Realize also that mobile broadband is NOT as fast as your DSL or cable. Don’t plan on downloading large movies, but you can do almost anything else that you would do on a networked PC.

The mobile broadband card lets you work wherever you have a cell signal – it keeps you from having to pay for WiFi at a coffee shop or the airport.

USB hard drive

USB-attached hard drives have gotten smaller in size and larger in capacity. Used as a backup device and for extra storage, you can get a 500 GB drive for around $100. Again, you can never have too much closet space or too many digital storage devices!

4) Services

The wonder of each of these is, except for my web-based storage, free! The idea is to be able to do ANYTHING you can do sitting in a well-equipped office.

Web-based storage

With high capacity SD cards and USB-attached hard drives, what do you need with web-based storage? Because you never, never know when your mobile drives might go missing. I have a plan with Joyent which gives me over 20GB of online storage which I access using a secure client from sftpdrive.com.

You’ll want to keep this offsite storage backed up with ANYTHING on your mobile setup that would be impossible to replace if your mobile office was lost or stolen. An option to paid storage, as we’ll see in the next section, is your Gmail account, which allows you 7 GB of online storage at no charge.

Jott.com

Jott is great. You sign up, get a toll free number, program it as the “1” key on your phone and you’re ready. Ready for what? Call the 800 number and press 1 to Jott yourself. Leave up to a 15-second message and Jott will transcribe it and email it to you in text form. You can also sign up other phone numbers and Jott other people or even groups of people. Great for broadcast messages to 1 or many. Great also for recording that next million-dollar idea you get while you’re driving. (Note: since originally writing this article, Jott has come out of ‘beta’ which means that some things that were free now cost a monthly fee. But the basic voice-to-text is still free.)

Twitter

Do you Twitter ( www.twitter.com )? Twitter differs from Jott in that you send a text message (up to 140 characters) to phone number 40404 and it appears in your Twitter page online.

I have a Twitter ‘gadget’ (more on gadgets later) on Google that displays my Tweets (as they’re called) on my Google homepage. Some folks use Twitter to make mini-blog entries too.

5) Software

The bulk of this is absolutely free. SFTP Drive is the one exception.

Google

People either love or hate Google. My concern is that I’ve moved so much of my work into this workspace called the Google Desktop that if Google dies I’ll be in real trouble. However, as with so many of these items, Google had provided a local backup option which we’ll talk about later.

Gmail

When I first created a Gmail account I didn’t think I’d use it much. I mainly signed up so I could use Gtalk – Google’s IM client. But then I began to find it easier to use my Gmail address to fill out forms. THEN I found out that my Outlook didn’t work well in some hotels. I could receive email but not send. Gmail sends and receives from any browser on any machine.

I began using Gmail more and more as it is browser-based and I could get to it practically anywhere. You can also use Google search on your emails so finding ‘stuff’ quickly is easy.

Gtalk

As I stated, Gtalk is Google’s IM client. I don’t chat much but keeping a few close contacts has been immensely helpful. If you do a lot of Instant Messaging, you may need a multi-site client like Pidgin ( www.pidgin.im ) that lets you access different services such as AIM.

G-docs

Google Documents has turned into a real boon. It has the ability to upload and open Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Two key points – again the main one is that you can get to your documents from any computer. But secondly, you can easily collaborate on a document or spreadsheet with simple ‘sharing’ on the site. You can share a single document or an entire folder of documents. Great for collaboration, you can create word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

G-notebook

I’m not a Digg or Delicious user (for storing bookmarked websites) so I use the Google toolbar (which is installed in your browser when you sign up for a Google account) to grab bookmarks easily and quickly. Clicking the blue star in the Google Toolbar files the site in the Google Notebook under “unfiled sites”. Again – it doesn’t matter what computer I’m on. All my bookmarks are available.

G-space

G-space is a Firefox plugin that puts a file explorer window in your browser. You may not know that a free Google account comes with 7 GB of storage. While that’s not a huge amount for music or video, it’s more than enough to back up documents or files that, again, you may need from more than one location.

You can use G-space to easily upload multiple documents to your Google account. Lose your laptop? No problem; you have a thumb drive, right? Lose your briefcase and you may be in trouble. Store your proposals and PowerPoint using G-space? Never lose a file again.

G-calendar

Google Calendar isn’t that sexy, but it is very functional. With the ability to share a calendar you can use it for collaboration easily. It’s extremely easy to use and, again, you can share a calendar with an assistant, work group or family so everyone can access the same calendar.

GooSync

A free add-on for your Windows smartphone, GooSync updates your phone’s calendar from your Google Calendar. It’s bi-directional and very easy to use. You never have to double enter an appointment – enter it once in Google Calendar and run GooSync.

SFTP Drive

SFTP Drive provides a secure login to external servers – that being your offsite storage other than your Google account. If you work via FTP (file transfer protocol) and are a Windows worker, SFTP Drive displays your server as another drive on your My Computer and allows you to drag and drop files. I use in conjunction with my Joyent account to back up important files.

6) Optional items for your mobile office

These items are ‘helpful’ but not absolutely necessary.

Audible Account

Audible.com is the premier site for audio books and other audio material. Audible comes with it’s own smartphone application so you don’t need an MP3 player to listen to your favorite authors. Audible is a purchased service.

External CD/DVD

With an external hard drive, I have not found an external CD/DVD player/burner necessary – yet. If you burn CDs or want to view DVDs you may need one. Some Sony UMPCs still fit a DVD drive into the PC itself.

Moleskin or writing pad

(Sigh) There still MIGHT be times when you need to write something down. A small pad (often called a moleskin) can be tossed into the bag and doesn’t add much bulk. I use a small notebook from Miquelrius which opens fully without breaking at the spine.

Digital pen

I haven’t tried this yet but I’d like to replace the moleskin with one of the several digital pens available. Basically they ‘watch’ as you write and store the information digitally. Some of them will even perform handwriting recognition on your scratches and turn them into text. But you can also save that million-dollar doodle electronically.

Portable printer

Again, I haven’t needed this yet, but if you’re an insurance agent or Realtor, you may need to print paper. I have used the Canon I-90, which is small, lightweight and prints in color.

Bluetooth mouse

Since the Fujitsu 1610 is a touch screen, it comes with a built-in stylus. But if you are ‘mouse dependent’, a Bluetooth mouse gives you a wireless solution. I use the Kensington Pilot Mouse.

Bluetooth keyboard

This is another one I haven’t tried yet but am considering. A Bluetooth keyboard folds up small and communicates with the computer via a Bluetooth (wireless) connection. Surprisingly this isn’t for the PC but for the Treo Smartphone. Since you have a mobile version of Word, you can open a document on your phone and use a fold up Bluetooth keyboard to type longer documents without cranking up the PC.

7) Conclusion

There are probably hundreds of variations on this theme. I don’t claim this is perfect but it does allow me to do ANYTHING I can do in my office anywhere I go.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Work in Malaysia Compared to Philippines

In the early 90s, there was a huge demand for Filipino skilled workers in Saudi Arabia for manual labor. With their struggle to feed the family and give their kids a proper education, Filipino parents would often remind them to “study hard and get a good job.” Soon after, it was believed that working abroad would help Filipinos alleviate poverty thus the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) trend started. People then started to see huge improvements especially from OFW families and government keeps praising them as the modern hero of the Philippines. With the recent economic factors that aggravates the living conditions of the masses, Filipino parents would now remind their kids the same phrase… with a little tweak – “study hard and get a good job abroad.“

One of the most promising countries to work abroad is located roughly 1500 miles southwest of the Philippines – the Malaysia. Their labor force often demands a potentially huge number for manpower where Filipino workers often wage competition with laborers from neighboring countries such as India, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

However, they still want to work in Malaysia due to a variety of reasons which our country, the Philippines, does not adequately provide or makes it impossible to reach by sheer hard work and determination. As one of those employees who previously worked in our hometown, going abroad sounds like a fairly natural response that brings solution to this issue. Nevertheless, no matter what occupation you do or what skill set you have, many of the things here might make you say “Yes, this is exactly the reason I’ve gone abroad!”

So without further ado, here are the top ten reasons why it’s better to work in Malaysia compared to Philippines:

10. Different culture

Once you step foot on a foreign land, you’ll notice that everything you lay your eyes on is different from home. You may suddenly pay attention to the women wearing Muslim scarfs known as hijab. Also, when you’re roaming the malls that you’re so used to when you were in Philippines, you’ll observe that there are specific prayer rooms in some floors that they call surau, which we are not accustomed because we belong in a different culture.

Humans, in general, are curious beings and we as Filipinos, do not stray away from that behavior. We tend to be fascinated with these divergent perspectives including the mere differences in religion and celebrations. Moreover, as millenials, we embrace change so much that we like living out-of-the-norm and share our experiences in social media.

As such, we abide to these cultural standards, respect them and if possible, meet-in-between since we have an obligation to go to Church every Sunday and spread the word of God. And whatever you do, believe me, they will respect what you believe as well.

9. More opportunities

Although Malaysia is a developing country like Philippines, working here opens the gate to countless opportunities. In our home country, it is evidently hard to get a job even if you have the most impressive resume in town. However, in Malaysia, you can get a call for an interview in an hour provided that you have the right skills and experience that the foreign agency or headhunter needs.

If you have plans for furthering your career (especially in IT or engineering field), working in Malaysia is a boost on your hard-earned credential since HR often takes into account how you deal with your foreign bosses. It’s also a huge plus for a candidate to have the experience of managing superb work relationships with foreign clients.

Also, if you have other life event goals like immigrating to first-world countries such as Australia, Canada or New Zealand, processing the documents you need is relatively easier, faster and safer in Malaysia. Even though you need to go back home to gather papers for the lengthy list of immigration requirements, still its better to ‘just get it done’ in Malaysia because you have the edge, financially right?

8. Delicious cuisine

I’m turning 6 months now in Malaysia as of the time of writing and I have to say it out loud that Malaysian cuisine, in the simplest sense, is incomparable. No matter how I become “foodsick” (no it’s not what you think – I mean it as missing food back home) while living here, still every Malaysian dish I try completely satiates my craving and satisfies my tummy albeit going to toilets (because I cannot handle some spicy dishes).

Due to the different cooking traditions and practices from the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia – Malays, Chinese and Indians – Malaysian cuisine are so much imbued with a variety of spices that makes foods so much better than the ones at home. The popular everyday food you encounter here in Malaysia are Nasi Lemak, Mi Goreng, Rendang or Bak Kut Teh and some hot Teh Tarik on the side.

To top it all off, they are all cheap. The Fried Nasi Lemak in the picture costs around RM 6.70. With a huge plate and lots of servings on the side, you cannot get this type of food for P80 in the Philippines except if you live in the provincial area. Even with the GST (Goods and Services Tax) newly implemented this year, you can still eat on a budget by buying from wet markets and cooking it yourself. That way, you can eat at an even cheaper price AND can cook Filipino foods the way you want it.

7. Improved lifestyle

Once you arrive here in Malaysia, you’ll automatically be called a foreigner or expatriate. If your work does not have free accommodation, you’ll have no choice but to rent rooms on condominiums or on landed estates. Oftentimes, rental rate at major states like Kuala Lumpur and Selangor turns out to be higher than the usual.

However, housing units in Malaysia are usually equipped with aircon, automatic washing machines, fridges, water heater and induction cookers which will mostly make your life a bit easier. If you are living in the Philippines with just an electric fan and cold water, then your lifestyle in Malaysia will definitely get better.

If you choose your place right, you can have access to other engaging lifestyles such as going to gyms, shopping at malls or maybe swimming at condominium pools. Whatever your job is, I promise you, your life will be better, if not a bit then slightly better, but will still be better than it used to be back home, probably with your parents.

6. Easy travel back to hometown

With the boom of low-cost airlines and the accessibility of Asian countries to the world, it has now been very easy to book tickets online and fly back home. Tourists and backpackers from all parts of the world easily fly back and forth everyday to Malaysia including our very own OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers).

If an OFW becomes so homesick that she wants to be with her daughter during the school awarding ceremony or on her 7th birthday, she can just hit the keys on websites like AirAsia or CebuPacific, book flights and board the plane on the travel date to see her kids. With flight discounts ongoing every month, she can definitely travel back home and still be in budget thus a win-win situation for every OFWs in Malaysia. Moreover, it’s less than four hours going back to Philippines so it’s not that much of a hassle.

However, if your work partially restricts you from leaving the country (probably for domestic helpers), you can still contact them through social messaging apps like Whatsapp (very common in Malaysia) or Messenger and video call through Skype.

5. Tourist destination

As Malaysia strives to live up to their tourism brand – Malaysia Truly Asia – and remain a strong contender as Top 2 in the World Tourism Rankings on Asia’s top destination, it has always been included on every traveler’s checklist of the most wanted travel places. As a Filipino, can attest to the beauty of Malaysia and its awesome tourist attractions as I’ve seen it firsthand.

If you’re free on weekends, you can always travel to famous tourist destinations like Petronas Towers, Genting Highlands or the Petaling Street easily through trains and buses. You can also travel a bit farther to places like Melaka or Penang especially on long holidays since it’s surely a long drive from the city but I promise it’s definitely worth it. You need not to go taxi if you don’t know where they are located since you can fully navigate Malaysia, especially Kuala Lumpur, through web mapping services such as Google Maps.

On the other hand, if you are not sure where to go, you can browse TripAdvisor OR you can browse here at Roumery since I will be posting travel guides in Malaysia soon enough. Stay tuned for more updates!

4. Low cost of living

Some economists use a more digestible exchange rate theory called the Big Mac Index to enact a global standard in measuring Purchasing Power Parity. In layman’s term, it can be used to gauge, although not accurately, the cost of living in a certain country. If base rate is USD, then Malaysia’s currency, the Ringgit, is undervalued at 63% per the mentioned index. Thus, it means that the Big Mac in McDonalds Malaysia is cheaper than most of the countries hence it has low cost of living.

However, you don’t need to consult an expert to measure the cost of living since we do it ourselves automatically without knowing it. Often for first time OFWs, they always convert Ringgit to Pesos every time they buy something and conclude from their everyday groceries if Malaysia is generally cheaper than in Philippines.

In my opinion, food and transportation are customarily cheaper in Malaysia since oil is one of Malaysia’s ace card for its economic growth. Unit rentals are higher in urban areas but mostly normal on the outskirts of the major cities. In general, Malaysia still maintains a low cost of living (if outside Kuala Lumpur) compared to Philippines, or Singapore for that matter.

3. Faster internet

According to this chart, you’ll see that in year 2014, Malaysia has an Internet Speed Index of 5.5 Mbps while Philippines has an Internet Speed Index of 3.6 Mbps. If you are a Filipino reader, you can agree and attest that this is not true. This is one of the reasons why I worked in Malaysia – because they have faster Internet than the Philippines.

I was in the Philippines on the year 2014. The average plan for a home DSL (or WiMax) through any telco carrier was up to 1-2 Mbps as advertised and it had been consistently not even gaining at least 500 Kbps download speed even at 2 pm after midnight (to which 100 Kbps is the usual). Also they didn’t have fiber optic network until recently when PLDT Fibr has been introduced. The price ranged from P1000 to P1500 (RM 222 to RM 333) for this type of plan. As I’ve heard, new plans moving forward already have data caps according to the networks’ Fair Usage Policy.

Here in Malaysia, you can order for a 10 Mbps plan that efficiently exceeds after midnight (around 20 Mbps) and is consistent in the morning. This is already connected to the Fiber Network laid out on the condominium (or on landed house) and can range only from RM 100 to RM 150. Moreover, it is unlimited with no cap and can be disconnected (although with minimum 2 yrs bond) once you’re leaving the country. If you’ll look at the comparison, Malaysia is still leading the Internet race compared to the Philippines in this aspect.

2. Better transportation

If you have worked in Metro Manila like I did, chances are you’ve probably rode the MRT once, or everyday OR depending on where you’re coming you need to interchange from the LRT station first. There are already many stories in the Internet describing their misery on commuting through these trains everyday. I would not describe it here anymore but let me tell you that it is very stressful, time-consuming and unsafe to go to work by MRT everyday.

In Malaysia, the railway infrastructure consists of interconnected commuter rail service, rapid transit service, monorail service and airport rail link service. Commuting through train is not stressful since it’s easy to buy tokens from ticketing machines instead of waiting for long queue, not time-consuming since trains arrive faster than you think and safe since there are stationed guards on every train waiting area and locals are very disciplined that stealing is seemingly nonexistent on train stations.

As one of my wise colleague said, “A developed country is one in which rich people use public transport”.

1. Higher salary

Undoubtedly, the top reason you may want to work abroad is and has always been money. Even if you have the nine reasons above, if the salary discussed during the contract signing is not what you expected, then working abroad may not be possible.

Sometimes, if you are in a desperate situation, you’ll accept the job offer abroad regardless of the salary. On the other hand, your work colleagues would often advise you that if you’ll take another job, your asking salary should sure be twice of what you’re having currently. However, for me, part of the reason I took the work abroad is the lower income tax in Malaysia (around 5 to 10% per month depending on the salary) compared to Philippines (roughly 32% per month). It also helps that when you tune in to Philippines news, you’ll see that there are often reports on allegations of graft and corruption to your own politicians using the taxes that majority of the Filipinos pay.

But in all aspects, the salary must also reach your expectation since it’s the main reason you want to work abroad right? As an IT consultant and with conversations from some of my Filipino colleagues here in Malaysia, the salary will always be higher than what you earn in the Philippines. Since most of us are contractual, it is true that agencies have salary standards depending on your work experience and skillset. It’s also true that some agencies give a higher salary than the usual but it usually falls down to your negotiation skills although you can barter a bit more because of the unstable Malaysian currency (there, I gave you one tip – good luck!)

These are the top reasons to consider when you want to work abroad in Malaysia. There is always a job demand for expatriates but recently there had been raids on illegal workers so please be careful on who or what agencies you trust to (especially those asking for hefty placement fees). However, there are news of freeze hiring for incoming foreign workers in Malaysia so if you’re ready then by all means go apply and work abroad here in Malaysia. Cheers!

Learn the Marketing Process and Work it!

I recently came across an entrepreneur who was very interested in learning where

publicity and marketing strategy fit into the end result of more sales. His question

was very valid as many unintentionally confuse marketing and publicity with sales.

So what’s the difference? Publicity is all about the ”buzz’, the word that

gets out about you, your company, your cause, or the great work you do. It is about

getting the story out. Publicity backs up marketing and sales because it initiates

the whole process of converting the public to your way of thinking. It makes them

aware of who you are. Afterall, how is someone expected to purchase your services

if they do not even know you? Do not fall into the trap of going for the sale without

getting your name known first.

Publicity is just as much about getting your name known as it is about building

credibility. Human psychology states often enough that if others see value in an

idea, your prospects and prospect market will as well.

Marketing on the other hand, works on the presumption that your prospect market

is already aware of who you are. It takes an established and recognized brand one

step further to action for your prospect. Marketing effectively plays to an emotional

or sometimes logical reasoning of why the public should buy what you have to say.

Both of these concepts are essential yet unique in the eventual development of

sales.

In order to make your product/service or organization a household name, you need

to learn and master each phase effectively. Before going off to sell your services,

follow each of the steps in the inverted pyramid.

The inverted pyramid theory works on the premise that all sales or motivations take

place first with getting the word out. In other words, publicity. From there, marketing takes over. It is only once these considerations are in place that sales or

the actual ”closing” of a deal can occur.

Beginning with a strategy of how you wish to brand your organization through to

the publicity you need , all require individual efforts before people begin ‘knocking

down your door”.

Once your satisfied, give some serious thought to the marketing materials you’ll

want to use when people start asking for more information. And above all, never

stop reviewing and testing your brand.

Working Capital Financing – Why Asset Based Lines of Credit Work

How can Canadian business owners and financial mangers secure working capital financing and cash flow financing for their business at a time when it seems that access to business financing provides significant challenges?

The answer is that a potential solid solution exists by the name of an ‘asset based line of credit ‘otherwise what we call a ‘working capital facility’. What is this type of financing is it new to Canada, and more importantly – how does it work and what are the benefits and risks?

Although asset based lenders tend to be specialized independent finance firms many business people are surprised to find that deep in the bowels of a few Canadian bank there exists small, somewhat boutique, divisions who specialize in asset based lending. Ironically they are many times competing with their peers down the hall in more traditional commercial corporate banking.

The most active assets these firms finance tend to be ongoing receivables and inventory, but in many cases, utilizing an expert advisor or partner you can structure a facility that also includes a component of equipment and real estate.

Generally speaking a good way to think of an asset based line of credit is one that for a temporary period, typically a year or so in our experience, allows you to margin up and get higher advances on receivables and inventory. That translates into more cash flow and working capital.

One of the main attractions of an asset based lending facility (insiders call it an ABL facility) is that your firms overall credit quality doesn’t play the largest role in determining if you can get approved for this type of financing. As its name suggest, financing is on your ‘assets ‘! And doesn’t really focus on debt to equity ratios, cash flow coverage, loan covenants, and outside collateral. Business owners who borrow from Canadian chartered banks on an operating or term loan basis are of course very familiar with those terms – in some ways we could call them ‘ restrictions ‘

Most lawyers and accountants will tell you that any type of business borrowing should in fact be entertained only with a respected, trusted and credible business financing advisor who can guide you through the roadblocks and pitfalls of any commercial financing arrangement. Missteps in business financing can lead to long term negative effects around such issues as being locked into a facility, giving up too much collateral, or being locked into pricing that isn’t commensurate with your overall asset and credit quality.

What are the key issues you should consider when considering such a financing facility? Primarily they are:

-Advances rates on each asset category (A/R, inventory/equipment)

– How is pricing defined (asset based lines of credit and ABL lending is general is more generous in overall facility size, but you should ensure you are only paying for what you use

– Contractual obligation – in a perfect world (we know its not!) you should be focusing on the ability to pay out at any time, or at a minimum with some form of nominal breakage fee

– Ensure that the asset based lending facility, which generally costs more, will allow to you remain or focus on profitability; we spend a significant amount of time with clients on how that can defer the additional costs of Abl facilities by several different strategies

So whats the bottom line. As always it’s simple – consider asset based lending and an ABL facility as a solid alternative for financing your business. Work with a trusted advisor as this type of financing is generally either mi understood or not too well known in Canada. Be selective in structuring your facility around issues that work best for your firm re benefits derived.That’s solid business financing sense.

Top 10 Tips to Balancing Work and Personal Life

In the Knowledge Age in which we live, it is easy to be consumed by work and forget our personal life. After all, there’s always more to do, right? But as the old saying goes, “No one ever lay on their death bed and wished they’d spent more time at the office!”

Following are some tips for striking the right balance between your work (especially for knowledge workers and infopreneurs) and personal life:

1. Decide what is most important to you – long term – in your life. One exercise that can help bring this into focus is to write your eulogy – really! What would you want people to say about you when you are dead? Whatever that is, notice how much you’re pursuing that quality or goal or cause in your life. If you aren’t doing it now – or not as much as you want to – how could you begin pursuing it more?

2. Create a vision for your ideal lifestyle. They say “if you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.” Unless you create a vision statement for your work and your personal life – just the way you want it to be – you won’t know when you have arrived! You’ll find yourself “striving but never arriving.” So write out a descriptive statement of how you want your schedule to be, your work space, your home, your clients, your relationships, your body, everything in your life – just as though you were writing it for a movie producer. Then, get about the business of producing your life!

3. When you’re working, work; when you’re playing, play. If every time you leave your office (even if it’s in the spare bedroom!) you continue to think about work, leave your work cell phone on, or check email later in the evening, you are failing to mark boundaries between work and play. That means you don’t get the full benefit of your “down” time…and you don’t recharge the internal batteries that allow you to do what you do well. Dedicate work time to work and play fully when you’re off work…you will have more energy and more joy this way.

4. Avoid multitasking. I know, it’s hard! But studies show that people are only 40 percent as productive when they do more than one thing at once than if they focus on one thing at a time. Give whatever you’re doing – or whoever you’re talking to (!) – your full attention, then move to the next task. Live intentionally, one task and segment at a time. The quality of your life will improve, you’ll get more quality work done and you’ll build quality relationships that flourish under the light of your undistracted focus.

5. Plan your time off in advance. How many days a week would you like to work? How much vacation will you take this year? If you don’t set it aside in advance, chances are that work commitments will eat up the time you would have taken off. Most infopreneurs should plan on a minimum – even the first year – of two to four weeks off during the year. Build it into your fees and block it out in advance. You’ll be glad you did!

6. Implement at least two or three “power hours” each work day. The typical coach and infopreneur is distracted much of the day. “Power hours” are when you write a list of at least 5 priority tasks, set a timer, and focus on nothing but those tasks for that hour. No email, no phone calls, no distractions. And you get them done! Start with a goal of at least two of these each day.

7. Set goals for both your work and your personal life. Take a moment to review your day planner (Palm, Outlook calendar, wall calendar etc.) for the past month or year, notice how many of the entries relate to your work. If you’re like most people, 75 to 90 percent of the content will be business or work related! Start a practice of setting at least one goal for your personal life and one for one of your relationships each day – along with the work goals. That in itself will increase the balance in your life right away!

8. Delegate everything you can. If you have used our fee setting formula in my book, Launch Your Practice to set your fees, then you know what your time is valued at – it’s your Hourly Labor Rate. To the extent you are doing anything that could not be billed at that rate, you should be looking for a way to delegate it as quickly as you can! That includes running to the post office, office supply store and Fedex; updating your web site; answering routine inquiries; clearing spam out of your email account; answering the phone; and numerous other tasks. Your goal is to have as much revenue-producing time as possible during your dedicated work hours.

9. Exercise regularly. When I interviewed people who had mastered transition for my Simon & Schuster book on the subject, one theme stood out: each of these people exercised regularly during normal times in their lives, and even more during times of stress and transition. Virtually every successful infopreneur shares this trait – and that is why the major hotel chains have improved their workout facilities so significantly for traveling infopreneurs.

10. Meditate and activate a connection with the God of your understanding. Feeling connected to something bigger than yourself can help put the challenges of everyday work and life into perspective in a way nothing else can. By implementing a daily practice of meditation to achieve a calm, centered state and connection with your Higher Power, you will find you are able to maintain this state even when life becomes difficult. It is proven to improve health too!

For more about life/work balance and the other 8 components of Career Infopreneur Success, look for Marcia’s new book in June and plan to attend her Career Coaching Boot Camp June 22. See [http://www.careercoachingbootcamp.com] for details about the event and the next two complimentary preview calls. To learn more about career coaching, visit http://www.careercoachinstitute.com

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