Why There’s Never Been a Better Time to Start Your Home Business… and the Top 5 Strategies and Cool Tools You Need to Know About.

I was surprised to hear at a recent seminar how many people think that the Internet is just too saturated for new online home business owners to be successful — and that if you didn’t get in on the ground floor, you’re out of luck.

Well, we did get in on the ground floor, and we’ve seen all the changes, so I can tell you this: Nothing could be further from the truth! That’s why I wanted to write this article to show you why NOW is probably the best time in Internet history to start a wildly profitable online business.

Sure, there’s more competition on the ‘Net these days. When we first opened our doors in 1998, there were only 130 million web pages in existence… now there are well over 313 billion (eMarketer)! But there are also a LOT more potential customers online, too — 1,022,863,307 of them in fact! (Neilson/Net ratings March 2006.)

And if online sales are any indication, the number of people who are actively shopping online is also on the rise. According to Forrester Research, online sales reached a staggering $172 billion in 2005 — a number they predict will rise to $329 billion by 2010!

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What YOU Would Have Learned in the Early 1900’s, Had You Been a Student of the Wealthiest Man in the World?

Andrew Carnegie, one of the captains of Industry in 19th century America, passed away before most of our affiliates were even born. But is it possible to think that one of his little-known business philosophies could turn you into a multi-millionaire someday, possibly much sooner than you think?

Carnegie grew up poor, the son of a linen weaver, in Dunfermline, the medieval capital of Scotland. He was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, as were most young men of his time. However, steam-powered looms and other industrial advancements soon came to Scotland and destroyed the weaver’s craft. People who had only one valuable skill became expendable overnight, and Carnegie had to witness firsthand what poverty was.

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You can’t have a successful eBay business without a way to ship your goods. Here are some tips and tools to help you do it right.

The first impression you make with your eBay listing is crucial to your online success, but the lasting impression you make with your packaging and shipping can help secure a continued customer relationship. Check out these tools and tips to help you keep the customers you work so hard to get.

Shipping Calculator: Use eBay’s free Shipping Calculator in the “Sell Your Item” form and Turbo Lister to help your customers determine the actual cost of shipping to their location for domestic or international, flat or calculated shipping rates. Always give your customers as many options as possible by choosing three speeds for domestic and three speeds for international shipping. The Shipping Calculator shows your buyer a total cost that includes handling. Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America, recently announced that sellers who charge excessive handling fees are no longer welcome on eBay. Charge enough for handling to reasonably cover your costs, supplies and time.

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…and no business plan. A new survey shows three out of four businesses are funded from personal savings.

Small-business owners get their start with an average of just $10,000 in initial capital, according to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.

Close to three-quarter of businesses (73%) were primarily funded by the owner’s personal savings, while 37% were funded in part by loans and lines of credit.

“The survey results provide us with real insight into what it takes to start and run a small business, and what many small-business owners wish they had at the onset — more capital and more financial management education,” Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, executive vice president and head of the Wells Fargo’s small-business unit, said in a statement.

Read Full Article from Inc.com

Make Your Work More Enjoyable and You’ll Reap Outstanding Benefits, Including More Profits.

One of the biggest secrets to creating a life of wealth, as well as personal and professional satisfaction, is to find ways to turn the things you enjoy into an income.

Think of all the entrepreneurs out there who are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from their online home business. They simply took something they enjoyed, and they found a way to make money with it.

Someone who is knowledgeable about and loves model airplanes could easily make the jump from a hobbyist to a home business owner with just a little motivation and some startup cash. Over time, a specialized hobby shop - owned by an enthusiast - is likely to be more profitable than one owned by a businessperson who is just in the business for the money.

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Entrepreneur.com

This is a great article from entrepreneur.com revealing the journey of 5 successful entrepreneurs including lessons from CEO and Chairman of Cold Stone Creamery, the founder of monster.com, chairman and CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS and more.

“I’m what you would call an “accidental entrepreneur.” Not only did I not plan to be an entrepreneur, but I also don’t think I knew what the word meant when I was a young man. My college degree is in psychology, [and I spent 14 years as a social worker] at St. John’s Home for Boys in Queens, New York. Those 14 years were equal to my earning an MBA, and a lot more.

In my early days as a social worker, I was not good. I had to learn to stop treating [the boys] like a group. You can’t build a relationship with a group; you build relationships with individuals.

Slowly, I began to grow as a professional. But there was one kid I couldn’t reach—Norman, one of the tougher kids in the home.

One day, I was planting some tomato plants on one side of the group home, a hint of the florist to come. Norman came walking by and began to make fun of me. The same thing happened for several days in a row. I worked, and Norman stopped by to give me a hard time.

Slowly, the conversations began to change. We gradually moved from talking about how dumb I was for trying to make those tomatoes grow, to what we could do to make them grow.

Every day, Norman stopped by to help me with those tomato plants. We began to talk about sports, girls, school and whatever was going on in Norman’s life. The topics weren’t important, but the conversations sure were.

I had learned how to build a relationship. This lesson is one that I carry with me to this day at 1-800-FLOWERS. Establish a relationship first, then do business. Without the relationship, you have nothing.”

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Entrepreneur.com

Just what is a business opportunity? That question has plagued a great many people trying to decide whether to buy a current independent business, a franchise, or what we’ll refer to in this text as a business opportunity. To allay the confusion, we offer a simple analogy. Think back to elementary school when your teacher was explaining the difference between a rectangle and a square. A square is also a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t necessarily a square. The same relationship exists between business opportunities, independent businesses for sale and franchises. All franchises and independent businesses for sale are business opportunities, but not all business opportunities meet the requirement of being a franchise nor are they in the strictest sense of the word independent businesses for sale.

Making matters even more confusing is the fact that 26 states have passed laws defining business opportunities and regulating their sales. Often these statutes are drafted so comprehensively that they include franchises as well.

Not every state with a business opportunity law defines the term in the same manner. However, most of them use the following general criteria to define one:

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Starting Your Business

Options for starting a cart or kiosk business include opening a permanent location in a mall and leasing a cart; buying a cart to use for outdoor events or on street corners; or renting a cart short-term.

“The least expensive option is to rent [a cart] for a short time and see how it goes,” says Bruce Stockberger, owner of Stockberger Marketing Associates, a North Palm Beach, Florida, small-business marketing firm specializing in cart, kiosk and Internet marketing. He says you’ll spend at least $600 per week for rent.

Whether you lease or buy a cart depends on your product and location. In malls, you generally lease a cart from mall management. The cost of leasing depends on the season and mall traffic volume but is usually at least $800 per month for space and a cart, and can get very high in a good location. Some malls charge a percentage of your sales in addition to monthly rent. Wally Rizza, owner of several carts in high-profile locations like the Irvine Spectrum Entertainment Center in Irvine, California, pays more than $2,000 per month for rent on each of his five carts.

“Kiosks start higher than carts, usually $9,000 or $10,000,” says Denise Clark, author of From Dogs . . . To Riches: A Step-by-Step Guide to Start & Operate Your Own Mobile Cart Vending Business. Additional start-up costs depend on your merchandise. Items such as jewelry and crystal require a greater investment than, say, hot dogs.

Read Full Article from Entrepreneur

If you are looking for new ways to market your work at home business, then it is time to start socializing online by getting active on social media web sites like MySpace and Digg. These sites are extremely popular web sites with high Google Page Rank numbers — and if you can get links on these, it will help your web site generate more traffic and improve your search engine rankings.

Before I tell you how to use these sites for improved search engine placement and traffic generation, let me explain more about social media web sites. Social media sites make up 5 of the top 10 fastest growing web brands on the Internet, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. They are simply online gathering places where people share online information with each other. This information can take many different forms, but the following are the best ways to help your home business:


read more | digg story

“Small businesses across the nation — over half of which are home-based businesses —create a majority of new jobs, introduce exciting new innovations to the marketplace each year, and generate over half of the U.S. economic output, Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the small business sector is the primary driving force behind the American economy. The SBA Office of Advocacy offers the following top 10 reasons to love small business:

10, 9, 8, 7, 6….
5. Home-based businesses account for 53 percent of all small businesses.

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Dallas, TX September 21, 2006 – A leading home based business web site releases a new program that provides online marketers with a free web site. As experienced online marketers, Work-at-home-business.com needed a system to help their clients. Most online marketers fail within their first year in business – primarily because they don’t have the knowledge or time to invest in learning how to design a web site for the Internet. Their solution was to design a system that provides their clients with a free top-level domain name web site.

As network marketers, Work-at-home-business.com needed to decrease attrition from paid members. Analysis showed that the #1 reason for the attrition was that members were unable to develop their own web sites to market products. “What better way to help them out–provide a free web site.”

This new program is called the “Wealth Online Website” or WOW for short. It provides their clients with a 30-page web site that is designed and optimized for search engine rankings. Users simply complete 3 easy steps and within 48 hours, they have their own brand new web site. The site is designed for free, but members have to purchase a domain name and web hosting and join 4 of the top online business opportunities.

Details on this new system are included on their web page: http://www.work-at-home-business.com/wow.html

….”Starting a home business is very much like running a race: Preparation and practice are key success factors. The following 10 tips, framed in the context of getting physically prepared for a race, might help you overcome the hurdles that entrepreneurs are sure to encounter on the road to startup.

1. “Pump” up your attitude.

2. “Rejuvenate” your affiliations.

3. “Firm” up your future.

4. “Flex” your creative muscles.

5. “Supplement” your credentials.

6. “Buff and polish” your ideas.

7. “Reshape” your perspective.

8. “Align” your dreams with reality.

9. “Chart” your performance.

10. “Map” the future.

Read the details on each step here.

Entrepreneur.com

“If you missed the first internet wave, it may not be too late. Working with new business models and boosted by investors’ growing appetites for dotcom startups, a second swell of online enterprises is emerging.

Venture capitalist Sam Jadallah of Mohr Davidow Ventures in Menlo Park, California, says that since media giant News Corp. paid $580 million to buy fast-growing online community-builder MySpace.com in 2005, entrepreneurs have been working feverishly on internet business plans they hope will appeal to consumers, investors and potential buyers.

Another reason for the return of interest in the internet: affordability. “The cost to get into business and experiment is dramatically lower than it was in the first boom,” says Jim Fowler, 41, CEO of Jigsaw Data Corp., a San Mateo, California, company founded in 2003 that helps members buy, sell and trade business contact information. Open-source software, offshore programmers, commodity-priced servers and other elements of internet infrastructure are better developed, better understood and less costly than before, Fowler says.

The companies that are part of the resurgence employ an approach labeled Web 2.0. It calls for websites to actively involve users, who build the business by contributing personal pages a la MySpace or valuable information like the corporate executives’ phone numbers and e-mail addresses bartered on Jigsaw.com. “It’s a lot more participatory now,” says Di-Ann Eisnor, 34, co-founder of Platial.com, where users contribute maps of favorite places. “[Users] don’t just come in and read something; they come in and do something.”

“When home business entrepreneurs try to develop a qualified, consistent and dynamic circle of networking partners who are going to provide them with referrals for new business, their tendency is often to “sell” those individuals on their product. It’s as if by showing them all the finer points of what’s available, convincing them to try their product and closing the sale with their work at home networking partners, they’ll somehow realize an influx of referrals.”

1. Teach your network members what your “dream referral” looks like.
2. Share customer profiles and case studies of current customers.
3. Break your business down into its lowest common denominators.
4. Ask specifically for the referral you want. “…..
Entrepreneur.com

The film “The Illusionist,” which opened Friday, contains several scenes where Edward Norton, the title character, discusses with his manager the not too shabby revenue generated by his performances. When it comes to money, there’s nothing illusionary about the often big-bucks profession of magic, either in the movies or real life.

Although many people regard magicians as small-time players who eke out a living as children’s birthday-party entertainers, that perception, ladies and gentlemen, is an illusion.

“Show business is comprised of two things – the show and the business,” says Aaron Radatz, a magician and illusionist who’s based in Las Vegas and performs, in a tan suit with “a very relaxed look,” in the U.S. and abroad. His annual income, in an average or above-average year, has hit seven-figures. “At the top of the pyramid, you can do very well, especially people who have had their own television specials.”

U.S. Business

“Do the names Frank Carney, John Hewitt or Fred DeLuca ring a bell? How about Pizza Hut, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service or Subway? Most consumers have personally come in contact with the brands these franchisors spent decades building. As busy as these franchising legends are, we were able to steal a moment of their time to gain some insight on what leads to franchisee success as well as what to expect from the franchising industry overall.

Topping It Off
When it comes to franchising, there’s no better expert than Frank Carney. After all, he knows franchising from both sides: as a franchisor and as a franchisee. In 1958, he and his brother, Dan, co-founded Pizza Hut. They grew the business so successfully that it attracted the attention of PepsiCo, which bought the company in 1977. In 1994, Carney returned to pizza and became a Papa John’s Pizza franchisee. He currently has 116 stores in five different markets.”……….

Entrepreneur.com

“Ever dream of running a part-time business while keeping your day job? Want to operate a sideline business along with your current business? Or are you simply curious about entrepreneurship, and want to test the waters before you commit to the world of commerce? Whatever your reason, here are 25 sure-fire ways to get started today with your own part-time business.

Antiques
Make new money from old treasures and have fun doing it! Scout garage sales, estate auctions and flea markets for great buys on antique furniture, toys, clothing and other treasures from the past. Rent space at antique cooperatives, or set up booths at weekend fairs to sell your antiques.

Computer Tutor
Whether you’re an expert at Windows or Linux, desktop publishing or Web research, HTML or word processing, you can help anyone enhance their computer skills. Start promoting your computer-training services by teaching classes through organizations in your community which offer adult education courses.

Custom Jewelry and Accessories
Put your creative talents to work designing custom jewelry and accessories. Whether you work with sterling silver or recycled metals, clay or papier-mâché, there’s a market for your custom earrings, pins, bracelets, necklaces and belt buckles at art shows, crafts fairs and holiday boutiques…….Entrepreneur.com”

Businessweek

Here’s what you should know if you are moving your brick-and-mortar to the Web or building a Web-only business:

“Here’s what you should know if you are moving your brick-and-mortar to the Web or building a Web-only business

Part I: Taking Your Brick-and-Mortar Online
American Pearl had been a successful jewelry store in New York City’s diamond district for almost 50 years when Eddie Bakhash took over the company from his father, Charlie, in 1997. One of Eddie’s first moves was to take the brick-and-mortar company online. Since then, he says, sales have grown yearly at a rate of 20%. Last year they surged to almost $20 million—with 20% in person and 80% online…..

“Small businesses inherently have built their business themselves. A lot of people look at doing everything themselves—the backend servers, all the infrastructure, learning HTML. Whether selling products or not, you don’t have to do that anymore,” says Jimmy Duvall, director of e-commerce products for Yahoo! Small Business.”

DonaldTrump.com

“Wealth-generating secrets from our free special report, The 10 Golden Rules for Buying a Business

Owning a business is, without question, your best path to riches.

And buying an established and thriving business can be the quickest way to achieve that success. In today’s business climate, buying a business can be a much better option than starting one from scratch or buying a franchise, where your upside may be severely restricted.

Before acquiring a business, you can review its past performance. You can negotiate on price. You will save on the costs of new equipment and staffing. On your first day of ownership, a customer will call. That’s something you can never say about a new business you are starting……..”

DonaldTrump.com

Commandment # 1 - Pay for the past, consider the present, but buy for the future.

Commandment # 2 - Buy a good business that you can make great.

Commandment # 3 - Remember that ingredients are nothing without a recipe.

Commandment # 4 - Fall in love with the profit, not the product.

Commandment # 5 - Buy a business that lets you do what you do best.

Commandment # 6 - Look for a company that offers “autopilot” and “cruise control.”

Commandment # 7 -Find the hidden gold.

Commandment # 8 - Buy a business you can talk about compellingly. It must make you proud.

Commandment # 9 -Identify what is not perfect yet. Every business has faults. But there is opportunity in those faults, because the smallest improvements in them will yield the greatest results.

Commandment # 10 - Know specifically what the business is worth to you.

Donald Trump University

The better question is: why not?
After all, you’ll probably earn a ton more money, especially as your business grows. You’ll definitely have more autonomy and more responsibility – the chance to make a real difference. When it comes to building wealth, owning a business can be like having your own cash-generating machine!

That’s why over half a million businesses are started each year in the U.S. alone – by people who can’t stand their current boss. People who feel trapped. People who underappreciated and underpaid. In other words – people a lot like you!

How do I get it done?

The answer is simple. Not easy, but simple.
You equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to succeed. You learn how to think like an entrepreneur – no, make that “like a successful entrepreneur” – and how to plan, plan, and keep planning. You learn from other people’s mistakes. You learn from your competition. In business startups, as in life, preparation and persistence will put you ahead – but you really need to do both.

And now there’s a smart, slam-dunk sure way of acquiring and sharpening your business-building skills . . . in just 10 weeks . . . and for many thousands of dollars less than the cost of an MBA.

UNDERSTANDING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
Session#1: Look before you Leap – the Life of the Entrepreneur.

DEVELOPING YOUR NEW IDEA
Session #2: Refine your Vision
Session #3: Market Research and Competitive Analysis

VALIDATING YOUR IDEA
Session #4: Marketing and Branding
Session #5: Build your Team

PLANNING YOUR BUSINESS
Session #6: Model Operations, Sales, and Finances - Part 1
Session #7: Model Operations, Sales, and Finances - Part 2
Session #8: Manage your Business
Session #9: Business Plans

CAPITAL AND SOURCES OF FINANCING
Session #10: Get Funding

Entrepreneur.com

“Can entrepreneurship be taught? You bet! And our 3rd Annual Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities for 2005 will show you the best places to begin your studies. With the top 50 national programs, the top 50 regional programs, 73 entrepreneurship emphasis programs and 124 limited curriculum programs, you’ll find all the information you need to embark on an entrepreneurial education.

FROM ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE
Honor Roll
By teaching everything from planning to perserverance, the schools in our 3rd Annual Top 100 Colleges and Universities give their students a competitive advantage in the real world.
Entrepreneurship Emphasis Programs
These 73 schools offer fewer entrepreneurial courses, usually as an emphasis within a business or economics major.

Limited Curriculum Programs
Typically, these 124 schools only have a few faculty members teaching a limited number of entrepreneurial courses.”

Entrepreneur

“The truth as you know it about starting a business may really be a lie. Let us help you sort the myths from the realities.

So many aspiring entrepreneurs dream of the numerous rewards that await them when they finally break free of the shackles of the rat race and become their own boss. But many see only the gold at the end of the rainbow–and go into it with misconceptions about what’s it’s really like to own their own business. They think funding sources are just a phone call away, that they’ll have time for weekly golf games and will be rolling in the dough faster than you can say “Ch-Ching.”

To help you sort out the myths from the reality, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 “small-business myths.” We’ve included the most common, inaccurate information you may have encountered, along with the real skinny on starting your own venture, so you can make smart, informed decisions for your home business.

We know you can navigate these obstacles because we’ve seen thousands of entrepreneurs successfully work through these challenges and create thriving businesses. These pointers will help you overcome some of the most critical hurdles every business owner encounters, saving you time and aggravation, so you, too, can come out on top.”

Tags Home Business | Make Money Online | Work at Home | Wordpress | Home Based Business

Forbes.com

“Even as 401(k) plans have exploded in popularity, many studies have found that workers are not enrolling in them, not contributing enough to them and generally failing to choose the appropriate investments. Indeed, it is astonishing how many employees fail to enroll in defined contribution plans despite repeated cries from employers and financial experts.

Now, the Pension Protection Act of 2006, recently signed into law, promises to turn the tide. The PPA is the first significant piece of legislation that offers incentives and protections that encourage small businesses to embrace automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans to get more people saving–even if they are too lazy or disinterested to do it on their own.

Why should entrepreneurs care about the new law? It’s no secret that helping employees save for retirement leads to a happier, more productive and increasingly loyal workforce. (At last count, some 6 million workers at companies with less than 100 employees invested in a 401(k).) And owners that encourage saving by offering to match employee contributions enjoy tax deductions (15% to 40%, depending on how much the company earns) on their own company contributions.”

Entrepreneur.com

“Know this: Getting started is not about knowing exactly what to do. There’s plenty of expert advice within your reach about the nuts and bolts of all aspects of business–from writing the plan to implementing marketing strategies to finding capital. But having the right information doesn’t guarantee you’ll put it into practice.

The art of the start is really about setting yourself up with a system that provides clear direction and keeps you moving forward no matter what challenges you face.

Lack of inertia is the number-one killer of great ideas. Take a clue from Newton’s first law of motion: Bodies in motion stay in motion. What does physics have to do with getting started? Keep yourself in motion, and you’ll attract the necessary circumstances, situations and people to answer your questions, solve your problems and support you in building your work at home business.”