bizthreads.net: Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Single vs. Multi-Tasking  

Multi-Tasking

For me, the ability to multitask is something I developed by necessity only.  Sometimes, I can be a very single-minded person.  But where our businesses are concerned, we entrepreneurs can get bogged down in endless paperwork, phone calls and emails that never seem to end.  So what to do?  Maybe stop trying to do so many things at once and try singletasking!

Frightening isn't it? Working on one task at a time will not only ensure that a task is completed faster, but also more efficiently. Single tasking may be a laughable concept in today's cutthroat competitive world, but on close inspection, most people blindly following multitasking find themselves victims of frustration and failure.

You need to check the increasing popularity of multitasking, when it is obvious that it sometimes is a recipe for impending disaster. Ensuring the completion of one task at a time can be very unnerving. There could be many more tasks that demand your attention. Performing one task means devoting all your efforts only to the task at hand.

Multitasking - Or No Tasking?

Just like a computer that has too many open windows at once, your efforts may be fail if you are doing too many things at once. Sure, sometimes you have to do more than one thing at a time. But for complex issues that demand your complete attention, focusing on them one at a time will really improve your efficiency and productivity. 

Simple Residual Income Opportunities 

Here's a subject that I am particularly fond of — Residual income.  But what exactly is it?  Residual income is income we all like because it is earned repeatedly for completing a task just once! A common example of residual income is the rent a homeowner gets every month for renting out a home.  

Earn Residual Income By Publishing Articles

The easiest and the most inexpensive way of earning residual income is by publishing articles. If you have expertise in a particular field, you can use your knowledge and experience to write articles for that field. For instance, if you are a dietitian, then you can share invaluable information with others by writing articles about the diet dos and don'ts. You don't have to have professional expertise to write an article. Articles can be written based on your personal experience as well.

You may have visited a foreign country and had some bizarre experience there or you could share some travel tips with people who want to travel to that country. Many people are tempted to write about their individual hobbies such as painting and gardening. To self-publish your articles, you first need to create the text. Choose the materials, depending on the topic you want to write about. For instance, if your topic is health and fitness, you may want to create an e-book with lots of pictures. For topics related to childcare, you can choose to write a series of articles. You can also create pamphlets that provide information on childcare.

There are a number of companies that can assist you to self-publish your pamphlets or e-books on the Internet. You can also create your own website to publish your work and make a profit on e-book sales.

Promote Your Company On and Offline   

Whether it is selling your products or just informing customers about the services you offer. The Internet is your gateway to effective promotion of goods and services. As a business owner, you should implement both online and offline advertising strategies to promote the services of your company.

Online Promotion

1. Send emails to prospective customers and advertise your products and services.

2. Search engine optimization is crucial to draw online customers to your website. Include important keywords on the home page of your website to increase accessibility.

3. Affiliate programs are a great way to promote your company website and boost web traffic.

4. You can create forums that allow your customers to interact. Let them write product reviews to establish a rapport with your customers. You can also include message boards or blogs to create a dedicated customer base.

Offline Promotion

1.  Include your company in the yellow pages and local phone books.

2.  Advertise your company website through letterheads, business cards, envelopes, invoices and faxes.

3.  Promote your company through giveaways such as calendars, pens, coffee mugs and diaries.

4.  You can give T-shirts and caps with the company logo printed on it to your employees.

5.  Publish articles to highlight the expertise and experience of your company. 

Whether on or offline, never pass up a chance to promote your company.

Keeping Business Costs Low 

I'm going to get right to the bottom line — you're in business in the first place to make a profit.  But to be a successful businessperson, you need to have the knack for effectively selling your products or services. Besides selling, you need to make sure that you get a profit with every sale  - and try to keep your expenses as low as possible. Not an easy job!

There are several tried and true ways that help you to keep business costs low. The following tips can help you do it:

• Do not ‘over order' products. In order to keep the business costs low, you need to avoid ordering in excess. It is better not to place bulk orders with wholesalers, when you are not sure if you will be able to move the inventory.

• If you have an online store, try to present products for the least possible amount, while still making a profit, of course. It is also important to analyze your current financial position and carefully consider the expense of maintaining a website.

• Shipping costs also need to be carefully considered and analyzed to keep the business costs as low as possible. When shipping orders, you should make sure that the transportation is done for the lowest possible price. But at the same time, don't compromise on quality as it can harm your reputation.

It is essential to save money by keeping business costs low because you just can't have a decent profit margin if you keep incurring unnecessary expenses.  

The Advantages Of Free Classified Ads 

These days, the Internet gives everyone a platform for selling their products and services.   By now, we all know that Internet Marketing is a cost-effective method of reaching out to virtual communities around the world. If you are looking for ways to enhance your web presence or just trying to get rid of old furniture via a garage sale, you can advertise through the free classified ads on the Internet.

Unlike newspaper ads, posting free classified ads is hassle free and fast. There are several websites that let you place classified ads for free! Some sites require detailed information before placing the ad, but others choose to eliminate the registration procedure altogether. Some websites require you to give your email address for verification. The email address may also be required in case your ad needs to be modified. 

Advertising Tips

The basic rule of thumb for writing ads is that the ad should be crisp, clean and professional. Long and elaborate ads often fail to attract customers online. Ideally, the ad should not be more than 100 words. Your ad also has to give the right information. The ad should inform customers about the products being offered for sale and the advantages of buying your products and services.

The title of your ad should be precise and have a strong connection to the product. The ad should be placed in the relevant category of a particular site. Failing to choose the right category may lead to cancellation of your ad on that site.  

So for a quick sales boost, do what I do  - use the free online classifieds.  It costs you nothing but 5 minutes of your time!

If your business sells products that are sold in retail outlets like mine does, then you need a way to get those products in the hands of your customers.  So what's the best way to do this?  Hire a sales distributor! 

A sales distributor is a person who delivers the products from a manufacturer to retailers. You can't set up shop in every state to sell the goods or rely on the local market to meet the financial expectations. Therefore, it is necessary for you to establish contacts and make deals with several distributors across the country. A sales distributor identifies a number of retailers which allows you to concentrate on the quantity and quality of the goods, rather than worrying about how to ship it to retailers.

Dealing with sales distributors helps you save a lot of money that would otherwise be used on storing and shipping products. This is because not all retail outlets are equipped to stock lots of products. Besides, the sales distributor also takes care of the need to deal with several retailers. Sales distributors don't sell products, but help you to reach out to retailers and ultimately, your target market.

It is essential to select an efficient sales distributor:

· Try to select a person who has good communication skills, since they are required to get across the qualities of the product to the retailer effectively.

· Select a sales distributor who is capable of coming up with effective strategies in order to deliver the products to many retailers. He must offer perks that would entice the retailers to carry your products.

· The Internet or yellow pages are effective in identifying the best sales distributors around. Referrals from co-workers and business associates can be used to identify an efficient sales distributor. 

So stop trying to do all the sales yourself — hire a good sales distributor and watch your profits grow!

Like it or not, the telephone is a vital tool and telemarketing does work. Although a computer can take care of most of your business tasks, your prospective customers need to hear your voice to believe that you actually exist.

The bottom line is that making successful prospecting calls is an art and you need to master it. Many business owners make the mistake of making calls without a clear plan of action. Luckily for you, I've compiled a handy-dandy list of Telemarketing Essentials! 

Identify the Target Market

By determining your target market, you direct your calls to only those people who may have the need for your products or services. You may consider all those people who have been your clients earlier, as they are bound to have more faith in your company. By concentrating on a definable group of prospects, you will save plenty of time and energy.

Know Your Objective

If you have a clear objective in mind before making a call, you will be more focused.  You may want to ask if they would like the literature through mail, or whether they want your web address.

Memorized Script

To be focused on the objective, you can memorize a well-designed script. You can refer to this script when making prospecting calls.

Smile

Even if the call is made over the phone, a smile reaches out to your prospects through your voice. So make sure that you smile every time you talk to prospects!

Accept Rejection Gracefully

For many, the fear of rejection acts as a major deterrent when making prospecting calls. You should be able to accept rejections gracefully, as the prospect may genuinely not need your products or services.

Using the tips above will help you be more successful in your telemarketing efforts!

Most of us have a difficult time balancing our income and financial requirements. If you are also a student (or student of life!), you may also need additional funds to support your educational costs, but may unable to find the time to go to work because of your busy schedule.  This is why I'm such a strong advocate of owning your own home based business.  Besides being your own boss, there are other great benefits.

Home-based businesses are a great alternative for you, if you have great business ideas, but lack the necessary capital to invest in a practical office. Did you know that many great businesses around the world, such as Hewlett Packard and Motorola were very small businesses when they were initiated?

YouTube.com, one of the most popular social networking sites today, was also a small business idea conceptualized by two people who aspired to make it big someday!  

Online Business Opportunities

The Internet leads the list of home-based business opportunities. Agreed, your home may not have all the necessary amenities required to run a successful business, but it at least gives you a stepping-stone towards designing your dream project. Most online businesses begin with small ideas and probably only credit cards for financing (like mine!). A small business idea can be converted into a ‘niche website' drawing millions of online visitors.

Other Home Business Ideas

The most popular home business ideas include providing day care and baby-sitting services to working mothers. Other popular options include home tuitions, coaching services and career guidance and counseling.

The best way to find a home-based business that works is to find out what you're interested in doing.  Once you do that, you will know what to do — the rest is easy! 

The Need To Use Sales Promotion Tools

There's no way around it - promotion is an integral element of sales and marketing. For effective promotion, it is important to have an effective platform to ensure that the advertising campaign is directed to your target market (you do have one of those, don't you?).

You can choose an appropriate promotion tool to enhance your market presence, and increase sales. Irrespective of the kind of target group, all promotional tools are driven by a common goal, to expand sales. Because increased sales is the goal, it is imperative for you to include effective sales promotion tools within the marketing strategy and business plan of your company.

Consumer-Oriented Sales Promotion

The most common way of increasing sales is by slashing prices. Other options include ‘more for less' and ‘prize-pack' deals, where an additional product is included with a purchase. Many companies sell promotional packs, where the customer buys two packs for the price of one. Free sampling is yet another simple form of promotion. Free samples are distributed through websites or other media.

Sales contests and incentive programs are offered to sales teams if they achieve their sales targets. Incentive programs and trade contests are also used for sales promotion in business communities.

No matter what you sell, your business today faces a continuous struggle for survival amid rabid competition.  I know as well as anyone that it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with the pressures and demands of the retail consumer market. According to a recent survey, the United States had about 24.7 million small businesses in the year 2005. While setting up a retail business, you may consider including a point of sale system or POS. A point of sale system comes with several benefits and is available in different versions.

Features of the Point of Sale System

A POS system simplifies your day-to-day tasks and lets you manage your business effectively.  The system typically resembles a desktop computer that tackles complex data and integrates lots of functions. The system maintains business transactions, stock management, processes payments and prints reports.

With a POS system your employees can view sales records any time of the day. It is also easier to create price tags for products and print labels for shelves in a short period of time. Different types of databases maintained by the system include consumer, item, department and seller databases. POS systems can be easily networked, meaning you can forward messages, maintain staff attendance records and store receipts. Using this system, you can adjust sales tax and merchandise prices effectively.

Without the POS system, who knows where retail business management would be.  Maybe we'd all still be using manual label machines!