Friday 16 May 2008

Refreshing Your Home Business

Have you been in business for some time? Are the client calls starting to slow down? This is the time that all business owners dread. When a business starts to slow down so do the profits. Do you know how to fix this problem? It can be fixed and this article has some tips to help with that situation.

One good way to help your business is to alter or completely change your advertising. Most people watch the Super Bowl each year just to see the new commercials. Advertising is what draws customers to your business. You might want to use a unique personality or mascot in your advertising. Another idea is to change the colors used in your advertising. Experts suggest using primary colors to catch people’s eyes. Animals, especially baby animals, are also big attention getters. This is also true for using children in advertising. If none of these ideas appeal to you, you can always fall back on the old standard of sex appeal. It is a known fact that beautiful people sell products or services. Advertising changes will help bring new life to businesses.

Have you considered adding a new product or service to your company? This new product or service definitely needs to tie in with what you are currently selling. You don’t want your new product or service to take the place of the old product but should compliment or expand what you already have. By doing this you can draw in customers for both products and services. You can also return to former clients with the new product or service to see if they are interested in the addition. If you are not sure of a product or service that you could use, check other similar businesses and see what they are selling.

Younger people won’t remember this but laundry detergent and gas stations use to give away items such as towels or glasses to draw in customers. Why not return to this type of advertising? Free give away promotions are eye catching in a society where nothing is free. They don’t have to be big prizes such as vacations or cars. You might want to find an item that relates to the product or service that your company has. If you aren’t interested in giving away gifts, you could always try discounts or coupons. You will be surprised how many people enjoy not paying full price for an item. You can also reach customers that can’t afford to pay the full price for your product or service. Any gift, discount or coupon needs to have your business name, phone number and contact information on it. By doing this, the customers can easily contact you.

Expansion is another good way to attract new business. Expansion can be done from local to statewide, nationwide or even global. If you don’t already have a website, you need to start one. By putting your website on several search engines, you can expand your business greatly. There are several styles of advertising available on these search engines to help bring in more business.

Breathing new life into your business is fairly easy and inexpensive. The changes are relatively easy to implement and can reap great things. Your business is your livelihood so make it work for you.

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Tuesday 13 May 2008

Naming Your Home Based Business

William Shakespeare once penned that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, and when naming your home based business the name you choose may be a determining factor of its success. Many businesses today use catchy names, some of them are really weird in trying to make sure their name stands out among the others. This sounds similar to the old marketing claim that it does not matter what the press says about a person, just spell the name right.

For companies with hefty competition, this may not be the best approach when choosing a name for a new business, home or otherwise. In many instances, the business owner might be able to use their own name as part of their new business name, but for most consumers looking for a specific product or service, identifying a person's name as being a possibility for offering what they are looking for is not clear cut resulting in the business owner possibly missing out on a lot of business.

When sitting down to write your business plan the first thing you will need is a name. To help come up with the perfect moniker for your business, consider how you will most likely advertise and market the business. Print ads and broadcast ads will require a different approach. A name that makes sense in the phone book or newspaper ad may not sound as good if it is difficult to pronounce on the radio. Additionally, names that require a dash or two, or have other punctuation marks go well in print, but they are hard to relate through a radio ad.

No matter how you feel about your pet, unless your business is selling pet supplies naming the business after a canine or feline may not accurately tell the public what they can expect to find in your business. If your advertising will consist mostly of internet advertising, keeping it simple generally works best, but it should also relate, in some way, to the industry of your business.

Look at the names used by your competition and consider how likely you are to equate the business name with the product or service they are offering. For example, a printing supply store with a name something like "Under The Sun" may say to the owner that they carry everything under the sun, but customers in need of paper or ink might think they sell tanning supplies or swim wear. As tough as it is to find a new name, it is something that will require some brainstorming to get the right one to fit the business.

Avoid negative connotations in the name when naming your home based business. While they can sometimes seem cute and make people snicker when they read them, they may not present the type of professional attitude you are really trying to convey. Once you have settled on a name, research trademarked names to be sure you do not infringe on an established business. Going back to the drawing board will be cheaper than having to reprint all of your stationary, business cards and pay to redesign a new logo for your website.

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Monday 12 May 2008

Work From Home Moms

Are you one of the growing numbers of moms seeking a work from home job? More and more women are looking to become a work from home mom. They believe that staying at home to raise their children is a priority. However, the opportunities now exist for mothers to stay home taking care of their children and creating an income for the family while also pursuing other interests and hobbies.

Work at home moms are now one of the largest growing groups on the internet. There is a huge variety of home-based businesses online with new ones popping up on a daily basis.

Guidelines to finding a work from home business

Assuming you have the desire to become one of the work at home moms how do you go about accomplishing this desire? Going online and searching for “business opportunities will throw up a plethora of sites. Now comes the tricky part. You will need to research which of these opportunities grab your interest. Find out what is involved in the business, what your total costs would be in getting involved, what equipment or supplies are needed. How will you be paid and how often? The more information you can unearth at the start will enable you to make a decision as to whether or not this business is for you and also reduce the likelihood of being caught in an online business scam. As part of your research check out what others are saying about any business opportunity that appeals to you.

Try and avoid any “get rich quick” schemes because while they are possibilities the reality is that they are unlikely. Initially, it might be helpful to choose something that is simple and easy to set up. You will need to take into consideration the learning curve for the job or business that you have chosen. Do you have any computer skills or is this something you will also need to learn.

Find something that you will enjoy doing. Starting up a new business can be daunting and hard work requiring time and effort. Doing something that you enjoy will make sure you still feel motivated when the going gets tough and things are not working as you thought they would.

Time management is another important area to consider. How much time do you have available to devote to your business bearing in mind that you have children to take care of and other household chores that need to be done. You may need to allocate a certain amount of time each day to do the other things aside from your business.

Forums for work at home moms provide a meeting place for people similar to your. You can listen to their experiences of working from home and they can offer advice and suggestions that enable you to decide which opportunity is best for you.

Work from home moms is the future and you can become successful providing you find the right opportunity for you. Remember stay motivated and focused, and soon you will reap the rewards for your work from home moms job.

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Friday 9 May 2008

Medical Transcription Working From Home

Should you consider yourself one of the growing numbers of the population seeking to establish a work from home business, then medical transcription working from home may be an area for further exploration. Currently, the demand for this type of work is growing and annually there are increasing job opportunities in this field.

So What is Medical Transcription?

Basically, medical transcription is a process where documents or voice recordings produced by health professionals, normally about a patient, are transcribed to enable the health professionals to communicate with each, and the insurance companies. The information is recorded by the health professional, usually on a Dictaphone device. This is then listened to and typed by a medical transcriptionist resulting in a patient medical record. This medical record can consist of medical treatment, appointments, consultation reports, procedures, psychiatric evaluations etc.

What skills Are Required?

A comprehensive understanding of medical terminology is essential for the job of medical transcription. There is also a requirement for knowledge pertaining to the legal and ethical requirements of patient medical records. There are various courses available for learning medical transcription. You will need a course that enables you to be to correct errors made by health professionals, computer and grammar skills because reports need to be clear and understood by a wide variety of medical specialists.

A background in office administration, or experience of working in a hospital or doctor’s surgery will be beneficial. The possession of the skills-set listed above will place you in good standing when applying for work as a medical transcriptionist. Some medical transcription working from home job offers also provide on-the-job training.

The Rewards

Working from home in the medical transcription field can be rewarding providing you possess the discipline, willpower and “can-do” attitude to get through the demanding training required. However, this skill will provide you with some form of security for the future due to aging of the largest sector of the population and therefore the requirement of more health records.

Medical transcriptionists can earn a large amount of money, whether paid by the word, line or page. There are also additional benefits of working from home, reducing your daily work expenses and quality time spent with your family.

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Tuesday 6 May 2008

Finding a Legitimate Work From Home Job

More and more people are investigating the opportunity of finding a legitimate work from home job. The fantasy is that you can work when you want to, sleep in daily, and relax for the remainder of the day. Imagine, no uniform for work, no commuting, making your own schedule and still having time for the family. Wonderful idea but where do you find a job like this?

The problem with work from home jobs is that so many people want to have them but the majority have little or no idea how to set about getting one. Because of this, there are unscrupulous people out there who would like to take advantage of people who truly want to be able to have the freedom of working from home. They might see what they could do to scam people into doing more work than they are getting paid for, or into signing up and paying for things that are not jobs at all. It is important that you find some kind of legitimate work from home job if you truly want to work from home, and that you are able to find one as soon as possible. Without doing the research to find a real legitimate work from home job you might find yourself subject to scams and to all kinds of problems.

There are many ways that you can find out which legitimate work from home jobs are going to work for you. First of all, be sure that you do your research on the job before you sign up for it or even before you ask for more information. Doing a simple internet search will give you all of the information that you need about various companies or about various jobs, and from there you can see what will be a legitimate work from home job and what will not. It is usually easy to make up your own mind after you have had the right type of information for yourself. When it comes right down to it, getting the best information is often the easiest way that you have to find a legitimate work from home job.

Next you want to be sure that you are looking at legitimate work from home jobs that sound like they make sense. Stay away from the jobs that look or sound too good to be true, because they are not going to be the types of jobs that you need. Also, be sure that you are doing everything that you can to be sure that you have researched the particular job and all of the parts that will come along with it. This can be the best way that you have to make sure that you are getting the right job for your own needs.

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Monday 5 May 2008

Learning How To Say No And Really Mean It

One of the toughest challenges of operating a home based business is interruptions to your workday by friends and relatives. Too many of them think that because you work at home and have a flexible schedule it can be adjusted whenever they have something more important to say or do. Especially when you first begin to work at home, the temptation may be there to help people out or take an unscheduled break when someone stops by, but it will not take long for these interruptions to become more frequent.

While it may sound crass and insensitive, you may find yourself asking them what part of 'no' do they not understand. While family members may say they understand that you are busy and need to work, they are also the ones who interrupt the most. Unless it is made clear from day one, your days can become long as you work late to make up for the time you lost during the day running errands or doing household chores that should have waited until you got off work.

When asked if you can do something around the house, usually preceded by the phrase 'if you have time,' when you say you will try, they usually take it as a yes. The diplomatic response will be along the line of you will try, but if you run late getting done with whatever it is you are working on, you will make sure it gets done that evening. Of course, when you get done working that day you are going to have to fulfil your promise.

The first few months of running your own home business will be busy and the hours will be long. Even you have expressed that reality from the beginning, later on you will not be able to day anything like you told them it was going to take time to grow the business. Most family members will interpret this as you care more about working than you do about being with the family. Somewhere along the line you have turned into a workaholic and even if you are making decent money, it is not an acceptable answer.

Even with full cooperation, you may have to sometimes say no and then stick to it. No matter how much a spouse or child complains, you are going to have to stick to the reality that if you do not get the work done on time, there may be no more work and you will be back at a job outside the home. In some cases, this may be the best solution. If family and friends refuse to acknowledge the fact that what you do is just as important as holding down a "real" job, it is going to be tougher to maintain your productivity.

Communication is going to be the key to make running a home based business work. Establish a working schedule and stick to it. When the day is done you can go back to being a member of the family, much the way it would be if you worked outside the house.

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Sunday 4 May 2008

Improve Your Business By Learning From The Competition

Basically, it is very easy for you, as a business owner, to visit your competition and point out all the things you believe they are doing wrong. If you consider however, that what your competition is doing wrong boils down to your personal opinion and the way it might contrast with the way that you believe things should be done. Another important point to consider is: are they successful at what they do? If they are then they may be doing more things right than you are giving them credit for. To truly learn from your competition, you need to look at what they are doing right before you try to steal away any of their market share.

In today's business climate, with most businesses having an online presence, it is easy enough to check pricing on many products and services. However, in many instances pricing is going to be fairly close and businesses rarely succeed and grow based solely on their pricing structure. Any customer you attract based only on the price of your products or services will probably be a customer lost when lower prices become available elsewhere.

If you are hoping to have any impact on your market share you have to be willing to look objectively at the competition and try to see them as their customers see them. Since online businesses can be represented with many facets based on their web page design, you can get a better idea by visiting their traditional outlets to learn how they do business as well as what they do to keep their customers happy and coming back for more.

Look for the little things that may seem insignificant but affect how their customers feel about the store. Cleanliness is one of the most common complaints from customers who often equate a dirty or messy unorganized store with lack of service as well as lack of quality in the products they sell. One key area in all public outlets that can quickly bring a customer back or run them out the door is the cleanliness of any public restrooms. If you allow the restroom to go unattended, customers will have unmentionable opinions about how the business is run, and probably will only come back if it is absolutely necessary.

Check out their display merchandise to see if it is working. Many customers want to touch and feel a product before making the decision to buy it, and even though an open product may sell for less when it comes off the display, making customers base their buying decision from the picture on a box is not going to get it done. If you set up displays, many should be in perfect working order. Obviously, for safety reasons there are some that should not be working, such as chain saws or most power equipment, but all the parts need to be there so the customer can see what they are getting for their money.

Friendly, knowledgeable service is probably the most important selling point for any business. Letting the customer know all the good things about a product they are interested in may require you to actually look at the owner's manual, but it can translate into a sale rather than an empty promise by the customer to stop in later.

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Saturday 3 May 2008

Changing Jobs To Work From Home

Many people want to be able to work from home but they are just not able to do so with their current job. Changing jobs to work from home is often something that is difficult. Many people find that changing jobs to work from home is often the hardest thing that they have done, but it is also the most rewarding thing because it allows them to have the freedom of really being able to take advantage of all of the things that working from home might have to offer to them. If you are thinking of changing jobs to work from home there are some things that you should keep in mind.

First of all, talk to your boss and see if you can fix your own jobs to work from home. It might be possible to do something that you are already doing, or something that is slightly different, for the same boss and to do it from home. This is something that lots of employers are looking at because they find that people get their work done sooner and better when they can do it in their own environment and on their own time. Working at the same job that you are working at now, and doing it from home, might be something that you can do for awhile and see if you like it. You also might be able to still have a job with that company if you would like one.

If you cannot do your current job from home, you will be looking at changing jobs to work from home. This is s a big step, and many people find that they are not able to do it easily. Therefore, if you are looking at changing jobs to work from home there are some things that you should remember.

First of all, you want to try to be changing jobs to work from home but staying in the same type of field that you are in now, if you are happy there. This is because you spent a lot of time learning about your own field and making sure that you knew what you were doing in it. When you are ready to change jobs to work from home you might want to see if you can find one that is almost just like the one you have now, or at least goes along with the things that you already know. This can be the least stressful way of changing jobs to work from home.

If you have to get a brand new job in order to change jobs to work from home, you want to be sure that you have researched it fully so that you know what you are doing and that you will be able to continue to do it for some time to come. This will be the best way for you to change jobs to work from home and it will be the best thing that you can do for yourself to stay as happy as possible.

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Tuesday 22 April 2008

Help In Choosing A Home Based Opportunity

The dream to work from home is one that drives hundreds of people towards leaving unpleasant jobs for the prospect of golden opportunities. You have probably seen the advertisements on television as well as the displays online offering home based opportunities. Many of these opportunities are legitimate and really can provide you with more time, money and freedom than the average outside work. There are however some schemes or scams that are very appealing with the get rich quick advertising. So how do you choose a job at home with only a minimum amount of information from a commercial or ad?

There is help in choosing a home based opportunity. You simply have to be smart and be patient in order to find a golden home based business opportunity. Do some personal research about the business or company that you are interested in. This is a must to prove to you that this is a legitimate business and not simply another Internet scam. Look for the BBB symbol and other protection emblems. Feel free to contact these firms and confirm the legitimacy. This is not a hassle as this is what these programs are available for, your protection. Once you feel confident your job choice is true and legit than you can continue on with the directions provided by the company for employment.

Many times there are small fees in the beginning of a home business online. There may be an annual membership fee or a starter fee for online training courses. You may have to purchase a beginner merchandise stock if working in sales. These areas of cost are not uncommon. There are some businesses however that have no start up fee and you are only required to have basic office equipment. This equipment can include a phone, computer, Internet connection, printer and or fax. This is your general home office equipment that can be used for several if not all Internet home business opportunities. Thankfully many Americans have a basic home office pre-existing in their homes and there is no need to spend money at start up.

Once you have your equipment and fees together than you can begin training and be well on your way to a new career. Now you no longer have a career with the hassles of commuting back and forth from home to your office. Your home is now your office. No worries about an inconvenient schedule as you set the time frame for your hours to fit your daily lifestyle. This is excellent for students or couples with children. This allows you a more enjoyable work experience, which leads to better focus at work and better job performance. Everyone wins in the end. It is estimated that in ten years more than half of the United States will be employed in the home through an Internet based business. If opportunities continue to grow and home businesses flourish this number is certain to increase to numbers that we cannot even imagine. Begin on the road to fulfilment and success today by beginning your search for your dream job via an Internet home based opportunity.

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Monday 21 April 2008

Internet Marketing Now Top Marketing Choice

The marketing field has now opened up to include Internet marketing. Internet marketing is similar to marketing for other products or services. For those who are new to the Internet marketing field there are some simple ideas to help make it easier for you. We will explore those ideas in this article.

If you already have a business up and running and are looking for ways to increase business, it is not always best to add more products or services to your business. Maybe you need to change your marketing ideas and procedures rather than adding new products or services. A change to your marketing ideas can be easier on your budget than increasing products or services. It is much quicker to change marketing plans.

Always remember that customers can also be prospective customers. A smart business owner needs to stay in contact with former clients. By adding additional products or services you can have an opening to add these for former customers. It also easier to make sales to those with whom you have worked before.

When planning your marketing pitches make sure you do not use exaggerated claims. People have a tendency to shy away from advertisements that make bold claims. When this happens sales do not happen. It is better to bring your claims down to believable levels. In the same line of thinking, numerical claims are best expressed with odd numbers that have decimals or fractions.

A really good idea when developing marketing claims, come up with several at the same time. This series of marketing ideas should have different expiration dates. This allows you to run them one after another, giving you a new offer on a timeline. You can also keep customers coming back to see what new offer you are currently running. You can keep recycling them without having to come up with new marketing ideas every month or so. If one of the offers doesn’t have the desired outcome you can always pull it and put up a new offer. This style of marketing gives you the freedom to offer discounts and bonuses at the same time.

If you find you are not attracting the type of clients that you want to attract, you might need to change your marketing style. It is important to attract clients that will benefit from your product or service. You also need to attract clients that can afford your product. It may take several tries before you find the exact marketing idea that works for your company.

An offer with an exclusive benefit to your customers will help your sales. This benefit should be something that your competition can’t or won’t offer them. A good example of this could be your e-mail address or cell phone number. A number of business owners do not want to be that accessible to their customers.

The majority of first contacts do not result in a sale. Your internet marketing plan should include a way to capture prospective clients’ names and contact information. This allows you to be able to contact them at a future date. These contacts are sure to let you make sales at some point. Different marketing ideas are available so you don’t have to stick with one and allows you to change them as needed.

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Sunday 20 April 2008

Internet marketing and you

Today may be the day that you decide to start your own internet marketing business. What better way to become your own boss than by using a simple tool that many people have in their own homes. Your computer and internet service could possibly make you more money than you realized. You can do so much more with it than just sitting around shopping or emailing your friends and relatives that live on the other side of the country. You can become your own boss and work a schedule that is flexible enough to accomplish all of those tasks in your life that must be attended to.

Selling products or services over the internet has become a favourite past-time for many people across the globe. Internet marketing is a great way to make a little extra cash, but those that have the dedication and motivation can make it a full time job. Never giving up is the key to making your new internet marketing career a complete success. You will become discouraged and upset occasionally. You may wonder why you bother to keep the company up and running, if you haven’t made a sale in a while. Finding new ways to keep your self motivated can help you when you are down.

It may be helpful to think artistically and create new websites for your company. You can be as creative and colourful as you want to be with your own website. You may like bold colours and very simple, straight lines or you may find pastel colours and abstract designs suit you best. Which ever direction that you choose to go in, you will know that your websites are your own and you can take pride in knowing that you made all of the decisions on how your web pages look. Be sure to include all of the necessary information, but provide an email address for those clients who would like to ask you a little bit more information that would help them make a decision on whether or not to purchase an item through your company.

Remember to respond quickly and thoroughly. A client may lose interest in your company if they have to wait for a response. It may be beneficial to set up a few specific times of the day where you reply to emails and phone calls without interruptions. This will help you focus on the responses and your clients will feel that you are interested in earning their business.

When selling online your website is the face of your company to many potential clients. Having attention drawing pictures and updating your site frequently can help them to realize that you do in fact care about your site and want to have a company that is well organized. Having a home office that is organized can help you in the long run as well. You may need to be able to pull previous orders within a moments notice, and you should not have to search around your desk to find those. Having them organized alphabetically or by month can help to save you time, and will essentially save you money.

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Saturday 19 April 2008

Determining How Much Room Your Home Business Needs

Before jumping right into a home business, think about how much available space you have in your home that can be dedicated to the business. Many home businesses can get by with very little in the way of floor space and if you do not expect a lot of foot traffic, essentially performing your work on the internet, then you probably do not need a lot of floor space to provide a good working environment.

On the other hand, you do not want your home office space to be so cluttered with your business equipment and supplies that there is not enough room to change your mind. Working in a confined area can be very frustrating and can quickly take the allure off the notion of working at home. Many people really like to spread out while they work and others are happy with just enough space to hold what they need, but whichever personality you have, the space needs to be neat, clean and organized.

You do not always have to settle for the smallest room in the house if you are planning to isolate your office from the rest of the house, nor should you chase everyone out of the family room so you can have a bigger desk and way more file cabinets than you will ever use. Get out your pencil, paper and measuring tape and make a drawing of what your ideal home office space should look like and then adjust it to fit into the available area of the house. It is never a good idea to use the kitchen table as your home office desk, but if you have to use the kitchen, find another table that fits so you don't end up with food stains on your work.

As a general rule you will need a desk, typically about four-feet long along with a chair in order to work comfortably in your new home office. A single filing cabinet for your record keeping may also have a top large enough to hold your computer's printer, fax machine or other type of office equipment, requiring no additional floor space. You will also need a trashcan and a shredder, but finding a shredder that fits on top of the trashcan also saves space and you can find something else to do with all of your empty coffee cups.

Depending on your type of business, you may have a need for a larger table on which to layout larger projects. However, unless it will be used on a daily basis, you can find other accommodations when it is needed. Using the kitchen table once in a while is not forbidden, provided you clean it up before dinnertime.

Realistically, an eight-foot square room may be all you need, but after a few days it may feel more like serving a sentence than going to work. You will want it to be open and airy, but put any windows to the side or behind your chair to minimize distractions. Additionally, never, ever, not ever should you use any additional office space for storage. Once boxes of junk are put in place, they are going to be there for the long haul.

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Friday 18 April 2008

Honest Communication Helps People Development

It is a tough world out there and unfortunately many individuals think a lot more of their skills than they are really worth. In most cases, it is not their fault as their shortcomings have been overlooked so as not to hurt anyone's feelings, but in reality by not being upfront and honest with them about their performance, they simply do not know any better.

The majority of employees simply want three things out of their job. Fair pay, training for the job they are expected to perform and feedback about how well they are doing their job. Evaluating someone's job performance can be a stressful experience not only for the employee but also for the business owner or supervisor. If performance reviews are given annually, there should be no surprises at the end of the day. Consistent communication throughout the year should have provided the employee with specific things they need to do better so when evaluation day rolls around they have a good idea of what to expect.

If the supervisor goes the entire year without offering any corrective measures needed, or praise for doing a good job, the employee is going to believe they are performing at least up to expected standards. If they walk into an evaluation and find out you are not happy with their work, you will drastically undercut their morale. They have gone a year not knowing if they were underperforming or overachieving and waiting until the last minute is not going to do much for employee retention.

That is not to say you need to sit down with the employee every month, or even every quarter, but if an issues comes up it should be addressed immediately. Yelling and screaming is never the right way to handle an employee discipline issue, but sitting with the employee in a private setting, where their co-workers cannot see or hear what is going on, explain how the associate's behavior, attitude, productivity or whatever the issue is affecting the company as a whole.

The supervisor should never attack a person with phrases beginning with the word 'you.' Instead, all problems need to be addressed by focusing on the problem and not the person. When it comes to offering praise or thank you's those should be done in front of their peers, and as often as it is deserved. Over praising one employee may make others believe they are the favorite and can spark charges of favoritism.

Bad behavior breeds bad behavior and you have one employee that is constantly slacking off or late for work and nothing is done, not only will that employee believe their behavior is acceptable, other employees, who may have never had a problem, will begin to resent the person getting away with their actions, you for allowing them to get away with it and themselves, for continuing to do their best with no apparent rewards. All of your employees need to know that anything that affects the business negatively will result in consequences to equal the affect on the business.

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Tuesday 15 April 2008

Finding A Free Work From Home Position

When you are ready to make a decision that is going to affect the rest of your life, you may want to think about finding a free work from home position. This position will allow you to finally be able to work on your own. Finding a free work from home position is a dream for a lot of people because it will be the one way that you have to take control over when you work, where you work, and how much money you are able to make. Many people look for a free work from home position that will benefit them in this way, because they know that this is the type of position that they will be the best with. For many, a true free work from home job is one that will take advantage of the skills that they might have, and one that will allow them to blossom by doing things that they might not otherwise do.

There are several ways to find that perfect free work from home job that you might desire. First of all, you want to think about the various things that you are good at. Do you have any hobbies that you might be able to turn into a free work from home position? Remember that the best of the free work from home jobs are going to be jobs that you are able to do already – so they should be jobs that you already know how to do and that will help you take advantage of the things that you are already good at. You want to be sure that you explore this line of thinking first, so that you know what you are doing and that you are able to make the most out of your situation.

Next, you want to look into other hobbies that you might have, which you might not have even though about having to do with your free work from home job. Remember that if you have something that you enjoy, such as animals or knitting, this hobby can be turned into a lucrative free work from home job if you know how to do it and if you are willing to work hard at it. Therefore, you should take a look at the various things that you know you will be good at, and see if you can find one of the free work from home jobs that will best work for you.

Finally, you want to think about the ways that you can put your hobbies together with the things that you are good at, and see if you can make a job out of these things. Remember that this isn't always the easiest thing to do, but often it can be the one way that you have to make sure that you are able to get the right type of free work from home position for your needs. In fact, this can be the best chance that you have to be really successful, so you should give it a try and see where it leads you.

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Monday 14 April 2008

Free Work From Home Jobs

Many people hit the work from home job market thinking that they will make as much money as possible in the fastest time possible. However, this is often not the case as they end up side tracked by various jobs that ask them to pay money. Many people run businesses that have workers paying money for the work that they do. It is important, when you are on the job hunt, to find free work from home jobs that are out there. There are lots of them, you just have to know where to look.

First of all, you should know that most of the real work form home jobs are free work from home jobs. If you are finding jobs that ask you to spend money on them or that have many different fees that are associated with the job, you should keep on looking. The best of the work from home jobs are going to be jobs that you are actually able to do on your own and that you do not have to pay for. When something is not a free work from home jobs it is usually someone else's great business idea, and they are going to be the ones that are making the money and not you.

In order to find free work from home jobs the first thing that you should do is focus on real companies. Be sure that as you are looking for free work from home jobs, you are researching any of the companies that come up. Be sure that you are only going with the companies that have the best ratings and the best history. This will help you to make sure that you are finding the free work from home jobs and not the jobs that are going to cost you money. It is very important that you are able to do this because it can be the best way that you have to really get enjoyment out of the entire situation.

Also you want to be sure that as you are finding free work from home jobs you are reading the information that comes with them very closely. This information will give you lots of good ideas about whether or not the job is really free work from home jobs or not. You want to be sure that as you are finding jobs you are reading all of the information and that you are sticking only with the jobs that really make sense to you. Don’t be sidetracked by jobs that aren't going to be good for you. Stick with the jobs that will help you succeed and that will make a difference in your life. Remember that you shouldn't have to pay to work, so be sure that you find free work from home jobs that work for you. This is the best way that you have of actually being able to stay on top of things and getting your own life in order.

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Sunday 13 April 2008

Owning Your Own Business

When you work a job 40 hours a week at a business or corporation outside of your home, you may find that by Wednesday, you have become burnt out on your job. It becomes harder to concentrate and you spend half of your day staring at the clock and wishing it was 5 o’clock already. You find yourself trying to find ways to get away from your desk and to take up as much time as you can. Perhaps it is time to get away from your regular day job and embark on a new career. Owning your own business can make you feel more fulfilled and you may be excited about going to work again.

A key factor in being your own boss is deciding what type of business that you would like to run. This must be something that you personally find intriguing and want to spend time working on. If you are not passionate about the type of business that you run, you will find yourself feeling the same way about your own company that you felt about the day job that you just left. Starting a new company will take time and money, but you will be rewarded once you have been able to get your company off of the ground.

Focusing on an area where you have had previous experience or a skill, talent or hobby that you have can help to make starting your own business a little easier. It will help you to perform the necessary work functions for your work, without struggling to learn a whole new set of tasks. While you may find that you need to brush up on some aspects of your business, such as web page programming or learning new developments, you may often find a web site that offers information such as a tutorial or web classes to help you learn all that you can to perform those important tasks.

Opening a business that is in demand is a great option too. It allows you to quickly get on your feet financially and not have times that business slows down. However, if you do have a company that does have its peak and valley sale times, use that time to expand your business and perhaps add or remove parts of the business that you feel would help to make a change for the better. These are the times that you should run trials periods for new products or services that you have been considering for a while. These can also be great times of the year to take that much needed vacation that you have been putting off while you started your new business venture.

Owning your own business that is truly your passion can help you stay motivated and keep you energized about where your business will go in the future. Keeping a level head and staying organized will give you a chance to improve your life and bring in those needed profits.

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Saturday 12 April 2008

Do Not Let Fraud Ruin Your Bank Account

Do Not Let Fraud Ruin Your Bank Account

When you are looking for a way to make money online, you should make sure you have your fraud detectors on full alert when you read through any proposals being presented. In most instances, it should be pretty easy to figure out if someone is trying to rip you off. Just remember the old advice that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. So when those unsolicited offers drop into your email promising exorbitant amounts of income for only a few hours work a week, chances are it is a scam just to separate you from your money.

Some of the red flags to watch for are the type of proposal being made. Offers that say you have nothing to do to start earning big money immediately, will come with a cost. You will have to pay for someone else to set up your business and heck, all you have to do is keep sending in the monthly fees and you can earn money off all income received from your website. Wait. They forgot to mention that if you do not advertise your site no one will know about it and you cannot make any money if you have no sales.

Look for contact information before clicking on any links that take you from the main page. If the online business offers you a phone number and a name, do not hesitate to call and ask for that person. While it could be single line into someone's basement, at least it is contact information. However, if the call is answered in an unprofessional manner you may be better off apologizing for calling a wrong number and hanging up. Some legitimate businesses do work from their homes, after all that is what you are hoping to do, and if a child answers do not ask for mom or dad, ask for the name on the website.

Look at the testimonials that are bound to be included on any website offering a chance to make a lot of money. They are usually tucked in between the pictures of a mansion and a new car or two, supposedly of the person that sent you the email. Just remember, you can take your digital camera on a road trip to an upper class neighborhood and take pictures of cars and houses. Be skeptical about investing in an online business opportunity and do some research.

Run the business name through a couple of search engines. Chances are, if it is not a legitimate offer, there will be a few pages that show up of complaints from others that lost money investing in a scam. The company may claim the complaints are from disgruntled people who were too lazy to spend even a few hours a week working in the business, but a reasonably intelligent person can read through several complaints and see a pattern develop. By using due diligence in your research of companies offering business opportunities you can limit the opportunities of someone else of getting their hand on your wallet.

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Friday 11 April 2008

Distractions Can Sink Your Home Business

Persons working at a home business have a better chance of success if they can learn to close their eyes and ears to anyone and anything in the home that detracts their focus from the task at hand. When you work for someone else, in their place of business, chances are there is not going to be a television you can watch whenever you feel like it, and while there might be a radio available, in is probably playing in the background causing no distraction to your ability to get your work done.

Your work outside the home probably is not constantly interrupted by a spouse or child, unless you have a really tolerant boss and from your desk you most likely cannot see dirty dishes in the sink, or a pile of laundry that needs doing and will not notice the grass has grown in the past few days and needs cutting again. While working at home does have many advantages, it is also rife with distractions that can take the focus off of the task at end and toss a torpedo into the heart of your work world.

The first few months, not days or weeks, but months of working at home are going to be filled with distractions, especially if you have a spouse that works outside the home. It will take them some time to realize that yes, you are at home all day but you are working and no, you do not have time to run the vacuum cleaner no matter who is expected to arrive for dinner. If you want to do this while taking a break or having lunch, that is OK, but putting your work aside to take care of a household chore can set a dangerous precedent for the future.

Establishing a work schedule is a must for any business owner and even more important when running a home business. Even if you seldom see any customers or clients in your home office, you still have to maintain a semblance of professionalism. The idea of sleeping in and sitting down at your desk at the crack of noon in your favourite pyjamas or sweat pants may be inviting, but it does little to improve your self-discipline. Besides, there may be something on television you want to watch that night and nothing will get done in your business.

When you accept work from clients you are making them a promise that it will be done in a timely manner. Some of the most successful home business operators still set their alarm clock, get up, get dressed and go to work at the same time every day. This will set the personal tone for your business and will lead to a better chance of success. If you allow all the little household chores to come between you and your work, the house may be spotless…especially for the next occupants after you get kicked out for not being able to pay the rent or mortgage.

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Tuesday 8 April 2008

Developing Time Management Skills Can Improve Productivity

This article explores the idea of how developing time management skills can improve productivity in a business. One of the most common complaints shared by owners of businesses of any size is the lack of time. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done in a day and tomorrow starts with a negative time balance the minute they walk in the door in the morning. However, one of the things many business owners seem to forget is that they own their time and if it is wasted, it can be blamed on no one but themselves.

Owners with employees have the opportunity to share some of the workload but for one reason or another are reluctant to do so. The easiest method to determine if they are getting the most out of their effort is to calculate how much their time is worth and then look at the work they are performing to decide if they are overpaying to get many of the tasks completed. For example, a business owner paying themselves $50,000 a year, if calculated at 40 hours per week, would be paying $25 an hour for their labour.

Everyone knows they will probably make less and work many more hours when they first start their business, but for the sake of round numbers, $25 an hour will be used. If you are the one putting all the files away, writing letters and making trips to the post office you are paying a premium wage for someone to do basic clerical duties. Besides, would not the talents of the business owner be better served looking for new business prospects and working on developing new angles for the business?

Of course, business owners that have no employees will simply be doing everything anyway, and making the compatible earnings for all the tasks they perform, but this is just an example of how business owners sometimes allow routine jobs to get in the way of aggressively seeking new income streams. Other ways a business owner, or a supervisor allows themselves to be sidetracked is by allowing other people to delegate up within the organization.

For example, a subordinate or employee walks in and complains they are having trouble finding information on a certain subject, some supervisors simply tell them they'll find it and let them know when they have it. Now, the task assigned to this person now becomes the responsibility of the supervisor, adding to their already filled plate. Additionally, that employee, being dedicated to their job with an understanding of follow up returns later to ask how the search for the information is coming along.

What should have happened, is the business owner or supervisor should have made a suggestion on where to look for the information instead of allowing that responsibility to fall onto their back. Suggest places to look and have them get back to them on their continued progress. As a business owner, developing time management skills can improve productivity because asking for guidance of the boss is one thing but manipulating employees can often eat chunks of the boss's time by delegating upwards in the chain unless the business owner is adept at recognising this.

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Monday 7 April 2008

Working From Home: Data Entry Job

The majority of people are always ready and willing to consider working from home. And why not? Working from home provides the perfect opportunity to provide for yourself on your terms. You can make the same type of money that you are currently making, working wherever you work, and you can also make your own hours and decide when you do want to work.

When you are doing a data entry job at home, you may discover that you have more time to do the kinds of things that you love to do, and more time to be with the people that you want to be with. While people would be delighted to find jobs like data entry jobs at home, the trick is knowing where to find them, and knowing which ones are going to be most suitable for your needs. This can be something that is tricky, but if you know how to proceed it you will find that you can end up being successful at it.

The first thing that you should remember about data entry jobs at home is that you want to do your research before you start. Remember that many times some offers look like good data entry jobs at home, but end up being scams or things that are designed to take your money. You want to be certain that the data entry jobs at home that you are choosing are going to be jobs that fit who you are and that fit what you think that you can accomplish in your life. Be sure that the data entry jobs at home that you are able to pick are really going to be the best jobs for your needs, and that they are not going to be scams.

There are several ways to make sure that you aren't finding scams. First of all, you can do some of your own research on the company and on the particular job. This will give you a good idea of what you are looking for and whether or not the job is what you need it to be. When it comes right down to it, people who have been scammed might be likely to talk about it, so if you find someone who is willing to talk they will tell you what you need to know. Also, you can find out a lot about the history by doing your own research like this. Remember that this is the best way for you to proceed, so you should do the research that you need to do right away. This can help you figure out what you want to accomplish with your working from home data entry job. It can also help you avoid scams. After you have researched the jobs that you are looking for, you can feel free to decide which ones will be best for you. Then, you can decide which jobs you want to take.

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Sunday 6 April 2008

Hoping For The Best Can Kill A Good Home Business

When opportunity knocks and no one answers the door, it will move on to the next door until it finds someone home. That does not mean you have to open the door every time an offer comes knocking, as some of them are only looking for a way to get in the house and starting looking for things to walk out with. You will have to be choosey about who you allow in, but you have to at least answer the door once in awhile in order to see if the opportunity is right for you.

However, as home business owner if you are looking at your dwindling bank account and are filled with hope that something is going to show up soon, the next knock may be another bill collector looking for money. In order for anything to make a difference in your business you have to make it happen. It is only in fairytales that bags of money appear on your doorstep and when apples fall from the tree they stay on the ground. Wishing will not make it so.

New home business owners, especially those that have left a job to strike out on their own often do not realize how much prospecting they will have to do to some with enough work to make a living. When they hit the road on sales calls, they are not only selling their products or services, they are selling themselves, just like the original door-to-door sales persons. This is especially true if your home business is based online as there is no eye contact and no firm handshake with which to judge a person's integrity.

If your potential customers do not perceive an honest effort to garner their business they will likely head to another website that make them feel like their business will be appreciated. While testimonials can help people decide if your offerings are legitimate, and may even sway their decision, they have to be real. All legitimate online businesses will make the persons that submitted references for their business available to new prospects. Otherwise, most people will presume they are either paid testimonials or ones they made up from people they have never met.

Desperation is usually what prompts an otherwise honest business to skimp a little on details or fudge some of the facts in order to attract new customers. All of this typically comes on the heels of hope that never produced any positive results for the business. You will have to dig deep in some cases in order to find your customers or clients. Like most businesses in any industry, they did not become successful by accident or by sitting by the door hoping customers came to them.

Sitting in front of the computer screen hoping for clients to send an email will not make them come. However, since you are just sitting there doing nothing else important, do some research about who can use your services and why they should choose you. Then, go out and find them and let them know you are there to help.

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Saturday 5 April 2008

Cover Letter: More than Simple “Hello”

Despite the fact the ideal cover letter is short and brief, it is far more than a simple “hello.” This for a couple of reasons, first, the cover letter contains more than just a greeting and introduction, not to mention the fact that the structure is complex while coming across natural in expression. This suggests that an ideal — nay, winning—cover letter cannot be ‘whipped out’ and requires practice to get it right. Many applicants, though having an impressive résumé, lost out on employment due to a sloppy, ineffective or slipshod cover letter, which is the very first thing the potential human resources interviewer reads of an applicant. If the cover letter doesn’t catch the attention of the employer, the résumé certainly won’t.

As for its format and content—and, yes, there are several variations—the cover letter typically consists of either three or four short-to-medium-sized paragraphs, the last being the smallest. The first paragraph contains the “hello” along with some reason why the applicant was attracted to the company in question (which is why applicants should research the company beforehand to know something about it), such as an achievement or its level of integrity. This not only introduces the applicant, but it does so in the context of an knowledgeable and interested profession who is making an immediate attempt to fuse her or himself in with the company in some way that will show the employer how the applicant would benefit the company to which she or he is applying. Employers are looking for this, and so addressing this major point in some unique or colourful way right off-the-bat will catch the reviewer’s eye. First impressions are the strongest, as the saying goes.

The second paragraph of the cover letter delineates, or summarizes, the applicants qualifications without reiterating that which is provided in the résumé (that document speaks for itself). This paragraph either quickly outlines specific information from the résumé that pertains to the particular job in question, or it casually mentions something regarding personal qualifications that isn’t showcased in the résumé. Sometime both can be done. Extensive details are to be left out, of course (leave that for the interview), lest the applicant puts the reviewer to sleep, and that would not be good at all. Applicants should get right to the point but be light hearted yet professional, human and not robotic.

Finally the last paragraph (if only three are written) is the sign-off, which is why it is usually the smallest paragraph of the entire document. Here, the occupant thanks the reader for her or his time and acknowledges a follow-up to the initial submission or application, which is acceptable because it reflects an ongoing interest in the company and job in question. Also, the applicant can acceptably confirm calling for setting up a possible interview for some point in the near future. This isn’t at all pushy; on the contrary, it is assertive and reflects confidence and a positive attitude, both of which are very appealing to a prospective employer or interviewer. The applicant should always end the paragraph with a polite “Thank You” and then cordially sign off.

The cover letter is a crucial document and must be crafted with insight and care. This will show through, and it will weigh heavily toward a state of acceptance and employment.

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Friday 4 April 2008

Cover Letter Examples: “The Corporate Housewife” and “The First-Time Retail Manager”

Cover letters are written in many variations, depending not only the job to which they address, but also on the applicant and that applicant’s particular set of skills and background. For this reason, no two cover letters are exactly alike (aside from difference in wording); each cover letter is as unique as the applicant who writes it.

Below are two examples of cover letters. They are different from one another to illustrate diversity, which falls in line with their primary purpose: to briefly and colorfully reflect the individuality of the person that each is supposed to represent. Neither is an actual cover letter; no real people were used in the making of these, but examples do illustrate how cover letters are generally constructed and appear on the printed page.


Example: The Corporate House Wife

Re: Forster’s Foods, Inc
1227 West Janson Street
Lawndale, CA 90260

To whom it may concern:

As a house wife who has created entire meals for several public and private events, including weddings and community gatherings, I own several of your recipe books, including Creating a Feast on a Shoestring and Professional Recipes for the Home Cook. I use them all the time and have both saved money on food deals and received plenty of raving reviews on my preparations.

In recent years I have provided a service for community organizations and even began my own private enterprise that has offered both cooking meals and self-made recipe books. Because of this, I have a familiarity with various types of food, American and cultural. I also have been praised for my recipes, and have a working knowledge of how to run a business. In light of this, I feel that I would be ideal for the position of recipe writing for Forster’s Foods.

If you’re interested in setting up an interview so we can talk, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Barbara Hope


Enclosed: résumé and three recipe samples


Example: First-Time Retail Manager

Re: Donello’s Deli Mart, Inc.
489 Ridgeway Passage
Jasper, FA 32052

To whom it may concern:

I have shopped at Donello’s for several years, primarily because of the extremely reasonable prices and the fact that the food is always fresh and newly prepared, but I have found the service to be A-1, as those who work there have always greated me with a cheery voice and warm smile. I was not surprised to learn about the awards the store has won for its quality foods and innovative creations.

My eight years in retail as a clerk and food prep cook has taught me a lot about the business, and I feel right at home in such an atmosphere. I have no managerial experience, but I am presently going for my MBA and would like to get my feet wet. My passion for foods and my desire to someday own my own business would make me a great choice for the manager’s position at Donello’s.

If you would like to set up an appointment so we could meet, I would be happy to do so. Please contact me at your earliest opportunity. Thank you.

Best Regards,

Jeffery Tatum


Enclosed: 1 résumé and 1 copy of transcripts

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Wednesday 2 April 2008

Cover Letter Examples: “The Bank Supervisor” and “The College Graduate”

The variety of possible cover letters examples is too broad to allow a description of each one. As a matter of fact, each cover letter is a unique, one-of-a-kind sample of individuality, just like each of the applicants who write them. That is the point, since the cover letter’s main purpose is to showcase that human individuality, so the parallel is not surprising.

Two example of cover letters follow. The diversity is apparent, as it should be, so they cannot necessarily be compared on every level; the respective backgrounds, interests and insights showcased by each applicant makes each cover letter an example of itself. These are completely fabricated, so the people illustrated do not reflect actual persons living or dead, but their construction and visual depiction offer readers and idea of what cover letter are supposed to look like.

Example: The Bank Supervisor

Re: Eastern National Bank Headquarters
33783 Maximilian Drive
Albany, NY 12207

To whom it may concern:

I have watched the growth of Eastern National Bank ever since its inception twenty years ago, and I must say its achievements have astounded me. The stocks in which it has invested, such as the Astro Oil, Inc., have allowed this bank to increase its capital beyond that of many of its competitors.

During my time as the assistant supervisor at American One Banking and Trust, my dedication to excellence and insight into finance growth have helped the bank increase its stock options five-fold, which in turn provided fellow bank employees an increase in salary that served as an incentive for greater work performance.

In general, my eighteen years experience as a clerk, compounded by an MBA offer further evidence that I am qualified for the position of supervisor at Eastern National.

If it should be the case that you are interested in conducting an interview with me, I welcome you call. Please contact as you see fit. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Robert Hargrove


Enclosed: résumé and 1 copy of MBA degree certification


Example: The College Graduate

Re: Sunshine Florists, Inc..
122 Hanson Street
Royal Oak, MI 48058

To whom it may concern:

I like the floral arrangements that you provide at your store, along with the stylish patio décor. Such a variety appeals to me because I am interested in lands-scape design. The pelican water fountain in particular is like one I have never seen before at any florist shop. I can see that you are head-and-tails above the rest.

My high grades in college show that I am knowledgeable and appreciate the importance of landscape design, as that was my major. I love working with flowers, as I am colour co-ordinated and find them calming. Because of my knowledge and deep interest, I feel that I would be an asset to the store.

Please call me if you’d like any further information. I would be happy to provide you whatever you need. Perhaps we can schedule an interview in the near future. I would be very glad to hear from you soon. Thank you.

Truly Yours,

Stephanie Wyndotte


Enclosed: 1 résumé and 1 copy of transcripts

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Tuesday 1 April 2008

Exploring Customer Retention

Retention is tough enough with your employees, but it can be even tougher with your customers. Luring them in the door with special offers and ridiculously low prices might bring them in the first time, but continuing that trend can take a chunk out of your bottom line profits. Exploring customer retention means finding ways of convincing your customers that your business is worth returning to and any good experience they had will have to be repeated.

The catch phrase in the business world is say what you are going to do and then do what you say plays a crucial role in retaining customer loyalty. It goes further for more people than prices. Reduced prices on products and services might bring a few people in from your competitors, but if they left their old source based on price, they will leave you if they can find the same thing cheaper somewhere else. Considering that pricing and quality of many products are going to be very similar for the different outlets, bringing customers back will require offering one thing better then everyone else…service.

To better understand the concept, you have to know what customer service really is and it can mean different things to different people. To some customers, good customer service means they can enter your establishment, get what they want and get out in as little time as possible. Others want a grand selection of common items while for others, having the business owner treat them like a king or Queen is more important than the quality of the products and low prices. They are willing to pay extra for the personal service. Then there are those who do not want to be bothered while they look around.

The key to good customer service is being able to recognize the type of customer you are dealing with every time one walks through the door. If you are busy trying to help someone who does not want your help for instance, the customer that wants you to fawn over them may feel neglected and head somewhere else to have their ego stroked. Of course, if you have two of these personalities in your business at the same time, you are in trouble.

Let’s say you do not offer services to the public, you will still have customers or clients for whom you perform different functions and if you promise something will be done at a certain time, make sure that you can deliver else the likelihood is high that you will lose the customer or client. You will need to be careful when accepting projects to make sure you can meet their deadlines as having to go back and tell them you are going to be late, may cause the project to be the last one you ever do for them.

Hitting deadlines are not only good for business but also necessary, but if you finish a project early it is nothing to be ashamed of. Go ahead and send it in when you get done and the client may actually appreciate having their project completed ahead of schedule.

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Monday 31 March 2008

Controlling Expenses In Your Business Improves The Bottom Line

The report card for any business is its profit and loss statement and in order for the business to succeed, profit is determined by two categories, income and expenses. As all business owners know it is easier to adjust expenses than it is to increase income but for profits to show a significant rise, income should go up while expenses go down. Some businesses make the mistake when they are reducing their expenses of eliminating costs in some of the wrong areas.

Typically, one of the biggest items on any business's expense sheet it payroll, often times making up 60 percent or more of the business's expense line. Many businesses will automatically reduce their payroll expense when they have to increase the profit line. This may be a short-term solution but it can cause long-term ramifications. When a business has to layoff employees due to the lack of business, the employee suffers personally and the business suffers because the remaining employees have to pick up the slack.

Cutting an employee's pay typically is never discussed, as this will not only ruin relations with that employee it can affect the morale of everyone else on staff. Businesses are advised that while it may provide the quickest reduction in expenses, cutting payroll should only be the last resort. There are going to be several line items in the controllable expanse account that can trim some debits off the account before sending people home.

Consider utility costs, for example, as electricity and natural gas prices have risen significantly over the past few years. Even if you do not have the money to go out and buy energy saving light bulbs and appliances provided in the business, there are some ways to trim a few cents a day off the utility cost. If you have unused areas in your facility, only provide enough heat to protect anything in the room and then close it down. Make sure all the lights are turned off in every unused room and keep watch for light bulb sizes that can drink electricity like water, which are not necessary.

Maintaining your facility for the comfort of yourself, your employees and customers if applicable, can help improve morale and the customer experience, but if you are closed at night, turn the thermostat down. If you can find it in your budget, buy and install a computer operated thermostat and set it to a lower temperature when no one will be in the building and turn it back up before opening the next day. Use the same common sense with the air conditioning. Use it when it is needed, but turn it off when it is not.

Your business rent is probably a fixed amount with little room for improvement, but utilities can save a little and office equipment and supplies can eat up cash that you might be able to use to avoid layoffs. Ordering from a catalog and having all your stuff delivered to the door may be convenient, but it also going to be expensive.

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Sunday 30 March 2008

Doing Clerical Work From Home

Let’s say that you have made the decision to enter the job market but with the focus on working from home, what sort of job would be the most appropriate for you? Working from home can be portrayed as something that is very rewarding and can help make a difference for your. You want to be certain that you’re doing the right kind of job and not end up doing something that does not suit you and this might mean doing something similar to what you are already doing or one that you already know how to do.

The best thing that you can do as you are looking for a job from home is to look for something that you are good at. IF you are good in the clerical field, then doing clerical work from home can be a great step for you. All in all, clerical work from home is very popular for many reasons.

First of all, clerical work from home is popular because it is some of the easiest work to do from home. Think about doing clerical work in an office setting. You are answering phones, filing papers, doing faxes, and keeping records. All of these things are things that you do individually, even if you are in an office. Therefore these things can easily be transferred to your home. Doing clerical work from home can be great because you can just keep on doing the work that you are doing, but do it from your own home.

If you are already working in this field, one thing that you can do is ask your boss if you would be able to do your work from home. Many times, you will find that this is easy for you to do because it is actually something that you know that you can do. Doing clerical work from home is often one of the easiest things to do, and sometimes you don’t' even have to worry about changing jobs in order to do it.

If you have to change jobs, you can still find lots of clerical work from home. There are many companies that will hire online secretaries, and these secretaries can really make a difference with all of the things that they are doing. You should be able to get all of the work that you want, doing your clerical work from home.

When you are doing clerical work from home you will know that you are taking control over your own future and making sure that you are able to do all of your work from home, where you should be. This will give you the time that you need with your family and the time that you need to truly get things right in your life. Just be sure that you have all of the supplies you need to do clerical work from home and that you are working for a company that will value you and keep you working hard.

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Saturday 29 March 2008

Choosing The Right Business Location

As it has often been said in real estate, location is everything and the same can be said about locating a new business. Obviously, price is going to be a major concern when looking for a place to open your new business, but the potential for traffic flow should be the near the top of the location's requirements. Making sure the building is large enough and sufficient parking is available are all part of the equation, but before signing a lease or purchase agreement, you should check out everything around the business.

Many business fail simply because of their location. It is also harder to attract new business if your store or shop is off on its own in the middle of nowhere. Many businesses count on the traffic from other stores to bring traffic into their store. The next time you are visiting a big box store, pay attention to the smaller stores around them. Many of the big store's competitors will locate nearby as they know the big guns are going to drive a lot of traffic into the lot.

If the big stores does not have what the customer is looking for, there is a better chance they buy from you than if you were located in the middle of nowhere. Consider where you like to go on vacation, likely a popular destination with many different attractions, and apply that same logic to locating your new business. If your building is the only one for miles around, your business will have to be the destination for customers to stop in. If they do not normally do business with you, chances are they are not going to go out of their way once you open.

Your business also needs to readily accessible. Consider traffic flow in and out of the parking lot and how much trouble your customer might have trying to get to your location. On busy streets it may be easy to get into your parking lot but a real bear trying to get out, especially during heavy traffic times of the day. If you have any doubts, visit the location during peak traffic times and experience what your customers will go through. Some may not mind but odds are many are not going to feel the fight is worth the visit.

Also consider available utilities as in some more rural areas electricity may be the only available utility. Heating with oil or propane in the winter can be expensive, providing the delivery truck shows up on time and the quality of the water in some areas may be questionable at best. Although these locations may be less expensive, there is a reason the building is empty.

If you do find a favorable location in a crowded area, make sure you understand the borders of the parking lot. While business owners adjacent to other businesses cannot always control where their customers park, making sure you respect the other store's space will make for a better relationship among all the business tenants in the area.

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Friday 28 March 2008

Accurate Pricing In Business

The basis for making profits is to have accurate pricing in business. Home based businesses are expanding and many business owners are enjoying making their own money. Profits are the reason that all people go into business. The American dream is to make as much money as possible. A business owner that is not making money is losing money and time. Accurate pricing needs to cover your business costs, enable you a reasonable return and be attractive enough to attract customers. Pricing can make or break your business.

Pricing for their time and expertise causes many new business owners trouble. Some new business owners will work cheaply because it is a job they can finish quickly while waiting for a job that they really want. This is fine when starting out and you want others to learn about your company. The down side of this is that they will associate your business name with the word “cheap”. No business owner wants to be known as this if he plans to be in business for some time.

Another attitude taken by some business owners is that they should only work for outrageous wages. These owners have a set price and will not take any job that does not pay them this price. This attitude causes their business start up to be much slower than others. The one advantage of this style of work is that it helps build a firmer foundation when the business is established.

There are some basic principles is use when beginning your own home business. You always need to remember that all your company costs have to be covered by your pricing. If you lower your costs, you can lower your pricing. Make sure to include the surrounding environment when pricing a job. Your pricing needs to be in a comfortable zone for your customers. Be sure to include your time, investments and risks while considering your pricing.

Pricing needs to include your direct costs, overhead and labour expenses. Direct costs are the costs of your parts, supplies and materials. Overhead expenses include rent, taxes, office supplies, insurance and utilities. The labour costs are the salary and benefit expenses for your staff. You should calculate labour cost with a simple formula; hours multiplied by wage than add in a percentage for fringe benefits. Many business owners use a profit margin of 15 to 20 percent. This profit margin is what you will use to expand your business.

At some point you will want to increase your profits. This is usually done by raising your prices. A quick evaluation of your company will allow you to see if you have some latitude to raise your prices. You can also research your competitors or do a competitive analysis on them. A competitive analysis is legal and can be accomplished by reading their advertisements, talking to suppliers or employ mystery shoppers. This analysis will show if you will have an advantage over your competitors.

All business owners are concerned about profits and accurate pricing in their business. Profits and pricing can be raised and lowered as needed or desired. Time and experience are the best ways to teach you about pricing and profit and what works best for you.

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Thursday 27 March 2008

Are You Really A People Person?

As a business owner you have to have a certain level of people skills in order to deal with customers as well as with your employees. Too many times, people will put on their resume the blanket skills that they are a "people person" while having no idea what that means. It is a catch phrase often used in recruiting advertising looking for managers with excellent people skills and not only the people hiring for the job, but also the people applying for the position have no clue what a people person is all about.

One of the first steps needed to be a true people person is the ability to understand people. Everyone is going to be different, regardless of their appearance, education and abilities. It is nearly impossible to sit down with a stranger and instantly begin a conversation on any subject. However, after spending a few minutes with someone getting to know them will make talking to them easier and build a free flow of ideas. More than just names and general interests, you have to understand their body language, the speed at which they talk as well as their gestures.

Another trait of a good people person is being able to express their thoughts clearly and in a concise manner. However, you also have to understand the capabilities of the other person to understand what you are saying. Not to insinuate you should talk down to people, they may actually be smarter than you are. Rather, you should speak to them in terms they understand and once you have expressed your point, you need to ask not only if they heard what you were trying to convey, but that they understood what you had to say.

Asking for feedback from the other person, and responding to that feedback is another sign of having people skills. Listening intently to what they are saying and asking questions if you do not understand their point lets them know you are listening to them and appreciate what they are trying to communicate. On the other hand, too many supervisors are unable to tell people the truth for fear of hurting someone's feelings. A real people person will be able to offer constructive criticism without being aggressive and causing hurt feelings.

Some of the best people skills are conveyed when the business owner or supervisor addresses a specific behaviour instead of being personal. When discussing a negative behaviour the sentence should never being with 'you' as it makes the other person believe the attack is personal. Instead of berating someone for a mistake, it can be addressed by asking what actions can be taken to assure the same mistake does not happen again.

A true people person will be able train people to do their job, which is important for any business owner. Not the ownership part, but the basic operations. Once the owner trains others to run the daily business, they can be out looking for more work or finding new ways to do things.

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Tuesday 25 March 2008

How To Prevent Your Home Business Dream Turning Into Nightmare

For many people owning their own business and working from home is like a dream come true. Unfortunately, falling into a dream with your eyes closed can quickly turn that dream into a nightmare. Many people enter into a home business with high expectations that may not be tied to the reality of operating a business at home and they quickly become discouraged. On the other hand, going into business for yourself without all the hype of the kind of freedom and riches that will fall in your lap can help you create a successful work at home business.

It does not matter the type of business you planning to open, there are certain realities that you have to face. Forget about having tons of free time to only do what you feel like doing. Ignore the hype about only having to work a couple of hours a day. Part time work rarely results in full time pay and the notion of pulling in obscene riches working at home is a dream only realized by a few individuals, who are not likely to share any proprietary information with you or anyone else.

Working at a home business has to be considered as a job, and like any type of job you have to put in a certain amount of effort. With home businesses, the more effort you put in the bigger rewards are available, but believing that you can start your home business and instantly start earning the big bucks is the kind of unrealistic thinking that quickly causes a lack of sleep and when sleep does come, it is interrupted by nightmare.

Now that you understand that instant riches are not going to come from running your home business, you also need to understand that like all jobs it is going to require work. No matter what type of home business you plan to operate, chances are you are not going to be able to afford a full staff to do everything for you. At least in the beginning, if there is something to do, you are going to be in charge of getting it done. There is no advertising staff, no accounting staff, no billing and certainly no cleaning crew. It is all on you.

So much for having all that free time. Many people who quit their jobs on the basis of living the dream of owning their own business do not fully comprehend what it takes to earn a living working from home. Amid the constant interruptions of family and friends, the clients or customers that are demanding your time and the self-set deadlines to get things done will quickly take a toll on your patience.

Then there is the collections department, in charge of making sure your services or products are paid for on time. Yep. You are the only one there as well and threatening calls to a client to pay up will probably lead to the loss of a customer. In some cases that may actually be a good thing, but many home business owners find that a little diplomacy can go a long way to inflate the checking account.

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