Business Building Books and Tapes
MLM Woman Issue 95
December 2004This FREE monthly newsletter is made possible by our advertisers and customers. We thank them for their support!
From the Desk of the Editor
Welcome
to the 95th issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter. This month we feature
articles on how to avoid the small business cash flow roller coaster;
dynamic women in network marketing; creative ways to raise money to
start a home based business; and five ways to boost the credibility
of your web site.
Enjoy!
Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman
Avoiding
the Small Business
Cash
Flow Roller Coaster
By Rose Hill
A solopreneur I know disappears from my radar screen for weeks on end when she's actively engaged on a project for a client. During this time she is heads down, totally focused, and immersed in delivering her service to her current client. She works long hours each week, sacrificing her personal life, relationships, and self-care to meet her commitments to her client.
Laudable, but a destructive way to run her business.
After working all hours of the day and night to complete her project, she'll hand in the final deliverables and suddenly find she doesn't have another client lined up. Then she panics. That's when she starts returning phone calls and getting in touch her network, her former clients, and any prospects she might have ignored during her "work period."
She rides the feast-or-famine revenue roller coaster continuously. During her "work periods" she has cash coming in; during her "marketing periods" she has cash flowing out. And she has no idea how long her "marketing periods" will last or how much of her revenue she'll need to live on before she gets her next client signed up.
Does this sound familiar?
Here are the 5 biggest ways to avoid the feast-or-famine roller coaster:
1. Make time to consistently promote your business. Don't be like the solopreneur above and only participate in marketing activities when you are between jobs.
2. Build effective strategic alliances that leverage your marketing resources and enhance your visibility in the marketplace.
3. Get referrals from your current clients. (And that doesn't mean that you ask your client "Do you know anyone else who's hiring right now?" as you pass each other in the hallway! It does mean that you systematically build a referral engine for your business.)
4. Create project-oriented teams to level the workload, leverage your marketing resources, and expand the types of jobs you can get.
5. Work for multiple clients at the same time.
Running a business on the feast-or-famine roller coaster is hard on the cash flow aspect of your business and harder still on your nerves. With diligence and determination you can break this cycle.
About the Author
Rose Hill, Founder and Owner, of Biz Whiz Expert (www.SoloBizVille.com)
and Team Member of Solo-E.Com (www.Solo-E.Com)
has been self-employed since 1990 — first as a technical writer
and publications project manager, and now as a business coach for solopreneurs.
Knowing how to run corporate departments and how to market corporate
entities, products, and services did nothing to prepare her for successfully
running and marketing a one-person business. That is why Rose created
the SoloBizVille and SoloBizU community — to specifically to help
solo entrepreneurs jumpstart their business success without all the
trial-and-error learning.
Dynamic Women In
Network Marketing
Copyright © 2004 by Sue Seward. All Rights Reserved.
Network Marketing is definitely an ideal career choice for any dynamic woman who has the desire, the right attitude, and understands what it's really all about and what it takes to become the best she can be!
Women are caretakers and are well suited to Network Marketing not only because of their caring nature but also because of their inquisitive nature!
Dynamic women are not only great at asking questions but the have this innate ability to ask the right questions!
This is in no way of course an offense to all the great men out there!
My advice to all the men would be to get out there and team up with some "dynamic women!"
Network Marketing is about people which means it's a relationship building business and women are naturals at building strong long lasting relationships.
Dynamic women are great listeners and have a knack for emphasizing with where a person is coming from. Women understand when a person says they are happy where they are and when they are not. Most times dynamic women just know this, that's why it's called 'women's intuition'. Maybe it's some sort of devine gift.
Dynamic women understand about timing in a person's life and the importance of not trying to plug someone into something they are simply not ready for OR they are not interested in. When people begin to understand this when approaching others about Network Marketing and they begin to genuinely become concerned with a persons real needs they have the opportunity to become quite successful in this industry!
The benefits for all women in Network Marketing are unlimited! If someone doesn't consider themselves a dynamic woman when they start they will most likely become one through their growth experiences in Network Marketing!
A woman with no degrees, no corporate background, no experience, a mom who has chosen to stay home to raise her children, is able to reach whatever level of financial achievement she chooses and in the time frame that it takes according to her own personal goals.
There are no glass ceilings for a woman in Network Marketing, no competition with anyone other than herself.
One of the really exceptional things about Network Marketing is the marvelous opportunity women have to develop their self confidence. This is probably the # ONE benefit for a woman choosing a career in Network Marketing whether it's part-time or she chooses to take it to a full time level depending on her time constraints.
Network Marketing is a wonderful gift for all people, especially women who choose to give back.
There are dynamic self development opportunities for women in Network Marketing. When a woman grows and develops herself into a dynamic woman there are endless possibilities that begin to open up for her to help even more people that come in her life!
Network Marketing is in it's infancy! It's just reaching momentum. Especially now with the power to reach more and more incredibly dynamic women through the Internet!
Women have a wonderful chance for advancement in so many areas of their life. When a women can put the power of the Internet together with the power of networking she'll leverage her time and time for most women is a rare commodity as precious as gold!
Using the Internet can help leverage a womans precious time so she can achieve financial and time freedom to do important things in life such as caring for her children, her family, her parents, and of course herself!
Working from home on the Internet is perfect for women!
A woman can work at home in her jammies with her hair stickin out.
She doesn't have to worry about dressing up or packing up the car
to go out to do a party that keeps her out late at night, or rushing
to a hotel meeting. These
business building methods can actually take precious time away from
her family!
She can decide her own hours and work right from her home office and build a strong network that could eventually expand to other dynamic women all around the globe! She can have an international group of dynamic women all at her finger tips!
This would allow her to contribute financially to her family while not having to go to work outside the home and in a lot of cases depending on her own personal financial goals she will even be able to free up her spouse from a job thus allowing them more time together as a family.
A business like this can even work nicely for a woman who works a full time job outside the home. She could start a part time business in her home from the Internet that would fit nicely into her own time schedule and she would have some nice tax benefits to boot!
As long as a woman has a solid purpose and an important "why" for doing what she's doing and she makes a strong commitment to stick with it for as long as it takes, anyone can succeed in Network Marketing on the Internet.
Remember Network Marketing is all about building relationships and dynamic women are exceptional at doing this, even on the Internet when meeting people that she doesn't know yet. She gets to know them! It's why women are so good at networking!
All dynamic women, no matter what age, what job status, who have the desire to achieve powerful dreams of financial independence, leverage and time freedom, must seriously consider a career in Network Marketing as the vehicle to reach her personal goals!
When a dynamic woman succeeds in developing herself in Network Marketing all the people in her life, including HER, will benefit!
About the Author
Sue is an entrepreneur, dynamic woman, business
owner, wife and mom. She's been earning an income from home online
since 1996. She is also a published author, speaker, Internet Marketing
trainer, publisher of the FitFourSuccess Online Marketing Newsletter
and is a passionate follower of Christ. To find out more and to subscribe
to her newsletter please visit http://www.eCommerceHomeBiz.com
Creative Ways to
Raise Money To Start a Home Based Business
By Carrie Lauth
If you're like many women who want to start a home based business, one of the things that may be stopping you is a lack of funds.
While there are many new Network Marketing and Direct Sales businesses that are free to join, it will take at least some money to get things rolling...money for business cards, inexpensive marketing and advertising methods, postage, your own personal products to experiment with, samples, etc.
Even if you are starting an online business that markets a service, or that has no physical product, you will need money for domain name registration, web site hosting, low cost advertising and the like.
Here are some ideas for raising the needed capital.
Get a loan.
Do you have a relative who would loan you the money to get started?
What about that Great Aunt who always said you'd be great in your
own business? How about Mom or Grandma?
Perhaps they would accept barter (your new product, for instance...good rejection-proof way to get them hooked on it!) in lieu of repayment? Does Grandma have a shed full of stuff that she's been wanting to sell or eBay but doesn't have the energy? Would Mom like to have her house cleaned for the next few months?
Ask your sponsor for help.
Ask your upline sponsor if they would consider buying the starter
kit for you, and then taking the profits from your first parties or
commission checks as repayment? Some sponsors do this already, but
if not, she may be so impressed with your drive to succeed that she
will say yes.
Have a yard sale
This is what I did to get started in my business. This one has twofold
benefits...you're making some extra cash but also have a captive audience
of people coming to you! If you're really energetic, go around to
your neighbors and tell them that if they leave their castaways in
a box on the curb, you will come pick them up. Do this before your
sale. Slap a price tag on the merchandise and cha-ching!
Be sure to make a sign advertising your new product or service and plenty of flyers or business cards to give to each shopper.
Sell some stuff on eBay.
Sell things from your own home (name brand kid's clothes and popular
book titles are easy and almost always pull a good price). Go to library
book sales and buy books for .10 or .25 and list those. Use your my
eBay page to advertise your new website!
Use your tax return.
Release the clutter, sell a useless piece of furniture or item in
your home. For me, it was the dusty electric guitar. Kitchen appliances
(you know what I'm talking about here!) that were going to make your
life easier, exercise equipment that makes you feel guilty when you
trip over it...
Pre-sell the product.
I got this one from my beloved Kim Klaver, aka Ms. Stud. Go around
to your tribe (the people who love you enough to do anything you say),
your coworkers, neighbors, playgroup Mommies, and show them a *picture*
of the product, tell them what it does, collect the checks, deposit
them and order your product. Sell it back to them at retail.
Do a quick, temporary odd job.
A friend of mine just did this one. She put a sign up at a local health
food market that said "Non-toxic cleaning services". (Notice
that she created a niche). That day she got a call, did a job for
an elderly women and made $150. Of course, she used her own nontoxic
cleaning product and will probably end up getting a customer out of
the deal too! Babysitting for a couple of weeks, dogsitting, housesitting...you
get the picture.
Talk to dh.
Notice I'm leaving this one until last! Hopefully you have the kind
of relationship where your husband will be overjoyed that you want
to improve your financial standing. If you garner his support in the
beginning he is much more likely to be helpful along your journey,
with the inevitable ups and downs of business life.
About the Author
Carrie Lauth is a work from home Mom of 3. Visit her on
the web at: http://www.hatelatefees.com
or http://carrielauth.blogspot.com
Five Credibility Boosting
Elements for Web Sites
By Marcia Yudkin
Who are you, really? And why should I trust you? Without face-to-face contact or a trusted intermediary who has vouched for you, visitors to your web site often have these two questions paramount in their minds when considering doing business with you. Use these five elements to boost your perceived trustworthiness and coax possible customers to step forward and buy.
1. Contact information. This is the easiest credibility booster to implement. Yet amazingly, many businesses ignore the power of simply stating where they're located on the planet and providing a telephone number and email address. Without real-world ways to contact you, some visitors will wonder whether you have something to hide and whether you can be relied on to deliver the goods. With contact information, you come across as legitimate and more reliable.
2. Photos. You don't need Hollywood-style looks to make an impact by including your photo on your site. So long as you aren't frowning or looking depressed, a photo makes you seem more real, appealing and accessible. Likewise, pictures of your company location or of your sales reps who are clearly not models but actual staff members help bring your company to life. And it's easier than ever to add the dimension of voice to a site via an audio welcome. Record this message yourself instead of hiring a professional to get a credibility boost from it.
3. Testimonials. Pithy quotes from named individuals posted at
your site attest to your legitimacy. For greatest effect, testimonial
quotes should be brief, specific, unique or unexpected in their wording
and signed by a full name with a meaningful identifier, such as a company
name or city
and state or province. Don't be afraid to ask loyal clients for a few
sentences on why they like doing business with you, as most will gladly
help you out.
4. Expert articles. By far, this is the most credible way to strut
your stuff, to demonstrate your expertise. Provide substantive articles
or white papers that people can freely read at your site or download.
Especially effective are pieces discussing pressing problems experienced
by your
target market and describing your solutions. When well done, articles
cause prospective clients to feel, "This is the person (or company)
who has what it takes to solve my problem."
5. Media coverage. Have you been written up in print or featured on radio or TV? Most people assume that if you've enjoyed media coverage, you're not only legitimate but outstanding in your field. So when you do have prestigious media mentions to tout, add "Featured in the New York Times" or "As seen on CNBC" right on your home page. Buried on your press page, this information doesn't have the impact it deserves.
About the Author
Marcia Yudkin
marcia@yudkin.com is the author
of Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books. A four-time Webby Awards
judge and internationally famous marketing consultant, she critiques web
sites and performs web site makeovers for clients. Learn more about her
detailed critique sessions on five different kinds of web sites (including
sites for consultants and other professionals) at www.yudkin.com/websitequiz.htm
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