Keep Your Kids Occupied and Your Business Growing!

How many times have you been in the middle of a major deadline with a business project or assignment, when, all of a sudden, your home office door opens, and it's your child saying "Mommy/Daddy, I'm bored......" ?

You usually just groan and say "Honey, go play with your toys or watch tv...." Children - especially young children - get bored easily. They need a constant string of activities to keep themselves occupied.

Well, sometimes that works and sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and think of an activity to keep your child busy and out of your hair for awhile.

One of the more popular activities for children is making art projects. They absolutely love art!

All of us can probably remember how great it felt when we were in grade school and drew or painted a picture of our house or a special friend. Why did that feel good? Because you were tapping into that special place inside each of us that wants to create and express ourselves. Those were your creative juices flowing through your mind-- sometimes gently, and sometimes in an excited manner!

There seems to be a growing need to promote creativity in pre-school aged children, as well as school-age children. Creativity is being discussed in almost every realm: books, articles, tv and radio programs and the work place. Creative arts and crafts can be used to teach reading, writing, history, etc. We need to get the word out to many teachers on how to use art in teaching more than just art. The arts are extremely important--very basic to the total learning experience. They are a means of self-expression: a way to communicate ideas, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Some of the values we get from creative expression include self-discovery, self-reliance, and enthusiasm. We also learn to use our leisure time constructively. And getting an early start with our children is very important.

So when you provide an art activity for your kids, you’re giving them an experience that they will cherish right then and into the future as well. Sometimes they want to do those same art activities over and over again, embellishing in a different way each time.

So I'm going to do something special for you and your business. I'm going to share one of my more popular art projects with you. It will give your children a fun activity to do, keeping them occupied for a couple of hours - giving you a chance to finish that business report or project that's due today.

Enjoy!

"PAPER MOSAIC ANIMALS"

Grade Level: 1st or 2nd Grade (But can be geared up with increased details or geared down if animal is extremely simple.)

Materials: colored construction papers - 3 x 6" in size, in various colors, 12 x 18" black construction paper, glue, scissors, pencils, erasers, zeroxed sheets of animals (or pictures of various animals),scraps for practice drawings

Procedure: 1)Use one 12 x 18" black sheet to draw one large animal (rabbits, elephants, turtles, pigs, etc.) that nearly fills the paper.

2)Choose several 3 x 6" colors for your animal's body parts.

3)Take one 3 x 6" color and cut it into 1/2" wide strips.

4)Next, cut a 1/2" strip into smaller squares, approximately 1/2" in size. Now you have a small pile of tiny squares that are about 1/2" x 1/2".

5)Use these small squares to fill in a part of the animal's body. (Spread a small amount of glue where you want the squares to go. Place the squares carefully on the glue, close together.)

6)When one part of the body is filled, choose another part of the body to fill. (If you have squares left, use those squares to fill another part of the body that you want to be that same color.)

7)When you're ready, choose another 3 x 6" color and cut it into the 1/2" x 1/2" squares. Use these to fill the next part of the body that you chose.

8)Repeat this process until all parts of the animal's body are filled.

9)Put away to dry.

Remote IT Support Services - The Key To Growing Your Business!

These days, nearly every company, both on and offline has a computer system of some type. It is nearly impossible to run an effective, successful business without one. But what do you do if your computer network isn't running properly, needs software installed, or simply crashes? We all know that time is money. If your network goes down, you can measure lost time in terms of $$. This is why every company needs to have access to Remote IT Support Services.

Remote IT support services is a custom made and effective solution for all types of firms, both-on-and-offline. It is a very efficient and cost effective way to get your computer network, or an individual desktop PC, up and running if there is ever a problem.

In today's wired world, remote support services are no longer an option. They are absolutely essential!

Remote IT Support Services: Key Offerings

With core remote support services, you can basically get two key offerings. they are:

1. Remote support Help Desk services

Rapid response remote help desk services ensures increased company production and effectiveness. Remote help desk services offer you one point of contact and can help reduce technology costs, which are often up to 50% of company overhead!

Help desk service specialists remotely diagnose IT problems in real time with the user, utilizing modern remote management facilities. They walk the user through basic troubleshooting techniques - often the problem can be fixed on the spot.

2. Remote Infrastructure Managed Services

Another aspect of remote IT support services is IT infrastructure and application services management. These services are performed by a skilled team with the use of advanced system, network monitoring and management tools.

You can get Remote IT infrastructure support from an experienced, trained, dedicated staff who monitor your IT infrastructure constantly and effectively. You must take care in selecting a service provider in order to get the most for your money in this area.

Benefits of Remote IT Support Services

With remote IT support services, you can expect to increase your productivity and efficiency. Instead of waiting for a service technician to come to your business location, your IT support company simply accesses your server by dialing in and then can either take control of your system, or navigate through it to accurately diagnose problems.

In most cases, software/hardware fixes and patches can be sent to your computer network remotely. For small businesses, many IT support firms offer a basic performance and monitoring package for network servers.

Remote IT support services offer you cost effectiveness and help you to focus on your core business, which is serving your customers. You can't do that if you are waiting for the IT guy to show up all the time.

Fast and accurate problem resolution augments customer satisfaction; that in turn increases customer loyalty, which ultimately impacts your company's bottom line.

Chris Meacham is an MCSE and Novell certified IT professional, with over 10 years’ experience. His company helps small businesses implement innovative IT solutions to increase network performance and efficiency. For immediate information on how to make your business more profitable through technology, visit:

http://www.nowitworks.com

Growing A Business 101: A Residual Income System

Do you really think you can make money on the Internet overnight? Let me quickly burst your bubble on that... it just ain't so. Online business isn't a lot different from online business, actually. You need to decide what arena you want to work in and then, put your heart and soul into it. Plus, you need to spend some cash. What business offline requires no investment? None of them!

You can't go to a McDonald's franchise manager and say, "Give me this free, and I'll make a good business out of it." Wouldn't that be great? It'll never happen, but think about it: Regardless of where you set up shop, you'll do great. Of course, that would never happen, but let's talk about the franchise for a moment. Why does McDonald's make money?

You have brand recognition, first and foremost. You also know what you're going to get when you walk into a McDonald's in any part of the United States. You know what the atmosphere will be like, what the employees will be wearing, and the taste and quality of the food. It's a system! Systems that work, really work well and they make money for everyone.

So, let's translate that to the Internet. You need to invest not just time, but money, too. Ask any successful person online today and he or she will tell you the same thing. But maybe you don't want to start out with setting up your own domain, your own web site, etc. Maybe you aren't that far along. Or, maybe you are and will recognize a good system when you see it and take advantage of what that system has to offer.

What makes online systems good? How were they set up? Who owns them? Why do they make money? How can you make money, too?

Know these things before joining any program:

1) Who owns it? Who's in charge? What's their record online? How long have they been in the business of Internet Marketing? Is their contact information readily available? What else has been said about them online?

2) Are the programs in their system solid? Do they have owners, who have already proven their ability to succeed so that you can succeed in their programs, too? Is their contact information readily available? What else has been said about them online?

3) Will you have the opportunity to make more money than you're spending pretty quickly? If you really work at it, is the potential as high as the energy you'll need to put out?

4) Is the system proven? Has it been tried and can the owner of the system guarantee that it works? Have they proven it themselves first?

Once you figure these things out... you're halfway toward achieving your goal.

A residual income system with lots of opportunity that will help you to build a passive cash flow, one that continues to grow as time goes on, and one that produces steady growth is what you need to look for.

But remember, in _any_ of these systems, you'll need to build a team as well as cash flow. Actually, it's your team that will build the residual cash for you, but that's a good thing. When you build a team--and it's been proven that ANYONE, regardless of how much time is spent working on building a team--can attract just 3 members. It's not very difficult, especially if you find a program where the tools for building that team are integrated right into the system.

When you find a program that meets all of these criteria, then test it yourself. Go all out and follow the directions as they're laid out for you. What has already been proven to be successful will continue the pattern for you, just as with McDonald's. You just have to follow it to the letter and work your system like a business. It is a business! It's your business. Let it work for you.

Growing Your Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate marketing is a very popular business on the

internet that involves a partnership between a merchant

and one or more affiliates. The affiliate will

advertise or promote the merchant's products and

services free until a customer makes a purchase.

Once a purchase has been made, a portion of the profit

received by the merchant from the customer will be

given to the affiliate. For this very reason, the

relationship between the affiliate and the merchant

is also known as revenue sharing partnership.

Affiliate marketing has also been recognized as the

best way for merchants to sell more products on

the internet as well as webmasters or affiliates to

gain income with their own website. This is

where the affiliate can make really good money.

Sience it's already a widespread business, you'll

need to work hard to make your site stand out

from the crowd. No matter if you are an affiliate,

affiliate network, or merchant, you'll need to

discover some secrets that will lead you to

success.

If your an affiliate, you'll need to find out ways

to increase your pay or commission. To turn your

business into a success, you'll need to manage

it the right way. Proper management will make

your business grow, making all the time and effort

well worth it.

To grow your affiliate marketing business, you'll

need to advertise. The most common way is banners

and links, as they also help you to get paid with

your merchant. You can put them on your website,

although you should place them carefully as too

many on a single web page can be very annoying

and very confusing to potential customers.

Another way to make your business grow is by going

to chat rooms and message boards that relate to

the product you are reselling. This can be a

smart way to boost your income, you'll meet many

different people. When you first start talking,

don't try to see first, as you'll have a better

chance becoming friends first.

You can also make yourself a free ebook with

advertisement tips and links to your affiliate

website. This can be a great resource for

potential customers, as it helps to demonstrate

your knowledge, as well as shows customers you

are there to help.

If you use the proper methods for advertising and

letting customers know about your affiliate

programs, you'll be well on your way to making a

lot of extra money. Affiliate marketing is one

of the best ways to make money on the internet -

all it takes is dedication and commitment.

Growing Your Business With Plr And Ebay

A lot of Internet marketers use private label rights (PLR) products and eBay to grow their businesses. Here’s how…

• Some PLR memberships come packaged with keyword lists. Use these along with other research tactics to find popular selling items in your niches. You can use the free eBay Pulse section or eBay’s research paid tools to see which products are popular sellers / hot items: check out the auction prices, win info, digital photos, auction sales copy, and specials or bonuses, etc. The goal is to see what you think prompted shoppers to place bids and compete.

• Find good PLR products to sell. Check the rights you have with your license to make sure you can sell your PLR on eBay. Some may require minimum pricing or minimum changes to the original content first. Then package some PRL content into small reports to sell at low cost as lead generators. And package other PLR content as upsells – ebooks, guides, etc. These can be sold either through high-priced auctions and / or off eBay through your own website, ezine / newsletter or blog.

• Set up a basic plan to tackle the following, automating what you can and systemizing the rest for optimum results with minimal effort, time and money:

- Packing and branding your PLR content.

- Adding money-making avenue streams to your packages and PLR content: affiliate product ads and links, banner ads, graphics links to sales pages, etc.

- Uploading the electronic files to your delivery area, setting up automated delivery systems.

• Start with baby steps. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the best video, audio, photo, word processing, automation and other software, for example. Take it easy and proceed slow and steady. Ask on Internet marketing and other forums to see which types of software are available for free or cheap and which have free trial downloads. Automation and other shopping cart systems also offer trials at no charge. So surf around and tire kick. Then slowly grow as sales close, maybe partnering with a friend to co-create packages or getting creative other ways with joint venture opportunities.

• Test different PLR package combinations, automation and delivery set ups, stats, your ad copy and other aspects of your business and operations over time. Then as you find good items and systems that work, repeat them. Thus you’ll have your own systems and won’t need to waste more time, money and effort on these aspects of our business.

• Invest in your business with advanced Internet marketing training, eBay tools and training, your own niche training, etc. Don’t get lazy. Stay in tune with the marketplace.

• Keep trying. Don’t let a failure hold you back. Re-brand something, re-package it, revise it - -and try again. No one is successful 100% of the time. Hang in there. Encourage others and they’ll encourage you in return.

Put these tips to work for your business. Join a lot of Internet marketers who use PLR products and eBay, and grow your business, too.

Growing Data Entry Business

Data Entry Business provides an all in one system of data entry and many other income streams plus additional free bonuses. Data Entry Business is one of the best data entry programs I tested. This makes Data Entry Business a perfect choice for work at home moms, students and retired people. You can be the first one to write a review for Data Entry Business. However, while it is true that you can work at your own pace, you will need to be sure that you are sufficiently fast on the keyboard and the 10-key or you won't be able to make much money per hour in your work from home data entry business. Once you know you have the basic equipment needed for your data entry business, then you need to carefully consider your skills. Another skill that will come in handy for your data entry business is the ability to decipher bad handwriting in order to accurately enter the data you have because most of the files you will be processing will come to you in hard copy and often hand written. Data Entry can make a lot of difference in the performance standards of your Data Entry business, whether small or big. So many people are now developing their data entry jobs into a full data entry business. As success comes and with it money, it is often possible to quit your job and work full time on the data entry business and with that comes a certain amount of freedom. The data entry business is a small non profit business that provides data entry services for a fee to researchers. This offer is to own your own data entry business and the fee comes because the teaching materials are sent to you via email so if I waited for the payments they would never come and the customers woulh have the information.

If you are looking to see what types of data entry and typing the internet has to offer, it is all at this site. As to traditional data entry work, most jobs consist of typing in names and addresses either into lists or databases. But honestly you will never make a decent income with typing and data entry work like this, even if it is medical transcription, word processing or typing statistical data into spreadsheets. The amount of money you can make with this type of work will be directly related to your typing skills and speed. If you are not a fast typist, and very accurate, then you have two choices, find a good typing course and practice until you can type 50-60 words per minute with very few errors, or find some other kind of internet work from home. With poor typing skills you will quickly get frustrated at how little you can earn, and the company supplying the work to you will probably be unhappy with the quality of your data entry work as well. All you need is access to the internet, have basic typing skills and follow the simple step by step system. There are software programs available such as Typing and Data Entry thatcan be used to learn how to enter data without having to go to formal classes.

Home based business ideas are sometimes as easy to find as looking at some of the activities that took place in your old office. This may give you the opportunity to start your own home based business doing data entry work from your own home. Our country's dependence on computers may give way for you to start your own home based business doing data entry from your own home. As the owner of a home based business providing data entry services, you would have the freedom to do the data entry work yourself at home or hiring other people to do data entry for you, from your home or their own. Before you start any home based business, educate yourself or hire someone else who can help you determine if there is a market for the type of home based business you want to start and whether or not you should be able to earn the amount of money that you expect to be able to earn from your home based business. Of course you can try the usual internet job search engines to try to find your own data entry contracts, but it's not likely you'll be able to launch your own home based business of data entry services from these search engines. Most of the home based business opportunities that are listed at these search engines generally are usually not legitimate home based businesses and you should avoid them. You may want to check with other companies in your area that provide similar data entry services to see if your new home based business can be a subcontractor for them. This home based business, although it would probably start small, could be grown to virtually any size depending on the amount of work you were able to secure for your home based business. If you will pay a service for information to help you find the data entry work for your new home based business, make sure you are dealing with a reputable company and that you understand exactly what you will receive for your investment.

Service Bureau providing data transaction capture and process management. Services are provided to the medical and pharmaceutical industries and to manufacturers. The demand of today's business is to deliver new products and services more quickly, and at competitive prices. Business solutions like that of JustE Services are revolutionizing how winning companies compete. You will also learn to make money from very simple Affiliate Marketing System, where you just submit some forms, working like mere home typists using the services of Google, which is free to join and can make incredible amount of money promoting many products online. Provider of computer database and file preparation services. Provider of legal transcription, document preparation and typing services. Provider of data processing, systems integration, networking and programming services. It gives you many competitive advantages in data entry services. Availing the benefits of outsourcing data entry services for your Data Entry works will be a wise option. We can guarantee quick and accurate Data services for any business that needs data to be extracted from any source. This gives us the confidence to undertake Data service projects of any volume. Depending upon you budget we can give you different option in business website design like flash logo, flash intro, payment options for your service, search engine optimization, search engine ranking. The data entry business is a small nonprofit business that provides data entry services for a fee to researchers. As the owner of a home based business providing data entry services, you would have the freedom to do the data entry work yourself at home or hiring other people to do data entry for you, from your home or their own. There are many books and courses that may assist you, as well as professional consulting services you can hire to assist you.

Growing your VAR Business

Given this backdrop of explosive growth opportunities, the challenges for VAR executives becomes managing for revenue growth and targeting the highest margin opportunities - in initial sales and throughout ongoing client relationships. Professional services automation software applications give VARs a competitive edge and make the difference between struggling to grow and harvesting profit from the abundant growth opportunities.

Advantages for VARs who use Professional Services Automation Software

1. Executive Insight

VAR businesses usually start by selling a primary set of products and services. As they become more successful, they add more products and services, ultimately bundling them up in ways clients want to buy them. Most VARs look at their business through "business practice" lenses - areas of marketing and delivery that bring together the multiple disciplines needed to constitute a client solution. Basic start-up system tools don't fit any more, VARs need professional services automation software tools that manage and report products the way clients buy them, through the lens of a practice.

#Example of how PSA Software can help improve executive insight

As an example of this, think of a network practice that combines elements of hardware (servers, routers, and hubs) with software (security messaging and e-mail), along with client education and even network monitoring and management.

A CEO view lists all the practices and ranks them by key performance indicators: revenue, growth rates, and margins. Practice managers can see how their projects are unfolding and with drill downs, identify what's working and what�s not.The important point is that with the help of PSA software, VARs can put their fingers on the pulse of the business and tell where the market is expanding or contracting.

2. Client Visibility: All clients are important, but in reality, some are more important to your bottom line than others. Once you understand a client�s lifetime value - revenue, projects, invoices, and opportunities with the help of a PSA software - you can shape your interactions with them better.

Look at yourself from your client's point of view

Clients see their relationship with the VAR as the sum total of their experiences with sales, receivables, service incidents and other interactions.

For a VAR, getting such specifics for even one client is usually a tedious one-off spreadsheet exercise. And when it's done, the rest of the organization usually doesn't share in the insights. As a result, the type of effective follow-up activities you want to have routinely - whether it's having an executive make a remedial call or initiating an incremental sales opportunity don't happen.

Professional services automation software changes all that. It gives executives the most critical elements of any client's transactions at a glance: practice revenues and margins, buying patterns, service incidents, and invoice payment. It gives insights about the client's experience with the VAR and shows the value the client brings to the VAR.

Using this knowledge can trigger a well placed call from a senior executive at the right time to reinforce your position and lead to a deeper relationship. It's the information you need to set priorities, ensuring you take care of your best clients and nurture the most promising ones.

#Keep tabs on ongoing interactions to improve revenue growth

Many executives measure the health of a client relationship by the number of interactions between the firms, recurring order patterns, and by increasing order size. The converse is an increasing number of calls to a support center about a repeating, nagging problem, or too many on-site visits that do not lead to any sales. Finding shifts in buying patterns through PSA software can act as an early warning system to help you prevent a good client from getting away and recognize where new strategies may reignite purchases.

#Making yourself visible to your clients increases trust

The ultimate deliverable is your ability to create trust and business value for your clients. Opening up to let clients see their own daily interactions with you saves your client time and money, and you too.

By using PSA software portal clients can answer their own questions like have my payments been received (and applied to the right invoices), which invoices are outstanding, which orders are still open (and is any delivery info available), how many service calls have been placed recently, and how many (which ones) are still open.

Once an order is placed you set up a project to design, install, get the system operational, and ultimately accepted. During the project your clients can use the PSA software portal to understand the status of a project, use it for internal reporting purposes, and use it as a communication platform.

Forward thinking VARs are using professional services automation software to monitor the acceptance process and even ensure that a project delivers on its business improvement or ROI projections. During this process, a savvy practice manager will be looking for sales opportunities for after market services.

3. Marketing Effectiveness: Capturing true marketing costs and performance improves your capture rates and minimizes wasteful spending.

There is an old marketing saw that says 50% of advertising dollars are wasted - we just don't know which 50%. Unfortunately, that principle is true for VAR marketing expenditures too. Through professional services automation software, you can collect true costs for all aspects of your lead generation efforts and compare them to sales achieved. It's powerful information that ensures winning propositions are used again and less than stellar efforts are jettisoned. Knowing the cost per lead and success rate of every campaign brings marketing operations closer to the company's mission of growing revenue and high margin opportunities.

#Watch pipeline activity to identify where you can stimulate growth

Pipelines are hard enough to manage, even if you aren't dealing with sandbagging or missed executions. Professional services automation software generates real-time reports for the sales executive, CFO, and CEO that detail the movement from proposal to order to shipment and acceptance. Reports that help you understand proposal conversion rates, internal execution, and how successful your employees are when visiting on site. Knowing this can help you identify good sales execution, spot remedial work for individual sales people, and decide what needs to be done to help cement a good relationship with a client.

#Use client feedback to productize opportunities

Every VAR maintains a support center for ongoing client support and project installations. Data from these interactions can be a treasure trove of new opportunities. PSA software identifies important call issues so you can examine them for add-on product and sales opportunities. Getting a lot of calls about start-up issues at the end user level? Perhaps an onsite introductory training class is needed. Do clients have insufficient skills in their IT departments? Maybe it's time to consider a managed services offering.

PSA software for VARs can provide the facts to make informed decisions about when to productize services for repeatable, high margin sales and to help you spot emerging areas clients are inquiring about.

#Accelerate upgrade opportunities through insight into your clients' installed environments

By its very nature, the technology industry is always racing towards the next breakthrough. Unfortunately, end user clients can't possibly keep up with the relentless adoption of the next big thing. In fact, they often don't maximize the use they get out of any piece of equipment and may not be aware of savings opportunities that come with some upgrades.

It's easier to sell when you know how and when the client buys. Many IT directors have a budgetary model that subscribes to the notion of being fully depreciated. Knowing when equipment depreciation occurs can trigger sales activities to harvest this built-in financial understanding. Creative sales executives will also see this as an opportunity to offer new contractual terms that extend beyond a single project or delivery. For example, they may take a deal off the street by replacing all of a company's PCs over a three-year period, as the systems become fully depreciated, and offering special payments terms to take the sting out of lump sum payments.

4. Internal Operations: Managing technology implementations means running projects on-time and on budget. Real time awareness can detect margin leakage before it becomes a problem.

#Tight control of new technology introductions can speed revenue and contain ramp-up costs

Becoming market ready for each new technology is not a small or inexpensive undertaking. PSA software with good project management functionality enables you to identify and control key ramp-up tasks such as obtaining licenses, employee training and certification, setting up development environments, arranging your product distribution network, and so on. Technology ramp up is a huge internal project that requires costly capital outlays and profitability often depends upon skillful project and budget management and preventing cost overruns. PSA software tools give you time and cost management insights to use to help guarantee a prepared staff and an on-time rollout at a cost you expected.

Developing a growing business

Many people crave to develop a growing business. Unfortunately, few people can

actually develop one successfully. You see, many people, just like you, start off

but get distracted by not being able to have a vehicle for success.

I'd suggest that you look at some of the leverage factors for the internet.

Leverage Factor #1 - A successful business model.

If you have not built your own business model, you should adopt one from someone

else. For instance, marketing using network marketing, affiliate marketing and so on

are useful, but you need to have a program that allows you to derive multiple

streams of income all at one go.

If you don't already have a business online, or are just interested in looking for

someone to provide you one, you might want to explore this one at

http://www.MySuccessCollection.com.

Leverage Factor #2 - Learning and expertise.

To build a bigger base, you definitely need to increase your knowledge. With the

right kind of knowledge, you will find that you become more credible and people get

attracted to you directly. If you had a database of thousands of hours of a learning

library, I think you'd skew the chances to your favor, don't you think? I've

discovered that it's the learner with the right attitude who actually is able to

master the skills necessary to grow the business.

Leverage Factor #3 - Teams and collective effort.

Let's face it - nobody really succeeds on their own. There's really no such thing as

a self-made millionaire - only a team-made one. IF you want to leverage, you have to

find not just the team, but the way to build the team up effectively. I suppose you

might want to be a leader as well, and that takes #2 - your learning. Over time, an

effective and growing business could be in your hands.

To find out more about this opportunity and gain access to mentoring to excellence,

please visit http://www.MySuccessCollection.com/stuartmastermind/

Growing your Business with Invoice Factoring Financing

Is cash a little bit tight? Have you ever risked missing payroll? Have you ever had to pass up an opportunity because you did not have enough money? If so, you are not alone. Every business owner goes through those same challenges every day. Some come out on top. Others perish.

What is the biggest difference between those that succeed and those that perish? Cash flow. And plenty of it.

If you work with commercial or government clients, then you are already used to waiting up to 60 days to get paid by your clients. That is ok if your business has lots of resources and a stash of cash in the bank. But what if you don’t?

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a business owner is realizing that his company is invoice rich and cash poor. Meaning, you have tons of money owed to you by clients (and payable in 60 days) but little cash to show for it. This does nothing for you, if you need to meet payroll in 3 days or need money to buy supplies for a new project. Fortunately, there is an easy way to turn those invoices into cash, without using any collections or heavy-handed tactics.

The solution involves factoring your invoices. Never heard of invoice factoring? You are not alone. Factoring is one of the most used and least talked about business financing tools. It allows you to convert your invoices into immediate cash. It helps you turn your invoice rich business into a cash rich business.

Qualifying for factoring is simple and only takes a few days. As opposed to business loans, you don’t need a long business history or reams of financial statements to qualify. All you need are invoices for credit worthy commercial clients or government clients.

And how does factoring work? Well, it simpler than you think. As soon as you have completed a job, you submit an invoice to your client and send a copy to the factoring company. The factoring company will advance you a substantial portion of your invoice, usually within a day. Once your client pays the invoice, the transaction is settled.

As you can see, factoring provides you with immediate cash as soon as you invoice. This helps you meet payroll, pay suppliers and take on new jobs. With factoring, you can streamline your billing cycle and grow your company, without ever needing a business loan.

10 Questions To Consider When Growing Your Business

Here's a provocation for the coming year, decade, century or millennium.

By now, you've set a working direction for the year, established clear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now seems like an ideal time to rethink the whole thing, doesn't it? After all, one of the effects of internet time is that plans are subject to change just as soon as - or perhaps even before - they are written.

Along these lines of thinking, perhaps there are some items you missed. Maybe there are issues you didn't have time to consider, or even things your mind touched on, but quickly passed over to deal with more urgent and pressing events. If you are off-cycle, and on the verge of a new period, you can use this exercise ex ante, rather than ex post. To help you stimulate your neural pathways and hopefully create an idea or two, I offer the following thoughts for your consideration. These "considerations" are not sequenced in order of importance. I think they are important.

1. How far in the distance is your planning horizon? Most companies today plan 12-24 months out, calling anything beyond that "vision." Internet time implies a shortened time frame for activities, but does that time-collapse extend to a shortened vision as well? How much have you thought about what you will accomplish this decade? What will be your company's impact on the millennium? (OK - perhaps millennium is too far out. What about the century?) You may say you have more pressing fish to fry. Your investors would like to see increased returns sooner than that. While this might be true enough, taking the long view can inform the short view, leading to greater returns for years to come. What do you see when you take the long view?

2. How are your prospects' needs going to change? How is their world affected by the dramatic increases in connectivity and the compression of time? What are you doing to understand their changing environment - their changing business issues? What are you doing to improve your customer's business under these slippery conditions? To take it one step further, what do your customers' customers want? While you are at it, you might stop to consider how your suppliers' needs are changing? Could those changes open up new opportunities for you, or darkly portend changes downstream totally derailing your business model? What about your distributors? Is their world shifting? Can you both benefit?

3. Who in your organization simply isn't contributing? As they say, your mileage may vary from individual to individual but everyone has the responsibility to go some distance, to make something valuable happen. Not everyone will make good on that implied promise. The often observed 80-20 rule applies to your staff as well: 20% of your people will produce 80% of the value.

That leaves 80% producing only 20%. Do the math: the bottom 10% of your organization produces almost nothing.

Who isn't making the cut? Should you be doing something about it? You may think it beneficent to provide that bottom percent with a paying job - don't. It isn't. The non-performers know who they are, but they won't cut the cord on their own. Do what you can to help them reach the bar, but if after a while they don't make it, set them free to find an environment in which they can succeed. Free up your own resources for people who make a difference.

4. Are you creating solutions to today's problems? What about next week's, next year's, or the problems of several years from now? How are you figuring out what those problems are going to be, way out there on the time horizon? Because the solution you sell today should certainly address today's problems, but the solutions on today's drawing board better not. Who in your organization is responsible for trend-tracking and forecasting?

Are you building scenarios for the future? What about prospect focus groups, or some other market-based feedback mechanism? Who is your resident futurist?

5. What do you believe about the business you are in? For most people this is a strange question - we rarely spend time thinking about our own beliefs. The collection of beliefs you hold about your business - what the Germans call Weltanschauung - is decisive in most of the choices you make. How much risk to take. What's risky and what isn't. What projects and initiatives to undertake. What kind of resources you need and whom to hire.

Whom to partner with, or should you have partners at all?

Cooperate or compete. How to treat your team. What your customers should expect from you. How hard do you expect people to work?

All these decisions stem from your beliefs, and it will help you to make them explicit. Once you surface those beliefs, you can start to distinguish which are useful beliefs and which are not.

What is the benefit of a particular belief? Is this belief relevant to your current world, or is it a holdover from some past part of life? Then, when you are ready, you can experiment with new beliefs.

6. What are the obstacles to proceeding along your current path? Yes - you've set a plan in motion, and you are taking steps toward its achievement. But what roadblocks may rise up to stop you? What things could get in your way - foreseen and unforeseen? (I know, if it's unforeseen how are you going to see it? Use your imagination, that's the point of this exercise.)

Rank these obstacles in terms of likelihood, then rank them in terms of severity. Consider how you might deal with them if they come up. The value of this is a) like the Boy Scouts, you are better prepared; b) you may illuminate issues you have been trying to sweep under the rug; and c) you just may invent a whole new approach to get where you are going, and it just might be better than what you are doing now.

7. What, if you only knew how, would you be doing? What would you do now if you had additional resources - and should the lack of resources be stopping you? What, if you were sure it would be successful, would you jump on right away? What would you begin immediately, if your resources were limitless? (Yes, limitless can be relative.) What are you betting the future of your company on? What would you be willing to bet the future of your company on?

8. What are the most important issues, right now? Make separate lists for issues in your market and issues in your company.

Which of these issues are you dealing with, which ones are on the backburner, and which ones aren't even in the kitchen? What are the processes you use to deal with these issues? Which issues are you ignoring, or hoping will go away?

What breakthroughs might be possible by addressing or resolving issues in the latter category? Where are you "resolving" issues by compromising? What possibilities are available by refusing to compromise, or by breaking your compromises? What old stories or old ways of looking at things make these compromises seem inevitable? Where could new technologies (either material, virtual, or societal) be applied to break these compromises?

9. What are you sacrificing to accomplish your current objectives? The definition of sacrifice is giving up something of value for something of even greater value. Did you intend to give up that thing of value, or is it a thoughtless byproduct of your other choices? Do not dismiss this lightly.

In your business there are a number of priority-conflicting critical success factors. These include profitability, product development, new sales, customer satisfaction, recruiting and retention, revenue growth, sufficient capital - which one gets the most attention? And in this operating cycle - will each area get the attention it needs? Even in a lower position of priority, these areas cannot be neglected. What isn't getting done that needs to be done and how are you going to do it?

10. What is the purpose of your organization? I don't just mean increasing shareholder wealth that simply won't inspire your people to greatness. What besides that - a given - is the purpose of your company. Purpose is not something you invent, it is there already - you have to uncover it. Why do you come to work each day? What do you hope to accomplish in the long run?

What about your executive team? Your individual employees - why do they come? What do they think they are doing each day? Do you know? Have you bothered to find out? You've just completed a planning cycle, and I'm asking what your purpose is! If you can't answer this question easily, now would be a great time to start.

Bonus question for consideration: Are there any questions I've listed above that you do not have easy answers to, but wish you did?

Every so often I do an exercise called the "One-Hundred Questions." Download a copy of a recent 100 questions at http://www.paullemberg.com/tipsandtools.html, along with how to use this simple thought-provoker.

(c) Copyright Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved