The Business Of Home And Commercial Alarm And Security Systems

Alarm systems are meant to protect lives and belongings if they are positioned, used, and maintained properly. Datum show that homes without a burglar alarm system (for example) are four times more likely to be targeted. Alarm systems are also great for fires and other crises. Alarm systems are installed strategically in consultation with home and building owners. Another benefit of alarm systems is that insurance companies will render diminished rates for building and/or homeowners insurance if the proper burglar and/or fire alarm systems are installed. And dont forget, Fire alarm systems are operational and on-duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

There are a throng of divergent applications for alarms. The most frequent are of course the fire and trespass types, but other applications are being unfurled at a ardent pace. Think of applications such as medical alarm systems (also called personal alarms, and medical alert devices). These systems are conceived to activate the EMS service in the event that a sufferer becomes injured, sick or ill.

Alarm systems can be stand-alone (i.e. a acoustic device is set off in the case of an intrusion or fire event), or they may be monitored by an outer monitoring company. Remote alarm systems are exploited to connect the control unit to a preset monitor of some sort, and they come in many different configurations. Telecom lines are traditionally utilized to broadcast a sign when an alarm event (fire, break-in, etc.) occurs. These systems are interfaced with an auto-dialer that will mechanically give notice to the fire or police departments in the event of burglary or fire. Most monitored burglar alarm systems are equipped with hi-tech battery and/or mobile backup systems that kick in straight away should your power or phone connection fail. This forestalls a would-be thief from cutting off the phone line to preclude the alarm system from notifying the monitoring service.

Some alarm systems are tied to video surveillance systems so that current video of an intrusion area can be instantly displayed on a remote monitor, not to mention recorded. With new technology, alarm systems are not only available as hardwired devices, but also as wireless. The introduction of wireless alarm technology means that new sensors can be added quickly and easily without the need to run wires back to a control panel.

One of the major downsides to alarm systems are false alarms. When an alarm system is not properly installed, used or maintained, the number of calls for police and fire dispatches may increase. In many municipalities the alarm owner may be fined or cited if the alarm system becomes a nuisance. But this being said, in 1994 the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a Board Resolution stating that professionally installed and monitored alarm systems are useful instruments to deter crime and provide peace of mind for residential and business owners.

Why Obtaining Business Start Up Capital Is Important

It seems like everybody these days wants to start their own business. I spoke to my older brother last night and he mentioned a business venture. I was actually sort of surprised because he already has a great job working at a financial firm. But he would like to work from home. That is the main draw for most people. The more people I talk to these days, the more I realize that everyone wants to work from home. Could it be because of the convenience of the location? Or could it be the fact that you really didn’t want to drive through traffic each and every morning?

You cannot be shy when it comes to business start up capital. You’ve just got to get out there and get it done. Many folks are doing it successfully, so why shouldn’t you be one of them. Build that business of your dreams and get it going with business start up capital now.

When it comes to business start up capital, you may assume that there is no point in trying. Well this rationale could not be further from the truth. How do you think many of those home based companies started in the first place? They did have financial assistance. You can't always do everything completely on your own, especially when it comes to capital outlay. Maybe it's time you see what the web has to offer regarding business start up capital. This is a prudent place to begin, particularly if you're doing some background research work. Find out how most self-starters acquire their business start up capital.

Read the advice they have to offer. This is one the best things you can do at this beginning point. I personally spoke with someone who got his business start up capital in the form of a loan from a bank. And this was with hardly any income coming in or much collateral. He wanted to become a knife maker! He attained every bit of information he could get his hands on regards to knives. He read books, talked to makers, used the Internet, and learned from some old-school blade-smiths. And now he owns and runs his own highly successful custom knife business. That’s the way to do it!

Work At Home Based Business Opportunities – The Possibilities Are Endless

When you look at work at home based business opportunities, you realize that you can make a lot of money supplying customers with products and services they really need. You don’t always have to deal with the Internet to find a great work at home opportunity. You can get started with a work at home based business opportunity for a relatively small investment. Operating out of your garage or basement and running the business yourself will help you stay at home and still make money. There are very many work at home based business opportunities around.

One thing you can use the Internet for is to find a business opportunity at home. You will find that many companies are always looking for home workers because it saves them time and money in setting up offices. Maybe you have a flair for creative writing. There are companies with work at home based business opportunities looking for people to write articles for them, create advertising slogans or even write brief descriptions of items that they sell in a catalog.

The need of the working population for sewing skills gives rise to many work at home based business opportunities. Do you like to sew? Doing alterations on clothing or making clothing are fantastic opportunities for a skilled seamstress to find a business opportunity at home. If you like this type of work, then chances are you already have a sewing machine and all you need to do is advertise your business in places where people will see and remember your name.

Do you enjoy baking? This is one example of work at home based business opportunities where you can have customers flocking to your door. Baking and decorating wedding cakes or birthday cakes is big business and best of all you can stay at home. When you find a business opportunity at home, such as this one, you can take on as many jobs as you can handle on your own or you can hire another person who also wants to work at home to help you out.

Dietary consulting, hairdressing, being a wedding consultant or a financial planner – these are also examples of work at home based business opportunities that let you be your own boss and choose your own hours. You don’t have to invest large amounts of money in these work at home based business opportunities. You will enjoy the peace of mind of being at home and are still bringing home a monthly pay check.

There are so many work at home based business opportunities available, the hard thing is working out which one suits you.

Sell Your Successes: 3 Techniques That Can Lower Your Marketing Costs & Energize Your Business

I attended a seminar the other day at a local trade show and one thing that they mentioned almost in passing that inspired me was the critical concept of “selling your successes”.

Hmmm… “Sell your successes” – What could that mean?

Simply put, when you walk the talk, talk the walk. Adjust your marketing and sales conversations and materials to reflect how your product or services helped someone achieve what they wanted.

Now how do you do this? Well here are 3 techniques that when applied effectively can lower your marketing costs & energize your business.

1. Let ‘Testimonials’ Pave the Way
To best illustrate this technique, let me share with you a line that I use often that goes something like this: “If I tell you that I’m great at what I do, at best you’ll take it with a grain of salt, but if an unbiased third-party tells you that I’m great at what I do, you’ll tend to believe them. In other words, people tend to give more credence to what someone else says about you rather than what you say about yourself.

So use every opportunity to gain testimonials about you, your team, your product, your service, or your business in general. Collecting and effectively using testimonials should become a key marketing strategy for your business.

2. Using ‘Stories’ to Get Your Point Across
Storytelling has been around since the beginning of mankind and when used properly can illustrate your point better than almost any other way. Stories have the power to capture and engage the listener in a softened manner – not the hard selling approach that people typically run away from. Stories also have the unique ability to take complex ideas and make them easy to understand – without a dissertation on the subject.

My best advice here is to model other great storytellers. Take one of my favorites for instance, Mark Victor Hansen. Just look at his Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. Essentially each chapter is a story effectively illustrating a point that touches, moves, and inspires its readers.

So you may be tempted to say, well that’s easy for him, but I’m no Mark Victor Hansen. Now maybe you potentially are or aren’t, however my point is, that this is a very learnable skill, people aren’t born with it. They develop it by continually practicing and honing it.

3. Sharing ‘Case Studies’ to Illustrate what’s Possible
Case studies are a sure-fire way to give your prospect a mental picture of what’s possible for their business should they engage you help. These are particularly great for those prospects who need to see it themselves in order to believe it. Case studies illustrate tangible solutions – they tend to instill a deeper level of confidence in your prospect that you can get it done for them. Essentially, you have a track record of success to draw upon.

Now when using any or all of the 3 techniques just discussed, remember that just like telling a joke, timing and delivery are critical to their success. For example placing a testimonial in your sales letter in just the right spot where you are looking to establish credibility is key to getting your prospect to keep reading.

These techniques can also play a critical role in humanizing your business and its offerings – placing real people behind your messages. For example, instead of pounding a prospect with every possible service you offer and the features and benefits of each, try using a short story to simplify a complicated solution that you implemented for a similar customer. Or how about using a relevant case study in a sales presentation illustrating how your service helped a client with similar needs to the prospect you’re presenting to.


Try integrating these techniques into your everyday marketing and realize the positive residual effects they can bring.


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Using Fleet Wraps To Advertise Your Business

A new form of advertising is hitting the nation and it is coming soon to a street near you. Fleet Wraps are becoming the new wave of the future for advertising. Some companies might only have a few cars that they are willing to advertise their business on, while others will have many. It is those companies that will benefit greatly from fleet wraps. Fleet wraps are advertisements on vehicles that are driven by the employees of the company the fleet wraps are promoting. They stop at job sites, travel down busy streets and get stuck in traffic. The drivers are doing their jobs while advertising the company.

This type of advertising can be much more beneficial than the traditional forms of advertising. Think about how often trucks are on the road or for that matter any vehicle driven by a company. By using a custom fleet wrap, the graphics can create up to 16 million impressions over the course of a year. Most often the fleet wraps contain more than just your companies name and number. The key to fleet wraps is the eye catching design. Most companies who design wraps are taking them to the next level. These companies will often offer custom design graphics. They work hand in hand in hand with their clients to create the ideal graphic design for their vehicles. These companies know how important it is to make the advertisements look interesting and attractive without being tacky or tasteless.

There are many benefits for companies who use fleet wraps as their advertising weapons. For starts they are cheaper than other advertising means. Purchasing billboard space can be expensive and sometimes it is not even noticed by drivers. Another pro is that fleet wraps do the hard part and that is advertising your company. All that needs to be done is have the vehicle driven around as they would any normal day and the vehicle is doing all the work for you. It is like driving around a moving billboard. Companies who have used fleet wraps have reported a significant increase in business. Even more of an increase than they would having a local ad in the paper, or a TV spot.

You will see that most fleet wrap designs are eye catching and bright. They make people take notice of the vehicle and it is done creatively. Their whole mission is to help companies promote their business. Each design should be handcrafted to meet the customer’s needs. It is so much more detailed than just a company name and a phone number. There is usually a design along with the company’s logo if any.

Nowadays people are too busy to skim through the local paper to catch any advertisements for a company, and with the invention of TIVO and the DVR, people are fast forwarding more and more through commercials. These same people however cannot miss a fleet wrap as it passes them by on the street, or even if they drive past one that is parked at job site. There is a whole new audience out there on the road, which just might be looking for what that company is promoting.

Stay at Home Business

If you have been considering starting a home business you may have heard many different opinions on how to run it. Some will tell you to run it like you would if you were working away from the home. Others may tell you to make your own hours and be flexible. What is the best way to work from home?

One of the primary reasons that people even consider working from home is to some how get a handle on their personal lives. They feel divided leaving every morning and dropping kids off at daycare and school; working all day and then picking, them up to only feed them and put them to bed. One of the advantages to having a home business is that you can set your hours differently that work with your lifestyle.

You want to be careful not to let the chores that need your attention run overtime so that you are doing your home business at night and the weekends. One way to manage this is to rent a post office box where all your deliveries for your business go instead of coming to your home and mixing in with your home mail and lessens the amount of time you are running to the door frequently to sign for packages for the business. Use your day planner and schedule in when you will be doing the daily chores and doing the business. You can utilize your break times to do the dishes and vacuum. You may consider hiring someone to come in and do the little chores for you such as a teenager looking to make a little extra money.

Multi-tasking is an important quality when you are entering the home business environment. If you are not good at organizing your time and resources and able to do more than one thing at a time you may want to reconsider this avenue of financial employment or join together with a partner who is a good multi-tasker.

It is important to get your family involved in accomplishing chores around the house. If your children are old enough to do laundry or dishes and other chores around the house start setting a schedule that you want them done by and your chores will be done, your children will be learning responsibility, and you will be able to accomplish what needs to be done with your business. Let your children know when you are available to take them places instead of telling them you have no time because your business requires you to stay home. Write in times in your day planner to take your children places and do special things for yourself and with your spouse. If you put all your energies into the business and neglect your family you will either not have your family or you will lose your business or possibly both.
*****

Is Email Advertisements A Business?

The wellness industry has a vast number of products for people to market and to sell. Trying to decide what is the best way to run your home business in the wellness industry can be a difficult decision. Let’s face it; the majority of us have limited funding for advertising and marketing. A new home business takes time to grow and thrive to make us a substantial profit.

One method that many people use to advertise their wellness industry products is through email advertisements. This is a highly effective form of advertising that can bring in substantial profits for your business. The key is to effectively use the email advertisement campaign.

The first important thing to remember is that you do not want to spam people. Spam is sending out unsolicited emails to people in the form of advertisements or even with information. Some people think that they can send out informational articles and have a link at the bottom for their websites. If this type of email is done without the consent of the receiver, you are sending them spam. Even though you are not directly advertising to them, it is still spam and you can get into big trouble for this. Additionally, you will irritate potential customers.

Another method of email advertisement that people think is getting around the spam issue is to send a chatty letter and state in there that you hope you are not bothering the person. This again is spam or you would not need to even include a clause that you hope you are not bothering the person.

The third method to be careful of doing is invitations. Yes, invitations that are unsolicited are also a form of spam and a big source of irritation. You want to avoid spam at all costs.

Now that you know who to avoid spam, how do you go about email advertisement for your wellness industry products? You can have a spot on your ecommerce site that allows customers and web page visitors to sign up for promotional offers such as coupons, free gifts, and other items. This will be the customer specifically giving you permission to contact them by email advertisement. You will also be sending emails to people that are already interested in your products and services instead of wasting time on someone that is going to automatically delete your emails.

Another way to obtain email advertisement candidates is through purchasing email names. There are companies that will sell their data base of names to individuals. The emails are supposed to be for people that have agreed that they will receive promotional offers from other companies and from partners of a particular business. This is a terrific way to get the word out and use email for wellness industry products without spamming others.

Many people sign up for the paid to click emails. The costs for these types of email advertisements are relatively cheap. You are able to reach a targeted market that will view your website for a minimum period of time. There is a low buying ratio for paid to click email advertisements, but it will get the word out about your wellness industry products. The trick is to have a dynamic and interesting page that the paid to click email visitors will be sent to so that they are likely to purchase one of your items.

7 Ways to Manage Breaks As A Home-Based Business Owner

This week during a coaching session, one of my clients shared her ongoing struggle with managing "breaks" throughout the day. Whenever she felt the need to get up from her desk and stretch her legs, she found herself in the kitchen.

As a result of this habit, she is now 20 pounds heavier, very uncomfortable and extremely unhappy with herself.

Unfortunately this phenomenon is all too common among entrepreneurs who transition from the outside work world to working from home.

Home business presents challenges not normally experienced while working in the corporate or "outside" world and managing breaks is a big one.

When you work outside of the home, a break might be spent by a water cooler, in a lunchroom, or outside on a bench chatting with a co-worker. When you do spend your break in the company lunchroom, you seldom find a fully stocked fridge and cupboards chock full of food at your disposal.

When you work from home, your break locations aren't quite as extensive and because it's very unlikely you would spend this time sitting in a bedroom or talking to yourself in the bathroom mirror, the kitchen is the most logical destination.

How you spend your breaks at home requires a little creativity and A LOT of discipline. By giving yourself options, setting limits, and creating healthy habits, it won't take long for you to re-direct yourself when you find yourself drifting towards the kitchen.

Here are 7 simple options to get you started:

1. Grab your remote telephone, head outside for a lawn chair and call a friend. This not only addresses the "break" issue but also combats the feelings of isolation that often affect home-based business owners. The important thing to remember here is set limits for yourself. Institute a 15-minute break rule and enforce it, otherwise you can lose an entire afternoon.

2. Pick up your mail. Whether the mailbox is at the end of your driveway or just down the street, this is the perfect opportunity for you to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

3. Play your favorite CD and listen to song that takes your mind completely off your work. Enjoy a cool class of juice or a tasty cup of tea while you immerse yourself in the music. If you're feeling a little sluggish, pop a lively tune into your boom box and kick up your heels! There's no better energy boost than a good boogie!

4. Take a walk around the block. Take your puppy with you and light two candles with one flame. Get to know your neighbors, keep your pet healthy, and enjoy the great outdoors.

5. Meditate. There's nothing like a midday meditation to free your mind and relax the body. The benefits are immense and impact all areas of your life and business.

6. Set kitchen hours. Establish certain times throughout the day when the kitchen is off limits and stick to them.

7. Sweep the entryway or vacuum the living room. It may not be exciting but it will give your mind the break it needs, and will save you time elsewhere so you can spend it with family and friends. A few little cleaning breaks throughout the day really add up.

What other ideas come to mind for you?

Your success and wellness all boil down to discipline, creative thinking, and being gentle with yourself. Don't beat yourself up if you've created habits that are counterproductive. Instead, seek solutions and take appropriate action.

It's all about developing structures and processes and when you realize you have the power to design your own activities, you will create amazing results for yourself.


2006 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

Do You Have A Home Based Business Blog?

While the internet continues to broaden and expand every day, so too has the marketing tool of a blog. Having a home based business blog is one of the most accommodating tools to aid your business online. With the ability to increase the amount of traffic you generate, spread further knowledge on your theme and continuously disperse fresh and enticing content, having a blog is a necessity if you have a home based business.

Many people are afraid to start a home based business blog because they fear they don't know what to do or don't have enough time. Starting up your blog will be the most time consuming part to it, but after that all that is required is a short 200 to 400 word post a day.

To get your blog started make sure to focus on a few keywords, just like your website. You can write about anything and everything associated with your home based business or the product you promote. The key is to add a post every day to enhance your blog and help it climb higher on the search engines as well. A well developed home based business blog can go a long way for your actual business.

Getting people to your blog is not as hard as you would think. The easiest way to direct traffic to your home based business blog is directly from your business website itself. Post a link on your home page that guides people to your blog and drop comments about your blog when you exchange emails with customers.

Another great way to generate some traffic to your business blog is through article writing. Article writing gives you the opportunity to write about something associated to your main theme and then place a link to your blog in the resource box.

As you may have already guessed, keeping an eye on your stats is vital with your home based business blog. This will help you track down where your customers are coming from so you know what to promote more. By doing so you can better manage your time and focus primarily on what the visitors want.

Having a strong home based business blog to back up your business website is crucial in the internet industry. It gives you the chance to interact directly with visitors and potential customers to find out what they think about various things. It also allows you to provide fresh and enticing content to help blow your visitor's minds away with your knowledge. If you can produce an impressive home based business blog, you are guaranteed to increase your traffic volume for your business website.

Why Incorporate Your Business?

Entrepreneurs embark on costly business ventures without first looking into the form of business that would be most suitable for them given their business experience and financial capability. Deciding on what legal form your venture is going to take will spell the difference when you experience difficulty in your business later on.

A businessman can choose from different business forms including sole or single proprietorship, partnership or a corporation. Each of these legal forms has their own advantages and disadvantages and a businessman should be well aware of their implications on his business venture.

Sole proprietorship is the easiest business venture to put up because you only have yourself to disagree with. This means you can go ahead with whatever plans you have and you can implement them anytime. It means that when your venture succeeds then you will reap all the financial rewards of your business. The sad fact is that this can also be a disadvantage since it can also mean that you will shoulder all the losses if the business fails.

A partnership will do well for business ventures that require more capital and more skills and expertise. You and your partner can concentrate on the different aspects of the business depending on your skills and talents. A partnership form of business means both you and your partner get to share your financial earnings and losses. However, there could be a problem if the business acquires debts because your creditors can run even after your personal money and not just after the capital infused into the business.

The most ideal, although complicated, type of doing business is the corporation. Incorporating your business would mean bringing in other people to the business. This would mean no decision can be reached without the agreement of the majority of the Board of Directors. The good thing about a corporation is the availability of vast financial resources for the business.

A corporation is a distinct legal entity from its incorporators and shareholders so that in case the business incurs debts, the share or stockholders will only answer for the debts depending on the shares they have in the corporation. This is called the theory of limited liability. The creditors will no longer have any right to seek payment from the personal finances of the stockholders.

A business can start as a sole proprietorship but the owner can chose to incorporate the business later as it grows. True, there are more documentation requirements for incorporating a business but the advantages of incorporating a business far outweigh the disadvantages.