Drag Racing – A Multimillion-Dollar Business

Drag racing became a sanctioned sport back in the 1950’s, and has remained popular ever since. The World Wide Web gives an excellent, authoritative definition that reads as follows: “Drag racing is a form of auto racing in which cars or motorcycles attempt to complete a fairly short, straight and level course in the shortest amount of time. Drag racing originated in the United States and is still the most popular there. The most common distance is one quarter of a mile, although one eighth of a mile tracks are also popular, especially in the southeastern United States.”

While many people believe that drag racing is a popular sport only in the United States, there are numerous other countries where drag racing has quite a fan base. These countries include Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Malta, Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Greece, England, the Caribbean, as well as many Scandinavian and European countries. At any given time, there are approximately 325 drag racing strips fully operational worldwide

Drag racing is essentially two cars racing against one another down a straight track to see who can cross the finish line first. Since there are no hair pin turns involved, this may sound like an easy feat, however, the driver must be able to have quick reactions times and be able to handle the car effectively. In addition, the car must be tuned to near perfection and operate well under extreme circumstances.

While many people are content to simply haul their dragster down to the local track every Saturday night and compete for bragging rights and trophies, there are many drag racers that take drag racing seriously and attend sanctioned events to compete for big titles and big money.

In professional drag racing, there are only five main categories, and these include Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Modified, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Bike. In the upper racing divisions, dragsters can reach speeds of up to 330 miles per hour! This means that a car performing at this rate of speed could travel the distance of a quarter mile track in a mere 4.45 seconds. If you have never witnessed this in person, it is an awesome sight to behold.

Drag racing has turned into a multimillion-dollar business; with companies paying for ad space on the racecars, as well as race promoters vying for television and radio time, drag racing is enjoying wide exposure. If you have yet to be exposed to drag racing, grab the family or a few friends and head on down to your closest racetrack! A night of drag racing will afford the entire family a wonderful time, as well as a unique experience.

Reseller Web Hosting: The Perfect Way To Start A Web Hosting Business

Hosting web sites on the internet can be a lucrative business venture. However trying to setup a web hosting company from scratch can be quite a bit of work and also quite a bit of money.

One of the biggest problems of trying to start a web hosting company right now is that much of the address space on the internet has already been taken. If you own a company and you need to buy an IP address block, then you might have a chance of getting a few IP addresses, but getting enough space to create a web hosting company on your own is very hard to do.

One alternative to trying to start a web hosting company from scratch is to become a reseller web hosting company. Many companies on the internet offer to resell address space to companies so they can become a reseller web hosting company. Becoming a reseller web hosting company has many advantages including the availability of address space, specialized tools, and built-in control panel support.

Many reseller web hosting companies offer quite a bit of space so that you can host many different web sites on your own. Most of the time this space is very hard to come by if you are not buying the space from a reseller web hosting company. Also these companies usually offer many tools to help your clients build their web sites. Some of these companies offer Front Page extensions so that your clients can use Front Page to build their web sites. Other companies offer different pre-made PHP scripts to help your clients build their web sites as well.

Another important tool is the ability for your clients to use a MySQL database to store information and authenticate against on their web site. The best advantage of using a reseller web hosting company is the built-in control panel support that is supplied by many of these companies. You usually have a management control panel to help create different web sites for your clients, and then your clients also have a control panel to help administer their web sites. This makes it much easier for anyone, even someone with limited technical knowledge, to create a web site.

The Missing Link Between Business And Success - Fast Business Loans

Businesses are like human lives- the more effort you put in the more you get out of them. However, sometimes luck, sometimes fate or sometimes financial circumstances work against us, to make too much of a difference. Luck and fate may be different for different people, one factor that can be same for the entire business community is that of the finance or of loans. With fast business loans, a businessperson can have an important ingredient to run a potentially successful business.

There are many factors that make businesses a success, but finance is the most important them all. Lenders recognize this and that is why they are now offering fast business loans for all business people.

Fast business loans are similar to the regular business loans, with the only difference being that the fast business loans, as the name suggests, are approved rather quickly. This also helps in getting some other advantages to the borrower of such loans.

Fast business loans allow many businessmen to clinch business deals which would not have been possible with business loans approved in normal time. In addition, the loans require lesser amount of checks to be made and allow a borrower to make arrangements for the documents after the deal has been struck.

An essential part of any loan is its features; the better the features, more will the people be interested in having a look at them. In this regard, fast business loans have some outstanding features, which will surely benefit the borrowers of fast business loans. The basic features of fast business loans are:

• The fast business loans are available for every business need i.e. from basic to the extraordinary one.

• The loans are available in all the forms, i.e. both secured and unsecured. This is good news for the business community, as this gives a fair opportunity to everyone in this field.

• The interest rates are lower than what people would imagine and with the option of choosing the loan for up to 20 years; the EMIs to be paid are also low.

• The business loans cover the whole business community and no discrimination is made towards the credit history of the person.

With these features it is almost as if we have taken no loans it’s just like we are putting in our own money for the cause.

Applying for the fast business loans is in any shape or form different as applying to any other loan. All the borrowers need to do is go and apply for the loan either online or to any lender and then follow the instructions. After you are through, the lending organization will get back to you with the loan decision in a few days.

Who Will Offer Advice On Your Home Based Business

As you build your home based business, you will find many people who want to offer you help and advice. Some of this advice you may want to follow – others it is best to ignore. Here are some hints and tips on who will be keen to help and what you should do about it.

1. Family; whenever a loved one takes the decision to start a home based business, family members are usually keen to offer their opinions. Unless they have done something similar, it is probably best to ignore this advice – as politely as you can of course!

2. Friends; While they may be a useful shoulder to cry on if you ever need it, friend's advice, like families is probably not worth taking unless they have set up their own home based business.

3. The Bank Manager; while banks can offer you some sound advice, it is worth bearing in mind that Banks are in business for themselves and will be keen to have you using as many of their services as possible.

4. Accountant; accountants can have their part to play in your home based business. They are particularly useful for cost cutting tips and any advice given to you in this area should be carefully considered.

5. Business Consultants; If you want to use a business consultant, be aware that they will charge for their time. While their advice should be worth considering, you need to ensure you know exactly what you want to cover before you meet with them. Write down exactly what you want to ask to get the best value for money.

6. Financial Advisors; These can be very useful members of you 'advice team.' Firstly you should ensure that they are not affiliated to a bank. This means that their advice should be much more impartial than the Bank Managers. If you need to raise capital – they're the best people to talk to.

7. Customers; it is vital for the growth of your home based business that you always listen to your customers. They want you to succeed and to do this you need to listen to and address their needs.

8. Suppliers; having good lines of communication with your suppliers is an excellent way to ensure your home based business moves forward. Talk to them regularly and you will be kept up to date with any of their new initiatives and they may in turn look to you to provide feedback on the service they offer.

9. Government Agencies; there are government funded agencies that can offer advice on setting up your home based business. They are well worth talking to. Usually independent and therefore impartial, they can offer great advice on how best to cut through red tape!

10. You!; you are your own best qualified business adviser. Take time out to think about your home based business and reflect on where it is going. Listen to your instincts. Chances are they will be right.

In summary, when you run a home based business you will be bombarded from all sides by people offering advice. Take time to decide which is worth following and which you can afford to ignore and you will see your home based business grow and prosper.

Staying On Task With Your Home Based Business

Working from home may have always been a dream for you. It is a great way to stay home and tend to things that happen there, as well as cut down on commuting and saving gas, in a time when gas prices are higher than they have been in recent years. A home based business means that you are available when you family needs you, but that added availability can be difficult when you are working to complete a number of tasks for your business. Disruptions can happen in any work environment, but may happen more often if you work from home. If you become easily distracted, it may be very difficult to focus on the business tasks at hand, when you know that you need to start cooking dinner, or have several loads of laundry to wash.

Having an area that you work in that is away from these types of disruptions can help to ease your destructibility. Having your desk or computer set up in a room that is only for your business can help you to focus on the tasks that need to be completed that day or in the near future. Letting family members know that when you are in your office or at your computer, they should not disturb you, can help to keep them from asking questions or diverting your attention from your work. If you do not have the option to having your own room, you should consider moving your work into an area of the house that does not receive a considerable amount of traffic. Trying to work at 3 p.m. in the kitchen, when the kids are getting out of school and heading in for a snack may cause you to focus on them or making their snack, instead of working.

Set up a schedule for yourself that you strictly adhere to. Training yourself to work during certain hours of the day can keep you focused on working during those hours. Knowing that you will be able to work on housework daily from 2 to 5 pm, will cause you to not stress about getting the house cleaned or dinner cooked before your spouse comes home. This can also allow your family to give you those specific hours you have allotted to work during, without distractions. This also means that you should not work on your business other than the hours you have set aside to work on. Creating a to-do list can help also. You will be able to see when important deadlines are, and how best to complete the tasks in a timely manner.

Allowing yourself to not become distracted can help to improve your business and your will help to improve your home life as well.

Do You Have What It Takes To Start Your Own Business?

Owning your very own business is a big step for many individuals to take in life. Yet more and more individuals are doing just that and stepping up to the challenge which comes with being a business owner. There are many different businesses which one can undertake and many of these businesses turn into successful ventures. Prior to starting up a business, it is wise to take a look at a few things to determine if you have what it takes to start your own business.

Financial Background

As with many things in life, starting a new business costs a good deal of money, both in the beginning and throughout the business venture. One should consider their financial background to determine if this is something which they can afford. Funding a new business can be done via savings, loans or taking on financial partners. By looking at the financial situation right in the beginning, the hopeful future business owner can see whether or not this is the right time to start a new business.

Schedule and Time Availability

Time is another factor which must be considered in relation to starting one’s own business. Starting and pursuing your business will take quite a bit of time so it is crucial that one is sure they have the time to devote to their new project. Some businesses will require more time and effort than others however this is something which all individuals should take into account as the more time one puts into a project, the more success it is likely to see.

Sheer Dedication

Starting and cultivating a new business takes more than time and money. It is something which takes sheer dedication on the part of the business owner. An individual who decides to start their own business must have this desire to pursue their occupation to the utmost of their capabilities and follow through on things from start to finish. If you have the sheer dedication, you will be more likely to turn your business into something wonderful.

Ability to Ask for Help

Lastly, one should also possess the ability to ask others for help with getting their business off the ground and running. This can be enlisting the aid of family members, friends or even paid workers. Depending on the size of the venture, it is often difficult for one individual to start a new business without asking others to pitch in and help from time to time. Whether it is asking for tax help or having family members help out with caring for the kids, there is often something which others can do to help make the business even that much more successful.

Working From Home, Freelance Business Opportunities

Working at home in a freelance job means that you are not guaranteed a regular pay cheque. But the advantage is that you can make a lot more money.

So what kind of jobs can you do as a freelance operator?

The best kind of work involves creative ability. Working as a freelance writer can be lucrative. Your business could involve writing text for web pages, writing articles and submitting them, being a ghost writer for a busy executive, proof reading and even just basic data entry.

Knowing how to use the internet is helpful because often you will be asked to write about subjects where your own knowledge is very limited.

Working at home as a free lance web designer can be profitable if you understand web site design and are a bit of a techie! According to recent reports 53% of small businesses now have a website. This means that there are still 47% of businesses that do not have a web presence.

Another area of opportunity lies in getting targeted traffic to existing and new websites. Most people assume that once they build a great website, traffic will come naturally. This is far from true.

Another type of business that you can work from home is turning your passion for taking pictures into a serious free lance business opportunity. With the advent of digital cameras this is no longer as expensive as it used to be and you can view all the pictures on your computer screen before deciding which ones to use and which ones to print!

To make it successful working from home it is important to become very good at one skill. There are many opportunities out there for people who are dedicated and can perform a task well.

Working from home is also becoming very popular with larger businesses who allow their employees to work from home. This allows them to keep great staff who feel they would like to spend more time with the family. If more companies followed suit then just maybe there would be less traffic on the road during rush hour.

Here's to your success.

Write & Submit Articles To Promote Your Business And Get Traffic.

Many of the newbies that are being exposed to the internet on a daily basis have dreams of running a website and making it successful. For some, this is a grueling task and leaves them short-winded trying to do so.

There are numerous marketing techniques that can be used to generate traffic on a regular basis. Out of all of them I have tried, writing seems to work the best.

Writing articles for ezines, newsletters, websites and forums in addition to using other marketing strategies keeps your website visible.

The internet has turned out to be a publisher's paradise. Never before has the chance to publish your ideas and insights been this easy. In some cases all it costs is some of your time. You can write an article this morning and have it published in the evening.

Writing was once a secret weapon for many marketers, but now it has been thrown in the open and is now being used by many people. It has work wonders for me since I started doing it. My articles have appeared in ezines, newsletters and on websites with varying degrees of success. Here are some guidelines on how to write articles:

A. Write about what you know. Make sure it’s related to your business (so you can use the keywords you want to rank with) and helpful (so it gets published). Once you get thinking about it, you'll probably find there are hundreds of articles you could write that are helpful. You may even have some of them partly written already in your instruction manuals or installation guides, etc. Another good idea is to think of all the questions you get asked by customers and potential customers. These questions show you what people are interested in. If you write an article answering every one of these questions, you'll get published, and you'll also show yourself to be a credible expert.

B. The best articles are only as long as they need to be. Keep it short and sweet – there’s nothing wrong with a 400 word article. By the same token, if you need 1500 words to say all you need to say, that’s fine as well

C. Simply write in a style that your audience will be comfortable with. If they’re from the old school, don’t write like I am. Don’t use contractions, don’t end sentences with prepositions, and don’t start sentences with “and” or “but”. But if they’re not old school, just use conversational English. In fact, the more of yourself you include in the article, the more engaging it will be. The key is to make it readable.

Once you've written your article, you'll need to develop a list of publishers that may be interested in publishing it. The best way to accomplish this is to display your articles on your website. Place a subscription box on each of your article pages to enable your visitors to subscribe. This list should be used to send your new articles to your list of publishers. "Submit Article" in the Google search will give you many sites where you can submit your articles.

Happy writing!

The McDonaldization Of Business

In business, everyone has a role… or at least they ought to.

A few years ago, I was working as a sub-contractor with a Virtual Bookkeeping company and I was searching for some deeper understanding of our respective roles. I discovered a great little book by Michael Gerber – The E-Myth.

The E-Myth is an easy read and yet the information that Gerber shares is pivotal to anyone who runs a business. In the book Gerber explains why so many small businesses fail to grow, and where they stumble when they try to grow. Gerber explains that for your business to grow you need to have three essential roles filled – that of a technician, a manager, and an entrepreneur. Most small business owners attempt to fill each of those roles themselves. The trouble is, many small business owners are not capable of being all three – in fact, few people are.

The challenge then is recognizing which of the three you are and bringing in people to your team who can fill the other roles.

Let's quickly define each role:

The technician is the doer and builder in the business. The one who performs the tasks that are laid out by others. Most often, this is the role that can easily be outsourced.

The manager is the one who keeps track of people (the technicians), projects and details. They are typically extraordinarily good with people and exceptional planners. They don't perform the tasks of the business, they manage the people that do and keep them on track and on project.

And finally, the entrepreneur is the one who always has his / her eye on the future. They are the ones who dictate the growth and direction of the business. They are the visionaries and the dreamers. They constantly live 3-6 months in the future - always a step or two ahead of the day-to-day operations.

Every business owner starts in the technician's phase in the infancy of their business. They wear all the hats. They are the ones who are doing the work! They are the "business!" But if they are the business, they haven't really created a business at all, they have created a job for themselves!

According to Gerber, the role of the business owner is really quite different. Gerber's thesis is that every business owner should move from the role of technician to that of manager (getting some help in the adolescence of their business growth) and maturing to that of entrepreneur - the visionary. The role of the business owner is to create a business that works independently of himself or herself.

The key to successful growth and the creation of a business rather than a job is systemizing the business. Gerber uses the model of the McDonald's franchise to illustrate his strategies.

There are three kinds of systems in a business: the hard systems, the soft systems and the information systems. The hard systems refer to all those in your business that are inanimate and has no life. The soft systems refer to all those that could be living or inanimate. The information systems are everything else in the business that provides you with data relating to how the two earlier systems interact.

Systems are key to being able to fill the different roles in the business and replicating the knowledge and expertise of the business owner so that consistent quality and delivery of service is offered once the business runs independently of the active involvement of the business owner.

Gerber's book goes into much greater depth than the brief synopsis provided here. If you are struggling to get your business off the ground – or you are on track for growth and not struggling yet – I strongly recommend The E-Myth.

Advantage Exercise: Find Your Primary Aim

In The E-Myth, Michael Gerber encourages everyone to define their Primary Aim. Gerber believes (as do I) that you need to think of your business as a way of getting more from your life. Obviously in order to do that you need to know the purpose of your life, or have a vision of who you want to be and the kind of life you want to lead. Gerber describes this as your primary aim.

The Primary Aim statement is a short, concise description of that state of being, which you can reference as a benchmark when you are at your best and when you are not quite where you need to be.

In other words, once you’ve established your primary aim, you can then ask yourself whether your business' aim serves your aim, whether the work you’re currently doing allows you to fulfill your aim, whether your company is a place where you can grow and experience yourself becoming the person you want to be.

Answering these questions will help you determine your Primary Aim:

What Don’t I Want? — Make a list of all the things (material & emotional) that you don’t want in your life. This could be anything from stress and a negative environment to an office in a cubbyhole.

What Do I Want? — Make a list of all the things (material, monetary, and emotional) that you do want in your life. Create a picture of your ideal life.

What's Most Important To Me? — Prioritize the items you placed on both lists above. Identify the top five items on each list.

Create Your Primary Aim — Summarize what you want your life to be about. If you're having trouble creating a statement that resonates with you, imagine the end of your rich and fulfilling life. What do you hope people will say about you as they eulogize you. This exercise, though difficult, will help you find a single sentence or a few words that describes how you’d like your life to be.

Pop on over to the My Virtual Partner blog (http://www.deborahblogs.com) and share your primary aim with others.

Working Mums - Juggling Business And The Children

Women in business numbers are rising rapidly. Being your own boss and working from home is a popular option for women who want to fit work around their children. Around half a million women in the UK choose to run their business from home.

So what kind of businesses do women choose to start? Many women choose to run an online business as it gives them the flexibility to work from home. Others go down the path of becoming an Avon distributor, or hosting parties for other women supplying female products. Some choose to focus on products for mums and children whilst others open retail outlets ranging from florists to beauty salons.

So how do you juggle work and being a mum at the same time? A possible solution is to get some help with the children by paying a child minder for a few hours a day. Many schools now offer out of hour's school clubs which are great fun for extrovert children who enjoy interacting with their school friends. Taking turns with other mums who are also working is another possible solution.

Online grocery shopping can help to reduce the work load for busy mums. Although there is a small delivery charge this is nothing compared to the time spent trekking down to the supermarkets with demanding children. Doing the bulk of the weekly shopping in the comfort of your own home on the internet saves time and means that trips to the shops are few and far between and for emergency items only.

By having a separate office from other rooms in the house, means that it is easier to separate work and family time more easily. Having a lock on the door helps to keep children away from important files and your computer! A separate line for business calls only also help a lot and means that the phone is always free for incoming and outgoing calls.

Dealing with guilt is another problem that busy mums face. Surely they should be dropping and collecting the children? How do they overcome the nagging thought in the back of their heads saying that you should be spending more time with the children? One way to do this is allocate some special time for quality interaction on a one to one basis.

Women are allowed to be more than just a mum and children are also very adaptable to new routines as long as they are managed correctly and there is some consistency to their daily lives.

There are many websites that have been set up primarily to deal with issues that many women in business face. They provide a lot more then just business hints and tips. They also offer guidance on a wide range of issues that are not business related and some even have forums where busy mums can chat to like minded people during their break.

Some days everything can go wrong! The childminder is ill, washing is undone, customers are angry and your latest supplier has just let you down. How women cope with all these demands is beyond me but many continue to do so.