Direct sales increase profits for companies. It is one of the strongest forms of marketing that will make you the most money. Another key factor in direct sales is having a great product to sell to the public or to sell at whole sale prices to distributors. The wellness and fitness industries are one of the strongest marketing industries and are continually growing. Now is a good time to get into direct sales for either wellness or fitness.
Having a terrific product will make direct sales a breeze. People will automatically want to purchase your items because they will virtually sell themselves. This makes direct sales much easier because the product will speak for itself instead of you having to try and talk it up. Products in both wellness and fitness really attract the attention of customers.
The first thing to know about both wellness industry and the fitness industry is that people like to get healthy and to feel better. A great deal of money is spent on exercise and nutrition. Also, beauty and skin care products have increased in popularity. This means that you have an abundance of products that you will do well with in direct sales.
The best approach to direct sales is to provide people with a reason to buy. Customers are more likely to purchase a product if you create a strong need for the product. You want them to see the potential benefits that they can receive from the products. They will be willing to pay slightly more for a product that will help them in the short and long term. This is a strong direct sales point that can increase profits very quickly.
Another great approach to direct sales is getting to know people in the industry. You can meet a lot of people at wellness and fitness trade shows and exhibitions. This is a terrific way to network and talk with other distributors. Often you can find someone that has a complimentary product to what you are selling. You can cut them a deal and the two of you can actually benefit from the sale. Networking with other people is a terrific way to build some direct sales.
With fitness products you can direct sale to gyms, fitness instructors, and to the general public for home equipment to help with their workouts. It is important to offer DVDs, VHS tapes, and audio tapes as complimentary products. You can also offer free samples of sports drinks or complimentary energy bars when you do direct sales for fitness equipment.
Wellness products range from all types and sorts on the market. Direct sales should be fairly simple in this area. It is good to offer a sample product that your customers can have as a bonus with their purchases. You can direct sale at trade shows, flea markets, gas stations, health stores, malls, and other places to have the highest potential profits.
Direct sales increase profits because you have the potential to get repeat customers. You do the best with products that virtually sell themselves. Offering a sample product or bonus product will also help to increase sales.
Is Business Card Printing A Feasible Home Business?
Stay relevant to your main web sites theme or subject matter. If for example you own a sports related web site and you add cosmetic and make up ads to it, chances are you are not going to do well. But if you put ads for health and fitness supplements on your sports oriented web site you may interest a few people into buying those products earning you a commission. There is a particular web site where I regularly place my free internet marketing articles to generate traffic to my blog. Quite often several so called internet marketing experts place articles shortly after one of mine has been posted talking about the impossibility of making any money online without spending lots of cash on advertising.
Allying a company with several other high volume companies means the company has increased visibility with all of the other companys customers or potential clients. This increased visibility lends itself to increased hits on the companys website, and those increased hits increase the opportunities for sales.
One of the biggest reasons for this is its low cost. For as little as $5, you can start advertising on the web in less than 5 minutes from now.
Is business card printing a feasible home business?
The increasing expenses identified with going to work daily has made home based business a yearning for almost every office worker. Establishing a home based business may just be a dream for most people today but it can be a reality with proper planning and determination. A home based is ideal for working mothers who want to spend more time at home with their children. However, it is often difficult to start a home based business fulltime because of the financial requirements of every household today.
A person dreaming of a home based business should start putting his dreams into action by choosing a home based business idea. To be more feasible a person should consider a home based business that is of interest to her and which she already has the skills for.
It is best to make a list of your talent, skills and experience and match this with a list of prospective home based business ideas. If you are interested in a certain hobby this would be a good start for a profitable home based business.
If are creative and have computer designing knowledge then it would be possible for you to go into selling business cards right in the privacy of your own home. A business card home based business does not require a commercial office although you must have plenty of contacts to sell your business cards to.
As you can see, there is plenty of opportunity here to make money, legitimately. There is no con involved. Nothing illegal involved. Just good business practice. So is making money online through affiliate marketing a scam? Absolutely not!
Learning from people who are successful will drastically speed up your learning curve and help you achieve your goals. There are many tactics and strategies that you must know about before you start promoting any affiliate program. This actually will save you a lot of time and money, because you will know which systems or advertising methods will bring profit and which will not. Above all you should provide unique service. If you do not have the time you pay other people to do it. . There are no big secrets to making money.
How do you start to make money on the internet?First of all, your product or service needs to be something that people have a demand for in order for it to make any money.
You need to have a high speed computer and a colored printer to start with your business card home based business. You should also equip your computer with different graphics and design software to help you in creating different business card designs.
Business cards have a ready made market because this is an important tool not only for business people but also for ordinary people who want their own cards. Even students and young professionals feel more confident if they can present their own business cards to colleagues and acquaintances so get hold of these markets.
You also need to scout for boards in different designs and colors to match the personality and the occupation of your client. There are various designs and quality of boards for business cards and these are available in bookstores and in malls.
Make sample business cards for your friends and acquaintances and print them out in twenties. You can give out the cards as tokens and samples but keep one or two for each card design and make a business card album so your future clients can see samples of your work. Full reviews on Making Money Opportunity here. Proven Money Making Opportunity as seen on CNN Money, CBS and Forbes.
Although you are printing the business cards at home, you can get as many clients depending on your contacts and your marketing style. Make sure to post flyers and give out brochures in your neighborhood or even in nearby offices and other establishments. A business card home based business requires a meager capital if you already have the equipment but you can earn much if you know how to market your business cards.
You know that it must be possible! After all you are buying these products and you know that with the millions of people on the internet, that other people must be buying them too. So you know that it is possibile to make money selling other people’s great products, you just need to find out how. Best Money Making Opportunity as seen on CNN, CBS and Forbes! Full details at http://www.money-2007.info
These were all of the most important methods you should know in order to start making money off the internet with your home based business.
Affiliate programs are the best option to start online if one does not have enough time, finances and expertise on internet business. The risk is minimal
Christian home based business called Disciple's Cross. With Disciple's Cross, you make beautiful crosses and send these crosses back to the company. The company will pay you for the crosses it accepts. It has been a lot of fun to participate in this business opportunity and wonderful ministry.
Allying a company with several other high volume companies means the company has increased visibility with all of the other companys customers or potential clients. This increased visibility lends itself to increased hits on the companys website, and those increased hits increase the opportunities for sales.
One of the biggest reasons for this is its low cost. For as little as $5, you can start advertising on the web in less than 5 minutes from now.
Is business card printing a feasible home business?
The increasing expenses identified with going to work daily has made home based business a yearning for almost every office worker. Establishing a home based business may just be a dream for most people today but it can be a reality with proper planning and determination. A home based is ideal for working mothers who want to spend more time at home with their children. However, it is often difficult to start a home based business fulltime because of the financial requirements of every household today.
A person dreaming of a home based business should start putting his dreams into action by choosing a home based business idea. To be more feasible a person should consider a home based business that is of interest to her and which she already has the skills for.
It is best to make a list of your talent, skills and experience and match this with a list of prospective home based business ideas. If you are interested in a certain hobby this would be a good start for a profitable home based business.
If are creative and have computer designing knowledge then it would be possible for you to go into selling business cards right in the privacy of your own home. A business card home based business does not require a commercial office although you must have plenty of contacts to sell your business cards to.
As you can see, there is plenty of opportunity here to make money, legitimately. There is no con involved. Nothing illegal involved. Just good business practice. So is making money online through affiliate marketing a scam? Absolutely not!
Learning from people who are successful will drastically speed up your learning curve and help you achieve your goals. There are many tactics and strategies that you must know about before you start promoting any affiliate program. This actually will save you a lot of time and money, because you will know which systems or advertising methods will bring profit and which will not. Above all you should provide unique service. If you do not have the time you pay other people to do it. . There are no big secrets to making money.
How do you start to make money on the internet?First of all, your product or service needs to be something that people have a demand for in order for it to make any money.
You need to have a high speed computer and a colored printer to start with your business card home based business. You should also equip your computer with different graphics and design software to help you in creating different business card designs.
Business cards have a ready made market because this is an important tool not only for business people but also for ordinary people who want their own cards. Even students and young professionals feel more confident if they can present their own business cards to colleagues and acquaintances so get hold of these markets.
You also need to scout for boards in different designs and colors to match the personality and the occupation of your client. There are various designs and quality of boards for business cards and these are available in bookstores and in malls.
Make sample business cards for your friends and acquaintances and print them out in twenties. You can give out the cards as tokens and samples but keep one or two for each card design and make a business card album so your future clients can see samples of your work. Full reviews on Making Money Opportunity here. Proven Money Making Opportunity as seen on CNN Money, CBS and Forbes.
Although you are printing the business cards at home, you can get as many clients depending on your contacts and your marketing style. Make sure to post flyers and give out brochures in your neighborhood or even in nearby offices and other establishments. A business card home based business requires a meager capital if you already have the equipment but you can earn much if you know how to market your business cards.
You know that it must be possible! After all you are buying these products and you know that with the millions of people on the internet, that other people must be buying them too. So you know that it is possibile to make money selling other people’s great products, you just need to find out how. Best Money Making Opportunity as seen on CNN, CBS and Forbes! Full details at http://www.money-2007.info
These were all of the most important methods you should know in order to start making money off the internet with your home based business.
Affiliate programs are the best option to start online if one does not have enough time, finances and expertise on internet business. The risk is minimal
Christian home based business called Disciple's Cross. With Disciple's Cross, you make beautiful crosses and send these crosses back to the company. The company will pay you for the crosses it accepts. It has been a lot of fun to participate in this business opportunity and wonderful ministry.
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.
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.
Keeping and Bringing Customers to Your Business
Business greeting cards are a clever way to introduce and keep contact with your potential customers. It is a perfect sales tool to open door with a prospective customer. There are times when you feel unappreciated. Ask yourself, how often do you feel taken for granted? Now think about your customers and ask yourself, how much are they worth to you? When you send well-presented greeting cards to your customers they feel that they matter to you.
Most businesses focus on quality but remember that relationships make the difference. Keep in mind that people come back when they feel special. So get personal with your customers and they will reward you with more repeat sales and referrals than you can ever imagine.
One of the good things about business greeting cards is that they last. When people receive cards from someone they don’t expect their curiosity is aroused. And after opening your card, chances are they would display it in their offices or living rooms.
There are other reasons why business greeting cards are important in businesses.
1. Oftentimes, they are more effective than initial phone calls. By sending a greeting card you have a reason to make a follow up call a few days after the recipient receives it.
2. It is a good way to keep in touch without being too pushy.
3. The greeting card lets your customers know that you are always there when needed.
4. Your unique or humorous card will be too valuable to toss; thus, they will be a constant reminder that you sent them.
For customers, business greeting cards also have advantages:
1. Your existing clients will think that you take time to think of them.
2. Greeting cards are a non-aggressive way of communicating. A greeting card will not interrupt their activities.
3. Your current and prospective clients will appreciate your effort to stay in touch with them.
The idea is to keep your card short and to the point. Save the lengthy conversation for initial phone contact or meeting.
Really, your greeting card can make your customers feel that you remember them and care about them. These little things are priceless. Just remember how much more difficult and time-consuming it is to find a new client rather than to keep a current one. In the end, taking time to contact your existing and potential customers will pay a lifetime dividend both personally and professionally.
Most businesses focus on quality but remember that relationships make the difference. Keep in mind that people come back when they feel special. So get personal with your customers and they will reward you with more repeat sales and referrals than you can ever imagine.
One of the good things about business greeting cards is that they last. When people receive cards from someone they don’t expect their curiosity is aroused. And after opening your card, chances are they would display it in their offices or living rooms.
There are other reasons why business greeting cards are important in businesses.
1. Oftentimes, they are more effective than initial phone calls. By sending a greeting card you have a reason to make a follow up call a few days after the recipient receives it.
2. It is a good way to keep in touch without being too pushy.
3. The greeting card lets your customers know that you are always there when needed.
4. Your unique or humorous card will be too valuable to toss; thus, they will be a constant reminder that you sent them.
For customers, business greeting cards also have advantages:
1. Your existing clients will think that you take time to think of them.
2. Greeting cards are a non-aggressive way of communicating. A greeting card will not interrupt their activities.
3. Your current and prospective clients will appreciate your effort to stay in touch with them.
The idea is to keep your card short and to the point. Save the lengthy conversation for initial phone contact or meeting.
Really, your greeting card can make your customers feel that you remember them and care about them. These little things are priceless. Just remember how much more difficult and time-consuming it is to find a new client rather than to keep a current one. In the end, taking time to contact your existing and potential customers will pay a lifetime dividend both personally and professionally.
Is FLASH Appropriate in a Business Web Site?
The short answer is maybe. The long answer is that the question might be better asked, “Is a 100% FLASH web site appropriate in business?.” The answer to this question, in my humble opinion is, absolutely not. In fact, we have had several clients come to us this year who have 100% Flash web sites that are going to completely remake their web sites because they simply do not work for them. They are having issues with search engines and with clients who can’t see their web sites.
Of course, they do work in terms of visuals. If you visit a Flash web site you will see it. Just because a visitor can see the web site doesn’t automatically mean that the web site is working for your business.
What is Flash?
Flash is technology developed by Macromedia, a leader in web development tools. Flash movies are a compilation of many images, elements and text that is then compiled into a nice, tight little digital file that then gets put on the internet. Some designers build entire web sites using this technology. Graphic designers quite like the technology because it gives them a great opportunity to show how talented they are by developing interactive, moving, and quite honestly some very entertaining web sites. Remember though that the purpose for your business web site is to communicate with your existing and prospective clients, not to show everyone what a talented designer you hired.
What is Flash Good For?
Flash is great as an add-on element for some graphic components of a business web site. Recently the ability for web masters to compile digital audio and video into flash movies has been simplified and using flash to stream a video is a great example of a perfect use for Flash in a business web site.
Another example of where Flash is well used and well received is on web sites that are about presentation and not information. For example a rock band, kids web sites with little games, a photo gallery, a movie clip are all places where Flash is particularly well suited.
Does Flash have a place on the internet? Absolutely it does, but as a web site purchaser though, you have to ask yourself the question, “does Flash have a place on my business web site?”
Can Everyone See Flash
The short answer is no. Although widely available and a component of most web browsers when they are installed, not everyone has flash installed with their web browser. If a visitor who does not have a flash plug-in on their PC visits a site that requires the Flash plug-in, their web browser will prompt them to install it. PC and web savvy visitors will likely go ahead and do it, but some users (like my mother) panic if a pop-up window asks a question and they walk away, or surf away, thinking they just infected their PC with the latest doomsday virus. All of that said, a large percentage of people can see Flash without too much anxiety.
Things to Consider
The Intro Flash Splash
Flash is commonly used for “splash” pages or “entry pages” into web sites. We have all seen them, the animated movie or commercial that leads us into a more traditional marketing web site. Have you ever wondered why the Flash designer almost always places a “skip intro” link on this page? I believe it’s because they know that if they don’t allow people to skip the Flash splash screen that they are going to lose the visitor. Remember that most internet surfers are impatient and they are usually looking for information, not another commercial. Get people to your main web page and do it fast.
The trend of using ‘splash’ pages has declined in the past couple of years as the internet has matured. It is my belief, and widely shared, that if your web site is about good information, then an entry screen is just a road block to your visitors.
The Search Engine
Search engines send out automated robots called “spiders” that crawl through the internet and create massive databases of web pages. People then search for web pages based on key words that are embedded in to the web page in hidden tags as well as in the text that is on the web page itself. If it is important to you that people find your web site then it is important to you to create well written text and links on your web pages that the search engines can find, read and follow. Search engines can not see the text in a Flash page. Search engines can not see hyper-links on flash pages and therefore can not follow the links. Your web page will not seem very important to most search engines because to a search engine your web site will consist of one page and the only relevant information that the search engine will see is your meta-tags if they exist.
Having said all of that, there are arguably ways to get a Flash site indexed and catalogued by a search engine. It simply is not the easiest thing to do and you will likely require a Search Engine Optimization specialist to assist you.
Reciprocal Linking
If you are kind enough to put links on your web site for other web sites then you are providing them with a “vote of confidence” in terms of search engine rankings. The more web sites that link to a web site, in the eyes of the search engine, makes the linked web site more important. Taking that a step further, the more important the web site that links to you the higher the potential ranking your site will get. Likewise sites that provide you with a reciprocal link are in effect giving you their “vote of confidence” and in turn making your web site more important.
Remember what I said earlier? Search engines can not see hyper-links when they are embedded into flash. So although the links are appreciated they will not contribute to the search engines perception of how valuable your web site may be to the world and as a result all those “votes of confidence” are going to waste.
Make sure that people who provide you with a link from their web site to your is not embedded into a flash page. Links should be in pure HTML or Hyper-Text MarkUp Language. If you provide links to other web sites on your site, the same applies to you, use HTML.
Don’t Break my Back Button
Web-browsers all have a back button. As software users, and more specifically as web surfers, we use the back button as a matter of course. It is a good practice as a web developer to not ‘break the back button’. Unfortunately because of the nature of Flash, the back button doesn’t work for backward navigation in the flash web site.
Create a Bookmark if You Can
People like to bookmark pages on the internet so that they can quickly return to them later on. Web surfers do not always bookmark the index page, or the main page, of a web site. For example if you site has a nifty currency converter or a great mortgage calculator on it, people may simply want to bookmark just that page. You can not bookmark an internal page within a Flash site. You can only bookmark the main page. Try it. Visit a 100% Flash web site, surf around a bit, then try to bookmark the page you are looking at. It doesn’t work, because you literally haven’t changed pages from when you first arrived at the site, you have simply “played the animation” which made it appear as though you went to different pages.
Cost
The cost to develop a traditional marketing web site using standard design graphic, HTML and text is in most cases less expensive than using Flash. If you designer proposes to use Flash, ask the question, “how much would it cost to do the same thing without flash?”.
Making Revisions and Updates
If you have your web site built 100% in Flash, you have subscribed to a certain skill-set in your designer. If you want to make revisions you will always need to use someone who can work within Flash. The same theory applies if your web site is images, HTML and text. The distinct difference is that there are far more web masters that work with the later than in Flash. It also typically will take longer to make revisions to Flash sites and as a result your cost of maintenance can be quite steep.
The Source Files
Flash source files are the heart of a flash movie, element or web site. The file will be names something like mywebsite.FLA. This is the native un-compiled source file for a Flash file. Once the designer is ready to deploy the Flash to the web server the file is compiled into a different format. The compiled file in our example would be called mywebsite.SWF.
So to clarify, the original artwork and design is worked on in the .FLA format and the final file that goes on the web server is .SWF.
I see it time and time again where the designer does not provide the client with the source file for their flash elements or web site. They protect the .FLA files, and guess what, you have to go to them for updates and revisions. It does not matter how talented your new web master or designer is, if you do not have the source file with the .FLA extension for your Flash site you will not be able to update it. You should ask your designer to provide you with this source file if you decide to use Flash elements on your web site.
A Final Note On Flash
Please do not interpret my remarks here as me being “anti-flash” the fact is, it really is a great media technology. If you have the budget and want to develop your web site using 100% pure flash, there are some things you can do to mitigate some of the pitfalls that I have described here.
Use a javascript to detect the browser capabilities of the visitor and ensure that they have Flash plug-in to support the Flash on your site. If the result of this simple test is ‘no they do not support Flash’ then the right thing to do is direct them to an alternative HTML based web site with your content. So, although you can overcome the missing Flash plug-in you have to have two web sites designed (the Flash one and the HTML one).
In Summary
Flash is a great design tool to add elements to your website to ‘spice it up’.
Flash is great for delivering rich media like audio and video.
Use the theory, add flash to your web page, don’t add your web page to flash and you will deliver a great experience to your visitors.
If your web site is about delivering information, make the information first and the design second. Web sites that provide great content do not need to wiggle, giggle, blink, click and buzz.
Of course, they do work in terms of visuals. If you visit a Flash web site you will see it. Just because a visitor can see the web site doesn’t automatically mean that the web site is working for your business.
What is Flash?
Flash is technology developed by Macromedia, a leader in web development tools. Flash movies are a compilation of many images, elements and text that is then compiled into a nice, tight little digital file that then gets put on the internet. Some designers build entire web sites using this technology. Graphic designers quite like the technology because it gives them a great opportunity to show how talented they are by developing interactive, moving, and quite honestly some very entertaining web sites. Remember though that the purpose for your business web site is to communicate with your existing and prospective clients, not to show everyone what a talented designer you hired.
What is Flash Good For?
Flash is great as an add-on element for some graphic components of a business web site. Recently the ability for web masters to compile digital audio and video into flash movies has been simplified and using flash to stream a video is a great example of a perfect use for Flash in a business web site.
Another example of where Flash is well used and well received is on web sites that are about presentation and not information. For example a rock band, kids web sites with little games, a photo gallery, a movie clip are all places where Flash is particularly well suited.
Does Flash have a place on the internet? Absolutely it does, but as a web site purchaser though, you have to ask yourself the question, “does Flash have a place on my business web site?”
Can Everyone See Flash
The short answer is no. Although widely available and a component of most web browsers when they are installed, not everyone has flash installed with their web browser. If a visitor who does not have a flash plug-in on their PC visits a site that requires the Flash plug-in, their web browser will prompt them to install it. PC and web savvy visitors will likely go ahead and do it, but some users (like my mother) panic if a pop-up window asks a question and they walk away, or surf away, thinking they just infected their PC with the latest doomsday virus. All of that said, a large percentage of people can see Flash without too much anxiety.
Things to Consider
The Intro Flash Splash
Flash is commonly used for “splash” pages or “entry pages” into web sites. We have all seen them, the animated movie or commercial that leads us into a more traditional marketing web site. Have you ever wondered why the Flash designer almost always places a “skip intro” link on this page? I believe it’s because they know that if they don’t allow people to skip the Flash splash screen that they are going to lose the visitor. Remember that most internet surfers are impatient and they are usually looking for information, not another commercial. Get people to your main web page and do it fast.
The trend of using ‘splash’ pages has declined in the past couple of years as the internet has matured. It is my belief, and widely shared, that if your web site is about good information, then an entry screen is just a road block to your visitors.
The Search Engine
Search engines send out automated robots called “spiders” that crawl through the internet and create massive databases of web pages. People then search for web pages based on key words that are embedded in to the web page in hidden tags as well as in the text that is on the web page itself. If it is important to you that people find your web site then it is important to you to create well written text and links on your web pages that the search engines can find, read and follow. Search engines can not see the text in a Flash page. Search engines can not see hyper-links on flash pages and therefore can not follow the links. Your web page will not seem very important to most search engines because to a search engine your web site will consist of one page and the only relevant information that the search engine will see is your meta-tags if they exist.
Having said all of that, there are arguably ways to get a Flash site indexed and catalogued by a search engine. It simply is not the easiest thing to do and you will likely require a Search Engine Optimization specialist to assist you.
Reciprocal Linking
If you are kind enough to put links on your web site for other web sites then you are providing them with a “vote of confidence” in terms of search engine rankings. The more web sites that link to a web site, in the eyes of the search engine, makes the linked web site more important. Taking that a step further, the more important the web site that links to you the higher the potential ranking your site will get. Likewise sites that provide you with a reciprocal link are in effect giving you their “vote of confidence” and in turn making your web site more important.
Remember what I said earlier? Search engines can not see hyper-links when they are embedded into flash. So although the links are appreciated they will not contribute to the search engines perception of how valuable your web site may be to the world and as a result all those “votes of confidence” are going to waste.
Make sure that people who provide you with a link from their web site to your is not embedded into a flash page. Links should be in pure HTML or Hyper-Text MarkUp Language. If you provide links to other web sites on your site, the same applies to you, use HTML.
Don’t Break my Back Button
Web-browsers all have a back button. As software users, and more specifically as web surfers, we use the back button as a matter of course. It is a good practice as a web developer to not ‘break the back button’. Unfortunately because of the nature of Flash, the back button doesn’t work for backward navigation in the flash web site.
Create a Bookmark if You Can
People like to bookmark pages on the internet so that they can quickly return to them later on. Web surfers do not always bookmark the index page, or the main page, of a web site. For example if you site has a nifty currency converter or a great mortgage calculator on it, people may simply want to bookmark just that page. You can not bookmark an internal page within a Flash site. You can only bookmark the main page. Try it. Visit a 100% Flash web site, surf around a bit, then try to bookmark the page you are looking at. It doesn’t work, because you literally haven’t changed pages from when you first arrived at the site, you have simply “played the animation” which made it appear as though you went to different pages.
Cost
The cost to develop a traditional marketing web site using standard design graphic, HTML and text is in most cases less expensive than using Flash. If you designer proposes to use Flash, ask the question, “how much would it cost to do the same thing without flash?”.
Making Revisions and Updates
If you have your web site built 100% in Flash, you have subscribed to a certain skill-set in your designer. If you want to make revisions you will always need to use someone who can work within Flash. The same theory applies if your web site is images, HTML and text. The distinct difference is that there are far more web masters that work with the later than in Flash. It also typically will take longer to make revisions to Flash sites and as a result your cost of maintenance can be quite steep.
The Source Files
Flash source files are the heart of a flash movie, element or web site. The file will be names something like mywebsite.FLA. This is the native un-compiled source file for a Flash file. Once the designer is ready to deploy the Flash to the web server the file is compiled into a different format. The compiled file in our example would be called mywebsite.SWF.
So to clarify, the original artwork and design is worked on in the .FLA format and the final file that goes on the web server is .SWF.
I see it time and time again where the designer does not provide the client with the source file for their flash elements or web site. They protect the .FLA files, and guess what, you have to go to them for updates and revisions. It does not matter how talented your new web master or designer is, if you do not have the source file with the .FLA extension for your Flash site you will not be able to update it. You should ask your designer to provide you with this source file if you decide to use Flash elements on your web site.
A Final Note On Flash
Please do not interpret my remarks here as me being “anti-flash” the fact is, it really is a great media technology. If you have the budget and want to develop your web site using 100% pure flash, there are some things you can do to mitigate some of the pitfalls that I have described here.
Use a javascript to detect the browser capabilities of the visitor and ensure that they have Flash plug-in to support the Flash on your site. If the result of this simple test is ‘no they do not support Flash’ then the right thing to do is direct them to an alternative HTML based web site with your content. So, although you can overcome the missing Flash plug-in you have to have two web sites designed (the Flash one and the HTML one).
In Summary
Flash is a great design tool to add elements to your website to ‘spice it up’.
Flash is great for delivering rich media like audio and video.
Use the theory, add flash to your web page, don’t add your web page to flash and you will deliver a great experience to your visitors.
If your web site is about delivering information, make the information first and the design second. Web sites that provide great content do not need to wiggle, giggle, blink, click and buzz.
Passing Your Home Business On To Your Kids
There is something that is part of a home business that you might not have thought of, and that is where you are going with your business in the future. Remember that although you are around right now to run your home business, like any business, you should be hoping that you are going to continue to be successful and that you are going to continue to move foreword in whatever you are doing. If this is the case, you should be thinking about the future of your business and what you plan on doing with it. Remember that you might want to pass it on, in the end.
Passing On A Business
When it comes to whether or not you want to pass your home business on to your children, you have to think about it in the same way that you would think about passing on a regular business to your kids. There are several things that you have to think about, and you have to make sure that your family knows what you want to do.
Interest
First of all, you want to make sure that your family is interested. You don’t want to expect your children to take over your business if they aren’t interested in it, or if they have no idea what it is all about. If your kids don’t seem like they are interested, you might be better of selling your business before your retire so that you know your business is in the right hands. Remember, when you sell your business, you want to make your children happy and you want to keep your business running. If you don’t think your kids are going to be happy running the business, it might not be the best thing to do.
Responsibility
Another thing that you should keep in mind is that you have worked hard to get your business where it is, and you are going to want to be sure that it gets passed on to someone who is going to be responsible with it. This is one of the most important things that you have to think about when you are considering whether or not to give your kids your home business. Remember that if they have shown interest, and you think that they are going to handle your home business in a responsible way, this might be something that you consider doing.
In the end you have to remember that you are the one who has built up your home business, and this means that you are the one who has a say in what happens to it when you are finished being in charge. Make sure that you have made your intentions clear, and make sure that you feel good about what is going to happen to your business later on down the road.
Passing On A Business
When it comes to whether or not you want to pass your home business on to your children, you have to think about it in the same way that you would think about passing on a regular business to your kids. There are several things that you have to think about, and you have to make sure that your family knows what you want to do.
Interest
First of all, you want to make sure that your family is interested. You don’t want to expect your children to take over your business if they aren’t interested in it, or if they have no idea what it is all about. If your kids don’t seem like they are interested, you might be better of selling your business before your retire so that you know your business is in the right hands. Remember, when you sell your business, you want to make your children happy and you want to keep your business running. If you don’t think your kids are going to be happy running the business, it might not be the best thing to do.
Responsibility
Another thing that you should keep in mind is that you have worked hard to get your business where it is, and you are going to want to be sure that it gets passed on to someone who is going to be responsible with it. This is one of the most important things that you have to think about when you are considering whether or not to give your kids your home business. Remember that if they have shown interest, and you think that they are going to handle your home business in a responsible way, this might be something that you consider doing.
In the end you have to remember that you are the one who has built up your home business, and this means that you are the one who has a say in what happens to it when you are finished being in charge. Make sure that you have made your intentions clear, and make sure that you feel good about what is going to happen to your business later on down the road.
Learning How To Run Your Business From Expert Business People
One of the best things that you can do as you start a business, no matter what you are doing for your business, is to talk to people who are good at this, and people who already have successful businesses. This is a great way to learn about the business world, and to learn how you can fit into your own home business and be a success with the things that you have learned.
Find them
As you go to start your own business, one of the things that you should look for is people who are good at what they do. This might be an older friend or a relative, or someone who started a business a long time ago. No matter who it is, there are going to be valuable things that you can learn from them and you are going to be able to get a great idea about how your business should be run and the things that you can do to make your business even better as you go ahead and try to compete in the world today.
Ask Them
When you have found someone who you can get advice from when it comes to your own business, all that is left is for you to talk to them. Make a list of questions that you want to ask them, and then simply go to talk to them about the things that you want to talk about. This is something that you can do in one day, or even you can do over a longer time period. No matter what, you’ll find that talking to someone who already has been through the things that you are going through is a great way to get some advice and to get some idea of what you should be doing with your life and what you should be doing with your business.
You might even end up finding a mentor who can take you under their wing and who can support you through your business and through your life. This is a great way to network and a great way to build up your skills when it comes to being a networking agent and being someone who is viable and important in the community as a whole. There are many things that you can do to make sure that this happens, and the more than you can do when you are talking to people, the better off you are going to be as you start your own business.
Remember, there are always going to be people who are willing to help you. All that you have to do is to go out and find them wherever you can, and take whatever advice that they have to offer you. You will simply find that this is the best way to be, and that you are going to be able to be very successful.
Find them
As you go to start your own business, one of the things that you should look for is people who are good at what they do. This might be an older friend or a relative, or someone who started a business a long time ago. No matter who it is, there are going to be valuable things that you can learn from them and you are going to be able to get a great idea about how your business should be run and the things that you can do to make your business even better as you go ahead and try to compete in the world today.
Ask Them
When you have found someone who you can get advice from when it comes to your own business, all that is left is for you to talk to them. Make a list of questions that you want to ask them, and then simply go to talk to them about the things that you want to talk about. This is something that you can do in one day, or even you can do over a longer time period. No matter what, you’ll find that talking to someone who already has been through the things that you are going through is a great way to get some advice and to get some idea of what you should be doing with your life and what you should be doing with your business.
You might even end up finding a mentor who can take you under their wing and who can support you through your business and through your life. This is a great way to network and a great way to build up your skills when it comes to being a networking agent and being someone who is viable and important in the community as a whole. There are many things that you can do to make sure that this happens, and the more than you can do when you are talking to people, the better off you are going to be as you start your own business.
Remember, there are always going to be people who are willing to help you. All that you have to do is to go out and find them wherever you can, and take whatever advice that they have to offer you. You will simply find that this is the best way to be, and that you are going to be able to be very successful.
Keeping Up The Appearances At Your Home Business
When you work form home, it is very easy to simply get out of bed and go to your work in your pajamas and not worry about what you look like. After all , if all of your clients are in different locations, and you aren’t seeing anyone, what is the harm in being lazy and not dressing up for work?
Be Professional
There is no harm in your business, per say, if you simply go to work dressed in whatever you feel like, but the harm is going to lie in the long term affects that you are going to see on yourself if you don’t’ dress for work. Now, you don’t’ have to be wearing a fancy suit or a glamorous outfit, but even if you are working at home all day, part of what you need to be doing is getting dressed for work.
IF you are working at home in whatever you wore to bed, you are sending yourself the message that it is okay to be lazy and that it is okay to simply slack off and not do what you should be doing. You are also sending a message, if even to yourself, that you are not professional and should not be treated as such. If you do this for a long period of time, your business is going to start to feel like just something else you do at home, and you are going to lose site of the fact that you are actually running a business.
There are some things that you can do to make sure that you always stay professional and that you keep this in your head at all times, which will make your business run much more smoothly.
First of all, be sure that you dress for work each day. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as you might if you worked in an office building, but you should be able to feel like you are at work, and you should wear something other than the clothes you would wear if you were simply at home.
Also, you should set hours for yourself to be at work. Working from home is something that can be great, but it can also turn into something that means you have to be at work all of the time. If you set yourself business hours, and stick to them, you are more likely to treat your business as a business, and not as something that is taking over your life. Something else that you have to be sure to always do is to answer the phone and emails in a professional manner, so that whoever you are communicating with will know that you are taking yourself, and your home business, very seriously.
Be Professional
There is no harm in your business, per say, if you simply go to work dressed in whatever you feel like, but the harm is going to lie in the long term affects that you are going to see on yourself if you don’t’ dress for work. Now, you don’t’ have to be wearing a fancy suit or a glamorous outfit, but even if you are working at home all day, part of what you need to be doing is getting dressed for work.
IF you are working at home in whatever you wore to bed, you are sending yourself the message that it is okay to be lazy and that it is okay to simply slack off and not do what you should be doing. You are also sending a message, if even to yourself, that you are not professional and should not be treated as such. If you do this for a long period of time, your business is going to start to feel like just something else you do at home, and you are going to lose site of the fact that you are actually running a business.
There are some things that you can do to make sure that you always stay professional and that you keep this in your head at all times, which will make your business run much more smoothly.
First of all, be sure that you dress for work each day. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as you might if you worked in an office building, but you should be able to feel like you are at work, and you should wear something other than the clothes you would wear if you were simply at home.
Also, you should set hours for yourself to be at work. Working from home is something that can be great, but it can also turn into something that means you have to be at work all of the time. If you set yourself business hours, and stick to them, you are more likely to treat your business as a business, and not as something that is taking over your life. Something else that you have to be sure to always do is to answer the phone and emails in a professional manner, so that whoever you are communicating with will know that you are taking yourself, and your home business, very seriously.
Keeping Up Business Momentum This Season
I don't know about you, but once the cooler weather sets in, I have the urge to head to the Appalachians, sit around a campfire and sip cocoa with my family. It's a bit harder for me to focus on business with the Autumn leaves so lovely!
What about you?
Here are a few ideas that will help you keep the momentum going in your business even while you play a little bit. Soon enough it will be too cold to spend much time out of doors, so better go enjoy it now.
Blog When Nobody's Home
Just because you are out playing doesn't mean your blog has to shut down. If you use WordPress you can schedule blog posts in advance. Write a bunch of them and have one a day added automatically. If your blog is on Blogger, you might want to write several posts, save them as a draft, then pay a Virtual Assistant to post them for you.
Keep In Touch With Subscribers
Most newsletter management systems allow you to schedule broadcasts. If yours doesn't, get a new one! I use Aweber and WahmCart and highly recommend both.
Load up your autoresponder with informative emails to keep selling your product for you as well as prevent your customers and subscribers from forgetting you.
Invest In Strategic Advertising
My favorite form of advertising is free, but spending a few dollars towards some valuable advertising can bring you new business while you do other things. It's a smart investment.
For instance, Kelly McCausey's WC magazine offers VERY reasonable advertising costs.
Get Others to Publish You
If you're doing article marketing (and you are, aren't you?!), why not have an article distribution service like iSnare send out several of your articles to thousands of publishers?
While you're away from your computer, other people are adding your articles to their sites and getting you additional traffic, search engine rankings and expert status. It feels really nice to log into your email program and have dozens of emails saying: "We have published your article here..."
The same applies to press releases. Craft an informative release and send it out to media outlets that reach your target market.
One of the wonderful things about an Internet business is the ability to create passive income. If you set things up properly, you should be able to get away with playing a little and still earn money. Now, go jump in a pile of leaves somewhere.
What about you?
Here are a few ideas that will help you keep the momentum going in your business even while you play a little bit. Soon enough it will be too cold to spend much time out of doors, so better go enjoy it now.
Blog When Nobody's Home
Just because you are out playing doesn't mean your blog has to shut down. If you use WordPress you can schedule blog posts in advance. Write a bunch of them and have one a day added automatically. If your blog is on Blogger, you might want to write several posts, save them as a draft, then pay a Virtual Assistant to post them for you.
Keep In Touch With Subscribers
Most newsletter management systems allow you to schedule broadcasts. If yours doesn't, get a new one! I use Aweber and WahmCart and highly recommend both.
Load up your autoresponder with informative emails to keep selling your product for you as well as prevent your customers and subscribers from forgetting you.
Invest In Strategic Advertising
My favorite form of advertising is free, but spending a few dollars towards some valuable advertising can bring you new business while you do other things. It's a smart investment.
For instance, Kelly McCausey's WC magazine offers VERY reasonable advertising costs.
Get Others to Publish You
If you're doing article marketing (and you are, aren't you?!), why not have an article distribution service like iSnare send out several of your articles to thousands of publishers?
While you're away from your computer, other people are adding your articles to their sites and getting you additional traffic, search engine rankings and expert status. It feels really nice to log into your email program and have dozens of emails saying: "We have published your article here..."
The same applies to press releases. Craft an informative release and send it out to media outlets that reach your target market.
One of the wonderful things about an Internet business is the ability to create passive income. If you set things up properly, you should be able to get away with playing a little and still earn money. Now, go jump in a pile of leaves somewhere.
Is A Limited Liability Company (LLC) Right For Your Business?
Up until a few years ago there were only 3 types of formal business formations. These were the corporation, a partnership and a sole proprietorship. Each had both positives and negatives and depending on your situation, you would choose the right one for you.
The latest business type however has attempted to create like a hybrid with the benefits of sole proprietorship and protections of a corporation without the formalities.
An LLC (limited liability company) provides the benefits of liability protection, like a formal corporation but also features the tax design of a sole proprietorship or partnership. The biggest benefits of an LLC are in the taxation and liability areas, although unlike a corporation, an LLC can be set up for a limited amount of time only.
Unlike a corporation where income is taxed twice, an LLC business passes through income to the owners. That is, the income goes directly to the owners of the company who then are responsible for the taxes. Of course good business practices are a must and this doesn't mean that the company can be treated as a personal piggy bank for the owners.
As the rules that bind an LLC are more in line with a sole proprietorship, many of the corporate governance like a board of directors is not required. The LLC formation also makes it easy to dissolve without the filing and notice requirements of a formal corporation.
LLC's can usually be formed with a simple form filed with the state. Check your local authorities for more information on the type of filing, forms, and other information that may be needed. One identifying characteristic to note is that the name of any limited liability company needs to end with the letters "LLC." Here's an example: Joe's Shoe Repair,LLC.
Filing LLC business documentation though is not difficult and can be accomplished in several ways.
An attorney can generate the basic documentation and should cost a couple of hundred dollars. This is recommended if you're planning to change the business type of an ongoing business. If you already have a business in operation, it's necessary to cover all the details. Using an attorney also can give peace of mind should you be concerned.
If however, you're just starting out or have a brand new business, filing the necessary paperwork is really very easy. To set up an LLC, you file articles of formation or articles of organization with the state. This document is usually an easy to complete one-page form. It has areas where you can fill in the blanks with basic information about your new company including the name and other important information. The state agency that is usually charged with accepting LLC filings is the state department of corporations. If your state doesn't use this name, a quick call to the secretary of state office can point you in the right direction. Some state also have additional minor requirements to open an LLC company. The state department where you file the documents will let you know of any additional requirements.
After the state accepts your articles of LLC formation and you complete any other state requirements, you're done with your LLC formation.
The latest business type however has attempted to create like a hybrid with the benefits of sole proprietorship and protections of a corporation without the formalities.
An LLC (limited liability company) provides the benefits of liability protection, like a formal corporation but also features the tax design of a sole proprietorship or partnership. The biggest benefits of an LLC are in the taxation and liability areas, although unlike a corporation, an LLC can be set up for a limited amount of time only.
Unlike a corporation where income is taxed twice, an LLC business passes through income to the owners. That is, the income goes directly to the owners of the company who then are responsible for the taxes. Of course good business practices are a must and this doesn't mean that the company can be treated as a personal piggy bank for the owners.
As the rules that bind an LLC are more in line with a sole proprietorship, many of the corporate governance like a board of directors is not required. The LLC formation also makes it easy to dissolve without the filing and notice requirements of a formal corporation.
LLC's can usually be formed with a simple form filed with the state. Check your local authorities for more information on the type of filing, forms, and other information that may be needed. One identifying characteristic to note is that the name of any limited liability company needs to end with the letters "LLC." Here's an example: Joe's Shoe Repair,LLC.
Filing LLC business documentation though is not difficult and can be accomplished in several ways.
An attorney can generate the basic documentation and should cost a couple of hundred dollars. This is recommended if you're planning to change the business type of an ongoing business. If you already have a business in operation, it's necessary to cover all the details. Using an attorney also can give peace of mind should you be concerned.
If however, you're just starting out or have a brand new business, filing the necessary paperwork is really very easy. To set up an LLC, you file articles of formation or articles of organization with the state. This document is usually an easy to complete one-page form. It has areas where you can fill in the blanks with basic information about your new company including the name and other important information. The state agency that is usually charged with accepting LLC filings is the state department of corporations. If your state doesn't use this name, a quick call to the secretary of state office can point you in the right direction. Some state also have additional minor requirements to open an LLC company. The state department where you file the documents will let you know of any additional requirements.
After the state accepts your articles of LLC formation and you complete any other state requirements, you're done with your LLC formation.
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