Having a difficult time getting started? Here is an excellent article I came across that explains what may de-motivate us. Suprisingly, it may not be just ourselves. Read on:

You Can't Get There From Here

A man stops to ask directions, o­nly to be told, "You can't get there from here. If you were in Freeport, you could get there, but you can't get there from here."

So he asks how to get to Freeport. "See. That’s the hard part. You can't get to Freeport." We laugh, but too many of us are behaving as if this were serious information about the journey called life. If, in fact, you can call stuck-in-a-rut a journey at all.

Too many of us invest in the “can’t get there from here” scenario and give up before we take the first step. The Chinese saying, “The longest journey starts with a single step,” doesn’t apply because we won’t take that first step.

And what is this misinformation that causes us to give up without trying?

"Well, you came from a dysfunctional family. You can't expect to get to success from a start like that."

"You blew it when you didn't go to college. You’d be better off if you learn to be content where you are."

Or we're too young. Or too old. The wrong color. The wrong sex. Our history has blemishes. We're too poor. Come from the wrong place. The list is endless.

The fact is, people are willing to stand in line for a chance to tell us why we can't get from here to there, there being where our dreams are.

And they're wrong. What we’ve come through provides the gas in the engine for where we want to go. We’ve learned a lot from our so-called “problems,” and it’s stuff that can’t be learned any other way. We just need to let it motivate us and not let it drag us down.

But we won’t even try if we keep listening to the naysayers. Who are these dream killers? They’re people coasting through life without dreams, mainly because they don’t want to do the work that dreams entail. The way they see it is if you don’t try, you can’t fail. You also can’t succeed, but apparently that’s less painful to them than risking failure. And don’t bother trying to explain to them that failure is a building block to success if you keep o­n keeping o­n.

If the quit-now gang consists of casual acquaintances, we can just tune them out. It’s harder if they’re friends. They’re not going to change just because we have a dream. And they don’t want us to change because our success will reflect poorly o­n them.

If they can’t talk us out of it, and we persist in following our dream, they’ll dump us like a bag of wet garbage. And that’s just fine. Anybody who wants to hold us back isn’t really a friend. We’ll need to find new friends who prefer goal-setting to coasting, Full of dreams themselves, they’ll understand. And cheer us o­n.

Dealing with dream killers is hardest if it’s our family who insists we shouldn’t try to be more than they say we are. We can try to show them how they would benefit from our success. We can try to press o­n toward our goals in spite of all their talk of defeat.

But if they’re pulling us down faster than we can climb up, we may need to love them from a distance. Or we can give up our dream, stay down, and spend our days mourning our loss of what might have been–dead people walking.

The important thing to remember is we can get to some place good from wherever we are–if we’re willing to start the race. Regardless of where we’ve been, everybody has to start somewhere, and where we are now is the o­nly place we have for starting.

Where you are now is your place of new beginnings.

Go get ‘em, Tiger. Or Tigress, as the case may be.

Posted by Chris www.bizmancan.com

Article By: Bette Dowdell

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Bette Dowdell is a former IBM Systems Engineer, small business consultant and software company owner whose avocation is teaching the Bible to just about anybody who will listen. Read about Bette’s books, check out her Meeting Life Head-On blog, listen to her speak and subscribe–free–to her original, take-the-hill quotes at ConfidentFaith.com

Hi everyone! We have not posted any information in regards to time management on here for awhile, so here is a great article we have come across with thanks to William Winch.

Explode Your Network Marketing Business By Being Master Of Your Own Time

Owning your own home-based business does not seem like it would require a great deal of thinking when it comes to time management. Just the time you save by not having to commute to work and back seems like it alone would give you all the elbow room you need to coast through your day at a reasonable pace. The problem with working at home, however, is that distractions and obstacles seem to take precedence over the time we should be working. No one likes to have a problem hanging over their head, or miss their favorite tv show when the tv is just a click away. We like to think that we can get our work done more efficiently if all our problems were taken care of first. Working from home gives you the option to do that. But we forget that no mater how much you solve a problem, the next one is always on it's way.
So what happens at the end of the day when yo have finished all your chores and watched the shows you want to watch, but you have not made any money? You start looking for excuses and wind up blaming the company for your lack of success. Had you had the conviction to set a schedule and stick to it, you would not be a statistic in the high drop-out rate that gives network marketing a bad name.

We must all suffer from one of two pains: Discipline or regret. One of your jobs as a network marketer, who is the CEO of your own business, is to decide which is more painful. To me, discipline weighs ounces and regret weighs tons. I figured this out the hard way by making excuses for ten years instead of being accountable for my own actions. It was only when I developed a schedule and stuck to it that I began to see my business take off.All that is required for you to start your own daily schedule is the desire to make it a success. Making it a success requires you to focus your time on the things that are important before the things that seem urgent.

Doing your laundry is not important. Calling your prospects and inviting them to your briefings or trainings is.If you as a home-based business owner do not make sure you control your days wisely, your days will take control of you. Time is expensive and irreplaceable. your actions need to align with your overall goals. You can not expect to make a profit every single day if you are not sticking to a schedule that weighs heavy on the activities that will bring you income.

One of the best ways to set up a schedule is to block the money-making time as early as possible. This is the most important activity because without it you would have to go back to punching a time clock for someone else. The earlier you get it finished, the easier it is to get it out of the way. It is like when you were a kid and you were told you would not get any desert unless you finished all of your vegetables first. Well, the work is like the vegetables. Get it finished and over with first so you can earn your right to get the reward. What happens to a kid who goes right to the desert and does not eat his vegetables? He gets fat, lazy and sick, and life becomes difficult.

One of the misconceptions about working from home is that the more your work, the more money you will make. This is not true. What if you worked all day using outdated techniques that never make you any money? Those who know proven marketing understand that it is not how many people you talk to, it is who you talk to and how well you can relate to fulfilling their needs, wants and desires.Do not fill your schedule with nothing but work. Instead, focus on being educated on the proper ways to market so you can find a balance between work and leisure that allows you to be successful without spending every waking moment working. You ultimately want to learn how you can talk to only your target audience so when you want to make money, you turn your system on and make it.

Whatever you decide your activities should be, always remember to stick to your schedule and never stray from it. It is the road map you designed for yourself to travel on in order to reach your dreams and goals. If you do not follow your own life's plan, chances are you will fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
By: William Winch

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com/

William Winch is a Business Growth Specialist whose mission is teaching other struggling entrepreneurs how to expand and explode their home-based businesses without breaking the bank. If you are interested in receiving his FREE 20 page Report on how to explode and expand your home-based business, click on on FREE REPORT or by calling him directly at (585) 234-5283.

Posted by Chris Keenan
www.bizmancan.com

Here is a great article by Gurpreet Singh. Thank you so much. Pay close attention to Item #5.

6 Things You Must Know Before You Choose An Affiliate Program

So you want to choose an affiliate program or are you already involved in one?

These are six tips you must understand deeply. But first, understand that affiliate programs work just like network marketing. I said it works like it because it involves down-lines.

Now to get started. Once you understand these tips and use them wisely, you would make a real success out of the affiliate program you choose.

1. Choose the Right Affiliate Program.

Before you pick an Affiliate program, make double sure it is the right one. Check the company's profile. You cannot be in a moving vehicle and remain stagnant. If your affiliate program is one that makes steady progress, you also make progress. If it is stagnant, you inevitably will be stagnant. Check for the company's age. Companies in their first two years pay high, but they face the risk of quitting all too soon. They are but infants. Companies in their first seven years are more likely to be stable. Older companies are reliable. Very reliable. They have a track record which you can easily check out and have good organization built from years of existence.

2. What are the Companies' Products?

Please be very careful. Only a thin line separates Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or affiliate programs from illegality. You are however safe if the company has a product it sells. Never join a pyramid scheme. I am not an expert at that but I suppose pyramid schemes are scams. If the company does not offer a product or service, you might as well forget it.

3. Check the Compensation Plan.

Your primary reason for joining an affiliate program is to make money! Should I say that again? To make money! So please, check the compensation plan. Make sure it suits you. When dose the company pay? At what rate? How does the company pay? If it doesn't go down well with you, just forget it and find yourself another affiliate program with which you feel comfortable.

Note however that even if the commission schedule is small but sure, the work you do can help you blow it all up. Think of $1 in 1000 places ($1000). It can be achieved weekly. You can realize that with almost all affiliate programs.

The bottom line, choose a program that suits you.

4. Join Free Programs But....
A lot of affiliate programs allow you to join for free. I suggest you join the free ones. My reason is; you can easily leave without much loss. I feel sorry for people who have tried several programs and paid heavily just to realize it is not the right one. But if you think you can afford it, then the choice is yours.

Once you've made a choice, remember these last two tips!

5. Build Your Team of Affiliates.

This can be the most excruciating part of it all, but once you have a team of down-lines who are active, it is well worth it.

Always remember, "for every twelve, there is always a Judas." There will always be bad apples in a barrel. Find the good ones, train them, help them and you have simply helped yourself.

How do you know the good ones? Simple; watch out for those that ask questions, contact you and fulfill all requirements in short periods of time. Go for them and you are building a money spinning business.

6. Put Yourself in the Shoes of Those you Want to Recruit.

Make things easy for them. Put together all the information and deliver it to them. I know it took you sometime getting the information. Help them get it in a shorter time. Probably in few hours. Contact them always. Answer their questions. Give them all the help you can. Show them what to do and help them do it right.

Remember, you help them; you simply help yourself. Put yourself in their shoes and do exactly what you would have loved if you were in their shoes.

By: gurpreet singh

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For More Free Resources visit www.start-ownbiz.com

Posted by Chris Keenan at www.bizmancan.com

What is MaxMalls?

On January 2, 2008, SFI (Strong Futures International) introduced Maxmalls. If you have not yet been exposed to Maxmalls, SFI has joined the affiliate programs of many of the top-ranked and most-liked stores on the Internet and has built a simple portal to all of these stores.

By visiting one website (www.maxmalls.com) you will gain access to hundreds of name-brand companies. The goal of SFI is to add thousands of these stores all on one website! Please note that going to any of the stores in MaxMalls is exactly like going to the store directly, and you will pay the exact same amount for your purchases, too.

To make this store even more appealing, if you are a member of SFI's EyeEarn program, you will share in the profit of all sales generated through Maxmalls! In addition, SFI will donate a portion of every MaxMalls sale to the nonprofit organization, Save The Children.

Happy Shopping!

Posted by Chris
www.bizmancan.com

Eye Earn- get paid to drive your car and more!

I just recently decided to give EyeEarn a shot.

What exactly is EyeEarn?

Well EyeEarn could quite possibly be the biggest thing that I have ever signed up for, or it could be just another addition to my list of dumpy programs I have tried. However, I think that EyeEarn is more of the first and isn’t just another dumpy program.

EyeEarn is a program that will pay you to put an EyeEarn sticker somewhere on your car window. It costs $20 for the sticker, shirt, cards and other stuff they have in the EyeEarn package. After you pay the $20 and put the sticker on your car, you will begin to receive a monthly commission from the EyeEarn network.

Photo by Hamed Saber- License

How do you earn with EyeEarn?

You can earn several ways from this. One way is to just pay the $20 and then put the sticker on your car, and get a monthly commission from the EyeEarn network.

EyeEarn was created by SFI, which is a company that pays it’s affiliates a commission every time they sell a product of theirs. Once you sign up for EyeEarn, you automatically become an SFI affiliate, regardless whether or not you paid $20 for the EyeEarn package. By selling and promoting SFI products, you can make more money.

Build up your downline, and earn more money!

Another way you can earn is by recruiting a downline. Every time someone signs up through your referral link, they are added to your downline. Every time someone in your downline has a person sign up under them, that person is also added to your downline. The downline is 7 levels deep. You will earn every time someone in your downline makes a sale, or makes a purchase of an SFI product.

When you pay the $20 for the sticker, you automatically get placed in the EyeEarn co-op. The EyeEarn co-op will automatically disperse people who signed up for EyeEarn into your downline. This means that periodically you will have people placed into your downline, without you having to do anything!

What do I think about EyeEarn?

I think it has good potential. I think that while I doubt I will earn much this next month, I do expect it to grow over time. EyeEarn is open worldwide, so the market for it is enormous! EyeEarn hasn’t been out for long, so I really do think that those that get started early with it will benefit the most. I’m going to hope for the best! I invite you to try it out with me! It is completely free to sign up, so you can sign up and learn more about it before you decide whether or not you want to pay the $20 for the EyeEarn package.

Take Control!

Here is a valuable article on how to maintain a positive outlook. An absolute must for both your personal and financial life!

"Who's the Boss?" 10 ways to start taking control (time management, goal setting, record tracking)

At first glance, it would seem that positive thinking and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have nothing to do with one another. But many of us with ADD develop negative thinking patterns because we become frustrated by our challenges and frequent feelings of being overwhelmed. This negative outlook then makes it even harder for us to manage those challenges and move forward.

Practicing positive thinking allows people with ADD to focus on our strengths and accomplishments, which increases happiness and motivation. This, in turn, allows us to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck. The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking patterns:

1. Take Good Care of Yourself

It's much easier to be positive when you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest.

2. Remind Yourself of the Things You Are Grateful For

Stresses and challenges don't seem quite as bad when you are constantly reminding yourself of the things that are right in life. Taking just 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate the good things will make a huge difference.

3. Look for the Proof Instead of Making Assumptions

A fear of not being liked or accepted sometimes leads us to assume that we know what others are thinking, but our fears are usually not reality. If you have a fear that a friend or family member's bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossiping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them. Don't waste time worrying that you did something wrong unless you have proof that there is something to worry about.

4. Refrain from Using Absolutes

Have you ever told a partner "You're ALWAYS late!" or complained to a friend "You NEVER call me!"? Thinking and speaking in absolutes like 'always' and 'never' makes the situation seem worse than it is, and programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.

5. Detach From Negative Thoughts

Your thoughts can't hold any power over you if you don't judge them. If you notice yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don't follow it.

6. Squash the "ANTs"

In his book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life," Dr. Daniel Amen talks about "ANTs" - Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are the bad thoughts that are usually reactionary, like "Those people are laughing, they must be talking about me," or "The boss wants to see me? It must be bad!" When you notice these thoughts, realize that they are nothing more than ANTs and squash them!

7. Practice Lovin', Touchin' & Squeezin' (Your Friends and Family)

You don't have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up. One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their checks. She received higher tips from these customers than from the ones she didn't touch!

8. Increase Your Social Activity

By increasing social activity, you decrease loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way!

9. Volunteer for an Organization, or Help another Person

Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, your money, or your resources. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.

10. Use Pattern Interrupts to Combat Rumination

If you find yourself ruminating, a great way to stop it is to interrupt the pattern and force yourself to do something completely different. Rumination is like hyper-focus on something negative. It's never productive, because it's not rational or solution-oriented, it's just excessive worry. Try changing your physical environment - go for a walk or sit outside. You could also call a friend, pick up a book, or turn on some music.

When it comes to the corporate world, protocol is pretty much the religion. To know the things needed to do are the basics of productivity, but interaction and having a steady mind makes up the entire thing to true productivity. There are those who seem to work well even under pressure, but they're uncommon ones and we are human and imperfect. To get these little things like stress under our skins won't solve our problems. Sometimes it takes a bit of courage to admit that we're turning to be workaholics than tell ourselves that we're not doing our best.

Posted by Chris

www.bizmancan.com

This article comes from Cliff Posey. Thanks Cliff!

3 Affiliate Marketing Tools

The term affiliate marketing is used to describe an advertising agreement between a website owner and a merchant. If you have researched Internet home business opportunities, you know that affiliate marketing is one of the most simple and profitable opportunities on the web. Most affiliate marketing programs cost nothing to join, which means that there is no financial risk involved for you.

For the most part, getting started is easy. There is no previous sales experience required, and as mentioned above, there is no charge to join most of these programs. Most programs provide all of the marketing materials you will ever need, including site graphics and links. You also don't have to worry about many of the other things that come with an online retail business, such as inventory, order processing, and shipping.

However, these programs, like any work at home business, requires an organized plan of action if you want to succeed. To assist you in developing a plan, Web Business Tools has created a list of affiliate marketing tools that are essential for every work at home business.

Tool Number One

Your Own Website

When it comes to affiliate marketing, your website is not only your most important tool; it is the key to your success. In addition to being user-friendly, your site should also be credible and professional looking. If you are interested in using one of these programs as an Internet home business opportunity, you will want to begin by building a website that will serve your needs. To come up with ideas, search the web and see what others are doing. Assess these other sites to determine what you like and what you don't like. Make notes as you go and use them to develop an original and unique website that can stand out among the competition.

If you are unable to build your own website, there are many different professional web development companies who can. They may also be able to help you develop optimized content that will be relevant to your Internet home business opportunity. If you are not interested in hiring someone, there are also software programs that can be purchased which will teach you all about website building and website development.

Tool Number Two

Incentives

To be successful in affiliate marketing, you must encourage people to click on links for the products and services that you are promoting. To help build a clientele, create an opt-in email list, newsletter, or e-zine. If you really want to increase the profits of your work at home business, offer incentives, such as free software, services, etc., that will encourage people to subscribe to your publications. As with any Internet home business opportunity, promotion is the difference between success and failure.

Tool Number 3

Links

Affiliate marketing success depends heavily upon the traffic that comes through your website. Your search engine ranking typically determines your traffic level, but another factor is link popularity.

To gain link popularity, you can submit your site's link to other websites, free newsletters, etc. The more times you submit, the more chances you have to become a popular destination, which in turn, provides you with more chances to make your Internet home business opportunity a success.

Having your own work at home business can be a satisfying experience. If you want to make the dream come true, give affiliate marketing a try. By taking time to learn more about affiliate marketing programs, affiliate marketing tools, and other Internet home business opportunities, you can develop a successful work at home business.

Posted By Chris Keenan
www.bizmancan.com

About The Author

Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates http://webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff Posey has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses.

I receive many emails from people that basically ask the same question: How can I keep myself motivated long term? This seems to be quite a common dilemma for many people so I want to address it because it can be done! Here are my tips for staying motivated:

Get motivated every day.Zig Ziglar was o­nce confronted about being a “motivational speaker.” The guy said to him, “You guys come and get people hyped up and then you leave and the motivation goes away. It doesn’t last, and then you have to get motivated again.” Zig reminded the gentleman that baths are the same way but we think it is a good idea to take a bath every day!

It is true that motivation doesn’t last. We have to renew it each and every day. That is okay. It doesn’t make motivation a bad thing. We simply have to realize that if we want to stay motivated over the long term, it is something we will have to apply to ourselves each and every day.

Have a vision for your life.The root word of motivation is “motive.” The definition of motive is, “A reason to act.” This is the cognitive or rational side of motivation. It is your vision. You have to have a vision that is big enough to motivate you. If you are making $50,000 a year, it isn’t going to motivate you to set your goal at $52,000 a year. You just won’t get motivated for that because the reward isn’t enough. Maybe $70,000 a year would work for you. Set out a vision and a strategy for getting there. Have a plan and work the plan.

Fuel your passion.Much of motivation is emotional. I don’t know quite how it works but I do know THAT it works. Emotion is a powerful force in getting us going. Passion is an emotion, so fuel your passion. “Well, I like to work o­n logic,” you may say. Great, now work o­n your passion. Set yourself o­n a course to have a consuming desire for your goal, whatever it is. Do whatever you can to feel the emotion and use it to your advantage!

Work hard enough to get results.You can build o­n your motivation by getting results. The harder you work, the more results you will get and the more results you get, the more you will be motivated to get more. These things all build o­n o­ne another. If you want to lose weight, then lose the first few pounds. When the belt moves to the next notch you will get fired up to get it to the notch beyond that!

Put good materials into your mind.I can’t say this enough – listen to tapes. I still listen to tapes regularly. I buy tape clubs from other speakers and I learn and grow. Their successes motivate me to get my own successes! Read good books. Read books that teach you new ideas and skills. Read books that tell the stories of successful people. Buy them, read them, and get motivated! Buy great music and listen to it. I just did a spinning class at the club today. Whenever a good song came o­n I was actually able to get motivated to ride faster! It gets you going and motivates you!

Ride the momentum when it comes.Sometimes you will just be clicking and sometimes you won’t. That is okay. It is the cycle of life. When you aren’t clicking, plug away. When you are clicking, pour it o­n because momentum will help you get larger gains in a shorter period of time with less energy. That is the Momentum Equation! When you are feeling good about how your work is going, ride the momentum and get as much out of it as you can! These are the top six ways to stay motivated: Get motivated every day.

Have a vision for your life.

Fuel your passion.

Work hard enough to get results.

Put good materials into your mind.

Ride the momentum when it comes.

These are simple principles, that when you put them to work regularly, will change your life by keeping you motivated all the time! Get going!

Posted by Chris Keenan

www.bizmancan.com

So you want to be an Entrepreneuer? Have you ever thought about starting an internet business? Surely you might have and the reason would be because you might have thought how gurus make money right from their internet home business idea in their underwear sitting from their home. However who doesn't like making millions having fun with their kids while working from the comfort of their home.

Internet has provided even an ordinary person opportunity to make millions right from their home if he works with sincerity, patience, passion and applies some creative ideas to his internet home business idea. More than money it is FREEDOM that you will achieve working from your home. Yes, that's true, starting your internet business will provide you freedom of time and money. To get this kind of lifestyle you have to put killer efforts to get your internet business to the stage where it starts pulling automatic cash for lifetime. Can you imagine the freedom that your home based internet business can provide you? There will be no boss screaming over you all day long to get things done. You will be your own boss and work according to your time and convenience. You don't have to get up hearing the dangerous alarm every morning. You will be free to work during day time or during midnights, you decide when to work and how much to work. You don't have to rush up to your job catching a cab, bus or a train. All you have to do is get up from your bed and just switch o­n your computer to check the number of sales you have made while you were sleeping. You don't have to get tensed as your project deadlines are staring right at your face. You can set your own goals, plans and deadlines to work in your internet business. That's the kind of lifestyle you can enjoy. You can give time to your kids, spouse or parents when they are in need. You can have fun with your friends or just go out for a walk whenever you wish. Yesterday I had to go with my mom as she had a gum surgery operation. I was there with her all day long helping her out without any worries as to what will happen to my business as almost everything is automated. I move with my wife to some other town when she has her medical exams and work there at a cyber cafe without any worries. You can be a helping hand to your family o­nce you have such cash machine running and bringing you money without your presence. If at all you are thinking about starting an internet business I would advise you to observe yourself enjoying this lifestyle after a year or two of killer efforts. Don't expect that you will start your internet business today and enjoy the freedom, lifestyle and money starting tomorrow. You will enjoy this o­nly and o­nly if you have put killer efforts into your internet business and made it completely automatic so that it can run o­n autopilot without your presence. I would sincerely advise you to learn everything you can to start your own wildly profitable internet business today and enjoy the freedom, money and lifestyle from your internet home business idea in near future. Posted by Chris Keenan www.bizmancan.com

Article Source : http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com http://home-based-business.bestmanagementarticles.com

Here is a great article on Network Marketing that I came across recently. Good information and suggestions. Thank you Donovan.

A lot has been written on the subject of network marketing and the products commonly sold through network marketing. Unfortunately, most people joining a network marketing program for the first time don't read the books first. Even if they did, they would get a message that is really hard to grasp for someone used to the standard sales techniques of the modern world.

If you are new to network marketing, a great book to read is "Masters Of Networking" by Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D., and Don Morgan, M.A. While it does contain instructions on how and where to network, I believe that part of its value lies in what it doesn't always say out loud, but hints at in the subtitle: Building Relationships For Your Pocketbook And Soul. So what does that have to do with selecting the product that you will attempt to "sell" through network marketing?

The book I just mentioned gets a lot of its message across through the stories of people who have passed through the stages of learning to network. In keeping with that, I am going to talk about my favorite subject...myself. In 1996 I was introduced to my first network marketing venture. Never mind what it was, but I will say that it was a valuable product and I felt good being associated with it.

I honestly felt that it was a service that many people could use and that by purchasing this service they could get better service in certain health related areas and they could possibly save large sums of money. In other words, I BELIEVED! I also believed that I could make a lot of money. After all, I saw other people doing it, and being a product of 20th century marketing practices, I began doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing. I placed ads, I handed out flyers, left business cards laying around, and mailed out a lot of brochures. After a few months, I was making some money, but it sure seemed a hard way to make a living!

In the meantime, people I knew were making larger and larger sums from the same product, and with a fraction of the time, effort, and money. So I did the next logical thing...I dropped out and spent a couple of years licking my wounds, nursing a grudge, and generally being a chump. The one thing I didn't do was ask for help or study the subject of network marketing. However, I DID keep signing up for program after program, with the same predictable results.

Finally, I broke down and did the unthinkable...I did some research! What did I learn?

I learned that some of the best "sales" people and some of the best network marketers had the same thing to say. Their opinion was to quit concentrating on sales and concentrate on building a network of people who respected you. They did not necessarily mean "respected" in the sense of someone who was an expert or who stood head and shoulders above the rest. What they meant was that you should be someone who is willing to listen, to help, to guide, to support...to be a genuine friend and someone who could be counted on. I started thinking about the people I had known who were successful.

Not a one was a "sales" person. They were housewives, retirees, ex-teachers, bus drivers, fast food workers, garbage collectors...but most had three things in common. They believed in the product and the company, they knew the important points of the product and the opportunity, and they were genuinely interested in and involved with those they sold to or recruited. As it happened, at about the time I was doing this research, I actually had a JOB teaching newcomers to an industry how to become successful in that field. It felt great. I got to take people and help bring them to a point where they were going to be in a position to have a new career and make lots of money. I didn't have to "sell" them anything. I provided solid information, guidance, advice based on experience, and sometimes a shoulder to cry on.

I noticed one interesting thing. They hung on my every word. If I said a certain item was important to have, within 48 hours at least half of my students would have that item if they didn't have it already. By the way, one common benefit of the job I am speaking of and a network marketer is the gratitude of the people that have come into the business and been successful thanks at least in part to the interest and support you have shown them. I saw this happen again and again, and not just with me, but with others who were providing this instruction as well.

Okay, I'm slow, but not fatally so. I realized that if I could place myself in a similar position in a network marketing endeavor, I might have similar results. I then began to apply my newfound knowledge to network marketing, and, after a couple of false starts and the occasional retraining session, I found out that the technique works!

Start with a good strong product from a reliable company. Make sure you understand what the heck you are talking about, arm yourself with order pads and pencils, and then get out there and start being NICE! I know it's going to be difficult, but you will have to buckle down and be a benefit to society and let people like you. I guess you've figured out that in the network marketing world, YOU are the best product to sell.

Posted by Chris Keenan

www.bizmancan.com

Article Source :http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com/http://multi-level-marketing.bestmanagementarticles.com/

About the Author : Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. He offers a free training course on generating leads at http://free-mlm-leads.ws/

Here are 5 easy and inexpensive ways to promote your business:

This article discusses cost-effective, powerful and profit-producing ways to promote a website on the internet.Everyone knows that marketing a home business is one of the most tricky things about having one.As we all know the competition is really hard these days, so it is always good to look for some marketing strategies that are rarely used, but still very effective.

Before doing any advertising at all, you need to think of how you can stand out from the crowd? You need to have something that no-one else does, your business needs to be unique.It can be your website, the way you do business, or the products that you offer.If you manage to stand out, then you are on the right track to success. Marketing your business is really essential.Here are 5 profit-producing ways that I constantly use to promote my website.These techniques have proven to be very effective.Use them to really kick-start your business, and income.

1.Free Traffic With Exchanges:Traffic exchanges are a free and really effective way to get your website seen.For best resultsuse a splash-page where people leave their email address, before getting access to your website or offer. Now you have their contact information, and you can send them offers periodically.However, do not spam them, or they will leave.Your good reputation will also be gone forever.

2.Place ads in classifieds:Search on the internet for sites that offer free classifieds, and place short ads on these sites.This way you will not only get traffic to your website, but you will get targeted traffic to your website. People who visit your website are not there by accident, they are really interested in what you have to offer.Targeted traffic means more sales for you.

3.Online Marketing forums:sign up for different marketing forums in your niche of business.Ask questions to other members and help others, be active and responsive.Use your signature file to market your website.This technique also helps your website ranking in the search engines over time.Using online marketing forums is a good way to boost your business.
4.Write Articles:The internet is full of information, but there is room for so much more.Start writing articles that are relevant to the products or services you offer on your website.Submit then the articles to article directories.This is a great way to boost your business.

5.Start blogging:Blogging is becoming a really fast way to get traffic to your website.Start up a blog which discusses the market niche that you are in.Post information and articles frequently.Concentrate on content that is relevant to the services or products that you offer.Be sure to syndicate your content for massive traffic to your website.

Posted by Chris Keenan www.bizmancan.com

About The Author:Tom Lindstrom is the editor of The Home Business Archive, and an internet marketer since 2001. For the best marketing tips and tricks, read The Dotcomology e-book now!.It contains tons of profit-producing information and tools. Best of all, it is free.

10 Reasons For A Woman To Start An Internet Home Business.

Starting an internet business is in my opinion, one of the fastest and smartest ways women today can make money. Here are 10 reasons for starting an Internet business, and one reason why you shouldn't!

1. Money. Pure and simple, we all could use a more of it. Whether it's to get out of debt, build a retirement, or just simply make ends meet. With the right guidance, an Internet business can start generating income almost immediately.

2. Family. Let's face it Moms, a lot of you want to be home with your kids. A work at home job is great for just that reason…unless you have to leave home for appointments, parties, or sales calls.

Then you're right back to babysitters and being away from your kids. An Internet business truly lets you run it from home.

3. Self Esteem. Many of us are so busy being Moms, and wives, and community members, we forget to forge something in our lives that reflects our inner selves. Starting (and becoming successful) in your own business can boost your feelings of self worth, and that makes everyone in your life a winner!

4. Community. Our communities that we live in are better off for us having started businesses. It provides good role modeling for our children, provides tax base for necessary programs such as police and fire, and a community where people exhibit pride and hard work is a better place to live for us all. Perhaps you will inspire more women in your community to start a business!

5. Tax Benefits. Most women who start a business at home are going to be able to take large tax deductions for their home business. Less taxes means more money in your pocket, and that's a good thing!

6. Work at Home Household Savings.Working at home means no expensive wardrobes. The average professional suit for a woman can cost over$150! Can you imagine NOT having to buy expensive work clothes anymore, and how much money a year you can save your families budget? Also, how much do you think a work at home mom uses expensive convenience foods and restaurant take out?

7. Flexibility. Because I work at home, I can arrange my schedule to be available when a child is home sick or heartbroken, for a field trip at school, or to just take a mental health day once in awhile and sit at a park and read. How many bosses would give you the day off to read?

8. Being in charge of your own business means you are no longer at the mercy of layoffs. Don't get me wrong, a home business can crash too…but at least YOU hold the reins and make the decisions, not someone else.

9. You determine how much you work, and how much you make. No more being paid less than you are worth, no more begging for a raise. If you educate yourself right, you can pretty much combine hard work + persistence=unlimited income.

10. You can sell your business later on down the line…it's an investment! Build it large enough and successful enough, and many website owners have sold their sites for hundreds of thousands of dollars…and started out knowing very little about building an Internet business.

One reason NOT to start an Internet business…

DO NOT start a business to please anyone else. There is so much pressure on women today to do it all….many times we feel we are not successful unless we make a lot of money, are perfect moms, never gain a pound…you get the idea. Start a business for you, and your dreams, not to convince the world, or the mother in law, or your next door neighbor…that you can do it all. Running a business is not for everyone, but if you want to follow your dreams, work at home, and make a good income, starting an Internet business is a great place to start.

About the Author

Kathy Wilson is the editor of Women-on-the-Net.com. For free money making tips, guidance, and a free newsletter to help ANY woman get started making money on the internet, visit her at http://www.Women-on-the-Net.com. You may also want to visit her other successful websites, http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com and http://www.TheGardenGlove.com.

Posted by Chris Keenan. His home business resource site is located at www.bizmancan.com

Tips For Optimizing Your Wesite

One of the most confusing and frustrating challenges you may face with your online business is getting good search engine rankings. It took me a good two years to get my website to the top rankings on Google. I spent countless nights (and days) trying to optimize for my favorite search engine. My patience finally paid off, and I now rank in the top 10 pages of Google for my chosen keywords. During this two-year period, I learned many a good lesson that I’d like to share with you.

Here are some things you should do:

1) Write Articles. By writing and submitting articles in your related field of expertise, you create relevant links and free advertising. The resource area of article submissions allows you to usually post a brief bio of yourself and a link to your website. Of course, the search engines love relevant links to your site. Write as many articles as you can. Some suggested submissions websites are www.goarticles.com, www.findarticles.com and www.articletrader.com.

2) Add content to your website daily. Don’t let your website become stagnant. The search engines love new content, and will penalize you if they see your site is not active. You can add a new article every week, place new relevant links or change your text content.

3) Use a search engine optimization tool. Two good choices are www.rankquest.com or http://www.axandra-web-site-promotion-software-tool.com/download.htm (IBP). Monitor your website on a regular basis.

4) Post on Forums. Find a forum that is relevant to your website and begin posting there. You can add your website URL to end of your postings creating links to your website. This is also a good place to find link partners.

5) Add quality and relevant links. It is important to remember here though quality is more important than quantity. Search engines will take more seriously websites that have linked to 10 relevant links than to 100 low ranking links or links not related to your product or service. Be sure that when you link, you use proper link text. This text should be related to your website. In other words, if your website is about dance classes, be sure that your link anchor text uses those words.

6) Link to various directories like DMOZ.org, webworldindex.com and buzzle.com.

7) Be patient! Rankings do not come overnight. It will take time, but one fine morning you will wake up to see that all of your effort has paid off. To your personal and financial success!

Chris Keenan has been a successful banker for over 25 years. He now devotes his time to helping entrepreneurs develop profitable home based businesses. He invites you to visit his home business website at www.bizmancan.com

Home Business Scams: Be aware of them as this article points out so well.

If you have read o­n the internet somewhere that you can make money at home instantaneously and believed it, you have fell victim to the scam. All over the internet there are messages and myths claiming you can get rich quick, but it simply isn't possible.

While there are ways to speed up the process, there just isn't any way to jump o­nline and have a successful work at home business within a week.

In order to make money at home, you have to be patient and put in a tremendous amount of effort. The opportunities for success are there, but it won't be a walk in the park. If you are experienced with the internet industry and know the best ways to market your business, you will certainly have a better shot at quickening the process.

The more experience you have, the less time you have to devote to trial and error and finding what niche you want to promote. Even if you are an experienced internet marketer, it will still take time to begin making money at home. The reason for this is because you have to research, process what you found and learn the best routes to take.

This three step process will take you a good amount of time to accomplish, and should actually be continued throughout the entire time you run the business. In order to continuously make money at home, you have to constantly update your business and give the readers fresh content and ideas. Therefore, you can see that it is a timely process to build up your business.

Many people become discouraged as they see no results within the first few weeks. Patience is the key to making money at home because when your business does begin to generate traffic, the rewards highly outweigh those of having a basic 9 to 5 job.

When you begin to research for your make money at home business, you want to look for anything and everything related to your niche. You will want to look in forums, read people's blogs, e-mail experienced people in the field you are interested in, and constantly read any related information you can find o­nline. Content is just the beginning though. You also want to research how to market your business, the best ways to design it, where to place your advertisements o­n your pages and so o­n.

After researching, processing what you have learned and evaluating what you can use for your website is crucial. Finally, take what you processed and turn it into a learning tool. The more you learn the better you will be able to process it and put together a professional and informative website to help you begin making money at home quickly.

Paul Jesse is an author, private pilot, and lifetime student of internet marketing. He created SheaMarketing.com for those interested in working from home. He invites you to visit his website at http://www.sheamarketing.com

Posted by Chris Keenan
Home Business Ideas and Opportunities
www.bizmancan.com

Want to know what happens when you lose your primary source of income?

Here is a great article that addresses the issue of losing your JOB, with some interesting facts:

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki asks his readers this question, "If I stop working today, how long could I survive financially?" It is a statement that stops many folks dead in their tracks. Many folks can o­nly survive 30 days. Thirty days and they cannot make their mortgage payment. Thirty days and they cannot buy food for their family. Thirty days their health insurance expires. It can be a scary situation. Do you want to do something about your financial survival rate?

There are many ways to increase your financial survival rate by building wealth. o­ne way to build wealth is through Network Marketing. The rich know those who become wealthy build networks. Networks is simply a system that support a product. The product is important but the system is more important because the system allows you to have ten stores across the country instead of o­ne store in town. Networking with ten stores across the country allows your business to be stronger and grow faster.

Most people have been trained to work for money. To survive financially, what people should be training for is to work for wealth. Are you working from a wealth mind set or from a labor mind set? Are you developing your OWN network system?

"A network marketing business is a new and revolutionary way to achieve wealth." Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki.

Network Marketing can be a way for you to build wealth. It is attractive to many because of its low start up cost. You will learn the business as you earn. Even our government will reward you for having a business. The tax breaks alone can save you thousands of dollars a year!

What you should know about Network Marketing

Folks just like you have dreams, goals and desires to live a certain lifestyle. They are looking for freedom to do the things that matter to them. They are looking to way out of the rat race. They are looking for a way to achieve what they want out of life.

Network Marketing is a system does not care if you have a degree in business or marketing or if you have a degree at all. It does not matter if you are male of female, young or old. It does not matter if you are pretty or if you are missing your front teeth. It does not matter how popular you are or who your parents know.

Network Marketing system is open to anyone who have a burning desire, strong work ethics, persistent determination and enjoys people.

If you enjoy people and love to teach others how to find their own world of financially abundance, Network Marketing might be for you.

This article was posted by Chris Keenan. You can link to his home business website at www.bizmancan.com

About the Author

Monica enjoys helping people regain their freedom, future, fortune and health. http://homebaseincomebestbizopp.com

No money to advertise your home business? : Free and Low-Cost Marketing Methods

I started thinking about owning an o­nline business several years ago, but the sticking point for me was always time and money. These days, it is recommended that you start a business, as it is o­ne of the best ways to grow a residual income and achieve financial freedom. Sounds easy enough, and fun too! But what about advertising costs when you don't have a lot of money to start with?

There is truth in the statement that in order to make money you have to have money. I didn't start my business until financially I felt I could sustain a little debt because of my fulltime career, and when there was no fear of another layoff, at least not in the foreseeable future. However, there are many free and low-cost ways to advertise your o­nline business effectively. Just because a method of advertising is free or cheap does not mean it won't work, and just because you spend a lot o­n advertising doesn't mean it will work. This article will discuss what you should consider when planning your advertising budget.

As mentioned above, there are many free and cheap ways to advertise that are also effective ways to market your business. The best idea that you must consider now-a-days is writing and distributing quality articles that are original, and packed with juicy information that will help your website visitors know more about your business, products, and services. You can write your own articles about your products and services for free, and you can even sign up with an article distribution service that will distribute your articles for free to publishers around the internet. You can pay a small fee to get an even wider distribution, or you can pay a lot to get top-notch distribution. O­nce your articles are distributed around the net with links to your website in the author box at the end, you will have visitors in no time. It is simply the best means of marketing your business today.

If you don't like writing, or don't feel you can, then hire an article-writing service to do it for you for a small monthly fee. This will be the best investment you could make in your marketing efforts.

Similar to article marketing is writing a blog. This is also totally free, and a great way to get quality content o­n your site, and repeat visitors who are interested in reading what you have to say. A blog is like a journal of your daily business activities, your opinions, thoughts, ideas, reports, reviews, or even other people's articles that relate to your business. You can also make comments for free o­n other people's blogs that will have a link pointing back to your site. Like article-writing, blogging is huge, and you cannot market your o­nline business without it.

Forum posting is another free and effective way to get your links seen by internet surfers. There are thousands of discussion forums out there o­n topics related to your business. The point of forums is not to advertise your business, but to help other people out there whenever you can with any issue they have that you know something about. The more assistance you can offer o­n a regular basis, the more your name will stand out as an authority o­n the topic, and the more likely people will click o­n your website link to find out more about you and what you're doing. It's a great way to make sales without even selling a product or service. You are o­nly selling yourself.

Another free and effective method of advertising is distributing your links to the search engines and directories. The more links you have o­n other sites that point back to your site, the higher your link popularity will be, the higher Google and other search engines will rate your site. The more links you have out there, the more likely people will find and click o­n your links. You can submit your links directly to the directories, or you can seek out high quality sites to exchange links with by contacting the webmaster directly. You can also pay for a link machine service that will find other sites you can link to.

Free classified ads are another way you can advertise. Post a short blurb describing your business and why they should click o­n your link, and you've suddenly got a swarm of traffic to your site, and some potential buyers. You could also consider sending out a free press release to advertise your business, or even just let the people around you know about your business whenever you get the chance.The thing to remember is that o­nce you start having success with these methods, you really want to start tracking where your sales are coming from to make the most of your advertising dollars. You can put a lot of money into something and get no successful results, so you want to be careful where you spend your dollars, and ensure it's something that works.

O­nce you discover what is working for you, then you can put more money into what works to get even better results. A good way to track your advertising efforts is to try o­ne advertising method at a time and see how effective it is, or purchase some ad-tracking software. Just remember that it doesn't have to cost a fortune to be successful in business. With some careful planning, you can do well spending very little, or spending a lot in o­ne great place!

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessarticles.biz

Liane Bate owns a Plugin Profit Site web business, is a member of Success University, and the IAHBE. Visit: HonestMoneyMaking.com's Home Business Blog

Posted by Chris Keenan
www.bizmancan.com

Negative Influence Will Kill Your Home Business


If there is one factor that will influence whether or not a business will succeed or fail, it is association.
Of course, there are many factors that will determine if a business succeeds or not, but none rank higher than your attitude and association with others.

Entrepreneurship is not something the general public ever seriously considers as a way to make a living. We have constantly been taught that in order to succeed in life you must go to school, get a good education and then get a good job. Most people will support you in this effort. It’s just the norm. Ninety-Five percent of the U.S. population follows this train of thought. Is there something wrong with it? No, but there are income limitations here.

What happens when you decide to step out of this train of thought? You got it! Nay Sayers and negatism become a huge factor. Why? Because it’s not what most people do. Despite the well meaningless of friends and/or family regarding your entrepreneurial ideas, they still will do what it takes to bring you back to a JOB. People will resist change because it’s just normal for us to do that. We are creatures of habit.

I remember closely watching the faces of my family and relatives as I told them I was going into a business of my own. On the outside, they tried to appear supportive, but it was obvious from watching and listening to their comments that they wanted me working at a JOB. They told me that I had their support, but they never purchased any products I offered or offered to help in any way. They lived in the JOB mode. Well meaning or not, they wanted to kill my dreams.

I guarded myself carefully from any friends or family members who subtly said I should just stick with a JOB. Some friends told me I was being used. Some said entrepreneurship was just for rich people. Some said most businesses fail. Some said it takes too long to make money. Some said it costs too much.

I never listened to them.....nor should you. Guard your attitude carefully. It is your major weapon against failure. Associate with well meaning people whom will be your mentors. Follow in the footsteps of those who have acquired what you want.... and you will succeed. Don’t give up or give in. Persistence and patience will pay off in the long run. Your alternative? An 8-hour a day, 5 day a week JOB.... for many years to come.

Chris Keenan has been a successful banker for over 25 years. To learn more about home business opportunities, ideas, articles, news and links, please visit www.bizmancan.com

Multi-Level Marketing. Is It An Extension Of Franchising?

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s Corp., did not set out to sell Big Macs. His introduction to hamburgers came in the early 1950’s while he was peddling milk shake machines.

A San Bernadino restaurant run by two brothers, Dick and Maurice "Mac" McDonald were using a number of the machines to keep up with the huge demand for milkshakes. It was here that Kroc saw a golden opportunity for lot’s of milkshake machine orders if only they had more restaurants! Kroc offered to open and run the restaurants, and in 1955 opened the first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, IL. He bought out the McDonalds brothers for $2.7 million in 1961.

Ray Kroc understood one important fact about business that most of us simply miss. You will make far more money by "duplicating" your efforts over and over again in a mutually beneficial way, than by trying to run a business all by yourself. Ray went out of his way to find qualified individuals to run and manage his restaurants, and after training them all at "Hamburger University", took a small profit from each restaurant. This "duplication" allowed McDonald’s to enjoy exponential growth over the years.

There are now over 24,500 McDonald’s restaurants in 115 countries around the world! In today’s world, Ray Kroc might be looked upon as an early MLM’er. He recruited owners and managers to run his businesses, he provided them with a product, he trained them to "duplicate" his efforts (through the use of ‘Hamburger University"), and he took a small percentage of the profits from each restaurant. If they did not succeed, he did not succeed. No McDonald’s restaurant has ever failed. (A tribute to the exceptional support system Ray Kroc implemented)

Unlike MLM’s, however, the recruiting aspect of the McDonald’s business was reserved strictly for Ray Kroc. Restaurant owners were not allowed to franchise themselves. If they had been allowed to franchise themselves, the McDonald’s Corporation would be much larger than it is today because of the faster exponential growth.

In the MLM business, this faster growth can be achieved because each and every business owner in the network can franchise themselves. This is the "extension" if you will, of franchising.

E. Christopher Keenan has been a successful banker for over 25 years. He now offers home business opportunities and resources through his popular website www.bizmancan.com