"Why I Love Affiliate Marketing - Part 5 "

Image by affiliatesummit via Flickr

NOTE: The following is a guest post from one of my favorite
internet marketing mentors.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing - Part 5
By Jimmy D. Brown of "Affiliate Payraise"

The word "overhead" is not a favorite among those who run
businesses of any kind. Nobody likes the expenses of
operating a business. And nobody really talks about them
much when it comes to promoting all of the "money-making"
products and services online.

But, don't kid yourself, there's a lot of overhead.

That brings me to the fifth reason why I love affiliate
marketing...

** You don't need a big budget to make it work **

Do you have any idea how much money is spent running an
internet business? There are monthly fees for...

* Autoresponders
* Hosting
* Management
* Advertising
* Scripts
* Much more

There are regular fees for...

* Licensing
* Outsourcing
* Support
* Customer Service
* Maintenance
* Development
* Recruting
* Much more

It's not uncommon to spend tens of thousands (even
hundreds of thousands) of dollars in operational
costs -- which is fine if you've been in business
a while and are making the bucks. However, if you're
a newcomer, it can be taxing on your budget!

SIDEBAR: I paid one girl over $30,000 last year
just to oversee one small part of my business.
No one talks much about it, but there ARE a lot
of expenses involved before you get to the
"bottom line" of profit.

BUT, with affiliate marketing, you don't need a big
budget to make it work! You can simply use a variety
of free and low-cost marketing methods to generate
clicks to your affiliate link.

That's why I love affiliate marketing.

You don't need a big budget to make it work.

.........................

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of "Affiliate Payrise", teaching
you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!
Tired of "tiny" commission checks? Grab your copy today at...
http://vur.me/mrhomebiz/AffiliatePayraise/

Make Decisions Based On Facts Not Emotions

Image by Gattou/Lucie/ in and out via Flickr

Running a business can be fun, but many successful business owners have come to a tough realization that in a business environment, they have no friends. They have employees that are dedicated to the company and they may have customers that are loyal, but the bottom line of the business is the prime concern they have to watch. One of the biggest obstacles they face in the say to day business operations is their own emotions and they need to leave them at home when they head for the office.

For instance, a business owner is approached by their financial expert who tells them they have to cut half of their workers loose in order to meet expenses. This can be an emotional time for the owner as on one hand, many of the workers are loyal to the company and are very productive. On the other hand the company needs to be able to run leaner to make ends meet.

Simply based on the emotions of keeping the business operating, the solution may seem obvious in cutting half the workforce. However, before making that call the owner needs to look at all the facts and not just the financial ones. Questions need to be asked such as how long will this lack of income last? If we layoff employees, how much will be spent on unemployment compensation? What are other options in cutting expenses, such as is the finance guy really necessary?

If half of the workforce is let go, what will be the effect on productivity and customer service and will the remaining employees be able to handle everything without the additional help? After thoroughly understanding all of the available options and the effects of instituting any suggested changes it is found that half will need to be let go, then that is the right decision for everyone.

Decisions have to be based on how the outcome will affect everyone involved and not just the ones being laid off. Sure, it is a tough decision but one of the responsibilities of a business owner is being able to make the tough calls, knowing it is the right one for the business as well as for the remaining workers. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule about which employees will need to go away. Seniority may be the deciding factor, but some businesses use productivity instead.

For example, a new hire may produce as much or more as an employee with several years experience, the new hire may be a better fit. Owners should never look at payroll as a deciding factor as getting rid of some of the higher paid, long-term employees is also getting rid of loyalty as well as experience.

The decision should be based on who can offer the most to the business, a decision based on facts rather than the emotions of who needs the job more. From a cold fact point of view, if the worker needs the job that bad, they have probably been a consistently hard, productive asset to the company.

http://thefundedproposal.info/

How Can A Business Keep Everyone Happy?

Image by Ash Lourey via Flickr

A market downturn can take the luster out of a growing business and end any glory days it may have experienced, but even more devastating to any business is the effects they reap when they try to make the wrong segment of its fans happy. While privately-held companies often struggle for funding, going public may not be all that it is cracked up to be either.

Once the shift has been made to a publicly traded status, there is another bunch offer the business owner advice on how the run the business. They are called shareholders and to many businesses can be dark cloud blocking the sun on their future. When things are going good and shareholders are earning good returns, they tend to stay in the background silently collecting their dividend checks. When an even occurs that may cause a loss of revenue, some shareholders are the first ones out the door, placing blame on everything and every body.

Earnings expectations are the darling of the investment community and companies that meet or exceed their earning are praised regularly. They may escape massive criticism for failing to meet one quarter's earning projections, but two in a row can be a death knell for a business. Unfortunately, the fallout from missed earnings and the wrath of the investors usually fall on two places that have the least amount of control over the business's operations and are the affected the most…customers and employees.

As unwise and unfair as it may be, when companies are struggling to turn a profit, the logical step is to cut expenses, to bring them inline with income to maintain the profit margin. One of the quickest ways to reduce expenses is by cutting payroll or benefits, leaving the business short staffed with unhappy workers who have to work harder for possibly less benefit. When a business lack the manpower to properly take care of the business, customer service suffers.

This circle can be likened to a buzzard circling dying prey in the desert. Sales have gone down, expenses have been cut resulting in fewer workers, resulting in less customer service, resulting in fewer customers, resulting in even fewer sales. Sometimes businesses need to just bite the bullet and live with a small loss over a short period, depending of course on the circumstance that caused the downturn and continue to give customers a reason to visit their business.

If the customers remain and sales can improve, the earnings will return and the growth path continues. However, in some cases the business may deserve to die, if the leadership of the company is not taking care of business when they have the chance. As a business owner it is important to recognize the needs of the customer and the employees as opposed to always looking after the wants of the shareholders. The owner needs to consider how pleased the shareholders will be if the customers stay away in droves and the business closes. Keeping customers happy should be their main concern, as well as the concern of the shareholders.

http://www.abundantlivingnow.info/

Top Home Business Ideas

Image via WikipediaThe limits of what you can do with a home based business are only your creativity and innovation. Do you have a product or service that you believe can help other manage their lives or businesses better? Then, you have you are on the right track for creating a successful home business.

Providing online management services for currently existing companies can be a great way to earning money from home. Are you good with organizing data and developing efficient ways for business systems to work? If you are able to get current business owners on board with your service, you can help them manage the content and data that they use for their websites by becoming an independent contractor. By freelancing your services to several different companies, you will can maximize the amount of opportunities to network and grow in your online management services. Becoming a webmaster or online writer is an extremely effective and profitable way to make your own income by helping others make theirs as well.

Data entry is another buzz phrase that we hear very often in the world of home business. While this is more of a supplementary position where you are providing one specific service to usually a smaller amount of clients, it is still a great way to earn money while working from home. However, it is important to ensure the legitimacy of your employer's company before investing time and money into your data entry position.

Being an online merchant is a position that gives you a great deal of freedom and creativity with your home business. You can target a specific audience to sell your products to, or sell a variety of products that appeal to several different audiences, depending on your desired amount of investment to your business. In this case, building a strong customer base and good rapport with secure transactions, timely shipping, and attentive customer services is important to make sure that the customers you have are the customer you will keep. Once you have built a reputation for yourself on the internet, it can work for the forward progression and expansion of your customer base. In the same respect, if you give the wrong impression of your merchandise or leave customers dissatisfied, you can risk having a poor reputation and thus a failing business. When embarking on a merchandise-based business opportunity, be aware of these possibilities and make a commitment to pleasing your customers in order to keep your business thriving.

New home business ideas are constantly emerging from the internet and seeking the newest profitable markets is in your best interest to achieve the success that you desire in your home business. Finding one that caters to your strengths and abilities with the computer and the internet is important to meeting the needs and providing the best services you can with the means that you possess. Create a website, market yourself, develop a strong rapport and a great reputation for your business to ensure that no matter what idea you choose to pursue, you will have the success you deserve.

http://www.mlmincomesetup.com

Work-at-home jobs growing in shrinking economy

Image by renaissancechambara via FlickrIn an economy where layoffs are an almost daily news story, more and more people are making it their business to take their jobs home. They are making lemonade out of the big fat lemon they’ve been handed.
Management tends to be the first to see the axe. These are people who are success-oriented, good earners, and suddenly highly motivated to make money. Unfortunately, many of them are finding it disturbingly difficult to find jobs at another company----because they’ve just laid off their management. For example, Citigroup recently announced it is eliminating 50,000 jobs. That means 50,000 people from that single company are going to be job hunting in a job environment that is getting increasingly difficult to navigate.
As finding jobs get more difficult, the idea of setting up your own home-based business is getting more and more attractive. And there are many opportunities out there. According to the Small Business Association, home-based businesses are one of the fastest growing segments in the workforce.
LendingClub.com announced recently it has seen an increase in the number of loans given to those seeking to start small or home-based businesses. “More than 600 people have requested and received loans in order to finance their small or home-based business,” LendingClub said in a recent press release. LendingClub.com is an online social lending network where people can borrow and invest money at attractive interest rates. People borrowing from LendingClub have an average credit score of 704.
Some industries are using home-based jobs as a way of creating savings. In the cable industry, both Time Warner and Cox Communications are expanding their home-based workforce. In the case of Time Warner, home-based work allowed it to avoid spending money to expand a call center. Cox currently has 1,200 home-based workers and plans to expand its program. These statistics are according to the 2008 Women In Cable Telecommunications’ "PAR Initiative Survey."
In Illinois, a company is offering a course at a local community college to train people to work home-based jobs. New Electronics Warranty will offer training courses and will ultimately employ 160 people by next year and create more than 480 jobs in the next three yeasrs---all home-based jobs. The jobs are customer service positions for DirecTV customers.
And it’s not only happening in this country. The Daily Telegraph in England, reports that the number of people working from home in that country increased 16 percent over last year and is expected to continue to rise. The greatest increase is in the middle class, with lawyers, financial advisers and marketing managers working from home. And the increase may be larger than that. One online jobseeker site in the UK saw an increase of jobseekers increase from 1,000 a year ago to 12,000 today, the Telegraph reported.
Another indication that the home-based employment is expanding is the launch of Arise Virtual Solutions, a U.S.-based company, into the European market. Arise screens and certifies thousands of independent professionals that invest in their own training and equipment to answer calls, e-mails and provide interactive chat services from their home offices.
In fact, time and time again, despite the incessantly dire news about the economy and job losses, the home-based business segment seems to be a bright light. It is a segment of the working population that is growing. But it is too soon to see whether or not all these entrepreneurs can continue to make a livable income working from their homes.

http://www.mlmincomesetup.com