by: Peggie Arvidson-Dailey |
| Hiring Help for Small Business Owners © 2005Peggie Arvidson-Dailey As a successful small business owner,you're accustomed to long hours; non-existent holidays and weekends spent working. When was the last time you went to your dentist? When was the last time you had an uninterrupted night out with your partner? Whether your goal for 2005 is to find more time for family or personal enrichment --like attending classes and conferences -- you'll want to consider bringing on some help. The following tips can help you get started whether you want to bring on a team of 10 or an occasional backup! Don't expect to hire a replica of you! Each person you meet and interview will be a living, breathing human, with their own habits, mannerisms and even ideas! This is fine - -as long as their ideas and habits are not philosophically opposed to yours. My first hire, Jen, was pursuing a graduate degree, had just moved to the area and is nearly 20 years younger than I am! She's detail-oriented and relies on schedules to get things done. I'm a bit more 'seat of my pants' type of operator. She's a perfect fit because she complements my way of working! Over time she's grown into managing portions of my business that I neglected - like maintaining scheduling and billing. Know exactly what you expect from your new hire. Before you advertise for help, sit down and write a job description. List your goals for the new hire - do you want someone who can fill in on short notice when you need to take a day off, or do you want someone who can work a regular schedule? Do you want someone who can meet with clients, set their own schedules and attend meetings and events on your behalf or do you simply need someone who can pick up your overflow? By spending time working through your thoughts on hired help you are setting yourself up for a great working relationship. If you can clearly articulate the job to all applicants, they will have the opportunity to determine if this is a mutually agreeable fit. Be sure to concentrate on specific job-related descriptions, and not subjective information. Determine what type of manager you are! It's imperative that you’re honest about your workstyle. After all, if you say you want an independent thinker, but really do a lot of 'checking-in' you may end up with an unhappy helper. On the other hand, if you hire someone who needs lots of feedback, you need to be sure that you are cut-out for the 'people part' of the management process. Set aside time. If you expect to hire someone by the 15th of next month you may be setting yourself up for failure. Just as you can't expect to find a perfect replica of you - you can't always put a deadline on your hiring process. In other words, plan to advertise, interview and train until you find the RIGHT person. (SECRET TIP: If you find the right person - Hire them right away and then find work for them! Never pass up a great hire!) Ask your insurance carrier about your responsibility for insuring your team members. Whether you hire Independent Consultant's or Employees is a topic for another article, however, you need to make certain that your company is covered. Determine your time-off policy. Just like you, your team members will need time off - whether to recover from the flu or just to re- charge. How will you handle these absences? Create a disciplinary and review process. Whether you need to tackle issues of poor performance, or chronic absenteeism -- have a policy in place before you bring on your first team member. Questions to address in this process include: How many emergency absences are acceptable in a given time period? How will you deal with customer complaints and concerns? How will you reward outstanding performance? What format will you use to communicate with your team? Find a reputable company for conducting background checks. If your company’s product or service requires your employees to access clients’ homes, children or possessions do not overlook the importance of conducting a background check. You can search on the web, ask your insurance provider, or talk to your local police authorities for recommendations on companies to conduct this check for you. In each instance, you will need the applicant's signature and understanding that you will have a third party conduct a background check as a condition of employment. Create a Fact Sheet for Applicants that you can provide along with an application to interested candidates. This sheet should cover your basic job description, expectations and hiring process. Create your training program. Whether a detailed manual or one-on-one training for a specified period of time - make sure you have a written outline. Your training program should include all aspects of the job you expect your new hire to complete. Many misunderstandings and frustrations occur simply because a new hire didn't understand the expectations of the boss. By following these tips, you are well on your way to a happy and productive working relationship with all your new help! About the Author Small Business Success Coach, Peggie Arvidson-Dailey, is the author of “How to be a Client Attraction Guru” and the creator of the Pet-Care Business Success System™. To learn more about this step-by-step program for making your pet-care business stand out from the crowd, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleclasses, visit http://www.peggiespets.com |
marți, 23 martie 2010
10 Hiring Tips for Small Business Owners
7 Top Strategies to Building a Benefits Based Business
by: Julie Jordan Scott |
| You hear it all the time: "Attract new customers and clients based upon benefits, not features!" This truism can be spoken by new and old entrepreneurs alike. For those just starting out, it can be challenging at best to determine the distinction between the two! With a few simple techniques, you can easily bridge from feature, feature, feature to benefit, benefit, benefit. This will increase both your bottom line and the satisfaction for yourself and your clients. 1. Define the separation between features and benefits. A simple example would be two grey skirts with almost identical length, cut, style. A feature of one of the skirts is that it has two pockets. That particular feature becomes a benefit when one looks at the results the wearer may achieve through wearing the pocketed skirt rather than the unpocketed skirt. For example, by wearing the skirt with pockets, Shari will receive the following BENEFITS from this FEATURE. She will be: * An Efficient Team Player: Carry post it notes and pencils for quick jotting of notes and reminders as Shari meets colleagues on route to meetings and appointments. * Gleeful and Happy as a Parent: Shari can delight her daughter with a treat at the end of the day. * Surprising Mate: Shari can tuck her bonus check into her pocket and pull it out to delight her partner with an unexpected windfall. * Warm, Protected, Comfortable: On chilly days, Shari can tuck her hands into her pockets as she jets from her car to her office with speed and agility. After all, a woman with pockets can do it all! 2. Make a list of all the features you can think of for your product or service. For example, you provide Search Engine Placement assistance for your clients. One features of your service would include maximizing the use of keywords in your client's website. 3. Make a parallel list of all the benefits from the above listed features. For example, the benefits of the above feature (maximizing keywords) would be additional wealth and prosperity through higher listings in the major search engines. 4. Determine what benefits are REALLY important to your target market. You may assume that THIS benefit is of utmost importance. However, when you poll your clients or prospective clients, you may find the exact opposite. The important thing is to not be blind to reality. Ask some questions, adjust, tweak, poll again, adjust, ask more questions, tweak. Marketing and attraction are NOT an exact science. Enjoy the process! 5. Create word pictures of the benefits derived from your product or service. Remember the skirt with pockets? Carefully crafted statements which bring emotional responses will bring the most bang for your buck. Paint a picture and bring home sizzling bacon. 6. Implement a marketing and sales strategy based on the benefits you have uncovered. Pay special attention to those benefits which have the greatest impact on the purchasing decision. Continue to try on different techniques and strategies along the way as you uncover what works particular well for you and your target market. 7. Celebrate Success! Practicing building your business on benefits will yield a larger bottom line, that is guaranteed. It also takes some artistry and panache. You can choose to be an automaton, however I am sure you would rather become prosperous through using your mind and creating beyond your wildest dreams. About the Author Julie Jordan Scott is a Speaker, Writer and Life Coach who transformed her life from Government Bureacrat to Successful Entrepreneur in less than six months. |
7 Strategies to Make Room for Money
by: Joanne Victoria |
| Article Title: 7 Strategies to Make Room For Money Author Name: Joanne Victoria Contact E-mail Address: mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com Word Count: 1126, including signature box Category: Motivation Copyright Date: Updated 2004 All Rights Reserved Worldwide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Publishing Guidelines: Thank you for publishing this article in its entirety, including the resource box. When possible, please notify me of publication by sending either a website link or a copy of your ezine upon publication via email to mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7 Strategies to Make Room For Money Laws of the Attraction notwithstanding, there are several external ways that you can make room for more money in your life. Yes, there are those of you who can manifest whatever you want, whenever you want. This article is for those of you who may need just a few extra tools. First, it is vital to create a space that can be filled with what you really want. Start by going through your closets. Remove every article of clothing, shoes, and purses you have not worn in at least a year. How do you know what to get rid of? Use the following as a guide: 1. Use your intuition. Trust it. 2. Ask yourself if you love it. 3. Does it fit? 4. Do you use it? 5. Do you need it? 6. What memories does it bring up? 7. Again, use your intuition. Take all of these clothes, shoes and purses to your local resale store. You will start receiving money immediately. Bonus feature: The space you have created will now be filled with what you really want. Be patient. Second, go through every drawer in your home and remove all the junk. You know what junk is. Plastic forks from takeout; rubber bands and plastic bags you are saving for some reason. Men (and women!) go to the garage. - How many screwdrivers do you really need? - How many cans of old, unused paint are taking up space? Clean out the garage and only put back in what you use. Sell the rest at a garage sale or give to the Goodwill. There, you have a tax credit as well as money. Clean out your office desk. Throw away any document that is unnecessary. I know, you are afraid you will throw something away you may need in the future. Well, I understand. This particular article you are reading was originally written in 1986. I did not throw it out. In 1986, I did not have a computer, so here we are. Boy, am I glad I saved this. The information still holds up. Okay, back on track. Create as much order as possible in your home, garage and office. If you are a creative individual, this may be difficult as creative types are visual and like to see things. Make it work for you. As you eliminate all this junk, you will start feeling a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment and freedom. If you do not have these feelings, you are not yet ready to make room for money I your life. Your desire and your feelings must be in alignment You may also have feelings of fear and doubt. Learn to trust yourself and allow the process to work for you. Third, sit down and make a list of all the people you do not have a great relationship with. This list includes people you have judged, blamed or criticized. This same list includes people who have judged blamed or criticized you! Visualize each individual, and, as you do, forgive them. Forgiveness is one of the most important tools for making money in your life. Generate appreciation towards these individuals in order to heal yourself. Eliminate grudges. Grudges contract the body, mind and spirit. Release and let go. Step by step, expansion is on the way. Fourth, pay your bills on time. It is very important to keep your money agreements, so pay your bills graciously. If you avoid paying certain obligations because you have insuffieienct funds, or are displeased with the service of someone whom you owe money, use visualization. Bring these people into your mind’s eye. Allow your body to experience negative feelings you may be holding on to. Breathe deeply and look at your resistance. Generate appreciation and love towards these vendors. You certainly were grateful when you used the card, so bring back that gratitude! Keep breathing until all discomfort is released; until you can visualize this person with little emotion or reaction. If you do not currently have the money for a specific obligation, phone the vendor and explain the situation. Remember, it is only temporary! Even the U.S. government will negotiate. Fifth, act as if you have all the money you want. Notice, I use the word ‘want’, as opposed to ‘need’. You have all that you need. In order to attract what you want -- the Universal Law of Attraction says it is already there, but the rational mind sometimes butts in-- you must act as if you have all you want. If you had all the money you wanted, what would you be doing for work, if anything? If you are not doing what you love, what brings you joy, money may appear as a slow leak, instead of a gusher. Present as prosperous a picture as possible. That does not mean you have to spend money. - Appropriate grooming is cheap. - Smile more often. - Indulge yourself with long luxurious baths. - Create a candle light dinner, even if for one person. - Look in the mirror and say, " Hey, I like you!." These simple tools will help you feel and look better. The Universe will look at you and say, "Alright, you’ve got it! Let’s give you a little more." Sixth, give some money away. Give away what you want more of – it really works. Tithe clothing items in lieu of money if that feels better. Don’t purchase anything new unless you eliminate one item form your home or office. Give willingly and unconditionally, without expecting to receive anything in return. Do it because you can. Seven, call up your parents. Tell them you love all they have done for you. If you cannot get as far as the love word, express your appreciation. Let them know how you feel in a positive way. If your parents have passed on, write them a letter telling them about all the things and circumstances you appreciated them for but never had the chance to share. They will see this letter, no matter where they are. Remember, the Law of Attractions is powerful. It provides you with whatever you think about, both wanted and unwanted. About the Author Joanne Victoria, works with small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to achieve more and still be true to who they really are. |
3 very simple steps to making money online
by: Mike Law |
| Network Marketing or MLM (Multi Level Marketing) is one of the biggest earning potentials on the internet today. The internet is a multi billion dollar industry where the advantages of trading are virtually endless. Here are some of the key reasons why I highly recommend Network Marketing. The ability to not only work from home but from almost any location in the world as long as you have access to the internet was the biggest attraction for me personally. It opens a whole new world of possibilities in regards to the way you can live your life. You work the hours you want, and you are also your own boss. It is much easier to motivate yourself when you know your efforts are going to increase your own earning potential and not the person you are working for. Also your earning potential is endless and your business grows by itself once you have the right tools in place. Another huge benefit of Network Marketing is the amount needed to invest is far smaller than virtually any other business so you really have very little to lose. However one of the reasons a lot of people fail at Network Marketing is because they want something for nothing. Expecting to make huge profits with no time and money invested will get you no where. This leads me to my next point of working smarter rather than harder. How you market your business is crucial to its success. You are competing in a global market with millions of potential customers; however reaching these customers is your biggest challenge. There are so many marketing tools on the market today of which a large majority of them will generate very little if any residual profits for your company. The most effective tools for you to use are the ones which will target motivated individuals who are already interested in the products and or services which you offer. You could for example invest substantial amounts of money on tools which promise millions of hits to your site and gain absolutely no business whatsoever. On the other hand you could invest smarter and utilise the tools which target those potential associates as mentioned above for a much smaller investment. And this is where the beauty of the plug in profit system is so evident. All of the most effective tools and methods are supplied for you to save you years of trial and error. So by now you are probably thinking that this Network Marketing venture of yours is going to require a lot more time than you thought? The answer is no. Right now is the perfect time to get involved for one main reason, Turnkey solutions. Network Marketing guru’s have developed these solutions to grow their businesses, however at the same time making it extremely simple for you to grow yours. Five of my income streams come from one turnkey site which was setup in a few hours with three easy steps. To get started or to learn more go to www.wealthontap.com/pips.html All the best. About the Author Mike Law CEO of www.wealthontap.com and capitalising on the unlimited potential of Network Marketing. Join my team and join the marketing revolution. |
Unique Niche Markets
by: Dan Brown |
| A niche is something that sets your business apart from your competitors. To compete with other businesses nowadays, especially online, you need a unique niche. Just make sure your competitors are not using the same niche. Below are twelve ideas you could use to create an order pulling niche. 1. Your niche could be that you offer free delivery. This may cost a little money, but, you will gain the extra customers to make up for it. 2. Your niche could be that you offer a lower price. If you can't afford to offer a lower price you could always hold the occasional discount sale. 3. Your niche could be that your product achieves results faster. This niche is very effective because people are becoming more and more impatient and want results fast. 4. Your niche could be you've been in business for a longer period of time. People think if you've been in business longer you have more credibility. 5. Your niche could be that your product tastes, smells sounds, looks, or feels better. When you target the the senses you're triggering basic human attractions. 6. Your niche could be your product is light or compact. People may want to take the product on a trip or don't have much room where they live. 7. Your niche could be that you've won a business reward. When you win a reward tell your customers or visitors about it. This increases their trust in your business. 8. Your niche could be that your product lasts longer. People don't like taking the time and spending more money buying replacement products all the time. 9. Your niche could be that your product is easy to use. People don't want to buy a product that they have to read a 200 page hard-to-understand instruction manual. 10. You niche could be that your product has better safety features. People want to feel safe when they use your products. 11. Your niche could be that your product was made by hand. Most people believe that products made by hand have better quality. 12. Your niche could be that you stand behind all your products. People want to know that you back- up any claims you make about your product with either guarantees, warrantees and free replacements. About the Author Author Dan Brown has been active in internet marketing for the past 4 years. Dan currently is working with the Zabang search engine introducing their new affiliate program, which is due out July, 2005. Zabang |
* Magnetize Your Business Success *
by: Michel Richer |
| Our brain is a marvelous creation. It receive and transmit information like a wireless phone. Our thought are made of wave. We call that brain wave. It is around 10 to 40 cycle per second when we are awake. In fact our thought are MAGNETIC. Like a magnet we attract circumstances and opportunities. We litterally ATTRACT the life we want with our POWERFUL thought like a magnet ! You might say :" But Michel i have been thinking about wealth all my life and the only thing i got is 5 cents in the banks !" Do you think about wealth or the lack of wealth ? This is different my friend. When you think about not having enough money what do you attract ? Not enough money of course ! This is a spiritual law ! It's the law of attraction or sameness or harmony. You cannot have, what you don't think you can have. Like attracts like. Like criminals with criminals and saints with saints. We join a group because they share the same ideas as ours (the law of sameness). We won't join people who doesn't thing the same as us ! Like attracts like - you get the point ! I'm sure you do now. We have to replace our old thinking if we want to succeed. Think about success and wealth and not: " Not enough money " or " I cannot succeed " . Replace this with : " I will succeed litlle by little, day by day ". Our action follows our thinking. If we don't believe we can start a business we won't start a business. Period. But if we believe we can start a business here is what happen : First our thought will attract information on how to start a business. So we first learn how to start and grow a business. After that we start taking action like maybe getting a loan, finding a location (if we have a physical business). After that finding good employee, good marketing, good products etc. We do what we think. Everything we do comes from our thought. Our thought form our belief. We have to believe to succeed. We act from our belief. It's not diificult to believe in wealth ! Look at all the people who succeed and have succeeded. There are not different from you. There are flesh and bones and not some space alien ! To become wealthy you have to think like them. Learn from them. If they have done it. You can do it too. You don't need to have come from a rich family or to be a crook to be wealthy. The crook will one day get caught. The simple formula to succeed is this. The ultimate truth of all ages and all the universe is : " Your Thought Create Youre Reality " Taught your way to success. Think and act. Act and think. Use your crative thought to create wealth or anything you like in your life. What you like you attract easily. Remember like atract like. Copyright © Michel Richer PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author’s resource box with LIVE website link. Link to : http://hombyz.com About the Author Michel Richer is the Business Manager and Webmaster of http://hombyz.com. He is DEDICATED to helping you succeed on the Internet. With over 10 years experience in internet business and a solid REPUTATION in the industry. ************************************ Start Your Internet Business For FREE! Complete Details at : http://hombyz.com/homebusiness.htm < |
"Explosive Success Via Email!"
by: A. T. Rendon |
| There is no doubt in anyone's mind that email is the most important communications development in the history of the world thanks to the Internet. The reason is simple. We can now communicate on a global scale in a matter of minutes. This is an awesome power and responsibility. The power is the act of communication itself. The responsibility comes in making use of this power in a reasonable and non-spam manner. That is why it is so important to establish a mailing list of people that have agreed to receive your email messages. You can either build your list in a slow but steady manner, as detailed in our FREE Report, "Starting Your Own Newsletter!", available to you FREE of charge via auto-responder by email at: mailto:free_report@emailexchange.org Or you can pay one of those online services to send out emails as confirmations whenever they post a free ad on the networks system. Either way, here are a few tips to "Explosively Increase the Success of ANY Email Advertising Campaign!" 1. Your Subject Line is the MOST Important Element. The 'Subject Line' will either get your email read or immediately deleted. It is the single most important element of your email message. If you have a bad 'Subject Line' then you may as well not even bother sending out the email in the first place. Whatever time you invest on preparing your email campaign, make the 'Subject' of the email your top priority to provide you the opportunity to have a successful email campaign. 2. Use Action Words. Action words bring your message to life for the reader. They can help you convey to your target audience the importance of your over-all message. For a FREE List of the Top 50 Action Words, send an email to: mailto:action_words@emailexchange.org 3. Do NOT OVER Capitalize. Some Capitalized letters are essential but too many can convey the sense of shouting and no one likes to be shouted at. Worse still, your message can take on a cluttered or amateurish look if you use all capital letters. 4. Do NOT use too many Exclamation points! Same problem can arise here as with the use of too many capital letters. Do not risk having that a cluttered and amateurish look to draw attention to your message. Your message itself should do the work of attraction. 5. Personalize When Possible. If you have an email program that allows you to PERSONALIZE your email messages, make use of it by making the 'Subject' message a personal one for the reader. I make use of the FREE Aureate Group Mailing Software which has that feature built in and allows me to 'Personalize" all email that I send to my various lists. To download your own FREE copy of this Email Program visit at: http://www.infacta.com/download.asp 6. Keep it 6 to 8 words maximum. A short Subject Title Line is better because if you make it too long, many of the email programs in use will actually cut off your 'Subject' message and make it either unreadable or at the least, unappealing. Make liberal use of these few tips and you will see a definite and 'Explosive Increase in the Success of your Email Campaigns'. ABOUT THE AUTHOR A.T.Rendon is an entrepreneur and published writer. Subscribe to FREE Business Classifieds Newsletter & receive FREE online access to our Password Protected "FREE Submit To Over 2.7 MILLION FREE Ad Sites!" mailto:subscribe_fbcn9@emailexchange.org Visit us at: http://emailexchange.org/?Articles |
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