A Great Investment......Me!

I have always worked, taken most any job to survive, feed my family, and pay bills on time. I have been a CEO of two small corporations, a college instructor, and a business analyst for a major software company (see profile). At age 45 I went back to Grad School to work on a M Ed in Instructional Design and a MBA in Management. At age 57 I was laid off from the software company (job went to India). I took a part time job in a bookstore to attempt to make ends meet. It didn't work.....and at age 59, I became homeless and unemployed for over a year, eating in soup kitchens and living in doorways. Even with a Master's Degree, help from vocational rehab, & a few non-profits, I have not had a job interview since 2006 (the book store), so in effect, I have not had a "professional job interview" since the software company in 1999!

Yet, I have not entirely given up. I have many creative skills occluding design, writing, educational software, and organizational research. I however, need a few things to make it all work together....hence the INVESTMENT.

I have a old Dell computer with a 15" monitor, donated by an ad in Craig's List! However, a few disabilities make it very difficult to design anything on a 15" CRT monitor. So if folks were able to invest in ME (even $1 helps), I would like to get the following:

1. a 20" - 23" LCD monitor
2. a graphics tablet and pen
3. a larger hard drive (current one is 8 GB)
4. additional software

I will use the new hardware to desing graphics, write educational courses, and perhaps on-line classes. With much luck, may even get paid for it.

Thank you for reading thisappeal, and any help you may be inclined to give. comments and suggestions also welcome!

Basic Marketing Skills

by Barry Anderson

So you’ve started a business, possibly with a few customers already on the books from a previous business or employment. You decide that you need to find some more customers, but you quickly realise that your skills and experience are focussed on delivering your products or services. How do you find the new customers that you need?



Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news first – there are probably many businesses out there already offering the same products and services as yours. The good news however is that if you apply some basic marketing principles, and you do this consistently over a period of time, you will bring in new business opportunities.



A simple definition of marketing is communicating the right message to the right people at the right time, in a way that is right for your business. So let’s take those four points and have a closer look at each one in turn.



The right message



Much has been written about what to say to potential clients, as well as how to say it. The key point to keep in mind is that your potential customer must see the benefit to them in buying your product or service. Generally when businesses (and people) are buying, they either want to move away from an undesirable situation, or move toward a situation they would like to be in. Your messages therefore need to reflect this.



You should pay particular attention to your headline. This is the part that will either make people want to read on, or switch them off. Top advertising writers typically spend 75-80% of their time working on the headline for their message.



Your writing should use the words ‘you’ and ‘yours’ – and should talk about solving your prospect’s rather than about what your product or service is.



The right people



Whether you sell to other businesses or to consumers, you should be very clear on which businesses and individuals will want and be able to buy from you and on who will make the decision to buy. Consider these two very different examples.



A company that sells buildings maintenance services will want to target companies that own their own buildings. Larger buildings-maintenance companies will go after companies with multiple sites, and possibly also more complex maintenance requirements. Smaller companies will be better targeting single-site businesses where the needs are easier to meet. In many cases this company will try to get in touch with the facilities manager – or in smaller businesses the managing director or another senior person.



A retailer that sells luxury bathrooms and kitchens will want to target people in the kind of neighbourhoods with this type of residence. As this company offers a complete service from design, through materials selection and on to installation, they will be targeting people who may be very busy with other aspects of their lives.



The right time



People will buy your services if the time is right for them to buy – and these are perfect ‘leads’ for your business because the potential customer is ready to engage with you now. If they are not ready now, you should stay in contact and cultivate the opportunity until they are ready to buy. Being pushy when your prospect is simply not ready will just switch them off.



You need to think about how frequently your potential customers will buy the product or service you are offering. In the case of buildings maintenance contracts are often renewed annually, so you will need to be in touch with facilities managers in the two or three months running up to renewal. For luxury bathrooms and kitchens, the cycle is likely to be five years or more.



The right way for you



There are many ways in which you can contact your potential customers, and good marketing employs many of these methods in a combination. In deciding which methods are right for your business, you should consider the cost of each method alongside the likely returns from each. This will help you to understand the ‘return on investment’ of your marketing activities.



In conclusion



For many business owners, the world of marketing can appear to be a very confusing place. However, it is well-worth investing some time to understand the basics of how best to market your business. Once you become practiced at it you will be pleasantly surprised by the results you can get.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Barry Anderson has a unique combination of experience covering both marketing training and the marketing of products and services. Working with The Marketers’ Forum, he delivers training and support to students taking the professional qualifications offered by the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

What does the H1N1 Virus have in common with Your Business Internet Money Online Opportunity?

by Rodney Erb

You probably are wondering what could the H1N1 Virus (swine flu) have in common with your business internet money online opportunity. You shouldn’t be surprised to know that the synergy between them to help you help others and make money doing so is something you shouldn’t miss out on. This is especially true for those of you who are medically inclined or in the health services industry and trying to make affiliate marketing your side business for making internet money online.

Everyone is hearing more and more about the H1N1 virus as we start to move into the flu season. People are getting very nervous and I’ve already read that the number of infected students at our college campuses has risen to over 2000. So what does that have to do with Affiliate Marketing and your business internet money online opportunity? As a sales person you should always be looking for and thinking of opportunities. You’ve heard a lot about niche markets or markets that have great potential. Guess what? Anything to do with the H1N1 virus right now is very hot and presents a great opportunity for you as a marketer to not only make this advantageous for you but you could also help your community, society and friends. Apply your affiliate marketing skills to this niche market and a lot positive could happen!

Here are five things you can do to make this opportunity make you internet money online:

1. "Research this important societal issue” – don’t just sit back and accept everything you hear but really understand what the H1N1 virus is. By doing this you will be bombarded with issues you never imagined all of which could be online internet money making opportunities. The more you learn the better a resource you will be to draw people to you and your product links.


2. “Find out what impact it will have" – as the virus spreads, people will need more medicine, more thermometers, more masks, more water, more antibiotics, access to vaccines, more cleansers and cleaners. I could go on and on but think what you could do with a campaign centering on the H1N1 virus and all the many affiliate links you could bring together to platform a marvelous money making opportunity?


3. "Be a sincerely caring person" – you have friends and family, neighbors and business associates who all will be directly or indirectly affected by the H1N1 virus. During conversations you are having or are going to have with them, you can provide valuable information as a result of the research you’ve done. Also, you can hand them a business card with information where you have started a web site they can visit to get more information to calm their fears and organize their thoughts on how to deal with this issue!


4. “Link, backlink and blog” – find all the links, backlinks, blog sites and networks that are talking about the H1N1 virus and link them to your web site. You know that this will explode the opportunity for you to make affiliate money!


5. “Write articles about the virus” – remember that affiliate or article marketing provides a great platform for you to inform people about this disease and then provide them with responsible article reporting to guide them and prepare them for the swine flu virus and upcoming flu season.

The H1N1 vaccine shots start arriving next month. Will you and your business internet money online opportunity be ready? If you start to prepare now you can be one of the first to provide a resource to help people prepare for this season as well as make money doing so using your affiliate marketing skills. The H1N1 virus is not going to wait so neither should you. Start preparing your affiliate marketing campaign today and you can be prepared for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus opportunity!


If you want the best resource to teach you how to apply “Affiliate Marketing” to your business internet money online opportunity to help people address the H1N1 virus as a niche market go to 4-Day Money Making Blueprint OR go to SEM Business Blueprint.

Article Tags: Business Internet Money, Internet Money Online, H1n1 Virus, Business Internet, Internet Money, Money Online, Affiliate Marketing, Money Making

How you feel after Retirement Lifestyle Freedom

I liked being retired, even while homeless! Nothing is redeeming or proud about a minimum or survival job at 50% to 75% pay reduction from your last "Real" job. Some folks claim they will be bored when they retire, won't know what to do...uh huh! Well those are the "Type A Workaholics" that annoy the rest of us. My job doesn't define me. I don't live to work, I work to live! Work may actually interfere with your life. So when retirement greets you, take full advantage of it, even if you sleep in a doorway!



By the term Retirement Freedom, I mean a non-traditional retirement away from the work-a-day world. I call this "Fretirement" since it is a lifestyle that is free from all of the expectations that most of us have with retirement. In "Fretirement", you dont necessarily quit working, rather you quit having to work.

Why go through all of the traditional drudgery associated with a traditional job? Who really wants to spend an hour or more each day commuting to and from an office? Is there anybody who really enjoys office politics and ladder climbing? Or how about the words "outsource" and "downsize" and "layoff"? Can you really get excited about these things? Do you really want to spend a large portion of your earnings for fuel to get to work and for overpriced and unhealthy food during "lunch hour"?

It is possible, at almost any age, to effectively retire from the traditional workforce and to create your own economic machine. Thanks to the electronic age and the advent of the Internet, you can likely make this happen in that area of business wherein you enjoy a certain amount of experience, knowledge and passion. In fact, the more passionate you are about a niche, the more likely you are to be successful in making a good living in it.

In his current bestselling book, "The 4 Hour Work Week", author Timothy Ferris writes about how he managed to wean his company from its dependence on him being present 5 days each week. He did this by outsourcing many of the routine tasks that he did to a Virtual Assistant, or V.A. that he found on the Internet. In fact, he was able to do this so effectively that soon, he weaned his company from needing him at the office 2 days per week. Due to the company's inefficiencies, he and his V.A. were able to produce more results for the company during the 2 days each week that he was absent than he had been producing when he was present!

This went on and on and, over time, he showed up at the office very seldom, but his production was so great that his managers were thrilled and even gave him a raise and promotion! Now, at age 34, he has effectively "retired" from working, enjoys a lot of travel and has a staff of 3-5 V.A.s working for him across the globe! He quickly moved to his desired retirement lifestyle at the ripe old age of 34!

I'm not suggesting that you will be able to work miracles like Tim Ferris did, but, you can certainly explore the opportunities in the niche of your passion and expertise. You might elect to do something complementary to what you are currently doing or perhaps explore a whole new way to accomplish similar results by harnessing the power of the Internet and by outsourcing menial tasks to V.A.s so that you can focus on the really important tasks.

If you are nearing the traditional retirement age, you may be able to spring free of your job years ahead of schedule if you can get some Internet "Cash Machines" setup to provide a level of passive income for you and your family. You can establish many diverse streams of income from various Internet activities and each can be independent from one another. Once you have these in operation, you can have the retirement lifestyle that you desire!

For example, I have income from the sale of an electronic book, or e-book that I have written on the subject of retirement. I also do some affiliate marketing wherein I advertise products for several large companies such as Best Buy and Amazon.com. Additionally, I have a membership site on the Internet where retirees come to learn ways to earn income from Internet activities, and I provide advertising space for Google and other companies. All of these income streams are passive and the income just shows up in my bank account each day! Some days are great and others not so great, but, on average, I earn enough to support 2 sons in a large accredited University without using my Social Security check!

It took me a few months to learn these techniques and a few more months to put them into operation, but now all I do is tweak and tune my marketing programs and explore new ways to compound my streams! Fortunately, I am able to play golf several times a week and get to travel extensively to visit my grandchildren and to just have fun!


I love my retirement lifestyle! You can easily see why I call this freedom that I have my "Fretirement"!

Don Seibert is an Expert Author who writes timely articles and books on retirement including the Amazing Retirement Formula at http://www.Amazing-Retirement.com . Having retired twice, he now is the host of http://www.RetireToEasyStreet.com Visit the site for a complete discussion of Retirement Planning, early retirement, and Retirement Income Options

Student Loans Could Be Forgiven After 10 Years of Public Service

The government hopes a new loan forgiveness program will give students an incentive to consider a career in public service. In exchange for 10 years on the job in a field of public service such as public safety, education, or social work, the Department of Education will erase certain borrowers’ remaining federal student loan debt.

To be eligible for this initiative — the Loan Forgiveness for Public-Service Employees Program — you must have either taken out or consolidated your federal student loans through the federal Direct Loan Program, in which you receive your student loan directly from the government rather than through a third-party lender.

Breaking It Down: How the Loan Forgiveness Program Works
The loan forgiveness benefit is available for any federal consolidation loan or any federal parent or student loans you’ve taken out through the Department of Education’s Direct Loan Program. If you took out your federal college loans from a private lender through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (rather than directly from the government through the Direct Loan Program), you’ll have to consolidate your FFELP student loans into the Direct Loan Program in order for those student loans to be eligible to be forgiven.

In addition to holding a federal Direct loan, you’ll also have to meet certain borrower requirements in order to qualify for the loan forgiveness program:

Spend a decade in a public service career. You must remain in a qualifying public-service career, working full-time, for 10 years, during which you must be making payments on the student loans you’re looking to have forgiven. You must still be working in the public-service sector at the time your student loans are forgiven.

Hit the 120 mark. During your 10 years of full-time public service, you must make 120 monthly payments on the Direct college loans you want forgiven. Only payments made after Oct. 1, 2007, will count toward the payment requirement. If you have FFELP loans (college loans that you took out from a private lender and not from the federal government) that you’re consolidating into the Direct Loan Program, you’ll only be able to count the payments you make on your Direct Consolidation Loan after your FFELP student loans are consolidated. Any payments you’ve made prior to Oct. 1, 2007, or to any lender other than the federal government won’t count.

Sign up for a qualifying repayment plan. Your required 120 payments must be made under one (or a combination) of three repayment plans: standard repayment, income-contingent repayment, or income-based repayment, which becomes available July 1, 2009. If you’re enrolled in a different Direct Loan repayment plan, only those payments you make that are at least equal to the monthly payment amount you’d be required to make under the standard repayment plan will count toward your 120-payment requirement.

The Fine Print: How You End Up Paying Off Your Student Loans Yourself
If you’re considering applying for the loan forgiveness benefit, you may want to look into your eligibility for the income-contingent and income-based repayment plans, which allow low-income borrowers to qualify for lower payments and extend their repayment period to 25 years. Only borrowers who are making reduced monthly payments on an income-contingent or income-based repayment plan will likely have a remaining balance left to forgive after making 120 payments on their student loans.

If you’re in the standard repayment plan, which has a repayment term of 10 years, you may find that you don’t have any student loan debt left to forgive after meeting your 120-payment requirement, since your 10-year repayment term is the same amount of time that the government requires you to hold your public-service job before any of your student loans can be forgiven.

What Qualifies as Public Service?
Public-service fields eligible for the loan forgiveness program include:

Military
Emergency management
Fire departments
Law enforcement
Public library sciences
Public school education
Public child care
Public health
Public service for the elderly
Public service for individuals with disabilities
Nonprofit work with certain tax-exempt organization

Student Loan Forgiveness, A Stimulis?

We have bailed out banks, homeowners, auto companies, stock market and insurance companies. I have an idea that can help stimulate the economy...student loan forgiveness.

Many professions with advanced degrees such as doctors, lawyers, or MBA grads are burdened with student loan payments as high as $1000 - $2000 per month. Depending on their age, "students" may never have enough work life left to repay them. I know people whose balance has tripled or quadrupled while under forbearance or deferment due to the poor economy, unemployment, or underemployment. Freeing up those huge monthly payments would allow people to buy homes, a new car, or other consumer items to stimulate the economy.

Write your congressman or senator and tell them "Student Loan Forgiveness" should be a priority!