Seven Short Leadership Lessons for Anyone Who Runs a Family Business

Get FREE stuff by an one click.
If you own or manage a family business, you're in good company. Family businesses are a major part of the United States economy. Eighty percent or more of all businesses in the United States are family controlled. Plus, over 60 percent of the U.S. workforce works for a family business. Yes, family businesses embody our country's entrepreneurial spirit and represent the hopes and dreams of many for independence, community, self-sufficiency, and wealth. Unfortunately, says Edward Hess, author of The Successful Family Business: A Proactive Plan for Managing the Family and the Business, family business owners also face challenges that other types of businesses don't.

"The added complexity of family dynamics causes most family businesses to operate, to adopt strategies, and to make decisions differently from non-family businesses," explains Hess. "Leaders of family businesses must learn the processes and attitudes that are needed to manage the family versus those that are needed to manage the business. You cannot manage both the same way. Families factor family needs, hopes, and fears into their decisions regarding the business, and only family businesses have sibling or cousin rivalries, jealousies, and competition for parental love, approval, and financial favor. Family dynamics, family ways of communicating, and making decisions all can interfere with business decisions. This is the beauty of and challenge of managing a family business."

Here are seven short leadership lessons from Hess to help you run your family business.

1. You cannot manage family business issues in the same style or manner as most entrepreneurs manage their business.
   
   
2. The process of how family members have input, communicate, debate, and reach consensus is as important as the particular family issue or its specific resolution.
   
   
3. Family business issues are complex and it takes time for people to get comfortable - time for people to understand other people's perspectives and time for people to reach consensus.
   
   
4. Proactive and preemptive management of family business issues is better than reactive management. Proactively dealing with upcoming issues can mitigate uneducated opinions, anger, jealousies, and greed.
   
   
5. Values such as respect, integrity, fairness, love, and stewardship are the foundation of reaching results that are in the best long-term interests of both the business and the family.
   
   
6. Caring, respectful listening is more important than a quick answer or a quick solution. In most cases, there are deeper family issues that need to be addressed, considered, and factored into the equation.
   
   
7. The fundamental overriding principles of managing a multi-generational family business are: a) Transparency, b) Inclusiveness, c) Consistency, d) Fairness

Go to source.
By Kids For Kids Kicks Off 'Get Your Head in the Game' Maryland Sports Invention Challenge

Online: Video

Get FREE stuff by an one click.
As network news programs continue to struggle, the creators of one news show are trying a new strategy -- replacing the producer, the editor and even the news anchor with a computer.

The online show, called "News at Seven," uses an automated computer program to comb online news outlets for major stories of the day and to pair them with video and still photos culled from sites like Google Images and YouTube. The newscast is delivered by an avatar -- a digital representation of a person.

In the coming months, users will be able to enter their preferences to create a customized personal newscast based on topics that interest them, with an avatar and background of their choice.

The show is a project of two computer-science graduate students and a professor at Northwestern University's Intelligent Information Laboratory, and was funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Still in its beta stage, the site hasn't begun offering customized options yet, but currently hosts a regular newscast by a virtual woman named "Alex" (pictured). Her voice is soothing, though her electronic delivery can be jerky and halting.

Go to source.
How One Blogger Increased His Revenue From $300/Mo To Over $3000/Mo With Things Other Than AdSense.

EBay Bids For Younger Crowd

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

In its search for growth, eBay Inc. is starting to go after teenagers' wallets, teaming with social-networking sites to lure younger customers.

The San Jose, Calif., online auctioneer is working on launching a feature for visitors to social-networking company Bebo Inc., which caters largely to teenagers. The idea is, Bebo users would be able to use the site to post lists of items they want to sell or buy on eBay. Clicking on an item on the list would send Bebo users to eBay, bringing eBay a potentially lucrative stream of new visitors.

EBay is "looking to engage a younger demographic in a very creative way," says Jim Scheinman, vice president of business development at Bebo, San Francisco. The majority of Ebay's users now are 35 to 44 years old.

This is just one of several overtures that eBay has recently made to social-networking Web sites, the popular online hangouts where people can build personal profiles with photos and videos, and send messages to each other. EBay has also been talking to News Corp.'s MySpace, the biggest social-networking site, which counts teens and 20-somethings among its core user base, about ways to partner on "peer commerce," say people familiar with the matter. This would allow MySpace users to buy and sell items from each other using eBay's online-commerce technology and PayPal electronic-payment system, these people said. MySpace declined to comment.

In January, eBay also quietly made a deal with Facebook Inc., another large social-networking site aimed primarily at college-age users. Facebook's users can now search for used textbooks on a special eBay-sponsored "Student Superstore" page on Facebook, and join a group associated with the page. To search for or buy items, users can type words into a search box that then directs users to Half.com, a discount e-commerce site that eBay owns. Another search box directs users to the main eBay site. EBay paid Facebook an undisclosed amount to create the page and post other advertisements.

Cody Lyell, a 17-year-old high-school student in Stamps, Ark., joined the "Student Superstore" group on Facebook a few weeks ago and has visited it six or seven times since. He was already an eBay fan, but recently he used the Facebook link to eBay to search for a cellphone instead of opening a new window in his browser. "I'm on Facebook all the time, and it's easier to get to," he says.

"It makes sense that eBay would advertise Half.com on Facebook," says Mike Murphy, Facebook's vice president of media sales. "Half.com is targeted at college students and young adults, and Facebook engages that demographic like no other site can."

The move to build partnerships with hot social-networking sites comes at a time when eBay's growth has slowed. Last year, eBay's revenue grew 31% to $6 billion, down from its triple-digit pace in the late '90s. EBay has reached a saturation point with its existing audience, analysts say. To spur new growth, eBay has tried expanding overseas in countries including China and Korea, and has launched a more mainstream site called eBay Express to sell products at fixed prices, which has so far fallen flat.

EBay could now be looking to attract new Internet users as they come online. EBay's visitor traffic dwarfs that of MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo -- it attracted 80.7 million unique U.S. visitors in January, compared with 61.5 million for MySpace, 19 million for Facebook, and 3.6 million for Bebo, according to comScore. But the social-networking sites, which have been around for just a few years, are growing quickly among a coveted younger audience that sees the sites as a new front door into the Web. Today, only 38% of eBay users are 12 to 34 years old, compared with 46% of MySpace users, 55% of Facebook users, and 69% of Bebo users, according to comScore.

Working with social-networking sites "establishes eBay as the resource to find what you want -- a used iPod, for example -- and gets [young users] aware early," says Patti Freeman Evans, an analyst at JupiterKagan Inc.'s JupiterResearch. Still, she notes that young people actually spend less money online than their older counterparts, as they have less disposable income.

EBay is playing down its partnerships with social-networking companies. Spokesman Brad Williams says the efforts are disparate deals, with the Facebook venture amounting to a straightforward advertising purchase, and the Bebo deal a way for eBay to take advantage of a feature that Bebo provides to all of its users. "We're always talking with potential partners and making deals," he says, adding that making deals with social-networking companies to reach a younger audience is "not a strategic priority for us." But he acknowledges any deal with MySpace could potentially be more significant.

Internally, eBay is also looking at ways to leverage the social-networking phenomenon. EBay Research Labs, formed in 2005 to research new technologies, is examining how eBay could let its buyers and sellers join communities on its Web site based on their interests and buying habits, just as high-school students on MySpace might create groups around a common interest like a rock band.

The tie-ups with young Web companies may not only help eBay attract a younger audience. They also are a test for eBay's effort to use partnerships to pull in traffic from other Web sites.

Some of its current relationships are becoming more complicated. Last week, 10.1% of traffic to the main eBay site came from Google, compared with 9.4% in the year-ago period, according to Hitwise, a Web-tracking service. EBay last year signed a multiyear deal with Google Inc., allowing the Internet search giant to exclusively display text ads on eBay's sites outside of the U.S. in exchange for paying eBay a portion of the revenue from some ads.

But Google is now becoming more of an eBay rival, giving eBay a motive to seek new partnerships that would bring visitor traffic its way. Google last year introduced Google Checkout, a service that rivals eBay's PayPal electronics-payment service.

Adding to that, search-engine advertisements are increasingly costly. Some of eBay's biggest sellers have built their own retail Web sites outside of eBay and are using ads on Google to drive customers there. That adds to competition for search-engine keywords from mainstream rivals like Target Corp. "When one channel is wildly successful for you as well as for others, it will become more costly, and you'll naturally want to look for diversification," Ms. Freeman Evans says.

One potential downside: Establishing a presence on the popular social-networking sites gives some eBay critics a high-profile forum for their gripes. At Facebook's "Student Superstore" group, which recently counted more than 1,900 members, one student posted a message that read, "how cool ebay on facebook..." But another commented, "Half ripped me off don't use them."

The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)

How To Tell Your Prospects What They Need To Know

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

...Before you even meet them.

We're still talking about the three aspects that make for a successful marketing strategy and so far, I've identified the first two...the list and the offer.

Of course, he third stepping stone to direct marketing success is the mailing piece itself. If one is the list and two is the offer, then three is what we might call the packaging or the presentation of the offer.

In mailing development you will basically deal with copy, graphics and format. I want you to understand that it is not necessary or even necessarily advisable for you to engage the expensive services of graphic designers or ad agencies to create your direct mail pieces.

If you will make the format decision yourself, write the copy yourself and provide some graphic components yourself, all of which I'll help you with during our journey together, then you can have your piece prepared by a small store front printer and his typesetter.

An ad agency or graphic designer may charge you several hundred to a thousand dollars just to design a simple direct mail piece. Most small and medium size businesses do not need to incur such costs.

Let's talk first about format. There are two commonly used formats that will serve most of your needs.

One is called the solo piece. This is a single sheet, printed on both sides and half folded or folded in thirds to self-mail without an envelope. This is the most commonly used format by small business and the least expensive. If you watch your own incoming mail a little more closely for the next few days you'll receive several such mail pieces and can get an idea of the different things that can be done within the solo format.

Another solo format that is even simpler and less costly is a postcard or oversized postcard. This can be a very cost-effective way of communicating with your established customer list.

The other format is a more complex, sophisticated multiple piece mailing in an envelope. This is the kind used by Publishers Clearing House and the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes as well as many other direct mail marketers. Again watch your incoming mail for the next few days and you'll be able to collect some samples of this type of piece.

Usually this package is made up of #1 - a cover letter, #2 - a brochure or flyer presenting the main offer, #3 - a separate response device - a coupon to bring into the store or an order form to mail back and #4 - some extra sales piece - possibly a page of testimonials from satisfied customers or a flyer on the premium or bonus gift.

The theory behind this type of mailing is that the odds of something catching the reader's interest are increased proportionately by the number of loose pieces.

Your choice of formats can be governed by how much space you need to tell your story, cost and budget factors, who you're mailing to, and the dollar value of the response.

You then have to write the copy that will present your offer and tell your story. I've written all of my own advertising copy since the 1970's and have never had any formal education in advertising. I'm self-taught through studying the many excellent how-to books readily available and through practice. This is a very valuable skill and I urge most business people and entrepreneurs to develop the ability to write good advertising copy.

Dan Kennedy, http://www.dankennedy.com/

Winning at the Game of Love

8 Small Business Trends for the 21st Century

Get FREE stuff by an one click.
Running a small business requires a focus on the present daily operations. With time restraints looking ahead becomes difficult. However, in order to succeed you need to know what’s ahead to better plan and avert danger. The 21st century presents plenty of changes that will impact your small business in the future. Here are 8 small business trends for the 21st century:

The Small Business Revolution: The face of entrepreneurship is changing from the white middle-aged college educated male to a new class consisting of immigrants, women, baby boomers, and the younger digital generation. These groups are better prepared for success.

The boomers have a vast repertoire of skills and experiences while the youth possess a risk-taking attitude with very few financial commitments.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, Americans aged 55 to 64 start a business at the highest rate of any age group—28% higher than the adult average. A growing number of employees will value the path to entrepreneurship continuing the small business revolution. Look for greater political clout and financing for small business.

An Empire of One: Forget the hiring headaches, managing problems, and added paperwork of running a business with employees. According to the Census Bureau, small business without payroll makes up more than 70 percent of America’s 27 million companies, with annual sales of $887 billion.

An empire of one can operate in a low-cost of location such as the home office and be more nimble than larger companies. One-person businesses can take advantage of outsourcing many functions while focusing on core strengths. The empire of one model will be appealing to more and more corporate employees leaving behind big companies with limited pensions and job security. Small businesses built around the empire of one model will be able to weather the perfect talent storm on the horizon.

The Perfect Talent Storm: A fast aging population, a rapid declining pool of younger workers combined with global competition creates the perfect storm for a serious labor shortage. Unlike past labor shortages, this is a global phenomenon impacting workers in many areas and businesses of all types. It will continue for much of the decade.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. is heading for a shortage of 3 to 6 million workers by 2012. Immigration provides little comfort with other countries facing similar talent crunches; retaining citizens will be a top priority. This storm means small businesses will have to compete aggressively for talent and learn how to fully engage the hearts and minds of employees.

The Innovation Age: The most important asset that will be fully realized in the future is the 3lb creative universe in our heads. Our true competitive advantage is our ability to create and execute new business ideas. Although we have mastered the fundamentals of business such as sales or marketing, we have yet to grasp the concept of innovation. Smarter companies will leap ahead with the understanding that innovation is a process dependant system as opposed to a flash of genius.

The current perceptions of innovation are it’s all about big ideas and primarily technological. Big ideas have a much lower success rate than small innovations. Innovations can occur in all aspects of business from new customer service ideas to improvements in operations. An idea isn’t an innovation until it is applied and turning a profit. The future belongs to small businesses that can turn innovations into profits.

The Customer Voice: Marketing has primarily been a one-way communication to the customer. The rise of Web 2.0 with blogs, podcasts, wikis, and community websites has created a powerful mechanism for customers to shout back.

The time is limited for companies to hide behind poor service and imperfect products. Company and people searches on search engines such as Google will continue to be a means for buyers to discover the truth behind marketing copy.

Consumer opinions good and bad will shape the success of business. Savvy small businesses will monitor what is being said, use the feedback to improve and manage their reputation. Listening to your customer is more than an overused term but part of the new reality of business.

The Heath Care Crunch: The only hurdle to speed up the small business revolution is the health care crisis. The current malaise of the heath care system in countries around the world will see no signs of dissipating. With more expensive medical advances and aging populations living longer, the price of quality health care will continue to be a burden on small business.

Leaving behind company medical benefits to a start a business is risky for many. With new programs such as Health Savings Accounts, the ability of workers to leave corporations and be self-employed will be improved. A shift in treating disease to prevention will be needed to reduce costs and risks in the current system.

Knowledge Expiration: Like a carton of milk, the usefulness of knowledge expires over time. In any field, new discoveries over throw theories to create new ways of thinking. In the world of business, the assumptions and facts of today are tomorrows old way of thinking. As our world accelerates in knowledge creation, information will continue to change.

Nimble small businesses have the opportunity to learn new ideas and immediately apply them to their companies. Successful companies will learn how to unlearn and constantly challenge procedures, skill sets, and ways of doing business.

The Angry Planet: The global warming crisis is creating havoc in all parts of the world; interrupting supply chains, closing operations, devastating lives and businesses. Insurance firm Swiss Re predicts weather disasters will reach $150 billion per year in economic cost in a decade more than double of today's costs.

Without the resources of large corporations and limited government aid, small business will be the most vulnerable to the fickle demands of Mother Nature. According to a recent NFIB National Small Business Poll, man-made disasters affect 10% of small businesses, whereas natural disasters have impacted more than 30% of all small businesses in America. Disaster planning will be a necessary component of business survival in the 21st century.

These trends are already set in motion. Take the steps today to set your business goals and direction around foreseeable events emerging.

[via about.com]

Before You Buy Software on eBay

Getting Out of a Commercial Lease

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

As a tenant, there are many reasons why you might wish to terminate a commercial lease. One unfortunately too-common reason is that your business hasn't been a success--or hasn't been as successful as you'd thought it would be. Hopefully the reason you'd need to break a lease is that your business has done so well the leased premises are too small and you need to expand to keep up with customers' demands. So is there anything you can legally do to get out of your existing lease?

Your planning should start before you ever sign the lease--you'd be wise to take to heart the old expression about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. You need to consider what you'd want to do in the event of an "early exit" and have a provision inserted that covers some possible scenarios before you sign the lease. Fortunately, there are a few different provisions you can easily negotiate with a landlord that will give you an “out” should you decide to move before a lease is up. For instance, you might want to include a clause that allows you to cancel your lease if income projections haven't reached a certain goal by the six-month or one-year anniversary of the lease.

Another possibility is to include term options, which work like this: As a new renter, you'll probably want at least a two-year initial term in order to help reduce your monthly payments. But you might be anxious about committing to a five-year term even though the longer lease period provides rent and location stability during your new business's growth years. The answer may be a one- or two-year lease with one or more options to renew, such as one or two options for an additional two years each or a single option for three additional years.

The important point is that the option be written in your favor. That means you have the right to exercise your option, and the landlord has no choice but to extend the lease term if you exercise your option per the terms of the lease. A term option will typically include a time period before the initial term expires during which the option may be exercised. For instance, the lease may provide that an option to extend the lease must be exercised at least three months before the end of the lease. If the tenant waits until there are fewer than three months left before the lease end, the option will no longer be valid.

It's common, with term options, for the landlord to ask for a small increase in the rent during the next term of the lease. The amount is usually subject to negotiation. If your business is doing well enough to extend the lease, a small rent increase shouldn't be a deal breaker for you.

Other Options to Consider
Now let’s assume you want to get out of your lease before the term expires and you have no term options of which you can take advantage. One choice is to simply ask your landlord to terminate your lease. They might be willing to do so if the rental market is good and the space can be easily relet, perhaps for a higher rent. If that's the case, good for you. But that probably won't happen.

You could just walk away from the lease, but if you do that, the tenant who signed the lease (most likely you) and any guarantor would be liable for the rent for the rest of the lease or until the landlord finds a new tenant. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds because the law imposes upon landlords a duty to mitigate damages. That means your landlord can't just sit back and collect your rent but has an affirmative obligation to try to find another tenant to lease your place. If the new tenant pays the same or higher rent, you're off the hook. If the new tenant pays less rent than required by the lease, however, your landlord will claim you owe the difference over the term of the lease and you'll be forced to pay it.

But what if your landlord isn't all that motivated to find a new tenant? Since you're still liable on the lease, there's no real benefit to them to put out any extra effort to find another tenant. In that case, you'd want to try to locate a new tenant yourself to assume the lease obligations. To prepare for this situation, your lease should contain a provision that says your landlord can't unreasonably refuse to consent to a new tenant. This means that if you present a new tenant who's financially sound and experienced, your landlord can't arbitrarily refuse to sublease to the new tenant.

Another possibility is to approach your landlord about a buy-out. While it's true that if your lease still has a long time to run, a buy-out may be difficult to negotiate, if your landlord believes he'll be able to re-let your space without too much trouble, he may agree to let you out of the lease if you pay some consideration. Or you could offer to let him keep part or all of your security deposit in exchange for letting you out of your lease.

When it comes to leasing space, the smartest thing you can do is to make sure you've got your bases covered before you sign on the dotted line. That way, you've got contingency plans in place no matter how successful your business is.

Jeffrey Steinberger is a veteran trial attorney and the founder and senior partner of The Law Offices of Jeffrey W. Steinberger, a Professional Corporation in Beverly Hills, California. He is also a renowned celebrity attorney, TV legal commentator and analyst, federally appointed S.E.C. arbitrator and professor of law.

Go to source.

Nineteen Minutes: A novel by Jodi Picoult

HOUSTON ENTREPRENEUR TAKES A BITE OUT OF DALLAS

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

Dallas, TX (April 18, 2007) – More than 20,000 homes in the Houston area are a lot more peaceful than they used to be, thanks to local dog-training guru Jim Burwell and his patented canine calming methods. Now, he’s launched a mission to spread that peace to Dallas and tap into the $25 billion pet services industry with his new franchise – Jim Burwell’s Petiquette.

With one Houston franchise up and running, Burwell has been actively pursuing other markets throughout the state of Texas for growth of the Petiquette franchise in the state and then nationwide. Company plans call for four franchise locations in Dallas, TX by the end of 2007 and the following Texas cities in 2008: San Antonio, Austin, and Corpus Christi.

In 1988, after building a successful career in commercial banking for more than two decades, Burwell felt it was time to trade in his expertise in a business in banking to business in barking. Better known locally as “The Houston Dog Whisperer,” Burwell has become one of the area’s most established and thriving dog trainers. His at-home dog training process, The Burwell Method, applies to canines of virtually all breeds and their owners.

The creation of Burwell’s Petiquette franchise will take advantage of the demand for quality in-home dog training and behavioral counseling on a national scale by teaching Burwell’s methodology to like-minded individuals.

“As statistics prove, there is an immense demand for dog training assistance not only locally, but also on a national level,” said Burwell, a former partner and co-founder of Rover Oaks Pet Resort. “The Petiquette franchise opportunity not only allows entrepreneurs to become ‘dog whisperers’ themselves, but also fills a consumer need.”

Jim Burwell’s Petiquette offers an affordable franchise opportunity ideal for pet enthusiasts that have high-energy and an entrepreneurial spirit. The cost to open a Petiquette franchise ranges from $60,000 to $65,000, which includes an initial $25,000 franchise fee. The low initial investment allows franchise owners to invest additional capital in building a client base and growing their business. Franchisees may develop a single territory or multiple territories over a period of time.

As a benefit of joining Petiquette, franchisees will receive six weeks of training at the company’s headquarters, access to the call center that schedules appointments and communicates with clients on behalf of the franchisee, a large and growing collection of professionally designed marketing materials, and access to a state-of-the-art Intranet system and various software management aids.

About Jim Burwell’s Petiquette

Jim Burwell’s Petiquette™ offers entrepreneurs and dog owners the benefits of a 20 year proven method of dog training and behavior modification, using positive reinforcement to achieve training goals, and a working partnership with an expert like no other. Franchising since 2007, Petiquette currently operates one company owned unit and one franchise unit. Company plans call for four franchise locations in Dallas, TX by the end of 2007 and 110 locations nationwide in 2011. For more information, please visit www.petiquettedog.com.

You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation

Manage money for better business

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

Money! That's what business is supposed to be all about. So why do so many people in business fail to pay attention to it?

Oh sure, we spend lots of time and effort on how to make money. But most of us hate to deal with the often-unpleasant aspects of how to manage our money.

Money management seems like a topic for big corporations, with millions in sweep accounts and offshore tax shelters and the like.

But most of us in small businesses are lucky if we have enough money in our checking accounts to pay the bills and make payroll. Money matters are either tedious (reconciling bank statements), unpleasant (confronting non-paying clients) or both (preparing our taxes).

So we try not to deal with money matters any more than we absolutely have to.

Well, time for an attitude adjustment. What seems like an annoyance now can be a lifesaver later.

Managing your money doesn't have to take a great deal of time, especially if you get in the habit of taking care of a few money matters on a regular basis, such as:

Sending out your bills. This seems obvious, but many entrepreneurs fail to send bills in a timely fashion. Get in the habit of billing immediately when you've delivered a product or service, even if the bill isn't due for 30 days. Make certain you do your billing at least once a month. Remember, the longer you take to send out your invoices, the greater the chance you won't get paid at all.

Reviewing your finances regularly. At least once a month, but preferably once a week or quickly every day, look at your overall figures, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, income statement, checkbook balance, cash flow and credit card balances. Know what's going on with your money.

Looking ahead. When looking at your books, don't just look at the present, look at the past and then look toward the future, projecting income and cash flow. Be conservative.

Getting a backup source of capital. The best time to get a loan is when you don't need one. So take the time now to get a line of credit from a bank. Even if you spend a few hundred dollars a year and don't use the credit line, it's worth it to have the money available to you in a crunch. Even the most successful business has times when money is tight. Another, more expensive and risky alternative, is a credit card you can use for cash advances. Don't use those unless you really need to.

Managing your growth. Growth costs money. Typically, you have an increase in expenses long before you have an increase in income. Plan your growth carefully so you have the financial ability to fund it yourself, get investors or comfortably pay the debt you'll incur.

Saving. Every business has income fluctuations. The best way to have cash when you need it is to put some away when you've got it. When you make that huge sale or land that giant client, put a portion of that money into a reserve account. That's hard to do when you want to spend the money on growth or long-delayed purchases, but a reserve account will be there for those months when income lags.

Rhonda Abrams writes books for entrepreneurs. Register for her free business tips at www.PlanningShop.com.

Before You Buy Software on eBay

Making It

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

A young entrepreneur finds the money she makes from selling candy really sweet

Kailyn Cage was the kind of kid who loved candy (still does) and always had some with her. "Everyone called me Candy Girl," she says. So it made sense to the financially savvy Kailyn to bring a book bag full of treats to sell to fellow students at Kettering Middle School in Prince George's County. Kailyn had no idea that operating a business at school wasn't allowed, she says. "I was just running all over the place selling candy. Even my teachers bought candy."

By the time administrators discovered and shut down her little enterprise, Kailyn -- who has always wanted to run her own business and has always been a big saver, according to her mother -- had made a cool $1,000 selling Reese's, Snickers and peanut M&M's. Donna Cage persuaded Kailyn to use the profit on a couple of three-headed candy machines, the kind filled with loose M&M's or gumballs. "If you want to sell candy, you're going to do it the right way, legally," she says she told her daughter.

Kailyn received permission to install the machines at a beauty salon and a Giant store in Northwest Washington, and she surveyed employees and customers to find out what sweets they preferred. "That's the difference between my vending company and every other candy company," says Kailyn, a tiny dynamo with a huge smile. "It caters to what the customer wants." And that's the reason she named her business Kailen's Candy Catering (with a slightly different spelling of her name).

While at Largo High School, Kailyn continued to expand her company and her knowledge. She bought a soda machine and snack machine and installed them at Cathedral of Christ Baptist Church in Chapel Oaks, where her father is pastor. She took entrepreneurship classes and entered several competitions, becoming the D.C. region's Ernst & Young/Junior Achievement Youth Entrepreneur of 2006 (the interview made her "pretty late to my prom, but that was okay").

She also maintained a 3.94 GPA, ran championship track and netted a $10,000 profit last year. "She does everything to the fullest," Donna Cage, a Prince George's County Schools resource teacher, says.

Kailyn does most of the work herself -- stocking, unjamming and programming the machines -- though family members have helped.

Now a freshman and middle-distance runner at the University of Maryland, Kailyn, 19, plans to take business and engineering courses to fulfill her goal of designing vending machines.

Asher Epstein, director of the university's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, where Kailyn just set up a candy machine, says she's unusual because she is already running a profitable business. "She's really figured this out on her own and is quite an impressive young lady," he says.

Kailyn isn't the typical college student in other ways. When asked what she does for fun, she laughs and says, "Sleep."

"I'm not really interested in the social aspect of college life, or the partying and the drinking," Kailyn adds. Her priorities, she says, are to "expand my business, get knowledge so I can invent my own vending machines, and run track."

Are you also a young entrepreneur who's turning a profit? E-mail changb@washpost.com.

Is 'Anyone Can Do It' Just A Marketing Schtick?

Why I yelled 'cunt' at my cable company's automated answering system or HUMAN problems require HUMAN solutions.

Get FREE stuff by an one click.
Last night, after working diligently all day, I took a break and settled into the couch with my honey (and my dogs) to watch a pay-per-view movie. You know — kick back and dumb down. One of modern life’s little pleasures.

But no… the cable TV service did a “HAL” on me, and refused to cooperate. I got an indecipherable error message when I tried to give them money for a movie.

So, I called the only number listed for the cable company. I’ll spare you most of the details, because I’m sure you’ve experienced similar intellectual insults… but I was put through twenty minutes of automated Hell, forced to jump through hoops and recite information and answer truly stupid questions… by a sweet-voiced ROBOT.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear your selection. Could you please repeat your answer? Here are your choices again…”

Now, I’m a level-headed guy, most of the time. All I wanted was my friggin’ movie. The popcorn was getting cold, the dogs had wandered off, and I quickly began to resent this… ROBOT… that assumed I was one of the stupidest humans on the planet.

She (it was woman’s voice) very politely informed me that, in “her” experience, the solution was one of the following twelve choices… and she, in her wisdom and patience, was going to stay with me while we worked together to solve this pecadillo.

First choice: “Is your television set turned on? Say yes… or no, please.”

You know, companies that use robot answering systems experimented with software a few years ago that recognized when people started using “bad” words… and you would get a dial tone the instant you swore, kicked off for having a potty mouth.

The cable company must not have implemented that software, however, cuz by the third choice in the robot menu, I was calling her every evil name I could think of. (I even used the dreaded “C” word. Shame on me. It was anthropomorphism gone ape-shit.)

A half hour later, I’d rebooted the entire system twice, recited every piece of privileged info I have four times, and performed technological stunts that defied logic.

And STILL got the damn error code.

Next step: The robot connected me with “Steve”… in Bombay. “Steve”, who had clearly never set foot on American soil, apologized profusely for everything, and asked me for ALL the info I’d given the robot multiple times just minutes before.

Then… he asked me if the TV was on. So we could reboot the system.

At that point, my mind cleared a bit. I had the sense to ask what the friggin’ error code meant… and “Steve” seemed reluctant to tell me.

Weak signal, he finally mumbled.

So… rebooting was essentially useless, wasn’t it?

Well… yes.

Then why had I been subjected to all this futile rigamarole?

Oh, very sorry about everything, sir. You’ll probably have to ask to have a technician come over to look at your system. And no, I can’t arrange that for you.

I did NOT call “Steve” any names. He’s just doing his job, right?

Before hanging up, in fact, he asked me if I wanted to review my account… because there were exciting NEW options available from my wonderful cable company to make me happy, happy, happy.

Stunned at the stupidity of asking me for more money while clearly not delivering on what I’d already paid for, I hung up on “Steve”. Let him suck some dial tone.

No movie, no appointment set up to fix things, and a ruined evening (which could have been salvaged had the robot told me that the error code meant no solution would be forthcoming… in the time I spent on the phone jumping through her hoops, I could have drove over to Blockbuster and rented the flick, come back and enjoyed my popcorn).

And the entire nasty experience was topped with a chirpy request for more money, please, thank you very much.

This is what happens when the friggin’ government confuses the free market with monopolies. There’s only one cable company in town. I’ll have to get a dish if I want the service I’ve paid for.

Mind you, the fiber-optic cable laid in the street was financed with my tax money. Paid for by me, but owned by the cable monster.

It’s enough to turn a guy into a frothing socialist.

Okay, I’m done complaining.

Here’s the marketing lesson: I’ve run my biz as a two-person shop for years. This means that, occasionally, things slipped through cracks, and customers rightly got frustrated and angry.

But here’s the kicker: Whenever that happened, we promptly took CARE of the problem as soon as it came to our attention. We never outsourced customer management… because the first rule of Operation MoneySuck is to pay attention to where the money’s coming from.

Duh.

The cable companies — and every other monopoly joint in the culture — TALK a good game of customer relations… but it’s ALL talk.

I can easily imagine the meeting where they planned out the flowchart their robot would use with complaining customers. They must have been laughing their asses off, coming up with new tortures to inflict (like asking if your TV was “on”).

It’s plausible, and you know I’m right. That meeting really could have been a laugh-parade of evil-minded employees… because none of them CARED about the customer. They would collect their paycheck regardless.

They were, in fact, as removed from Operation MoneySuck as a person could be.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you cannot allow this mindset of “screw ‘em, we already got their money” to infect your operations.

I’ve consulted with small biz who wanted to buy an automated answering system… and the reason was always the same: It was a HASSLE dealing with unhappy customers personally.

Well, too bad, I told them.

I don’t believe the customer is “always right”, because there ARE plenty of insane assholes out there.

But until you can VERIFY that any complainer IS insane or an asshole… you must assume he’s a good guy who got screwed in your system.

And what he wants is nothing elaborate. I have been close to every customer we’ve had for five years now, and I hear Diane dealing with them in the next office every day.

No matter how mad they are to start with… it’s EASY to end their frustration, which is usually the source of the anger. We’ll either fix the problem asap, or refund them, or do whatever else is required to be fair.

It’s not brain surgery.

The LAST thing you want to do with an angry customer… is to pitch them for more money. That’s just stupid… and makes me think your entire organization is stupid.

For me, that means going to a dish. The cable company will care not a whit that I’ve left, because they believe their monopoly is solid. But multiply me by a thousand, or ten thousand, and you’ve got a problem. Even worse, how could the cable company know that I’m not wired into the city council… where their tidy little monopoly is vulnerable?

Treating customers well is the first casualty of growing too big, and getting to comfy. (For a more grisly example, check out the way the Walter Reed Hospital story played out — thinking they were immune, the idiots running the joint refused to fix problems when it would have been easy… and one day they woke up being the face of a national scandal.)

Human problems require human solutions. The company that realizes this will thrive, with or without a monopoly. Slogans and robots do not replace human connections.

HAL — the misunderstood computer in the movie “2001? — eventually got his ass handed to him, and audiences cheered.

Because it’s no fun swearing at a robot that cannot be insulted.

Stay frosty.

John Carlton, http://www.marketingrebelrant.com/

Stay at Home Mom Looking For Work Targeted by Online Thieves

Forget about making a Million . . . Make enough to Pay Your Gas Bill!

Get FREE stuff by an one click.

I've gotten so sick of speakers at conferences who want to show you how to make a million dollars. They talk about how great they are and then ask you to invest obscene amounts of money and they will "give you the secret" to wealth and riches.

Will someone PLEASE tell people to STOP buying from these people? I would prefer you learn how to make an extra $250 a month. After you do that you can replicate the process and make MILLIONS next year, OK?

It's like mutual funds. Rather than own ONE site that is brining in all the cash, why not have a few hundred sites each making $250 each?

I've got over 300 domain names now. Frankly, not all of them are selling products. My bad!

I'm now doing a complete inventory of all of my products to determine what I have and which products even have a website up promoting them. Many of them do not. I produce products at a frantic pace but don't write (or have written) the copy nearly as fast.

Another goal over the next few months is to have all of the products up with sites to sell them. If I make a sale or two from each one it will add up to real money. I'll also be well diversified. If one of the sites doesn't sell anything one month it won't be the end of the world.

For my speaker friends out there it also allows me to PICK AND CHOOSE which speaking gigs I'll take. I already have good money coming in from my products and don't need to speak where I don't want or feel comfortable.

Concentrate on learning a system to sell things. This is exactly what I taught people this last week at the bootcamp. If you learn HOW to do it and have the resources to get you over any hurdles that you find, you're well on your way to really making this info products thing happen.

[Via - Fred Gleek]

Make Millions -- From Your Living Room

Avoid Common Business Growth Mistakes

Get FREE stuff by an one click.
Business Growth Mistake #1 - Not Understanding the Importance of Creating Multiple Business Entities to Reach Your Financial Goals and Protect Your Assets From Lawsuits and Claims.

Some business people I know keep their personal assets separate from their business. But a surprising number, maybe even you, don’t. If you keep multiple streams of income together in one business or corporation, it can lead to financial disaster and literally wipe you out. It Only Takes One Small Hole To Sink Your Financial Boat! A dramatic example happened to a good friend of mine that illustrates this fact.

Patrick started his own boat sales business and sold million-dollar boats. After he sold quite a few of them, he realized that when a client buys a boat, they need a place to store it! He said to himself “wouldn’t it be a great idea to also open a marina? Doing so would create another stream of income.” Well his marina started doing really well, and when you own a marina, a land storage business next to it is common. Yes, Patrick also started a land storage business. His businesses were exploding and building an excellent reputation in Florida. Next he opened a repair and warranty shop to service all the boats he was selling. His financial success allowed him to invest in some real estate too. Patrick was feeling unstoppable. He was flying high!

Patrick was a good businessman, so he separated his businesses assets from his personal assets knowing this is a smart thing to do. To accomplish this he purchased a corporation to put his businesses assets into. This effectively separated his personal assets from that of his businesses. Unfortunately, he never took the next critical, yet simple step. Patrick did not follow my battle tested advice to set up multiple corporations for his different businesses. He kept all five of his businesses in the one corporation.

On a side note: Your Odds of Getting Sued are Scary! It's no longer a mater of IF you'll get sued, but is now just a matter of WHEN. The average American will be sued 4 -7 times in their lifetime! Other nations are not far behind the USA and it’s only getting worse. Don’t think for a New York second that it can’t happen to you. The odds are stacked against you. Just as they were for Patrick!To make matters worse, as a business person your chances of getting sued are even higher! You may be thinking this is some kind of scare tactic. Unfortunately it’s nothing but a sad reality in today’s litigious society. If you get only one thing out of this report, I hope you get the fact that you are almost guaranteed to get sued in your lifetime. Please protect yourself and your family from potentially loosing everything before it’s too late.

OK let’s carry on with Patrick’s story…

Well surprise, surprise… Patrick ended up getting sued and the lawsuit wasn’t handled well. Nor did it go in his favor! After everything was said and done Patrick ended up with a 4-million dollar judgment against him. When the plaintiff enforced that judgment, the judgment only had to do with the boat sales business, but because he had not separated his different businesses from each other… everything was on the line. The judgment was enforced against the boat sales business, the marina, the parts department, warranty shop, and the land storage business. Every income generating business he had! With absolutely NO cash flow Patrick could not keep his business afloat! His multimillion-dollar business that took eight long hard years to build came tumbling down like a house of card in a hurricane. It all happened on less than six months. Why? Because every division of his business did not operate separately from each other in a separate corporation. Patrick wound up in personal and corporate bankruptcy, and was four million $4,000,000 in debt. He also lost his wife in the process.

Now That’s How Not to Do It! It’s a classic example of somebody who is very astute in business, building multiple streams of income, but then not taking the critical extra step to protect everything they have worked so hard to build. So the first mistake to avoid is putting all your eggs in one entity basket!

Business Growth Mistake #2 - You Absolutely Must Divide Your Personal Assets from Your Business Assets

The first strategy I want you to understand and implement is you need to separate your personal assets from your business assets by putting them into a corporation. This is the step Patrick did take. You want to get your home, car, and your bank account—your personal assets—into a different entity than your business. By entity, I mean corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships.) We typically do that by taking your business and putting it into -- let’s say a corporation, or an LLC, which is seen as a separate legal entity by law.

Why separate them? Because if you don’t you could lose everything you own in a lawsuit. I will share the shocking statistics on getting sued later in this article. By separating your personal assets from your business assets you contain any potential liability that your business could create. You effectively keep it from contaminating your personal assets or other businesses assets. You are building a legal barrier between you and your business. Importantly this barrier also acts like a fortress. It protects your business from outside attacks too. The second strategy is to separate your businesses from each other. This is the step Patrick did not take and he is still paying for his mistake -- some twelve years later!

So, you may be thinking: “I’m smart; I’m a good businessperson. I’m going to set up my own entities, my own corporation, my own LLC.” Yeah, you can do that. You can also build your own car, or your own airplane! You can probably perform minor surgery on yourself too! My strong recommendation is that you work with a professional. Get the help of an expert who knows this subject matter inside and out and can help you custom tailor your entity(s) to your individual needs and make sure all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.

For your information – when I was practicing law my specialty was collecting cash and assets for my business clients. I saw first hand how many mistakes and gaping holes people leave for lawsuits when they improperly set up a corporation. That’s why I’m telling you to work with someone who will guide you step by step and keep you from making unnecessary and costly mistakes. If you do choose to setup your own entity good luck. Be sure to follow your state and local requirements, and update your entity every year. Be aware that unless you know the ins and outs of corporations, corporate law, contract law and related tax advantages, you’ll miss out on the greatest benefits a corporation can offer you.

That’s why I recommend you work with a professional. Enough said! Now here’s the next step…Take Action Now Before It’s Too Late!

You’ve got to take the proper actions to get your businesses and your real estate into your corporation before there’s a problem. If you transfer your property or your business into a corporation before there’s a problem, it’s called planning. If you make transfers after the problem… it’s called fraud, and it’s illegal! The point is you need to learn how set your corporation up properly right from the start… before it’s too late!

Business Growth Mistake #3 - Underestimating the Wealth-Building Impact of Optimizing Tax Strategies Using Corporations

A Lesson From Bill Gates!

In 1988, when Microsoft was already becoming a very successful company, I saw this interview with Bill Gates. The interviewer asked him, “Mr. Gates what’s the single most important thing that has led to your business success?” I’m expecting Bill Gates to talk about creativity, future vision, working in the garage until 4 o’clock in the morning, perseverance, and that kind of thing.

His answer stunned me! He attributed his business success to a strong working knowledge of the tax code i.e. optimized tax strategies. Most tax uneducated people give up 50% or more of every dollar they earn in taxes. Educated people like Bill Gates keeps most of it! To give you an idea of how effective these legal tax strategies are, it is reported that Bill Gates pays a meager single digit figure in taxes! That’s 9% or less of his income that he pays in taxes -- Legally! The rich like Bill Gates have been using these tax slashing strategies for decades. The perception is you have to be rich to use these strategies.

You Don’t Need to be Rich to Use these Strategies! Generally if you are earning $35,000 plus a year, you can cash in on huge tax savings by applying the legal tax saving strategies of the rich. At first glance, it may not seem worth the effort to implement these optimized tax strategies because some of them offer only very small tax savings. One strategy might save a couple thousand dollars a year; another, maybe only $500. You don’t get much wow from that! But like “small bills” they all add up fast to a big total! When you use 12 or 15 optimized tax strategies together… your total tax savings add up fast! My students often find they’ll total $15,000, $20,000, $40,000, or more in tax savings per year! This “found” money you could be using towards your marketing budget, the purchase of much needed new equipment, or to give yourself that much deserved raise! Stop throwing it away to the tax man!

The exciting thing is once you put these strategies in place for your business… your tax savings continue year after year. Imagine what adding an extra $5,000 to $25,000+ a year to your bottom line would do for your business and your life! Now multiply these tax savings over 10, 15 or 25 years. We’re talking about $50,000 to $625,000 extra after tax dollars in your pocket! That’s the kind of money that can change your lifestyle! Unfortunately most entrepreneurs overpay their taxes by countless thousands because they simply don’t use the hundreds of tax strategies available to them.

You may be shocked to hear this… but most accountants and CPA’s don’t know about optimized tax strategies either. To be fair, there are many excellent accountants and CPA’s. The majority however either don’t know about these tax saving strategies, or you are not giving them the information they need because they never ask you for it! Now that’s a costly oversight! One of my favorite examples is Steph, who became a student of my Millionaire Maker Mentoring Program about eight months ago. She had been running a successful business for some time. Steph was in her own right a successful businessperson. She was making about $50,000 a year and paying way more than she needed to legally be paying in taxes!

She worked very closely with her accountant who is a great guy. A very knowledgeable guy, but he’s not a proactive tax-planning accountant. Well, Steph’s accountant and I spent about 15 minutes on the phone together and we went over three strategies. Each time I suggested a strategy that would save Steph money, I would ask him, “do you agree with this strategy”, Mr. CPA? And he would say, “Yeah!”, and I would say, “Can you help her incorporate this?”... and he would say, “Yes.” We created three simple strategies in 15 minutes, and by her CPA’s calculations we reduced her tax bill from about $12,000 a year to under a $1,000 a year. That’s a saving of $11,000 of after tax money in 15 minutes!

You Don’t Need to Become a Tax Expert! I should know… because with my Millionaire Maker Mentoring Program I've helped over 689 business owners over the past four years learn how to LEGALLY reduce their taxes by a minimum of $10,000 USD. Graduates also learned how to protect their assets from creditor claims and lawsuits using the strategies I mentioned in this report and countless others. If you are an American, earn a minimum of $35,000 a year and want to learn more about the Millionaire Maker Mentoring Program and how it can save you a minimum of $10,000 in taxes in the next year and want to bullet proof your assets contact Pathfinder Business Strategies to learn more today.

Article Source: http://www.articlecube.com

I have spent years studying the tax code looking for ways to help people lower their tax bill and keep more of what they earn. I have uncovered several tax deduction strategies that can be used by anyone to slash their tax bill and save thousands of dollars each and every year. Drew Miles Find Out More: www.freetaxstrategies.com

Wolves by Emily Gravett