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Sesame Street...never heard of it. An unlikely response but almost a reality when Sesame Street was launched back in late 1960's. The show's pre-launch was unsuccessful and a change was needed or Sesame Street was history before it even aired.

It's hard to believe the show almost never made it given the incredible 37-year history of the program. Sesame Street has always been dedicated to enriching the educational lives of children through programming and other media avenues. As stated by the organization's website, their mission is "to create innovative, engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media to help children reach their highest potential." This inspiring mission was almost unattainable back in the sixties.

Pre-Screening Disaster

In the beginning, the folks at the Sesame Workshop saw the potential of how T.V. could help educate kids. They had a firm belief on utilizing research to best determine how the television could benefit children. Working with scientists, the show was conceived with a research foundation to produce educational shows that would hold the attention span of a young child and aid in the retention of learned materials.

Several 30-minute shows were produced and shown to a select audience of children before the actual airing. The research results return from the pre-screening revealed that the program didn't hold children's attention. This was a disaster. What was wrong?

Startup Success...The Muppets

Originally, psychologists believed that the program shouldn't mix fantasy with reality so all scenes were of the Muppets alone or human characters interacting among themselves. The people of Sesame Street weren't interesting to children and they tuned out many of these adult scenes. The Muppets were the draw. To hold the show's format, the change was made to include the Muppets interacting with the humans on Sesame Street. This one vital change made the difference between a flop and the successful first airing of Sesame Street.

Many successful business and products were like Sesame Street during their introduction, just requiring the right changes for success. The key moral for all business start-ups is to listen to the marketplace and make the necessary changes to succeed.

[via about.com]
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http://www.weatherbill.com/

David Friedberg was 20 years old and living across the road from a bicycle rental shop. Every day that it rained, the bike shop was closed. “It became pretty noticeable,” recalls Friedberg.

After watching the bicycle rental store owner get rained out day after day, Friedberg started noticing how many other companies–think golf courses and car washes–were taking a financial bath whenever it was wet outside.

“You don’t really think about it, but 70 percent of businesses are affected by the weather every year, across regions and industries,” says Friedberg. “The weather affects so many different types of businesses, whether in negative or in positive ways, like taxi cabs in New York, which are often full in the cold.”

Friedberg was a business product manager at Google when he had his “a-ha moment.” It occurred to him that he should start an insurance company–a very old idea–but gear it specifically toward companies that want to protect themselves from losing money on a rainy day–a new idea. WeatherBill was born.

It may not sound new. After all, insurance companies generally protect you if you’re hammered by a hurricane, slaughtered by a sandstorm or frozen under the tundra. But we’re talking about the car wash that doesn’t want to lose an entire day of income when there are five inches of rain.

That’s why Friedberg developed, with his “computer science friends,” an elaborate website where anyone can log on and buy a contract to protect themselves from unseasonable weather. The site is completely customizable and automated.

A farmer, for instance, could receive money every time the temperature dips below 67 degrees in a particular month. Or if a ski resort has a week and a half of beautiful, balmy weather in January, the owner could automatically receive a check without having to report the weather.

“There is no claims process,” Friedberg says proudly. Instead his company uses a third-party weather station, EarthStat, that independently confirms data and sends daily reports to WeatherBill, which then processes the checks and sends them out.

[Via Entrepreneur Magazine]

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Is your business growing slower than you think it should? Do you suspect its slow pace might have something to do with ineffective marketing? Most entrepreneurs feel their business should be growing faster, but few know how to isolate the problem. Today we’re going to fix that.

The elements that affect the growth of your business will fit into one of four distinct categories. Understand these categories, and you’ll have a solid framework for self-examination:

1. Share of Voice
What's your percentage of the total exposure for all the businesses in your category? How much of the total signage is yours? What about TV advertising? Radio advertising? Newspaper? Direct mail? Web traffic? If there are news stories related to your category, do they mention your brand or someone else’s? What percentage of the word-of-mouth advertising is yours? Each of these things contributes to your total share of voice.

Share of voice can be purchased. But be careful--most advertisers attempt to reach too many people. A message of true importance needs to be delivered only once to be remembered. But is your message really that important to your customers? Is it safe to assume your message will be remembered after being heard only once or twice? Problem: You’re reaching too many people with too little repetition. Solution: Buy more repetition from fewer vendors.

Tip: Be an important advertiser to one or two audiences instead of an invisible advertiser to three or four.

2. Impact Quotient
I’ve never seen a business fail because they were reaching the wrong people. But I’ve seen hundreds fail because they were either reaching too many people with too little repetition or delivering a message that no one cared about. You’re going to be surprised how many people suddenly become “the right people” when you begin delivering a more impressive message.

To be impressive, your message must first be believable, so close the loopholes in your message:

Loophole open: Advertisers often cry, “Everything Must Go!” But the listener is thinking, “Or what? What happens if you don’t sell it? You’ll just come up with some new angle next week, right?”

Loophole closed: “Everything must go! Any jewelry not sold by the end of the day will be melted down and sold as scrap. This means that until 9 o’clock tonight, you can buy finished jewelry for slightly more than the value of the raw materials.”

3. Personal Experience Factor
Are you exceeding your customer’s expectations or falling short? Do you have the brands they prefer, or are you pushing a weak alternative? Are your prices higher or lower than your customers expected?

A strong ad will only temporarily prop up a business that delivers a weak personal experience factor. Remember: Unimpressive reputations nullify impressive ads. Have you been trying to solve an internal problem with external advertising?

4. Market Potential
What will be the total dollar volume sold in your product or service category this year? Do you know the total potential volume for your trade area? What percentage of that financial pie is yours? If you don’t have access to this information, there are two easy ways to get it:

1. Carefully list every competitor you face along with your best estimate of their sales volume in your trade area. This can usually be done with a reasonable degree of accuracy. How many employees do they have? How much inventory? Square footage? Estimate objectively, and don’t leave anyone out.
   
   
2. Contact a trade organization or use Google to find a figure for total, nationwide sales volume in your category. Divide that number by the population of the United States (currently about 298,500,000) to get a per capita sales volume. Multiply that number times the population of your trade area. I think you’ll be surprised how close the two numbers are.

It’s easier to grow small businesses than large ones. Show me a business selling only 5 percent of the market potential in their category, and I’ll show you a business with huge growth potential. Show me a competitor eight times as large--one that’s currently selling 40 percent of their market potential--and I’ll show you a business that’s going to have to work very hard to hang on to what they’ve got.

Uncommitted customers are the easiest to steal. Consequently, early growth comes with less effort than later growth, when the low-hanging fruit has all been picked. The business selling 40 percent of their market potential must now fight to win those customers who have some degree of loyalty to a competitor. Rarely does a business achieve more than 40 percent of the total potential volume in their product or service category.

Examine your business through the four lenses of share of voice, impact quotient, personal experience factor and market potential, and you’ll quickly identify what’s been holding you back.

Advertising can’t change your personal experience factor or your market potential. But a focused media plan will dramatically improve your share of voice, and better ad writing will dramatically increase your impact quotient.

---

Roy William's is Entrepreneur.com's"Advertising" columnistand the founder and president of international ad agency Wizard of Ads. Roy is also the author of numerous books on improving your advertising efforts, including The Wizard of Ads and Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads.

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If you are the type of person who enjoys having the freedom to set your own schedule and you are regimented enough to be able to make yourself work when you need to, then you may want to look at starting your own home business. One of the biggest dilemmas facing people who want to start their own home business is choosing a particular niche market to operate in.

What I usually suggest to people who are just getting started in working from home is to do something that you like. If you have a passion for something you are far more likely to work the hours necessary to be successful in that business. In addition you will reap a great deal of personal satisfaction by doing something that you like and actually being paid for it. If you like arts and crafts you may want to consider making things and selling them, as there is always a market for unique, hand made items. Restoring antiques is another huge business with a large number of people making a full time income from that industry.

Another very smart way to choose a product to market is to consider products that are proven to be in demand. Consumable items that people need all the time such as body wash, cosmetics, and soaps are a good market. One trick that I use is to go to eBay and look in the Ebay Pulse section. This will tell you what products are the hottest and can even tell you how long they have been hot sellers. Another thing you can do is go to Overture and see how many searches there are for the main keywords in your market. Using the Internet to research niche markets can save you big headaches. You don't want to invest time and money in something that there is no market for.

Once you have determined there is a market for the niche you are thinking of venturing into, the next thing you want to do is check your competition. If you are starting out with a limited budget, you cannot expect to compete with large companies that have infinite resources to market their goods. This is why it is good to go after a sub market or niche within a larger one. For example, instead pf trying to compete with large surfboard manufactures selling surfboards, you could sell fins, board wax, etc. Instead of selling automobiles you sell products to help people care for their cars and trucks. Still another good idea would be to sell a particular type of clothing such as baby clothes or lingerie instead of trying to compete with an online department store.

Other great markets to get into are the information industry and day trading businesses. If you have specific knowledge of a particular industry, currencies or stocks, you can parlay that into a business by selling e-books online or day trading. These are great businesses to get into because they cost hardly anything to start and you can make money almost instantly.

I hope that this article on starting your own home business has been helpful to you. Remember, if you are a self-starter there is nothing keeping you from earning a good income working from home and being your own boss. Just take the time to do the research first.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as home business opportunity at http://www.FXTradingStrategies.com

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Earn Residual Income Through Different Payment Methods

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If a person is going to earn residual income then one of the first things they should understand are the payment methods used for paying a residual income. Nobody gets into residual income opportunities that is not interested in making money, so it is only smart for a person to understand how they will be paid that money. There are seven ways generally used to pay out residual income. Some ways have been very successful, but others have not. That is why it is so important that a person has some idea about these methods before getting started in any residual income opportunity.

In the beginning the main payment structure for residual income was a uni-level matrix plan. This was also known as a pyramid. This method hinged on getting people to sign up in multiple levels. The original person would be on top of the pyramid and rely on those below them in their pyramid to make them money. If all worked out then the person at the top would make a great income, but this type of plan is hard to build. It relies on people to keep recruiting and building that down line. It rarely works out because the person at the top is usually the only one making money, which is why newer payment methods were developed.

A forced matrix plan is the most common. Forced matrix plans also have some other additional payment methods associated with them that makes earning potential much greater. The basic forced matrix plan is like a uni-level plan, but each level has a limit of people. For example, the people the person recruits are limited to only 5. Then if they recruit more they fill a new level. This ensures everyone is making money. Under a forced matrix a person may also earn bonuses. There is a fast start bonus where a person earns an incentive to get as many recruits as possible within a limited time. They then receive a nice bonus pay out. There is also a sponsor bonus where a person gets a little extra bonus for every person they sign up. Matrix plans are also set up so that once a person recruits enough people they can then leave their original sponsors team and start their own. To prevent the original sponsor form losing out they earn a breakaway bonus where they still get a commission from the team that became independent. This helps everyone to work together and help each other instead of trying to keep those underneath restrained so they can not recruit too many people and break away.

The type of payment in a residual income opportunity can be confusing. There is always a lot of talk about down lines and commissions. It is really important for a person to make sure they understand the payment method. It is the bottom line of any residual income opportunity. Many opportunities have fallen by the wayside because they did not have a string payment method. By making sure the payment method is understandable and logical a person should be able to feel comfortable with their chosen opportunity.

By: Diep Tran

Diep Tran is Internet marketer, owns a Plug-In Profits Site and webmaster of Internet Home Business Opportunities. For An Internet Home Business Opportunity To Make Money Online, Visit: www.internet-wealth.biz

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When I was searching for a career, my dad gave me advice I still follow today: Find what you do brilliantly, and do more of it. Over the years, I've learned that this philosophy enables you to find your niche and discover unique methods to achieve your goals.

As an entrepreneur, you often jump at any chance to expand your business. However, your business's biggest and best asset is you. It's your expertise that makes your business unique and leads to the most efficient growth opportunities.

The owner of a jewelry store frequently updated the gems she carried but was never able to dramatically increase her sales. She thought her clientele might buy a broader line of products, so she added religious statues to her store. But ultimately, her lack of familiarity with these items caused the strategy to fail.

On her second try at expansion, she decided to delve further into her core area of specialization. She bought jewelry designed and made by local artists. It paid off. Her current customers and her new artists spread the word about her updated business, and her store became a shopping destination.

Creating product extensions within your area of expertise expands your customer roster. Increase your chance of success by focusing on what you do best -- and do more of it.

1. Tap into the innate power behind what makes your business unique. Growing your business based on your inherent strengths allows you to discover dynamic expansion possibilities. Use your intuition, and ask your employees and colleagues for help on how to rework or redesign your core product to appeal to a broader market. For the jewelry store owner, it was her expertise in gems that allowed her to sell the stones in multiple ways.

2. Shift from selling to actively listening. Become relentlessly focused on broadening the appeal of your core product by engaging your customers. What new uses have they discovered that may not have occurred to you? Ask them to be direct and truthful, and keep a log of their suggestions. Tapping into this rich vein of recommendations allows you to jump-start new growth opportunities.

3. Convert the benefits customers share into product features. Use the recommendations offered by your customers to construct new uses for your core product. Regularly reinventing your product with fresh benefits keeps your customers interested and excited. It was Arm & Hammer's customers who informed the company of alternative uses for its top-selling baking soda product. The company has now expanded its core product into numerous other uses, including cleansers, deodorizers and beauty products.

4. Gain loyalty by thanking people creatively. Thanking people for sharing their ideas deepens customer loyalty. It also increases word-of-mouth advertising for your business. A sandwich shop owner who was famous for his use of cheeses decided to name his weekly specials after customers who made distinctive recommendations. They brought their friends and families into his store to see their names and pictures up on his "Say Cheese" board.

Keep your network of customers and colleagues informed of your product enhancements. Your enthusiasm will encourage them to tell others about your business. And more important, it will inspire them to share even more product-transformation ideas with you.

P.S. A Special Message from Jim Cramer
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Ryan Mongan's role model is Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group fame -- not so much for his rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but for his love of starting a seemingly endless string of businesses. Since launching his first business, Speck Design, 11 years ago, Mongan and his business partner have founded Speck Products, famous for its iPod accessories; CAD Talent, an online job board for engineering talent; Camera Armor, which makes protective cases for cameras; and Speck China, a design and sourcing firm in China. Mongan's latest company is called VentureNiche, which will act as a hub to help his growing family of companies to leverage each other whenever possible.

"I started out working at a design firm in Palo Alto, Calif., called IDEO. In 1996, my co-worker David Law and I left to start our own business, which we called Speck Design. We didn't like working for a company where we designed things for other people. We would put our heart and soul in designing something and it would just go away. We wanted a company where we could see our designs made into products.

"We learned that we also enjoyed starting companies in niche markets. Our mantra when it comes to starting new companies is to fail fast, fail frugal, and fail fearlessly. We started 10 companies before we had our next successful next company, which became Speck Products. We tried new stuff, didn't spend a lot of money, and if it wasn't going anywhere, we shut it down. We never bet the farm on a new venture, which allowed us to keep trying.

"Now we have five separate operating companies, and our success rate is getting better. Our philosophy when we look to start a new venture today is that it has to be in a niche market, needs only a small investment to get started, and that we know someone talented who can run it for us. We're always collecting talented people, whether they know it or not. We call it our virtual bench. When the time comes that we see a great potential match between a person, concept and timing, we'll start the company.

"We come up with the majority of our ideas internally. For instance, we came up with the idea for Camera Armor at a trade show. We want to play in niches -- we don't want to go mainstream. As much as I respect Richard Branson, I'm not interested in building a global brand. We did start our first few companies using the name Speck, but we're changing that.

"Our latest company, VentureNiche, is going to be like a mothership to all the companies and help them give each other unfair advantages. For example, we want our people at Speck Design talking to the folks at Speck Products about new designs. Then we want the Speck Products people to talk to people at Speck China about tips on pricing suppliers. I act as conduit between the CEOs of all the companies. In the end, I want to be an owner, not a CEO."

[via finance.yahoo.com]

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A dear friend of my family, Andonis Getsos, was a huge influence in my life.

Mr. Getsos gave me some invaluable advice. I'll share it with you in a moment. Allow me to tell you a brief story.

I was a teenager when I became very close with Andonis Getsos. A good friend of my parents, for some reason he took a great interest in me. We spent quite a lot of time together. He asked me to call him Uncle Tony.

He was an outstanding amateur wrestler in his youth. I also love wrestling. He used to enjoy wrestling on the beach with me.

We talked a lot. Uncle Tony was easy for me to communicate with. I felt he understood me better than anyone. He was a terrific active listener. A quality all too rare in most people.

Uncle Tony was a multi-millionaire in the fur business in New York City.

But before he achieved his remarkable success, he had many setbacks, as do most entrepreneurs. But unlike others who give up, he kept trying after he experienced three business failures.

One day, Uncle Tony asked me what exactly I wanted to do with my life. I was 16 years old. I answered this way.

"I want to start and build my own successful business. But I know there are no guarantees. I may or may not be successful as you first time around. So, it's very important for me to possess fantastic survival skills. Then I'll be able to start over if I have to.

"Of course, I also know my father is not in any position to help me start over if I were to experience a business failure. Nor do I want to expect anyone else to help me.

"In fact, Uncle Tony, I want to be so good at something that even if I were to wash up on Miami Beach naked without contacts and without a penny to my name, I'd still become a millionaire like you in 5 years or less. To become expert in the most important wealth-building skill would make me feel financially secure.

"I'm willing to apply myself and learn whatever it takes. What's best for me? Accounting? Management? Law? Sales? Finance? What? I really could use some guidance.

"Is this an impossible dream? What is your advice for me?"

Uncle Tony smiled and said, "Ted, it's not impossible at all. The solution is quite simple.

There is just one skill you need to develop to accomplish your goals. All the other areas you mentioned are costs to any business. And you can easily hire talented people for these functions.

"You must become really good at what few ever master--sales and marketing! It's the only business skill that brings in cash flow and funds all other departments and talents the business may require. That's why it's appropriately the highest paid skill.

"But there is one big catch. You must learn to ignore the many critics you will inevitably come across. You need to learn how to think and act independently.

"Most people never begin to understand or relate to what it takes to become wealthy.

"What you need to discover is how to successfully market your product or service. You can become fabulously rich, have a lot of fun, and have a great life along the way."

This was the best advice I ever got.

Uncle Tony went on to say, "But I must warn you. Don't be surprised by lots of negative comments and unsolicited advice.

"Many people, including your friends and family, will try to discourage you from becoming a great salesman and marketer. So will your teachers and professors. Foolishly, most view sales and marketing as a low-class career.

"They will instead encourage you to get a 'good education' and later a 'good job.'

"But while a paycheck-to-paycheck existence, even as an executive or professional, may suit some people, it doesn't sound like what's best for you. And, in my opinion, is not nearly as satisfying as having your own successful business either.

"And what would surprise the average Joe, it's not tougher to be a successful entrepreneur. In fact, you will not have to be politically correct with so many people, including incompetent bosses. And, contrary to commonly held views, entrepreneurship may be an even easier route than what a successful executive or professional must take.

"Even books, movies, and plays are extremely unflattering to sales people and business owners.

For example, the famous 'Death of a Salesman' written by Arthur Miller. The lead role is depicted as an unhappy, money grubbing, dishonest person without morals. Such a view of nearly all salespeople and entrepreneurs is completely erroneous.

"While there are some crooks in the business world, they are the exception.

"You can't succeed in a business in a big way for long unless you are persuading many people to voluntarily trade with you.

"Listen to those who criticize. Understand their views, but pay them no heed.

"While they may or may not mean well, here is the point. Their advice is meaningless. Don't be influenced by anyone else except highly successful entrepreneurs.

"Instead of being a villain, the entrepreneur is really the unsung hero of any society. For it is the entrepreneur owners of small businesses, not big business, who create over 75% of all new jobs.

And, of course, the majority of the wealth.

"In fact, 99% of all the world's self-made millionaires and billionaires are entrepreneurs. And they all started with a small business."

Uncle Tony was a very wise man. By age 18, I became an independent salesman with Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Company. I was fortunate to be trained by an outstanding sales manager.

Within a few weeks, as a young kid I was earning more in a week than most top executives earn in a month. (The best sales and marketing training in the world may well be door-to-door sales.)

At age 21, I began a business of my own - Peterson's House of Fudge. I was a millionaire at age 23. The business grew to 31 successful stores of my own in six U.S. states.

Later I wrote my first book and began my information publishing empire including books, home study courses, and seminars, etc.

I won't go into all the details here as I've written about it elsewhere. This early sales and marketing training was a great foundation for my direct marketing activities. It enabled me to eventually successfully market all of my own products and those of clients around the world. I've achieved sales exceeding 4.9 billion dollars in 49 industries. And the revenues continue to increase each day.

I became what I advise anyone who seeks to become a wealthy and successful entrepreneur - an effective salesman and communicator. The key skill is to be able to position products effectively. Then to express persuasive ideas either personally, one on one, or in writing, online and offline. And also from the public speaking platform.

Uncle Tony's recommendation given me as a young teenager was by far the best advice I ever got from anyone. Because it's a universal truth in this changing world, it's just as valid today as it was then. And you can rest assured it will continue to be 50 or 100 years from now.

Professional sales and later direct marketing taught me the fundamentals. I continue to employ and refine these skills today.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas,
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The First Rule Of Owning A Successful Business

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At one time or another every business owner has wondered why one business will be successful and prosper for years and another one will struggle just to survive. I am about to tell you the ONE secret that all successful business owners know and have kept secret all these years. This secret is so simple, yet so powerful that in the wrong hands… well, you get the picture.

But, before I tell you the secret that, if implemented, will guarantee that you will be a successful entrepreneur and without it, you will be relegated to the pile of “also rans”, I want to tell you a little story.

Recently, I was in an electronics store. This was not a local store, but a national chain. I have only shopped there a few times, and I do not know if I will ever shop there again. For Christmas, my children wanted me to hook up the internet in their room so they could use the internet at the same time that I was using mine. I have never installed a network and was going to go the wireless route because I have thought about buying a laptop.

I stopped an associate to ask him some questions about exactly what I needed to hook up the network. I had some items in my hand and asked him if that was all I needed. Without slowing down, he said about four words, “yea, that looks right.” After he walked away, still not convinced that I had everything I needed, I put the items back on the shelf and walked out of the store to go purchase them somewhere else.

When we got in our car to leave, the sales associate was standing outside the building smoking. That cigarette was more important than making a $150 sale.

This brings me back to “The First Rule Of Owning A Successful Business.”

Give The Customer What He Wants Or Needs.

Product. The customer is there because you have something that he wants or needs. As in the example above, I was ready to purchase the items necessary to network my computers and yet, I did not because I did not get what I needed, which was someone that would take the time to explain what I needed to do.

Great Value For A Great Price. As I have stated in an earlier article, price is not always the determining factor when a customer makes a purchase. However, he wants to believe he received a good value for the price that he paid.

Qualified Sales Staff. Again, as in the example above, I needed help and did not receive it. A customer wants to know that he is dealing with an honest, experienced, and fair sales person that is there to help him.

Items In Stock. Customers like to know that when they go to a store to purchase an item that should be there, the item will be there. There is nothing more frustrating than to go to a store looking for something and it is out of stock. Although items will run out of stock sometimes, if customers believe that this happens a lot, they will go elsewhere the next time.

If you follow these four items when dealing with a customer, even though problems will arise, you will be one of the successful entrepreneurs that people look at in the future and say, “Wow, he’s been here for a long time.” Because, you were willing to “Give The Customer What He Wants Or Needs.

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

Paul Taylor is a business owner that helps other business owners and entrepreneurs locate wholesale distributors and dropshippers. Visit his website at: www.WholesaleMap.com for all your business needs.

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1 - The Business Must Have Low Start Up Cost

I don’t like spending $1 million (or even $100K) to start a new business. I just don’t enjoy taking that kind of risk. If you look at the average B&M business that takes hundreds of thousands to start, you’ll see that none are profitable for at least a few years and the owner have to have enough reserved funds to live on because he can’t draw from the business (so he’s working 14 hour days for free). And to top it all off, there’s an 80% chance the business will fail within five years. What that tells me is most people would be better off putting that spare $100K into investments and keep working.

The ideal business requires very little cash to start. This is why I like the Internet so much. My total investment to start this blog was $8.95 for the JohnChow.com domain name. The software that powers the site is free and so is the template. Until recently, the blog was hosted for free as well. When something cost that little to start, it’s not that hard to break even or turn a profit.

2 - The Business Must Have Exclusive Rights

If you’re selling the same stuff that Walmart is selling, chances are you’re not going to do well against them. To give your business the best chance of survival, it must have an exclusive right to some of the products or services. Remember, there is always going to be someone who is willing to sell the same thing cheaper than you. I don’t want to deal with that.

Having an exclusive protects you from market price pressures. If the customer wants your product and can’t get it anywhere else, then you can charge pretty much what you want. This is where terms like branding and private labels come in. In the tech sector, very few companies actually manufacture their own stuff. They are all subbed out to ODMs who make the products with the client company name on it. Want an OCZ power supply without paying for the OCZ name? I know where to get it.

A content base site or blog fits this requirement perfectly because your exclusive right is your content – it’s protected by copyrights.

3 -The Business Runs Itself

For most business owners, having their own business doesn’t mean freedom. If anything, it means more hours than when they were working. Owners of a new business are the first to open and the last to close. The hours are long and there’s a high chance of losing all the money you’ve invested.

The ideal business should run itself without you having to be there. If you have to be there all the time to run the business then you lose one of the biggest potential benefit a business can offer you - freedom to sit on your butt and do nothing.

Look at Markus from Plenty of Fish. This is a 100% user generated content site. Markus’s only job is to make sure the servers stay up and he can easily hire an admin to do that. The site makes over $10,000 a day and Markus runs it out of his apartment. To put that into perspective, Markus makes almost as much as the busiest McDonald’s in Canada, which cost millions to start and employs over 100 people. I’m sure once you account for operating expenses, Markus makes way more.

4 - The Business Has To Be Global

While start up cost has to be low, the market has to be big. I don’t want a business that is limited to just one market. I want the business to reach every corner of the world. The Internet allows anyone to be global.

5 - The Business Has To Be Portable

Being global is great but I also want a business that I can run from anywhere in the world. I used to run TTZ from a commercial office building until the landlord kicked me out because he thought I was a drug dealer. Now, when people ask me where I run my business, I say, “Out of a notebook.”

I do more volume running TTZ out of a notebook than when I had an office. I looked more like a “real business” when I had the office but it was really more a place to hang out than to conduct business.

[Via John Chow]

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Claude Hopkins Prophetic Insights

New Ways To Strike It Rich On The Web
Good Improvements News

In 1918 Claude Hopkins published the book "Scientific Advertising." This book was so revolutionary - and so fundamentally correct - that I can say the following with a straight face:

Every person who is successfully selling online in 2007 is following Claude Hopkins' advice from 89 years ago, whether they know it or not.

In fact Bryan Todd and I consider Scientific Advertising such a landmark text that in our own book "The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords" (now at your local bookstore), each chapter has a segment called 'Advice from Uncle Claude' where his sage advice applies to today.

At the end of Scientific Advertising, he makes a statement that for decades appeared to be tragically, almost dangerously wrong:

"Most national advertising is done without testing. It is merely presumed to pay. Such methods, still so prevalent, are not very far from their end. The advertising men who practice them see the writing on the wall. The time is fast coming when men who spend money are going to know what they get. Good business and efficiency will be applied to advertising. Men and methods will be measured by the known returns, and only competent men can survive.

Only one hour ago an old advertising man said to me, "The day for our type is done. Bunk has lost its power. Sophistry is being displaced by actuality. And I tremble at the trend."

Little did Uncle Claude know that TV would come, and with it, stupid slogans and talking socks and hundreds of billions of dollars of ads that nobody ever bothered to measure. Surely he was rolling in his grave.

But then the Internet came... and Pay Per Click, an auction where bids in every niche would be different... and 89 years later Uncle Claude turned out to be exactly right.

In 2007, the nonsense is being pounded out of advertising at breakneck speed.

This is bad, bad news for the bunk and sophistry guys. And media queen ad reps who persuade with mini-skirts and succulent cleavage. But it's good news for you and me. And the thing that Hopkins couldn't have forseen was how entire niches and new markets are now created almost overnight, just by understanding your customers and responding to their needs.

At the beginning, this whole PPC game looks really easy. ("Loookeee here, honnnnny, we're gonna get riiiiiiiccchh with thiiiiiiis!") Then you do it for awhile... and fork over your tuition at the School Of Hard Knocks.

Fun, fun, fun.

Those who persist, though, begin to break through. With competent mentoring, it takes about six weeks to 'get it.' You begin to see through the haze... Oh, it's about the conversation inside the customer's head. It's about matching your offering, your message, your story to their desire, then following through and delivering satisfaction.

Once you get it to work, it's addictive. You can't get enough.

Perry Marshall, perrymarshall.com

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25 Tips to Improve Your Skype Experience

10 Signs of a Great Franchise
NLP Concepts And Methods

How versatile is your Skype? Ours can podcast, translate French, take conference calls from 15 people, and tutor calculus. Want to learn how to turn your Skype telephone into a multipurpose office machine? We're going to tell you how.

For millions of users, Skype is the VoIP solution of choice. If you're just getting into this great telephone alternative, you are going to be surprised how much you can do with it. In this article we cover 25 tips, hacks, and extras to help you utilize Skype to its fullest potential.

Starting Simple: Built-In Skype Features you Didn't Know About

Skype is such a rapidly emerging technology that a lot of brand new users aren't even aware of all the built-in features that Skype offers standard, not to mention the add-ons and hacks that you can improve it with. In this section we cover some often overlooked standard features of Skype that can dramatically improve your experience.

1 Call Forwarding

Whether you've set your Skype account up on your home or work computer, the fact is, you are occasionally going to get important calls when you aren't there. Thankfully, you can simply forward those calls to another Skype account or even a cell phone or land line. That way, even if your computer at work is shut down, as soon as a call comes in to your Skype account, the call will immediately ring on your cell phone, your home computer and your home phone line, meaning that no matter where you are you'll be sure to get it.
To forward a call click on the "Tools" menu and select "Options." From there set the forwarding number in the "Call Forwarding & Voicemail" section.

2 Filtering and Blocking Users

Skype is a great tool for both business and pleasure, but if you don't take preventative steps, it can also cause you some serious security problems. Vishing is a new VoIP targeted scam in which cyber-criminals use a VoIP client such as Skype to call people and attempt to trick them into revealing important financial details such as credit card numbers or online passwords. But you can limit these attacks by simply blocking unwanted callers.
To block unknown or unwanted callers, simply click on "Tools" and select "Options." From there, select "Privacy" and choose the level of security that works best for you. When it comes to individual attacks, you can avoid repeat vishing calls by blocking the spammer by clicking on "Manage Blocked Users" in the "Options" dialog.

3 A DIY Home Security System

Whether you want to keep an eye on your pet goldfish from work or just make sure no one has broken in the house while you are on vacation, Skype can double as an away from home monitoring system.
Checking in is simple with Skype's one and two way video calling. You'll need two separate Skype accounts, a computer at home with a webcam, and access to the Internet. Using one account, setup the home version of Skype to auto-answer calls and automatically fire up the webcam. Then to check in, just use the second Skype account to call the first, and the webcam video will pop up.

4 Providing Customer Support

Got a small business online? Want to offer some customer support without spending a fortune on telephony costs? Skype's graphical click-to-call SkypeMe buttons are ideal for this. Create your SkypeMe button (free account needed) and embed the code in your website, weblog, template, email, or wherever you want it to appear. When someone views your web page (or email message), the button will indicate whether you are online and accepting Skye calls, busy, or offline. If you're on the go and want to receive calls, just leave your Skype client running and set call forwarding (see above).

Plugins, Addons, and Extras

Think of the off-the-shelf version of Skype as a new car without any optional package. Sure, it will still get you to and from work, but it doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that make your new toy exciting. Unlike car options, however, these Skype Plugins and Add-ons won't cost you a fortune, and they're easy to install to boot.

5 Using Skype to Sell your Services

You've got information that other people can use, and with the Bitwine Skype add-on you'll be able to leverage that information into an income stream. Whether you're a lawyer, a mechanic, or a talented collector, there are people willing to pay for the information you have, and using Bitwine makes selling that information easy. Through Bitwine, you set up your hourly rate, then customers approach you about the topic they would like to discuss, you set up a meeting time, and at the end of the meeting Bitwine tallies up the time and will even coordinate payment via PayPal through another add-on, Bitwine extra.

6 Recording Calls

There are a lot of add-on options for recording Skype calls, including the free Audacity audio editor. But Audacity has to be triggered manually, and since you don't always know beforehand when a call should be recorded, the fact that Audacity is manual is a serious limitation. By contrast, there are a number of Skype recorders that start up automatically. HotRecorder is arguably among the best. HotRecorder allows searchable Meta text to be added to each recording, and works with Google Talk and other IM clients. For aspiring Howard Sterns, there's a selection of Emotisounds such as laughs, claps, etc., that can be inserted into the conversation for later podcasting.

7 Enhanced Voicemail

If you use your Skype phone for more than just the occasional long-distance call, you should enhance your voicemail setup beyond the basic Skype standard. Pamela offers (automatic) call recording, an answering machine for voice and video, automated chat reply if you're away, Skype VoiceMail management, and email forwarding of audio files. In addition, Pamela will let you setup a separate greeting or voicemail message for different users, so that your business and personal calls won't hear the same message. And best of all, Pamela allows for remote control, meaning that if you forget to change one of the voicemail settings before you go on vacation, you can make the changes via any computer anywhere.

8 Keep Up With New Music

If you constantly find yourself wondering why everyone else's iPod seems to have better music than yours, maybe its time to start branching out and discovering new music. Last.fm, a Skype add-on provides you with an easy forum to share your own musical preferences and listen to what other people like. With this add-on, you can browse through other Skype and Last.fm user's music collections and listen in. While you're listening, information about the song and artist you're listening to is displayed and you're given the ability to find similar titles.

Setup is really simple, you just need to download the Last.fm extra, sign up for a free account at Last.fm and there download the Last.fm software. For those of you that are Mac users, Last.fm will still work as a Skype add-on, the only difference is that you will need to download the iScrobbler extra to make Last.fm Mac compatible.

9 Universal Chat and Language Translation

It's a global world out there, so whether you're conducting business or pleasure with Skype, you are likely communicating with people around the world and may occasionally encounter language barriers. Thankfully, by using the quick add-on Universal Chat Translator you can communicate with anyone no matter what language they speak. The software only produces text translations, so you may feel like you're watching a foreign film with subtitles, but the fact that the Universal Translator can read text in 11 languages and understand spoken text in 50 means that you'll at least be able to get your point across.

10 A Complete Small Business Collaboration Solution

If you're running a small business or working as part of a team on a single project, real-time collaboration is essential. There's no better way to supplement your Skype conferencing than with a collaborative desktop provided by Skype add-on Unyte. Unyte lets you choose which applications or documents to share with the other people on your conference call. Then everyone can be looking at the same documents at the same time, and when changes are made they appear on everyone's screen so that there is no confusion. Pricing depends on the number of people you want to bring in on the conference, but you can give two-person collaboration a try for free.

11 Combining Real-Time Document and Voice Collaboration

If the setup hassles of Unyte are too much for you, a simpler solution that redefines easy-setup is TalkandWrite. TalkandWrite will give you video and voice conferencing as well as handle real-time collaborative document editing. That means, that not only will the changes you make be reflected on the other person's screen, but you'll also be able to see and talk with the other person about those changes as you make them. This easy Skype add-on can be a real time-saver for anyone who spends time working with a small team preparing for a project.

Mobility

With the advent first of cordless phones and then cell phones, every communication device is going mobile. So it doesn't make sense that your most advanced communication tool, Skype, should keep you tethered to your computer. Here are a few Skype add-ons and extras to give you the freedom to get out from behind your desk.

12 Bluetooth and Skype

The first step to mobility is just cutting the cord that connects you to your computer when you're using Skype. You can think of this step as the advent of the cordless phone for Skype, it will get you mobile, but only within certain limits. Most newer computers are already Bluetooth capable, so purchasing and synching up a Bluetooth wireless earpiece or headset is extremely simple. In fact, you can use a single Bluetooth earpiece to handle calls from both Skype and your cell phone, so you may not need to buy anything if you're already using a Bluetooth earpiece with your mobile. The only downside to going Skype wireless via Bluetooth is that you are limited by Bluetooth as to how far from your computer you can be. But for those that are just looking for a way to cut the wire and have a little more mobility around the office, Bluetooth is the perfect solution.

13 Mobile Phone Skype Calling

Imagine if you could use SkypeIn or SkypeOut from your cell phone: you could make and receive phone calls to people around the world with the convenience of your cell phone but the pricing of Skype. Thankfully, that day is already here, but a surprising number of Skype fans just don't yet know about the capability. Ego has been offering their Skype based cell phone service for almost a year. It lets you see who is online, make and receive calls with your Skype contacts, and use Skype Instant Messaging.

If the idea of carrying both a Skype phone and a regular cell phone doesn't suit you, TalkPlus has hacked the Skype API to create a server that functions as a Skype client, demonstrating that integrating Skype calls and regular mobile calls will soon be a reality. In fact, in November 2006, TalkPlus demonstrated a successful mobile call to Skype test id echo123. Their hack was then made public, and could be installed on mobile phones to talk to the Skype server. Since then, the service has temporarily gone MIA, but expect that very soon full cell phone/ Skype integration will be a reality.

14 Skype on a Cell Phone…Indirectly

While the ultimate goal is complete Skype/ mobile integration, for now you can get a lot of the functionality of a Skype mobile phone by routing your mobile through your home Skype setup. By using a Phone Diverter, which will allow your cell phone to communicate with your computer, you can enable Skype on your mobile phone indirectly.

Essentially, you will be using your mobile phone to call your home computer, which will in turn ask you to enter a password, and then allow you to use your SkypeOut credits to call your Skype friends. While the system isn't yet perfect, in part because you'll be racking up both your cell phone and SkypeOut minutes at once, it is an effective way to be able to make Skype calls from your cell phone now.

15 Bringing Skype to your TV

Imagine, you hear your Skype phone ring, but it's the fourth quarter of the game, and who knows if the call is even important. You don't want to get up, but it seems you have no choice. Thankfully, with mcePhone you won't have to get up to find out who is calling ever again, as your incoming Skype calls will simply pop up on your TV screen.

From your TV you'll be able to see your own Skype-Status (online, offline, etc), the number of SkypeOut credits you have, which of your Skype friends are currently online, and whether you have any new voicemails. And when a new call comes in, a small window automatically pops up letting you know who the caller is, and it will even let you decide whether you want to accept, ignore, or reject the call all by remote control.

16 Having your Skype Announce Who is Calling

Despite its simplicity, AudioID is easily one of the most useful Skype hacks for home users. AudioID will allow you to setup an individualized announcement for each caller that will play over your computer or home speaker system. So instead of hearing a generic computer ring from somewhere way back in the home office, you can hear a clear message from your computer, "Call from Kristy" which will let you decide whether you need to run back to take the call or whether it can wait until later.

Pure Silliness: Skype Hacks Designed to Entertain

Much of Skype's appeal is the connectivity and productivity it brings to its users. But Skype can also just be a great way to have a whole lot of fun. These simple hacks will help you do just that.

17 Voice Analysis Love Detector

Whether you're using a Skype based dating service or are just want to know if that secret crush feels the same way about you, the Love Detector is a fun Skype add-on that uses SENSE voice analysis technology to detect love and other emotions over your Skype calls. But before you rush out and purchase the full version, you can give this add-on a free trial run and start testing how people really feel about you.

18 Making Board Games Fun Again

Need a break from work but need to stay in front of the computer so your boss doesn't get suspicious? There are a whole host of classic board games that you can add-on to Skype for some fun diversion. With Backgammon, Bingo, Chess and Checkers, you can compete against your fellow Skype users using 'old-school' games with 'new-school' interfaces.

19 KishKish Lie Detector

If you're using your Skype phone to conduct business deals and you want to make sure the other party is being truthful, or you just want to prove once and for all that your boyfriend is a cheater, try KishKish the Skype Lie Detector add-on. KishKish detects the stress level of the person you are talking with over Skype, and it uses that information to detect when they are lying.

20 Creating a Lip-Snyc-ing Avatar to Hide Behind

Video calls can be great for connecting with people on a more personal level. But sometimes, whether because we don't know the caller well or it just hasn't been a good morning, we don't want to be seen. Instead of feeling embarrassed in front of the camera, CrazyTalk allows you to create your own Skype video avatar and have him/ her lip-sync anything you say. This fun add-on is surprisingly simple to setup and use, and will allow you create your own custom avatar from any digital photo. Once set up, it takes just a click to have the avatar pop up, cover the Skype video screen and begin lip-sync-ing.

21 Disguising your Voice

There's nothing more entertaining than changing your voice to mess with your friends. Whether you want to impersonate their boss or their girlfriend, DoNaut has got you covered.

This easy to install Skype add-on will allow you to adjust the tone and quality of your voice throughout the call. In addition, you can use DoNaut to pipe in some background music to your Skype calls off your favorite music player such as iTunes, or Windows Media Player.

22 "Can I Have Your Number?" … "Umm, No."

Whether from a bad blind date, or a sales person that just won't take no for an answer, we've all been in a situation where we didn't want to give the person our phone number or Skype information, but it seemed unavoidable.

Thankfully, the folks that compiled the original NotMyNumber Directory have given Skype users the ability to provide people with a fake number as well. This simple Skype add-on will give you access to local numbers in every major city that are guaranteed to be inactive. That way, when someone you don't want to talk to asks you for your Skype number, you can very casually access the Skype NotMyNumber Tool and offer them a completely fake number.

Advanced Hacks

If you're tech savvy and really want to push your Skype setup to the limit, this list of advanced hacks can help you create functionalities that are sure to improve your experience and wow your friends. But be forewarned, even though a lot of these hacks will be simple to advanced tweakers, if you're new to Skype you may find some of these hacks are over your head.

23 Multiple Logins

If Skype has become your family's communication device of choice, then no doubt you have experienced the problem of having multiple members of your family trying to use your home Skype account at the same time. For a quick fix to this problem, just setup setup multiple logins, so that everyone in the family can use their Skype ID whenever they want. So far this hack is only available for Windows XP users, but keep an eye out for a hack compatible with your OS in the near future.

24 Wake-up Call

If you're a regular business traveler, finding yourself without a wake-up call can be a big problem. Thankfully, by following this hack tutorial you can use the "Scheduled Task" feature in Windows XP to set a time and have Skype call the hotel phone to wake you up.

25 Design your own Hack

Don't see a hack here that interests you? Or maybe you need custom functionality and can't wait for someone to create it. Skype has open developer API, so you can write your own plugins which can be created in HTML or Java, or as an EXE or DLL. If you're looking for a community to help you with some of the programming hurdles, the Skype Developer Zone blog will even keep your questions private so that no one steals your new idea before you get it finished. And when your application is complete, the site also offers a Publishing Studio Publication Studio to manage your published component.

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This list of 25 Skype hacks, modifications and add-ons are all designed for one thing… improving your Skype Experience. And with your newfound Skype knowledge you are now just a hack away from experiencing this great service in ways you never have before. So go out, implement a hack or two, and enjoy your improved Skype service. Happy Skype-ing!

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In the half-century I’ve been around, I’ve seen arrogance be variously acceptable and unacceptable in mainstream culture.