The Important Role of Content in SEO

When one hears "SEO," it's almost automatic to start thinking of technical matters such as links, website indexing, and so forth. One crucial element that people tend to overlook but has quite the impact is content and producing quality content that assists SEO.

But what exactly does content have to do with search engine optimization?

Keywords

Keywords are the most crucial factor in getting your page noticed by search engines. Given the process of users inputting queries when searching online, making sure your content matches their queries via the right keywords is the trick to appearing on the results of potential customers.

Targeting Your Audience

Whether you're aiming for local customers or an international audience, including the necessary keywords in your article or blog post should be done with as naturally as possible. For example, if you're a baked goods store in Toronto looking for a better presence among your local customers, you can't just place "bakeshop in Toronto" randomly within each paragraph.

It's not just a matter of not appearing spamm-y (and avoiding penalization), it's also about actually providing content that audiences will stop and pay attention to. Even if your ultimate goal is to advertise to users, quality should remain top priority.

Different Kinds of Content

SEO marketers and writers typically come up with different kinds of content to place the necessary keywords in. These are some of the most used types, and each one helps to contribute to a level of variety in terms of website content.

Articles

Almost every website is bound to contain a whole bunch of articles. Articles can literally be about anything - from informative pieces to features on an event. Also, they're typically lengthy and leave a lot of room for elaboration.

Similar to what you'd read in a magazine or newspaper, while they're not completely formal in tone, they're not to be overly friendly, either. Articles typically keep a sensible tone that helps introduce important keywords and even establish an air of authority as well.

Blog Posts

Another very popular type of web content is blog posts. These are typically a bigger hit with younger audiences because of the playful tone used as well as the shorter length of the posts.

If your branding allows for it, blog posts can be great for when you want to appear more casual and personal to your audience. They also make it easier to "naturally" incorporate keywords into the text.

Infographics

With infographics, meanwhile, you get to really start diversifying your content since images are now involved.

From serious statistics to quirky (but still educational, of course) comics, infographics allow you to present matters such as product information to your audience in a way that's easier to absorb thanks to the assisting images and introductory and concluding paragraphs containing the keywords.

Videos

Videos are the ultimate content diversifier - you move from just making the audience just look at/read something to creating a more dynamic experience thanks to moving images and even sound.

Videos don't have to be published as often, but when they are, they should come with a paragraph or two of explanatory/introductory/concluding points where you can casually slip in keywords.

Making Sure Your Customer Gets Something Out of It

Apart from providing your customers your pitch, it's important that you're actually giving them something to take away from your posts as well.

Remember, these are people and you're asking for their time. Respecting that, providing content that will be worth their while should be part of any effective site as it shows customers that you acknowledge them as humans and not as mere cash factories.

Helps You Build Domain Authority

Domain authority is the top factor in dictating the ranking of a website. You can go to sponsored content (aka PPC ads) all you want, but that's all temporary. If you want a good ranking that actually sticks around, you'll have to work on your domain authority.

Links

The best way to boost your domain authority is with links that lead back to your site, and such clicks that lead back to your site are made possible by your content being placed on popular sites. These inbound links are best achieved with engrossing content that's well-written just for your audience and in accordance to their interests.

When your content is interesting and presents accurate information useful to your audience, you're well on your way to becoming a go-to site for users, and with a better volume of regular traffic with little bounce rate, your website's ranking is bound for better visibility.

Content is definitely more than just a website filler - it plays quite the significant role in getting you that increase in traffic.

This is why getting an SEO services agency with well-coordinated technical and content production teams is key in ensuring that your online campaign is geared toward a single goal, and that is building a presence for your site and better brand awareness for your company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Donald_Smithon/2139064
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A Big Wealth Opportunity - Minding Your Own Business

For years I've been telling you and according to Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-selling book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" the Number One thing people can do to increase their wealth is to start a Part-Time Business that can be taken to a full-time business, depending on the level of Financial Freedom you desire.

Whether you start a small Home Based Business, an Internet Business or a Network Marketing Business*... Owning Your own Business is The First Step toward Financial Freedom, however...

Most Americans don't know How to get started building a Business.
Keeping it Simple is best.

"Make it Easy, and Make it Affordable to Everyone."

The Next Big Business Opportunity is from New Category Creators - Holistic Health Care Remedies.

Immune System Health is crucial. In fact, it's Essential... Everybody's BODY Needs IT.

ASEA is the world's first and only bio-active solution to fortify the immune and healing system through Redox Signaling molecules. ASEA is the only product in the world that delivers native, stabilized Redox Signaling molecules to the body's cells. Redox Signaling molecules are the body's answer to cellular efficiency and communication. Cells that work at optimum levels and communicate freely and quickly with each other facilitate the immune and healing system's function to repair, replace and revitalize every cell - allowing it to operate at its best and empowering the body to heal itself.

See ASEA science here. You can order the product as a Preferred customer for a $5.00 discount.

ASEA is a safe and natural nutrient to assist your body to function as it was designed to function.

These molecules are vital to the protection and recovery of health at a cellular level. This supplement is based on 20-years research, with zero toxicity and 100% NATIVE to the body. ASEA was first marketed in the U.S. in 2007. Currently ASEA is sold in 36 countries.

"HELP Yourself to create better health and financial freedom." IT's important and your body will thank you.

Perfect Products with Perfect Timing, and the Perfect Plan of Action.

IF You Take Action. Good Health is your Greatest Wealth. IT's Not Expensive, it's PRICELESS.

PREVENTION is the New HEALTH CARE Reform* and this represents some Real ECONOMIC Reform* as well in today's J.O.B. Market ( and you know J.O.B. means "Just Over Broke" ).

These Unique Products have created a very Unique Niche for everyone to take seriously.

IT's time to Mind Your Own Business, as we know we were told growing up, which meant to stay focused on your own business vs other people's business. So, Mind YOUR Own Business. Follow my lead - You will be glad you did.

I'm not bragging, I am imploring you to create the Financial Freedom you deserve. I will be honored to be your mentor... FREE. Call me NOW to get started.

WHAT are you waiting for? You aren't getting younger or wealthier. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

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Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, Ph.D. - http://www.drdorothy.net - 480-794-1561
Executive and Business Health Consultant, International Best Selling Author - Conceived To Lead: Dismantling The Glass Ceiling Mindset
Board Certified Clinical Hypnosis & Time-Line Practitioner
Board of Directors - Red Paper Clip Center - http://www.redpaperclipcenter.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD/5195
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3 In-Demand Virtual Assistant Jobs From Home

Many people are aspiring to find virtual assistant jobs from home. Looking for jobs online is quite a stressful moment for every aspiring applicant, and some don't even have an idea of what job to choose. There are lots of factors that affect a person's decision in picking for a job to apply on, some of these are: if the skills and traits they possess are fit for the job, hourly and monthly salary rates, and the difficulty of the jobs that clients mostly give. Here are three jobs that clients need a virtual assistant to do.

1. Graphics Designing - Clients need virtual assistants that can make graphic designs. Visual planners make visual ideas, utilizing PC programming or by hand, to impart thoughts that rouse, illuminate, and spellbind shoppers. They build up the general format and generation outline for different applications, for example, notices, leaflets, magazines, and corporate reports. As a graphic designer, you should have your client's vision realized. An honest to goodness readiness to comprehend and feel for the design client's wants and difficulties go far. It's tied in with satisfying their brief in a way that is proper to their brand - not kneading your design sensibilities. Standard pay rates for graphic designers is 2-5$ per design or an hourly rate of 8-12$ per hour.
According to Anthony Wood (2015), there are ten essential traits a graphic designer must have and these are communication, curiosity, passion and drive, openness, ability to take criticism, problem solving, self-doubt, patience, reliability, and evolution.

2. Social media manager - online businesses need a VA to manage advertisements and customers inquiries on social media sites. Numerous companies have seen the magnificent esteem and advantage in social media marketing. You've perceived how Social media drives quality movement, leads, and deals and lifts your online notoriety. The social media manager is an exceptionally energetic, imaginative individual with encounter and enthusiasm for associating with present and future customers. That energy comes through as he/she connects with customers daily, with a definitive objective of transforming fans into customers. Full-time Social media managers usually receive a rate of 250-600$ per month (5 skills a social media manager must have, click on this link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/06/08/5-skills-your-social-media-manager-must-have/#73655f7cac56).

3. Content writer - Website content writing goes for importance and pursuit capacity. Importance implies that the site content ought to be valuable and useful to web users. Pursuit capacity shows the utilization of catchphrases to help web indexes guide web users to sites that meet their inquiry criteria. Composing on the web is unique compared to creating and developing substance for printed materials. Web users tend to filter message as opposed to understanding it nearly, skipping what they see to be pointless data and chasing for what they view as generally important. Content writers are online workers that specialize in written content. Standard pay rates for content writers extends from 300$ up to 500$ a month or an hourly rate of 3$ to 15$.

According to https://www.scripted.com/content-marketing/what-is-a-content-writer, there are six skills a content writer must have, and these are:
· Having a solid grammar and style
· Excellent researching ability
· Can write quickly and keep up with deadlines.
· Must write in a variety of tones, on a variety of subjects, within a variety of structures.
· Having a strong knowledge of the field to write
· Creative ability to build up content ideas

As an online worker, always remember that there is a wide variety of online jobs and services a virtual assistant can offer. If you are still starting in this kind of work, don't think much of the salary but think of every job you receive as your training ground to be a better and well-rounded VA.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Aryll_Andri_Pilapil/25433
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Work-At-Home Hacks For People Just Like Me

There are rules of thumb but there are no hard and fast rules. The 'things people do every day to become successful' in what they do has so many variables.

Some swear by morning coffees, others a 20-minute nap. Give or take, that's almost always the story. Like I said, variables.

Routine, or better yet, discipline is what makes people successful. I will never claim to be a 'successful person' but what I HAVE been doing is working from home for the past 18 years. I hope you can share YOUR story about how you soften the rough edges off of your everyday work week too because it helps. Every little bit of advice helps, actually, because most successful people listen.

1. No Emails - Most people start their days off by rolling off their beds with everyone screaming at them. Your alarm is screaming. Your boss is screaming, your kids are screaming, your email is screaming. So, one of the things that I DON'T do early in the morning is to check my emails. People who know me know not to expect an instant reply from me early in the morning. That's when I am trying to sort my shit together so that I can get stuff done for you throughout the day. So, no emails in the morning. Only coffee is allowed.

2. Stay Dressed - This one is for those who work from home. One of the things that I've noticed in nearly 2 decades is that I dress for work (even if I will be in my home office or living room) the whole time I am going to be working. I don't know about you but the moment I slip on my cutesy 'lil comfy clothes, my zest for life and roaring enthusiasm to get things done slithers off from me like a layer of dead skin cell.

3. Meditate -Oprah's said it. So did Deepak Chopra and Cameron Diaz. It's not the woo-woo-woo stuff, trust me. It's more like sitting there in complete silence or with soft music gently caressing my ear, or just sweeping the floor (the movement is meditatively repetitive, try it!). Instead of thinking of it as a 'new age fad', think of it as Loading Your Gun Ready to Kick Down the Doors of the World. Badass when reworded, huh? I use an app to 'help me along' - Insight Timer. It has music, guided meditation, and... well... complete silence.

4. Don't multitask - It's something I was really proud of and multitasking was the only way for me to move the needle forward when the list of things-to-do was just way too long. I don't do it anymore. Instead, I think doing things in spurts is far more productive. One example would be that if I found vacuuming the floor THE daunting task of the day, I would mindfully vacuum the living room and leave the rooms and kitchen for tomorrow.

Silly example, I know, but when applied to work, it's pretty amazing when you give the tasks at hand short bursts of active, productive attention. When I am tired, I will come back with a whole lot more to contribute AFTER I've dealt with my brain fog instead of muscling through it. I mean, who am I to argue with the chemicals in my brain?

5. Coffee - I am just going to leave this right here. Explaining it any further is going to make me angry if you don't understand it. It's my survival poison.

6. Laugh a Little - A sense of humor provides a buffer against the build-up of stress and anxiety in your system. So, occasionally, load up your Tumblr or Twitter (where you are encouraged to follow people like 9gag - just a personal preference, of course) and just laugh a little.

Experts say that humor provides a powerful buffer against stress and fear. "Humor is about playing with ideas and concepts," said Martin, who teaches at the University of Western Ontario. "So whenever we see something as funny; we're looking at it from a different perspective. When people are trapped in a stressful situation and feeling overwhelmed, they're stuck in one way of thinking: This is terrible. I've got to get out of here. But if you can take a humorous perspective, then by definition you're looking at it differently - you're breaking out of that rigid mind-set."

7. Being understanding - I know this doesn't fit into the normal mold of 'things people do to be successful' but I think it's pretty important. Because most of us work with others, whether in the office or remotely, we often assume that people are being evil of mean when they're being a little less than nice to us. Sometimes, it's because they're tired just like you, exhausted just like you, overwhelmed just like you, have to pay bills just like you, are worried about their kids/parents just like you, or simply had an argument with a friend/spouse just like you.

I think this point is particularly important in the digital world. With the digital divide, we sometimes forget that we're dealing with human beings. Just like you.

Marsha Maung is a mother, writer, social media consultant, internet marketer and human. Her mission, as far as her work is concerned, is to bring brands, products, services and companies exposure. Find out more about her life from her personal blog (cooking, life, sense, parenting, writing, etc) or her professional WordPress blog MarshaMaung.Me. Hope to see you and connect there.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Marsha_Maung/2900
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9920366

Ways To Effectively Work From Home

In this day and age, there are several people who work from home on a regular or on an on-and-off basis. The reasons could be numerous, starting from health issues, long commute, maternity, and so on. The belief that an employee needs to be in the office to be efficient is now gradually changing, with benefits of working from home arising aplenty. However, for some people, especially if you have just begun to work from home, things can get a bit overwhelming. Here are a few things you can do to organize your 'home office'.

A Constant Office Space

Setting up one room (or a portion of a room) as your office can go a long way in creating a sense of mood and motivation that might otherwise be lacking when you are not in office. Fix a table, an ergonomic chair (yes, it is an investment you will not regret if you work from home regularly), and other essentials you might need for work, for example, a charging station for your computer or mobile phone around that area. Stick to that place the best you can while working and move away when you are not. You can still visit that area when you are not working, but make sure it is not close to the bed that you sleep in. In smaller houses this might be difficult to arrange but try to set up your workplace in a different room than your bedroom. This is not because you might accidentally climb onto your bed, and sleep during working hours, but because your quality of sleep at night might be affected by the presence of your work things.

Air Quality

While you are indoors through the major portion of the day, it is important to ensure you get sufficient ventilation, and good quality air to breathe. If you live in an area where the pollution level is low, keep your windows open at all times for the fresh air to stimulate your brain, and improve your efficiency. If, unfortunately, you live in an area where the outside air is horrid, an air purifier is recommended. Remember, your health is of utmost importance no matter from where you work.

Exercise

Although exercising is a mandate for everybody, it is even more crucial for people who work from home. When you are in office, you might take frequent breaks down to the cafeteria or a roadside tea/coffee shop, but when you are home, these breaks are eliminated from your routine. Hence, it is of utmost importance to exercise regularly. Choose whatever works for you - yoga, aerobics, weights, cardio, but be regular and diligent about it.

Venture Out

Make it a point to get out of the house at least for ten or fifteen minutes every working day. You could either run a quick errand such as going to the ATM, picking up dry-cleaning, buying dinner, and so on, or you could take a simple walk in your neighbourhood at the very least. Going outside once in a day and seeing other people on the road helps your brain relax, because, after all, we are all social beings.

Do Not Overwork

Many people, especially in the beginning, tend to feel guilty about not working from the office. They feel that they are not working enough, or something is missing. Some people have it even worse because others who go to office regularly have a tendency to point fingers and condemn those who work from home. Snide remarks such as "Oh, what do you know about the hectic traffic we go through", or "You work from home, that must mean you have plenty of time", to "I don't think people who work from home actually get any work done", are very commonly heard. Do not get bogged down by such things. Just because you work from home does not mean you should work longer hours. Fix your work hours as you would if you were in office, and stick to it.

With the above-mentioned ways, one may find working from home a true bliss in the middle of all the chaos.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rinita_Sen/2176621
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9938326

Does Affiliate Marketing Still Work?

Affiliate marketers earn money by selling products created by other companies in exchange for a commission. But things online have become much more competitive than when affiliate marketing first started out nearly 20 years ago. Affiliate marketing is still a good way to make money online, but the rules have changed in recent years.

Today's successful online entrepreneurs have figured out how to make affiliate marketing work more effectively so their efforts bring the results they want. How do they do it?

Make Affiliate Marketing Work For You

The best way to make affiliate marketing work effectively is to increase the exposure of your affiliate links. These are the links that take your prospects to a sales page or website and which track sales back to you.

Your Own Website

One of the most important elements of affiliate marketing today is to have your own website or blog. This is where you produce content relevant to the products you want to sell. You can write general articles and provide links to suggested products at the end of the content. The most important things to remember are that everything you write should be the factual and the truth. This helps position you as an expert worth paying attention to.

Building an Email Marketing List

It can be challenging to build an email marketing list these days because people have such jammed inboxes. That being said, knowing your niche and your target audience are two of the best ways to come up with an incentive they will be keen to get and so will be happy to give you their contact information.

Two good incentives would be an eBook or eCourse on a hot topic related to your niche. Think of the kinds of problems people have in your niche and create an information product which offers real solutions.

Be Careful About What You Sell

Don't promote anything you would not use yourself or are not impressed by. You don't want to get the reputation of being an affiliate who will pretty much sell any old rubbish just to get a commission. Rather, you want to show you're in the know, with great deals on products that really work.

Keywords In Your Content

Keywords related to your niche will help drive free traffic via the search engines. Your keywords should be related to your topic or niche. They should be words that an ordinary person interested in your niche would search for. Keyword all media files such as images and videos as well.



Companies are happy to pay commissions to people just like you, in return for selling their products and services. You have the potential to make a great income when you choose the right niche, stay committed, and understand your audience. For a no-nonsense, kick-start guide to getting started, download my free checklist, Affiliate Marketing For Beginners at https://jonallo.com/affiliatechecklist

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948
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Transitioning From Employee to Solopreneur

Is your number one Bucket List goal to establish your own entity and become a business owner or Solopreneur consultant? Are you planning to abandon the "safety" of a traditional job to directly market and sell your products or services to customers with the money and motive to do business with you?

Going out on one's own is a thrilling and sometimes frightening prospect. Those who take the plunge eventually discover that many resources that are casually taken for granted while working in an office are not readily available to those who step out on their own. As you weigh your options and prepare to write your business plan, be aware of a few changes and additional expenses to expect should you join the self-employed sector:

No paid days off

There will be no more paid sick days, holidays, vacation days, or personal days when you become the captain of your own enterprise. Neither will there be any pay for days off that result from bad weather. When winter arrives and snow begins to fall, there will be days when harsh weather conditions impact your business and your income. When the governor of your state declares a snow emergency, important meetings will be postponed and businesses may be unable to open and operate.

In particular for those who own a B2B or B2C venture where the business model requires you or your employees to visit the customer's location (e.g., cleaning services), or customers to visit your location (e.g., a laundromat), snow days = no revenue days. Small businesses have been known to go out of business within a year following periods of extreme weather.

Establish business credit

For tax purposes, it will be useful to open a separate business bank account and also apply for a business credit card or two. There will be business expenses to write off and you'll want to make it easy to monitor spending. Do yourself a favor and check your personal credit ASAP and pay off outstanding credit card balances to improve your credit score and correct any errors.

Financial management

Financial management will assume more than one form. As noted above, you'll need to establish credit for the business, so that you can order inventory and supplies without immediately impacting the business cash flow, for example. Those are Accounts Payable items. You will also need to ensure that customers pay you on time, or at all, and that is an Accounts Receivable function.

Maintaining sufficient cash flow is crucial to the business' survival and your own ability to keep a roof over your head, food on the table and your car on the road. You must develop a business budget and plan for the purchase of equipment, licensing costs (if applicable), insurance (if applicable), professional certifications (if applicable), or space rental (if needed).

In addition, you may consult with a business attorney or accountant to discuss the legal structure of your venture: Sole Proprietor, Corporation (chapter S or C), or Limited Liability Company (LLC). The type of business that you're in and your exit strategy will play a role in choosing the business legal entity.

Paying for office supplies

Free scanning and photocopying will be over. When you need to staple a few pieces of paper together, you must buy the stapler and the staples and you'll buy paper clips and envelopes, too.

There will likewise be no meeting space or audiovisual equipment for you to reserve. You'll have to meet at the client's office, or at a coffee shop or other restaurant. Privacy might be an issue and arranging a Power Point or other visual presentation might be awkward as well.

A lap top computer or tablet will be office equipment must-haves. It will be imperative to possess the tools of your trade and to always appear as a competent and prepared professional as you develop your reputation and build your brand. Good luck!

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile skills to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. Please visit http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com to learn how your organization can achieve mission-critical goals when you work with Kim.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_L._Clark/647250
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Multiple Revenue Streams Keep A Solopreneur Solvent

To build a successful career as a Solopreneur consultant requires courage, resilience, possession of marketable skills and relationships with people who are willing and able to refer or endorse you for paid project assignments. Solopreneur consultants must have a talent for selling, the discipline to create and pursue business goals, a knack for big picture thinking and implementing strategies and an understanding of human nature and motivation. The ability to attract good luck and dodge bad luck helps, too.

Precious few Solopreneurs are able to just "go to the office" everyday and delve into the usual work. In order to generate the preferred amount of business revenue, we understand that creating multiple revenue streams may be necessary and to make that possible, we must recognize the marketability of our skill sets, in aggregate and in segments. As well, we must learn to package, promote and sell our skills and value to prospective clients.

Consider my revenue streams, for example. When asked, in my short form elevator pitch I say that I'm a self-employed external consultant who provides business strategy and marketing solutions to mid-size for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. What that means in reality is that I've facilitated strategic planning meetings at not-for-profit organizations; edited a 100 page nonfiction book and also served as its photo editor and project manager; developed curriculum for a series of 90 minute sales skills training workshops; and periodically I teach business plan writing.

I've been fortunate enough to regularly win business strategy development or marketing campaign assignments, but the fact is that there are often gaps and in response, I've learned to branch out and offer segments of my skill set to clients or employers as a way to maintain my required cash-flow and, whenever possible, also enhance my brand. In my experience, it's the ability to leverage one's perhaps infrequently promoted competencies that help Solopreneurs to create and sustain a profitable business venture.

My friend Adela is a busy educational consultant who works with college bound high school juniors and their parents to identify suitable colleges for the student and navigate the application process. Adela's business appears to be thriving, yet she nevertheless teaches Spanish at a local university (she was born and raised in Mexico and came to the U.S. to attend Notre Dame University).

Jackie, a friend of many years, is the founder and manager of a small, full-service fitness center that became very successful in that highly competitive market, yet she teaches a fitness class at another gym a few miles away. Why? Because she gets to observe another style of fitness center management from the inside, she receives training in new fitness techniques that she can evaluate for inclusion in her own gym and she earns a few extra dollars each week, something that a mother of four can always use. Sometimes you can get paid to research the competition!

My friend Carole toggles between freelance marketing gigs at technology companies and corporate positions in that sector. She's a Lotus alumna who's also worked for tech giant EMC, distinctions that command respect and open doors in the tech industry. In between corporate gigs, Carole goes out on her own to develop marketing strategies for tech start-ups. A couple of years ago, she was offered a position as director of marketing at one of those start-ups, but when the inevitable reorganization occurs, she'll re-enter Solopreneur life.

So, Solopreneur friend, I invite you to put on your thinking cap and brainstorm how you can create additional revenue streams by exploring how certain segments of your skill set can be packaged and promoted to current and prospective clients!

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile skills to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. You can ensure that mission-critical goals at your organization will be achieved when you contact Kim at http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_L._Clark/647250
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Online Jobs Versus Online Businesses

It's Your Online Business, Not Your Online Hobby
An online business versus an online job has a different mentality for the individual. A job is something you do for someone else. It's something that dominates your day and your time with a prearranged schedule.

The job is your master, not the other way around. You work for someone else. Even if this is online the truth remains the same... you are still an employee. You have heard that you can make money online through working online for a company or a third party (this is not as an affiliate or a salesperson). You do jobs for someone else and complete a W4.

This to me is literally the lifestyle I intended to avoid when I got into online business. This model could not and would not do.

I know you see the ads. "We are looking to give stay at home mom jobs", but you may find that some of these places not only do not offer you a good job but will stick you with a horrible schedule. Not all of them are like this, though some are.

Why I like the online business model
For me it's about control. I like to control my day. If I want to work in the morning, I can do this. If I want to work late into the wee hours of the night... it's my right. Why? Because I decide how successful (or unsuccessful) my business is and this is through my effort.

It can be the highest paid hard work I ever done or the easiest, lowest paid work I have ever done. This lies squarely on my shoulders. You see the problem with a lot of online companies you may work for is stability.

Many of them catch people unawares stating grandiose claims making things look easy. For example, you may read something like "Earn Money Online Today, $55-$65 hour, no experience required".

What happens is that unsuspecting folks who trust these people invest time, money, and effort into a business that might not last the rest of the year. I have seen this with my own eyes. I always advocate starting your own online business. Why you ask? Who can you trust better than you? I will tell you, if I am going to invest in anything it will be me, period.

You Won't Let You Down
When you succeed those you love succeed. Those you care about succeed. It's about grabbing your dream and never letting it go. Working for someone else is helping them promote their dream through your effort. Working for yourself helps you to bring your dreams to fruition.

I know where the difficulty comes in. It is at the point of the beginning. How do you get started? Where do you start? Can I startup my online business quickly and with a minimal amount of investment?

Well, I can help you there. I recommend checking out my Internet Business Quick Start Guide by clicking here. It will help you to launch into the deep and get started making money online quickly.

I am serious about home business, and thankful for the time you have taken to read this article. If you are serious about beginning an online business then I recommend my Internet Business Quick Start Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eugene_Barber/939610
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Work From Home And Make Money With Your Own Online Business

Start Your Own Online Business- Top Reasons Why You Should
It isn't easy to start an online business. Some people may lie to you and say it is the easiest thing they have ever done, but they are being at best unrealistic. Running an online business is as the name implies, "a business that is online". So there are certain rules you must follow in order to earn cash online (and do it the right way).

Even though there are challenges to running a business online there are benefits to it as well. In my view it is better to start a business online. Below I have listed some of the top reasons I believe this to be true.

The Traditional Way To Get Cash Is Becoming Outdated
There are a lot of people who have great ideas, but can never seem to the get them off of the ground. Many times this is due to lack of resources or the ability to properly fund their business. With the traditional business model there is normally a substantial investment. An internet business does not require this major investment (though there could be a small one).

Using the example of a brick and mortar store an owner must invest in their business only to have their money at times locked in the business itself for years. Many times it takes years for the store owner to recuperate their entire investment. With an online business model you would have less overhead and other means to store your inventory (such as drop shipping or as an affiliate). This means that inventory is not a requirement allowing you to ship product upon demand versus investing in the goods upfront.

Each Industry Dictates It's Threshold To Make Money
Certain industries require you to invest money to make money. Depending upon the industry itself starting small may be out of the question. The reason? In order to compete you must be competitive. To be competitive in the traditional sense may require a significant investment of funds from the beginning. This is not even mentioning physical location(s), staff and security issues.

However, a home based business that exists on the internet can grow as you grow. We all want to grow. With a smaller investment you can leverage your advantage for greater profits. If staff is required, the positions are minimal and physical security becomes one less thing for you to worry about (especially if you are an affiliate or you don't house your products in-house).

The Internet Is Becoming The Standard For Communicating A Business
The day is coming where if you're not online you don't exist. Even traditional brick and mortar organizations are now vying for a presence on the web.

The level of innovation new technologies are providing the entrepreneur online are endless. You are limited by your imagination and ambition.

With the internet you can make as much or as little as you want. This is determined by your willingness and effort to take your business to the next level. Will you press forward the wheel of innovation a success and become the next internet millionaire (or billionaire)? Or maybe you're not as ambitious and are only looking to take care of your needs (and maybe your families too)? An online business can provide you with this ability.

If you are serious about taking the next step and take the quick path to getting your online business off the ground (and making you money), get my new quick start guide here now!

I am serious about my internet business, and thankful for the time you have taken to read this article. If you are serious about beginning an online business then I recommend my Internet Business Quick Start Guide. Get your kit here now.

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How To Find Product Ideas And Information

Are you one of the many that tried starting an online business but stopped before generating any sales or income? Every new business will have its own opportunities as well as challenges and difficulties. One of the hardest things to decide for many is actually the very first step, choosing a product(s). This is one reason that many quit before they ever really begin.

There are any number of ways to search for good product ideas within a chosen niche and I'll give several good ones here. Keep those listed here in mind when selecting products to promote. Studying the different avenues for finding great product ideas can be beneficial in helping uncover opportunities to promote and sell online.

1. What do You know - your own experience can give you a strong competitive advantage. Many enter into the online marketing world at an older age, as an encore career, with lots of knowledge from their previous career. One can start a website with career knowledge and promote related or relevant products and do quite well.

2. Research the common problems within your chosen niche and have solutions available, for those seeking the answers. It's great to have as many of the problem solutions as possible in order to be an authority within your niche. Recommend and have available a product(s) to promote, an affiliated item or your own, that will help the seeker out.

3. Follow customer passions - people spend a lot of money on their passions and habits. If you are passionate about something, chances are that there are millions of others with the same passion and will purchase relevant products within that niche. Following your own heart and compassion is one of the best ways to make money online.

When you build a business around your own personal passion and sell products within your niche, you'll have the strength and tenacity to overcome all hurdles and problems during occasional difficult time periods. Staying motivated is essential to online business success.

4. Create your own brand - get a really good understanding of who your potential audience and customers are. Also, understand the process of creating your own brand and where to find the best sources of each product to brand as your own.

Many hot-selling items are made in China and can be re-branded with your own product name. These items can be purchased on sites like Alibaba dotcom for less than half of the cost of purchasing in the US, then shipped to Amazon or another storage facility and sold.

5. Trends - taking advantage at the start of a trend allows you to establish the product and your authority early on and you can really capitalize on the trend. Capitalizing early on a new trend will make you one of the first websites being indexed by the search engines and can help you climb to the top of the rankings quickly.

Each opportunity will require its own mindset and strategy to reach the largest audience and peak sales.

For more info visit Pete @ http://www.newcareerat40.com. If you would like to learn more about making websites and starting an internet business, it would be a great idea to take advantage of an absolutely FREE opportunity to take 10 Free Certification Course Lessons and get 2 Free WordPress websites to create, step by step your own sites. There is No Card Required - Nothing to lose.

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The Passive Income Myth

According to the IRS there are three categories of income: Active, passive, and portfolio.

Active is what it sounds like. You do income-producing activities that you get income.

Portfolio is also what it sounds like. You invest money into things like stocks, real estate funds, or other investment vehicles and - in the best of times - your investment yields gains, or income.

Then there is passive income.

The sacred cow of network marketing companies and continuity/membership site experts.

The goal of every over-worked, under-earning, praying-for-a-miracle self-employed type.

Passive intimates no work. You, on the beach, cocktail in hand, checking your PayPal account for the sales every few hours. Or, better yet, you, on your couch, in your jammies, binge watching GOT or House. Again.

I googled a ton of content on passive income and although there are some sound possibilities out there - lend money for interest for instance - many take a sound idea and run it right off the rails, like this one that admits you must frontload the work to get to passive: "first you need to haul ass and do something crazy, e.g. write a quality 20,000-word eBook (insane, not passive hahahah)", but here is where it runs wild -"but then you get to sit back and enjoy seeing PayPal sale messages pop up on your iPhone each morning as sale after sale after sale is made... on an ongoing basis and without any additional work. That's some seriously Pina Colada flavored passive goodness!"

There's some seriously delusional-flavored thinking.

Let's look at digital products. You write or create it once, set it up on a landing page, hook up the cart, drive traffic and you are off to the beach to collect your moolah.

A well done e-book or virtual program takes hours of research, writing, producing, formatting, etc. Those hours cost your time, and during those hours you are not making money. But OK, we can all agree, there has to be work on the front end right?

Right, but it doesn't end there.

Now we have marketing. If your landing page is optimized, your copy is killer, and your ads are spot on - something by the way that takes daily monitoring - and your e-book/product/program is targeted to the right audience, you could see recurring revenue from this evergreen type product.

Phew. We've done quite a bit of work so far and there are lots of "ifs" from a marketing perspective. (If your landing page converts because you've got conversion copy and the page is optimized for SEO, and you are targeting an audience that wants what you've got from you, and on and on.)

And marketing doesn't end if you want to keep the sales coming.

What about managing affiliate partners, returns, customer service? Even outsourced, there is still some active participation.

This type of income, as you see, is far from passive but it is leveraged.

Leveraged is good. It's how businesses grow and in our case, entrepreneurs, how we get out of the income-capping trap in the fee-for-service-only model.

I don't want to be Debbie downer, but part of my commitment to my clients and you, my readers, is to bring the truth; shine a light on traps, false gods, and naked emperors.

Am I suggesting not to do an e-book, a virtual program, or a continuity program? NO! (Well, I might in the case of the membership/continuity program, and I'm getting a few experts together to parse the good and bad and who should and shouldn't and when. I'll have details next week here.)

I am suggesting that you examine your attraction to a marketing idea before jumping in. No one idea will "save" a shaky business - sales is the exception here - and one idea that promises to "change everything" in your business is likely to fall short of its promise. What it really requires will only be found in the mice type - that tiny print at the bottom of webpages and print ads that gives you the disclaimer.

Always read the mice type.

And start researching leveraged income streams. Find out what it will really take to set one up and get started. It may not be passive, but it's income that requires less of you one-on-one or one-to-many. And that means more time to work on your portfolio or pina coladas.

Gregory Anne Cox is a free spirited entrepreneur who offers marketing in a fashion without using tired and boring content but a new fresh approach getting away from "Squishy Language" From becoming a freelance writer in NYC, to opening her own restaurant in San Diego, she is also a world renown author. Her most recent publications are "Everything is Food Journal" & "Your Genes Do Not Determine The Size of Your Jeans". Gregory now specializes in Online copy assessment, Done-For-You and Speaker and Engagement Services.

http://bemoremarketable.com

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Affiliate Marketing Is a Nice Way to Earn Money Online

How would you react if I say that you will be able to earn a minimum of $100 a day online? Your immediate reaction would be something like this. "Are you out of your mind?" In fact, there are ways by which you can earn money online. With a little bit of hard work and perseverance, you can touch the magical figure of $100 per day. It is definitely not beyond the reach of a dedicated individual. Let us look at some ways by which you can achieve this objective.

Have you heard the word, Affiliate Marketing? You must have because this has become a very common method of earning money online today.

What is affiliate marketing and what do you do in this type of marketing?

This is a type of a performance-based marketing rewarding its customers for referring other prospective customers to its fold. This is how the system works.

This method of marketing is an overlapping of various types of internet marketing methods. There are four players in this kind of industry. The first category is the merchant or the retailer. The second category is the network through which the affiliates work. This takes care of the payment aspects too. The affiliate is the third link of the chain. He is the one who publishes the advertisements and brings in the customers. The customer forms the final link to the chain.

The affiliates use a variety of methods to market the produce. This is also a type of referral marketing. However, there is a major difference between the two. Affiliate marketing focuses on the financial aspects and motivations. Referral marketing uses the trust and personal relationships as a base to improve the sales.

The affiliate marketer uses all the internet-marketing methods to some degree such as email marketing, search engine marketing, pay per click advertising methods, and even display marketing techniques too. He also relies of product reviews by customers or professional bloggers on the internet.

What are the advantages of affiliate marketing?

We shall look at three simple advantages.

Cost-effective for the merchant because he saves on advertising costs thereby passing on the benefits to the final user.

The affiliate marketer eliminates the entire middle chain and links the customer directly to the merchant. He derives a decent commission out of the sales proceeds.

The customer can get his product at a much lower price than the retail market cost.

Hence, you can see that affiliate marketing provides a great opportunity for the individual to earn extra money online. You have to do the hard work in the initial stages. However, after you set up the chain beautifully, making $100 a day would be very easy. You can have a great team working for you.

This is one of the time-tested methods of earning money online. There are other methods whereby you can earn handsomely, but affiliate marketing ensures a steady stream of income once you are able to establish the chain properly. Of course, you need to maintain excellent rapport with the people in the chain below you.

Trevor Browne is the author of this article on earn money online. Find more information, about earn extra money online.

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How High Achievers Harvest Time and Accomplish Their Dreams - Part 1

Have you ever wondered why some people achieve so much more than others?

Our research of high achievers (HAs as we call them), regardless of their chosen field of endeavor, show shared characteristics. Here are 6 of the most important; all of which speak directly to the issue of harvesting time to achieve their dreams.

1. They know what they want.

2. They know why they want it.

3. They have set goals to achieve it.

4. They have a clearly defined plan to get them there.

5. They take action.

6. They commit their time and resources to its accomplishment.

While only a part of the total formula for Time Harvesting these 6 factors are important, contributing elements. In Part 1 we will look at the first element: they know what they want.

Envisioning the outcome.

HAs know exactly what they want. There is no ambiguity about their dream. They are totally focused on the outcome. They can describe it in vivid detail. They're convinced it can and will happen. It's not about "if," it's about "when."

The "what" defines the priorities.

Because the outcome is both crystal clear and expected, there is singleness of purpose. Thus, dedicating time to accomplish the goal becomes top priority understanding that the sooner the plan is executed, the sooner the dream is realized.

Competing priorities.

Unfortunately, like everyone else, HAs don't have the luxury of only dealing with the dream. Life gets in the way and HAs must deal with other issues, as well. But, just like the consistency of the compass needle, after the fires are put out; HAs return to accomplishing the dream.

The lesson.

The lesson is clear. To get the absolute benefit out of every moment of your time you must have a compelling, desired outcome. Otherwise, your time is just dissipated as you wander about aimlessly. Unfortunately, too many people do not have a clearly defined, realistic, defined outcome for their life. That is why they waste so much time and feel unfulfilled.

Remember, if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.

Going forward, the compelling question is, "Where will you be, and is that where you really want to be?" What a terrible shame to live an unfulfilling life because you aren't doing what you really want.

The critical issue.

The critical issue is the necessity to define your dream. Take the time to figure that out. You simply must. Then, each day you can devote your time to getting there.

In Part 2, we will look at your "why;" what drives you to accomplish the "what."

Would you, too, as so many other have, like to effectively have a 13th month or more every year to achieve your dreams? Author Jan Schrader shares the secrets of Time Harvesting in the book, The Secret of the Thirteenth Month - Harvesting the Time to Achieve Your Life's Dreams. To learn more, just go to http://www.JanSchrader.com, and discover the power of Time Harvesting.

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This Year, Transform Your Time With the Stories You Tell Yourself

When you pause and listen, you may be surprised at how much 'chatter' is going on in your head. You're actually conversing with yourself almost constantly. And this isn't just idle chatter.

Indeed, the stories you tell yourself, to a surprising extent, define your reality.

So, when it comes to meaningful conversations, the silent ones you have with yourself may be the most important ones to pay attention to.

And what better time than the start of a New Year to think about that? Maybe it's time to consider telling yourself some new stories.

What you tell yourself is your choice...
Here's a scenario that a client told me about not long ago:

Joan had invited a few of her friends to join her family for their holiday meal. She was really looking forward to it, had cooked up a storm, and had created a centerpiece that she was really proud of. Just before the guests started arriving, her cat jumped up on the table and started tearing the centerpiece apart.

Upset, Joan sprang into action to shoo the cat away. In the process, she knocked over a pitcher of water. It soaked the tablecloth and was starting to puddle on the floor as the doorbell rang.

Telling the story, Joan smiled proudly and said that in that moment she made a really important choice. She decided to laugh as she opened the door to her first guests. And that decision powerfully defined her present reality and had a ripple effect that changed the shape of her day.

What our stories tell us...
So Joan told herself quite a bit with her laughter. She indicated that there was no need to feel ashamed or to panic. Her laughter meant that what had just happened was something she accepted. It became part of the unfolding story of her day and was a source of humor, not horror.

And I'm sure you can imagine how differently this would all have felt had she chosen differently. Picture her face as she opens the door. How does it look if she is furious with the cat or self-critical about knocking over the pitcher?

Choose your stories well.
So, as we move into a new year, I invite you to consider the power of the choices you make. And especially, think about the stories you tell yourself about your life. You can make such a big difference for yourself.

You'll find expert guidance quickly with our free Finding Time Success Kit, so check out our video at http://thetimefinder.com/ and then sign up for your Kit!

You'll receive our Finding Time Boundary Template, our popular Weekly Tips, and our monthly, award-winning E-zine -- all free and all right to your in-box!

For even more time tips, tools and techniques, visit our blog at http://thetimefinder.com/blog/

Offered by Paula Eder, Ph.D. The Time Finder Expert

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Why Do People Procrastinate?

Procrastination is the number one dream killer ever known to mankind. Many people think that interruptions have something to do with procrastination. This would be the furthest thing from the truth. Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something of great importance for something of less importance. Let's face it, we all have procrastinated at one point in our lives. I get it, no one is perfect, but when procrastination begins to have a major impact on your life it may be time to do some soul searching to correct the problem.

So why do people procrastinate? This is a great question. Let's see if we can find out why and find out how to overcome it. First, let's identify the two variations of procrastination. For many years I have been fascinated by people who consistently procrastinate. You know the kind of people I am talking about. People that put everything off. These types of people will be late for their funeral.

In my line of work, I have come to the conclusion that procrastination stems from two areas of the human mind. The first area in question would be the conscious mind. This is the part of the mind that is active when you are awake and aware of what you are doing. The second area would be the unconscious mind. This would be the area of your mind where you are totally unaware of what you are doing. Conscious procrastination is the easiest to identify and also the easiest to negate. Unconscious procrastination is not that easy to recognize due to it having something to do with deep formed mental habits. We have to catch ourselves doing it before we actually know that we are doing.

Putting things off has destroyed so many dreams since the beginning of time. It has also caused more heartache and failure than all other time management issues combined. The procrastinator does not understand that the winds of opportunity blow upon us all, but the procrastinator never seems to notice due to not taking care of the things they should have taken care of.

Now, getting back to why people procrastinate. Why do people allow things that matter most to fall by the waste side to address things of lesser importance? Conceivably it could be due to the task being unpleasant. Some people unquestionably dislike washing their clothes, while other people dislike taking out the trash. Whatever the case, being productive and successful often requires people to get out of their comfort zones. The natural response to unpleasant tasks is to put them off. In short, we let events control us and our productivity. The only way to escape this vicious cycle is to become cognizant of our thoughts and behaviors.

Discipline is the key to negating procrastination. You will want to create urgency by setting deadlines for everything you do. This can be accomplished by setting goals and breaking those goals down into smaller tasks to be completed. You may want to address the unpleasant parts of those tasks first leaving the more enjoyable tasks for last. You may want to turn your tasks into a game, this will turn the drudgery into fun. You will also want to reward yourself for meeting your deadlines no matter how large or small they are.

Another reason we procrastinate would be due to over-committing, pursuing non-obtainable goals, fear of failure, being disorganized, and plain bad timing. The last reason I can come up with would be that we just don't care about if it gets done or not. The bottom line would be, we cannot do anything personally about procrastination until we are cognizant of its' existence.

If you are interested in learning how to crush procrastination in its' tracks drop by http://www.drmarkhuddleston.com and pick up a copy of "Eluding The Toxic Enemy Within." This book has inspired so many people to change the way they live and see the world.

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Entrepreneurs Need ONE Thing To Succeed - Survivability

The idea of being an "entrepreneur" is the new "rock star" - millions of young people going off the beaten track in order to try and secure a better future for themselves or their families.

Fuelled partly by the Internet and partly by a changing economic landscape, the young of today are more focused on themselves than ever, unwilling to take "menial" jobs at the likes of McDonald's; instead taking on large amounts of student debt in order to secure as lucrative career as possible.

It's in the midst of this tectonic shift (where barriers-to-entry have been eroded massively, and the world opened up for business) that many have placed "entrepreneurship"... the idea of "working for yourself". Unfortunately, it's most a lie.

If you're interested in this type of thing, the first thing you need to realize is that entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, not a vocation. Most people are not "entrepreneurs", they're merchants (buy and sell products).

REAL entrepreneurship is about doing / building something that's NEVER been done before. This might be something simple (a new flavour of soft drink), or something as difficult as getting humanity to Mars. It is NOT about "selling" products for the sake of it.

What many see as a "choice" between a Dystopic future of student debt, mortgages, auto loans and 40+ years of 9-5, is in fact fraught with the utmost danger and risk. The biggest problem is that no one will help you. You're 100% on your own.

In other words, don't become an "entrepreneur"... you have to either be "born" one (which isn't strictly true), or be so utterly determined to see your ideas come to fruition that you're willing to risk your life on making it work.

This is what most people don't see. They see the accolades, cars, success - they don't see what goes on behind the scenes. It's because of this that I wanted to write this article.

Angela Lee Duckworth called it "grit", Elon Musk called it "chewing glass and looking into the abyss of death"... the one thing that anyone looking to bring their ideas to life is survivability - the ability to persist even when everyone else has either quit or been killed.

Every time you look back through history, at the *true* entrepreneurs... the Galileo's of the world; Magellan's; Sir Francis Drakes... we see the same pattern every time. A world-defining event that THEY survived. This was then brought to the market in some form or another, transforming the way that people live and are able to operate.

What most people think of as "entrepreneurship"... starting a "blog", running a "social media" account or some other menial achievement... is nothing worthy of note.

It doesn't *do* anything. It's paper pushing.

To "become" an entrepreneur is very simple.

Shut up and get to work. Most make the error of telling everybody what they're doing. Not only is this a mistake, but kills and chances of actually completing the task you set out to perform. Move in silence.

In terms of what you "do", this is also simple - focus on completing a task that pays you money. Don't worry about changing the world or anything up front, that comes later. Just get your head down and focus on making more money than the other guy, by producing the *best quality work* you can.

Imbue EVERYTHING you do with excellence - reaching to your highest possible potential to pull it off. This is what it takes to become successful.

What's interesting is if you do this, you end up finding opportunities that come out of the blue. They just appear without actually being forced in any way, allowing you to then develop "systems" which can be used to elevate your work to a new level.

It's these systems which end up being the hallmark of an entrepreneur - having the insight to create *new* systems gives you the ability to continue on your upwards spiral. It's also where the "best" entrepreneurs begin to shine - they typically are dogged enough to understand that putting a "system" out into the world is - by far - the most important aspect to achieving growth in life. This is where the "grit" element comes from.

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7 Simple Steps to Weather Any Economic Storm

When the US economy gets bad, we all feel the pinch. However, some parts of our population feel the pinch harder than others. For example, many senior citizens live on a fixed income consisting of Social Security, small pensions and investment income. For these people, even small changes in costs of food or medicines can take a huge toll on their financial fitness. Listed below are 7 simple steps that everyone can take to improve their financial condition and put themselves in a better position to weather upcoming economic storms.

1) Save more money. I know, this sounds simple and common sense tells us to always have some savings for a "rainy day". However, most people make the mistake of not saving enough. As a general rule of thumb, you should have no less than two months worth of expenses saved in cash (savings account, CD, checking, etc.). For some people, the amount of savings will need to be higher. Putting money into your savings should be a routine part of your financial habits. Make it a point to put a standard amount away every month. For example, have your bank automatically transfer $100 to your savings account each month. Do not take from this account unless you have an emergency!

2) Spend less. This tends to be the hardest change that people have to make. Spending money makes us feel good and we all like that. However, when spending gets out of control we can find ourselves in a hopelessly deep hole that may take some serious cuts to get out of. It is much easier to make small spending "adjustments" along the way. For example, instead of spending $3 each day for that gourmet coffee, simply make a small pot at home for about $0.70. There are many small coffee brewers available that make excellent coffee and buying in bulk saves a lot of money! Another way to spend less is to look for loyalty clubs that pass along savings to the members. I am a member of one such club at my local grocer. Each week there are two or more pages of special purchases only available to members of the loyalty club--and it costs nothing to join! I save tons of money with that.

3) Diversify investments. I have written entire articles on this in the past but it bears repeating here. If you are a senior citizen, you most likely should not be invested 100% in the stock market. Most seniors that I work with need to produce income from their portfolio to supplement their other retirement income sources. In order to give their investment portfolio the best chance of surviving an economic downturn, we use various combinations of stocks, bonds, cash, annuities and alternative investments. Unfortunately, this is an area where many people just do not have the expertise (or courage) necessary to properly identify investment choices that are right for them. You may need to seek the advice of a qualified professional. A fee-only advisor does not accept commissions and therefore has no financial incentive to place you in one investment over another. Go a bit further and seek a fee-only advisor with a credential like the CFP mark. (http://www.cfp.net) A good advisor can pay for themselves many times over and this is money well spent!

4) Negotiate. Practically everything is negotiable these days. Everyone knows that big ticket items are negotiable like cars and homes. But I have personally found success in negotiating the cost of everyday items like trash pickup, newspaper delivery, satellite TV and phone service. You might be surprised that you can reduce the costs of some of these items by as much as 50% or more with a simple phone call. You may have to threaten to cancel your service (which you should do if you can get the service cheaper somewhere else) in order to get the lower price. After all, the service provider had rather be making some money from your account than to lose your business all together. Trust me on this one and make some calls today!

5) Be more efficient. There are some clear ways to be more efficient like running all of your errands early in the morning rather than spacing them out throughout the day and keeping your car tires properly inflated. You should also have a programmable thermostat installed in your home. These devices can save you hundreds of dollars each year by carefully controlling the climate in your home for optimal comfort and savings. Additionally, only run other appliances like the dishwasher or washing machine/dryer when you have a full load. Also try not to run any household appliances during the summer peak energy consumption hours of 11AM to 3PM. My local municipality charges over 30% more for electric power during these hours. Be sure to have your windows and doors checked for leaks at least one per year. A $3 tube of latex caulk is a solid investment for making your home more efficient.

6) Pay off debt. Credit card debt is especially burdensome during rough economic times. Your interest rate can go up, your credit line can be cut or both. This goal has to be balanced with saving but it can be done. Adding another $25 to your monthly credit card payment can significantly speed up the payback period. When it is all paid off, don't close or cancel the account because that may hurt your credit rating. Instead, remove the card from your wallet and leave it in a safe place in your home so that you will not be tempted to use it for impulse purchases.

7) Volunteer. Many studies have shown that people spend more money when they are unhappy or unfulfilled. Likewise, the same studies show that people who feel happy and content spend less money on impulse items. Volunteering in your community is a great (and free) way to boost your morale and feel better about yourself. Doing something for others pays dividends to the community in big ways. Your local animal shelter, homeless center or church can always use additional volunteers. This opportunity also provides you with time to interact with other people who have similar interests as yours. You might even pick up some tips on how to save money!

There are many more ways to prepare for the next financial crisis. If you feel like you are unable to do these things, seek professional help. Referrals from friends or relatives is a good place to start but always be sure to check up on any advice giver especially if they charge a fee or earn a commission from their activity.

Todd Fields, CFP is an expert in the fields of financial planning and investment management. He is founder and President of Trusted Wealth Management, Inc. serving senior citizens and retirees in the Atlanta, GA area. He can be reached via his website at [http://www.trustedwealthmanagement.com] or via e-mail at todd@trustedwealthmanagement.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Todd_Fields/687623
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5 Things To Know Before You Start A Blog

Today, anyone can start a blog in a couple of minutes. Basically, a blog is an effective marketing tools that can help you generate a good deal of money if done the right way. However, if you want to be good at it, know that you need to choose and walk on the right path. Given below are a few tips that you should know prior to going on this adventure.

It takes lots of time and effort

First of all, make sure you know why you are going to start a blog. What is your purpose? Do you want to start a blog just to make money online? If this is what you want out of your blog, know that it won't be the right path to take.

For earning money on the internet, blogging is one of the hardest methods. The reason is that writing blog posts on a regular basis takes a good deal of time and effort. It may cause disappointment if you publish something and no one reads it. Immediate results should not be expected.

Blogging is not free

Although you can choose Tumblr, Medium, Blogger and WordPress to host your blog for free, know that you will have to lack of control and a lot of limitations.

If you need a customized web address, more storage, better design and other features, you may want to opt for a self-hosted WordPress blog. The cost of domain and the hosting will be around $100 per year, which is not a big deal.

Choose your niche

Once you have decided to move on, you may want to choose a niche first. What you need to do is a choose that you are interested in. Aside from this, make sure that the one you are going to choose can help you stand yourself from the crowd as there are numerous blogs in each niche.

One important thing that you should do when choosing a niche is to define your audience first. Aside from this, you need to consider your concerns, interests and needs as well.


Content is King

If you want to maintain or raise your traffic, know that the content is really important. You don't have to publish tons of posts every day. One or two are enough, but make sure each post is high quality, which means it should offer something valuable to the readers.

If the readers are able to solve a problem by reading your posts, know that they will bookmark your pages and will get back again for more information.

Know basic SEO

If you have got the hang of basic SEO techniques, know that they can prove really effective in helping you get traffic for your blog. For growth, you need to get organic traffic for your web pages and SEO can help you do just that.

Conclusion

Nowadays, you can start your own blog within minutes. However, keep in mind that blogging may not work for everyone out there. Most new comers leave this field within a few days or weeks. At first, it will be harder to create content but you will get used to it with time. So, you have to have patience and wait for your blog to generate traffic and money.

Are you going to start your own blog? This can be a great idea provided you know how to start a blog the right way. The Blogging Buddha can help you with this.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Shalini_Madhav/2396631
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Why Trading As a Home Business Is the Best Option

At one point or another, we all dreamed of leaving our 9-5 job to have our own business. I had 2 very successful business in my lifetime. One as a college student selling handbags and women's accessories, which led me to leave college because I was making more doing that business than I would graduating from college. The second business was owning and distributing coin-operated video games. I started that business after a very successful US Federal Government career that took me all the way to Washington DC. Even with all the success that I had as a Budget Director at the Secretary's level, I still believe that nothing compares to running your own business.

Both my businesses relied on customer acquisition. Without customers, there was no business. That is true with any business that relies on selling services or products.

Online businesses are no different. Whether you run a blog or have a Shopify account or sell through Amazon or eBay, you will need customers. You may read about SEO rankings, Pay Per Cick ads, or Google AdSense among others. You may also want to try to acquire customers through YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or any other of the many social media outlets available today. Whichever way you decide to promote your business, you will need customers not only to "follow" you, but, more importantly, to buy your product(s).

Hence, enter trading as a home business. With trading, all you need is to do is learn and master a set of skills. You don't need to rely on social media or Pay Per Clicks to make your money. All you need to do is rely on your ability to make money trading by following some simple rules.

Trading has never been easier than it is today. Computers have taken some of the mystique of trading away. There are many automated solutions available today that can make even the most inexperienced trader a successful trader if they follow the simple rules outlined by the software. There are even fully automated software aka robots aka Expert Advisors that will execute your trades for you making trading a totally hands-free business.

Forex has the biggest number of automated solutions in the market today. For that reason, these solutions are available at much lower prices ($200-$600) than their counterparts in the stock, e-minis, and commodity markets. When you consider the cost of just setting up a website for your business versus the cost of an Expert Advisor in Forex, to me the choice was not only obvious, but easy. The added benefit is that after acquiring your Expert Advisor(s), you don't have to worry about acquiring customers to start making profits, but rather immediately start making profits instead.

As a business owner, I can say that trading is, without a doubt, a more appealing option to me. I now work/trade to live instead of live to work. I love spending time with my family and being able to trade/do my business from anywhere in the world. Through trading, me and my family are living the life we dreamed off a few years back. You can live that life too.

I wish you success in any endeavor you choose to embark.

Next... My life long passion is to educate investors like you on how to have a successful career trading. Sign up now to my blog and instantly get your copy of the Understanding The Myths Of Market Trends And Patterns E-Book.! It is absolutely free to join here http://click.forextraders.blog/ebook

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