Joke-The Bad Conductor

A man is working on the buses in the US collecting tickets.
He rings the bell for the driver to set off when a woman got

on the bus. The driver sets off, the woman falls from the bus

and gets killed. At the trial the man was sent down for murder

and was then sent to the electric chair.
On the day of his execution he sat in the chair and the

executioner granted him a final wish.

"Well" says the man, "Is that your packed lunch over there?"

"Yes" answers the executioner. "Can I have that green banana?"

The executioner gives the man his green banana and waits till

he finished it. When the man finished, the executioner flips

the switch sending hundreds of thousands of volts through the

man. When the smoke clears the man is still alive. The

executioner can't believe it.

"Can I go?" the man asks. "I suppose so" says the executioner,

"That has never happened before."

The man leaves and eventually gets a job back on the buses

selling tickets. Again he rings the bell for the driver to go

when people are still getting on. A man falls under the wheels

and is killed.

The bloke was sent down for murder again and was again sent to

the electric chair. The executioner is determined to do it

right this time so he rigs the chair up to the electric

supply.
The bloke again sat in the chair. "What is your final wish?"

asks the executioner. "Can I have that green banana in your

packed lunch?" says the condemned man. The executioner sighs

and reluctantly gives up his banana.

The bloke eats the banana and the executioner flips the

switch. Millions of volts coursed through the chair blacking

out Texas. When the smoke cleared, the man was still sitting

there smiling in the chair. The executioner could not believe

it and had to let the man go again.

The bloke gets his job back on the buses. Once again he rings

the bell whilst passengers were still getting on, this time

killing three of them. He was sent to the electric chair

again.

The executioner rigs up all United States electricity supply

to The chair, determined to get the man this time. The man

sits down in the chair smiling.

"What's your final wish?" asks the executioner. "Well" says

the man, "Can I have that green banana out of your packed

lunch?" The executioner hands over his banana and the man eats

it all, skin included.

The executioner pulls the handle and a brazillion volt goes

through the chair. When the smoke rose the man was still

sitting there alive without even a burn mark.

"I give up" says the executioner, "I don't understand how you

can still be alive after all that?" "Is it something to do

with that green banana?" he asked.

"Nahh" said the bloke, "This is all because I'm just a really

bad conductor."

Enjoy the Jokes

1. Wife: Yesterday I saw a very beautiful girl.
Husband: Then what happened?
Wife: I just kept on admiring her, on and on..
Husband (gets irritated): WHAT happened then?
Wife smiled and said: I moved away from the mirror!

2. A mother took her little boy to church.
While in church the little boy said, "Mommy, I have to pee."

The mother said to the little boy, "It’s not appropriate to
say the word 'pee’ in church. So, from now on whenever you
have to 'pee’ just tell me that you have to 'whisper’."
The following Sunday, the little boy went to church with his

father and during the service said to his father, "Daddy, I
have to whisper."

The father looked at him and said, "Okay, just whisper in my
ear."

Your Business Image: Ten Ways to Build and Market It

Marketing strategies to build your business brand.

Building a business image is not something invented by a public relations firm: It's a reflection of what you do and how you do it. Marketing your business brand means running a first-rate business and letting people know about it. Every action your company takes sends a marketing message.

When most people think about letting the world know about their business, they imagine a clever ad. But advertising is one of the most expensive and least effective forms of marketing. After all, why broadcast your message to many uninterested members of the public, when you can address people who have a demonstrated interest in what you do, merely by creating a strong referral system?

To begin learning how to market your business effectively, check out this list of tactics.

1. Make it look good.

Creating a solid, strong physical impression lends credibility to your business and invites customers in, whether you have a store front, a brochure, or a website. You'll want to suit your look to the type of business you have. An accountant's office should be well-organized and tastefully decorated with business furniture. A dog groomer might choose a whimsical design with bright colors and fun murals on the wall.

2. Create a website.

A simple website is relatively inexpensive and can work wonders in terms of drawing people to your business or telling them more about who you are and what you do. Be sure to create a professional look and feel, one that suits your business, and take care to optimize your site for search engines.For more information, see Get Your Business Online.

3. Create straightforward, easy-to-understand pricing. You'd be surprised how many businesses use a complicated pricing structure -- and try to hide their prices from their customers. Streamline your pricing and make it clear, especially if you run a service business. Exactly how much can your customers expect to pay for which services? A pricing menu is often a good idea.

4. Encourage personal recommendations.

The single best way to get new customers is through personal recommendations. Why? Because almost nothing is as powerful as an endorsement from a friend or relative (and because it's free). Or you can consider rewarding customers for referrals. For example, a hairdresser might give a client who has referred a friend half off her next cut. For more ideas on attracting customers, see A Marketing Strategy for Every Business.

5. Maintain good employee relations.

The people who work for you can be strong assets to your marketing strategy. Employees who love their jobs and believe in your business will not only display/wear/use your merchandise or services, they will also recommend you to their friends and families. Treat them right, and they could be the foundation of your personal recommendations web.

6. Use the press. It always helps to get a little PR -- and you don't need to hire an expensive firm to do it. If you can come up with a newsworthy angle on your business (for instance, your grand opening, your "story," what you offer that's different), you can write a simple press release and send it to local publications.

7. Do a referral exchange.

If there's a related business you find yourself referring clients to, or have a business referring clients to you, set up an exchange. Place brochures or cards at the other business's office (or store), and display their marketing materials in your place of business. Examples of successful referral exchanges are those between chiropractors and massage therapists, dentists and orthodontists, and financial planners and tax preparers.

8. List creatively and widely.

Unlike advertising, listing your business is usually low-cost or free, and it's a great way to draw people to your business. Make sure to list in the obvious places, such as the Yellow Pages and Chamber of Commerce, and find some not-so-obvious places to list as well. For example, does your city have a website where parents make referrals about services for their children? Does a nonprofit organization in your area have a listing of businesses with good environmental and social practices? Get on as many lists as you can.

9. Maintain a customer database.

A customer who used your business once will likely use it again (assuming that the customer had a good experience). Keeping an existing customer database to mail or email promotions to is much less expensive than acquiring a new one. Maintain a database with your customers' contact information, and ask customers whether they'd like to be on your mailing list to receive special offers. A direct mail campaign is much more successful when targeted to existing customers who have opted in to the mailing list.

10. Make a marketing plan.

Draw up a marketing plan. A formal plan should outline your mission, and include an analysis of your market and your competitors, your marketing objectives, and marketing ideas: How do you intend to market your business? Will you use a referral program? A website? Issue press releases? Also, outline your marketing budget, set specific performance goals, and determine how and when you'll meet them. Check back regularly to track your progress

Permanent Affiliate Program

Permanent Affiliate Program

Affiliate Program online is a sustained, step by step focussed daily activity in internet to be practiced with patience. It is not a "sprint" and it pays passively forever. Most of the people who take up Affiliate Program struggle and get dejected and lose interest. How to overcome this?

When most of the programs are being promoted successfully by affiliates, why is that you don't get listed alongwith them? Every day, I write in my scribbling pad, at the end of the day as to what all the actions that I did for the day to promote a product. Once you list out all the items, possibly you will find that you might have made some repetitive mistakes that upon analysis, can be improved.

Acceptance of Digital Trade

The continued growth of internet trade is due to the fact that it is widely accepted to digitally sell and buy. The payment method to close trade by digital money transmission has turned the trade activity fast and simple. Internet payment system, payment terminals, improvement in security of payment avoiding credit card theft or secret information threat, etc., has made internet purchase more and more popular and convenient for the users. One example like buying a pizza over internet and the conventional methods saves lot of time. Every time saved is money.

I was keep on wasting time on sending ads every day to websites that were not productive. So, I started to use classified ads once in 20 days to register and allow it to run. Earlier, I was placing ads almost daily in many classified ad sites which were killing my time and effort.

Some spend too much of their precious time by inadvertantly clicking or sending information through forms to have them captured to some autoresponders. They get practically nothing and keep on receiving junk messages through a time frame and none of the autoresponder mail is going to give them a sound idea or tip of anything except asking them to buy a product. They annoy you as much as your patience run out of steam. Almost all autoresponders will only sell their product eventually and are never bothered to buy from you. So, if you are a seller, never accept an autoresponder message as they don't help your cause. Or learn how to respond to autoresponders that will never dare to waste your time.

Saving time by not doing unnecessary activity saves money in the background. Instead use those times to do good activity by following up with leads and prospects, create friendship to like minded people and discuss methods to improve your effort. Do not participate in so many programs that you cannot able to handle. Choose your program perfectly and choose a company whose profit is totally generated by Affiliates, stick to them for a long term and promote them continuously. It is not a sprint that you do something and get its result over night. It is a gradual effort with patience, determination and focus. Never give up. Another method is "Multi-tasking" which is a great method to save lot of money. Every internet marketer is to learn the art of multi-tasking to produce effective results. Multi-tasking is nothing but two or three tasks in one time. For example, your computer is capable of printing, browsing and virus scanning all done in one time. Imagine why computer is fast, is because it performs many tasks faster in one time.

To do it perfectly, there are some steps and you follow it judiciously. The first step is to select a company who care more for the Affiliates. Understand the company's ethics and reputation. It took one year for me to find out a solid company who have the ability to pay a great income when you stick to them for a period of two years. James Jonathan earns in excess of $20,000 every month in a company as affiliates commission. It took 24 months of sustained effort for him to make his first $500! At the end of the third year, his monthly income is excess of $20,000! He was noting all his activities in a daily journal and discarding the ones which brings no return and adding new activities that are better and saving his valuable time by not doing unwanted stuff.

I had done the most important exercise of choosing a company and by trusting my effort, you can save a valuable one year effort! That is SFI International. The vital part of undertaking is to position yourself with a perfect team, who like you is willing to share and enjoy success collectively. You can join SFI through my affiliate link and be under my downline to get all the help.

Why SFI International?

SFI is a proven Affiliate Marketing Company which is run by Affiliates.
SFI's profit is solely dependent on Affiliate action and force.
SFI reward the right type of affiliates and their method eliminates good and bad seamlessly.
SFI has in excess of 30,000 products that can be sold internationally.
SFI has the best education tools that help even novice to become top class affiliates.
SFI allows you to produce your own product and helps you to sell your own stuff.
SFI helps build your own passive checks.
SFI helps you to earn royalty checks.

Join one single company, stick to it, position yourself, the rewards will be realized by sustained passive checks for your life. You must be determined to achieve this and not give up. Whenever you have problems or confusions, you must get in touch with your upline sponsors and find a solution. When you do not interact, your confusions will continue to be unanswered and unsolved conondrum.

Thanks to Author : Siv Vaidhyanathan

What is a Marketing Plan?

Think of a your marketing plan as a roadmap. Your marketing plan outlines specific actions that you will take to market your product or service potential customers. These actions work to persuade these potential customers to purchase your products or services.

Your marketing plan does not need to be long and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to complete. Marketing plans can be a part of your overall business plan or as a singular document. If you think of it as your "roadmap" that will provide you with detailed directions on how to reach your marketing goals.

It's important to research before completing your marketing plan, by doing so it will help you in staying organized so that you are able to achieve your goals. A thorough marketing plan will detail what you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy and assist you in meeting your goals.

A marketing plan will achieve the following objectives:

• Enables companies to look internally in order to fully understand the impact and the results of past marketing decisions.
• Equips companies to look externally in order to fully understand the market that it targets and the competition in that space.
• Set future goals and provide direction for future marketing initiatives. The goals should be understood and supported by everyone with the company's organization.

Your marketing plan should include the following:

• Summary and Introduction
  The summary and introduction is a quick overview of the main points of the plan. It should be a synopsis of what you have done, what you plan to do, and how you are going to get there.
  
  
• Marketing Objectives
  This section will define your marketing objectives. These objectives should be based on understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and the business environment in which you operate in. They should also be linked to your overall business strategy. It's not uncommon and is often beneficial to focus on specific targeted segments that you will be marketing to.
  
  
• Situation Analysis
  Your situation analysis details the context for your marketing efforts. In this section you will take a close look at the internal and external factors that will influence your marketing strategy, this is called a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis combines the external and internal analysis to summarize your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
  
  
• Target Markets
  The concept of target markets is one of the most basic, yet most important aspects of marketing. There is no such thing as the a "one message" fits all marketing message. It is unrealistic to think that you can attract everyone. Defining your target market or segmenting your market helps you decide where to commit resources and what kinds of promotional methods and messages to use.
  
  
• Strategies
  Strategies are action steps that detail how the marketing variables of product, price, place and promotion are used to attain the marketing plan’s objectives and overall strategies.
  
  
• Tracking and Evaluation
  This section of your plan should include plans and procedures for tracking each type of marketing activity you are using. Tracking helps monitor the effectiveness of each marketing activity and is especially helpful with your overall program evaluation. If you are not tracking you are not marketing

The competing arguments used to explain the riots

Many theories have been posited about the underlying causes of the riots in England - from moral decay to excessive consumerism. Here two criminologists give their views on some of the arguments.

Welfare dependence

Sir Max Hastings, in an article for the Daily Mail, focused on "a perverted social ethos, which elevates personal freedom to an absolute, and denies the underclass the discipline - tough love - which alone might enable some of its members to escape from the swamp of dependency in which they live".
There is a culture of entitlement in the UK, says David Wilson, professor of criminology at Birmingham City University and a former prison governor.
"But it's not just about the underclass - it's about politicians, it's about bankers, it's about footballers.
"It's not just about a particular class, it permeates all levels of society. When we see politicians claiming for flat-screen TVs and getting jailed for fiddling their expenses, it's clear that young people of all classes aren't being given appropriate leadership."

Social exclusion

Writing in the Independent, Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh blamed a society in which the "established community is perceived to provide nothing... It's not one occasional attack on dignity, it's a repeated humiliation, being continuously dispossessed in a society rich with possession".
Studies do suggest that living in areas of social deprivation could be a factor, says Marian FitzGerald, visiting professor of criminology at the University of Kent.
"But the socially excluded are not always the ones who are rioting - in fact they are often the ones who are most vulnerable to riots. We need a better thought-out approach rather than just using social exclusion as an excuse."

Lack of fathers

According to Cristina Odone of the Daily Telegraph, the riots could be traced back to a lack of male role models: "Like the overwhelming majority of youth offenders behind bars, these gang members have one thing in common: no father at home."
"I brought up two boys on my own," says Prof FitzGerald. "Yes, there are some issues about where boys get a positive sense of masculinity from when they don't have anyone in the home to give it. But if you have a stable family set-up then these kids can still be very high-achieving."

Spending cuts

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Labour's candidate for London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, suggested that austerity measures were responsible: "If you're making massive cuts, there's always the potential for this sort of revolt against that."
It's too soon to say this, Prof FitzGerald says. "The full implementation of the cuts to local authority services that will have the biggest impact on these areas will not be fully felt until next year.
"However, it may be that because there's been so much talk about police spending cuts, the rioters may have internalised the message that they're less likely to be caught."

Weak policing

In a leader, the Sun newspaper said it was "crazy" that water cannon was not available to officers, and that parliament "must not be squeamish" about the use of tear gas and baton rounds.
There has also been discussion about the impact of the fall-out from criticism of policing during the G20 protests in London in 2009. Some commentators have suggested officers might be afraid of taking on the rioters directly for fear of legal action.
It may have made some difference if the rioters had been more immediately engaged with a more robust form of policing, says Prof Wilson.
"Several of the rioters who were interviewed clearly enjoyed the feeling of being powerful. They were encouraged to feel that the cities in which they were misbehaving belonged to them.
"However, I don't think that has anything to do with political correctness. What has characterised British justice over the past 25-30 years is the large numbers of young people we have sent to prison compared with our European neighbours."

Racism

Violence began in Tottenham on Saturday after the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man. Christina Patterson of the Independent said the race factor could not be overlooked: "Too many black men have been killed by the police. Too many black men and women have been treated like criminals when they're not. This is not the cause of these riots, but it's there in the mix."
Police shootings are very rare, Prof FitzGerald notes.
"According to IPCC reports in the last three years there have only been seven and all of those - including the shooting of Raoul Moat - were of white people.
"The Met police has seen huge changes in attitude since the Macpherson report. That said, its use of section 60 stop-and-search powers disproportionately brought normally law-abiding young black people in particular into potentially confrontational encounters with the police.
"However, this is not true of many of the other police forces who are now facing similar threats to public order - so it cannot be used as any sort of excuse."

Gangsta rap and culture

Paul Routledge of the Daily Mirror blamed "the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs".
It's certainly clear that gang culture is a real phenomenon, says Prof Wilson.
"I once interviewed a boy who said 'just because I like the music doesn't mean I agree with the lyrics', which is true," says Prof FitzGerald. "But it may be a factor when it comes to those who may be particularly susceptible."

Consumerism

"These are shopping riots, characterised by their consumer choices," insisted Zoe Williams of the Guardian. She added: "This is what happens when people don't have anything, when they have their noses constantly rubbed in stuff they can't afford, and they have no reason ever to believe that they will be able to afford it."
In studies of street crime, this has been shown to be a factor, says Prof FitzGerald.
"But with the recent riots, I'm not so sure - in the context of looting, it's about taking what you can. As well as mobile phones and clothes, there were plenty stealing petty things like sweets and cans of beer."

Opportunism

"As more and more people became embroiled in the riots, others have been tempted to join them, confident that one unexceptional individual in a sea of hundreds is unlikely to be caught or to face retribution," according to Carolina Bracken writing in the Irish Times.
This is credible, says Prof Wilson. "Opportunism, mixed with a sense of being in a big gang, will have enticed many who wouldn't necessarily do something like this normally.
"Also significant is the feeling of invulnerability because they are part of something so big. Also linked to this is the feeling of doing something transgressive and feeling powerful in a culture where they don't have much power.

Technology and social networking

"Social media and other methods have been used to organise these levels of greed and criminality," Steve Kavanagh, the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, told reporters.
This is an under-explored phenomenon, suggests Prof Wilson.
"For years we've been aware of gangs and football hooligans have been using technology to get together and fight. I think the police have been quite slow to respond to this.
"But as we know, mobile phones can also be used to counteract criminality and to an extent I think that's something the police prefer to downplay."

5 Strategies Most Successful Businesses Use Online

Most successful businesses found online typically share certain characteristics insofar as the strategies they use. Their basic philosophy is built around the attitude of taking action when and where needed with minimal hesitation. However marketing an online business also involves the use of a good deal of strategic thinking so that the actions taken proved to be as productive as possible! The bottom line is marketing success on the internet calls for the need to think fast and move even faster.
Here are 5 basic strategies commonly used when marketing an online business that seem to yield successful results for many time and again!

Apply Initiative

Avoid duplicating the 'cookie cutter' approach when possibly if the opportunity to customize a something is available to you! Do not select any approaches or strategies based upon how simple they may be to apply when marketing an online business. In most cases there are always ways to tweak or improve that which is already in existence. By doing so you are already distancing yourself from the crowd!

Keyword Selection

Most suggest or are proponents of selecting keywords for their business that are NOT highly searched upon since they are deemed to be too competitive. Well keyword use is for the sake of generating traffic, right? It would seem that those words and phrases that reflect the greatest search results would also bring you the most traffic and therefore more marketing success as well! Using these words and phrases for traffic generation would seem fine, just avoid trying to rank a website or blog using them since these results may take longer!

Watch the Crowd, Go in the Opposite Direction

Although success does leave footprints, use the accomplishments of others as a source for developing new ideas and/or concepts! The key to marketing an online business successfully is to have something that stands out from the pack. You can still be different while employing the same principles others have used in the past that gave then great results! It would only stand to reason that if 'everybody' is doing the same thing it will be harder for you to compete!

Forget the Small Stuff

Avoid the temptation of getting too hung up in small and insignificant details! It is absolutely vital to move beyond the planning stages if marketing success is to be yours and this requires taking action! Planning is great and obviously needed however unless active measures are taken to implement your plan nothing will never happen, period!

Fear Not Failure

Do not ever allow a fear of failure keep you from taking action since you will NEVER learn anything new nor will you succeed at most anything. Just about everything you do or have done in life initially presented some type of learning curve which meant the chance you may not get it right the first time! By allowing this fear to hold you back you are cheating yourself out of new experiences, accomplishments and of course the opportunity to learn something new! Failing is learning so get that straight and fear it no more!

Most successful businesses realize the need for taking a more individualized approach in order to set themselves apart from their competitors. This approach encompasses not only those strategies used for marketing an online business but also personal philosophies and attitudes as well. By keeping a focus on their primary goals and avoiding becoming entangled in details and personal fears marketing success becomes easier to achieve! The 5 simple strategies offered above serve to show how practicing a little initiative and not sweating the small stuff when marketing an online business makes you more productive! In the end it all depends upon your ability to shed your inhibitions allowing you to be more decisive when taking action in order to grow your business successfully!

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina.
For more tips about what most successful businesses do to gain an edge and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques for your online marketing needs simply visit: http://affiliatequickstart.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=TJ_Philpott

Swom Bomb

Advertising Materials

Advertising has evolved into a vastly complex form of communication, with literally thousands of different ways for a business to get a message to the consumer. It could be said that cave paintings in some way represented the first forms of advertising, although the earliest recognized version of what we know as advertising was done on papyrus by the Egyptians. And in Pompeii, the ruins suggest that advertising was commonplace.

However, today the advertiser has a vast array of choices. The Internet alone provides many of these, with the advent of branded viral videos, banners, advertorials, sponsored websites, branded chat rooms and so much more.

Fortunately, every single tactic available to the advertiser falls into one of the following buckets. Although a few of these are relatively new to the field, most go way back to the very beginnings of modern advertising.

Print Advertising

If an advertisement is printed on paper, be it newspapers, magazines, newsletters, booklets, flyers, direct mail, or anything else that would be considered a portable printed medium, then it comes under the banner of print advertising.

Guerrilla Advertising

Also known as ambient media, guerrilla advertising (or marketing) has become prominent over the last 20 years. It is a broadly used term for anything unconventional, and usually invites the consumer to participate or interact with the piece in some way. Location is important, as is timing. The driving forces behind guerrilla advertising or marketing are creative ideas and innovation, not a large budget. Quite often, you will ask for forgiveness rather than permission with these campaigns, and they will spread via word of mouth and social media.

Broadcast Advertising

A mass-market form of communication including television and radio, broadcast advertising has, until recently, been the most dominant way to reach a large number of consumers.

Outdoor Advertising

Also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising, this is a broad term that describes any type of advertising that reaches the consumer when he or she is outside of the home.

Public Service Advertising

Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements (PSA) are primarily designed to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service.

4 Tips to Becoming an Outrageously Cool Entrepreneur

The reason why I am talking about being an entrepreneur is that we are actually in car heading up to Saint Louis and I am going to meet David Siteman Garland who has the website The Rise to The Top. He has awesome video blog, he has got some great shows, and is a soon to be an author. He just really inspired me which is obvious since we are on the way to Saint Louis on a Wednesday. So I am taking time of work but I am going to meet him and get inspired by him and some of the people he has been inspired by. I am going to share some of my tips and some of my experiences of being an entrepreneur and hope that you get something out of it.

1. Follow Your Passion (and mean it)

So the first tip that I will share with you is that if you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to follow your passion. You have to find out what that is. For me, I have been a numbers guy for pretty much of my life so it is natural fit to get into investments.

I did not consider myself to be an entrepreneur until ‘O7 and when I left my previous firm and me and 3 others started Alliance Investment Planning Group. That was my first taste of being an entrepreneur. Then I started my blog Goodfinancialcents.com and right now I am also working on my book and some of other projects. That first step really gave me the entrepreneur bug. If you don’t want to do numbers is not your thing then you don’t need to be in my profession. You need to find out what your passion is, follow your passion and just crush it. You might start down path and maybe your path changes. That’s OK. That is the beauty of being an entrepreneur. You have to shift and be agile enough to move on to the next thing.

2. Dive Right In

The second step that I will say is dive right in. I have a lot of people, I talked to them that if they want to be an entrepreneur?

They talk about being an entrepreneur and all they do is just talk. If you are going to do it, you can talk about that all day long but until you actually take that first step, until you put yourself out there, you will never going to know what it is and if you have what it takes. That was with us when we stepped out and started our own firm. It was a huge risk. We had a big name behind us and we just let that go.

We took a huge step.

I was lucky in the sense that I had a good client base already but it did not mean that it had to follow me. So that was a huge risk and one of the best risk that I have taken.

Another risk was I put myself with the blog. I read an article in early part of O8 about blogging and how you need to have a blog. I have no idea what a blog was. I am sure if you read this at the site. My interpretation of blog was getting on my space and hearing hip hop music and looking pictures of people, I really did not get it. I started just reading and researching and looking at blogs. It took me months to figure out. Lot of late nights, giving some time from weekends to learn the blog and just don’t ride in. Have I not done it, I still not be talking about it. Here it is almost two years later, the blog is an awesome thing. First thing is follow your passion and second thing is dive right in.

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3. Cut Out The Crap

Third thing is cut out the crap. What I mean by this was that I was listening to a podcast of someone that was a consulting another individual that wanted to be an entrepreneur. They could never set up the time because the guy, the “wannabe” entrepreneur, could not schedule the time because he did not want to miss the show Wipeout. He couldn’t schedule his consulting session to take him to the next level because he couldn’t workout the time that didn’t allow him to miss Wipeout. Really?

If you are an entrepreneur (or want to become one), you can miss Wipeout. So cut out the crap. If you watch hours of reality television per week, cut it out. Any other noise, just cut it out because this is your dream, this is your passion. If you really want to do it then you need to focus 150% or 1050% whatever, put everything into it and that’s the way that you grow. That’s the way you build your dream and your vision.

4. Support Please

Last thing I say is all about the support system. Two things. One is having an awesome spouse that is going to support you throughout the whole process. Somebody holding a video cam while you are a driving a car is awesome. So having that to support you and motivate you and sometime may be even second guess and ask, “hey is that a really a good idea?’ This may be that your driving force to push it hard and to really show that person that YES this is my vision and this is my dream and I’m going pull it off no matter what it takes.

The other thing is to surround yourself by people who have similar drive and that have similar vision. If you have friends who are always just complaining about having hard times to make ends meet but then they are not doing anything about it. I am not saying to cut them out but just cut and reduce that time because if you go out and you start showing them that hey this is me, and you are fired up and super motivated eventually I hope that you will be contagious.

Cut these people out of your life and have people that have the similar vision. That is one of the reason that I am heading towards Saint Louis to meet David Siteman Garland. I met him on twitter. This guy got such huge followers in a short period of time. This guy knows what is going on. I am going there and hope that I will meet some great people that have similar vision, similar drive and similar passion. So find those people. I had the hardest time finding people locally, I will say that I found more lately. If you are having hard time finding someone locally that have same vision, same drive then head online. Start a blog, go on twitter, find people that have similar interest you do and you will be amazed. David is one of the 100 people I found online that just have “it”.

Entrepreneur Recap

So just as a recap if you really want to become an entrepreneur to make your dream your vision blossom what you want it to see. Number 1 is find your passion, find what it is that gets you going because if it is your passion it will not be a job, It will be a hobby a fun hobby. Number two is dive right in. Just dive right in and then you learn so much. With blogging, I did not know anything about it but I just said that I am going to do it and I am going to figure it out as I go. Sure enough I did that. There were a lot of trials but it all worked out. Number three is cut out the crap. Cut out television, cut out things, the basic takeaways of putting time and energies to focus. Last thing is have a good support system. So this is Jeff Rose goodfinancialcents.com. Thanks for bearing with us and I hope that you enjoyed it.

Conducting Market Research

Prior to the launch of any new product, companies engage in exhaustively thorough market research in order to gauge its probability of success. If your subjects are properly selected, you can gain valuable information that may allow you to better temper your product for the intended target audience. What are your considerations prior to starting market research?

Demographics of your target geographical area – are you targeting the right region?
Price range and profit margin – will you make enough money from each sale?
Intended production volume – if you intend to take a higher volume approach, do you have the facilities to back it up?
Age range, marital status, family – do you have a detailed sketch of your ideal customer in mind?
Income and Lifestyle range – how much money will your average customer make?
Males, females or both – which sex are you focused on?
Seasonal, cyclical nature of your product – is your product marketable year-round or only on certain occasions?




Photo by Ramotion

These may be bewildering questions at first. However, a well-run company should have a marketing manager to coordinate appropriate market research with a marketing researcher. The researcher and the manager define the objectives to be attained through the research.

A well known acronym in the world of marketing research is “DECIDE”, which is a quick way to remember the steps of research.

Define the marketing problem
Enumerate the decision factors
Collect relevant information
Identify the best alternatives
Develop and implement a marketing plan
Evaluate the final decision
The marketing team should then develop the plan and outline the costs, to be presented to the marketing manager for approval.

Now, with an approved market research in place, it’s time to address the two main forms of market research:

What is SWOM?

Swom stands for Super Word-of-Mouth and is a social networking sites for home-businessses that gives you the tools to achieve your financial destiny. These include:

Meet new prospects - thousands of internet marketers meet here - they can be you next customer or Joint-Venture partner!
Create your own group - give exposure of your business or opportunity and meet new customers.
Twitter link - post messages to Twitter directly from Swom - put your marketing on auto-pilot!
Affiliate program - generous 70% payout on commissions in an advanced social networking affiliate program!
Learn as you earn and start building an income from day one. You can earn a full-time income promoting Swom or your own opportunities - with time and dedication you can earn a realistic 4, 5 or even 6-figure sum each and every month!

Tax Issues Related to Your Business

Small businesses must withhold federal income taxes from their employee’s wages and pay them directly to the IRS. The amount depends on the size of the payments, the number of exemptions claimed by each employee, their marital status, and the frequency of the payments. Each employee must complete a W-4 form to determine withholding exemptions.

Employers must also withhold 6.2% of each employee’s income for Social Security and 1.45% of each employee’s income for Medicare, in addition to the matching contribution that the employer makes.

Most employers are also required to pay federal and state unemployment taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

An excise tax is a tax paid for the sale or manufacture of certain commodities. For example, environmental taxes, communications taxes, or fuel taxes could be excise taxes levied on a particular business. Depending on what the business manufactures or sells, some businesses might not be required to pay these at all.

Sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship is a company with only one owner that is not registered with the state as a limited liability company or corporation. The owner does not pay income tax separately for the company, but he/she reports business income or losses on his/her individual income tax return. The owner is inseparable from the sole proprietorship, so he/she is liable for any business debts.

Self-employed or sole proprietors report their taxes through Form 1040 and Schedule C for net profit and loss from their business. Employers are also required to make quarterly estimated tax payments if they expect their business to earn more than $1,000.

Partnerships A partnership is a business, which has one or more owners and that is not a limited liability company or corporation. Partners share equal responsibility for the company’s profits and losses, and its debts and liabilities. The partnership itself does not pay income taxes, but each partner has to report their share of business profits or losses on their individual tax return. Estimated tax payments are also necessary for each of the partners for the year in progress.

Partnerships must file a return on Form 1065 showing income and deductions. Estimated tax payments are also required if they expect their income to be greater than $1,000.

Limited Liability partnerships A limited liability partnership is a business organization that has one or more general partners who manage the business and assume legal debts and obligations, and one or more limited partners who do not participate in the day-to-day operations and are liable only to the extent of their investments. As a limited partner, you share in the profits and losses, and these are taxable events to you. This means that if the partnership makes money at a point in the year and the general partners reinvest those profits instead of paying them to you, you may have to pay taxes even if you do not receive cash in return. Be sure to consult with a tax professional if you participate in a limited partnership.

Terror strikes Mumbai again

After a chilling gap of about two years, terror struck Mumbai on Wednesday evening, killing at least 17 and injuring around 100 people.

The news of three blasts in the densely populated areas near Dadar Railway Station, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House in Central Mumbai reverberated across the city, as office-goers headed home in the evening hours of a rain-drenched day.

The Union Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said: “The number of dead could rise ... this is a coordinated attack by terrorists. There is no indication of any more blasts other than the three reported.”

The National Investigation Agency has been mobilised to assist the Mumbai police, while the city has been put on high alert, he added.

The trickle of news on the blasts sent city residents into a panic, coming as it does within two years of the terror-attack, when 10 gun-men held the city hostage. Six locations were attacked then, and 166 people were killed.

For a city that has witnessed terror, with a chilling regularity of two years in the recent past – the serial blasts brought home a familiar unpleasant reality.

Even the locations of the blast are not new to terror attacks, as Zaveri Bazaar, a diamond-merchant hub, was targeted in 2003, and 54 people were killed.

Mr Jayesh Shah was a diamond merchant and a witness to the blast.

“At 6.45-6.50 p.m., there was a loud noise. Then, there was loud explosion and 30-35 people were found injured on the street and after they rushed the injured to various hospitals.

“The explosion was near a food stall. It was a very congested and small area.”

Dr P.M. Bhujang, Medical Director of Harkishandas Hospital, told Business Line that 23 people have been admitted in the hospital with trauma and injuries, of whom 12 are in serious condition.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, said that 21 ambulances have been despatched and the injured have largely been sent to JJ, Nair and KEM hospitals, in the heart of the city.

As night settled, the island city witnessed deserted roads, with a heavy presence only of the men-in-uniform policing the financial capital.