Multiple Income Streams - Do We Need That?

Multiple Income Streams - Do We Need That? By Cheriyan Thankachen

Lets look at an earning pattern of two individuals A and B. A earns his 100% income from Source1, his only source. B earns in a slightly different pattern. He earns just 1% income from Source1, 1% income from Source2, 1% income from Source3 and so on. In short, B earns his 100% income from 100 different sources.

The possibility of something happening to Source1 or any one source is very high. If this proves true, individual A loses his 100% income. So, from 100 he goes straight to 0. Very scary!. Lets look at B in this case. He loses one source, there’s almost no impact on his income because he has just lost 1%. We may consider a situation where he might lose income from 50 Sources. Nothing to be very concerned because he still has 50% income running in. That’s the beauty and security of having multiple income streams.

Security – Salaried people talk about Job Security. There is no such term as Job Security. You loose a job I bet you will find another one. If not in the same city then another city. If not the same profession another profession. But, you will do whatever you can physically and will find another job. You are and will be able to generate income as long as you are physically doing it. You are directly and totally responsible for your income. That’s called NO SECURITY. Why? Eg. Famous Surgeon. Earning thousands per month. Involved in a small mishap. Fingers fractured. Out of action for say 5 months. Income status. From thousands to zero. No security.

You should be involved in business where your physical involvement is not required to generate income or money. That’s where Network Marketing comes into the picture. Here your income is the result of small efforts put by each and every individual in your network. You are not directly responsible for your income. That’s where you can have Financial Security.

I work for a software company and talk to my colleagues of having multiple incomes. My recent focus is Internet Marketing which is a field on unbelievable rapid growth. I started a blog last month titled Educated Minds which can be found here.

http://educatedminds.blogspot.com

Home Business Marketing: Creating Your Image

Home Business Marketing: Creating Your Image By Mical Johnson

Do First Impressions Make an Impact?

The image you create, your site, your dress, your attitude, your place of business has an enormous impact on your long-term success.

Everything you do, say, write or publish all influences your future customer's perception. The old aphorism is true, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Evaluate your business and personal image and ask yourself a few simple questions:

When a client contacts me, are their issues handled quickly?

Are you and/or your assistant both polite and professional?

Is your voicemail/email system systematized and prompt?

How soon do you return calls and/or emails?

Are you well-versed for the meeting with them?

Do you follow up with a personal touch after every meeting?

Make sure you are exceptional compared to the competition with marketing materials that really captivate your future prospect, especially if their first impression of you will not come from a face-to-face meeting.

People are naturally enchanted by others with confidence. Knowing your product and being a pupil of your discipline will result in a high level of self-respect.

Now, ponder to yourself and ask this question, "Would I want to work with this person?" If the answer is still no, start breaking down the areas of your business and yourself that could use improvement and start to change today.

Mical Johnson is an entrepreneur, speaker and business builder. He specializes in helping Home Based Business Owners, Affiliate Marketers, and Network Marketers to build their businesses.

Giving you what you need to succeed in a home based business and make a profit from the start. Sign up for our ezine and receive you free bonuses to build your business. http://www.myhomebasedbusiness101.com/ezine.htm

Copyright 2005 - Mical Johnson. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way.

Why I Won't Join An MLM

Why I Won't Join An MLM By Bill White

When I was growing up, multi level marketing had an extremely bad reputation. In my early adulthood I had the opportunity to interview for jobs that offered high pay and "relaxed work environments." After going for several of these interviews I developed an understanding of why multi level marketing had such a bad reputation. I've seen and tried out several multi level marketing programs on the web as well and now have an even greater understanding of why these programs just aren't for me.

The first thing I've noticed about these programs is that the products they pitch are almost always at a premium price. I'm sure you know in our present economy, that even with a recovery happening, people just aren't wanting to waste their hard earned money on over priced products. Many health related products are sold this way and it makes me very sad to see it. See, my take on health products is very simple. I strongly believe in taking supplements and have no problem recommending them. Not only that, the industry is growing incredibly as the baby boomer generation comes of age. The flaw is that many of the baby boomers who are certainly among the most interested in health products were caught in the forced early retirement trend of the 80's. This places many of them on tight budgets..and with already spending a high amount on prescription drugs, the thought of spending these ridiculous amounts for vitamins leaves many a would be health conscious boomer taking an off the shelf vitamin instead. So bottom line on this point is greed in the MLM industry kills a significant portion of the market.

The next thing that really leaves me unsettled by MLM is the fact that you can make great money if you get in towards the top. While this is great for your motivated people in the higher rungs...eventually you get market saturation and those on the lower rungs are buying their overpriced quote without a chance to recruit or sell to anyone. I find this highly unethical.

Last, you inevitably get a higher pay out buying the most expensive product monthly that you do the mid or bottom end product. If you sold the same type of products in a retail setting, you would have the same markup and resulting profit regardless of the "plan" you are in.

My feeling is that MLMs make a handful of people wealthy at the expense of those lower in the ranks. That is why I recommend against joining them. If you're reading this article, it's highly likely you want to improve your life... wealth included. Invest, sell good quality products, license ideas... but skip the MLMs.

If you ask me, MLM simply means Make Life Miserable. Now who wants that?

Until next week all the best!

Rasheed Ali (#1 Adversity Consultant) and Bill White (Syncronicity Expert) have just launched http://www.SleepYourWayToRiches.com -- a powerful new success and wealth creation website and http://www.SolutionCoach.com -- a powerful business and success coaching site.

Understanding The MLM Business Plan

Understanding The MLM Business Plan By Shaunta Pleasant

There are many types of businesses out there, but one of the most enduring has been the mlm business plan.

There are certainly a number of people who have enjoyed great levels of success with such a business, but it is important to choose carefully from among the many different mlm business plans that are out there.

==Solicit Independent And Unbiased Advice==

It is important to evaluate each mlm opportunity just as you would evaluate any other type of business, and not simply take the word of those who have preceded you into the business.

After all, these people may have a vested interest in the mlm business plan, and it is important to solicit independent and unbiased advice in order to make a truly informed decision.

==Gathering Information==

While the process of properly evaluating an mlm business plan can be sometimes difficult, it is not as difficult as it used to be. Thanks to the power of the internet it is now possible to research virtually any business opportunity, whether it is an mlm business or not.

In order to do enough research, however, it is very important to gather as much information as you can about the particular business opportunity you are evaluating.

==Checking The History Of The MLM Business Your Are Planning To Join==

For instance, you will want to find out as much as you can about the history of the business, and its management staff. It is important to get the names of the president and other officers of the business, and to find out about their finances and their history.

The more information you can gather on the mlm business, its products and its officers, the better able you will be to make an informed decision.

It is also important to talk to others who have invested in the business, both at the top levels of the company and further down the line.

Soliciting this type of first hand advice is one of the best ways to evaluate any business plan, whether it is an mlm business plan or not.

Shaunta Pleasant is a professional web writer and editor on business plan topics. Visit my site to learn more about writing a business plan at http://www.business-plan-made-easy.com/mlm-business-plan.html

The Secret to Network Marketing Success

The Secret to Network Marketing Success By Chris Rohrer

Many people have tried program after program in hopes of building their dream business. The fact is, 99% of these people fail. I have personally tried Quixstar, Market America, Amway and Liberty Alliance only to find out that it was extremely difficult to convince people of the business idea. So the questions then becomes how does one become successful in multi-level-marketing?

The reason for the 99% failure rate is that people do not have the knowledge they need to start their own network marketing business. One key factor is the product or products available. Simply put, the product is what drives your business. It’s essential to have a product that is in demand or a product that can generate money on its own. For example, skin care products cannot generate money on their own. The consumer would have to resell the skin care products to generate any kind of profit. However, if the product were to be a guide on how to trade e-currency, the consumer could then use the product to make money trading e-currency and resell the e-currency guide to his or her clients.

When people start out in network marketing, they initially try to get their friends, family, relatives and co-works to join their program. Though it’s possible to persuade a few to join, this is a big mistake. Unless your friends and family are expert marketers and entrepreneurs you may be wasting your time. Targeting people that are business savvy and that may have already seen success in another program is a good place to start.

Now that we have established a product or program, we must target an audience. Thinking outside of the box is what has enabled a lot of people to achieve their desired incomes through network marketing. Not only do you want the business savvy people in your down line, but you also want the people who share common goals and ideas. For example, try to target people wanting to get out of credit card debt, or who want to remodel their home, take a trip or need some extra cash. You will be surprised how many people seeking to get out of credit card debt are prime candidates for recruitment.

It’s now time to launch an internet marketing campaign for your new business or product. The internet is a powerful marketing tool to use when it comes to finding people to join your business. The most cost effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website or affiliate link is to write articles with your link attached and submit them to article directories. Secondly, look into pay per click search engines. Both methods if used correctly are extremely effective when it comes to getting your opportunity in front of the right people.

Finding a product that can generate money and easy to resell is key. There are a lot of programs and products online that will promise both, however only a few of them actually work.

Chris Rohrer is an established writer and home business owner. Chris Rohrer makes it easy for anyone wishing to start their own home business and begin networking right away. http://profitplusonline.com

5 Tips For Better Management Of Home Business

5 Tips For Better Management Of Home Business By Arun Pal Singh Home business on the net offers an opportunity to earn a lot of money. But like any other business it demands a constant input. A better execution of efforts would bring better results. Inculcating a professional approach and attitude would take you to the success at a real pace. 1. Be your real boss: Being your own boss is very lucrative but the responsibility of making it success is also with you. The very boss in your regular job (who is hated more than often) does a lot of work for you. Be it disciplining or producing the necessary motivation for the required results. This is your business now. You are your own boss. Nobody else will share the responsibility (for that matter credit of success will also be yours only). So be a boss really. Don’t fall into leisure trap otherwise time will fly and you will find yourself without any progress. When you are in business, business is the top priority. You are at home for work and not for relaxation. It is not just home anymore. It is your office too. 2. Grasp your business, Stay put: Be clear in what you are doing and why are you doing. Grasp the concepts of tools you need to use. Understand where you are in your business. Growth of a business is exponential. That implies that in early part the curve is almost flat before it rises steeply. Don’t let that flat part discourage you. Keep working, the bang will be there. Stay put. Success will come. 3. Organize your business: Set your goals. Accomplish your daily list of work. A small step everyday would take you to the destination. Contrary to the perception home business requires efforts. And more so in the early phase. Yes, the success is sooner on the net but it is not instant. Schedule your work. Better if you can make a time table. It helps to maintain discipline. Find you peak efficiency hours. It could be early morning or late night. Devote with full concentration. 4. Keep yourself motivated: Encourage yourself regularly (remember your boss who used to do this!). Read motivational books. Get inspired. Think positively. Keep the fire inside you burning. It is a good idea to learn the success stories of people who have made it. A good source is IAHBE . It offers you numerous success stories of people who started like us. One gets a great inspirational boost. 5. Maintain a good health: Last but not the least keep a good mind and body. As you work from home you don’t have privilege of interaction with your colleagues as in regular job.It gets boring sometimes. Join a health club. Shape yourself up. It will increase you efficiency too. Take breaks frequently. Enjoy your hobbies.Entertain yourself. Finally, this is your baby. You can groom it in any way you want. Some time later you can be a proud father. That will be the time when you will look back, smile and pronounce ‘I did it’. Till then keep working. Wish you success. Arun Pal Singh runs a successful business from home at http://www.homeforprofits.com. He is also publisher and editor of Home business tips and tricks, a free newsletter with hundreds of tips for home business which can be subscribed by mailing to homeforprofits@getresponse.com.

Create Your Own Home Business

Create Your Own Home Business By Darrell Knox A home business is by far the best way to support yourself if you just cannot stand working for others for less money than you need to survive. It’s also the best way to get out of a good paying job that just takes up too much of your precious short life working for someone else. Let’s face it, you probably know someone who has a home business. Do they look happy to you? Do they complain as much about work and money as you do? Probably not. This is not to say that you should quit your job and start a home business. You should start one while you still have your job. Some people complain that this is hard and takes up too much of their free time. In the beginning a home business is not profitable – you have to work at it like anything else. Some people eventually go back to work blaming some program or home business opportunity that wasted their time and didn’t work. Unfortunately, the odds are actually that they didn’t work hard enough and stick to their dreams. Many people allow themselves to believe that there are no legitimate home businesses. It’s easier to go to work thinking this than to let themselves truly believe that a home business is possible, profitable, or liberating. But if you truly believe there are no good home businesses, that they are all scams, then what are the thousands of people doing everyday in your hometown driving around during work hours? You know the ones. The people you see on your day off that are driving around and standing in line in places you frequent on your days off. They can’t ALL be on their days off too! You have wondered, just like I did, what it is these people do. I know you have. Many of them have their own home business. Many of the people you see at the post office who know the clerks by first name are shipping packages of goods they sold on auction at Ebay or their own websites. The cars parked in the county clerk’s office in your home town. Some are employees there, but not all of them. Many of the people coming and going from that office in your town (during business hours when everyone should be working, right?) are real estate brokers, or no money down buyers and sellers looking up local property information. Home business owners are all around you, everyday. The home business industry is quite literally booming and is getting larger exponentially by the month. The worst thing you could ever do to yourself, that is a life-altering belief system, is let yourself believe it is all a scam or that there is no room for YOUR creativity and YOUR value as a home business owner of any kind! Take me for instance! I own my own website and I sell information, business tools for home business people who work on the internet, and services of all kinds. I work from home. I am one of those people you see during the week driving around town while you wonder what it is I do for a living. Nice to meet you! Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience. Website: http://cgi.tripod.com/lazaraus26/cgi-bin/index.pl

Automating Your Home Based Business - Saving You Time

Automating Your Home Based Business - Saving You Time By Nell Taliercio First of all, what is automating a business? Simply put, it’s having today’s technology do the tedious and time consuming tasks that you currently have to do manually. This in turns frees up time that you can work on other business building aspects or spend it with loved ones. Today’s technology gives you a multitude of programs to smooth your way to owning a highly successful business. Using automation programs are a necessity for every business. It can give you back hundreds of hours a year for the more important things in life. It’s like having a personal assistant at your fingertips 24/7. Why do some businesses struggle year after year and others seem to take off like a rocket right from the start? Well, if you were able to see “behind the scenes” of those highly successful businesses, you would find that one of their secrets to their success is using technology to automate as much of their business as possible so that they can continue to grow their business in other areas. Automating Your Business Will Increase traffic to your site or store - Did you know there are ways to automatically send your articles and messages to all forums that you are a member of? Automating your submissions increases your link exposure, which will build your search engine rankings and traffic to your site. Learn more about this at Forum Fortunes Streamline your website administration - One of the most time consuming tasks is replying to individual emails. By automating your email program to respond to every inquiry immediately, create mailing lists for your newsletters and sending out your Ezine, you will save countless hours that you can use for other business growing projects. Learn more about this at AWeber Improve customer satisfaction and make your life a lot less stressful - Offering a good shopping cart to keep track of items your visitors choose to purchase from your site until they are ready to “check out” will assure that your customers are getting exactly what they want. Many shopping carts come with special features to calculate discounts and coupons as well as offer secure payment transactions instantly. Learn more about this at Store Front Ecommerce Increase profits - Again, by building traffic and improving customer satisfaction, your sales will increase and you will see more repeat customers. Protect your computer and your business - By filtering and deleting all spam and dealing with suspicious email before it reaches your in-box, you can prevent viruses and other malicious content from being downloaded to your computer which will save you time and money. Read more about this at Mail Washer Pro Allow you to run your business from virtually anywhere - Wouldn’t it be nice to take that much needed vacation yet still be able to run your business? If you are like many business owners, it seems that every time you go out of town for an extended weekend or vacation, your business has some sort of meltdown. Though most times they are minor problems that can be fixed fairly quickly once you get home, they still cost you time and quite possible customers, both of which equal money. By automating much of your business, you will decrease the amount of problems while allowing you to fix any others even if you are in Cancun or Paris! Now that has to give you some peace of mind. With all of these benefits, why wait another minute to find out how you can start to improve your business and gain much needed time? Nell Taliercio is the owner of a leading work at home mom resource website packed full of fresh content for the telecommuter, business owner and virtual assistant. Visit http://www.mommysplace.net today!

Automate your home based business

Automate Your Repetitive Home Business Tasks By Chris Brown If you work from home then you know that your time is valuable. Creating ways to automate your home business can save valuable time or even provide you with more time to build your business. By pinpointing the things that take up the largest part of your time, you will be able to begin to find more efficient ways to complete your work. Managing your email or communication is a great place to start. Whether it be simple emails or answering questions over the phone, you can become more efficient. Being in a situation where you have to tell people the same thing many times can become overwhelming; don’t worry, you can easily lessen you workload. If you are answering questions over the phone then make sticky notes of common questions and answers. If you’re on the go then get one of those tiny spiral notepads. Instead of writing out detailed answers, just make a checklist of the things that you must say to your customer to answer the specific question. Once you spend some time doing this you will end up with most of your answers memorized; this makes it easy to find even better ways to handle your customer’s questions or problems. Perhaps email is where your redundancy is; email is even easier to deal with than phone communication. If you send email with the same type of information to each of your customers then you’ve got a lot of typing to do; let’s make this easier! Send an email to yourself – just like the one that you normally have to send out to your customer – make it perfect. We will call this email your ‘template email’. Now, every time you have to send this type of email out, you already have a starting point. Go to your inbox and find that ‘template email’ that you sent to your self. Scroll down to the very bottom; click and hold your mouse button and drag it up to the very top of your email. Let go of your mouse button when all of the text has been highlighted. Now, click the edit menu at the top of your email program and choose ‘Copy’. Next, make a new email to your customer; it’s getting so easy. Click where you would normally type your message and then go to the edit menu again; click paste. WOW! That’s all there is to it. Of coarse you need to change the contact info to your customer’s info. Make any necessary changes to the text, give it a subject and click send! You can refine your ‘template email’ until you only have to change the customers name and contact info; creating efficient template emails will save your more and more time. These same ideas can be applied to many other areas of communication. The next time you are communicating with a client and you realize that you are repeating your self, remember to automate! Small notes and templates will save you weeks in the long run; they work for me and they can work for you. There, we eased some of your workload for today – and – forever! Copyright © Chris Brown About The Author Chris Brown is the webmaster at SuperiorIncome.com – an informative site – dedicated to those of us who work from home or really want to make money. If you are interested in *top quality* home business opportunities, tips about making money online and help from a straightforward friend that works from home, Grab a subscription to his F`R`E`E newsletter today!

Are you right for a home based business check list

Are YOU Right For A Home-Based Business? By Ken Leonard Jr. The internet is loaded with all sorts of ways for you to work from home. You will consider many options, finding the right fit for your personality and goals. But first, you have to take a look at yourself. Do you have what it takes to run a successful business from home? How do you know if YOU are cut-out to be "The Boss"? Before you spend too much time and money looking for that perfect home-based business, make sure that you have these essential qualities first: 1) You're A Hard Worker Running any home based business takes a lot of time and effort. Sure, automation can have your business running mostly on it's own, but there is a lot of work involved in getting it to that point. Even after it is established, there will still be a lot of things that demand your attention daily. If you are afraid of hard work, there is no way you will enjoy working at home. It is still a full work day, you're just at home. If you are not good at working unsupervised, you'll never get anything done. You are the boss now. Be The Boss. 2) Persistence Can you follow through on tasks that you start? Do you give up easily, when things start to get rough? To succeed in any small business, you need to have a "never-say-die" attitude. You must commit to building your business to a successful level. You have to be in it for the duration. Remember, success is not a destination, it is an ongoing journey. 3) A Great Attitude Are you an upbeat person, or do you find the negative in every- thing? Maintaining a positive outlook on life will help you deal with the ups and downs of running a small business. Make it your mission to have a great attitude, always. You will be much more productive this way, and you might even discover that you are having a good time. Don't take this attitude thing lightly. You won't get what you want with a bad attitude, and your life will be stressful and unfulfilling. 4) Achieving Goals Motivates You Why do you want to run a home-based business? What do you want in life? What is it going to take to get it? Strong motivation to succeed in your chosen field comes from knowing that the results will make all of your plans and goals in life a reality. Setting and following through on detailed goals will ultimately give you what you want. Looking at the "big picture" when dealing with day to day tasks will keep your motivation high. You will enjoy each day of work on your business. You will also be able to keep that great attitude going strong. Do what you have to do, to get what you want the most. Let "the big picture" motivate YOU to success. 5) Have Control Of Your Life And Business There is no way you are going to build a successful home-based business if your life is a mess. A business that is not run in a controlled manner is also doomed to failure. You must be in control of everything you do. That means dealing with family or personal problems in an effective way. Focus will grow your business, but lack of control will destroy your focus. Filter business advice received from others with your own good sense. Take control of your website, and your customers. Never give control of your life or business to anyone. 6) Willing To Learn Do you enjoy learning something new? Your business success will depend on your ability to be in a "constant learning" mode. The top marketers on the 'net admit that they spend a good chunk of cash each year on courses, eBooks and seminars. This assures that they will be up on all of the new, innovative techniques used to market online. If an eBook can give you one, great, original idea, your investment of $50 could turn into thousands. Be willing to take what you've learned and apply and test it in your situation. Some ideas will work well. Some won't. It's all part of the never-ending learning and testing process. 7) You Can Make It Happen Do you know what separates successful people from those who are not? They are willing to do what others won't. These people have a "make it happen" attitude. This puts them in a position to take risks, and be reasonably sure that they will reach their goals. Entrepreneurs like this don't make excuses. They hold themselves personally accountable for the success of their business. In Closing... If you don't have all of these qualities, don't worry. You can develop these inside YOU over time, and your home-based business will have the greatest chance for success. Don't think that these points are too basic or trite. That would be a grave mistake. Those who take these ideas lightly will find that they can't succeed at any kind of small business. Those people would be more suited for working at someone else's business. Working from home is not for everyone. Is it right for you? About The Author How do YOU get results online with little or no business experience? Get Ken Leonard Jr.'s new mini-course, "7 Ways To Beat The Competition", a smart first step for YOUR small business. End your frustration, get going in the right direction! mailto:7waystobeattherest@kljonline.com http://www.kenleonardjr.com

Working from home can make you rich but it can also make you dull

All Work At Home And No Play Make Jack A Dull Boy By Mal Keenan We've all done it! We sit for hours in front of our PCs searching, submitting and scrutinizing, while the very freedom we are building a home business to achieve, dwindles to stolen moments in between search engine submissions. I can be almost certain that from the very moment you got your first check in the mail that you became hooked on the idea of working entirely from home. So much so that everything else in your life has had to take a back seat while you build your dream. Having a dream and pursuing it is a very noble concept but when our home and family life suffers because of it then it can become a big problem. It doesn't have to be this way. Here are a number of points that may help you in keeping a balance. 1.Discipline yourself - When it comes to the amount of time you spend building and running your online enterprise. Set a time limit and don't stray over it. 2.Don't drop or cut down on family activities because of your business. For instance don't stop taking your kids swimming because you want to learn how to build a website. 3.Help in the house chores when they need to be done. The last thing you want to do is alienate your husband/wife when they are probably already very sceptical of your new found enthusiasm in all things cyber. 4.Get the family involved where possible. Show them what exactly it is you are doing and explain to them that your ultimate goal is to earn enough money working at home to be able to spend more time with them. 5.Don't forget to splash out on the family when you eventually start to earn some cash from your online ventures. My wife soon became a believer when she saw some extra money on the table. Well who wouldn't:-)? In closing I'm hopeful you have gotten the gist of this article, get your priorities right and ensure that everyone is as happy and enthusiastic in your striving for financial freedom as you are. I wish you every success in your business dealings. Copyright 2004 Mal Keenan About The Author Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter: http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/