Category: Grow a Home Business

    How to Handle Gaps in the Knowledge and Skills of Your Team

    When working with a team you will sometimes notice that there are gaps in the knowledge that you need to help run your business. You have a few choices on how to handle the gaps in knowledge and skills of your team members.

    * Identify Future Needs – It’s important to know what types of projects are coming up in the future so that you can identify potential gaps in the first place. If you know what types of projects are upcoming, you can let your team know so that they can also be aware of the types of knowledge and skills are going to be needed if they want to work on the project.

    * Offer Training – It can be risky to offer training to contractors, but if you really like working with certain people you can offer regular training to them so that they can learn the skills needed to work on future projects. It’s best not to force them to take the training if they are contractors, however, as it may break the contractor/employer barrier for the taxing authority in your state or country.

    * Hire Someone New – If you have identified knowledge and skills that are needed now or will be in the future, get serious about making a better description of the skills needed in order to find a new contractor or employee.

    * Make Them Aware of Training – You don’t always have to offer training, but if you know what type of skills you would like for your team to have, you can at least tell them about training that is offered by other people. You can even use an affiliate link on your project management system and earn a little extra money while your team learns.

    * Send Them Regular Industry News – Create an email list just for your team where you’ll share industry news, training, and other things that can help them learn more about the industry that you’re all taking part in.

    * Offer Regular Feedback – When anyone on your team submits a project, be sure to try to send feedback about what they have done well and what they should improve upon. This is a good way to encourage their own learning on their own time.

    * Encourage Team Members to Work Together – Some team members are going to know more than others. If you make it possible for them to collaborate on projects together, one can learn from the other.

    * Set Expectations – It’s important from day one to set expectations for your team members. If they realize that continuing education is important to you, and they like working with you, they’re going to be a lot more likely to seek out training for themselves.

    Handling gaps in the knowledge and skills of your team is something that every business owner must deal with, whether you hire only contractors or employees. There are ways to deal with it that work well without offending anyone. Just be honest and up front at all times and your team will follow your lead.

    Categories: Team Building Tags: Tags:

    Eight Ways to Build your Expertise

    Building expertise is important for any business owner or person who wants to promote their business, products or services. When the public views you as an expert, they are likely to trust you more and want to hear more about what you are saying about a variety of topics. They will buy from you more readily because they trust you as an expert.

    Here are eight ways to build your expertise in your niche.

    1. Become an Author – Publishing a book as an author can open many doors, especially if the book is well received. Today it’s easier than ever to add “author” to your list of accomplishments due to Kindle Direct Publishing. Don’t allow anyone to tell you that it won’t work and it’s not a good way to become an expert. It does, and it is.

    2. Become a Speaker – If you have a lot of knowledge about a particular topic, consider adding public speaking to your resume. Speaking to groups of people has long been established to advance expertise, and nothing has changed. After all, the audience members will automatically assume you know what you are talking about or you would not be talking.

    3. Create an ECourse – Teaching what you know to others is a clear sign that you’ve mastered something enough to demonstrate and teach it to others. You can put courses on your own website, deliver them through email, or put them on a third party site like Udemy.com.

    4. Promote Using YouTube – You’ve been given this awesome opportunity to spread awareness and get buzz for your niche in the form of the video sharing site YouTube. It has a built-in audience, and if you publish well-designed videos that target your audience, you’ll become sought after and popular.

    5. Blog Regularly – Don’t stop using your blog as a method to get your words out to your audience just because you move up in the world. Keep blogging at least weekly, but perhaps create longer content that is more authoritative in nature, providing a lot of in-depth information to your viewers.

    6. Become a Regular Guest – You can be interviewed on radio, in print, and online by making yourself available. Contact your local press and let them know that if they do stories on your niche, you are available to speak to them. They are good people but busy, so they’ll be more likely to use someone who’s offered than to chase down those who haven’t.

    7. Start a Mastermind Group – A private mastermind group is a great way to establish and build your expertise. You’ll end up with a good solid fan base that knows your secrets and understands how you tick. They’ll become promoters of your work, and in the process you’ll earn some extra income.

    8. Study Your Niche – Never stop studying. Time goes forward and things change. What was true just a month ago might not be true today. Don’t be afraid to change your opinions and ideas based on the information you learn. To stay relevant in a niche you have to stay connected enough to understand what’s new.

    Becoming an expert in your niche is an important way to boost your value and increase your income. Plus, if you know a lot about a topic, you should be proud to become a noted expert in your field after all the study and effort you’ve put into it.

    Categories: Expert, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    How Becoming an Author Can Increase Your Expert Status

    A great way to become an expert in your niche is to become an author. Writing a book requires that you know something about your topic, and are able to communicate it in a cohesive way that makes sense to your audience. It’s one of the most tried and true ways of building up expertise status. It was an effective way to do it even before the internet, and the ease of publishing eBooks on Kindle and your website.

    You Can Prove What You Know

    Writing a book is a great little selling tool that consist of an easy to give away (or sell) package of information that you know. It’s just all there; you put your knowledge in the book, and then you can prove that you have that knowledge because you were able to put that together for your audience.

    You Have Something to Show for Your Efforts

    Nothing is more satisfying than having that book with the cover showing your name bold on the front. It’s one reason people who are involved a great deal in education are encouraged and in some cases required to become published to prove what they know. Nothing works better than the process of writing a book to clarify what you know and believe.

    Builds Your Credibility

    You can shout from the rooftops that you’re an expert, and you may very well be. But, the book is proof that you have that knowledge. People respect it, and when they see that you’re published they will believe that you have credibility, even if you self-publish. This is because you are willing to put that book out there, and take the criticism that goes with putting your ideas out into the public for comment.

    You Can’t Hide behind a Curtain as an Author

    So many people want to hide behind their computers when working online or owning a digital business. But, as an author you need to come out of the closet and show who you really are. That’s the real key to becoming an expert: being who you are, owning what you know, and showing the world.

    A Book Will Increase Your Value

    If you provide services, want to speak in public, or have great products, a book will increase your value exponentially. When people see you as an expert – and a book will help you accomplish that – they are willing to pay more money for your products, services and information. As your value increases you’ll work less, and have more time to study more, write more and boost your expertise even more.

    You’ll Learn More Than You Know Now

    As you write a book, you will collect a lot of information from other experts and from your own studies, and that will help you learn even more. You might even change your mind about something as you write your book. That’s okay because that’s what experts do. As they learn more, you know more, and you increase your expertise even more.

    A Book Teaches You Communication

    When you write a book, you have to put your audience first in your mind as you disseminate the information to them. This will give you a lot of practice thinking in terms of how your audience perceives what you write. You always have to write with your audience in mind so that they get what you’re saying. It’s always about them and how they communicate best.

    A Book Gives You a Platform for All Your Other Offers

    If you want a great platform in which to offer your services, expertise and ideas to others, then a book is the best way to do it. The book gives you an actual thing – whether it’s digital or physical – to point your audience to when questions arise that are answered in the book.

    Writing a book takes a lot of thought and planning. And if you put your best foot forward with writing it, direct it to your audience, and write what they need to know, you will advance yourself to expert status with every word.

    Categories: Book Publishing, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

    It’s easy to make a lot of mistakes when you first start affiliate marketing. But, if you take the time to educate yourself you can avoid a lot of the problems that might arise. Affiliate marketing is a good way to produce an extra income, add an additional income stream, and even to earn a full-time living, but only if you are prepared and go about it the right way. Here are some mistakes you’ll definitely want to avoid.

    * Choosing the Wrong Products – Any product you choose should offer a solution to a problem that your audience has. First choose who your audience is, then find solutions for them. Doing it the other way around can include the risk that there is not an audience for that product in the first place.

    * Joining Too Many Networks – You cannot make good income from affiliate products if you spread yourself too thin. Choose just a couple networks and work directly with some good products and their managers to ensure the best mix of products for your audience’s needs.

    * Not Investing in Helpful Resources – There are a lot of very helpful products, services and solutions today that can help make your life easier as an affiliate marketer. Set a budget and invest in your business. You can’t make money without spending, but you want to spend it wisely.

    * Not Using Technology to Its Fullest – Email lists, autoresponders, social media, blogs etc… all involve using technology. Seek to learn fully each new piece of tech that you add to your business before adding the next one.

    * Avoiding A/B Testing – A/B testing means to test two different versions of something like an email subject line, a sales page headline, or something else. But the trick is to change only one small aspect of it during the test. The one that works best can then be used throughout your marketing efforts.

    * Not Looking at Your Competitors – Many times your competitors are doing a lot of things right that you can learn from. If they are successful, you want to look at them. Buy some of their products and sign up for the lists. Make a note of what they’re doing right and wrong and make a plan to do even better.

    * Thinking You Don’t Need SEO – Search engine optimization is super important, no matter what you’re doing. You can use it when you are completing a social media profile, a guest blogging bio, and more. It just means that you are considering the search engines (and your audience) in whatever you do, both on and off your website.

    * Not Finding Multiple Streams of Income – You do not want too many products, but on the other hand you don’t want to deal with only one. You need to diversify your income stream by adding more than one product. The trick is ensuring that all products fit with your ideal audience.

    * Spending Too Much Time Creating Marketing Collateral – With most products, choose programs that create all the marketing material for you. The reason is that you should not be driving marketing strategy; the company should. If they can’t take the time to create marketing materials for you, it’s probably not the product you want to promote.

    Ensuring that you put in the needed time and effort to study your market, knowing what your competition is doing, and promoting the right products to the right people will go far in making sure that you are successful at affiliate marketing.

    Categories: Affiliate program Tags: Tags:

    Determining Your Online Marketing Goals

    One of the first things you need to do when starting an online business or a new marketing campaign is to determine what your online marketing goals are. Do you want to increase sales conversions, get more traffic, improve your reputation or expand your brand? It is very important to understand that for a goal to become a reality, it needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic, as well as time specific. These are called SMART goals.

    Potential Online Marketing Goals

    First create a general list of goals, and then get more specific. A potential list of goals is below; yours will be different and based on your products, services and possibilities.

    * Generate More Sales – While this may seem like an obvious goal, it’s important to state exactly how many more sales you want to achieve, in what period of time, and for what product.

    * Expand Online Presence – Every business today needs an online presence but the larger you build it, the more attention you’ll get, and the more money you’ll earn.

    * Increase Website Traffic – You want targeted website traffic, not just more website traffic, to ensure that you reach your other goals.

    * Get More Social Media Followers – More social media follows engaging with your posts can lead to an increase in so many other business indicators.

    * Generate Leads – You want to nurture leads that can turn into sales.

    * Grow Authority – The more authoritative your online presence, the better for all your other goals.

    Making Your Goals SMART

    The next step is to make your goals SMART. These points will help steer you in the right direction.

    * Specific – If you can’t name what you want to accomplish in precise terms, it will be hard to know whether or not you’ve even achieved success. It’s important to note whether or not you want to increase traffic, get more subscribers, or establish yourself as an authority, so that you’re not acting without any knowledge of where you’re going.

    * Measurable – If you can’t provide a number detail to your goal, how will you know whether or not you achieved the results you wanted? To translate that, consider stating that you want to increase subscribers to 1400 starting from 800.

    * Attainable – It’s important to know your audience enough to know if what you are shooting for is possible. Look back on the past as a good indicator of how well your future campaigns will go for your particular audience.

    * Realistic – If you have a goal of increasing subscribers, but you’re not leading them to your newsletter form sign-up, then you’re not being very realistic. Each campaign and goal must match each action that you take.

    * Time – If you don’t set a time limit, you may never achieve your goal because you will be too tempted to procrastinate. Set deadlines that are realistic for the project that you’re doing, based on your industry and past experience.

    Making SMART goals part of your repertoire will increase your success exponentially. The reason is that you will have an actual final goal as something you’re shooting for in order to succeed, instead of not having a clue where you are going. Plus, you’ll be able to study the results to see if it worked. If it did not work, you’ll be able to find ways to adjust for the future.

    Categories: Marketing, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Where to Find Great Interns

    Finding a great intern has as much to do with your program, compensation plan, and the education you plan you have, as to how you advertise to fill the position. There are many ways to go about collecting intern applications and you can use one or more of these places to find a great intern. However, do create an online application form so that you can easily look through them and avoid spam.

    * With Your Website – Blog about your need for an intern, tell the world about what is involved in the internship, what the intern will be doing, mention whether it’s paid or unpaid, and provide a link to the application. The application should be as complete as possible to ensure that you can determine who is right for your internship mostly through the application process.

    * On Social Media – Share your blog post and application on every social media network that you have and encourage others to share it, too. That way more people will find out about your internship opportunity and hopefully you’ll get more applicants.

    * Via Local Colleges and Universities – Every local college or university has a career development center and will work with you to not only help you find appropriate interns but also help you ensure that your internship program is valuable.

    * Through the Grapevine – Start telling people that you have an internship opportunity that you need to fill and ask if they have any suggestions.

    * Ask Colleagues – If you know anyone who uses interns, ask them how they found theirs and how they set up their internship program. You can learn from others simply by asking.

    * Through Your Local High School – If you need younger interns, you can contact the local high school to talk about your internship opportunity. Many high school students are also attending community college at the same time and would be thrilled to have an internship.

    * Professional Organizations – If you’re a member of any professional organizations, you can list your internship opportunities with them.

    * Post a Job Listing – Another way to find an internship is the same way that you find employees or contractors. List your opening via job websites as well as places like craigslist.org. Link to your online application rather than your email to avoid getting spam sent to your email address.

    To find a great intern you need to have an awesome internship program. Plan out the internship program in advance so that you know how much work you’ll give them, what type of freedom they’ll have, and how you’ll rate the internship at the end of the contract. Then, bring on only the people whom you believe have the right temperament and really need the opportunity, and you won’t be disappointed.

    Categories: Employees Tags: Tags:

    Software to Help You Start an Affiliate Program

    One thing you need to run your affiliate program is the right software. The best way to pick the right software is to make a list of the features that you want the software to have. Plus, set a budget for the software so that you can rule out some. But, don’t be too cheap either. If you want your business to grow, you need to pick the right software to avoid too much changing, as affiliates get tired of too many system changes.

    * PostAffiliatePro.com – This affiliate program software can work in the cloud or as a download that you upload and run from your own server. There are different levels that you can purchase for the SaaS program that are affordable. What’s great is that in this case you own your affiliates even though it is a cloud-based service.

    * aMember.com – This is a plugin that works with WordPress and other website software. You can even set up a membership website with this software. It’s a one-time purchase with yearly upgrades and excellent customer care.

    * AffiliateWiz.com – This is software you’ll purchase and put on your server yourself in order to run your affiliate program. It offers all the typical bells and whistles, allowing people to sign up for the program, grab code, as well as other marketing collateral that your affiliates will need. Plus it offers a way to pay out your affiliates via PayPal Mass Pay.

    * E-Junkie.com – This is a simple cloud-based affiliate software that starts at only $5.00 per month. This program doesn’t have many of the features that you may want such as allowing subscriptions, but it does offer many other features such as easy payouts and hosting of products, images and other marketing collateral.

    * ClickBank.com – This is a very popular affiliate network that you can join that will help you run your program in a professional manner. The one drawback is that you don’t own your affiliates, and you will need to ask them to sign up for a separate list or something that enables you to give them more marketing materials to use.

    * JVZoo.com – This is free software that you can use in the cloud to promote your products and run an affiliate program. It has all the bells and whistles, plus you will be part of their marketplace which will enable super affiliates to find you.

    Figure out what features you want in your affiliate software, test out many different systems before picking, and then try to stick to particular software so that you don’t run off the affiliates you do attract. But, if you choose right you’re not going to want to switch. Don’t be afraid to find an experienced affiliate manager to help you set up your affiliate program to get started fast on the right foot.

    Categories: work with others Tags: Tags:

    Tools to Use 

    When you decide to engage in video blogging, you can start with the webcam on your computer, but after a little time you may want to try to make your videos more professional. Any tool that you can use to make your videos better is a great idea. But, it’s important to try different types of tools to ensure that you can find something that will work for you.

    * An iPhone – Love them or hate them, Apple makes some really useful and great products. Apple iPhones have superb video quality and you can even find tutorials online that teach you how to use your iPhone to make professional quality video.

    * A Good Camera – Many digital cameras today also allow you to take videos with them. You can purchase many different types of cameras in many price ranges.

    Link – http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=digital%20cameras%20that%20take%20stills%20and%20video

    * A Webcam – Most computers today come with webcams but you can also purchase HD webcams that take really good videos.

    Link – http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Portable-1080p-Webcam-Autofocus/dp/B004YW7WCY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424760120&sr=8-3&keywords=HD+webcam

    * Camtasia – The crème de la crème of video editing, with a price to match. But, if you really want to be serious, you should consider good editing software.

    Link – http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html

    * Lightworks – This editing software will rival Camtasia, and it’s in beta right now, so you may be able to try it out for free. Real movies have been edited with this software.

    Link – http://www.lwks.com/

    * YouTube Editor – YouTube offers an editor that is just for YouTube videos for free. You can use it in the cloud and make your videos perfect.

    Link – https://www.youtube.com/editor

    * Prezi – This cloud-based editing software helps you make videos look professional, to include easily added royalty free music and images. You can use it free if you want all videos public.

    Link – http://prezi.com/pricing/

    * Animoto – This cloud-based video editing software gives you access to the music you need for your videos and so much more. It can be pricy but it is worth it if you aren’t very technical.

    Link – https://animoto.com/business/pricing

    * Windows Live Essentials – This photo and video editing software is free. It might even already be on your computer.

    Link – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/essentials

    * iMovie for Mac – You can get this high-powered editor inexpensively, but you won’t skimp on features. It literally does everything.

    Link – https://www.apple.com/mac/imovie/

    * CyberLink Power Director – Choose between five choices and levels of functionality for this super-powerful video editor without the professional price.

    Link – http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-ultra/features_en_US.html?&r=1

    * Adobe Creative Cloud – For a small monthly fee you can have access to some of the most powerful movie maker and video production software available.

    Link – https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html

    The tools available in all price ranges and skill levels are practically unlimited. Try out a few different choices to see which is easier for you. Don’t worry about price as much as ability to use it. If it costs a lot of money and does all kinds of amazing things, but you cannot use it, what’s it really worth?

    Categories: blogging Tags: Tags:

    Common Mistakes Made in JV Partnerships

    A JV partnership is a joint venture where two different businesses join up to work on a particular project together. They do not become one business entity; rather they stay separate through the JV experience and after.

    There are many advantages in having a JV partnership. At the same time, here are some common mistakes that you’ll definitely want to avoid.

    * Not Having a Contract – So many people get involved with JVs without a contract and this is a huge mistake. If you have no control over the purse, the domain, or the intellectual property, you could end up being left out from the profit too.

    * Not Having a Clear Delineation of Duties – Each partner in the relationship should have some type of duty or responsibility. There are cases of silent partnerships where one gives their name, their list, or some funding in exchange for a split of the profits, but everything should be spelled out specifically. If you want one person to deliver a specific amount of work each month, say so.

    * Giving Up Too Much Control of Your Brand – In a joint venture, sometimes one person is in control and in charge. However, you want to keep an eye on your brand so that you don’t give up too much control over it.

    * Unrealistic Expectations – It’s easy to get excited about a joint venture, but don’t place all your hopes and dreams into a single venture. You never know what can happen, but you need to have contingency plans.

    * Entering into Partnership with a Competitor – It’s a bad idea to enter into a JV partnership with someone who is a direct competitor. Instead, try to find people to work with who market complementary goods and services to your audience.

    * Not Planning an Exit Strategy – Most JV partnerships don’t last forever. Therefore, you should write into the contract how long the relationship will last and how it will end. Planning everything in advance usually works better than just letting it dissolve on its own due to potentially having different expectations.

    * Not Offering Something Valuable to the Partnership – If everyone is to be satisfied in the partnership then each person needs to contribute value to the partnership. Everyone will feel better and it will cut down on resentment.

    * Trying to Hook Up With Someone in the Wrong Niche – It’s hard sometimes to differentiate between working with someone who offers complementary products in your niche and someone who is in an entirely different niche. But you need to stick to what you know and only enter JV partnerships within your niche.

    When you enter into a partnership, it’s more important than ever to cross all your T’s and dot all your I’s. Don’t be afraid to ask for a better contract or better terms when working out the initial phases of the JV relationship. If you’re setting it up, don’t have a “me first” attitude about the situation. Instead, find a way to make the JV a win-win association for everyone involved so that everybody can contribute talents and benefit as equally as possible.

    Categories: Joint Ventures Tags: Tags:

    Eight Ways to Get Help Inexpensively

    When you first start a business it can be on a very small budget. Perhaps you do not have the funds to outsource and pay as much or almost anything to get the help. Don’t worry, because there are ways to get help inexpensively.

    1. Fiverr.com – This is a website where people offer their services for just five bucks. There are providers who have moved up the ranks who charge more, but those starting out still are only five bucks. Take a look at their ratings and ask around who is the best one for the services you need.

    2. Your Children – Even young children can help you with your business; whether it’s data entry, filing, or cleaning the house to free you up to do other things. Older kids can do a lot of amazing things, so don’t discount hiring your own children.

    3. Your Spouse – It might be a hard sell to get your spouse to help you, but they are usually wonderful sources of work and they can be free, or you can legally hire them as a deduction in your business.

    4. Your Network – If you have joined any networks, whether they are colleagues or not, you can go to them to find people to help you inexpensively. Perhaps you can barter with each other to get things done.

    5. High School Students – You cannot legally use high school students who aren’t family members free, but you can pay them a bit less than you would an expert. Even if they just help you with housework and childcare, that is something that gives you more time to work your business.

    6. College Interns – Local universities and community colleges are great places to find interns to use in your business. This is a highly talented pool of people, especially when it comes to technology. It’s important to know that you do need to pay them something and offer them a lot of education.

    7. Elance.com – You can find inexpensive outsourcers on Elance. The price will vary depending on where the outsourcer lives and also what their expertise is. Make sure you put up a good proposal and set your budget.

    8. oDesk.com – This is another place like Elance which has people to hire that can help you inexpensively. Be careful and don’t take the lowest bid, as the lowest is not always going to be better.

    These eight ways to get help with your business are tried and true methods that work. You can get help without spending tons of money. You also have to remember that anything that you can get someone else to do is worth it if it costs less than you can earn per hour doing your main service or selling your main product.

    Categories: Expert, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags: