State of Entrepreneurial Spirit!

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    WATCH THE VIDEO! INSPIRING!

    Today, I learned about this program (that I wished I had when I was young) called Startupskool at early entrepreneurs. It is a foundation whose mission is to create a revolution of social innovators.

    As mentioned on their website,

    We gave a handful of elementary classrooms each a $100 micro-loan as startup capital, and asked them to raise funds for charity. Rather than running typical fundraisers such as asking for pledges, these classes used the money to start their own small businesses such as building bird houses to sell at a local market, selling green smoothies on Fridays, and creating family friendly events. These students were using their own creativity and imagination to turn our initial $100 loan into thousands of dollars for charity. Building on the success of our original experiment, we partnered with amazing educators and entrepreneurs to launch a full curriculum behind our program. Through media-based lessons and an interactive platform we’ve been able to transform over 120 classrooms across Canada into social innovators. Their efforts have since generated over $80,000 in support of local and global charities.

    They now have a website where teachers can register and find out how to run their own program in their class to instill the entrepreneurial training into their children from kindergarten to High School (in Canada).  The internet program can be adapted (and it has been adapted) to other countries.  The children are given $100 for their team and they have to create $500 with a business and the team learns about marketing, costing, pricing and  product creation all through working together in a class.

    It is a story like this which makes you realize that anyone at any age can learn how to have the entrepreneurial spirit.  It just takes some training and knowledge about business and guidance from mentors to help you start.

    This idea that i can pass on my knowledge about business to another so they can create a business themselves is a desire for this website.  Inside The Business of At Home Business membership there is the information and step-by-step to start a business.

    Categories: Run a Home Business Tags: Tags: ,

    Twitter Engagement

    Twitter – who wants to bother? who has the time?

    The Twitter may scroll quickly through your life but it is worth participating in Twitter to get engagement and potential awareness for your brand.  Also, you can connect with others who you might want to partner with when you converse on Twitter.

    According to this Twitter study in 2014 by Stone Temple Consulting, you can get engagement!

    If you are a well-known authority in your field, it will be easier for you to get followers.

    It is true that image attached to a tweet will increase re-tweets and “favorited.”

    Increasing hashtags in a tweet doesn’t make a significant difference.

    Most interesting is that the time of day didn’t affect how much engagement was given.

    As you can see, Twitter is worth sending out your messages in and there is training in The Business of At Home Business membership. 

     

     

    Please include attribution to www.stonetemple.com with this graphic.

     

    Study

     

     

    Categories: Twitter Tags: Tags: , ,

    Testimonials, do you do them?

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    Testimonials for companies that you work with and you are happy with the customer service and the information that you learned, do you do them?

    Do you ask for testimonials from your customers when the work or service you did for them is complete?

    No.

    Then you are missing out on the best form of lead generation for your business.

    I did this testimonial for www.hangoutmarketingu.com as I was asked and I was very happy with what I learned about Hangouts On Air in the program.  When I am asked how I learned to do Hangouts On Air, you can bet I will be referring them on to Hangoutmarketing because I was pleased with everything I learned for doing the lessons.

    Is there a  better way to get free leads back to your business with happy customers telling everyone they know about your service?  No!

    In the  structural engineering business with my husband, we do absolutely no advertising other than a listing in the Yellow Pages.  Remember the Yellow Pages!  We get all our customers from referrals. Whether it is from customers who we did work for before and their neighbour wants some advice on a good engineer or it is a local contractor who wants to make his new customer happy with good service, we get ALL our leads from referrals.

    Customer referral marketing is one of the marketing strategies that is rarely talked about, especially online.

    Does your customer give you any feedback after they receive your service or product about how happy or what was missing that made them unhappy? Do you ask?

    Does your customer get a request from you for a testimonial if they were pleased with your service?   Do you follow-up and see if there is a quick way you can get them to submit something?  It could be a quick interview on video; it could be a survey to quickly fill in or a written testimonial.

    I always use Consumer Reports when I am buying an expensive item for the house like a T.V. or car.  Why wouldn’t people want to know what other people got out of your service or product before they purchase!

    Customer service is key to a successful business whether offline or online and this is what we talk about, as well as other topics, in the Business of At Home Business membership!  Check it out here.

     

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

    Can Your Smartphone Replace Your Desktop Computer for Work?

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    Many of us consider our desktop computers primarily as work devices. These are the machines we use when we’re writing documents, updating spreadsheets, creating slideshows and presentations and pretty much whenever we have any kind of work to do.But desktop computers are not portable and they are prone to going wrong occasionally. As such, it’s very possible to imagine you might end up stuck without your computer and having to make do with your smartphone – which is always on and always on your person.

    Could you make do?

    Let’s find out…

    Software

    The main challenges would be finding compatible software. If you only tend to use Microsoft Office for your work, then the good news is that both iOS and Android have fully functional office suits from Microsoft in the form of Office365. You’ll need an Office subscription and some features are lacking but overall it will be sufficient for most people looking for a way to write their documents on the move.

    If you don’t have an office subscription then you can alternatively use free alternatives like Kingsoft Office or Documents to Go.

    Unfortunately, some businesses will require their own specialist software and this is where things can get a little bit more difficult for those who need to work on the move. Unless you can find a way to stream your computer to your smartphone (which will be fiddly) you’ll probably be stumped.

    The other challenge with working on a smartphone would be the input. Fortunately this is a matter that is considerably easier to solve. If you’re someone who owns an Android, then setting up a compatible Bluetooth mouse and keyboard is actually very easy. If you then prop your phone up with a stand you can have a set-up that is reminiscent of a very tiny computer and this can be used to work anywhere. You can even get foldable keyboards allowing you to keep the whole set-up in your pockets!
With an iPhone on the other hand, you won’t be able to get mouse support but with a capacitive stylus you can achieve much the same thing.

    And if you aren’t on the move, then you can even rig a smartphone up to a television or a monitor in order to get a big screen experience. While it’s not quite perfect yet then, most smartphones can be used to emulate the features of a full-blown PC.

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

    How Times have changed

     

     

     

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    Back in 1999 , Joel Comm was interviewed to explain what the internet is and his internet online business.  How times have changed but why we use the internet remains the same. 

    Categories: Internet Tags: Tags: ,

    Beyond the Hill

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    Have you ever wondered why you keep on with your dream of your own business?
    You can see it just over the hill. You know it is a sound idea and you know there are clients out there who need what you have to give. However, when you look at how far you have gotten towards that dream versus where you thought you would be by now in your business, do you get frustrated?
    We all do.
    I’m beginning to think that human beings have always looked beyond the horizon and we make goals that no human being could do with the time, life and things that come up in our life.


    For example, I had made the goal to create a membership site and have it ready by end of June but who knew that spammers would come and violate inside WordPress so I have to slow down in my forward motion.
    I had a good frustrated, grumpy day growling at my poor husband (who knows nothing about internet and WordPress) and snapped at clients. Luckily (my husband says) I can cry and get rid of the frustration and sit down, take a deep breath and ask “okay how do I fix this?”


    Well, three days later of research and contacting busy support desks, I may have resolved this issue and I can move forward again.


    What helped was deciding “okay, yes, I have this issue but what can I do else to get closer to the dream?” So, I moved one step forward by building a sales page. There isn’t a membership site to sell but …Wow! when that membership site is built , it will be amazing and I have an awesome sales page waiting for it.
    So, when you are feeling overwhelmed with life, time and challenges hindering your progress, ask yourself, what is one step forward today even if it is just a blog post or a video or something else you can create to move you forward.

    Categories: Mindset, Positive Attitude

    Does your job make you happy?

     

    Whether you have to commute to work or you work from home, are you truly happy with what you do?  It is a sad fact that many people are desperately unhappy with their job. When you are not satisfied with your job, this can cause a multitude of problems both at work and home. 

    When i worked as a drafter in my first job, the economy was up and down so I went from job to job. In my first job, I enjoyed the people i worked with and it was great having a pay cheque.  However, when the economy got slow, there was rumor that someone would be laid off (this was the days when jobs could be lifetime). In those months, I started having stomach problems and I even went for a scan.  I never made the connection until after I had been laid off myself and the stomach pain was gone almost instantly. Your work can affect your health. 

    Everyone in the house feels your stress. You feel miserable and your body aches. 

    It might be time to make a change in your life. You can see if you can change your job or make a transfer. You could see what or who is making you unhappy at work and see how you can resolve it. Or you can take a break from the stress by taking time away from work. 

    It may not be possible for you to take time off work or even when you do take time off and upon your return, you know that there is the same situation. Once your health start deteriorating, you really need to consider a change. 

    You could:

    • see if you qualify for a re-training program 
    • try a different field in the same job or
    • try a change in location with new people can make a difference.

    Depression is rampant in middle aged men and so is the risk of suicide. The death rates in the U.S. and Canada in this age group is high and happens far more frequently than you might think. 

    If you are truly unhappy in your job then talk to your doctor and take action before it is too late. Many people have made mid-life career changes so why not you? 

    A new mindset for you would be to consider changing the way you make the money for the lifestyle you want. Why go back to a job that is killing you?  

    Stay there at your current job  for awhile while you consider taking your life into your own hands and create a business that you enjoy doing.  Have you thought about what you need for the lifestyle you want? What income will sustain you and your life? Have you ever thought about running your own business? 

    The Business of At Home Business quiz and workbook would help you look at your vision for your life and the type of business you might be interested in doing.  So download the workbook here for free!   

    Take control of your life! 

    Categories: Be Your Own Boss, Mindset Tags: Tags: , ,

    Omni-channel mobile

    According to +Think with Google surveys are research, 71% of smartphone users surveyed will use their smartphone for research while IN THE STORE. They are comparing, checking for latest prices, availability, choices in the survey during Xmas shopping season.


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

    Education

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    Are you thinking that you don’t have the skills you need to do a home business?  Do you wonder how long it would take to learn the skills for a home business idea you would like to do?  Twenty years ago, you would have to consider:

    1. taking a vocational or university course at only certain times of the year
    2. the tuition costs IF you could get into the course you wanted
    3. the time off of work in order to do the course.

    Now, with the internet, you have the freedom to explore different home business ideas you might be interested in.  You can change the direction of your life by getting education in a new field.  Develop your skills in a new field and see where it takes you. There are many accredited universities that have online courses for their own courses as well as developing courses for other interests.  For example, our local university has whole series of courses developed for the senior crowd to try on a part-time basis from going to Mexico and living in a town to learn Spanish or writing course hosted by well known playwright.  

    Ongoing education is a critical trait for any entrepreneur and I’ ll be speaking further about places and resources to learn the skills and knowledge for an entrepreneur.  To learn more about how to develop the skills of an entrepreneur, subscribe to our newsletter! 

    Categories: Education Tags: Tags: ,

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