One of the things we can do with this extra money we are making is to set ourselves up to make more. Many Americans rank as a top desire: having a business of ones own. The economy lately is giving no guarantees of security so why not have a back up plan. Now I am not suggesting giving up your ‘day job’. On the contrary, as with most of our ideas so far they have been of the slow and steady variety. You always want to be able to keep the paychecks coming to pay those nagging day-to-day expenses. What I am suggesting is a sideline business, ‘Moonlighting’ as it is often referred to. Who knows, maybe one day when you have a nice steady flow of extra income it can become a primary income. But for the time being lets think sideline.
As I explored in the last issue, it helps to know what you want out of life, or at least what you think you might want. I must caution against waiting for all things to be perfect before you decide to pursue a sideline. If you put off till that elusive spare time shows up this might never happen. What you need before hand is a plan, and you have to get a bit specific about it. I can almost assure you that ‘No Timetable’ = ‘No Start’. It just won’t happen. One does not have to get all Harvard Business School about this so don’t let it scare you. We will create a reasonable plan, a ’to do list’, with steps to tackle with due dates for each. Most people can simply consider their TV watching schedule and replace (at least partially) some watching time to start getting things done. Then work on them one at a time. You can always get up a bit earlier on your weekends or stay up late a bit more. It depends on if you are a morning person or night owl. If you have long commutes you might use this time to listen to educational material or dictate your plans and ideas into a recorder. (As long as you don’t get absent minded about your driving)These will be some of the tools you need to find to get started. So think on it, where can you honestly secret some time away for making your life better? This is actually always the first step and when skipped allows others things to take over any hope of making a start on a business of your own.
One of the best fits for a sideline business is the home-based service business like the virtual assistant we discussed in earlier issues. Ecommerce and affiliate businesses are also a great fit. Making your own products could also be your course. We will get into some of this next issue.
One of the great myths about starting your own business is that you are not smart enough to run you own business. This is just self-doubt, it is destructive and not worth it. If you are a person of normal intelligence with the will to just try, you can run a business. Having said that it is true being your own boss is not for everyone. I do feel that there is no super intelligence litmus test you have to pass to be successful with your own business. In the end it is all about sharing a part of your self with others and anyone can do that.
Over the next few weeks we will be discussing some no and low cost start up business idea that work. We will be looking for the type of business that will bring in steady and repeat sales. We will avoid the scams by using good judgment and research. So start thinking about it right now. Give yourself permission to think you can be something bigger than you are now. I think this is going to be fun. Some hard work, but fun.
Showing posts with label virtual assistant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virtual assistant. Show all posts
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Bail Out and Numbers
Unless you have been living under a rock with earmuff on you could not help but notice that the economy of the U.S. and the world is on some shaky ground. There is enough blame to go around. Politicians, Wall Street Mega Investors, asleep at the wheel Regulators, a certain President, unscrupulous lenders and so many others. We the people can take some blame as well. Living beyond ones means is the prevalent lifestyle of many American these days. But no matter who is to blame and no matter how it all turns out, I am sure of one thing. We as individuals have a singular responsibility for forging our future financial success; conversely our failures are upon us as well. Looking towards others or circumstances to blame is all too easy. Each of us must summon up the courage and strength to take the actions that will build our better tomorrow. What ever it is we lack to make the journey easier and faster is just a bump in the road. Go over it, around it, if need be under it, just don’t let that bump be your stopping point.
These days, the Internet provides a far-reaching array of “Get Paid To” programs. We have previewed some of them in our earlier issues. We will continue to flush them out to see how they can be used more effectively through out our time here. We will look at the winners and try to steer you from the losers and rip offs.
In these challenging times it is more important than ever to learn the ways to protect and enhance your finances as well as the quality of your life. For our part we will continue to strive to make making extra money our priority. From our first issue we have used Homepages Friends get paid to search, under the stewardship of Dan the tenor man as our mooring point. Remember, as we build this team , your simplest first step is to simply surf the web to make pay per search money. If you work the system, Dan works to build you a downline. Any questions just drop him a note at tenorman8@yahoo.com with Homepages Friends Blog in the subject line.
In search of extra money, you want to keep adding things to your arsenal such as surveys and the various GPT sites we have discussed. New opportunities will build upon these first steps.
A friend and mentor of mine pointed out that many of the old ways of doing things just aren't working anymore. Be it Wall Street or Main Street, we are looking for a better way. It is our contention that with a mixture of team-work (this team we wish to gather) and personal responsibility (only you can do the actual work) we can succeed as both a group and as individuals. A colleague of mine was talking about the simple rules of success and reminded me of another story.
You may have heard of Bill Britt, one of the most successful distributors in Amway’s history. Some years ago, 20/20 did a feature story on Amway. They spent a lot of time interviewing several distributors who had failed and showed the garages full of products they couldn't sell. They whined and complained about all the money they spent yet they were not getting rich.
During the last minute of the show, Mr. Britt was interviewed in front of his multi million dollar home.
He was asked, "Mr. Britt, this business has obviously worked for you. “What's your secret?"
He replied, "There is no secret. I simply showed the plan to 1200 people. 900 said, 'No.' and only 300 signed up. Out of those 300, only 85 did anything at all. Out of those 85 only 35 were serious, and out of those 35, 11 made me a millionaire.
Like so many success stories be it in business or not, it is built upon numbers. Be it the number of searches you do, surveys you take, hours you work, ads you place, it is all about the numbers. Persistence does pay off and with it you will succeed., we want to help.
Let’s work on our own ‘bail out plan’, one that works for us for a change.
These days, the Internet provides a far-reaching array of “Get Paid To” programs. We have previewed some of them in our earlier issues. We will continue to flush them out to see how they can be used more effectively through out our time here. We will look at the winners and try to steer you from the losers and rip offs.
In these challenging times it is more important than ever to learn the ways to protect and enhance your finances as well as the quality of your life. For our part we will continue to strive to make making extra money our priority. From our first issue we have used Homepages Friends get paid to search, under the stewardship of Dan the tenor man as our mooring point. Remember, as we build this team , your simplest first step is to simply surf the web to make pay per search money. If you work the system, Dan works to build you a downline. Any questions just drop him a note at tenorman8@yahoo.com with Homepages Friends Blog in the subject line.
In search of extra money, you want to keep adding things to your arsenal such as surveys and the various GPT sites we have discussed. New opportunities will build upon these first steps.
A friend and mentor of mine pointed out that many of the old ways of doing things just aren't working anymore. Be it Wall Street or Main Street, we are looking for a better way. It is our contention that with a mixture of team-work (this team we wish to gather) and personal responsibility (only you can do the actual work) we can succeed as both a group and as individuals. A colleague of mine was talking about the simple rules of success and reminded me of another story.
You may have heard of Bill Britt, one of the most successful distributors in Amway’s history. Some years ago, 20/20 did a feature story on Amway. They spent a lot of time interviewing several distributors who had failed and showed the garages full of products they couldn't sell. They whined and complained about all the money they spent yet they were not getting rich.
During the last minute of the show, Mr. Britt was interviewed in front of his multi million dollar home.
He was asked, "Mr. Britt, this business has obviously worked for you. “What's your secret?"
He replied, "There is no secret. I simply showed the plan to 1200 people. 900 said, 'No.' and only 300 signed up. Out of those 300, only 85 did anything at all. Out of those 85 only 35 were serious, and out of those 35, 11 made me a millionaire.
Like so many success stories be it in business or not, it is built upon numbers. Be it the number of searches you do, surveys you take, hours you work, ads you place, it is all about the numbers. Persistence does pay off and with it you will succeed., we want to help.
Let’s work on our own ‘bail out plan’, one that works for us for a change.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Virtual Assistant Part II
Hope you all had a great weekend. Did you watch the 60th Anniversary Emmy Award Show? I missed it. I am told it was one of the most boring in memory; which helps. What does the term “Emmy” stand for anyways? Well I am glad you asked (well you might have if you were here with me). The name “Emmy” is a female version of “immy”, a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes used in early television cameras.
VA part II
Success with the homepages friends websearches, surveys or GPT all take a wee bit of persistence. For the amount of time it takes to do 20+ searches a day is minimal. Going through the surveys sent to you and finishing them is a drop in the bucket and the GPT games, offers and read email sites fly by. You just have to sit down and make it kind of a ritual. It is good to have a hobby mindset so that it does not become too much like work. You can do it while watching TV or at a time of day you want to relax. If you are the type that always has a computer nearby you can do it throughout the day. Many times I hear an odd name or interesting person mentioned on TV or the radio and I check it out on homepages friends search engine. It is all about working the system; it is the only way the system works out. (It you are not a member of our intrepid group yet; get to it. Email Dan at http://www.blogger.com/tenorman8@ymail.com%20). We want to make this thing work for everyone. We hope to expand and grow our group to the benefit of all. Most of all we are always open to suggestions.
Last issue we introduced the concept of being a Virtual Assistant to add to possible resources of extra money. It would require a more serious commitment of time. The possibility of greater earning potential is also there. If you already have some basic office supplies, phone, computer, printer, and possibly a fax machine you could be in business in no time. To review, "A Virtual Assistant or VA is an independent contractor/freelancer and entrepreneur who assists in taking care of the administrative and technical side of someone else’s business or life. They assist with clients business on a contractual basis from a remote location. While most VAs performs administrative tasks they can be more than just a home-based secretary. Depending on the qualifications you bring to the job, the skys the limit.
Being a VA is a reasonable way to make extra money while still staying at home. It allows you to pursue even more extra money by being able to keep up with your other streams of income without the time constraints of a regular 9to5. Here is a link to start some research
http://www.vanetworking.com/what-is-a-va.htm
The plan to have multiple streams of income is a basic tenet of business. Even big business practices it. So here is to making it. We all can do it. Never give up.
VA part II
Success with the homepages friends websearches, surveys or GPT all take a wee bit of persistence. For the amount of time it takes to do 20+ searches a day is minimal. Going through the surveys sent to you and finishing them is a drop in the bucket and the GPT games, offers and read email sites fly by. You just have to sit down and make it kind of a ritual. It is good to have a hobby mindset so that it does not become too much like work. You can do it while watching TV or at a time of day you want to relax. If you are the type that always has a computer nearby you can do it throughout the day. Many times I hear an odd name or interesting person mentioned on TV or the radio and I check it out on homepages friends search engine. It is all about working the system; it is the only way the system works out. (It you are not a member of our intrepid group yet; get to it. Email Dan at http://www.blogger.com/tenorman8@ymail.com%20). We want to make this thing work for everyone. We hope to expand and grow our group to the benefit of all. Most of all we are always open to suggestions.
Last issue we introduced the concept of being a Virtual Assistant to add to possible resources of extra money. It would require a more serious commitment of time. The possibility of greater earning potential is also there. If you already have some basic office supplies, phone, computer, printer, and possibly a fax machine you could be in business in no time. To review, "A Virtual Assistant or VA is an independent contractor/freelancer and entrepreneur who assists in taking care of the administrative and technical side of someone else’s business or life. They assist with clients business on a contractual basis from a remote location. While most VAs performs administrative tasks they can be more than just a home-based secretary. Depending on the qualifications you bring to the job, the skys the limit.
Being a VA is a reasonable way to make extra money while still staying at home. It allows you to pursue even more extra money by being able to keep up with your other streams of income without the time constraints of a regular 9to5. Here is a link to start some research
http://www.vanetworking.com/what-is-a-va.htm
The plan to have multiple streams of income is a basic tenet of business. Even big business practices it. So here is to making it. We all can do it. Never give up.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Virtural Assistant Part I
Hi to all. If any of you were in the wake of Hurricane Ike, I hope all is well. I know it is not over yet with rebuilding and getting back to whatever normal you can. All our best thoughts and hopes are with you. On an aside, if you were fortunate enough not to have ever been caught in an emergency such as Katrina or Ike you will never know how needful relief can be. If some of my suggestions lead you to some extra money, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross or some other relief organization. The need is great and the funds are running low. Do what you can.
Now if you will forgive me for getting back to our pursuit here. Making some extra money without spending a ton in return. As many of you know we are coming along nicely with the corner stone of this project. The myhomepagefriends GPT surf the net program. Dan is building s for our members and things are coming together. If you haven’t signed up yet go to tenorman8@ymail.com he will give you all the facts and run downs.
With paid surveys being another avenue towards extra change in your pockets I went ahead and started another blog to concentrate on that area with reviews and tips on all things surveys at surveylowdown.blogspot.com . Any suggestion you have on how we can improve our intrepid project just chime in. This is a work in progress and we intend to try and help as many people as possible become wealthier and have some fun in the process.
Now this week’s idea is a bit of a challenge, but one that might pay great dividends. Market yourself as a Virtual Assistant. This has all the buzz going for it these days and is considered a growing field. With the nature of business changing every day, the way business is conducted must also change. Many a small business have an urgent need for help but don’t have the funds for full time staff such as a secretary or assistant.
In a nutshell a virtual assistant (VA) is an individual who provides services for businesses or professionals over the Internet. Communication is generally done online although there may be phone conversations. Files are sent back and forth via email or fax, and completed work is returned the same way. Virtual assistants can have clients in their local area or across the country, sometimes halfway around the world. VA’s can work anywhere depending on what services can be offered. VA’s often never even meet their clients face to face.
VA’s need not limit themselves to working for only one business or professional, instead they may work for numerous clients, whether long-term or a project at a time.
As a VA, you can offer wide-ranging services. Think about your strong points. Are you an experienced secretary? Is desktop publishing your passion? Do you have a law background that would allow you to offer legal assistance? The possibilities for the services you can offer really are endless. You can offer as many or as few services as you’d like. Just make sure you are strong in the services you are going to offer. It’s obviously better to offer one service in which you excel rather than a handful of services in which your expertise is only marginal. Lets take a list of the services a VA can offer that is by no means complete.. .
· Accounting
· Bookkeeping
· Data entry
· Desktop Publishing
· Dictation
· Event Planning
· Internet Research
· Legal
· Mailing
· Marketing
· Phone support
· Proofreading
· Secretarial
· Transcription (medical, legal, etc.)
· Translation
· Travel Arrangements
· Web site design and maintenance
· Word Processing
How much you earn will depend on what you have to offer. Some VA’s charge about $10 per hour while others as high as $50. So depending on what you want to charge it is what the market allows. You can find out what others are making. You can find this out by Googling virtual assistance or possibly checking with you local Chamber of Commerce.
Your level of experience will also have a bearing on your fee. Remember, this can be life experience as well as office experience. A beginner won’t want to charge as much as someone with ten years of solid experience in a fortune 500 firms. As you gain so will your ability to demand a higher fee.
Start up costs for a VA business could be virtually nothing, especially if you already have most of the equipment you’ll need. A computer, Internet connection, a phone with an answering machine and a fax and your ready to go.
Most computers already come equipped with some sort of fax program, and you can usually find a printer/scanner/copier combination for around $100, a worthy investment. Do you already have an office in your home? If not, is there an area you can designate specifically for your virtual assistant business? This is an issue for an accountant but treat what you do seriously and keep records.
In part 2 we will go over more of the fine points and some extra resources.
Now if you will forgive me for getting back to our pursuit here. Making some extra money without spending a ton in return. As many of you know we are coming along nicely with the corner stone of this project. The myhomepagefriends GPT surf the net program. Dan is building s for our members and things are coming together. If you haven’t signed up yet go to tenorman8@ymail.com he will give you all the facts and run downs.
With paid surveys being another avenue towards extra change in your pockets I went ahead and started another blog to concentrate on that area with reviews and tips on all things surveys at surveylowdown.blogspot.com . Any suggestion you have on how we can improve our intrepid project just chime in. This is a work in progress and we intend to try and help as many people as possible become wealthier and have some fun in the process.
Now this week’s idea is a bit of a challenge, but one that might pay great dividends. Market yourself as a Virtual Assistant. This has all the buzz going for it these days and is considered a growing field. With the nature of business changing every day, the way business is conducted must also change. Many a small business have an urgent need for help but don’t have the funds for full time staff such as a secretary or assistant.
In a nutshell a virtual assistant (VA) is an individual who provides services for businesses or professionals over the Internet. Communication is generally done online although there may be phone conversations. Files are sent back and forth via email or fax, and completed work is returned the same way. Virtual assistants can have clients in their local area or across the country, sometimes halfway around the world. VA’s can work anywhere depending on what services can be offered. VA’s often never even meet their clients face to face.
VA’s need not limit themselves to working for only one business or professional, instead they may work for numerous clients, whether long-term or a project at a time.
As a VA, you can offer wide-ranging services. Think about your strong points. Are you an experienced secretary? Is desktop publishing your passion? Do you have a law background that would allow you to offer legal assistance? The possibilities for the services you can offer really are endless. You can offer as many or as few services as you’d like. Just make sure you are strong in the services you are going to offer. It’s obviously better to offer one service in which you excel rather than a handful of services in which your expertise is only marginal. Lets take a list of the services a VA can offer that is by no means complete.. .
· Accounting
· Bookkeeping
· Data entry
· Desktop Publishing
· Dictation
· Event Planning
· Internet Research
· Legal
· Mailing
· Marketing
· Phone support
· Proofreading
· Secretarial
· Transcription (medical, legal, etc.)
· Translation
· Travel Arrangements
· Web site design and maintenance
· Word Processing
How much you earn will depend on what you have to offer. Some VA’s charge about $10 per hour while others as high as $50. So depending on what you want to charge it is what the market allows. You can find out what others are making. You can find this out by Googling virtual assistance or possibly checking with you local Chamber of Commerce.
Your level of experience will also have a bearing on your fee. Remember, this can be life experience as well as office experience. A beginner won’t want to charge as much as someone with ten years of solid experience in a fortune 500 firms. As you gain so will your ability to demand a higher fee.
Start up costs for a VA business could be virtually nothing, especially if you already have most of the equipment you’ll need. A computer, Internet connection, a phone with an answering machine and a fax and your ready to go.
Most computers already come equipped with some sort of fax program, and you can usually find a printer/scanner/copier combination for around $100, a worthy investment. Do you already have an office in your home? If not, is there an area you can designate specifically for your virtual assistant business? This is an issue for an accountant but treat what you do seriously and keep records.
In part 2 we will go over more of the fine points and some extra resources.
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