Business Cards and Brand Building for a Small Business Owner

Are you losing credibility and damaging the brand of your business through lack of attention to one of your critical marketing tools in your business, your business card? Discover how your business card can enhance your brand and ensure that you stand out from your competition.

When we are at a networking event or meeting a client, it's almost guaranteed that we will exchange business cards.

Very often, without realising it, we are assessing our colleague by their business card, and asking ourselves:

- Is the business card professionally designed?
- Is the business card crumpled at the edges?
- How does the weight of the business card feel - substantive or flimsy?
- Does it look like the business card has been made on their PC - or worse still does it have a message at the bottom of the card to say where you too can access free cards?

I have collected thousands of business cards over my time in business and every time I am sub-consciously assessing the professional status of them and their business when I receive their business card.

We review someone's card at least 3 times:

1. once on receiving it
2. a second time when we put it in our pocket, folio or bag as we leave the meeting
3. and a third time as we make a decision to keep it, transfer the information into our data bank or bin it!

Our business card is a critical part of our marketing collateral and even if you can not afford to put in place other marketing materials, short changing the investment in developing a professional business card is definitely not something we should do if we are looking to develop a professional brand.

When meeting someone in person, alongside how you present yourself in person, your business card can enhance or devalue the strength of your brand and how you are perceived by others.

Here are four tips to enhance your brand through your business card:

1. Ensure that you work with a professional designer to develop your business card. It's not whether you like the design, it's about whether it will represent your business effectively and professionally to your target audience

2. Ideally have your business card printed on 400g card and by a traditional lithographic printer. Yes it is more expensive than digital printing, but the quality is worth investing in and a litho print gives far greater definition to your corporate identity and the colour of your brand

3. Matt laminate your card on the reverse for extra stability and style. Don't laminate both sides as people will not be able to write on your card - we often note down things to remember about the person we met on their card

4. Use the valuable real estate on the back of your card to provide a call to action, for example, how to access your white paper or special report on your web site.

Take action:

Over the next 30 days, take the opportunity to review the business cards of your contacts and assess their card against yours.

1. What can you learn from other peoples business cards?

2. How could you take those learnings and further enhance your business card?

Your goal is to ensure that your business card is a positive reflection of both you and your company, and it represents a strong brand.

Invest in your business card, distribute it widely and you will be sure of expanding your professional success.

About The Author

Krishna De invites you to join her in conversation with experts from around the globe to discover how to build your brand and grow your professional services firm at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com/. You will also receive access to Biz Growth Express a weekly newsletter bringing you strategies, inspiration and tips to grow your professional services practice. Register today at: http://www.krishnade.com/.

Ensuring A Profitable Home Based Business Opportunity

If you would like to be one of many who has found a home based business opportunity and become successful with it, then hard work is going to be needed to achieve this goal. A home business opportunity is quite popular now for various reasons. Some people need a home business to help them supplement the income received from there regular job, while others need the home based business as a way for them to keep busy as they might not have another job.

There are many different and numerous types of home based business opportunity for people to become involved in. They range for medical transcription services, to selling cosmetics and toiletries. Each opportunity is unique and suitable for just the right kind of person. There are a number of people or companies who will try to convince you there home business opportunity is perfect for you, when in fact, it might not be. It is up to you to weed through all of the different opportunities to find one that will make you successful. The question, which now arises, is how to ensure that when you have started your home business opportunity that is a profitable one?

You should be aware that a profitable home based business must first start with the correct home based opportunity. Most people choose a home business opportunity, which is quite popular, and everyone knows about. However, the problem, which arises with this, is, without realizing it, the market has already become saturated with many people selling the same product. In this way, your chances of having a profitable home business will diminish due to over availability of the product. On the other hand, choosing a home business opportunity that no one has ever heard of is too risky if this is your first time working with a home based business opportunity. Just because a product or concept might be new, there is no guarantee that it will sell. Therefore you run the risk of not making a profit at all with your home based business opportunity.

In order to ensure you are on your way with a profitable home based business opportunity, everyone thinking about working at home, should think about the amount of money necessary in starting a business. Each different type of home based business opportunity will require various amounts of time and finance dedicated to the job to make it work. For you business to be profitable, it is necessary to first plan out how much will initially be invested into it. A new startup business can quickly drain a bank account if a business plan is not initially drawn up. Therefore, to ensure you business is a profitable one, spend time budgeting out your much money will be allocated for each aspect of the business, and stick to this business plan without spending carelessly.

When first starting a home based business opportunity, a lot of hours are necessary in order to make the business as profitable as possible. This would initially include time spent away from family and friends growing your business to a stable level. Therefore, to ensure your business is profitable, the hours spent away from loved ones must be factored in.

After considering the amount of money and time which is needed to make your home based business opportunity profitable, the most important advice would be to start marketing your business as much as possible. There are many forms of business marketing available such as word of mouth, business cards, brochures and flyers, or ads in the newspaper. Yet whatever type of marketing you choose to adopt, be consistent with it. With more people becoming aware of your business, and telling their friends about it, the more profitable your business will be.

About The Author

Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Find all of the elements of an extraordinarily simple online home based business opportunity that you can prosper with at http://www.moxie-drive.com.

3 Key Internet Business Start-Up Ideas - Without a Website

A great deal of money has been made by online entrepreneurs who have implemented these 3 highly successful business models that can help you create income online without having to invest a single a cent in website design, hosting, optimizing or website maintenance.

1. Affiliate Marketing

This is how to set yourself up as an affiliate marketer

1. Becoming an Affiliate

Firstly you need to sign up as an affiliate with individual companies or affiliate networks that represent several companies.

These affiliate networks usually have a wide range of products and services to choose from and offer everything from e-books to networking products to sell.

They also administer your account in such a way as to provide you with up to date earning and traffic statistics.

2. Get Products and Services to Sell

Next you need to identify the products or companies whose products you would like to promote.

You can do this by either choosing the most popular, hottest selling products or the ones that you have an interest in or are knowledgeable about.

3. Selling and Marketing

Once you've got your unique affiliate link, which you'll get from the affiliate network, for each product that you want to sell you need to start getting it all over the internet.

This link can then be promoted by,

1. advertising it

One of the most effective and most popular advertising models involves you setting up a Google Adwords account

You then purchase pay-per-click keywords on which determine when, where and how often your Google Adsense ads appear all over the internet.

Your affiliate tracking code will be embedded in the Adsense link which will send buyers directly to the affiliate merchant.

You will then earn commission on each sale made.

This is the best way of getting massive targetted traffic to the merchant's site where your prospects will hopefully make a purchase.

However, whilst you may be generating traffic don't forget that each click your ad gets costs you money and if you are spending more on Adwords advertising than you are generating in commission you will be out of pocket soon.

2. having it included in someone else’s website

3. using it in an e-mail newsletter - direct marketing

2. Start Selling on eBay

eBay is the hottest e-commerce site on the web today, and for good reason...

* More than 2 million people visit eBay.com every single day, spending an

average of two hours navigating through eBay's pages and listings

* More than $1,000 in sales happen on eBay every single second

* 72% of eBay users have incomes in excess of $50,000 per year--so they come ready to spend!

And while those listings will cost you only pennies to place on eBay's pages, you gain immediate access to millions of buyers who are looking for items just like yours.

3. Start Selling on Purpose Built Websites

One of the easiest ways of setting up an online business is to buy into a ready made store front that will be populated with thousands of digital products and services all embedded with your unique affiliate tracking code

So everytime a purchase is made from your site you are credited with the commission.

So there you have it, employ one or all three methods to launch a legitimate and sustainable online business.

About The Author

Mark Bellinger, a university graduate, is a successful businessman and entrepreneur exploring legitimate and lucrative internet opportunities, ways to make money on the internet and how to generate income online without a website.

Researching An Internet Home Based Business Opportunity

If you are a looking for more ways to earn more, consider an internet home based business. When choosing the right internet home based business, it is important to choose the opportunity that matches the skills you have, in a field that you enjoy. Shifting through the different advertisements and flyers, you will find that there are lots of internet home based business opportunities being promoted, and it might be hard finding the right one. There is also the problem of finding a home based business opportunity, which is legitimate. There are a number of people looking to sell you an "opportunity" which is really a scam. Therefore, all these things must be considered when starting to look for the right internet home based business opportunity.

To choose the right internet home based business, start with the field that you already know something about. For example, if you have experience in the health care field, look for opportunities to work from home in the health care field. This is actually one of the most important factors for any job - finding something you like and putting all your energy into making it work.

After you have determined the area or field you want to look for your new internet home based business in, the next step would be to actually research the different opportunities available to you as a home worker. Home based business opportunities can be found almost everywhere we look. You can search for your new business opportunity in the newspaper, magazine ad, Internet, posters in your neighborhood, or on the Internet. The Internet is one of the best places to look for home based business opportunities, as it is not limited to your local area, but will have information about opportunities occurring worldwide.

When a list of internet home based business opportunities has been compiled in an area or field you feel comfortable in, spending time comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of each business opportunity. It is important to really consider every aspect of an internet home based business, before taking the plunge into it. Things to compare and contrast about your different internet home based business opportunities would be criteria such as the amount of time needed to set it up, the amount of money involved in running it, the amount of support given from the parent company, and the length of time estimated before you start achieving a profit.

After all the different advantages and disadvantages have been considered in regards to your internet home based business opportunity, it should be more clear to you, which opportunity will cost the least of your time and money, and be right for your to promote. But it should be cautioned to not rush into any opportunity before carefully considering all the disadvantages attached to it. The worse scenario to occur would be for you to decide midway into your internet home based business, that you are ill-suited for it, after investing so many hours into your new business.

In the end, when researching internet home based business opportunities it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to choose the create opportunity for you. A new internet home based business opportunity can be something that comes "prepackaged". In these types of opportunities, you are more likely to have the support of the company's more senior members. However, some people opt to choose a business opportunity that they have heard about from somewhere else and perfected themselves. In this scenario, less or almost no support is available. Regardless, of which of these options you choose, the bottom line is find an internet home based business opportunity you can enjoy!

About The Author

Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Find all of the elements of an extraordinarily simple internet home based business opportunity that you can prosper with at http://www.moxie-drive.com.

7 Ways To Guarantee Success For WAHM (Work At Home Moms)

Are you a WAHM (work at home mom)? Or maybe you’d like to be one?

You’ve made a great decision. As a work at home mom you get the best of both worlds. You are home with your kids so they are being raised by you instead of a daycare worker, and you also are making an income to support your family. Work at home moms have it all – the joy of their children, the mental stimulation of a career, and a stress-free, comfortable work environment.

“Wait!” You say, “WAHM jobs are not stress-free!” Well ladies I’m here to tell you it can be done. Consider me your personal WAHM resource for solutions to your work at home problems. Follow these simple steps to create an organized and effective work at home environment.

Key to Success #1: Create A Flexible Schedule

Babies need to be on a schedule right away. In fact they thrive and actually cry less knowing that they can count on their needs being met regularly.

For most babies you can follow a simple schedule of feeding time, followed by activity time, then sleep time. The length varies for each step depending on the age of your child.

Activities also vary according to age. Your baby could be staring at a mobile turning above her, playing with brightly colored toys, reading a book with you, or banging away on a drum and singing.

Here’s the key – your baby needs to learn how to play on their own as well. So during part of activity time you should allow your baby to enjoy playing alone. This will give you a little “you” time. You can keep a watchful eye on them from across the room, or depending on their age and if they are in a safe area, you can use a baby monitor.

Be sure to watch for signs of your baby getting tired. If you delay putting them to bed you can actually miss the window of opportunity and you’ll have a very fussy baby who won’t go to sleep. At the first sign of a yawn or face and eye rubbing, it’s time to put them down for a nap.

Then you can knuckle down and accomplish your work tasks. It’s very important for you to list your goals and action steps and do the most important tasks first. That way if baby wakes up early you have already done the most important thing for your day!

Repeat this schedule throughout your day so you and your baby know what to expect and when. They won’t adapt to this overnight, be patient and keep at it. And remember that the length of each cycle will continually change as they grow. Stay flexible while still maintaining the cycle of feeding, activity then sleep.

Key to Success #2: You Can Only Do What You Can Do

This is so important for WAHM work at home moms. Think about it a second. You can only do what you can do. There is no sense in worrying that your day didn’t go as planned and you didn’t achieve this or that. Get used to it!

You have an important job here, and that is taking care of your little one. Work is important and has its place but you have a responsibility to keep yourself healthy and sane. If your baby has a meltdown and you’re unable to get to your work for another hour, so be it. Don’t waste energy worrying or fretting about it.

If you’re going to be successful you’ll have to work at odd times and make sacrifices here and there. Maybe you’ll do a little work after baby is in bed for the night, maybe you skip some TV time. Do what you can, when you can, and feel proud that you are taking steps every single day towards your goal – a happy baby and a successful mommy!

Also, consider working for yourself in a home business instead of working an at-home “job”. You’ll have much less stress because you’ll answer to you, not your boss, and you won’t feel like you’re trying to compete with the others at the office. Plus, you’ll be earning money for yourself and growing your business instead of working to make your boss rich.

Key to Success #3: Practice Good Self-Care

During your baby’s alone activity time and his sleep time you can get a lot of work done. But don’t forget that you need to take care of YOU! Without you at your emotional best even the smallest thing can turn you into a walking time bomb.

Take the time to relax in a hot bath, read an inspirational book, get a massage, take a walk alone, or whatever helps you to clear your mind and focus on you. You are the most important part of this equation!

Key to Success #4: Ask For Help

So often we think we’re alone, or that we’re weak if we ask for help. This is a time in our lives that we need help more than ever. We just can’t possibly do it all.

So ask your family, friends and neighbors to assist your efforts. Whether it’s for babysitting (even if you’re there at your desk working) or buying groceries, enlist the support of others so you can have a break or accomplish a task. You deserve it!

Key to Success #5: Exercise

It doesn’t matter if you do yoga, go to the gym, walk the neighborhood, hike the trails or use a climbing wall. Be active every day. Exercise keeps you young, stimulates those “feel good” hormones in your body, refreshes you mentally, and helps get rid of those pregnancy pounds too.

Don’t beat yourself up with an unrealistic exercise program. Just work it into your day. You can even space it out. Studies show that 10 minutes of exercise three times a day is just as beneficial as 30 minutes at one time. The important thing is to do it regularly, and preferably every day.

Key to Success #6: Be Grateful Every Day

This is so important. Do this in the morning while you brush your teeth, shower, or even while feeding baby. Run through in your mind everything you are grateful for.

You can begin thinking “I am so happy and grateful that…my family is healthy, we have this roof over our head, we are warm and safe, my parents live close by, we have food in the pantry, I have the ability to work from home, I have the skills I need to succeed, I have access to the internet to maintain a business” etc…

Don’t skip this step. It will put you in the right frame of mind to accomplish your goals every day.

Key to Success #7: Maximize Your Work Time

As a work at home mom your attention is constantly being pulled in many directions. It’s so important that the time you spend working is maximized.

What do I mean by maximizing your time? I mean be sure that your efforts have a clear and substantial reward. It makes no sense to take time away from your children if you’re not well compensated. In my business I make at least $1000 per transaction, so I always know my time is well spent.

You also want to utilize the concept of leverage in your business. There should be a system in place so that you do the work once, but keep benefiting from those initial efforts later on, without more time or input from you.

Using these keys to success will create a happier and healthier you and baby, as well as a more productive business. As a work at home mom you need to be so careful to maintain balance in your life. Using a WAHM resource such as this, as well as other books or articles, can help you eliminate stress and accomplish more each day. For more information visit http://www.FollowALeader.com/wahm Remember these keys to success to protect your sanity and live at your best, and your personal and business success will grow every day.

About The Author

Kara Jankowski is a WAHM who specializes in teaching others how to build a successful home business in their part time. If you would like to speak to Kara or learn more about her home business experience visit http://www.FollowALeader.com/wahm or call her directly at 603-664-3553.

Ensuring A Profitable Home Based Business Opportunity

If you would like to be one of many who has found a home based business opportunity and become successful with it, then hard work is going to be needed to achieve this goal. A home business opportunity is quite popular now for various reasons. Some people need a home business to help them supplement the income received from there regular job, while others need the home based business as a way for them to keep busy as they might not have another job.

There are many different and numerous types of home based business opportunity for people to become involved in. They range for medical transcription services, to selling cosmetics and toiletries. Each opportunity is unique and suitable for just the right kind of person. There are a number of people or companies who will try to convince you there home business opportunity is perfect for you, when in fact, it might not be. It is up to you to weed through all of the different opportunities to find one that will make you successful. The question, which now arises, is how to ensure that when you have started your home business opportunity that is a profitable one?

You should be aware that a profitable home based business must first start with the correct home based opportunity. Most people choose a home business opportunity, which is quite popular, and everyone knows about. However, the problem, which arises with this, is, without realizing it, the market has already become saturated with many people selling the same product. In this way, your chances of having a profitable home business will diminish due to over availability of the product. On the other hand, choosing a home business opportunity that no one has ever heard of is too risky if this is your first time working with a home based business opportunity. Just because a product or concept might be new, there is no guarantee that it will sell. Therefore you run the risk of not making a profit at all with your home based business opportunity.

In order to ensure you are on your way with a profitable home based business opportunity, everyone thinking about working at home, should think about the amount of money necessary in starting a business. Each different type of home based business opportunity will require various amounts of time and finance dedicated to the job to make it work. For you business to be profitable, it is necessary to first plan out how much will initially be invested into it. A new startup business can quickly drain a bank account if a business plan is not initially drawn up. Therefore, to ensure you business is a profitable one, spend time budgeting out your much money will be allocated for each aspect of the business, and stick to this business plan without spending carelessly.

When first starting a home based business opportunity, a lot of hours are necessary in order to make the business as profitable as possible. This would initially include time spent away from family and friends growing your business to a stable level. Therefore, to ensure your business is profitable, the hours spent away from loved ones must be factored in.

After considering the amount of money and time which is needed to make your home based business opportunity profitable, the most important advice would be to start marketing your business as much as possible. There are many forms of business marketing available such as word of mouth, business cards, brochures and flyers, or ads in the newspaper. Yet whatever type of marketing you choose to adopt, be consistent with it. With more people becoming aware of your business, and telling their friends about it, the more profitable your business will be.

About The Author Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Find all of the elements of an extraordinarily simple online home based business opportunity that you can prosper with at http://www.moxie-drive.com.

Being Your Own Boss

Some people ask me why I started my home business here (developing websites), leaving a good dayjob position for it too. Well, I wanted a flexible job, where I wouldn't be bound to strict hours or days even. I was planning a family at the time, and wanted to be able to manage my own time. Yes, I do realize some people will lecture you about how a home business is a business just like any other, and that in order to be a success, you have to actually put in even more time than if you were just a hired employee in someone else's gig.

That is true actually. The more you invest into your own venture, time-wise, the more likely you are to be making even more money. However, for some of us money is not the number one priority in life. My home enterprise is really taking off these days, as my kids are getting older and I have more time to work. Granted, for the first few years it was not as easy, and indeed fewer work hours also meant a much smaller growth rate and less profit. So what? at least I could still keep it running, even if on the back burner. Unlike a 9-5 job, where you can't just decide that you're going to put in a 20 hours work week, instead of full time, just because you feel it's the right time for you to be with your kids. See the difference? it's about independence and making your own choices. Yes, you need to realize that these choices come at a certain cost, but they also may bring you special rewards. Either way, it's up to you to make them. Not your boss.