Today's Feature Article

Your Online Business Has Been up & Running for Two Months & Still Isn't Turning a Profit ~ What Could Be Wrong?
Alice Seba

Many people decide to start a home-based business in times of economic need. This is not likely the best time to plunge into the world of entrepreneurship.

If you need money to pay for groceries and to make sure that your electricity will not be shut off...what you really need is a good old-fashioned J-O-B.

However, that is often easier said than done. There are job shortages and daycare is not always an option. You can try to find a telecommuting job, but good and legitimate ones are hard to find.

Still, all those factors do not change the fact that a successful home based business takes time to build. Most businesses do not begin to show profit in their first two years. The first two years are times of growth and reinvestment of any earning back into the business.

If you need to put your online business on the fast track, there are things you can do to get to profit a little faster. This begins with...

Take Yourself Seriously!

You are a business person and if your goal is to earn a living, your business is not a hobby. Running a business requires skills, knowledge and is an ongoing learning process. I'm always surprised at the number of stay at home moms who build their website, exchange a few links, join a mom's group and expect the sales to start rolling in.

If you are a serious business person, it is time to start acting like one. You need to take responsibility for your success and learn how to run a business. Here are a few ideas to help you get serious:

Your online business must begin with a professional, user- friendly website. You don't have to pay a web designer thousands of dollars ~ you can do it yourself. Just do yourself a favor and register your own domain and get your own web hosting. Free hosting with pop-ups may be fine for a personal site, but you're running a business here.

While you are designing your site, you need to have some understanding of how search engines work. Otherwise, you'll have to go back later and fix your mistakes. Do your homework!

You are a little fish in a big, big sea of dot com giants. Networking will inevitably have to part of your marketing plan. If you missed our article on strategic networking, read it now at

http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/articles2/strategic_networking.htm

This will provide you with valuable tips on networking and partnering with other business people to your mutual benefit.

Build your mailing list and write to them regularly. People need to be reminded about your business on a regular basis. Don't just include your sales pitch. Be sure to include content that is useful to your audience.

Use advertising wisely. Just buying a banner spot is not going to guarantee you traffic and sales. Review our article on finding the right place to advertise ~ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/ad_value.htm & our article on writing effective ad copy ~ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/ad_copy.htm

Keep the media informed about your business. Embark on an ongoing press release campaign to help you get the local... and perhaps national...exposure that your business needs. This article will help you get started on your campaign ~ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/articles2/press_release.htm

These ideas aren't going to get you rich quick...sorry...I don't offer get rich quick advice. However, they will help you start building a solid business that with hard work and patience, will bring you long lasting income into the future.

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Alice Seba, is the editor of InternetBasedMoms.com and author of An Internet Based Mom's Guide to Marketing Your Website ~ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/ebooks/an essential guide for any mom with a cyber business

Today's Motivational Reading

3 Positive Steps for Destroying Fear, Building Confidence & Big Profits!
by Doug West

Many would-be entrepreneurs never get ahead with their biz plans or ideas because of the big Fear Factor! They'd really like to make some project click, but too many negative thoughts and ideas hold them back. They worry about failure, legal problems, family opposition, rejection and a myriad of other possibilities. Here we will outline 3 things you can do now to destroy fear and move on confidently toward success!

1) Take Action!

Action actually cures fear. Once you get in the middle of a project, you mind will start looking for ways to make your plan work. Inaction, or doing nothing is fear's workshop. Not doing anything will destroy your confidence and those negative thoughts will dominate.

If a net biz is in your plans, take time to learn some new things. You don't have to be an expert on tech issues (experts are a dime a dozen and you can hire as many as you need), but it does help to know something about it. A little understanding on your part can relieve a LOT of stress and doubt. Take time to do your homework.

2) Focus On The Positives!

We live in a negative world, so don't beat yourself up too bad if you have fallen into the grove of doubtful thinking. The good news is that you can get out of that rut! When it comes to your biz plan, focus on the reasons why it can work instead of why it won't. Whatever you focus on, that is what you will come up with. It's funny how the mind works.

Since our business is teaching folks how to earn online income, we did an exercise where we asked individuals if it would be possible to take a homeless person from the street and teach them how to make money online. The results of our research were interesting!

The ones who were less successful said that it would not be possible, that the person would not even have a PC to work with, or an address to mail his checks to. They could think of every negative reason in the world why our experiment with a homeless person would not work.

On the other hand, the more successful folks (who have earned income online) started to tell us all the reasons why it could work. We could take the street person to the library and teach them how to get online. They could set up a Pay Pal account and have commissions deposited there. We could help them set up a P.O. Box to get mail.

These were some of the same ideas that the less successful folks came up with when we asked them "Well just imagine for a moment that it could be done, how would you do it?" Then positive answers came!

So get your mind reasoning on all the ways something will work, and it will come up with many ideas for you. If you focus on the negatives, it will paint a picture for you full of reasons why your plan or biz won't work! Try it yourself. Have some fun with it. Then focus on the positives for the rest of your life!

3) Praise Others!

It is easy to tell everyone what they are doing wrong. Seems like that is what most folks concentrate on these days. We are all imperfect, and you would never run out of material. However, try to encourage others by expressing thanks for what they do right. It will go a long way toward forming lasting relationships with people.

When something does not go right, don't be so quick to complain. Here is an actual email we received from someone. Keep in mind that this is the first time we had heard from this person. What would be your thoughts on them as an individual?

"tried to call at 7:30 CST, which is the same as 7:30 MDT isn't it? Any way the line was dead. tried 3 times past 7:30 before and past MDT. Dead. carelessness irresponsibiltiy is teh name of the game. Screw somew over some how. hello arrogance"

(Misspellings and grammar mistakes as received)

Turns out that this person tried to call in on one of our conference calls, but mistakenly thought that Mountain Time was the same as Central time. No biggie, an easy mistake to make. However, do you see how this accusatory and negative email was going to benefit anyone? Would it make you want to do business with them? We received several other emails from them - all were negative. It's easy to see that this is a miserable person who has a habit of tearing down others.

Don't let yourself fall into that pattern! Once you're stuck in it, things can really get bad and ugly. Focus on praise for things done right and you will win friends and influence folks to do even more for you!

Many times the negative person as mentioned above will complain because they don't understand something. Again, take some time to learn. Once you learn new things, you life will become even more exciting for you. You won't get stagnant and defensive with every little thing that goes wrong. In fact, fewer things will go wrong for you because you have done your homework. You will still have to deal with inactive negative people, the world is FULL of such ones - But you won't be one of them!

So there you have it, the big 3 confidence and biz builders - take action, stay positive, and praise others. Why not start today?

*************************************
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Subscribers' Corner

Are You the Next Oprah Or Bill Gates?
A 10-Minute Self-Test
by Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler

Could you be the next Oprah, Bill Gates -- or the next huge internet success story? Take this 10-minute self- test to discover if you’re a natural CEO, or have John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, or Oprah-type leadership skills.

Choose ONE numbered item that best describes your leadership style. Then go to the Self Test Answers to learn more about your leadership style, and maybe even your business or personal destiny: http://www.thecassiopeia.com/Portal/TestAnswers.html

(((((Self-Test)))))

==>(1) I like to inspire others to my beliefs, then let them take the necessary self-directed actions.

==>(2) I am non-emotional, and like to just jump in and drive my team to achieve the goal at hand.

==>(3) I like to develop a general overall strategy before I assign goal-directed responsibilities.

==>(4) I like to micro-analyze the challenge and know exactly what it will to take to achieve a goal.

==>(5) I like to set a specific long-range goal, then use a hands-off approach management approach.

==>(6) I just seem to know when something will work, and use trial and error to guide my team.

==>(7) I enjoy a lot of personal interaction with my team, and like to receive their input as we go along

***************************
Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler is a pioneering brain researcher and international success mentor. Come get your free subscription to her ‘LandOnYourFeet’ e-Zine. It’s dedicated to YOUR personal empowerment! Come visit=>
http://www.quantum-self.com

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