Monthly Archives: June 2009

Author : Gregg Hall

Stress abounds when considering a new home We look at the roof and check the shingles We ask about the plumbing, the heating, and the air conditioning And we stress out over the offer, wondering if we’re offering enough or too much based on what the house is really worth And then once we finally settle on a place and the bank approves us as good lendees, we have that ever daunting decision to make: how long do I want to be indebted to this institution Homeowners generally have two options: 15 or 30 years

Since many of us are looking at homes later in life, we have to consider our options carefully Do we want to tackle a 15 year loan with higher payments, or do we want the easy payments that a 30 year loan offers with the risk of continuing our mortgage payments into retirement Oh the decisions!

Before deciding which direction to head, you should first consider the interest rate Ask about it and make sure that it doesn’t change over time You want a fixed rate Sometimes the lender’s offer seems too good to be true, it usually is Avoid anything but the fixed rate The fixed rate means that you’ll have the same interest rate for the duration of your loan, regardless of what the economy does

When looking at our current home, my wife and I considered the 15 year fixed rate loans available at the time We wanted our house paid off as soon as possible, but we also knew that we had to be able to afford the steep payments that come with a 15 year mortgage

We considered a 30 year loan and compared it with the 15 year loan as well Obviously we wanted to get rid of the loan as soon as possible, but if we couldn’t afford the 15 year loan payments, it really wouldn’t work for us So after considerable discussion, we chose the 30 year loan Lots of details helped us make this decision

In the process of buying the home, we learned that we were expecting a child Because my wife wanted to stay home with the baby, we could no longer rely on her salary and because the 15 year loan offered such high payments, we knew right away that we shouldn’t take it for risk of not being able to meet our monthly obligation

We didn’t just rest on our laurels with the 30 year loan, though We decided to make extra payments throughout the year with the hope of having the loan paid off years before it came due Anyone can do this with a little bit of discipline and a lot of desire

Obviously we wanted to own our home in 15 years, but sometimes life just doesn’t allow you to get what you want So in the mean time, we’re doing what we can to make it work, and in the end, we’re both satisfied with how things turned out

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as mortgage refinancing at http://www.refinancemortgageadvisor.com

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Author : Shane Cradock

A brilliant way to leverage your current customer base and to achieve marketing results without additional expense is through referrals The first step is to create opportunities that will allow, or more importantly encourage, your customers give you referrals

The fact that you’re selling a quality product will generate some referrals Consumers who are pleased with your product and or services want to tell their friends and family about you (Everyone likes to say, ‘I know the best source ‘) But you can generate more if you offer special inducements or incentives for bringing in referrals

These could include:

-Special incentives for referrals making their first purchase

-Special rewards to referring customers

Marketing is focused on how to bring people into your business But many of the people that come to your business are a result of someone’s referral, rather than your marketing or advertising efforts Happy customers are a living, breathing marketing force (And you don’t have to pay them a salary, give them a desk, or send them on a 2-week vacation each year!)

But how your customers perceive you may have less to do with the quality of your product and more to do with the quality of your service

Remember though, that referrals are not ‘sold’ customers, so don’t treat them that way A referral is only a targeted lead that is more likely to be receptive to your sales pitch People want to buy from businesses and individuals that they know and trust, and a referral from a friend makes you someone they know by association

Referrals should be handled just like any other prospective customer They must be made to feel special and educated about the benefits of the product/service you offer

But, I’m always surprised at how few businesses ask for referrals

Indeed I attended a marketing workshop 9 months ago and the course facilitator said she’d never heard of anyone approaching referrals the way I do

There is nothing more powerful than getting a recommendation from someone you know and respect Everyone knows someone they could introduce you to But they’re usually so busy that they never think about it So if you’re looking for business (and who isn’t?), then why not start with your best customers (the ones who love you) and say something like this:

‘We’re looking to bring in some new customers, that are more consistent with our ideal customer profile – customers like you Would you be open to introducing me/us to 3 or 4 people of the same quality as you, maybe by means of a phone call, letter or email?’

As someone who has often pleasantly annoyed my clients (You know who you are) asking for referrals, I’ve found that good ways to ask for referrals are by phone call or letter BUT the BEST way is always face to face

People are so busy now that emails can be ignored, and a phone conversation can be forgotten as soon as it’s ended due to endless distractions and interruptions

My best results have come from face to face meetings, where I don’t leave the meeting until my client gives me the names and contact details of the people they’ll introduce me to Yes, you might have to do this with a cheeky smile, but if they’re fans of yours that’ll be fine!

The goal here is to make it as easy as possible for your client to say yes, to giving referrals If they’re stuck as to how to introduce you, suggest how they should i e give them the words/text to say or b offer to write the letter/email for them, and get them to review it before it’s sent (Note: make sure obviously that it’s on their headed paper if it’s a letter!)

If someone says something like, ‘Sure, I’d love to give you some referrals Let me come back to you on it ‘, my suggestion is to politely refuse to leave until they give them to you (if done in the right way with the right person under the right circumstances, this does work!) or if you can’t do that then thank them BUT agree a date that you will follow up by

And then you just keep ‘pestering’ them until you get the referrals, because you have their permission

For a big hit, this one idea might work wonders To illustrate it, I’ll tell you a real story of how it worked

I had a client I mentioned this ‘ask for referral’ strategy to and he loved it He thought long and hard about the kind of clients that he wanted to attract (he’s in the health business), and then thought about who he knew that would have a big list of similar clients One of these was his chiropractor, who he’d been going to for 4 years The next time he was in at a session, he asked the chiropractor if he’d be willing to send out a letter of recommendation (i e referral) to some of his clients

He got the shock of his life when the chiropractor said that he would send it out to his entire database of 500 people

My client wrote the letter to save the chiropractor time, who then reviewed it There were only a few small changes and over the next 3 weeks the 500 letters went out and the chiropractor paid for all of the postage!

What my client never realized was how much the chiropractor regarded him and how willing he was to give him a helping hand (they ARE out there folks)

The result? My client got more business from that route than any other he’d ever tried And all it took was the ability to ‘Ask’

If you’d like to get free weekly insights and inspiration on how to improve your business and life then go to http://www.shanecradock.com, and subscribe to the free weekly inspirational e-mail. Shane Cradock is a leading business coach & consultant.

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Author : Rebecca Kepple

Now if you’ve read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, you’ll know that loyal clients who come back and back don’t just jump at you out of nowhere To attract and retain clients who rave about your business, you have to be providing a technically great service backed by good business practices, all of which needs to be delivered with a smile

In fact, Michael Gerber talks about in his book that the key reason most businesses end up failing is because the person who started the business was what he calls an excellent technician but not someone who is strong at understanding what’s required from a business perspective

And while things have moved on a bit from when Michael Gerber first wrote the book that in essence is still an incredibly true statement

There might be much more business help available out there these days There might be way more self help books, far more marketing seminars and business owners in general might be much more switched on in terms of what’s required but in essence most people still get into business not because they want to OWN a business, but because they are incredibly GOOD at what they do and it just seems like the next logical step

And that’s where a lot of people are today They become very very good at whatever service they provide, they want the lifestyle that can come with being self employed or a business owner and so they start their own business a clinic, a practice, a salon, a spa, a mobile company And then they realise if they want to make that clinic / practice / salon / whatever successful, they realise they’ve got to master the business skills too Because even if you are the most amazing therapist, coach, stylist, healer, therapist or practitioner in the world, you won’t make any money if clients don’t know you are there

They can’t book if they don’t know your phone number They can’t buy anything if they don’t know where you are or what your website is called And they can’t become regular clients if they’ve never met you Which means the amazing therapist who started the business ends up feeling as if they are wasting their time because the business isn’t doing as well as they want it to

So that’s why I’ve done so much work over the years on learning what works I felt very much the same way I was working so hard to get my clinic going, we had amazing service but noone was coming in And I realised that while we could carry on giving the best service ever, it wasn’t any good if I was going to end up bankrupt because we didn’t have any clients coming in

So I watched what the bigger more successful businesses were doing, adapted their strategies, copied them and then kept testing and refining them till I came up with a blueprint for running my business which worked

And these strategies that I used in my first therapy clinic, I’ve used again in other practices since then and in fact I’ve even adapted the exact same strategies to use it in my current business today even though now I run a coaching business and membership site instead of the spas and clinics I used to run

As Michael Gerber says, to get around the fact that most people’s key skill is their ability as a technician (or therapist or stylist or coach for many of you on the call), and they are in new territory with the business side of things, they need to find systems that work, adapt them to their business and then apply them over and over again for guaranteed success

Some questions to think about What about you? Where do your key skills lie? Is it in the technical, service side of things or is on the business side? And what do you need to learn to move your business to where you want it to go?

Rebecca Kepple specializes in helping business owners massively increase their client base and profits. To get instant access to her free insider secrets report ‘The Top 7 Secrets for Massively Increasing Your Client Base’ visit: http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/freereport

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Author : Saleem Rana

Probably the hardest part of setting a business profitability goal is the first step of actually deciding to take action! The main hurdle that most people face is the incorrect assumption that goals are only for business or sales-minded people The reality is everyone subconsciously sets goals throughout their day There are always occasions where something has to be done at a particular time or place Simple examples could be getting up at a certain time in order to be at work, or to meet with a friend for a leisure activity

After years of sales meetings, one small statement made me realize that business profitability goal setting is as natural as breathing The beauty of having goals is the uniqueness of each one to the person setting the goal They are very specific to them and their circumstances whether in the area of business, financial, personal or spiritual

The most important part initially, is to write them down Having the goals written down gives incredible power and focus to your efforts

Aim for something that will stretch you whilst remaining achievable If the goal is achieved too easily it is not high enough to make any significant change in your life and needs to be adjusted

On the other hand, if you consistently miss the goal, re-evaluate and consider setting it a little lower as you will probably get discouraged and give up The aim is to keep growing, and moving into a more satisfactory position for your circumstances

The goal should be as specific as possible with a benefit of attaining it Another good idea is to also have the result of not reaching the goal This will strengthen your resolve to take the necessary action

As you obtain the levels that you have set for yourself always include a small reward at each point This will only need to be a small treat in the beginning, such as a meal out or a weekend vacation

Remember that these changes will not take place overnight and there will be a period of time when nothing seems to be happening This is why the goals need to be detailed and as specific as possible with a consequence and a benefit

Allow some time on a daily basis to educate yourself on how to make the necessary adjustments in your life This could include listening to a cd or reading a book on motivation etc There is an enormous amount of resources available to anyone looking for help in this area

A simple method to start with a business profitability goal could be one goal in the main areas of life to be achieved in one month, six months, one year and five years Break that down further into a daily, weekly and monthly plan To summarize Write them down, be specific, allow time Review and adjust on a regular basis Stay focused and disciplined to achieve all you desire

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. The Empowered Soul

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Author : Josh Stone

One of the things that you need to keep in mind when you are selecting your uniforms is the type of business that you are running For example, while the idea of a crisp white shirt looks very professional, how long do you think a chef will really keep it clean? Most white shirts do not last long in a restaurant, however they are frequently used Consider when you are thinking about colors a color that will not show all of the stains that can occur If you own a business where there is no major risk of stains then you are able to use a bit more liberty with your color selection

Of course, not everyone that you hire is going to like your color selection this is just the facts However, you need to ensure that you are selecting a color that will reflect your business in a positive manner For example, if you own a lawn care business you might want to consider uniforms that are brown or green These colors would allow the stains from working to blend right into the clothing, which would keep the employees from looking messy

Keeping the colors of your business in mind will enable you to easily keep your employees looking better This of course will enable you to present a much nicer image to your customers Thinking about uniforms should not just be about what you simply like to see yourself; it also needs to be about what you think the customers might like to see For example, if you picked out uniforms that were a rather strange brown color, which resembled the impression that they were dirty and you were running a restaurant you can expect that your customers would be thoroughly put off by the selection

You should always ensure that you select a good crisp color that matches your business This will ensure that the impression you are giving customers is always the best, and it will also ensure that you are able to keep your employees looking good for as long as possible Another consideration to keep in mind is that darker colors will start to look bad far quicker than light colors This is because as a darker color starts to fade, it will be much more noticeable Choosing light colors will help to avoid this problem, and thus reduce the amount of money you are spending on replacement uniforms

Work Uniforms – Best Buy Uniforms offers the lowest prices and highest quality chef uniforms.
Chef Uniforms – Restaurant Uniforms Online offers restaurant uniforms, chef uniforms, aprons, dress shirts and formal wear.
Dickies Medical Uniforms – Uniform Scrubs Online offers nursing uniforms, medical scrubs, lab coats, smocks, and tunics.

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Author : Stellar Stevens

Small business entrepreneurs and businessmen work very hard to bring their ideas to life as a business They toil to set up a business and work long hours to ensure that the business grows and remains profitable But all that hard work can all be all for naught if they do not have a plan in place for their business when they retire or if they were to suddenly become sick or pass away

According to the latest research of Bibby Financial Services, it was discovered that more than half (56 per cent) of entrepreneurs in the UK, instead of facing reality, would rather ignore or not pay much attention to the fact that they won’t always be around to look after their business

Family businesses are usually the worst culprits for not having a firm succession plan in place This apparent lack of an effective succession plan is the biggest growth barrier being faced by these companies

A major reason many firms doe not have any succession plans in place is because over 38 per cent of business owners admit that their business will probably close down when they do stop working – an issue of significant concern for the UK economy as well as for thousands of employees working in small businesses Others have mentioned that they are reluctant to relinquish control of their business to another person

Succession planning is a very emotional issue among owners because it is also a moment when they have to face their own mortality – and it is not a very enjoyable experience But the conscientious entrepreneur must always take a contingency succession plan as a necessary business decision that benefits a lot of people

Following are some pointers that may help business owners and managers take the first important steps towards ensuring that they have a succession plan in place:

- Delegate responsibility in the workplace don’t rely on one person too much In business it is a bad idea to be over-dependent – be it an employee or a client

- Always formulate a plan and start the planning process early so that you can assess all of the options and come to a decision that is best for your business

- Consider your likely successors based on their individual merits and avoid appointing a person just because they “remind” you of yourself

- If you want the succession to be within your family then members of your family should be groomed for the eventual succession only if they possess the appropriate skills and talents needed for the job

- If you are ready to start training your successor give them an on-the-job training programme that is not only relevant but will also allow them to achieve their potential

- If you have plans of retiring in the near future – set a date and make sure you follow it This retirement date should be far enough in advance that you can train your successor and allow him and the rest of your employees to get ready for the transition

Stella Stevens is an expert in company formations and registration. Visit Dolphin Formations for more informaiton

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