Jere answers:

Charity Accounts Donations Received
Charity Accounts Payable to Charities

Jere answers:

Sound systems for cars speakers etc.., computer software, mp3 players. That list can go on for days.

Www.150fast.com

Jere answers:

Depend on the kind of business you want to start. You can find buyers for local businesses and resell domains, web hosting, and advertising. You can join for free and you get a free website after you sign up . Send an email to e@culx.net for details .

Jere answers:

The best two book resources I’ve read are :-

– ‘How to Set Up an Online Business’
(a Magbook by a Kevin Partner)
– ‘Starting & Running an Online Business for Dummies’.

Hope these will help. Take it all very slowly and ensure you plan everything beforehand. You are entering a highly competitive market where the discounters dominate. You need to offer something special that is ‘added value’. Good luck…

Jere answers:

Starting an online business could be very tough especially if you have no idea about internet marketing. Not only time and money are needed to build a website that targets more customers but also your perseverance and intelligence combined together to top your website among competitors.

I have read some useful and updated information at Ms.Valeries website. Http://www.ValFlint.com .I would also suggest building links to wherever you would like searchers to land. If your category pages are the most useful, link there – if the articles are most useful, link there.

The main purpose of these links is to get higher ranking with search engines when someone types in a relevant keyword phrase.These keywords will send visitors searching for information on a specific topic to your website and allows you gain a new reader or make some money from whatever affiliate program or ad scheme you are running.

I’ve recently set up several websites for some friends and link building was my main concern because I needed links for the webpages to be indexed and start showing up in the search engine. I did also use the free ebook course i got hhttp://tinyurl.com/237cvqj to optimize my list building

Jere answers:

This is a very common problem. I ended up getting 200 emails daily in my inbox. Here is what i did to stop these marketing emails.

As mentioned below you can mark them as spam but it will go to the spam folder and as days go by the spam folder will fill up with a lot of emails.. And some times even a few legitimate emails also end up going to spam folder…

What should I do now?

All you need to do is… Open that marketing email and look for a link that says “unsubscribe” or “opt out” or “change email preference” any where at the bottom or at the top (which are usually in very small font ) click that and it will unsubscribe you from that email list…. And you no longer get the emails from that company…

If you think this is very difficult and you don’t have time or if you have toooo many of them…. Then you should mark them as junk/spam (look for this work next to somewhere at the top near reply botton) and click it…next time it will automatically go to the spam folder.

Jere answers:

One of the most important advantages of email marketing is that it allows you to reach global audience with minimum effort. There is no geographical limit when it comes to email marketing. Although it is still possible to reach global audience with other offline advertising channels like radio, TV and other printed media, email marketing is absolutely the cheapest.

The biggest disadvantage of email marketing is that your emails will sometimes be regarded as spam. Today, people are overloaded with lots of unwanted emails. Email service providers have taken action to enforce more powerful spam filters. Although spam filters are good at blocking spam mails, sometimes they also block legitimate emails too. To prevent this from happening, the subject line and content of your emails should not imply that they are spam. Avoid using words like “Free”, “Discounts”, “Coupon”, etc.

Jere answers:

Setting up free email accounts is easy. I personally like to have at least two working emails and from my point of view if you have more than one account it is good to have free email account. I have Yahoo and hotmail free email accounts and I am fully satisfied with the service they provide..

You can refer to this blog which show you a article about email marketing campaign
http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/

How To Set Up Free Email Accounts
http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-set-up-free-email-accounts.html

Thanks for the Great articles showing me about Email Marketing

http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/

Jere answers:

List building helps facilitate the process of converting subscribers into active customers, since once your prospect has been added to our mailing list, you are able to develop a relationship with them by communicating with them directly through your follow-up email broadcasts.

In truth, there is no faster or easier way to maximize your online income than with a relevant, targeted and responsive mailing list. You can get 10x the work done in half the time when you are able to instantly touch base with a built-in customer base, who are interested in specific topics or niche markets.

For example, with a mailing list you can simply create broadcasts that go out to your entire subscriber base that feature a blend of high quality information and content with promotional based offers and promotions.

You can then include affiliate promotions for products and services that are relevant to your list, but more importantly, you are able to generate feedback, tap into your market in such a way that you know exactly what they are interested in receiving and what they are most likely to respond to.

Imagine the potential when you have an active subscriber base, right at your fingertips. You can email them any time you like, with fresh offers, high quality content and valuable resources that work towards helping you establish yourself within these niche markets, while building a solid relationship with your subscriber base.

Jere answers:

1. Send Introduction letters to the prospects by mail/post or do little mouth publicity of your product.
2. Offer something FREE material like some digital Ebook. Let them get that from Site.
3. When they come to site , there will be a Sign-up form. They will need to sign with their email address.
4. After that , in their email box , they will receive the FREE Gift – Ebook.
5. They are on your list & have opted in , you will have permission to send them emails – no SPAM.
6. This assures trusted delivery of all emails directly to their inbox.
7. You make a campaign & schedule further emails which may be having your affiliate links OR sales coupons OR some call to action.

This is the best way i know email marketing.

The best email software in the market is : http://www.internetconsultantindia.com/Aweber

If you are intersted , we can do all this job on a professional basis for you.

Jere answers:

I don’t like the website the first guy directed you to.

I think he was trying to send you there becasue its simple and he probably makes money somehow asking those companies to pay to be on his site…

Whatever…

First things first go online to www.SBA.gov this is the small business administration and they will have a listing of their workshops. I think you should find a local workshop that you could bring some examples and ask that same question to one of their mentors that show up.

I also think you should go to score.org and set up a time to meet with one of their mentors…they are a free service and would love to help you more than anything.

I like the idea alot that you have…

You might even want to see about coordinating with your local chamber of commerce to see if tey woould sponsor you or help you somehow.

Also you should join the American marketing association at www.marketingpower.com

Jere answers:

Try calling 1-888-567-8688.

Or you can write to the following;

Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmington, NY 11735

Jere answers:

We are getting inundated with junk mail, so I’ve decided it makes sense to send one dollar to the DMA and get off a lot of these lists. It supposedly is very effective, per our consumer protection folks here in Nevada. Since I just sent mine off yesterday, I will have to wait a bit to see if it really cuts down on the solicitations. Here is a copy of the letter to send, and be sure to enclose the $1 (no, this is not a scam, it’s for real, came out in our local paper by respected columnist AND the form was sent to me by the University of Nevada). Good luck. Http://www.lvrj.com/news/15934232.html

I know it may be tricky, though, to get your relative to sign the form. But it is really important to take care of our elderly relatives–when my stepmother died at age 85, she had a room full of junk stuff she had ordered–boxes and boxes. The nursing home said it was very common to see this type of thing; they try to alert relatives but apparently her daughter (my stepsister) was not able to convince her mom that this was a waste of money.

You can also check out the DMA website at http://www.dmachoice.org

Here is the form letter to send:

Direct Marketing Association
MAIL Preference Service
Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512
1-212-768-7277
www.dmachoice.org

Date:_____________________

RE: Stop Junk Mail

Dear DMA:

This letter is a request for you to remove my name from your members’ mailing lists. I do not wish to receive these mail solicitations at any time. I have enclosed my $1.00 processing fee.

I am:

_____________________________________________________________
Name

_____________________________________________________________
Address

_____________________________________ __________________
City State Zip Code

(________)____________________________
Area Code Phone Number

Thank you,

____________________________________
Signature

Jere answers:

I for one would love to help you or create a business to business association with you.

I lived in NYC for 10 years ! I loved it.

I am a marketing professional and a printer….I would first encourage you to read my business card and direct mail tips at www.doranpeck.com

If you would like to have a professional quality printing source, go ahead and register at www.myezprinter.com

we can set up a special discount for you through that site.

Another thing to consider is designing forms and other interoffice printed materials. Alot of busineses use forms on NCR (carbonless paper)

email me and we can talk more about it

Jere answers:

Sometimes 3rd party validation can be beneficial when we’re evaluating something of importance. Here is some information that helped me better understand how Corporate America views Networking and Direct Sales.

In a past issue of Fortune Magazine (the one with Bill Gates on the cover) there was an interesting article focusing on the sputtering economy, and the independent contractors (associates) who are re-energizing the retail industry through the art of direct selling.

Here are a few paragraphs I that caught my attention:

“Call it the age of direct selling. With its emphasis on personal, one-on-one relationships between distributor and consumer, convenience, and a high degree of consumer education, the industry may be tailor-made for today’s consumer and company.

“The result: The industry, with sales of $28.7 billion in the early 2000’s, up 7.5% from before, has become a magnet for both corporate behemoths lured by its efficiencies and dozens of entrepreneurs attracted by the lower cost of market entry .

“…for example, Warren Buffett’s biggest purchase was The Pampered Chef … Hallmark’s Binney and Smith is launching its own direct-selling company, called Big Yellow Box by Crayola .

“Most direct-selling businesses now employ a multilevel system, in which distributors earn money on their own sales in addition to those of people they recruit (called the ‘downline’) and individuals brought in by their personal recruits.

“That’s different from the single-level approach, in which you only get commissions on your own sales. In 1990, about 20% of the Direct Selling Association members in the used the multilevel plan; today, it’s about 80% …

“‘I saw … Something that I could do with my sons,’ said Russ Widger Sr., a former manufacturing company owner … ‘I thought, with this business, they could do in about 10 years or less what had taken me more than 20 years with my conventional business.’

“‘[Direct sales] provided me with security that I would not have achieved if I had continued working a regular job,’ claimed Meg Kelly-Smith, a former banking executive. ‘I compressed an entire career’s worth of earnings into about five or six years.’

“A growing number of distributors are placing orders through their company’s web site instead of using the usual faxes or snail-mail orders. Distributors are using … Web sites for help in recruitment and training … And as a channel for customer reordering.

“In 1990, Lisa Wilbur was laid off from her $15,000-a-year secretarial job, living in a 12 by 70 foot trailer with her husband, and trying her best to stave off creditors. Then she decided to sign on with Avon . Over the past ten years she’s made more than $1.4 million in bonuses … Not every representative makes nearly that much money or wants to. Many reps … Get into the business with the intention of working part-time or even, say, earning a little extra around the holidays.

“Although today’s economic times offer a variety of challenges, solutions are available for those individuals willing to seek them out. With direct selling companies providing alternate avenues for income generation, more and more people are able to give their current jobs the pink slip.”

– Fortune, The Power Issue, vol. 148, No. 3

This industry is being embraced by not only corporate America but business minded people around the globe. Network Marketing is no longer considered fringe. It is turning into mainstream business.

If you’d like to discuss this with me personally I’d be happy to give you a call. Make sure you leave your contact information at my website and I’ll get in touch with you right away.

Http://www.maximumglutathione.com

Best Wishes
Rex White
503-463-7336

Jere answers:

Not “live” payroll, but many accounting/bookkeeping practices offer ATF (After The Fact) payroll services.

The software doesn’t calculate withholding (except maybe FICA) and merely takes your information and compiles it into a Tax Return or Report for filing.

Many states have mandated filing business returns, like payroll, online.

Jere answers:

Http://www.payroll-taxes.com/index.html

that site, free, taught me all my federal and state payroll needs. Its actually pretty simple. Go to irs.gov and they have a “start new business” link that explains forms you need to fill out. Also, search google for “(your state) articles of organization” if you want an LLC (its a pass threw company, so you are only taxed once on the money you make and are not liable for anything. Meaning, your house cant be taken away if you are sued. I hope everything goes well for you 😀

Also, your state website should have a lot of information too.

And, you will need to find your county’s website and file for a Business License. I live in New Mexico, it cost me $75 to start my own business 😀

Jere answers:

Have you tried Quickbooks online? Intuit Online payroll is $10-25 per month and does everything, you can print out the checks.

Http://payroll.intuit.com/payroll_services/online_payroll.jsp

Everything You Need from Payday to Tax Day With reminders, automatic calculations, direct deposit, and electronic filing, Intuit Online Payroll has everything you need to pay employees and taxes accurately and on time – you just enter time and approve amounts.
Payroll Features
Automatic paycheck calculation for 21 pay types, including salary, sick pay, and commissions
Email reminders when it’s payday
Instant paychecks, direct deposit, and W-2s
Free direct deposit, or printable checks
iPhone app for mobile payroll
Reports on employee pay and deductions
Unlimited number of payrolls each month
Free support from experts
Tax Features
Automatic federal and state tax calculations, guaranteed accurate
Email reminders for taxes and unemployment insurance
Electronic federal and state tax filing2
No tax payments until they’re due3
Automatic W-2 preparation for all employees
Electronic W-2 filing
Reports on tax liability, wages, pay, and more

Free Templates:

There are free timesheet schedule templates in Excel, if you have 2007 they look nice. Just click on New and go to the bottom of the list and click on timesheets, select the template you want. One is called Employee Timecard and it looks good for time tracking.

Jere answers:

In home based businesses, depending on which one you get involved in, it usually takes about 2 to 4 weeks to start making an average income. (about the same time frame as your first payroll period) Then as you keep working your business, 4 to 6 weeks to increase that income, and 3 to 6 months to be self sufficient. That is only if you put the time and effort into it. If you just say “I started a business” and don’t put any time or the effort needed in your business, then you won’t make an income.
Most people have full time jobs and run their business on the side. When their business reaches the income level they desire, they put their normal jobs down and continue with their business growing. Other’s dive into it head first and tackle it and get it going faster. Either way, you have the same opportunity to make a sufficient amount of income.
I don’t know what you enjoy doing, hobbies, interests etc, so I’m not sure which home based business to refer you over to.

Jere answers:

In small business, there’s often a temptation to try to save money by doing everything in house, but this can turn out to be a costly, time consuming mistake. Identifying and outsourcing time-intensive tasks in the workplace can enable business owners to devote more energy to the activities in which they are most adept. Today, many small business owners outsource a variety of technical jobs to experts over the Internet, enhancing the quality of the company’s output and putting the focus back on marketing and building the business. Here are five activities that all small business owners should consider outsourcing.

1. Taxes

While tax preparation can be handled by non-accountants, the intricacies and laws involved in business tax preparation can be mind-boggling. The area can be a veritable minefield of potential infractions and tax penalties. The peace of mind that comes with having this work done by a professional is well worth the premium price tag. With the help of an experienced tax preparer, companies can save a huge amount of time and money while staying on the good side of the IRS.

2. Administration

Businesses who try to have all administrative work handled in house may find themselves buried in paperwork. Continual administration tasks can sap morale from regular employees while keeping workers specifically for these tasks may be less than efficient over time. Fortunately, the Internet has revolutionized administrative outsourcing. Virtual assistants can take care of a wide variety of routine jobs including returning emails and calls, generating reports and setting appointments. This is often a huge saver of time and energy for in-house personnel.

3. Payroll

Even very small businesses may have to devote many hours each year to the time-intensive task of processing payroll. This can cost companies both in terms of hours paid to employees and in possible tax penalties related to incorrect payments or filings. Doing payroll in house also requires keeping up with current tax tables in order to avoid headaches with the IRS. By outsourcing this work to payroll services, business owners can concentrate on the aspects of business that they enjoy while saving money and avoiding responsibility for tax errors.

4. Training

Bringing new employees up to speed and keeping long-time employees current on modern skills is important for staying competitive, but it’s easy to become overburdened with training. Instead of having staff trained in the office, businesses should consider arranging employee training at a local community college. In some cases, companies have also made training easier on employees by reimbursing them for their education-related expenses.

5. Reputation Management

Today, keeping track of online reputation is an important part of any comprehensive marketing plan. Social media is a major contributor to the performance of businesses with an online presence, and while maintaining social profiles may be simple in many cases, online reputation monitoring usually isn’t. Even with the online tools available, this job can take incredible amounts of time. Outsourcing this work to an online service means receiving regular reports that are far easier to work with than the endless stream of data that would require analysis by office staff if reputation management were performed in house.

Thanks to modern technology, outsourcing is now easier than ever before. By identifying tasks that should be sent to outside workers, companies can improve productivity and spur growth. The powerful combination of saving time and money and magnifying in-house strengths shouldn’t be ignored by today’s small business owners.

Jere answers:

Affiliate programs are the first choice of most newcomers to net earnings because they have many advantages:

1. All you have to do is to join a merchant program as an affiliate and send visitors to the merchant site

2. All other work such as making a sale, delivering the product or service, receiving payment, attending to the complaints or making a refund, is handled by the merchant site.

3. The merchant site also sees to it that you are paid commission when a sale is made through your efforts.

4. You are also rewarded when a sale is made through the efforts of an affiliate referred by you to the merchant site.

All easy and simple. But most affiliates soon find that in spite of their best efforts they are not making any money.

This is because the affiliate earnings depend not on how many visitors they send to the merchant site, but how many of them buy the product or service of the merchant.

So just sending visitors to the merchant site is not enough.
You can do this easily by joining traffic exchange or autosurf programs. Your merchant site will be seen hundreds of times but it will not make a sale. This is because these visitors are not interested in your site. They are looking at it to earn credits so they can show their site to others.

This is not to say that traffic programs have no use at all.
I have used them successfully to build my downline in free-to-join programs, but have never made a sale through them. Most members of such programs are promoting their own programs. They could get interested in joining other opportunities, but would rarely go for a product themselves.

So if you want to earn from affiliate programs, the thing to do is to send interested visitors to your merchant site.

Who is an interested visitor?
This is the visitor who reached your site by himself. He is looking for the product you are promoting. This is why he took the trouble of finding it from a search engine or from the particular kind of ads or forums.

This visitor is red hot for a sale. He is already interested in your product. If he finds what he wants on your merchant site, he is very much likely to look at the product’s features, mentally compare it with other similar products, ask for more information by giving his email address. All this can lead to a sale and a commission for you.

How to target interested visitors
The best way to reach interested visitors is promoting your products through search engines submissions, placing catchy ads, posting in forums or through your own website.

This may sound daunting to newcomers at first but all these are do-able with a little effort. You can get help for mastering all these skills from the resources freely available on the internet.

Joining right affiliate programs can also help a good deal to gain affiliate mastery. While great many affiliate programs give you a few text ads and banners and be done with you, there are some programs that give valuable training to succeed.

Be positive
Most newcomers to internet earning fail because they expect to be rich in a week, if not overnight. When this doesn’t happen as it rarely does in real life, they get discouraged. They are also influenced by others who like them tried but failed to earn with affiliate programs. The result — they give up, frustrated.

The reality is that nobody becomes rich overnight in internet marketing. You have to work at it consistently. Most important of all, banish negative thinking from your life and believe that if others have succeeded, you, too, can and will.

That perhaps is the most important ingredient for your success.

Jere answers:

If you do it right then you social media is a great source of traffic. As by your question you sound like a beginner (novice). If you are serious about your business opt for an internet marketing agency and you will see results. Professionals who has worked and who knows what they talking about will show you the results.

People here will suggest you all sorts of links (most of them are their owns), just search for a genuine company with good track record and buy their services.

There are many sources for traffic and if you do not do it right then all these resources will sound or look a big waste..

Jere answers:

First get to know how good you are.
Why not join an online forum

I found you one, actually I’m a member:

www.everyauthor.com/forum

for poetry: www.everypoet.org/pffa

and here are some publications:
www.stickmanreview.com
www.barcelonareview.com

Goodluck!

Jere answers:

There is no “system” that I know of that is legit. But there is money to be made online! Don’t buy into any business opportunities, do your research and start a real online business of your own.

Check out internet marketing forums like www.warriorforum.com or www.associateprograms.com . I tried project payday but that’s not a viable business model, it will make you some quick cash but it isn’t sustanable.

There are internet marketing courses that are real and will teach you how to make real money online. Check out the warriroforum’s product review section for good courses. I’ve also read that wealthyaffiliate is a good site to learn from but haven’t tried it myself.

Jere answers:

Hi, first and foremost welcome to the internet marketing world and I wish you all the very best in it.

To answer your question about hosting I think Hostgator are really good and I think they are the number 1 at the moment, Webhostingpad and bluehost are also very good. It will also be very useful for you if you get a web hosting company that has live chat as I have found that to be very useful (as a newbie – when you have so many questions) when you need an answer in a hurry cos it is sometimes a real pain when you have to submit a ticket and then have to wait.

If you are looking for Cheap web hosting I think WebhostingPad has hosting for $1.99 a month.

As a newbie which was not too long ago I came across a site http://www.cheapbusinesshostingblog.com/ They have a list of web hosting companies you can choose from and they also have coupon codes and some good rebates. I bought hosting from them (hostgator) and they did send me a rebate.

Once again all the best with your online business

Jere answers:

Mr some one in india you need registration for starting a site .You get a package to construct your site

Jere answers:

I do not know if it is appropriate to write for our self-promotion in response to your above question. However, I am taking the risk of getting a violation notice and providing the following information. Hope the readers would let this go without reporting (lol).

Please knock me if you need a helping hand to establish MT business online from Bangladesh since I had been working in two MNCs before and acquired some knowledge as to how to run shops from far away places than the mother company. I was taken as Maintenance Engineer and subsequently promoted as Shift Manager in the first MNC (1980-87). I also worked as Application Engineer in a famous Swedish MNC (1991-96). I now own a small company established in 1993 and had been dreaming to be associated with big-time activities like call-centers by which many Indians could change their lot, which unfortunately we in Bangladesh were lagging due to our misplaced government policies/priorities.

Wish you luck in your new venture and please do not hesitate to ask for any help you need to make your mission a success.

Jere answers:

Step by step tutorials.
Http://www.webmasterautomation.com/videos/

Jere answers:

Join RMP – Asia’s and India’s biggest network marketing company. You can work from home. For details, contact me or see website below:

http://www.rmpinfotec.biz/

Jere answers:

Hi Pad,
The best way to run an online business is with automation, by this I mean all you have to do is advertise your business… No product storage, no dealing with customers, no headaches and you can run it from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world.
If this is sounds good to you check out my website and get all the information at www.MyAutomatedMailbox.Info
Good luck to you.

Jere answers:

First get an Income Tax PAN card,

Secondly, Open 3-in-1 Account with HDFC Bank / ICICI Bank (Savings Bank Account + Demat Account + Trading Account)
Or
Open Only Savings Bank Account with HDFC Bank / ICICI Bank and Demat and Trading Account with any reliable stock broker (Reliance Money / India Infoline / Indiabulls / Kotak Securities / Edelweiss Capital / Geogit Securities).

Start watching CNBC TV 18 everyday from 9 a.m. To 1 p.m. And from 9 p.m. To 10 p.m. Every night for a week.

Invest only in Top 5 to 10 Scrips of Indian Stock market:

Reliance Industries (RELIANCE), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), NTPC, Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL), ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK), Larsen & Toubro (LT), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

You can email / message me anytime if you need more advice. My Email address is aramaiya@yahoo.com .

Jere answers:

Generally, you want to save on listing fees and let the (ebay) market to set the closing price. In most cases, this means starting the initial price at $9.99 or less. However, the only exception is for expensive items. With the current recession and sales at ebay (and most everywhere else) soft now, you don’t want to get burned. Use you discretion with expensive items.

Some tips that may be helpful to you……….

Be honest and accurate in your descriptions – One-sentence descriptions are for lazy sellers. One paragraph should be sufficient for most items. My general guideline is the more expensive (read higher priced) an item, the more you should ‘talk it up.’ It won’t be time wasted. Use lots of adjectives in your descriptions. Adjectives make prose and your items come alive. Without them, prose is dull and your items less appealing. Just add a little ‘sizzle’ and even have a little fun with it. In short, make your descriptions stand out above the crowd.

Be professional – use good English with no spelling errors

PICTURES:

ALWAYS include at least one picture, more pictures for higher priced items. Make sure your pictures are clear. There are far too many pictures on ebay that are dark. If prospective buyers can’t see your items clearly, your items, more than likely, will not fetch the closing prices they deserve. To remove darkness, use any photo editor to add some brightness and a wee bit of contrast.

Eliminate clutter. Prospective bidders don’t want to know what kind of cereal you eat or what kind of kitchen table or bedspread you have. Use a SOLID backdrop when taking your pictures as you want to focus all of the attention on your item. In short, the one and only thing you want in your picture is the item being sold. A SOLID white or light blue backdrop is best. However, there are certainly items that won’t show well on a light backdrop. In these cases, use a darker backdrop. And for gosh sake, don’t even think of using a plaid blanket as a backdrop for your pictures as I once saw on ebay. You should also crop the photos in your photo editor. Good pictures can add 5% to 10% to final closing prices.

GOOD DESCRIPTIONS + GOOD PICTURES = GOOD PRESENTATION. This is what you should strive for.

COMMUNICATION:

GOOD Communication is a must – Always notify buyers when you mail their items. It is not only a courtesy you would want and expect as a buyer but it is also both good customer service and good business practice. After all, you are the ‘President & CEO’ of your ‘company’ running your business but using ebay as your selling medium. In short, conduct your business so that it reflects well on you as a person. Treat everyone as a human being, not a living being and this includes people who have inquiries about your items, not just your buyers. Prospective buyers making these inquiries could ultimately be the winning bidders and possible repeat customers.

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS:

Do not limit your auctions to one country. SELL WORLDWIDE. The reason is elementary. You now have access to the largest market ebay has to offer. Limiting your auctions to only one country also limits your potential profits. A basic business tenet is, ‘the greater the potential market, the greater the potential to maximize profits.’ But do note in your listing that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from overseas bidders/buyers. Through experience, you will learn that there are certain problem countries. Italy seems to be one of them. Mail sent to buyers in Italy very often ‘mysteriously disappears.’ If this is the case, just note in your listing you sell to all countries EXCEPT (name(s) here).

However, if you decide to limit sales to only one country, such as the USA, never say NO when you receive an email asking if you would ship to Taiwan, Germany, Australia or wherever. The reason is that you have a ‘FISH ON THE HOOK!’ This person will bid! When he or she does, this may force a previous bidder to enter another, higher bid or force later, first time bidders to come in with higher bids. So always say YES to these emails if you want to maximize your profits. But do say that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from these overseas bidders

Avoid selling ‘nickel and dime’ items. People who list and sell a steady stream of items that close for $5 or less are wasting their time. Less expensive, similar items ($5 or less) are best sold as a group to save time. If you have a large number of these cheaper, similar items, divide them up into sub lots of three, four or five.

More expensive (higher priced), similar items are best sold individually to maximize profits. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious as are ‘junktique’ shops. If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’ These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Far fewer potential bidders = less competition = lower closing prices

Once you have your bargains, turn around and sell them at ebay. Ebay has the largest membership of any auction site. There isn’t another auction site that is remotely close and I do mean remotely close to having the number of members that ebay has. Here is the ebay formula:

Largest, by far, of any auction site = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices,

If you want to do your listings OFFLINE, download the TURBO LISTER program free from ebay. Once you have finished with your listings, you can upload them anytime or schedule a date and time when you want your auctions to start.

Lastly, keep in mind that experience is the best teacher. Start off slowly listing only two or three items and see how that goes for you. Once you get your feet wet and gain confidence, start listing more items on a weekly basis. You will soon learn the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts in short order and ultimately settle on a system that works best for you. The more items you list, the more items you will sell, the more $$ you will make and the harder you will work. Nothing in life comes easy and that includes becoming a successful seller at ebay. Good luck & happy selling!

Jere answers:

Starting with your friends and family is good. Anyway starts with the following too,

– set up social network for your business eg twitter, facebook, myspace etc. Its free anyway
– do you own blog. This is free too.
– your friends and family can spread the good news to their friends and families provided that you did a good job in the cake.
– make your own flyers and carry them wherever you go and give to people you meet & also distribute in your areas.
– design your own business card.
– you can also sms (cost a bit of money) & email (free again) to people you know. Just remember , do not spam.
Once people had a good experience and very satisfied with your cake, the marketing just gets easier.
Good Luck

Jere answers:

You can earn the sort of money you’re talking about at Mechanical Turk which is like a web based market place where you agree to carry out various online assignments for a set fee. Mechanical Turk is run by Amazon – so it is genuine and not a scam.

Just type Mechanical Turk into Google / Yahoo etc and go from there.

Good fortune

Stuart Warner
Home Based Business Specialist

Jere answers:

Market, market, market. Web Design is a large and competitive field. If you dont have one yet, get a portfolio setted up. The more proven experience you have the better. Sole Propietership is the easiest but riskiest legal structure you can have. It’s only risky though if you make a mistake or defy your own contract. There are ebooks out there specifically for the business side of Web Design, so do your own research for that. The one tip I do have for you though, is to get a resellers account with a web hosting company and host the sites that you design. It won’t bring in alot of income, but it’s definitely another source of money. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at pcguy1989@yahoo.com

Jere answers:

Betty there are differents and excelent opportunities on the market no only in the direct selling companies, Network is one of the best option, only is important to choice the correct Company.

My suggestion because is working for me, it’s before you involve in any business,
Looking for:

1.- a product that to many people wants
2.- a stable company in the market
3.-good costumer service
4.-good payment
5.-no competition
6.-work from home

I was looking too and I found this, If you like go to the following website.

Good look
Sincerely

Blanca

Jere answers:

First came direct marketing. Relationship marketing came later, although it is part of direct marketing. It emphasizes the building of long-term relationships with a company’s customers. It differs from, say, old-fashioned mail order marketing, which years ago would sell one item to one customer one time only — much like buying something from a street-corner vendor.

The mail order operator would buy a lot of some gimmick or gadget and then sell everything very quickly via mail order. Sometimes he would keep the same corporate name. Other times, a new corporation would be used. Late night TV was often the preferred medium. A carnival atmosphere, a whiff of over-sell and ridiculous pricing pervaded the enterprise. That was then. Mail order marketers today are aware of the need to keep that customer and enhance the relationship.

You will hear the term “Customer Lifetime Value,” or CLV used a lot in direct marketing. This plays an important role in calculating customer retention (another way of saying relationship marketing).

Jere answers:

Direct Marketing in general means that you have a known database of people who may/may not be interested in your product – this may be wrong because these databases can be bought from companies who have no direct interest in what you are trying to sell.
Basically, you have a database with people’s names, addresses or other contact details and you bombard them with anything you want to sell. This can be by post, or email or mobile phone etc.
If you got involved with this, you would find that a lot of people will not reply to your letter, or slam the phone down on you, or not return your email, or delete your number off their mobile phone numbers. It’s a really “hard” way of earning a commission, which is what you would be getting if you worked for them.

Jere answers:

Good questions. Here are a few answers for you:

WHY USE DIRECT MARKETING:

COST EFFECTIVENESS
Not every business can afford to do traditional mass marketing in television, radio or print, – it’s just too expensive. The cost of media alone is just too prohibitive.

TARGETABILITY
Traditional media doesn’t make sense for every business. If you are a company with a very select target audience, it doesn’t make sense to tell your message to millions of people all across the country. Direct Marketing allows a business to reach its target audience and key decision makers on a more targeted basis.

CREATE URGENCY
Direct Marketing is highly effective at creating a sense of urgency about an offer, product or service.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DIRECT MARKETING:

ESTABLISHING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Traditional marketing is not conducive to establishing
“relationships” with customers. By virtue of how it is produced, the message has to be much more universal and generic. In other words, a television commercial cannot be customized for each of one million viewers. Direct Marketing can. Through digital printing, ink jetting and other tactics, a marketer can reach different customers – or even all of its customers with a slightly different message. Say for example that you are a long-time customer of a customer. The offers and messages that you receive might be a lot different than the ones sent to a new or prospective customer. This type of direct marketing enables companies to reach out to its customers on more of a one-to-one basis and supports the development of more personalized relationships.

BUILD LOYALTY PROGRAMS
One of the ways Direct Marketing is being used today is to build and maintain customer loyalty programs. Each time you use a company’s credit card, loyalty card or savings card, you are feeding information to a company’s database. This database can then be used to trigger any number of direct mail responses, based on your purchasing history or customer profile. So, for example, a company can offer you something special on your birthday or send you offers that they know will be of particular interest to you. They can also send you specific messages or offers when you reach a certain level of purchases. Loyalty programs are being used by thousands of retailers these days, but the same tactics can be utilized by any company willing and able to collect customer data.

BUILD THE BRAND
Good Direct Mail, like any other form of advertising, helps build the corporate brand. For many of the reasons I mentioned earlier, such as through the establishing of one-to-one relationships between the customer and the company, Direct Mail puts a company’s brand front and center with the customer.

I hope some of this helps you with your report. Good luck.

Jere answers:

If your just looking for a company to produce the mailings for you, just about any local printer can accomodate you. If you are looking for assistance in crafting the mail campaign, you want to look at a marketing company.

I get excited when people choose to use direct mail, because I am convinced it is one of the most powerful marketing mechanisms in existence. To be successful at it though, you’ve got to do your homework on what makes direct mail successful. I see too many businesses make attempts, doing as much of it themselves to save a penny, and they largely fail simply because they don’t know what they are doing….then they blame “direct mail”.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Dhpeck@myezprinter.com

Jere answers:

Most people will be happy with Mozy or Carbonite – however, make sure you check the small print. For instance, Mozy will delete the backup copy of a file if it has been deleted on your PC for over 90 days. Remember you’re not permitted to back-up business data with MozyHome – you’ll need to go for the more expensive MozyPro package.

If you have more than one computer to back up, or if you want to backup external hard drives or business data then you might want to try Angel Backup as an alternative to Mozy or Carbonite.

Jere answers:

Online Document Storage is the new age electronic system that helps business organizations to store, monitor, distribute and archive essential documents and keep track of all their records effectively. By means of online file storage systems, computer users are served with an innovative and reliable method to backup files which surpasses other forms of external hard drives and USB drives. Using an online solution to storage and manage your data has many advantageous features. You can access your information from any part of the world and from any computer and the data is stored securely.

Jere answers:

We have an excellent and affordable solution for online backup for home and business – check out our Equity Data Protection product!

– We dont limit you on the number of workstations / servers you can backup with an account or confuse you with home and business plans.
– We allow for unlimited version history and only use recognize size of most recent file version for space allocation against account.
– Our pricing is simple, you pay for the space you need by GB so you can choose any of our online package options or call us to get right amount of space for your needs.

Visit our website at www.EquityDataProtection.com and click on the Tech Specs link for a pdf with further information about our branded product offering.

Jere answers:

Most people don’t back up enough or often enough.

Study the problem of backup and the best way to solve it. Divide the solution into two parts: for home users and for small businesses. Small businesses have the most to lose and will pay the most.

Use Goggle Ads to advertise online. For small businesses, have some businesses cards printed up. The cards should be very conservative like a lawyer’s card. Drive around and drop these off to the local businesses – try to speak to the owners or make an appointment.

If you back up their computers for them on a regular basis, and they get a virus or a problem, they may accuse you. Design a method to prove that, at the time of your backup, the system was safe and virus free. This may involve storing an image of the hard drive online at carbonite.com or one of these sites.

As for the web site, find a web site you like, and then download the script for the site and simply change the wording to your business.

Jere answers:

IBackup is a popular business-class online backup service, although Mozy and Backblaze also offer “Pro” accounts with a single administrator login to manage all the machines. IBackup also has super-fast transfer speeds. If you have a lot of data to upload initially, they also offer “Rapid Serve” which allows you to transfer your data to a USB drive, then mail that to them for the initial “upload.” Then, all incremental (daily) uploads are done via the Internet

Jere answers:

10 low cost ways to promote your website

1) add your site to as many search engine listings as you can find, ie http://uk.search.yahoo.com/freesubmit/submit

2) make sure you add meta tags to your website (key words which you list then when people search for those keywords your site will come up in the results) – all part of SEO – search engine optimisation

3) put your website address on all your business stationary – letterheads, invoices, compliments slips, delivery slips, envelopes, parcel packaging, business cards etc etc

4) promote your website by adding it to your email signature on both business and personal emails

5) join as many social networking sites as you can ie hi5, bebo, tagged, facebook, myspace, yahoo 360 etc and add your web address in your profile or notice boards etc

6) add yourself to online directories who give free listings ie http://www.yelldirect.com/freelisting/home.html

7) get some stickers made for your car, and window stickers made for car windows of friends, family, customers etc

8) PR is always a good move, ask your local paper(s) to run a feature, get your business start-up story on business sites like http://newbiztips.net/startupstories.aspx

9) use http://www.vistaprint.co.uk to get some free/low cost marketing materials and leave them everywhere you go – cafes, train stations, libraries, school, community centres, college

10) word of mouth is a great way to promote something – and it’s free! Tell everyone you know and get them to tell people they know

Jere answers:

First decide exactly what it is that you want to do.

Starting an Internet company is too general. What kind of Internet company do you want to build? Do you want to provide online services? Or sell products online?

You need to make a quick business plan.

For exmaple; If you want to sell products online then write down your step-by-step plan on paper. For example;

1.Create your company name.
2.Register your name.
3.Form your business structure; Sole Proprietorship.
4.Obtain your business/occupational license.
5.Obtain your resellers license (sales tax license).
6.Get signed up with the distributors.
7.Choose which products/product lines you are going to specialize in.
8.Read about the products
9.Decide if you are going to build your own e-store or have a design firm build it for you.
10.Choose your domain name.
11.Register your domain name
12.Choose a webhost provider and a hosting plan.
13.Choose your web development software.
14.Start building your e-store.
15.Set up your merchant account.
16.Complete your e-store.
17.Promote, market and advertise your e-store.
18.Then wait for the orders to start rollin in.

Of course it’s not that simple but it can be if you just take it one step at a time. Write a simple step-by-step business plan just as you see here. Then follow each step and then scratch it off of your list as you complete it. Before you know it you’ll be taking your first order.

Hope this helps.

Jorge Fernandez
Start an Online Store
www.estorefrontguide.com

Jere answers:

Making sure how you got paid – and promptly – would be my main concern.
You can’t go and bang on their door if they don’t pay!

Jere answers:

..assuming you want to do this from scratch

1. You must have a historic traffic report. This means you need to know how much traffic will flow through your site and be able to back up claims to advertisers. This will lead to the creation of your ‘rate card” – which is the amount each ad will cost and how much traffic people are buying.

2. You must specify the size/format of banners. I strongly recommend using standard sizes so that it’s easy on advertisers. Google adsense formats are the de-facto size standard. There is little reason to go off the standard.

3. You must set pricing based on your traffic levels, cost per click, or cost per action. To track this, you’ll need an ad rotation script with reports that let the advertiser log in and see their ad performance in a tansparent fashion. There are ad rotation scripts that lare less than $100 so don’t build it from scratch.

4. If you plan to just do period-of-time ads, you don’t need the script but you do need a lot of discipline in your process to be sure to put up and take down ads on schedule.

5. You need a way to accept payments. Ideally you have an auto-renew process that charges their credit cards on a schedule until they renew.

7. You need a legal agreement for advertising services.

.. Ad networks make this all easy but take almost all of the profit out of it. With your own setup, you get all the profit for the ad-runs.

…the hard part is finding advertisers. Most will expect a lot of traffic and costs between $20 and $30 per thousand impressions.

….if you don’t see 1000+ unique visitors per day ads are a waste of time in my opinion. Fill the spaces with high quality, relevant, affiliate program marketing that’s far more profitable.

Scott Clark

Jere answers:

Don’t know and don’t care ._.

Jere answers:

Advertise your business on every snail-mail,
e-mail, you send out.

Visit forums, social networks, and
anywhere else people go online.
Always mention your URL.

Use link strategies, ads with
affiliates, or swap ads.

Jere answers:

There aren’t any home based businesses on the web that aren’t scams. However – there are plenty of things you can do as a home based business. Go to Yahoo Finance and search for ‘home business’ and read their article on the top 25.

Ripped Wallet is a total scam as is the YTB travel business and Treasure Trooper. In fact YTB is under investigation by the SEC and IRS, as well as being reprimanded for violations within the industry for false advertising and recruiting irregularities.

If RippedWalletFrancis posts – he is a major scammer – please be wary. So is Cruz52. Both have been banned repeatedly for massive TOS violations, but they keep creating new accounts and spamming. I just keep reporting them and any other scam spammer I find.

BTW RWFrancis – are you 13, 14, 15, 16 or some other age? Your story keeps changing depending on the age of the question.

Jere answers:

You might have a problem locating “free” classes online, since online schools are businesses, they exist to make money, and they don’t offer anything “free.” There is another problem to consider. You are going to use the credits you earn by applying them toward your graduation from the high school you are attending. You need to be sure any credits you earn online will be accepted. It would be tragic for you to sit at a computer for many hours only to discover that your school system does not recognize or accept the credits. It would be a total waste. Go to the guidance counselor and ask for a list of online schools whose credits will transfer back to the school you are attending. The counselor will tell you what to do. Don’t take any chances with this. You need real, trustworthy information, not guesswork. Do not sign up for anything online until you have an absolute guarantee that your work will be rewarded.

Jere answers:

Sorry to tell you, but your not going to be able to start a business for free. Businesses cost money to start and run. That’s a fact of life! Businesses give you the opportunity to make what you want to make, but you have to be willing to do what it takes to make the income you want.
If you really want to go into business, the least expensive way, but with the same income opportunity is a home based business. Plenty of opportunities out there in several different industries in which you can collaborate with (don’t let that word scare you), make the same amount of income as a traditional business, but with out the over head expenses. So many different industries to look at. Most home based businesses don’t cost thousands of dollars. In fact, most home based businesses cost under $500.
Also understand that businesses take time to build. The income doesn’t start pouring in over night. You have to really work and build a business. You can make a sufficient amount of income within a month or so, but you got to put the time and effort and do what it takes to have a successful business. If your not willing to do that, then don’t go into business, get a home job that pays minimum wage.

Jere answers:

For your first question: the easiest way would to be to use remote access but you can only access your computer if the computer that you are trying to access has xp pro or vista business or vista ultimate, the computer that is accessing the other computer only needs to have any type of XP OS or Vista OS on it.
For you second question: in order to store that much memory over the internet i would believe that you would need to pay for such a thing

Jere answers:

My opinion is that he subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, or any of the other financial reviews available online. The best thing he can do is become informed about the market, types of investment options, and the risk associated with each option. Investing decisions are very, very important, and the more information he has the better he’ll do.

If I can offer and advice it’d be the following: buy and hold. The stock market is too vulnerable to expect consistent, short-term gains. Think 5-10 years out, or more. Statistics show that the more one trades, the less likely that person is to beat the market’s average rate of return in the in the long term.

The economy’s still not very strong now, but if he’s committed to entering the market, beware! There is potential to make money, but there’s potential to lose a lot, too.

Step 1: Consistently check the following websites for relevant financial information, and become informed:

http://online.wsj.com/home-page
http://www.bloomberg.com/
http://www.kiplinger.com/

Jere answers:

Vince doesn’t give out his email address for a very good reason.

People who Vince wants to get emails from know his email address. If you don’t know Vince’s email address, then you are not supposed to know it.

Fan Services
If you would like to make a comment on our programming or Superstars, please click here (http://corporate.wwe.com/company/contact_form.jsp?dept=fan) to send a message.

Please do not send or e-mail any ideas/proposals for storylines, character development, scripts, marketing or business operations. WWE, Inc., does not consider or review these materials.

Jere answers:

Depends on your budget. Depends what you are doing to.
Some FX companies do branding and use sponsorships to advertise their brands.
Egsample:
Alpari: has sponsored west ham football team, and the Alpari World match racing: wmrt.com
IBFX – Sponsors the Automated Trading Championship (ATC)
ironfx.co.uk – Medical Research, Community Support, Child Welfare, Education
Keytomarkets.com – Forum sponsorship

Here is a list of what type of ads and sponsorships that have been done so far to my knowledge:

(I hope you find this list useful)

Advertorials
Affiliates
Billboard adverts
Blog/microblog
Celebrity endorsements
Content marketing
Digital banners and signage
Display remarketing
Email
Events
Facebook advertising
Film/TV product placement
Forums
Images & Infographics
Influencer outreach
Inserts
Kiosks
LinkedIn advertising
Local search marketing
Loyalty card
Magazine adverts
Marketing email
Microsites
Mobile advertising
Mobile app
Paid placements
Paid reviews
Pay per click
PR Stunts
Presentations
Press releases
Prizes/Exhibitions
Product listing adverts
Product packaging
Program sponsorship
Promotional items
QR codes
Radio advertising
Report sponsorship
Research paper
Search engine optimisation
SMS
Sports sponsorship
Street vendor
Transactional email
TV advert
Twitter advertising
Videos
Wearables
Website via tablet/mobile
Youtube channel

Jere answers:

Good reviews don’t just happen, they’re carefully cultivated and encouraged by business owners. So how do you get good reviews? The answer is simple, they ask for them. Really…it’s that simple.

Keep in mind, the further away your customers get from their experiences, the less likely they will be to leave a review, period, so strike while the iron is hot and get them at their most satisfied, Encourage them to leave a review on Yelp, for example, right when they pay their bills, either with signage in the store or a message printed on their receipt.

If you have s an online business, ask your customers to leave a good review on Yelp, TripdAdvisor, Angie’s list, etc., and add links on their confirmation pages or receipt emails to your business. Don’t forget to add the site’s logo instead of just a blind link. Ask them by saying something like, “Are you happy with your experience? Let us know!” or “We love to hear how you liked us! Leave feedback here.”

GO AHEAD, YOU CAN BRAG A LITTLE

Most people disklike people who are constantly bragging about themselves. But in the world of business, bragging is called “marketing.” If you’ve got good reviews or good press, show it off! Customers in every industry want the best they can get, so show your customers that not only are you the best at what you do, but your customers think so, too.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Link to good articles and interviews on your blog.

• Put pictures or logos of rewards you’ve won right on your homepage.

• Highlight a few glowing reviews on your website or email marketing.

• Link to your review pages so people can read the good reviews

Asking for good reviews at the right time, when the experience is still fresh, is the secret to getting more of them. If this all seems deceptively easy, that’s because it is.

Remember, in the game of business, you’re never competing against the best, you’re competing against masses of average businesses with poor marketing skills. Employ some simple tactics like this one, and you’ll be performing better than significantly better than other businesses in your field.

Jere answers:

As well as the pointers above, check out the trade press e.g. Marketing week, precision marketing, marketing, creative review, the retail bulletin, new media age – a lot of these also do free to sign up to weekly/daily emails which summarise what a lot of the big brands are up to

Jere answers:

Generally marketing is any sort of brand publicity. Some direct, like advertising (radio, tv, billboards, print, web, etc.) some is indirect, like public relations, blog/review “seeding”, news releases, PR events, direct mail, product placement ( a can of soda drank by a TV character, etc.)

on a drive to work the 2 most obvious marketing pieces Joe will encounter are billboards and radio ads. He can (depending on his commute) also encounter mobile billboards (trucks, cars, with ads on them) newspaper print ads, ads on tollbooths (and toll tickets) giant blow up gorillas at used car lots… Anything that draws his attention to a certain brand… Heck, even the logos on the cars around him are marketing…

Oh and most radio is heavily marketed, it used to be called payolla.. When a certain record label throws kick-backs and special promotions to a station to heavily play their artist in the rotation… And these days, almost all political speech and clips are intended to be played and replayed to sway your political opinion, again, marketing…

Jere answers:

ONE DAY WONDER and here’s why:
Generally a one shot news item that is of no direct consequence to the market itself is quickly forgotten. However, yesterdays news gave hope to the theory that the Fed was done raising interest rates for the time being. Today however, 4/19/06, the morning news told of March CPI (inflation) being up .4%. Multiply that by 12 months and it is an annualized inflation rate of 4.8%…much higher than Jan and Feb, which together averaged an annualized 3.8% The stock market HATES inflation because it a precursor to higher interest rates and that hurts the market by making bonds more attractive and also because higher interest rates hurt business profitability and slow down the economy. Today’s bad news neutralized yesterday’s good news.

Jere answers:

Advertising: A McDonald’s billboard or televesion advertisement.
Personal Selling: You own a vacuum shop and personally sell a vacuum to a customer
Sales Promotion: The Coke bottle top promotion is a good example where they had that number you hae to go enter into the Web site to see if you win. Buy One, Get One; buy one @ full price, second half off, etc. Gimmicks are also sales promotions.
Public Relatiions: Your company donates $xxxx to a charity adn a local news station picks up, that’s PR. Gives your company good branding without “paying” for it (minus the donation or volunteer hours)
Direct Marketing: Sending a credit card offer to someone in the mail. (Junk mail/telemarketing is direct marketing)

Jere answers:

No the only way you could accomplish that is if you were moving. DirecTV bases your local programming off of the nearest major market to your home address. If you really want local, you can buy a cheap-o TV antenna since most of LA gets decent OTA signals if you really want to watch the news that badly.

Jere answers:

There are many ways to advertise that.

One way is to do a press release that you have this contest where a visitor can win a free candle. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

Http://www.prleap.com/sign_up.html
http://i-newswire.com/
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi
http://www.pr.com/press-releases
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.clickpress.com/releases/index.shtml
http://www.theopenpress.com/
http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com
http://www.newswiretoday.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/

You can also try pay per click programs such as Google Adwords http://www.google.com/adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com – though the key is to carefully track your ROI and which keywords actually perform well

Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/…
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/

Jere answers:

I have run a full time online business for several years now and I can tell you that your question could potentially take literally a week to answer. Let me give you a starting point.

First, your business should be based on market demand. That’s where you need to start. Don’t think about what you should sell or how to build your website or how to get people to your website until you do some market research. While doing market research isn’t that difficult, you do need to get educated on how to do it.

Next you develop or otherwise source the products to fill the market demand. One question I have for you is this: Is there some particular reason that you want to sell physical products? I’ll be very honest, and don’t take this as a slam against your judgement but, Selling physical products is pretty much the very last thing I would ever consider doing as an online business. I have done it. It sucks. In a major way. I would rather work at McDonalds. My opinion, unless you have a very large budget and a very high tolerance for frustration, I would stay away from the whole importing and distributing thing. Personally, I had nothing but problems at every phase with a similar business. Just my opinion based on my own experience.

After your source your products you will want to build a website as packaging for your products.

Then you start your marketing to get visitors to your site.

There are really only those four steps. You will really want to educate yourself well on each phase of the process. Even if you intend to outsource some of the work (highly recommended) you still have to understand what you are doing in order to convey that to someone else and to be able to determine if you got your money’s worth.

Starting an online business is the best choice I have ever made, but it was not as easy as many would have you believe. But it is totally doable if you arm yourself with the right knowledge and mindset. Both are critical to your success.

Good luck to you. I wish you much success!

Jere answers:

MASSIVE ACTION!

If it is a blog, start writing a blog post every day or if it is not, create a blog and write about the topic of your online business and then include the link to your business site with each blog post so people can get to your site from the blog.

Create an Ezine.com account and write articles about your business and include link

Create a twitter account centered around your business topic with a link to your business site in the description…

Same thing with YouTube.com Start making video’s talking about your business but do not make the mistake of trying to sell people to your idea, instead give them something valuable like some information about the importance of something. People buy from people not companies my friend.

Provide solutions to other people problems in your area of business and they will follow you and ask for your advice because you proved yourself as the expert.

You then can use list build sites like list joe, ad jockeys just to name a few.

The most important thing to do is take massive action! Find a business your passionate about so you will enjoy learning more about the subject when your not making money so you can develop more as the expert my friend.

I have created a free training for people to get started on the right track instead of wasting time..

Oh yeah, and keep your wallet in your pocket, this training is 100% Free

you can learn more about it by visiting my personal blog below

http://DavidSaundersBlog.com

Jere answers:

Even for a freelance online business you need a business plan. If you’ve never been in business before, I would strongly recommend that you talk to a business counselor before you do anything especially spend money. I’d call the local office of SCORE (go to http://www.score.org and input your zip code to find the chapter nearest you), the advice is FREE.

The counselor at SCORE will most likely advise you to write a business plan which is very good advice because it will force you to dig out all of the start up details and the costs of starting a freelance online business and force you to also understand all of the aspects of this business including the customers you’ll concentrate on (your market ) and how you’ll go after them.

Try this link :
http://www.ychange.com/small-business-consulting-articles.html
and read some of the articles especially the ones about a business plan and starting a business.

Good Luck

Jere answers:

What I’ve personally experienced and found that’s better, if you want to work online, is to start up a business and partner up with a company that direct sales a product or service. My wife and I got involved in this type of business over six years ago. We collaborated with a company and had them set up a web site for us to sale the products and services that we were providing. After doing this, you’ll have to generate traffic to your site. The most effective way we’ve found is simply word of mouth, or referring people to our site.
You can partner up with a company that gives you monthly earnings from services that you put people on either by in person, phone or from your web site. What I mean is for instance, my wife and I partnered up with a telecommunications service provider and all the cellular phone companies. Someone purchase a cell phone from our web site, or a land line or Internet service or whatever, the product itself your able to provide at a lower cost through the providers. When someone gets on the services, the company pays you a percentage of that person’s billing every single month, month after month for the referral from you by word of mouth or by your web site.
If you’d like to see an example of what I’m talking about, your more then welcome to take a look at my wife’s web site at www.tiffanyvague.acnrep.com Take a look at the products and services there, tour the company etc and to give you an idea of how you should have each of the companies and make a continued monthly income off the companies rather than just a one time sale, off the effort that you provided to these companies.
Once you decide on a product and/or service, you need to start driving “traffic” to your web site. A lot of work but well worth the effort when your income starts going and continues to increase as the more you sale and having loyal customers bring in more customers from their referrals that get linked to you and you make more money.
Offer a product and/or service that’s high in demand and something that’s going to continue monthly income regardless if they buy or replace a product. That’s my advice.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at kaiden4@aol.com

Jere answers:

Hi!

Starting an online business can be at any part of the world since the internet connects you to almost anyone who has connection with the internet. However, in China, sometimes, the authority can blocked websites and even all websites that are from a particular zone.

In business, you need to know what target market, where they are, and what they want. If you are thinking of a market in China, there are not many people using English and the other thing is that not many people trust the internet. However, that does not mean you cannot do anything. Paypal has set up a Chinese system and they have good reputation, so this might be a good payment system option to consider.

If you know Chinese, try marketing highly priced branded goods (provided you have means to get it into China), since most people that surf the net in China are young people and many Chinese went overseas to get branded products.

It is important that you need to know what you are good at and can offer. In business, there are three Cs to consider in order your business will be profitable and these are :

– Competency; your skills, experiences, etc.
– Connectivity; a hungry targeted market
– Creativity; your unique selling proposition

Hope this information helps to get your mind going…

Patrick Stephen Oh
(Located in China)

Jere answers:

Stuff like this makes me laugh. Sure your getting traffic, but what kind of traffic? There is something in the internet advertising industry called a “return on investment”. That means that you must at least, get back in revenue what you spend on internet advertising. This includes outfits like the one you mentioned. If all your interested in is traffic and your not selling anything, you got what you wanted. Keep in mind that the traffic you are getting may not be the kind of visitors you want your site viewers to be. The only way for you to know this is to check where your traffic is coming from and perhaps offer some incentive for visitors to fill in a feedback clip for you. Most users take advantage of services like the one you are using for network coverage only and spend very little on the advertising. The more your website comes up on many different networks, the more important Google will think you are. And Google is god, make no mistake about it. If you advertise with Google, Yahoo and MSN you will drive an unbelievable amount of traffic to your website, but it will cost some big bucks. And you have to know the tricks. It’s not as easy as you think. That’s why there are companies that specialize in targeting internet traffic. The competition is relentless.

Jere answers:

Off page and on page seo strategies and link building tactics are the best topic for internet marketing.

Jere answers:

I’ll help answer the first question. Companies seemed to be targeting… Younger people (Demographic) and people who are concerned about they’re weight or skin.(Psychological) Notice most commerical and infommericals advertise “healthy” food/drinks. Food companies seem to make a big deal about lower calories, sugar, and soduim. It’s a trend. & infomercials like pro-active, sheer coverage, bare minerals, and etc. Are played out.! Oh, and younger people have always been highly targeted. We run the country! Whoo!

Jere answers:

Realtors don’t sell anything.
90% of houses are sold, after somebody searched for one on the internet.
Your house will sell for todays right price, which is 30% lower then 2 years ago. That’s for a 400,000 house from 2 years ago today 280,000.

Jere answers:

Armand Morin is a good Internet marketer, however you don’t need to go to an expensive seminar to learn about online business.

I will contact you at your email.

Jere answers:

To start a business online you will require a website, a list of products to sell. Best way is join as affiliate and build a store at your site.
This is easy as you earn commission over the product and the company site take care of all transactions related stuff.

You can join some affiliate by visiting the link below
http://www.akashganga.org/india/ebusiness

Chitra

Jere answers:

There are many ways of earning a handsome income from home if you have a computer with internet connection.I know people earning more than 10K dollars pm.I myself making a good income.Contact me at tours.travels@yahoo.co.in. For now, just check the URL i provided below.
They pay you just for being online,while you work or play on your computer. All you need to do is keep their software – the FiestaBar™ – active while you are online. They even pay you when your friends are using their computers.
Http://www.cashfiesta.com/php/join.php?ref=shiva4uf

Jere answers:

If you are already a registered business you will not need to supply any new information to the Government. Make sure your online business has the same name as your offline business.

Jere answers:

Most Profitable Business in India

Profit is the ultimate aim no matter whatever the business is. Actually in simple words, profit is the extra amount which you receive after a product is sold or a service is rendered. There are a variety of businesses in India but to find most profitable business in India, you need to make some effort and invest some time. Before taking the final decision, it should be assured that you end up selecting the most profitable business in India.

The most profitable business in India is not the same for all as the capacity to invest and other factors such as skills etc vary with the investors. Thus the most profitable business in India is obviously a relative matter. You should always select a business which suits your skills, knowledge and capacity to invest. This does not mean that the trade you are starting can’t be the most profitable business in India. Creation of business plan is a must before you start off with your business. You should always remember that in most of the cases profit never starts flooding the same day when you start the business. You will have to wait and if you do well, surely you can turn your business to one among the most profitable business in India.

The basic idea for the most profitable business in India is that only the least possible investment should be made. Courier business would be a nice idea. Either you can start the business yourself or assist the major service providers. You are thus self-employed and all you need is a van along with contacts of the major courier services. Most profitable business in India may sometimes demand eradication of ego and keep your-self motivated. It should be kept in mind that there is no need to feel ashamed when you are making profit in an ethical way. Starting a mobile coffee shop is a profitable business as the initial investment required is very low. You can get customers from almost any busy areas like parking places, bus stands, and railway station premises etc. Car washing service is yet another option where the investment required is for rent, washing detergents and accessibility to water. Even though you may require license for doing business, the cost is really low. The standard of living for people is increasing and many prefer catering services for their private functions rather than preparing meals in the home itself. You can start your own catering services from your home itself or from any small premises. If possible selecting home will be more sensible as the cost of rent can be eliminated.

If you want to work only from home and enjoy the status of white color jobs, you should be proficient in English language and should be aware of the concept of internet marketing. The present era of technology has made the life of man easier and he manipulates his needs with computer and internet from his home itself. By selling online or starting a promotional blog etc you can be the initiator of the most profitable business in India. It is completely your choice that which business you should choose so that you can make it the most profitable business in India.

Jere answers:

Dont get in this business.
This bushness will not have scope in the future
now the internet charges are little bit expensive and also IT literacy is not much.
But in the future allmost all will use regular internet coz of cheap rates and also people wilk learn using internet coz it will be a need of time.
And even all info is available on internet. People can easily plan their tours using that.
In early days i used to go to agents to plan my tour but now why should i go coz i can plan it more better on myself and also agent cant give me that much time to plan it.
Some years before peoples were liking the business like cd shops,cyber cafe and all that
but now noone think bout that.
I am not discouraging u but think before taking any decision…..
Thank u

Jere answers:

Most ISPS do not allow users to send ‘millions’ of emails a day, and there are new ‘do not spam’ laws in effect that have serious consequences if you get caught. And if you don’t know what you are doing, you wIll get caught.

I suggest you reconsider your marketing strategy.

The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

The law, which became effective January 1, 2004, covers email whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site. A “transactional or relationship message” – email that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship – may not contain false or misleading routing information, but otherwise is exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, is authorized to enforce the CAN-SPAM Act. CAN-SPAM also gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to enforce its criminal sanctions. Other federal and state agencies can enforce the law against organizations under their jurisdiction, and companies that provide Internet access may sue violators, as well.

What the Law Requires

Here’s a rundown of the law’s main provisions:

It bans false or misleading header information. Your email’s “From,” “To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.

It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.

It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests. You may create a “menu” of choices to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to end any commercial messages from the sender.

Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor’s email address. You cannot help another entity send email to that address, or have another entity send email on your behalf to that address. Finally, it’s illegal for you to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who choose not to receive your email, even in the form of a mailing list, unless you transfer the addresses so another entity can comply with the law.

It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.
Penalties

Each violation of the above provisions is subject to fines of up to $11,000. Deceptive commercial email also is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.

Additional fines are provided for commercial emailers who not only violate the rules described above, but also:

“harvest” email addresses from Web sites or Web services that have published a notice prohibiting the transfer of email addresses for the purpose of sending email

generate email addresses using a “dictionary attack” – combining names, letters, or numbers into multiple permutations

use scripts or other automated ways to register for multiple email or user accounts to send commercial email

relay emails through a computer or network without permission – for example, by taking advantage of open relays or open proxies without authorization.

The law allows the DOJ to seek criminal penalties, including imprisonment, for commercial emailers who do – or conspire to:

use another computer without authorization and send commercial email from or through it

use a computer to relay or retransmit multiple commercial email messages to deceive or mislead recipients or an Internet access service about the origin of the message

falsify header information in multiple email messages and initiate the transmission of such messages

register for multiple email accounts or domain names using information that falsifies the identity of the actual registrant

falsely represent themselves as owners of multiple Internet Protocol addresses that are used to send commercial email messages.

Additional Rules

The FTC will issue additional rules under the CAN-SPAM Act involving the required labeling of sexually explicit commercial email and the criteria for determining “the primary purpose” of a commercial email. Look for the rule covering the labeling of sexually explicit material in April 2004; “the primary purpose” rulemaking will be complete by the end of 2004. The Act also instructs the FTC to report to Congress in summer 2004 on a National Do Not E-Mail Registry, and issue reports in the next two years on the labeling of all commercial email, the creation of a “bounty system” to promote enforcement of the law, and the effectiveness and enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act.

See the FTC Web site at www.ftc.gov/spam for updates on implementation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The FTC maintains a consumer complaint database of violations of the laws that the FTC enforces. Consumers can submit complaints online at www.ftc.gov and forward unwanted commercial email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Jere answers:

Email marketing is used by lots of businesses of all sizes across the world. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of advertising may not immediately understand why it is so popular among the companies in a variety of industries. Here are ten reasons why email marketing is used by most of the business organisation.

1) Low Cost
2) Target fans of your brand
3) Segmentation
4) Calls to action
5) Easy to create
6) Easy to track
7) Easy to share
8) Global
9) Immediacy
10) Return on investment

And your earning will be depend on how much you time you spend on it and how good are you at it and how’s your business organization financial state.

Jere answers:

Email marketing is like that there will happen marketing through email.
All the buyer can be well known about their product or services from Email.
For more details you can go for the below link

Jere answers:

I would recommend that you make a very targeted list (or at very least a customer profile) of the kind of bulk buyers you are looking to sell to. I would recommend an email campaign over a direct mail campaign at first because as a small business you likely have a very tiny marketing budget. For an email campaign you would ideally want to compile your own list of prospects – with contact names and titles names in addition to email address so you can personalize it. You can build this list yourself but you would have to do some online digging to get email addresses (Hoovers or a free subscription to Leads411 might do the trick). Alternatively, find a reputable list owner/broker and make sure you get all the contact criteria you need (name, company name, title, email address) for only the specific type of prospects you want to reach (by region, industry, size, etc.) Bear in mind that there are minimum list size requirements (usually 2,500 – 5,000 unique contacts) that list owners apply to their services. That may be way too large an audience for your email campaign. The main thing is to identify precisely the kind of customer you are looking for and obtain their contact information. You also may want to think about getting phone numbers and doing some cold calling to these prospects if you (or someone who works for you) has that skill-set.

Jere answers:

Email marketing = spam

At best you will find yourself losing your network connection for being a spammer. At worst you may find yourself in court.

Jere answers:

I got a two year degree at the Art Institute of Seattle and got a job designing advertising at a small town weekly newspaper. After six years there, I moved to a daily newspaper in a city, and then to a bigger one after that. After 17 years in the business, I am now the Art Director who runs the creative department for the Advertising Director. It’s a great career for someone who is driven by results and likes being creative under the pressure of a deadline.

I don’t know how they run things in the UK, but here in the US, a good way to get your foot in the door is to take an unpaid internship at a marketing firm. Getting a degree in marketing would help, but so will the B&E and IT never hurt anybody. It depends on which side you want to work: sales or creative. They complement each other as one cannot exist in the absence of the other. If you have the ideas, but lack the talent to execute them in relevant and attention grabbing visuals, then becoming an account executive would be the path to follow. They make the sales and have a direct hand in steering marketing campaigns. They direct the graphic artist in what the client will see, so ideas are a premium in this endeavor. If you can create a campaign for a potential client, have your graphic artist create something dazzling with your information, research and guidance, then sell it to that client who then gets more business because of it, you will start making good money. At my paper (we do tons of commercial printing as well as web design and online campaigns), we pretty much hire anybody off the street to try their hand at being an account rep. We prefer sales experience of some sort, but management is willing to give anybody a try who can sell themselves at the interview. The logic behind that is simple, really. Credentials and experience don’t mean much when someone can talk a person into a decision. It’s a gift, but can be learned.

Jere answers:

Not that I know of. There might be some laws regarding registered broker-dealers or securities sales-people, but years ago my friend was in in Excell, and he was a broker-dealer, also CPA. If there was a conflict, or it was unlawful, he would not have done it. Now we are in FHTM (owner of company used to be in Excell; in fact, was highest-earner ever in any direct-marketing company).
Primerica says they don’t allow their reps to join another company where they have to recruit, as they are similar to network marketing and just recruit, recruit, recruit. It’s really the only way to make money. But they cannot call themselves “financial advisors.”
That’s what network marketing is all about–recruiting and building a big team. Sounds like you are doing a good job. Good luck. I recommend network marketing on here and get “flagged”. Too bad. People are missing a huge opportunty.

Jere answers:

There are a number of firms in Vancouver that find people with your background for clients. Here are a few sites to check out
www.goldbeck.com
www.discoveryvancouver.com
www.allstarjobs.ca/British_Columbia/Vancouver/Employment_Agencies
www.wood-west.com/company
they are all Vancouver based firms.

Jere answers:

You should have a long term ideal to bare something (especially forking for someone else)
If you get stocked at a point think about your ideal and do what is best to reach it.
Changing lots of jobs is not a good reference.
You may have career tests on reputable companies which may be free of charge and direct yourself in that way… I had one and seen that I am highly suitable for sales and marketing (now I like my job on this field)
PS: I do not say these all that I can succeed in it. I have changed 4 jobs since 2004. I am trying to do what I told you here..

Jere answers:

An internship would have been your best bet, or an associates’ program. What you need to figure out is what part of publishing are you interested in? Editorial work, Marketing, Subrights, Design, Managing Editorial? It’s not the type of industry where you take a job in any department and switch over later. It’s rarely done (although not unheard of). If you don’t know where in publishing you’d like to start, I’d suggest starting in production/managing editorial. You need a strong background in grammar, since you’re basically a glorified copy editor. But this department will give you the opportunity to see what every single department does toward the production of a book. Once you get your feet wet in production editorial, try to find a job in the field you feel best fits you–at another house. Same house wouldn’t be a problem, but it can get pretty uncomfortable.

You can try looking for jobs at the websites of publishers (you can get names of houses from the LMP–the Literary Market Place; should be at your library or local bookstore), posting your resume on LinkedIn (I found my direct report that way), or checking Publishers Weekly.

Best of luck!

Jere answers:

Most employers do not give much credence to degrees from “online universities” like University of Phoenix / Axia, AIU, Capella, Penn Foster, etc. AIU recently lost its accreditation as well, so that’s a big red flag.

However, many longstanding, regionally accredited, and completely reputable state universities now offer courses and even degrees online. This is called “distance education.”

The links below are the absolute best you will find. They contain more links to many well-respected state university distance education programs.

What distinguishes these sorts of programs is that the courses are generally transferable between regionally accredited institutions. Sometimes, the degrees offered are identical to those earned on campus.

I would advise you to start by looking at various state universities and check to see if they offer the programs and courses in which you are interested. (Pennsylvania has a great system, for instance.)

Just avoid the “online universities.” These for-profit businesses are not the same as non-profits institutions of higher education, and they are notorious for not delivering on their promises. I can also assure you that these degrees are laughed at in academia.

Note: In institutions of higher education, regional accreditation is better than national accreditation. This sounds odd, but I assure you that it is the case. The regional accreditors are:
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS)
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NCCU)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

If a program is not accredited by one of these associations, it is best to stay away.

Best wishes to you, and good for you for asking the question before wasting your money!

Jere answers:

Http://www.wannalearn.com/Business_and_Careers/Accounting/

I typed in google “free online accounting courses” and this is one of my hits. Good Luck 🙂

Jere answers:

I have checked on this for my husband’s friends. There are two things.
1. An online degree and 2. Just courses

Saudi Arabia will not accept an online degree, regardless of the university. Even if the university shows up in the list of approved universities, you still have to call and ask if the program is accepted. I was told by the Saudi rep at the mohe that if the degree is offered online, it will NOT be accepted period. Private companies may acknowledge it though, however they wont certifiy it at Saudi Arabia’s ministry of higher education.

2. If you are already enrolled in a degree program, you may be able to take an online course, but you will need approval first. I know a Saudi guy here on a scholarship (my husband’s friend) and he is enrolled in a business program. They allowed him to take two online courses. However, he is here on a student visa. I’m not sure how you would be accepted into an accredited university without coming here though… From what I’ve noticed, to be accepted to universities here as a student one must either be a citizen, legal resident (green card holder) or be here on a student visa.

Jere answers:

Well let me be the first to say online college is not easy. I have invested a lot of time to my business courses online. Sometimes probably a bit more then if I was in traditional college as a lot you are learning yourself.

If you choose to get a full degree online you will only have to take the courses that are outlined by the school which should all be online depending on your choice of major. If you choose something that has labs then you will have to take these courses at a school.

Jere answers:

I would try the following sites.

#
Learn German online – free Internet course
Beginners and advanced German courses with 34 lessons, German orthography, exercises, tests, jokes, German Job application, 15000 online Penpals …
Beginner’s German Lessons – Test Your German – Lessons 1-8
www.deutsch-lernen.com/ – Cached – Similar –
#
BBC – Languages – German
How to watch German programmes on TV and online, tips for getting the most out of it … Complete our beginners’ course in 12 weeks with our weekly tips …
Www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/ – Cached – Similar –
#
German for Beginners: Contents – Free online German course …
German for Beginners – A free online German course with lessons and references designed for beginners and intermediate learners.
German.about.com/library/anfang/blanfang_inhalt.htm – Cached – Similar –
#
German Lessons and Courses
How to be a better German-learner. Learning tips and hints for our online German course for beginners and intermediate learners who wish to review. …
German.about.com/…/onlinecourses/Lessons_and_Courses.htm – Cached – Similar –
Show more results from german.about.com
#
German language course online
German language course: learn German online with LearnPlus.
Www.learnplus.com/learn-german.html – Cached – Similar –
#
German Online : Learn German Online : Online German Lessons
Online German lessons with a live native language teacher, one-to-one or in groups, general or for business. Using webconferencing software, any time, …
Www.languagetrainers.com/online_lessons/german/ – Cached – Similar –
#
Languages Online : Learn Languages Online : Online Language Lessons
Online language lessons with a live native language teacher, one-to-one or in groups, general or for business. Using webconferencing software, any time, …
Www.languagetrainers.com/online_lessons/ – Cached – Similar –
#
Paul Joyce Beginners’ German
Welcome to an online Beginners’ German course designed by Paul Joyce of the University of Portsmouth. It currently contains twelve chapters of dialogue and …
Userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/ – Cached – Similar –
#
GERMAN COURSES | Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle: GERMAN COURSES, Deutsch lernen! Interactive German language programs for all German learners from Deutsche Welle.
Www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2469,00.html – Cached – Similar –
#
Online German course – Learn German Online
The DeutschAkademie’s Online German Course is the most comprehensive grammar … The DeutschAkademie Online German Course is free and has been designed by …
Www.deutschakademie.de/online-deutschkurs/english/ –

Jere answers:

I’ve tried several online business cards printers before. There are lots of options with several big players in the online printing company.

But what I’ve found is that the bigger companies offer less customer service they offer – and i’ve seen some very bad stories. And their products are too geared towards their own agenda and money saving that it doesn’t really make it worthwhile for the average consumers (me) that wants a quality product on a budget.

For example, they’ll offer you a great deal like FREE business cards, only for you to find their there are thieir own marketing logos on the back, and you need to pay to have it removed. Or, you have to pay extra to get a decent enough stock (thickness of the cards), or pay to have it UV coated… So on and so on… It just gets frustrating. For me I just need something simple and straight forward.

So Yes… I agree with the previous poster, I like ez-ink.com. They are very personal and friendly when you call with questions. A very boutique feel. And best of all they have great high quality business cards and postcards products that are simple to design and very affordable. In fact, I believe they have a price match guarantee. So you really can’t beat that. Go EZ-Ink!

But this is just IMHO.

Good luck.

Fiber

Jere answers:

These sites (from Avery, HP and Microsoft) provide business card templates. You can create your own business card and print them on your printer:

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-&-Software/Templates/_/Ns=Rank

http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/office/buscards.html

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102532231033.aspx

have fun

Jere answers:

I doubt if anyone is going to give away free business cards, but you may be able to find designs for them.

If you have a printer, you can get letter size business card stock at any business supply store that you can print multiple business cards to which then breaks apart into the cards. If you have an ink jet printer make sure you get suitable business card stock.

Jere answers:

I am in the greeting card business and I’m here to tell you that it is Thriving right now!
My business is a little different, you work from home, online.
What we do is either choose a card from over 11,000 cards in the database, or you can design your own. You can upload photos, add frames, voice bubbles, captions, etc, and then sign the card in your own handwriting. Once you click send, a REAL card goes out in the mail complete with postage.
You can also add gifts and/or gift cards.
This is something we market to small business owners, salespeople, hairstylists, mortgage brokers, chiropractors, etc. As an effective but inexpensive tool to keep in touch with clients or generate referrals.

You can add your own artwork as well. The choice is yours.
An excellent income can be made in the greeting card industry.

Best of luck to you!

Jere answers:

Advanta Life-of-Balance Platinum Card is a best option.
This credit card issued by Advanta is very popular among the balance transfer community. The reason being that it offers a low 2.99% Fixed APR for LIFE on balances transferred within 3 months. That is an offer which few credit card companies can match. With this excellent balance transfer rate the Advanta Life-of-Balance Platinum Card offers Up to 6% Cash Back or Travel Rewards. The credit card has No annual fee, and the reward program has no limits on earnings. On the whole a good credit card to transfer the balances.
Apply online at: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/Advanta.html

Jere answers:

One of the first things I would recommend that you do is start thinking about your interests/passions… And go into an internet business that is based on that. Why? Because it makes the work a lot easier.

Answering the following questions should help you develop ideas:

1) what websites do you visit when you’re just surfing online?
2) do you have pets?
3) do you play and sports?
4) do you collect anythings?
5) do you have any specialized education?

See what I mean….

After that,you’ve got to decide the business model that you want to use – do you want to develop you own product or do you want to be an affiliate marketer (market other peoples products)?

Then you’ve got to learn basic skills such as building and uploading websites, setting up autoresponders, setting up a merchant account to take orders, etc.

And then, probably the most important part… You have got to learn how to market you business. If your interested in starting up your own internet business, then I would like to suggest the following:

if you don’t have much experience with computers and the Internet – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/warpspeedwealth.html

If you have good experience with computers and the Internet – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/IS2006.html
(TIP! – A trial version of this training is presently being offered for a limited time – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/IS_trial.html)

In both cases, the money back guarantee is rediculous…you simply cannot lose and they can do that because of their success rate…

If your interested in affiliate marketing (marketing other people’s products/services) then you’ll want grab a copy of this book – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/superaffiliate.html

If your interested in joining an existing internet business, then I would recommend SFI Marketing Group (http://affiliatemarketinglessons.com/SFI.html). I would recommend that you join this opportunity either way because 1) its Free and 2) you’ll learn a lot through their training.

Anyways, I hope this helps… And I wish you much success.

For more information, you can try out the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/iahbe.html

Jere answers:

Ephedra can kill you.

Ephedra is an herb used in dietary supplements sold as weight-loss aids and energy boosters that have been associated with serious health problems, including hypertension, irregular heartbeat, strokes and seizures. Some of those problems resulted in death or injury in previously healthy people.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has compelling data showing that ephedra poses serious and unreasonable health risks to consumers. To date, the FDA says that at least 100 deaths have been linked to the use of ephedra. Other studies reveal that risks from the use of ephedra far outweigh any benefits

From January 1993 through October 2000, the FDA received 1,398 reports of adverse events linked to herbal supplements containing ephedra, including 81 deaths, 32 heart attacks, 62 reports of cardiac arrhythmia, 91 reports of hypertension, 69 strokes, and 70 seizures. Complaints about herbal supplements containing ephedra constituted 42 percent of all dietary supplement complaints and 59 percent of all reported deaths.

A comprehensive report appearing in the March 26, 2003 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, links the use of ephedra with risks of heart, psychiatric, and gastrointestinal problems, while finding insufficient evidence to support its use to enhance athletic performance, or to promote long-term weight loss.

According to an analysis released by the Annals of Internal Medicine in February, products containing ephedra accounted for 64% of all adverse reactions to herbal products reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 2001. The researchers calculated relative risks for an adverse reaction to ephedra compared with other herbs in the database and found huge (100-fold or more) increases in risk for those taking ephedra.

The American Medical Association has called for ephedra’s removal from the marketplace. In addition, a host of other organizations representing athletes, including the International Olympic Committee, the National Football League, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, have already banned ephedra’s use among their members and players.

The Feb. 17 death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler has focused new attention on the dangers of ephedra. Bechler, 23, died of heatstroke after a spring-training practice.

Http://www.lifescript.com/channels/well_being/News_Bites/study_reiterates_dangers_of_ephedra.asp
http://www.neighborhood-heart-watch.org/newsletter/article_144.shtml
http://www.nmafaculty.org/news/ephedra.htm
http://www.consumersunion.org/supplements/ephedra-dangers.htm

Jere answers:

Have you thought about pay per click programs? The two biggest, I think, are Yahoo! And Google

A few free resources – check out the sources box for links:

1) Create a blog pertaining to your field

2) Use Yahoo! Local & Yahoo! Groups – Be sure to read the TOS for each one!

3) Write articles pertaining to your field and/or expertise.

4) Advertise on Craiglist

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you’ll inevitably have as well as many you haven’t anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Also, consider signing up for an affiliate program. These programs enable you to advertise on other’s sites (your affiliates) and once a sale is made to you, your affiliates & the program are paid a commission.

I listed a few handy sites & articles relating to marketing, promotion & advertising. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas: From America’s Most Innovative Small Companies by Sam Decker
* Off The Wall Marketing Ideas: Jumpstart Your Sales without Busting Your Budget by Nancy Michaels, Debbi J. Karpowicz
* Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits by Jay Conrad Levinson
* Entrepreneur Magazine’s Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide: Over 1500 Great Marketing Tricks That Will Drive Your Business Through the Roof by James Stephenson

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Jere answers:

Look them up on the internet (google) and call them on the phone.

Jere answers:

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), according to The American Marketing Association, is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” (Marketing Power Dictionary)

Integrated Marketing Communications is a term used to describe a holistic approach to marketing. It aims to ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, from search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, radio, and television. A company develops its integrated marketing communication programme using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion).
[edit] Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC
Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary strategy for marketers:

From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.
From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered around specific target audiences.
From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled market.
From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.
From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly in advertising.
From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation (increased sales or benefits to the company).
From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and services.

Selecting the Most Effective Communications Elements

The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with the greatest breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points within each.

Although integrated marketing communications is more than just an advertising campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the creation and distribution of advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the research budget is also spent on these elements of the campaign. Once the key marketing pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then be applied to other contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics, customer service training, and more, to complete the IMC cycle.

See also
Advertising
Advertising Research
Brand infiltration
Direct Marketing
Global Marketing
Marketing
Marketing Research
Public Relations
Sales Promotion
Sponsorship

Jere answers:

Anyone can create a website with many of the programs and templates that are available from the hosting companies. The difficult part is getting traffic to your website from people who will actually buy the products you offer.

You need products that people are looking for – either because they are popular, unique or fulfill some unmet need.

It would probably be easiest to get started as an independent distributor or rep for a company that provides you with a company website. Then you will already have the products and the payment gateway for online sales and you earn a commission from the sales. Look for products that you like, are consumable and purchased by most families several times a year. Most companies will also offer free training to teach you some marketing techniques.

Then drive traffic to your company website by purchasing a domain name and creating your own personal website with links to your company website. You may eventually want to sign up as a distributor for more than one company or add some affiliate program links for other products related to your website topic or theme to earn multiple streams of income.

Then to market and send traffic to your personal website you will need to learn and use several techniques: email, blogging, social networking other ways to create back links. It takes time, but through consistent effort it can be done.

There are so many websites out there that simply building a website with a bunch of products is not likely to be profitable. It is easier if you have the products, support and training from a company who uses independent distributors to market their products.

Jere answers:

What you’re basically thinking is a survey, where you have a bunch of questions that you want your users to answer, and a way to collate the data to make it meaningful.

The application I use is SurveyMonkey http://www.surveymonkey.com . For $19.95 a month, I can put in a survey (either as a popup, a link on the site, or even as email to my subscribers) with all the questions I want. SurveyMonkey collects all the information exportable in various formats in REAL TIME. For open ended questions, SurveyMonkey simply lists the responses received. You can opt to get demographic info of the respondent or not.

This is the CHEAPEST way to do market research online.

Jere answers:

As I know, most of the email blast service providers charge by the email amount you send at one time with a bottom line ( such as $5 for 500 emails at least). So if you don’t mind paying for 500 while sending only 5, there will be no problem using a service provider. And my suggestion is combining your campaign and individual emails as much as you can so that you can take most out of the services.

BTW, I use Comm100 for my newsletter sending. Like their HTML templates.

Jere answers:

Starting a new business takes a good deal of planning not just for the business but for you own finances as well. The rule of thumb is to have enough in savings to cover your personal expenses for 3 years because that’s generally how long it takes to get a business up and running and on a stable footing.

If this is something you want to do, start out with some good solid training and education. There is a national group called SCORE who’s members are successful business men and women who have already gone through the steps, trials and tribulations you’re facing. Where to get started, what to do first, how to decide if you need financing and where to get it if you do. All these questions can be answered through a SCORE ‘starting your own business’ course. They have many of these of varying lengths depending on where you are and what the local chapter offers. Typically they offer a nationwide one day course that you would probably find helpful.

If you really want to do this, your next step is to write a business plan. There are tons of resources online for how to do this, including templates and categories to include in your plan. Again this is where SCORE can help you. You can sign up for a mentor who can guide you toward resources for your area to look at competition, expenses, marketing and much more. You can also tap into their knowledge for areas you feel you have weaknesses. For instance, if you’re great at marketing, but terrible at accounting then turn to a professional for help. Don’t think you have to go at this alone because there are tons of services and support out there.

For a retail store, consider starting a shop online to limit your start up and overhead costs. If you have an extra room or basement in your house for storing product, you can start out with an online shop. Many physical stores started this way, or if they started in a physical space, they also have an online shopping service which expands their market and opens the door to a larger source of revenue.

Just do some googling and a little research. Don’t be afraid to email existing shops and ask them what they did or how they got started. Most small business owners love talking about their business and are willing to share what they’ve learned with others.

The biggest suggestion I’d have for getting started is to start a business plan. It puts your dream into form and reality. It makes it something tangible that you can work on and organize. And as you write your plan you’ll realize you know a lot more about starting a business than you thought you did. You can do this, just plan and write it out! Hope this helps. Good luck and I hope you dream of owning your own shop come true.

Jere answers:

Http://fotoflexer.com/
FotoFlexer is one of the most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software. FotoFlexer integrates with leading photo sites and social networks. Import and export photos with ease.

Http://www.pizap.com/
piZap is an online photo editor that allows anyone to add objects and text to their pictures to give them a goofy look.

Http://www.finetuna.com/
Upload an image or design to FindTuna, and add your comments. Then send image & comments by email or simply copy & paste a link, and allow your friends to comment on your image/work.

Http://mypictr.com/
Try mypictr. Upload and crop your photos right from the web. No download or registration needed.

Http://www.pikipimp.com/
pikipimp is a web based service that allows you you to edit your image online. No registration require.

Front page

Fotobabble lets you create talking photos in two clicks. Simply upload a photo and then record your voice directly through your computer to create a talking photo. You can easily share it by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or embed it into a blog or website.

Http://phlook.com/
Interactive photos, create slideshows, sell photos on your blog and website to share with friends, family and the World.

Http://pho.to/
Pho.to lets you enhance your photos and have fun with them – easily, anytime, anywhere. Its editing tools let you make the best of your photos with a single click, as well as apply different artistic effects and have fun with your favorite pics.

Http://www.hazelmail.com/
HazelMail allows anyone anywhere to easily create and mail real postcards online using their own photos in minutes. With just a click of the button, Hazel prints and mails your custom postcards for you.

Http://www.imagechef.com/
With ImageChef anyone can create a custom image without any technical knowledge or advanced tools. Modify text in a variety of image templates to create professional quality images with your own personal touch.

Http://www.magmypic.com/
MagMyPic allows users to combine their picture with custom made Magazine covers in the likeness of popular Magazines. MagMyPic is an affiliate marketing effort that works to distribute and market subscriptions to each of the magazines displayed on MMP while providing a fun and entertaining way for users to display their picture.

Http://gui.picresize.com/
PicResize is and easy-to-use online picture editor. Just upload your picture and select from bunch of editing options.

Http://www.loonapix.com/
LoonaPix is going to beautify your life in 3 ways:- LoonaPic effects. One-click effects that embed your picture into interesting situations.- Photo frames. Dozens of photo frames for all tastes.- Trim templates. Trim your photo to make it unique. It is easy and fast way to make funny things online. Flickr is supported.

Http://www.pikipimp.com/
pikipimp is a web based service that allows you you to edit your image online. No registration require.

Http://www.photofunia.com/
http://www.deefunia.com/

http://en.picjoke.com/
http://funny.pho.to/

Jere answers:

You have the right to be notified when they will be showing potential purchasers round the property, and the right to remain there until you are asked to leave.

By whay you said above, you have a 2 month rolling contract, so you will have a minimum of 2 moths notice before you have to move out of the property. Likewise, if you find a new property in the meanwhile, you only have to give 2 months notice.

As you will have a shorthold tenancy agreement, you will not have any rights as s sitting tenant, and will need to be out of the property before the landlord can exchange contracts (on a vacant posesion basis). On the other hand, if they are selling to another property ‘investor’ the new landlords may want or be willing for you to stay in the property. If a new ffamily buys it, however, they will want to take posession themselves and you will ave to move out.

Either way, it its not your property so your options are limited, unless you can buy the property from your landlord, which may be a good solution!

Jere answers:

Hi noodles
i suppose the cheapest laptop at the moment is the asus ecc pc which is £199 however its limited to just a 5gb solid state hard drive,great for travelling but no good for general use
for a good all purpose laptop then the MESH MSI VR601 T2 (http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=355423)is a class laptop and has some class hardware aswell
the processor comes in the shape of the Intel® Core™ Duo T2330 Dual Core Processor (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB),a good all round cpu,with some excellent power,and the memory is supplied in the shape of a 2GB DDR2 667MHz Memory (2x1GB),this is the standard offering in most of todays laptops and is plenty for most everyday tasks
the graphics card is the 128MB Intel GMA X3100 Integrated Graphics,this is the first of intels direct x 10 intergrated chips and is pretty good for a onboard solution,and can play some games at lower resolutions
the 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive is quite big for a laptop and the DVD Super Format Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM has plenty of formats including the much neglected dvd-ram format
the 15.4″ WXGA TFT display is also a standard offering however its picture quality is good,however if you want a 17″ display then the MESH MSI ER710 (http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=332739&APPS=234471)is a better choice,and this also uses the AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK53 Dual Core Mobile Processor ,a good and powerful laptop processor,this also uses the 128MB ATI Mobile Radeon Xpress 1270 Integrated Graphics,still not brilliant but better than the intel onboard solution
both these laptops have some sterling qualities and are powerful in their own rights,however if you dont want to play games then you can make some good savings when buying a laptop,as the price of laptops with powerful graphics adapter are much higher then laptops with intergrated solutions
also try http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/,this company stock surplus laptops and desktop p.c,s and have some excellent “new” and “used” laptops,they also come with some decent warrantys
any problems let me know
good luck noodles !

Jere answers:

Ways to advertise your Electronic Security Systems(including CCTV,Fire Alarm,Burglar ALarm Smoke Detection etc.).

1) You need to create your cooperate identity with a custom embroidery company. Create your logo and business name on your cooperate apparel.

2) Put the logo on your Auto

3) Make up business cards and hand them out. Every time you see someone you know hand several of them out. When you give people your business card, always give them more than one and ask them to give them to their friends/coworkers, etc. Print up flyers and post them on public boards if there are any near you and post in a forums that related to your location if there are any!

4) The key for this kind of business is word-of-mouth. Think of some clever ways to encourage your existing clients to tell people about you. Perhaps you could start with a friend or family member to be one of your “spokesperson”. I owned a convenience store for 10 years and a lot of business deals started in the checkout line by strangers. Tell everyone about you and ask if they know anyone that could use your service. Ask for a referral from an existing client

5) Start a website as a way to advertise you. Let your website work for you and your clients swap links. When making your own web site do some research on how to optimize your site so that you get a good ranking with a natural search. You do this by embedding smart key words. Your website could show your community involvement and you could have questions and answers on the site.

6) Look for websites that you can advertise for free. Advertise in the Yahoo local. Find free on-line classified web sites for your community. Typically the local chamber of commerce will offer such a service. You can advertise here for free: http://www.hits2u.com/?149843
http://goldbizz.localads.co.uk
http://www.trafficswarm.com/go.cgi?48605

Automatic Contributions to Your Gold Individual Retirement Account Account

Post a link to your site for free when it is allowed
Try These:
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/…
Here is a comprehensive list of Classifieds http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20080114075709AAtlrLP

7) A Yellow page ad seems to work great also.

8) Try to get your local newspaper to do a free article on your business.

9) Sponsor local sport teams or ballparks that hang up banners. There are also inexpensive ways to advertise like a local penny saver newspaper, high school yearbooks and newspapers, etc.

10) Call radio show call in and contest and always answer or make the statement with “your name and company name and you have been working hard” free radio ads are great.

11) Telemarketing

Jere answers:

This website gives you a solution…
Www.infobanc.com/trade_leads_ind_biz/indexp_h3_34.htm

Jere answers:

First of all, make sure you know your definitions. Instead of ‘doing the solutions to negative externalities’ you should say correcting market failure – a misallocation of resources, where resources are not used to gain the best possible good.

The ways of correcting market failure can be remembered by TENCLL – Taxation, Education, Nationalisation of businesses, Compensating the victim, Laws, Legislations.

Advantages of correcting market failure are that you can ‘internalise the externalities’. In a market, businesses are only in it for their own self interest and so they do not consider the social cost (private cost + externality). From a business point of view, vodka companies are only interested in profit and not compensating and paying for the problems of liver disease, noise pollution and violence etc. Ryan Air are not interested in paying to compensate for the air pollution caused by excessive air travel. This is why the government need to impose taxes (direct and indirect) to ensure that this market failure is corrected and that the companies accept responsibilty for the externalities they cause.

Advantages – Businesses pay for the externalities so other people and the government don’t have to. In the case of alcohol, any VAT and excise taxes are given to the government and can be reallocated into merit goods and services such as hospitals, health centres etc. So even though consuming alcohol may produce health problems for consumers, the businesses are paying for treatment and effectively donating money towards improving fitness of citizens.

Taxation increases the price of demerit goods and a higher price should lead to a fall in demand for the product, depending on the price elasticity. Education makes people aware of the negative effects of what they consume which may lead people to cut back on consuming demerit goods and services. Nationalisation means that the government can control the supply of demerit goods – in some American states the government owns distilleries which means they can control how much alcohol people consume. Compensating the victim is like what I said about reallocating taxes from demerit goods/services into merit goods/services and laws and legislations also give the government more control over businesses.

Advantages of a subsidy is that it incentivises a firm to produce at a social optimum level (MSB=MPC), which would have been expensive to a firm prior to the subsidy.

Disadvantages – (I keep using the alcohol example but it’s one I know a lot about lol) If a good is inelastic in demand, then adding high levels of tax may lead to a decrease in the quality of life for the consumer. Say that a man is on a minimum wage and likes to drink alcohol to unwind, or maybe someone is alcoholic and spends most of their money on alcohol. An increase in tax will lead to an increase in the price of the alcohol, but as alcohol is addictive and there are few substitutes, the consumer will continue to buy the good. The higher price means they are spending more of their disposable income and therefore have less to spend on vital needs such as food, clothing, hygiene products, rent etc. This could drive people into poverty. Or it may drive them onto other cheaper demerit goods and substitutes such as drugs. A similar situation occurs when companies shift the tax onto the consumer as a form of ‘hidden tax’ – it leaves the consumer more out of pocket. Higher prices may also result in inflation in the economy which is not desirable.

If businesses are heavily taxed then they are disincentivised to produce as the have smaller profit margins. Firms may be driven out of the market – why should a company carry on producing if they are being heavily punished for it?

Main disadvantage of a subsidy is that it is the taxpayers who are paying for it, and this is often very unpopular with the public!

Http://everything2.com/title/Externality < found this handy link for looking at tradable permits too 🙂

Jere answers:

If your priority is just for backups, I use Mozy Home and I’m quite happy with it. If you want something as a sync service and backup, you can see a comparison of several online storage solutions here :

http://yourcomputertricks.com/how-to-pick-an-online-storage-service/

Jere answers:

You can use any of the ElephantDrive business editions to back up from the NAS.

Also, depending on the make/model, you may be able to run the backup directly on the NAS so it will run even if/when your laptop is not connected. The currently ship an embedded NAS backup with QNAP and NETGEAR NAS (the NETGEAR version is branded).

Jere answers:

Hi..i don’t actually have an answer..but a warning. I have been contacted by many clients. Telling me their online backup service went out of business without warning or was bought up and their files disappeared with them never to be seen again. Sadly there is no way to get the information back when these places pack up their tents and vanish into the night…please be careful…R.

Jere answers:

Computer Backup Options

Backing up your company’s computers is absolutely essential — if you lose computer data, you could also lose your business. The more you can do to protect against data backup nightmares, the more time and money you can reserve for moving the business forward. But there’s more than one way to back up your data, depending on your company’s budget, the number of computers that require backup, and whether or not you use a network.

Here are a few of the backup options available:

1. Use recordable media. Once upon a time, you could back up your entire computer on a few floppy disks or Zip disks. Those days are now long past — but now we have CD-R and DVD-R media. CD-Rs can hold up to 700MB of data, and double-layer DVD-Rs can hold up to 8.5GB. Depending on the size of your hard drive, though, you may end up spending lots of time burning multiple disks to safeguard your data.

2. Get a second hard disk. You can install a drive that’s just as big as your existing hard disk and then copy, or “mirror,” all of the data on the second drive. Hard disk prices have dropped considerably, and mirroring a disk makes it easy to replace lost data. But keeping all of your backup data on the same system leaves it vulnerable to the same problems that might affect your primary hard disk.

3. Use an online backup service. These services allow you to upload your data over the Internet to remote servers — if you need to restore lost data, you simply log on to the backup service and download your files. Internet backup services offer several benefits: they’re cheap, easy to use, and very reliable. But Internet backups can be slow, and you’ll need Internet access to retrieve your backup files. You should never rely only on Internet backups; if the company storing your data goes out of business, your data might vanish too. Read Is It Safe to Store Files on the Internet? To allay some of your concerns about this method.

4. Use a software backup program. A backup utility, like Norton Ghost or the backup utility that comes bundled in Windows XP, can take the headache out of backing up your data. It’s not meant to replace any of the three methods above; rather, it just automates the backup process. You tell it when and where, and the program can automatically back up your data to the location of your choice.

What’s Better: Local or Network Backups?

If your business uses a network, you’ll have to decide whether to back up all of your computers over the network or back up each computer separately. In most cases, you should back up all of the computers on a network along with your file servers; that way, you can purchase a single high-end backup system for your whole network. It’s much more expensive to buy a separate backup unit for each computer, and it’s a waste of time to lug a portable backup drive from one computer to another.

Jere answers:

Yes, it is a great business to be in. As a technical support person, I upsell MyPCBackup to people all the time to make backups of their files. Pays well. Http://online-backup.topfiveawards.com/

Jere answers:

Honestly, just take what you need to get your degree. Your schooling is going to help you get a job, if that’s what you want. You are definitely going to learn from your classes, but from my experience you will learn far more from your own experiences.

What I’m saying is this:
Get your degree to help you get a job, but use the internet and get all the experience you can for you real “education”. People coming straight out of school tend to be real green 🙂

That’s assuming you want a job, of course. I learned marketing and I began making my living from home using the internet. No more jobs, bosses, etc. For me. The freedom is wonderful, and the money is just as sweet!

Jere answers:

No degree can guarantee that the job you get will involve travel. Many MBA jobs require travel, and many do not. This is true of many other degrees, such as engineering or any science, political science, international relations, diplomatic service, etc.

MBA programs accept students in any undergraduate field. They prefer students who do not have a business background because they give you the business training but they cannot provide the broad background that managers should have. I have taught MBA students with degrees in Music, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Psychology, Political Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, and many other fields. Most MBA programs prefer students with 2-3 years work experience after the first degree., Some accept students right out of college if they have good grades and a high GMAT score. Some MBA programs are designed specifically for new college graduates without work experience. But in those programs you don’t get the benefit of learning from other students who have work experience. A lot of valuable learning takes place through class interaction.

Before you decide on an MBA program explore the Internet for information on available programs. There is a lot of information available. Some sites are limited to specific countries, such as Germany, UK, or Australia. There is a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. The nice thing is that it allows you to find the program that best fits you. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc.), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc.), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status (look for AACSB accreditation or at least AACSB membership), tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, joint degrees such as MBA/JD, and much more. You can use it to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre-applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria. Some of the other sites are less comprehensive, but all are useful.

Jere answers:

You can definitely get a programmer’s job after getting the Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science but you will need to have thorough knowledge of and experience in some popular language like PHP, C#.net or Java.

It is hard to get any job these days but if you are bright, you can definitely get one. You can also freelance on sites like elance.com and getafreelancer.com while you are waiting to get hired. This will also add to your profile and experience.

I am an internet marketing expert and do website development for clients.

Jere answers:

All medical schools are created equal and that equality is assured by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the accrediting authority, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. People who allege one medical school is better than another, based on the education provided, are wrong. If any medical school was inferior to another it would lose its accreditation or, stated another way, no medical school is permitted to graduate a majority of “C” students while other schools graduate a majority of “A” students. All medical schools are required to administer the NBME’s Shelf Exams at the end of each class. These exams are scored by the NBME, not the schools. If Harvard produced superior results to the Medical College of Georgia, do you think that MCG wouldn’t adopt Harvard’s curriculum or that MCG would be continued to be allowed to produce inferior doctors?

Would you accept that a Volkswagen was the best car based on 5 people saying that it was the best car? Would your opinion change if all 5 worked for Volkswagen? Many people respond to questions about “the best medical schools” and cite the US News and World Report’s annual article about medical school rankings. They don’t have a clue how the magazine made those determinations. In the most recent published rankings list there were as little as five respondents and those were all medical school college Deans. Hardly a statistically valid sampling, wouldn’t you agree? Why were there so few respondents? Because the Association of American Medical Colleges objects to the criteria used and the method of sampling, so the majority of medical schools refuse to participate.

If you’re going to become a physician you need to know the source of any data you’re going to rely on or prove it yourself–and in this case, the information is readily available on the Internet–all you have to do is Google it.

To correct some other misinformation–all medical schools have to have research opportunities available for medical students (it’s an accreditation requirement). At primary care oriented schools the research is an option. At research oriented medical schools it is mandatory and the focus for the students is not the research itself but the proper scientific method for conducting and reporting how research is done. The research is done by both instructors (that’s one of the carrots used to attract top research scientists to teach at medical schools) and paid researchers.

In addition, most medical researchers have advanced science degrees, not just the MD.

So why do the Harvards and Johns Hopkins of the world have reputations as being “the best”? It’s a three part answer. First, the “best” known names have earned their reputations on the quality of the residency programs provided (and residency programs have nothing to do with a medical school), the quality, number and types of research conducted (again, nothing to do with the medical school itself) and the medical centers associated with each program. Secondly, the history of the Ivy League schools arises from over a century ago when only the wealthy could afford to go to college. As the economy changed and more of the ‘common’ people could afford college, the “Ivy League” schools raised their tuition to keep out the riff-raff, thus maintaining their standard of catering to society’s elite class. But many of the programs at Ivy League schools do produce superior graduates. The MBA programs at Harvard and Wharton are the ‘Gold” standard in business. The law programs at Princeton and Yale are also “Gold’ standards. The same for engineering, physics, etc,, but not medicine. Medicine is the only specialty that has a quality assurance governing authority. Third, reputations are really marketing’s sleight of hand. For example, the National Insitute of Health is the other often-cited ranking system for medical schools. However, this ‘ranking’ is based on the amount of research dollars given to each school, which, again, has nothing to do with the quality of the education provided at a school. But that doesn’t stop some schools from claiming “We’re # X according to the NIH”.

So, to answer your question in a different way, would you be heads above other people with a degree from an Ivy League school? Maybe to the naive. But the medical community only cares where you did your residency, as that denotes the quality of your education. You can spend $50,000/semester at an Ivy League school or less than $20,000/semester at your own state’s university medical school and both will get you to your MD. The name of the school on your diploma doesn’t get you into the better residency programs. What does get you in are the scores you obtain on the USMLE exams and the quality of the reviews you received during your clinical rotations.

One last little poke in the ribs–UCLA came to the University of Maryland to copy UM’s Emergency Medicine residency program and that’s why the University

Jere answers:

Bachelor of Science degree programs that focus on entertainment business are typically found under program names such as ‘entertainment and media business’ or ‘entertainment, media and technology business’. These programs emphasize core business skills, such as marketing, finance, and management, as well as media formats, such as video, film, Internet media and music media. In addition, students learn how to create, manage, distribute and market entertainment media and talent. That you career aspects you can look out for by doing this degree are:-

* Producer
* Publicist
* Marketing director
* Talent manager
* Public relations specialist

Jere answers:

AS PER THE SITE http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/forum/f39-legal/what-legal-documents-will-i-need-to-start-an-online-clothing-store-50968.html,

“While it’s hard to give a complete answer without knowing more details about your overall business plan for the clothing store, here are a few thoughts:

The general package of documents you would need for that might include the following:

Incorporation documents – Articles and Bylaws, as well as Shareholder Agreements and instruments setting up voting trusts/irrevocable proxies/etc in the event of multiple owners taking shares.

Generally, city and state business licenses, as well as a Federal EIN.

If you will have employees, you will need employment contract(s), which may need various provisions including nondisclosure.

Depending on the types of clothing sold, certain intellectual property due diligence may need to be performed and documented for (including acquisition of associated IP licenses).

Website legal assessment will be a must since you will be regularly selling goods; including user agreements, privacy policy, terms of use, etc. IP clearance is also probably a good bet.

Lastly but not least, you will need uniform commercial code article 2 (sales) contractual instruments to be designed specifically for your business’s needs; you would then be able to copy and fill in the blanks of such a contract to suit each order and have a solid sales agreement in place in case anything goes wrong in a given sale.

I would strongly advise against using legalzoom for the formation and/or conducting of any real business, as they only provide the most basic forms and they are very generic in nature and not specific to any one business… This creates ambiguities now, which can cost much more later.”

Jere answers:

First of all you need hosting and domain name which should preferably contain you business keywords. Domain name is very important for search engines to find your site. But even more important is your website’s content. You should write description of your company and products and this description should contain keywords (never try to copy content from other sites).
You need an e-commerce website with the integrated payment gateway such as PayPal and shopping cart. This kind of websites requires PHP programming and database. This is one of the most expensive parts of building of a website. And you are unlikely to be able to make it by your own unless you know HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript. I must warn you that you will have invest in such website professionally designed and developed at least $2500. But it will be paid-off soon if your business is really good. More over you will probably need to invest some money in advertising. So it’s up to you to decide whether you would like to go online.
In case of interest I can recommend you a web design company with which I work a lot. They can advise you on any issue concerning building your website and search engine optimization. A good thing about these guys, except comparatively low prices, is that they offer free life-time technical support and guarantee to their clients. See the link in my source.

Jere answers:

It is extremely difficult. During the bubble years the Georgia Securities Commission had brokers give them copies of all traders living in Georgia. For every 100 traders, 90 lost 100% of their investment and only 1 was profitable. Amateurs have no business in trading.

Investing on the other hand can be profitable for most people. I would recommend reading Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor,” and a good book on securities analysis which was written as a college textbook. Since you do not seem to have experience, until you learn how to do on your own, I strongly recommend going to a full service broker or bank with a good reputation in your area.

Jere answers:

1. Http://sites.google.com/ (Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share.)

2. Http://www.moonfruit.com?cc=407902 (do-it-yourself website builder with lot of social networking tools like youtube, facebbok, twitter integration.)

3. Http://www.yola.com/ (drag and drop interface. You can create a website or a blog, and then pick your design layout. They provide free service without imposing banner ads. Good support.)

4. Http://www.weebly.com/ (Create a free website & blog.)

5. Http://www.piczo.com/ (Share photos, make slideshow, play videos, games and music. With featured sites section, plus see who’s on-line now feature. Also blogs and text can be implanted on your website)

6. Http://www.wetpaint.com/ (Useful hosted wiki tool. Functions of a wiki, blog and online discussion forum. Good support.)

7. Http://www.wix.com (Create interactive flash sites, myspace layouts and flash widgets. Simpler, faster, better way to create stunning Flash web content. Good support.)

8. Http://www.viviti.com/ (a website builder that lets you create a web site easily, with no code and no hassle.)

9. Http://www.squarespace.com/
(A fully hosted, completely managed environment for creating and maintaining a website, blog or portfolio.)

10. Http://www.sproutbuilder.com/ (Sprout Builder is a web-hosted, visual authoring solution that allows creative professionals to quickly and easily create branded, rich-media content and widgets.)

Jere answers:

The best way to market your business is online. If you can share more about your business, then I can provide you with more pointed information.

Jere answers:

First, don’t send daily emails. Sending emails too frequently will either annoy people or allow them to develop an indifference to seeing your emails and ignoring them.

Secondly, consider offering more than just your usual product offerings. Give something of value to your customers, even if it’s just information. Give some tips and advice on how to use the products you’re offering or some other general tips and advice related to your industry that someone might be able to use without necessarily needing to make a purchase.

Maybe you can start sending your “newsletter” once per week with an article related to your industry and then follow it with a product that you might have that’s related to the article.

Jere answers:

1. One way could be liveperson.com, sign up there with your expertise, complete profile and wait for response from audience.

2. Create a blog, write up your article with your expertise, people will find you.

3. Create your own website. Start e-Training from your website to the learner.

4. Find and visit universities/colleges forum/chat channel, present your expertise.

5. Create Facebook fan page and request your friends to join there and ask their 1st degree friends to join in your page. Do same thing other social networking site.

6. Collect students cell numbers from college/universities monthly/quarterly/yearly magazine books.

7. Publish classified ads in classified sites, such as craiglist

8. [you already applied this tip:] Ask yahoo 🙂

9. Publish news paper ads

10. Send newsletter to the target group from mailer service provider.

11. Recruit consultant for web marketing (I may available upon request with consulting fees)

Jere answers:

Advertising agencies need all types of people with many degrees- not just in advertising and marketing.

A company I’ve worked for in the past hired people from all backgrounds including: sports management, business, economics, communications, web development, creative design and graphic design.

More and more, advertising agencies are combining their traditional services (print, tv, ad) with the internet (ad banners, click ads, email marketing, and websites). This provides a great opportunity for you; there are tons of agencies that need individuals to help support both areas.

I recommend enrolling in a degree that you are truly interested in. If you are simply enrolling for the sake of gaining employment with an ad agency, you may be miserable at work for the next decade or so.

Additionally, have you researched what it is like working for an agency? Many require above-average weekly hours without OT, and deadlines make the office a zoo. However, that isn’t to say that there are no 9-5 agencies out there.

The link below offers a variety of schools; you should compare costs and programs available and find something you enjoy, and that hopefully will not depreciate in the forseable future (ie web design).

Good luck!

Jere answers:

Getting traffic is a combination of a lot of things. The key to success is to create great content that visitors want to use, search engines will love and other websites will naturally link to. Of course, it’s easier said than done.

You can use pay per click advertising in the search engines to reach audiences looking for your products. You can use Google Adwords http://www.google.com/adwords

Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:

1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement – if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.

2. Use social media. Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn, Reddit, Digg and others can be a big source of traffic for your business. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important — and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools.

AddThis http://www.addthis.com

3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF format) http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com’s “Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day.” http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2010.htm

4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

Http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com

5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.

Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006022407481

6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article ” How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site ” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecommerce.htm for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.

7. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com

Jere answers:

HOW TO SELL ORGINAL ARTWORKS:
You can get your own website. You can get a FREE one at Weebly site, Wix site, Blogger site. Sell your art on your own website using a PayPal account. Go to PayPal website. Click on GET PAID. Select SELL ON YOUR WEBSITE. With this feature, you can add a payment button to your website and accept credit card orders securely. You can also add the Ebay button to your official website like this artist did, look under each picture http://kimsartblog.blogspot.com/

HOW TO SELL PRINTS OF YOUR ORIGINAL ARTWORKS
Make your original artwork into a DIGITAL IMAGE by using a digital camera to photograph it or using a scanner to scan it. Upload those digital images to these sites to make money. Fast forward the video to 3:00 to read the info. Also read the IMPORTANT TIPS starting at 5:32, this info applies to all DIGITAL IMAGES. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LhMCAK4nk&context=C4161594ADvjVQa1PpcFPmw4P89iEWe7XGowlMlVSIYl42RUPurxE=

MARKETING TIPS:
1. Get an OFFICIAL WEBSITE to display your artwork. When you are talking to people and the subject of art comes up, they are going to want to see it. Plus, people always surf the internet looking for artists, so by getting a website you increase your chances of someone finding your art.

Learn “search engine optimization”, which is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engines. If your website is ranked high in search results, it will more than likely get alot of visitors. Google search the words “search engine optimization” for more information or buy a book on the subject at Amazon website.

2. Open an account on photo sharing or video sharing websites (YouTube, Flickr, DeviantArt, etc.) that gets HIGH volumes of traffic everyday! Post your BEST artworks on these sites. The goal is to remain active by posting comments to get more exposure! If you post comments on other people’s pictures or videos, they will more than likely check out your account as well. Do not Spam! Your comment should be about the person’s picture/video! After each comment, type your name, Example: John Doe, Watercolor Artist. Also, use as MANY tags as possible so your photos/videos can be found by alot of people! Use a picture of your BEST ARTWORK as your AVATAR. You can’t state that you sell artwork on these sites because they generally don’t allow commercialism, so simply type your email or your official website address under your profile, so people can contact you directly about your artwork.

3. Join Facebook. Create an account that has an art word in it, Example: Go to Facebook and search the words ART, ARTIST, DRAWING, PAINTING, WATERCOLOR, etc….. You will see alot of artists that come up. Visitors come to Facebook and they will generally type in art words to find artists. Also, these art accounts will generally allow you to be friends quickly and post comments, which can be used to your advantage and to gain more exposure.

4. Ask your family/friends to post a picture of your art and a link to your website on their personal website or blog site to get more exposure.

5. Always carry business cards with you! When the subject of art comes up or you think someone might like to know about your art, give them your business card. Your business card should have your contact info and a picture of your art on it.

Jere answers:

Advertising is a single component of the marketing process. It’s the part that involves getting the word out concerning your business, product, or the services you are offering. It involves the process of developing strategies such as ad placement, frequency, etc. Advertising includes the placement of an ad in such mediums as newspapers, direct mail, billboards, television, radio, and of course the Internet. Advertising is the largest expense of most marketing plans, with public relations following in a close second and market research not falling far behind.

The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is to think of marketing as a pie, inside that pie you have slices ofadvertising, market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community involvement. Advertising only equals one piece of the pie in the strategy. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal. Marketing is a process that takes time and can involve hours of research for a marketing plan to be effective. Think of marketing as everything that an organizationdoes to facilitate an exchange between company and consumer.

Jere answers:

The Chinese market is extremely price sensitive, and COMPUTERS have become a commodity business, as Lenovo’s purchase of IBM’s PC biz demonstrates. Dell’s weak competences for innovation make it difficult for Chinese competition, so it is pretty much left with a penetration strategy- where it would focus on one particular niche or market segment in an attempt to create a beach head for further product deployments in the larger Chinese computer market.
I would think that it would do what it did successfully in India, which was agree to establish assembly plants or customer service centers in China in return for preferential access to some of the markets entrenched by Chinese firms. Dell can do this thanks to its size.

Jere answers:

Simple.

1. Direct Mail Niche Marketing. You find someone who provides niche marketing lists to your select audience then you hand write letters introducing your products and offer a discount to all responses through your ad.

2. Referral Marketing. Ask your friends and family members or your colleagues if they might know of anyone who would be interested in buying what you have to offer and tell them you will pay them a “finder’s fee” for any leads they can provide to you which actually make a purchase.

3. Networking. Look for other people in your area who are selling similar items to what you are selling and ask them if they wouldn’t mind joining forces with you to help promote yours and thier products together. Offer them a small cut of the profits if they help you display thier products and they should offer the same incentive.

Personally I would go with Option #1 because this is how I make the $300k a year I do right now.

Jere answers:

Here are a few Marketing 101 ideas:

Sharpen your focus by deciding who comprises your customer base, who are you trying to attract? It will make a difference in your marketing plan. Are you seeking seniors? Young families? Singles? Business owners? Real estate professionals? Then develop a marketing strategy that works best for that group.

Targeted direct mail
Telephone solicitation (keep it short, keep it simple)
Ask for referrals
Consider authoring a blog that showcases your insurance knowledge
Build and promote a web site
Twitter
Facebook page
You Tube
Advertise in church bulletins (inexpensive)
Join local non-profit community boards
Join business marketing groups
Write an article for the paper
Attend networking events
Join the chamber of commerce
Sponsor a local sports team
Join a golf league

Jere answers:

Breweries will deliver direct or through a distributor for a particular area. Because beer pricing is very competitive it might be difficult to get exact wholesale pricing from them. Try contacting the marketing department of a brewery and tell them your problem.

Jere answers:

Try out http://www.torn.com/1632703 it’s free, no downloads. You level up, make money, work for player owned and operated businesses. Own a business and manage your own employees. Player driven economy. Purchase real estate to live in, rent, or sell in the real estate market. Commit crimes, attack other players, create factions and go to war with rival factions and tons more. Very large player base, with thousands playing per day! You chat with friends, and post pictures enjoying the social aspect of the game. Or play as a loner choice is up to you. I personally love the game.

Jere answers:

Http://www.bsg-online.com/

i play there once in a while .. Give me ur info after signing up

Good Luck 🙂

Jere answers:

Business Tycoon Online http://games.bbgsite.com/games/businesstycoon/index.shtml
Business Tycoon Online, a business simulation browser game produced by a famous Chinese corporation Dovogame LLC, is sweeping the whole Asia with many agencies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. It reached one million concurrent online players in Asia, Ranking in the top list of browser games. And now, this great game has entered the US and Europe market.

Footballidentity http://gamelist.bbgsite.com/io/index/id/1682.shtml
Foorballidentity is a football (soccer) world where all characters are controlled by real users. Managers, Players and even Journalists have a user behind them and together they form teams and play matches together in the world’s first turn-based strategy game based upon football. Players play matches, train and develop their skills. Managers handle transfers/contracts, match tactics and manage their team members.

You can find more in http://gamelist.bbgsite.com/index/gamelist/all/default/genre/_2_simulation_2_/0.shtml

Jere answers:

If you selling things, you definitely need to create an eCommerce based site. . If you’re new to website building, you won’t want to jump into that before you tackle the basics. That is, HTML (basic framework of a webpage), CSS (formatting and styling) and a little bit of Javascript (functionality). The next step would be to learn about SQL and databases.

If you simply didn’t familiar with programming, you can hire a dev instead, pay them to create an eCommerce site for you, and sit back thinking about your business plan.

There are several platforms available both free and paid out there to support creating of an eCommerce based site, I create list here :

1. ECommerce platform which designed to create, host, and have tools to support transaction, payments, even marketing system. Platform like this generally suit for medium level of business and for people who doesn’t familiar with programming. An example is Izzonet

http://izzonet.com

2. If you run a small level of business, you can give WordPress a shot. WordPress known as open source CMS which easy to use, SEO friendly, moreover it has eCommerce plug-ins.

Http://wordpress.org

3. If you are good with programming, or have someone who can done the website jobs for you. You can try to install open sources shopping carts software. Don’t even dare to use this kind of services if you don’t have any experiences with programming as it’s not user friendly but can afford your business if you have a well programmer.

Jere answers:

So your selling games on the internet and selling them for less well if you are you will eather have to make a deal with ups and shipping or get lots and lots of boxes at your house. And buy lots and lots of games lots of people like to get the old and the brand new games so you might have to wait at gamestop at 12:00 to get the brand new games

Jere answers:

I have found a wonderful home-based business opportunity that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and has been in business for over 35 years. I have been working with this company for over two years. There is potential for multiple streams of income [ i.e. Bonuses, overrides, residual, and direct compensation]. They are nationally known and have been featured in popular magazines like Success from Home. I have been made aware of a promotion for the month of January 2008 in which new associates can have their start up fee reimbursed and receive a Palm TX (nearly a $400 value) by meeting specified requirements. They’re looking for outgoing motivated, and goal oriented individuals. There is less than 2% market penetration nation wide, leaving the market wide open. Great training tools, one on one coaching, and a valuable and affordable service with little to no competition, make this home based business stand out from the rest. If you would like more information please feel free to contact me a Pre-Paid Legal Independent Associate at RexWhitePPL@gmail.com. Or call me at 503-463-7336.

* Promotion is responsibility solely of Independent Associate Rex White only. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., any of its subsidiary companies, or any other person involved with Pre-Paid Legal is to be honest responsible.

Jere answers:

I am Tadar Wazir who was born in the U. S. A. During WWII.
I have some college majoring in Mobile Emergency Medical Technology/the Administration of Justice, which I received my A.A. Degree in.
I am a veteran, U.S.M.C., who served two (2) tours to Vietnam. While there as an Infantry Fire Team Leader on my second tour, like the Biblical Prophet Job, I got to know the only true Deity (G’d), as Jesus calls Him in John 17:3.
I have held several different professional positions: Insurance salesperson (Western & Southern Life, New York Life, and Roosevelt National); Banker (1st National Bank of Kansas City [supervisor in the Check Transit Department, and a Methods Analyst {Efficiency Expert} in the Systems Department]); security guard; entrepreneur; paramedic (St. Joseph’s Hospital of Kansas City, MO, operating its Mobile Intensive Care Unit); Iridologist (Natural Health Care utilizing ones eyes to find the problem[s] those from: disease(s), accidents, and where drugs are influencing ones organ[s]); a prison chaplain/hostage negotiator; I was a participant in the 1993 Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions in Chicago, IL; and I have had other jobs. It seems that I am a workaholic trying to make up for the mental damage that war causes its warriors.
I have authored some essays, made a few quips about different subjects, and one digital book via Kindle, to date some of them have made it to the internet. Just Google my name Tadar Jihad Wazir and you will find them. The digital book is in the Amazon.com, Kindle Store, Kindle e-Books titled “What am I? An: Accident or Intelligence, Intelligently Designed? And I try to carry on daily conversations with people along these lines that are stated in the questions.
I have been honored to have been elected to be a representative of 1st National Bank at the 1970 Bankers Convention in Milwaukee, WI; a Union Steward (Yellow Cab, school bus line in Kansas City, MO); Missouri State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. Chaplain, Central Area; President of the Mar-Saline branch of the NAACP; Marshall Optimist Club Chaplain; part of the “think tank” for the formation of the Restorative Justice Program in many facilities in the U.S.A.; a Board Member of Butterfield Youth Services in Marshall, MO; a member of the County Prosperity Team for Saline County, MO; an Election Judge (as an Independent-Independent); on the Board for the Saline County University Outreach/Extension Service; and I know that I am forgetting something.
I have been honored to be mentioned in:
Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals, Third Edition;
Who’s Who in Religion, 4th Edition;
Who’s Who in America, a couple of editions (I quit filling out the nomination forms);
Who’s Who in the Midwest, a couple of editions;
Men of Achievement, Sixteenth Edition.
I have been nominated for honorable mention in several more prestigious books but I just did not fill out the paperwork. I do what I do as an act of penitence for the being that war made of me and others who were, and are, similarly situated.
I am usually found studying something about this creation that we “man” is charged to “dress and keep” while having dominion over it.
I have a website: tadarwazir.youngevityonline.com, and two under construction: http://www.1wp.com/go/mindseye; and http://mindseye.sbuilder.net. Just letting you know about them to let you see that TODAY you can make your own way, IF, you have the courage to stand your ground and go for what you know.
Believe it or not, I am usually quiet, but when I talk, I try to talk from revealed scripture and show how it relates to our daily lives.

Jere answers:

“If a company requires initial payment from you in order to work for them, they are not legitimate.”

There are a few legitimate data entry companies but are not hiring and have large waiting lists (1-2yrs). The majority of data entry jobs you seen online are scams. A real company will want you to have skills inc fast typing, may want you to know MS Excel, and will usually ask that you have high speed internet. Once in a long while you may found one online on a job website but thats rare.

If you do an advanced search on yahoo, you will find previous answers, sometimes the info on these is good as the info they gave is likely to have been verified if the answer was voted as ‘Best’.

Jere answers:

You will need the best of the best in literary agents if you want to be published by Scholastic. The top publishers are incredibly selective and won’t be taking manuscripts from the slush pile. So look at a copy of the “Guide to Literary Agents” or “Writer’s Market” and start finding agents who have sold similar projects to yours to the top publishing houses.

Here are some websites that can help. Read them thoroughly and research, research, research!
Http://www.agentquery.com/
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
http://www.absolutewrite.com/
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

And be warned of the people on this list:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html

If you posted a section of your story on the internet, would you want people stealing it? Of course not! Those photographers have just as much right to protect their work as you have to protect theirs.

Don’t worry about the photography right now, because often publishers will want to choose the art themselves. They can help you gain the permissions when you get to that point.

Jere answers:

Charlott… You could start your search on Google by typing in “formaldehyde free cosmetics” and then hit SEARCH. Information on formaldehyde free cosmetics found on Google include the following sites:

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics : No More Toxic Tub
Despite marketing claims like gentle and pure, top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals, according to our product tests.
Www.safecosmetics.org/ article.php?id=414 – Cached
Formaldehyde Free – Makeup & Cosmetics: Find, Compare, Read …
Yahoo! Shopping is the best place to comparison shop for Formaldehyde Free – Makeup & Cosmetics Compare products, compare prices, read reviews and merchant ratings.
Shopping.yahoo.com/ t-Makeup-Cosmetics-0/formaldehyde-free – 66k
Organic Cosmetics, Fragrance Free Lipstick, Formaldehyde Free …
We do offer samples of our liquid and powder foundations as well as blush colors. Organic Cosmetics, Fragrance Free Lipstick, Formaldehyde Free Nail …
Www.refreshinglyfree.com/ Online-Catalog/Cosmetics – Cached
Formaldehyde Free at ULTA.com – Cosmetics, Fragrance, Salon …
Each ORLY shade is free of DBP, formaldehyde and toluene, and features the award-winning … The entire line of ULTA Nail Lacquers are formaldehyde-free and toluene-free. …
Search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Formaldehyde Free – Cached
Formaldehyde Free Nail Polish at ULTA.com – Cosmetics …
All Essie nail polishes are DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde free. … The entire line of ULTA Nail Lacquers are formaldehyde-free and toluene-free. …
Search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Formaldehyde Free Nail Polish – Cached
Jessica Cosmetics
Jessica Custom Colours are Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP Free © 2007 Jessica Cosmetics International, Inc. JESSICA® is a registered trademark. All rights Reserved. …
Www.jessicacosmetics.com – Cached

Jere answers:

Are you looking it for domestic or international market?
Emails are the best options.

Jere answers:

Now that mobiles have moved into the affordable bracket, there is a great demand for additional mobile services such as mobiles, email, stock market quotes, and astrology services, just to name a few.

Jere answers:

An example of personal selling is when those annoying pop ups come up asking if you want to chat with a customer service person.

Direct marketing is selling directly from a web site, not just using it to promote products. Dell would be an example of direct marketing.

Sales promotion would be offering accessories free or at a special price with an order of a laptop, as an example.

Direct mail (e-mail) is used a lot by Amazon – they track your searches and purchases on Amazon’s web site and then send emails with products similar to those you have bought in the past (same topic of a book, for instance, or same artist for CDs or MP3s)

Jere answers:

If you are answering directly on an employer’s website or through a service that they are using, I would definitely complete everything applicable for which they are asking.

I frequently will disqualify applicants for not completing the information that I am requesting. Often times, employers need this information for tracking purposes, or for purposes of performing background checks.

However, with that said, the employer really shouldn’t be asking for your date of birth, race, marital status, maiden name, etc. Until they make an offer of employment.

Address is normally a required field. Particularly if the company will be sending out letters to request additional information, or to inform you about the status of your application.

Jere answers:

Fast food delivery, super markets, online shopping, phone directories, snail mail Vs email, speed post Vs courier services, land phones Vs mobile phones, making international calls directly Vs routing long distance calls through a third party, access of information at the click of a mouse Vs searching encyclopaedias or visiting public libraries, taking print outs Vs typing on a typewriter, sending texts on phones Vs telegrams, cooking gas Vs cooking on a stove, microwave cooking, internet connectivitity (dial up Vs cable/ broadband), internet/ phone banking………… The list is endless!!! 🙂

Jere answers:

The US government has the most extensive internet presence on earth.

You can start at usa.gov and reach EVERY federal, state, local, and tribal government site, representing thousands of services.

Have you heard of the Small Business Administration?

Http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/how-write-business-plan

Jere answers:

Contact the Princes Trust, they are really helpful and may offer you start up grants and loans for your business. Also you would get a mentor who would help you with business plans and any advice you may need. I was helped 5 years ago and now run a successful growing business. Good Luck xxx

Jere answers:

According to the book “The ABC’s of Writing Winning Business Plans: How to Prepare a Business Plan That Others Will Want to Read — and Invest In” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446694150/powerhomebizguid by Garrett Sutton, below are some tips to make a winning business plan that can get funding:

– Money follows management. Investors look first at the people involved in the company. If you are just starting out and don’t have relevant experience, investors expect to see that you have an experienced team of advisors and employees helping you in the business.

– Make sure you “sell” the one reason your business will become profitable.

– State clearly the strategies you will employ to get the word out about your business. Your business plan must show how you will leverage the Internet, public relations, viral marketing, and other strategies to attract customers.

– Present realistic estimates of the time, energy and costs of building a successful business. Do not underestimate or overestimate revenues. While investors know your numbers are simply guesses, they want to see that your numbers are within the “range of reality.” Be careful of your financial statements: this is one area where you can easily lose credibility if presented poorly.

– Benchmark similar companies to show that you’ve done your homework and researched the market.

– Your Executive Summary is your calling card. If it is not a winner, investors may not even read your entire plan. Emphasize your own as well as your team’s track record in the Executive Summary.

– Before sending your business plan to lenders and investors, send it out first to a few in order to get feedback. You’d want to correct your plan if someone tells you that you’re way off mark, rather than have a potential investor tell it to you and lose the chance to get the funding you need.

Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:

– SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
– PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
– Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html

You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:

– Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
– MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
– VFinance – View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. Http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
– Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. Http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
– PlanWare Planning software and information. Http://www.planware.org/
– Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. Http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
– Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
– Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. Http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
– Business Plans Index – A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html

Jere answers:

Creating a marketing business plan can be rather tricky as most people assume that a business plan and a marketing plan are interchangeable.

I assume you mean an actual marketing plan for a business – probably a small business?

There are several webpages on the internet that deal with marketing business plans and even if they seem free, they probably want to get your money somehow.

Here is a resource online with several examples as well as video tutorials.

Good luck!

Jere answers:

DNS server is the thing that tells your computer how to get to answers.yahoo.com The router is supposed to supply that information to your computers. Try this address

98.136.145.152

in your browser. If that gets you to answers.yahoo.com, then you have internet access but no phone book. If this is the case, run the wizards on your router again.

The address is answers.yahoo.com. It is one of a bunch that get you here. Links won’t work because you need the DNS server to work for that.

I did something called NSLOOKUP to get that address

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: any-ycpi-uno.aycpi.b.yahoodns.net
Addresses: 98.136.145.152
98.136.145.153
98.136.145.154
98.136.145.155
206.190.57.60
206.190.57.61
216.115.101.178
216.115.101.179
Aliases: answers.yahoo.com
geoycpi-uno-deluxe.gycpi.b.yahoodns.net
geoycpi-uno.gycpi.b.yahoodns.net

Jere answers:

Word-of-Mouth
A loyal customer, friend, family will be a good start to introduce your business.

Press Releases
Use this to tell, announce and launch a new product or service.

Direct Mail
It a cheap way to target your email marketing. Build lots of list of prospect. You need email marketing service on this case.
Recommended source: http://homepage.aweber.com/

Company Web Site
A good website will tell your customer and prospective clients what you do and what service you can give to your customer.

Payment service
E-commerce solutions to accept payments for your business.
Source: http://www.intelli-collect.com/creditcard.html

Jere answers:

Ultra caps have improved dramatically in the last few years. However, each cap is good only for a volt or two, so you need several to get 12V, then you have to parallel them to get reasonable current. Also, as the cap discharges, its voltage drops down to zero. This means you need sophisticated electronics to get much energy out, as motors pretty much need constant voltage to work well. So, a 12V motor won’t do much on say 5V.

The weight of the ultracaps is something like 10x to 100x more than lead-acid batteries. The cost is something like 100x to 1000x the cost of the batteries. I figured these out once, you can do it by googling ultracaps on the internet to get weight, size, capacity, and cost of ultracaps. Ultracaps are adequate to store energy from braking to a stop and for a quick burst of power to accelerate up to high speed quickly, but this costs something like 2x to 5x the cost of the entire battery pack. They are nice for performance, but just too expensive right now.

For batteries, weight and cost are both important. Best lead-acid by weight seem to be 12V-9Ahr (5 lb weight) and 12V-21Ahr (10 lb weight). For useful power, use 0.6C/hr for the 1 hr rate, so the larger battery will put out 0.6*21= 12.6A for 1 hr. Using an 80% efficient motor, assuming 12V, and using 746W/HP electrical conversion, this battery is good for about 1/6 HP for 1 hr, or 1HP for about 5 to 7 minutes. Best prices for the smaller battery is about $20, best for larger is $30. To get these prices, you likely want to buy cheap surplus Chinese made batteries, which may have less capacity and/or more weight. Fancy batteries have lighter weights, but way more costly.

A bicycle uses perhaps 1/4 HP when cruising at say 15mph, 1HP at top speed of say 25mph. A 50cc moped puts out 5HP at speed of say 35mph.

So, in designing your motorbike, you need to minimize power needed and maximize power output.

A very efficient motor/drivechain is key. One with a 90% efficiency instead of 45% gets twice the performance from the same batteries. Very difficult for hobbyist to get efficient motors at reasonable cost, I have not been able to find. There are a few in-hub motors for front wheel of bicycle that make about 1/3 HP on 12V, and 1HP on 36V. They are direct drive, look like about 65% efficient. They may be your best bet.

Drag needs to be minimal. You want very low friction bearing, like a bicycle or equivalent. Narrow and high pressure tires reduce rolling resistance. Some streamlining will increase both speed and range.

Good luck!

Jere answers:

You dont use your own printer to save money. Printing at cvs/costco or online site is almost always cheaper and the photos come out great. Sites like shutterfly, york, snapfish even give you a certain number of free photos for signing up.

Kodak printers claim to have cheaper ink (their cartridges are $10 while the others are $15-$20) but 1) Kodak printers have been reported as troublesome and 2) you can find cheap compatibles for most other brands but not Kodak. With Epson printers you get free ink and the best warranty.

The best deals in photo printers are the Epson Artisan series direct from epson.com with full 2 year warranty starting at $99. These are wireless copier/scanner/fax/photo/CD printers with 6 individual ink cartridges for high photo quality. The best warranty in the industry. For two years, Epson will fedex a replacement and pick up the old one should you need it. I recently bought 3 Artisan 800 refurbs for myself and 2 neighbors. It’s an awesome machine!

Http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&sku=C11CA53201-N

If that’s beyond your budget, the Epson NX 415 is $50 direct from Epson. It has a one year warranty. It’s also a great multifunction printer. My dad bought one.
Http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&sku=C11CA44231

You might be able to get an extra 10% off by using the code Epson10.

Triple capacity ink cartridges for Epson are under $3 and you can get 20 free cartridges every month at http://www.ccs-digital.com/freeink.asp

Be careful with the latest epson printers. They use a brand new cartridge (T125) which you will have a hard time finding compatibles for. Unless you enjoy paying about $70 to replace your cartridges, stick to a printer which uses T069, T078 or T098.

Jere answers:

You can consider developing an ecommerce store promoting or selling physical products..
Thats what I do… There is no need to stock anything as in my case, I sell Amazon products as an amazon affiliate. Anyone can go to Amazon.com and sign up as an affiliate and promote their products… Whoever go to your website and click on the link , they gets directed to Amazon.com and when they make any purchases, you earn a commission…. Can’t get easier then that for a passive income..

I make my site with the help of a script call the WP shop builder… You can refer to this Forum discussion for more info :-
http://thereviewspecialist.com/wpshopbuilder

Jere answers:

1) Carbon Taxes
Flaws: Taxes are politically unpopular, difficult to pass. Taxation can slow an economy because it produces no immediate work, which causes government spending to have less of a multiplier effect on money supply than does private expenditures.

Merits: The political and economic problems can be overcome by making the tax revenue neutral, i.e. All revenue is passed back to taxpayers, so people and companies with low emissions get a kick-back. Costs are then reduced to administration.

2. Cap and Trade.

Flaws: enormously difficult and complex to administer. The plan that passed the U.S. Senate allowed companies to offset emissions with programs that reduced atmospheric carbons but some of those activities, such as planting a forest, could happen in other countries and would be difficult to verify.

Requires a government entity to set the cap, which would be highly political.

Merits: Allows the free market to set the costs of emissions. Companies that require more can buy more credits on the open market, and companies that reduce can sell credits — this makes technical improvements very valuable and motivates investments and applications of great minds.

Regulation:
Changes with every election. Always has unexpected effects on the economy.
Can force most rapid changes as it does not require waiting for the market to work.

Geoengineering
Unknown. Requires a sponsor — ie somebody has to pay for it. Would have to directly remove CO2 or else will create other problems. For example, global dimming solutions will reduce daytime heat while global warming continues at night so the difference between night and day temperatures rapidly decreases with huge ramifications for agriculture, and it does not address acidification.
Merit: Theoretically might not require as rapid of a transition to modern energy sources

Adaptation
Not fully possible. Climate change threatens food sources, both ocean and land sources. How do you adapt to less food? It is more expensive and will require massive taxation. In the U.S., the taxation will be more at local levels than nationally.
Merit: It is our chosen path.

Jere answers:

I flunked Bussiness. Ok. But if you still want advice… Make a cool design and print like 5 shirts up. Do you have to pay for that? Probably depends. I doubt that it costs that much for you to use other people’s equiptment. Also, if it were me, I wouldn’t print alot because by the time you sell all of them, the design would already be uncool. You know, there are lots of shirts that people don’t even buy. Maybe try reselling some of these to just your friends. There is a customer base right there. And your friend is happy because where his money go? Ok, your friends are Jewish. Buy a gun and kill them. You didn’t want to make a shirt for nobody anyway.

Jere answers:

You have to sighn up for it.. Some web sites promote your name for free. Some require that you promote them back ( have their link on your page).
You also can pay $200-300 a year and you will appear in the first 10 in the top popular searches

here some more info: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/index.php?cmp=Yahoo&ctv=AdSolutions

Jere answers:

I get alot of my business through FreeViral. Might be a little time-consuming, but it IS free.

Http://www.FreeViral.com/?r=290434

Jere answers:

Working an affiliate program is very difficult for an individual to do, and the stats say that 97% of all people that enter into an affiliate marketing program will never realize a true profit. Your best bet is join and promote an affiliate marketing “team”. These are free to join groups of people that ban together to enter into affiliate marketing programs as a group. This gives you the advantage of having hundreds of other people promoting with you in order to earn money for everyone involved. Some of the programs these teams enter can cost as much as 50.00 a month, but there are a few good teams out there that cost as little as 6.00 a month. Keep in mind that affiliate marketing teams are not get rich quick scams. They have to be worked and promoted in order to succeed, but the ability to make a very nice living is there for those that follow the team system.

Jere answers:

Yes, you do need to register a business, even if you’re just by yourself, as your local jurisdiction may have business taxes, business license fees, and whatnot.

And it’s best if you register a LLC or a corporation and do business as that, because if you get sued you may lose all your personal property (if you lose, fo course)

Jere answers:

You need to research:

1) Laws for ALL home-based businesses. There are usually restrictions such as you must have off-street parking for customers, you must not post a sign that is visible from the street, you must not generate environmental hazard or nuisance…; and

2) Laws for having pets in a residence. Most cities have a limit. In mine it’s three. Anything more than that requires either a hobby kennel permit or commercial kennel license.

I highly doubt what you want to do is legal for OH SO MANY reasons. For example, you can’t fill up your residential garbage can with commercial volume of dog crap. You can’t allow barking to disturb neighbors. And on and on…

Sorry to be a wet blanket!

Jere answers:

I live in San Diego . I would contact a lady named Cora at Bark Boulevard. Her business is located at Texas & El Cajon Blvd., just before the McDonalds in North Park. Her phone number is 619-379-8476. Talk to her and see if she can help you out.

Jere answers:

We have a catering company in San Diego. We called a couple of companies that sell business insurance and found one pretty easily. You need to ensure that you have liability insurance, to protect yourself. We have a $2 million policy, but you may or may not need that much, depending on your area, your volume etc. Also are you an LLC?

Another possibility is to try any good insurance agent, or friend and ask for a referral. Your accountant may know of one, as well. Call a restaurant or deli owner or manager in your area for a referral, but do it during off peak times.

Don’t get hung up on the type of business. Call a couple of business insurance agencies and tell them what you are looking for. Good luck!

Jere answers:

You buy your ticket online or at the station. If you buy online, you need to get to the station (on Kettner BLVD in downtown SD) early enough to pick up your actual ticket either using the quicktrak or an attendant.

If you are going to Union Station, there is a train that leaves every morning at around 7:00AM that is non-stop from San Diego to LA, its much faster than the regular Pacific Surfliner route, which stops at like 8 stations between SD and LA.

Also, you can upgrade to business class for an extra $15 which I recommend because there’s usually no young loud children or noisy people in business class.

There’s free wi-fi, and a cafe car that serves average food.

I think its a good service for the money, which is cheaper than flying most of the time, and you don’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of Lindberg Field or LAX which is a blessing in and of itself. Both the Santa Fe Depot and Union Station are fairly chill in comparison.

Jere answers:

You’ll need to get a business license from your local city or county office. Here’s the contact and location information for San Diego government offices. Some cities/counties will even let you download license applications from their website.
Http://search.business.gov/permitme2_0.do?q=san+diego%2C+ca&bcat=0

If you are not using your personal name as your business name, file your fictitious business name with the county clerk. You’ll also need this if you decide to open a business bank account, a good idea to keep business and personal finances separate – and to accept checks or payments from customers to your business name.
Http://homebusinesscenter.com/register_business.html

Get a business tax ID from the IRS website. You can also get information at the website about business income tax, self-employment tax and estimated taxes.
Http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98966,00.html

You can advertise and find clients by using online contractor networks like Bid Clerk and Service Magic. These services send you qualified leads, which can save you time and money creating and distributing flyers in neighborhoods.
Http://www.servicemagic.com/
http://www.bidclerk.com/

It can be helpful to get guidance from a lawn care business expert by way of a start-up guide at your local library or bookstore. They are usually pretty inexpensive for the amount of information you can get from them. There’s also a step-by-step guide on how to start a lawn care business here:
http://www.homebusinesscenter.com/how_to_start/lawn_care_business.html

Jere answers:

I guess that you are Persian …..
As an arab i can tell you that arabic is not that easy to learn ….. Speaking arabic (formal , or any dialect) can be done easily …. But learning the extremely COMPLICATED grammar is really hard !
So …. The most effective way to study arabic is to have a tutor or a teacher because studying the grammar by your own or buy using a book is kind of impossible …… Hope i helped !

Jere answers:

CoffeeCup Software offers super easy program for building an online shop without having to know HTML code. They offer a basic version for smaller shops and a pro version with extra features such as inventory management and support for several merchant providers. A fully functional free trial can be downloaded from the website.

Jere answers:

A lot of free ad posting sites.. Just post and post and post..
Use your social networking accounts. Just don’t spam.

Jere answers:

Well, Eddie, let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re curious about marketing and business and in need of information about these topics, then consider posting your question someplace other than “books and authors.” Your question is irrelevant to the topic, so you probably won’t receive the information you need here.

As a small-business owner, I wouldn’t allow you near my marketing if misdirecting simple questions is part of your overall strategy.

Jere answers:

I know you’re just looking to learn, but I don’t know how much valuable information you’re going to get for free on the internet. I would look into a business certificate since those don’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. Plus then you could put this career diploma on your resume and it will be more credible than saying you learned your skills from a free site.

Jere answers:

I think your plan is fine. You should try doing stuff on the internet. There is stuff like affiliate marketing where you can have someone sell your products online.

Jere answers:

Hi There!

To answer your questions: 1) eCommerce primarily applies to the methods used to sell products and services online (such as shopping cart software). Internet marketing refers to the methods used to build visibility for a product or service. Internet marketing methods include anything from building a website to writing articles, to other methods that have yet to be invented.

2) As for schools that offer an official degree, Full Sail seems to be the only school really promoting it. The thing is, I wouldn’t recommend an internet marketing degree, because the best internet marketing methods change every year, and in my experience, it is impossible for an institution to keep up with the “bleeding-edge” tools and tricks.

If it’s the actual degree you want/need, I’d recommend going for a business, marketing, or entrepreneurial degree, but learning internet marketing on your own. Internet marketing is a skill that is learned by doing, not just reading theory.

When I first got started, I took a free online course called the “Thirty Day Challenge”, in which each day you watched video tutorials that showed you how an online tool worked, and then you had to apply it to your own goal of making $1 online. The Thirty Day Challenge is now just called “The Challenge”, so you can take it at your own pace. I highly recommend it for learning internet marketing strategies.

3) Not sure if any of the internet marketing degrees are offered anywhere but on the internet 😉 You may have to keep looking, but as I said, seek out a related major, then teach yourself the techniques via eBooks and online courses.

If you’re college age, a potential employer may only offer you an internship (unpaid) anyway, UNLESS you have already gotten results (made money) for yourself or others. So you might as well learn how to use internet marketing on your own to get those results.

The irony is, once you’ve mastered the in-demand skill of internet marketing, you may not want to finish school OR work for anyone else.

Good luck!

Carla L. Hall
Moxie Maven Marketing

Jere answers:

Not all dog groomers are the same. I’m still looking for a good one. Just picked up my dog from the groomer today (his first time). I needed to take him because he needed to be bathed and I couldn’t do it myself this time.

So after I got him home he rushed towards his potty spot and didn’t quite make it (diarhea).
Then I got him inside and he drank water like he hadn’t had a drink in days.

I don’t know what went on at the groomers, but my dog wasn’t cared for properly during his time there (9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.).

When I asked to see their facilities, they wouldn’t show me the whole area, and limited my view to the holding area with the kennels.
Needless to say I worried about my dog the whole time. When it was finally time to pick him up, he looked great, smelled good, and was ecstatic to be going home.
But the doubt still exists in my mind whether my boy was given water or a reasonable potty break all day long.

I will be posting a review of this groomer in my local internet directory.

What I would appreciate from a groomer so that I will give them repeat business, Would be a full tour of their facility. I want to know that the kennel or the holding crate will be sanitized before my dog is placed inside.
I want to know that my dog will be given water and proper time to do his business during the course of the day.

Even if I asked for refferences, how could I be sure that the those other customers knew or were shown anything more than the breif glimpse that I was allowed. Sure they’ll give a good reference if their dog looks great..and smells nice.. But what about the rest?.
Yes the ears and bath and nails etc, etc…. But I was so concerned about the esthetics, that I never stopped to think about my dog’s comfort and physical well being. Well ..live and learn as they say.

Jere answers:

If you want to promote your online business and can spend few hours every week then follow these steps or work on these steps to promote your online business.
Top 10 Internet Marketing Strategies1. Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy and chose a right keyword for your business.
2. Get ranked at the top search engines and practice good Search Optimization Techniques.
3. Learn to use Email Marketing Effectively or use one of the free services.
4. Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs.
5. Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or Internet marketing consultant.
6. Build a responsive opt-in email list.
7. Publish articles on free article site or get listed in news stories.
8. Write and publish online press releases.
9. Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site.
10. Blog and interact with your visitors.

Let me know if you need more information. Also i believe you need to do some keyword research for your business and if you know about HTML than its even better. Let me know if you want more information then i can guide you through.
Thanks
Dave

Jere answers:

I have an email database of 970 million email ids.
This email database consist active users of Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, AOL, yahoo, Msn, hotmail. These email ids are well organized according to categories(business, corporates etc).
Separate email databases of users from USA, UK, S.Africa, India, Australia, Greece, Ohio, Hongkong , bulk email senders etc,you can use it for marketing your business.

If interested please mail me at : seo_rahul@hotmail.com

Jere answers:

SimplyCast 1-877-312-4979 Powerful Email Marketing Solution For Less. Signup & Call us Today. Www.simplycast.com
Rwanda Photojournalist Great pix for your Rwanda story Or a great story for your readers www.ameridane.org
Product information. Free for your webshop or ERP system. More than 2000 brands supported. Www.icecat.biz
Soft Drink Market Data Industry Leading Analysis Reports, Databases and Consulting www.zenithinternational.com

Jere answers:

“Client database” is a fancy name for spamlist. Do you really believe 175,000 people opted in to receive your email? Even if customers opted in to receive email from your client, that does not mean they opted in to receive email from you, and even if you think you are an extension of that client, to the recipient that is a client who is violating their privacy. Of course they pushed the Spam button when it arrived. To Yahoo and Hotmail the people who pushed the spam button are their customers, and you are not.
___________________________

If the 175,000 customers opted in to receive email from the honor society’s domain, and if you are doing your authorized survey with an email address and URL that is a different domain, what do you expect them to think?

What is the advice we give everybody about clicking an unsubscribe link that is not the exact same domain they subscribed to?
_____________________
Yahoo Support seems to not like to squander effort or money on things like support. Anyway, here is Yahoo’s contact information as listed with BBB:
http://sanjose.bbb.org/business-reviews/Internet—Products-and-Services/Yahoo!-in-Sunnyvale-CA-202555

Jere answers:

We are an Internet Marketing & SEO company. We just reviewed seolace.com resource code and this is what we found out:
1 person owner
Use of html coding, which is not as fast as php
They have very limited marketing codes
No h1,h2,h3 codes
No anchor texts
Not enough proof in site design to recommend, but then again they still could be pretty good.

If you’d like to speak with us, please go to our site at http://www.us-webmarketing.com and give us a call or you can email me directly at amy@us-webmarketing.com

Thanks & Good luck to you!

Jere answers:

Well I know of a great business in marketing and sales and you can be from anywhere to work there.I am going to send you a 10 minute presentation of the company and after you have reviewed it just email me back on here with questions.

Jere answers:

One Source Talent Review:

One Source Talent, founded in 2003 by Mr. Anthony Toma, provides an invaluable service for both aspiring models and actors and the people who want to hire them. From the acting and modeling side, the services One Source Talent offers are a unique blend of exposure and promotion. From the hiring side, One Source Talent possesses one of the most extensive and best maintained easily searchable and completely indexed databases in the industry. One Source Talent’s professional staff makes it easy for new models to begin exploring a successful and promising career. At the same time, One Source Talent can facilitate a quick and smooth casting decision for a big photo shoot or film.

One Source Talent’s service to models and actors begins when they are evaluated and approved by the company’s professional Talent Specialists. These trained individuals recognize what the market is looking for at any given moment and maximize what the model or actor brings to the table. Once a model or actor has been evaluated and approved, he/she is given full access to One Source Talent’s network of castings and auditions, a resource that creates many opportunities. One Source Talent also provides a suite of resources, including an interactive composite card for all submissions (digital or traditional), private email account with One Source Talent, regularly scheduled industry workshop sessions, and benefit programs tailored to individual markets.

Inc. Magazine recently recognized One Source Talent as one of the 5000 fastest growing American companies. One Source Talent currently operates out of Detroit, San Diego, New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Dallas.

OFFICES:

One Source Talent Chicago
2000 Spring Road
Suite 520
Oak Brook, IL 60523
(630) 571-5660
(630) 571-5690 fax

One Source Talent Detroit
3250 West Big Beaver Road
Suite 526
Troy, MI 48084
( 248 ) 816-7900
( 248 ) 816-7910 fax

One Source Talent Los Angeles
8383 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 220
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(323) 657-2220
(323) 951-1914 fax

One Source Talent Miami
18305 Biscayne Boulevard
Suite 301
Aventura, FL 33160
(305) 403-9888
(305) 466-1415 fax

One Source Talent New York
500 8th Avenue
Suite 1210
Manhattan, NY 10018
(212) 279-3842
(212) 244-7160 fax

One Source Talent Phoenix
7975 North Hayden Road
Suite B205
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
(480) 422-3000
(480) 607-4425 fax

One Source Talent San Diego
1660 Hotel Circle North
Suite 314
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 296-1289
(619) 683-3194 fax

Jere answers:

It’s not brilliant; then again, not much is at the moment. Realistically there’ll always be a requirement for IT staff; but many places have job freezes on, and people aren’t keen to leave their jobs.

To give you the best chance of getting work once you’ve finished your degree, get as much practical experience as you can (either in direct IT work, or even in customer service positions – having recently hired new IT staff, many of the degree qualified applicants had no real experience and some had never had a job… So those with experience trumped them almost immediately)

Jere answers:

Hi there,

From the moment you decided that you are interested in Marketing, you proved to yourself that you have a feeling that you will be enjoying a job in the marketing field even though you may not still have a clear idea of what is marketing exactly. For this, I will pass you some information from my knowledge and 20 years of experience in the field of Marketing.

By choosing to follow a career in Marketing, you already succeeded to give yourself a very big variety of professions. You can work from product development departments, to setting prices on products, involved in all different professions of the supply chain, deal with promotions through advertising, sales promotions, train sales people in improving their personal skills, and finally to organize and implement direct marketing via the use of the internet.

I learned from other successful people to follow two simple rules. 1. To leave always a window open in all decisions I take in my life 2. Never to put all my eggs in the same basket because if I drop that basket I will lose all my eggs!!! I am sure my message is very clear to you.

Go ahead with marketing and you will never lose. You can only benefit yourself from it.

Theocharis katranis

http://theos-taekwondo.blogspot.com/

Jere answers:

As I have been stating for the last six months, it is not just the sub prime market, that was the beginning, now we are seeing the Alt-A, and the prime market taking a hit. The hit will be more pronounced in the next few months as the ARM’s are getting ready to adjust. Consumer spending drives the economy but what happened is housing inflated at double digit rates, energy has doubled, income has only gone up an average of 3.9%, and people treated their homes as giant ATM machines, now the bills are due. The artificially inflated worth of homes compared to rise of income is similiar to the dot com bubble of 10 years ago, and has now come home to roost. The tightening of credit put less buyers in the market, yet the foreclosure’s put more homes on the market leading to depreciating worth. It’s a cycle. Now we see the economy loosing jobs. We are heading into a recession, the naysayers have been blaming the lenders, and the sub prime market but it goies well beyind that.

Jere answers:

1) Market Research
Market research entails collecting, analyzing and interpreting information about what people buy and why they buy it. Tools such as market analysis, surveys, focus groups and product testing help companies identify markets for their products so that they can direct their marketing efforts and dollars to the target groups most likely to buy. Market research also identifies potential barriers customers face in entering the market and suggests ways to overcome them.

2) Brand Management
Brand, or product, management is devoted to conceptualizing products and getting them to market. Branding management includes market research, research and development, production, distribution, advertising and sales.

3) Advertising
Advertising uses the media to communicate a product’s value. It involves both a creative process and an analytic one. The creative process conceptualizes ad campaigns and designs and produces the ads themselves. The analytic processes identify the best media outlets in which to place ads and develop and track metrics to measure the ads’ effectiveness.

4) Public Relations
Public relations is closely related to advertising but rather than focus on products, it focuses on the company’s public image. Public relations messages communicate the company’s values and its activities and achievements that illustrate adherence to those values.

5) Promotion
Promotion builds relationships between wholesalers and retailers and uses incentives to entice customers to purchase a product. Incentives include discounts, samples and other tools that add value and make an offer too good to refuse.

6) Sales
Sales manages the process of getting products to the customer. It presents the personal “face” of a company and its products — the sales rep — to customers in an effort to get them to purchase, and then ensures that the purchase is delivered. Relationship-building is a vital sales function, as it takes fewer resources for a company to keep an existing customer than to replace one.

7) Retailing
Retailing is a sales function that puts a company’s products directly before an end user rather than a wholesaler who’ll act as a go-between for the company and the end user. Merchandising, which uses information gleaned from market research about what arrangement of products and what decor and atmosphere in a store entice customers to purchase, is an important aspect of retailing.

Jere answers:

If you’re writing a proposal to be a commissioned sales rep for a magazine or newspaper then it doesn’t matter what program you use – Word would be fine I guess. Think of it like writing a resume.

You should prove you have previous sales experience and understand the processes involved in selling print advertising to direct and agency customers.

Look at the target market for the publications and discover as much as you can about who you are going to be selling to.

Good luck.

Jere answers:

Hi there – I work at Intuit (maker of QuickBooks). We have payroll options for small businesses which can handle payroll, W-2s and 1099s among other things.

We have a 6-month free trial of our Intuit Online Payroll service. It doesn’t require QuickBooks and includes direct deposit for free. For more info you can go to: http://payroll.intuit.com/payroll_services/online_payroll.jsp

An overview of all our payroll options is at: www.payroll.com

I hope this helps!
Chris

Jere answers:

Determine Your Focus
•A construction business can take a variety of forms, from small single-service subcontracting to a developer contracting for large building projects. Construction companies with workers on staff or access to large pools of quality subcontractors can bid on bigger projects.

Construction businesses are required to hold various licenses, such as a retail merchant certificate from your state Department of Revenue, a surety bond and liability insurance. Financing will depend on the scope of the project. Small construction companies often can purchase tools with personal credit and pay helpers once the job is completed. Banks provide qualified builders and developers commercial construction loans as a line of credit that can be drawn upon for supplies and payroll. The balance is typically due when the project is completed. Residential construction loans can provide funding for land acquisition and development and one or two speculative homes. Build relationships with banks by referring home buyers to your bank for mortgages.
Lay the Groundwork
•Most people have spent some time working in the industry prior to starting a construction business. Whether you work as a laborer on a framing crew or spend time helping a developer put together large projects, the on-the-job training will prove invaluable. College degrees and training certificates prepare industry professionals to use the tools of the trade, such as being able to estimate jobs, write contracts and excel at project management. Develop a plan for estimating jobs based on current market rates and the complexity of the job. Online training courses from an organization such as the Construction Estimating Institute can provide valuable information to help you avoid errors in bidding for jobs.
Establish a Business Plan
•Write up a plan that covers the scope of work you will provide, the amount of equipment you will need to purchase, whether you will start in a home office or lease commercial space and the number of staff you need to bid on contracts.

Invest in construction management software programs, such as Projectmates, that can track resources and provide project management guidelines, contract templates and estimating tools. Web-based software programs can work from job sites to put in change orders, manage punch sheets, adjust schedules and provide electronic bidding capabilities.
Network and Market Yourself
•Join a construction association such as the Construction Owners of America Association or Associated Builders and Contractors to build a network within the industry and to take advantage of educational seminars and trade shows. Many industry groups provide member referral programs and access to proposal requests.

Network with other industry organizations that could prove useful to your business, such as Realtors, commercial lenders and government procurement officers. Send press releases to your local business media and trade groups announcing jobs that you’ve landed to keep your name in front of potential clients. Build good relationships with local inspectors, appraisers and insurance adjusters.

Stay in touch with industry news by subscribing to online publications such as Construction Business Owner, which can keep you abreast of changing compliancy regulations, new financing options and technological advancements in construction software.

Jere answers:

While commingling business and personal funds is not a good idea, your records will speak for themselves.

You are aware that as the principal shareholder of an S-Corp you are REQUIRED to pay yourself a salary commensurate with the work that you do for the business and pay payroll taxes on that salary. Right?? Any remaining profits then flow to your personal return via Schedule K-1 to Form 1120-S.

If this all sounds Greek to you, and from the tone of your question I’ll bet that it does, you need an consult with a local expert — a CPA or EA who specializes in small business taxation — to get your bookkeeping up to speed, including your payroll system.

There’s a pretty good chance that they will tell you to dissolve the S-Corp as it is not doing anything for you aside from costing you money in tax prep fees and possibly state minimum franchise fees. What exactly did you expect the S-Corp to do for you in the first place??

Jere answers:

What you are looking for is not computer repair business, but software troubleshooting consultant business. You are not available for house calls, only online connections.
You could be small company competing with Geek Squad, but only offer ‘remote connection’ services. If you check out the site for Geek Squad, their services are offered 3 ways. Walk-in to their store location, remote connection, or in-house calls.

You could also look for permanent employment job rather than consulting business doing remote connection support from home. You should look for job with software companies as high level Technical support staff. With the technical knowledge’s that you described, you would be the higher level support staff, not the one that directly talks to customer. If the solution to the problem is not known and documented, then they call you to look into the problem and figure out what is wrong. Having A+ certification only shows you might have the knowledge to get the job, but if some company knows you could figure out the issues that creep up, you are hired. It is not about what you know, it is about having problem solving ability and figure out any thing that could come up.

They need professionals for troubleshooting runtime environment for their software. Once softwares are bought/sold and installed, there are always some installations that don’t configure correctly. User call support staff and ask for directions/help to make the software work on their computer. You could be the support staff “on call” at home. Once call comes in, they connect it to you and you can handle the call.

Normally you should work for few month in the office to get training and then you could start working from home, they even provide a laptop for their technicians to take home loaded with all the software and tools you need to do the job. (I had friend that used to do this after she had new baby, so she could work from home. She was hired with telephone company.)

Sometimes you might not have calls for days or weeks, but you are still on payroll. Because the company assumes during the time you are not answering any calls, you are at computer learning new stuff, searching web for new ideas, keeping up with industry and new changes.

It is like being a body guard that when he is not needed to follow you around, is at gym working out to stay strong and fit for the job.

Jere answers:

That’s a lot of questions jammed into one! I’ll do my best…

1. Wait until you open a business account for as many expenses as possible. While this isn’t necessary for tax reasons, it’ll be a lot easier for an accountant or bookkeeper later to track your business expenses so you can deduct them for the business later.
As an additional note- do not write yourself checks if you can help it out of this account. I have a client who was just audited for the last 3 years because he did this. The IRS looked at those checks going into his personal account and called it income- again. Transfers are best.

2. As to what you can write off, etc. Etc. It sounds like you’re confused about how taxes work for the business- if you hadn’t incorporated, you’d have a schedule C. Now that the company is an LLC, it has to file a separate tax return. It doesn’t have to pay taxes, but it has to file for informational purposes. So, essentially, the vast majority of your business expenses are written off for the business- not on your personal return. Those expenses then reduce the company’s income, so less “flows through” to you on your K-1. The business can deduct start-up costs (up to $5,000- after that, you must amortize them), bank charges, interest, rent, utilities, telephone, automobile expenses, wages paid to employees, employee benefits, payroll taxes, and on and on and on. The question is more about what the business can’t deduct. If you have specific quesitons, it gets easier.

3. Rent is going to get tricky if, as the case seems to be, your company is based in your home. It’s easiest to forget rent for the company and instead file a form 8829 with your personal return (business use of home). On there, you can claim your rent and homeowners insurance, etc, then you determine what percent of the square-footage of your home is used for the business, and so on- the form explains it fairly clearly.

4. If you hire contractors, you will need to issue 1099s. One of the best things you can do for yourself if you don’t intend to hire a CPA for more than taxes, is to purchase Quickbooks. Do all of your bookkeeping with the program. Your accountant, when you go to see them for help/advice/taxes for the business, can actually take a copy of the company file and use it to help you and to file your taxes. The program can also print 1099s for you very simply. Look up a local CPA firm, find a CPA you like, and talk to them about your needs. At our firm, for instance, we have one of the bookkeepers on staff go out to new businesses or new clients or people having trouble and install Quickbooks and help the client learn to use it. Then we don’t see the client until tax time, when they bring in their file. For other clients, we do all of their bookkeeping for them- including filling out W-2s or 1099s as needed. Most firms are very ammenable to specific needs- if you don’t need a lot of help, then they can just help you out when you have a specific question or have a specific need- like taxes.

Whew! Is it completely obvious that I’m avoiding my own clients’ taxes? Not much of an escape- answering other, non-client tax questions. I need a vacation. :0)

Hope that helps!

Jere answers:

You can go the eBay route, but bear in mind that a lot of people are looking for cheap bargains on there, so if you are producing fine art works that you expect a lot for, it might not be your best option. Plus, the listing fees are very costly, so if you don’t them, you may find that by the time you have, you have lost the bulk of your profit to eBay fees.

Ideally, get a web designer and set up your own website linked to Paypal or some kind of online payment system.

You’ll then need to market the website, otherwise it will effectively ‘not exist’. Ideally, join as many art forums as you can and post photos of your work for critique or as a banner in your signature. This was you’ll get yourself known in the community. In a related field, DIY clothing making, people have gone from making their own things and posting them to developing a business of full-time comissions. Networking really is key.

Good luck with this, I am hoping to do the same once I get my portfolio completed.

Jere answers:

You do need the internet for that purpose. Before my contacts had the internet on their cell, I would send them a text and tell them I sent them a email. You could maybe set it up that way. Give them your cell number and ask them to text you.

Jere answers:

Some resources:

SBA.gov (small business administration)
score.org (business counseling from retired executives)
entrepreneur.com

Most state government website allow you to e-file all necessary documents online – which is normally cheaper and faster than doing it through the mail. I’m sure you’ve researched it, but I would recommend filing as an LLC rather than a partnership for liability reasons. A DBA is generally only required if you’re doing business under a business name other than that which you registered. You are likely going to have to acquire a state sales tax license so you can collect and remit tax to your tax board. Depending on where you live, you may need to acquire a local permit. Even if you do business out of your house, you should secure a mail box – not a post office box, but rather a mail box from pak mail, mail boxes etc, whatever. This is because you will need to receive all of your official correspondence from state, local and federal agencies (this is assuming that you are serving as your own registered agent). The government agencies do not allow you to use a PO box, but do allow PMB boxes. The mail box will protect you so that no dissatisfied customers come to your home for revenge, etc. You will need to go to IRS.gov to acquire your EIN number – this is a social security number for your business. It’s free and quick. You will need a bank account for your business – look for a free business checking account to start out. Will you accept credit cards or paypal? If so, you may need a merchant account and/or paypal account. You may also want to consider general business liability insurance. You should expect to pay $400-$500 per year depending on the coverage.

There are probably a thousand other things, but that should get you started.

Jere answers:

There are. But to be really helpful it would be better to know something of your interests. If its something that anyone can “start up and make money” then thre are probably already too many people trying to do it.

The best thing is to find a subject that you would enjoy putting time into even if it didnt make money. It can be an item, hobby, games, craft, sport, pet, country, sexual preference, any subject at all. 🙂

I can usually build off of that. Just one example…
The person had a love of hummingbirds. They decided to start a blog about it which had become popular. I helped her expand it to a web page. I connected them to sites that allowed commission sales on the hummingbird drawing equipment that she kept talking about. I hooked her up with a CafePress shop which let her create shirts, mugs, bumperstickers, posters, gift boxes, ornaments, greeting cards and sell them. Some were cute sayings, some were pictures she took. Eventually it grew into a full domain.

Thats just one example. It always depends on the subject, and the persons skills (graphic art, or good sales person, writing, music, design, good shopper, or maybe just highly motivated). Or other peoples skills (one person did all the above but based on her kids crayon art)

Its all small fish big pond or big fish small pond thinking. Dont look for a moneymaker then try to find one thats interesting. Look for an interest, then look for the moneymaker. Oh yeah, and all of those suggestions were free to start with options to expand into a pay-for version with more goodies if you prove to yourself that you can do something with it.

Jere answers:

I think you’re probably on to something. There are plenty of conventions here in any number of venues, a lot of Fortune 500 companies, many corporate transfers …. I say go for it. With the current market, you’ll be able to find great office space and housing for yourself, at rockbottom prices.

I don’t see any “cons” per se …. Other than the fact that you’re taking a chance. (But that would be so anywhere.) Not to sound trite, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Jere answers:

Hello!
Here is the list of best classified ad sites:

Craigslist.com
Craigslist.com is the 8th top site in the USA and the 24th top site in the world. Go there and sign up for an account today. If your goal is to drive Internet traffic and you’re using Craigslist it is absolutely crutial that you use what is called a “buffer blog”. Simply put, they have a rule: No links to sites with affiliate links. So, what you can do is create an article on an article site. Link your Craigslist.com classified ad to your article, then link the article to your website. Just be sure that your article isn’t too long. 300-350 words is good enough.

88Db.com
88Db.com is a classified ads site that is based in Asia. Once you log onto the site you’ll see that you have to pick a country to list under. You can pick Hong Kong, India or China. Just set up your account and start adding your classified ads. Make sure you use their picture uploader and put up some nice pics. Note that only jpg files are accepted here. This website is rarely talked about on the Internet and has really yielded some excellent results for driving traffic.

Oodle.com

USFreeAds.com

I hope my answer might be of use to you!

Jere answers:

Be careful when purchasing leads. These folks have not specifically asked you for information and you will also find that most of these leads are shared with others.

Your best results will always be with leads that you generate yourself.

It may take a bit of effort to setup your traffic and lead generation system … But it will certainly be worth it in the long run.

It is relatively easty to use social media like facebook, youtube, twitter and myspace to attract like minded people to you. Directing them to a blog is a great way to provide value to your prospect and introduce them to your business.

You can find quite a few free resources that can teach you attraction marketing and lead generation techniques.

A free site that I direct my team to is at http://www.freedom-at-last.com

Good luck with your efforts. Let me know if I can be of service.

Paul

Jere answers:

Lol. If those are the tags you’re using, big reason why noone visits. Noone likes a spammer.

Jere answers:

You can do it for free no problem but it will require a little time on your part.

First you need to get two books from the library:

Designing with Web Standards http://www.zeldman.com/dwws/

Don’t make me think http://www.sensible.com/buythebook.html

Reading and understanding these two books alone will put you ahead of 99.9% of webdesigners.

Then you need to read a free, reliable and up to date SEO tutorial. There are only two of these on the web that are considered worth reading.

Http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization

http://www.seo-blog.com/tutorial.php

That’s it! Read, learn and implement.

Good luck!

Jere answers:

You listed two separate careers – web designing and web marketing.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in web marketing, I would strongly suggest getting a professional qualification at one of better web marketing programs in the country (somewhere like the University of Oregon – http://lcb.uoregon.edu/departments/mktg/index.html ) or possibly even an MBA in marketing. There is really not much money to be made in web marketing as a freelance or independent web marketer, unless you really establish yourself as an expert in the field by getting a top notch expert blog and building a high profile portfolio. However, if you get the right qualifications, you can posibly get a job at one of the big SEO or web marketing firms, which tend to be located either in the Boston/New York area, or in Silicon Valley. Salaries begin low ($30 to 40K), and the work is typically “grunt” work. However, you can build up to a six figure incombe, but that will take you time.

As regards being a web designer, the opportunities for freelance or independent work are much better, and you may not even need to go to school. The CIW qualifcation (http://www.ciwcertified.com/ ) is more than enough, and there are many online web design degrees or certificates which are available (check out http://www.worldwidelearn.com/ for some options). If you are going to set yourself up as an independent web designer, you are going to need to become well trained in several programming languages, get familiar with video and phot editing, and possibly even take a graphics art course or two from your local community college. As regards earning potential, that is going to be limited at the moment in the current economic climate, as businesses cut back on their marketing budgets (under which websites usually fall). However, you can make a reasonable income from web design on your own ($30 – 35K within the first year, if you are good), although you really have to concentrate on promoting yourself and establishing your credibility. Jobs with a web design firm are highly competitive, and are also under pressure from the economy. Firms normally hire on the basis of past experience with web design (so you might want to look at hunting for a job after you have had some experience out on your own and built up a portfolio), and usually want some sort of degree or qualification (although this differs from firm to firm). Salaries differ, but usually fall into the $45 to 55K range, with the top designers getting double or more than that.

Jere answers:

Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to:

Sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business,

Sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately,

Adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers.

Jere answers:

Well, email marketing is just that. Marketing but using the email as the tool so send and display your campaign. A number of things should be taken into consideration when you decide to use/or do email .

1- You should write good ad copies for you campaigns and followup messages. If you are not a very talented writer. You should consider hiring a freelancer writer to do it. Basically the ad copy is responsible for 80% of the campaign’s success. BTW; The subject line should be appealing and eye catching to make the reader open your email.
2- To be successful in mail marketing you must have a reliable autoresponse and follow up system. So, it does not just turns to be a one shot deal. For that I suggest that you get an autoresponder. There are many software for this or you can join any of the free or paid autoresponders online.
You will need to write a number of newsletters and ads to set up your autoresponder so it can continue following up on you subscribers. Try to ad value and information to the messages, not just blunt ads
3- Create a optin form for prospect to subscribe. This is the right way to do it. By having them subscribe voluntarily to your list, you will avoid lots of problems.
4- NEVER SPAM! This is a very serious matter you should keep in mind. There are different ways and tools to send out your campaigns. But always follow ALL the can spam act rules and guidelines.
5- Sending tools and services – Your mission is to make a 1 shot ethical and professional approach with new prospects to have them join your subscribers list. But again; Always within the rules and the law. You can join free mail groups or safelists or buy solo ads in different sources on the web. These services are SPAM free because the subscriber join (opted-in) freely and/or are part of a mailing exchange. The last resort is to have you own sending software. But this can be a pain in the neck if you are not sure what you are doing as there is a fine line to step into the SPAM zone. LOL!
I suggest that you research more on this topic and review the CAN SPAM guidelines and laws.

Email marketing can be very profitable. But there is a lot of work to do and a lot of rules to follow.

Jere answers:

The best way to build a list is through placing a web form or opt in box on your website. This allows you to turn one time visitors into repeat contacts. This also ensures that your list is made up of people who are interested in what you have to offer.

Other methods of building a list can work as well, but you need to make sure that you are only emailing people who want to hear from you and know who you are. It may seem like a good idea to email people as a point of first contact, but remember that most people view email coming from people they don’t know as spam. You don’t want to be seen as a spammer, as it can negatively affect your reputation, deliverability, and even have legal ramifications.

If you are looking to build a list via a web form, there are email marketing services that can help you create the form, place it on your website, and help you maintain and send email to your list, either automatically as they sign up, or manually over time.

Hope this helps,
Nick Moore
AWeber Communications
http://www.aweber.com

Jere answers:

Resolution..
Send email only to those that want it. Spammers write to many people who don’t want their mail, so our anti-spam filters are designed to identify that behavior. To avoid being perceived as a spammer, use an opt-in method of subscription for your mailing list. Better yet, utilize a confirmed opt-in process where subscribers actively verify their intent to receive your mailings by clicking on a confirmation email before being added to your list.

Use email authentication such as DKIM. This will help us identify that the email is legitimately from you and, if you sign all your email, it will help us identify forgeries, too. In addition, using dedicated domains for different mail streams (e.g., transactional messages vs. Marketing emails) is also a recommended practice. DKIM.org is a good resource for information about DKIM.

Segregate your mail streams by IP addresses and/or domains since Yahoo! Mail keeps reputation data about each IP address and domain you send from.

Consistently manage your lists by paying attention to hard and soft bounces as well as inactive recipients. Persistent emails to these addresses are a surefire way to get your connections deferred. If your messages are being blocked, look closely at any SMTP Reply Codes our mail servers are returning to you and be sure you’re addressing the problem.
Don’t retry 5xx messages. If we reject a message with a 5xx error, we will not accept it anytime soon. Retrying the message wastes both our resources and makes you appear to have a dirty list.
Do retry 4xx messages. If we send a 4xx error, this is a temporary error and we encourage you to try sending the message at a later time.

Do refresh your list periodically. Consider removing or sending a reconfirmation email to inactive subscribers, i.e., users who have not opened or clicked on your emails for a period of time. Sending your mail to users who are not reading them, or who may even mark them as “spam,” will almost certainly hurt your delivery metrics and reputation.

Enroll in our feedback loop. If you are signing your emails with DKIM or DomainKeys, enroll for our Complaint Feedback Loop program so you can track your spam complaint rates and keep them in check. Need more information about the program? Visit out our feedback loop FAQs for more details.

Respect the user’s mailbox
If a customer entrusts an email address to you during a transaction or for a particular newsletter, they do not expect to receive unrelated messages, such as extraneous marketing emails, in the process. Adding email addresses to other lists without their explicit opt-in is a guaranteed way to lose a customer’s trust.
Honor the frequency of the list’s intent. If customers believe they are signing up for a monthly newsletter but they start receiving messages on a weekly basis, such a practice will likely prompt users to label your messages as spam.
Use a consistent “From:” header address. Your domain name is an important element of your brand. Using it consistently helps us and your recipients to distinguish your email from spam. Additionally, using a static From: address helps users who have set up filters to route messages to a specific folder.

Pay attention to your email’s content
Test your email’s look and feel with image placeholders. Many users won’t see images in your email by default.
Link to domains, not IP addresses. The Yahoo! Mail client warns users that IP address links are dangerous.
Use standard ports. The Yahoo! Mail client warns users that links containing ports are dangerous.
Don’t include HTML forms in emails. The Yahoo! Mail client warns users that submitting forms in email can be dangerous.
Don’t include Javascript in emails. The javascript is stripped out and will not run.
Don’t include embedded objects in emails (like flash or ActiveX). The objects are stripped and will not run.

Honor unsubscribe requests as fast as you honor subscribe requests. When a user unsubscribes, they don’t want to receive that mail anymore. Promptly removing them from the list should help prevent users from marking your messages as spam in the future.

Be CAN-SPAM compliant. Regardless of where in the world you’re sending your mail, make sure that you adhere to the requirements stipulated by the CAN-SPAM Act.http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business

Read More http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&id=SLN3435&actp=search&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=1337167439885&locale=en_US&y=PROD_MAIL_ML

Jere answers:

Using email to promote a blog doesn’t make a lot of sense, the expense of building and maintaining a legitimate email list would not be worth it to just get blog visitors.
FYI, Can-Spam regulations forbid you to just mail a promotion to some list of a million email addresses you found somewhere, you need to establish a relationship then ask them to subscribe to your email list, this process is often done in blogs.

Jere answers:

RECYCLE!!!
Find programs near you; there should be lots of options.

Toner cartridges
aluminum cans
newspapers
2 liter plastic soda bottles
milk jugs
steel containers
organic material/cuttings
glass
telephone books
Stop Junk Mail — The junk mail Americans receive in just one day is not only a nuisance, but could produce enough energy to heat a quarter of a million homes! If you saved up all the unwanted junk mail for one year, you would have the equivalent to one and a half trees, which would add up to 100 million trees every year in just the United States. To help stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd St., PO Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861. By writing to them, you can reduce junk mail by up to 75%. You can recycle the rest of the junk mail you receive.
Add a Low-Flow Faucet Aerator — This is a simple device which you can attach to your water faucets at home. By attaching one of these devices, you can reduce water flow by 50%, and the water flow will seem stronger! If only 10,000 4-person households would install low-flow aerators, 33 million gallons of water would be saved yearly.
Change your Kitchen Habits — Use reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping food in foil or plastic wrap. You can also use unbleached coffee filters, which does not produce the deadly toxin dioxin in its manufacturing. Use rags to wipe up spills instead of paper towels, and use biodegradable wax paper and bags.
Check your hot water heater — Did you know your hot water heater accounts for about 20% of all the energy used in your home? There are a few simple things you can do to save energy and save money. Turn your water heater down to 130 degrees, which is hot enough to kill deadly bacteria, and still save energy. Also, insulate your heater with a pre-fab ‘blanket,’ but be careful not to block off air vents on gas heaters. This can save you 7-8% of your energy usage. You can also drain 2 quarts (or 2 liters) of water from your hot water heater every 2 months from the valve at the bottom of the tank. This prevents accumulation of sediment and prolongs the life of your water heater.
Be aware of your paint you use — Use latex paint instead of oil-based paint. Oil-based paint is highly toxic, and its manufacturing produces nasty pollutants. Dispose of paint as hazardous waste, or with latex paint you can let it evaporate outside for one year. Then, you can dispose of it with the rest of your trash. Don’t clean your paintbrushes outside, because this can contaminate groundwater; clean them in a sink. Instead of trashing excess paint, you can donate it to a school or to someone else who needs to use it.
Tires — Every 2 weeks, Americans wear out nearly 50 million pounds of rubber off their tires. This is enough rubber to manufacture 3 and a quarter million new tires from scratch! To help prevent this, you can inflate your tires well. This preserves the life of the tires and saves gas, which ultimately saves money.
Home Appliances — Did you know that America’s refrigerators consume 7% of the nation’s electricity, which is the equivalent to more than 50% of the power generated by nuclear plants. To allow your fridge to run more efficiently, you should clean the condenser coils annually. By raising the temperature in your refrigerator by 10 degrees, you can save 25% of your energy. With air conditioners, you should clean or replace filters each month. This will save electricity and money.
Recharge Your Batteries — Batteries contain heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium, which have become a major source of contamination in dump sites. They either break apart and are released into the soil or are incinerated and the deadly heavy metals are released into the air. Did you know that the average annual use of mercury in batteries is over what the government limits in dump sites by four times. Here is what you can do to help: use batteries which are rechargeable. Recycle alkaline batteries if you can. They can extract the mercury and cadmium for reuse.
Shopping Bags — Plastic bags are not biodegradable even if they say they are they do not decompose fully. Also the ink is made up of cadmium, and is highly toxic when it is released. Whereas paper bags are reusable and biodegradable. However supermarkets use paper that has never been recycled before and they always say “recyclable” not “recycled”. Here is what you can do: if your purchase is small don’t take any bag, this alone could save hundreds of millions of bags. Bring a cloth bag when you shop, or use string bags.
Clean Up Your Beach — Our oceans provide the earth with most of our oxygen, moisture, and weather patterns. To keep our oceans clean we have to start with our beaches. Every year on September 23 there is a nationwide 3 hour clean up, sponsored by the Center for Marine Conservation. In 1987 around the nation over 2 million pounds of debris was picked up off our beaches. When you go to the beach you can help by bringing a trash bag and spend a little while picking up litter, or you can join a beach clean-up crew.
Do Not Buy products from endangered animals — As little as ten years ago there were over 1.5 million elephants on the earth. Today there are only 750,000. By the year 2,000 they may become extinct. Over 80% of the ivory that is taken, is from elephants- Americans buy 30% of it. Over 6.5 million dolphins have been killed by tuna fisherman. Fisherman’s nets can reach 3/4 miles long and whatever gets trapped in them, dies. To help you can: not buy endangered animal products and substitute your purchase to; albacore and bonita. Or boycott products from endangered animals (Iceland gave up some of their whaling because consumers wouldn’t by it’s fish).
Use Low Flush Toilets — In your household, 40% of the pure water is flushed down the toilet. You can use small plastic bottles, filled with water or stones to displace the amount of water in toilets. This will cause it to be a “low-flush toilet,” or you can use a displacement bag in your tank. Both save you 1-2 gallons per flush. You can also install toilet dams which causes part of the water in your tank not to run out with the flush. If you can, 2 dams can be installed. These alterations can save you one gallon per toilet dam. With a plastic bottle you will be saving 8-16 gallons of water every day (if you flush 8 times a day), 56-112 gallons per week, and 2,900-5,800 per year. If we had 100,000 families do this simple thing, we would save 290 million to 580 million gallons a year!
Beware of Your Showers — If a four person family showers each day for 5-minutes, in one week they would use 700 gallons of water. This is enough water for a person to live off of for three years. You can buy either an aerated, or a nonaerated shower head which cuts your water output by 50%. The aerated is as if not more powerful than a regular shower head, it mixes air with the water. The nonaerated shower head pulses, but you get a good sprat and it can be called a “massage showerhead”. With a family of four taking 5-minute showers, with a low-flow showerhead you can save at least 14,000 gallons of water a year. So if 100,000 families installed low-flow shower heads we would save 1.4 billion gallons.
Recycle Your Motor Oil — In the United States we use about a billion gallons of motor oil each year, and about 350 million of it ends up in the environment. About 2.1 million tons of oil are deposited up in our rivers and streams every year. Motor Oil can seep down into our ground water supply. One quart contaminates 250,000 gallons of water. If you get your oil changed at a gas station make sure they will recycle your oil. If you change the oil yourself, take it to a gas station or oil-changing outlet which recycles oil. They will take yours, but you will have to pay anywhere from a quarter to a dollar (the cost for having it picked up).
Use Fluorescent Lighting — Lighting results in 1/5 of the electricity consumed by the U.S. By using electricity we are contributing to global problems by making power plants and industrial business generate more polluting emissions. Using a fluorescent light bulb, which doesn’t flicker or hum, is much more efficient than an incandescent bulb. They last longer and use 1/4 the amount of energy. A normal incandescent bulb lasts 750 hours but a fluorescent bulb will give off the same amount of light yet last for 7,500 to 10,000 hours with 1/3 of the wattage. Also within a fluorescent lightbulb’s life time it will stop 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere, if it is substituted for the traditional bulb. Even though fluorescent lights are initially more expenseive (around $15) it will take 13 traditional bulbs to last for the same amount of time (figure the savings on that!). Saving you even more money a fluorescent light will cost you $10 for electricity during its life time, whereas during the same period incandescents use up $40. However you might want to use fluorescent lights more where you are going to be using it for long periods of time. They don’t fit in some of the small lamps or covered fixtures. Here is an interesting fact. By installing a single fluorescent light bulb in 100 million households in America, you would save the energy equivalent of all of the energy that is generated by a nuclear power plant running full time, over the course of one year.
Balloon Releases — You should never release helium ballons into the air. Balloons cause the death for countless numbers of sea turtles and whales. Balloons cause them to suffocate or starve to death (by blocking stomach or air valves). Also metallic balloons can cause power outages when they get caught in power lines.
Diapers — Use cloth diapers when you put a diaper on your child. Americans trash over 18 billion disposable diapers a year, this amount can go to the moon and back seven times. Diapers take up 1% of America’s landfills and they take 500 years to decompose. Cotton diapers can be reused 100 times and decompose in 1 to 6 months. These disposable diapers consume 1,265,000 metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic. After using disposable diapers we are supposed to wash them out, only 5% of us do. Meaning that millions of tons of dirty, possibly disease infected diapers wind up in our so called “sanitary” landfills. Infact three million tons of untreated feces and urine does not go through our sewage system but into our landfills. Over 100 different diseases are known to be excreted in human feces, and there is a chance (at least it has not happened yet) that they can seep into our groundwater. You can find cloth diapers if you look in the local Yellow Pages. Remember if you use cloth diapers you will need to use diaper covers so that the moisture can be held in. 100% wool felt seems to work as the best diaper cover.
Did you know that just in 1995 alone, recycled toner cartridges kept over 21,000 tons of trash out of landfills? Believe it or not, now you can recycle your printer’s toner cartridges! Every year, Americans throw out enough printer cartridges to stretch from Los Angeles to New York City and back again. Toner cartridges can be recycled, having just as good a performance as an unrecycled cartridge. To recycle your toner cartridges, find a local business that does printer cartridge recycling, or contact the manufacturer of your current toner cartridge and ask about a cartridge recycling program.
Not only should you recycle, but buy products that are recycled. By purchasing these products, you are helping to conserve natural resources, and to protect the environment.
Do not dump oil, grease, antifreeze, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, cleaners, and other toxic household products down the storm drain. These drains, found in the gutters on the sidewalk, are not treated by the sewage treatment plant–they go straight into rivers, lakes, and maybe even the ocean! By putting these toxic chemicals down the drain, there is a great biological threat to marine life. It’s actually quite simple. If you don’t want to swim in it, don’t let it get in your storm drain!
Use CFC free products. ChloroFluoroCarbons destroy the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful UV rays.
Boycott products from companies that produce CFCs.
Carpool or walk to reduce carbon dioxide pollution in the air.
Do not use ivory or animal furs. Animals are killed to make these!
Eat dolphin safe tuna, or don’t eat tuna at all.
Buy in bulk–this saves not only on packaging that you would eventually have to dispose of, but reduces tremendously the amount of industrial waste generated to make the packaging.
Shop for durable, long-lasting products. For example, use a metal razor instead of disposables, or a metal roasting pan instead of a disposable one.
Reuse whatever you can, including aluminum pie tins, glassware, plastic cutlery and aluminum foil.
Buy products with recycled contents.
Precycle–make an effort to buy products with recyclable packaging.
Leave the grass clippings on the lawn, and start a backyard composting bin for yard clippings.
Instead of throwing away items such as furniture, appliances and clothing, look for a place to donate them.
Make recycling easy by putting recycle bins in the rooms where you use the products. If you open the mail in your den, keep a box nearby where you can put junk mail. If you want to save vegetable and fruit clippings for a composting pile, keep them in a container under the sink.
Replace paper cups, plates and napkins with washable, reusable cups and plates and cloth napkins.
Keep used paper in a stack and use the flip side for scrap work.
Try to buy items that are less toxic to the environment when produced. For example, use vinegar and water as a replacement to glass cleaner.
Keep in mind that trash generation is not confined to the home. Remember the amount of packaging when choosing a restaurant for take-out food.
Just because your community doesn’t pick up all recyclables on the curb, it doesn’t mean there are not viable alternatives nearby. Check with dry cleaners, supermarkets, manufacturers, your local public works department and civic organizations to find out where recycled goods can be dropped off, at a location near you.
An easy way to cut the amount of paper that goes into the trash or recycle bin is to perfect all of your documents before you print them. Run grammar and spell check to eliminate careless mistakes, and then preview your document in print preview. This will reduce the amount of paper that you use, saving money and helping to save the environment!
When you are out enjoying nature, no matter how tempting it may be, DO NOT FEED THE WILD ANIMALS! Feeding wild animals makes them dependent upon human food, which will ultimately lead them to starve when humans are not around (usually during winter).

Jere answers:

USPS must deliver everything it is paid to deliver. There is nothing they can do. You’re free to refuse anything you don’t want, but the vast majority of ‘junk’ mailings are not returnable to the sender, so all you’re doing is forcing USPS to spend money paying employees to do what you can – throw it away.

The thing you need to do is stop things from being sent to you. A long time ago, contacting the Direct Marketing Association and asking to be removed from mailing lists helped a little, but it was only temporary. The next time you engaged in a financial transaction that left a paper trail to who you are, your name and address went on a mailing list, and was sold to others, again and again and again, and DMAs work was undone. It’s even worse today with internet shopping. Your info gets out there even faster.

You can still contact DMA – for what good it will do:

https://www.dmachoice.org/

As someone else suggested, the three credit reporting bureaus may be able to temporarily slow down credit card offers. Again, only temporary.

My long experience over 34 years as a letter carrier has shown me who is successful at getting hardly any mail – with the exception of the mass mailings that every resident on a mail route receives, there is no way to stop those. Those who get practically nothing tend to be elderly, do not own a credit card, do not own a computer, deal exclusively in cash. They get bills, personal correspondence and the aforementioned local house-to-house ads, and that’s about it.

There’s been talk about a ‘do not mail’ list along the lines of the ‘do not call’ registry. I don’t see it happening, because the two are nowhere close to the same thing. Unwanted phone calls can be more than just annoying, they are actually intrusive. If you go out to your mailbox in the middle of dinner or right when something really good comes on the tube, that can’t be blamed on the people that sent the stuff.

There is one little trick you can try that might help, and it will help generate a little extra income for USPS. Any unwanted mailings that have pre-paid ‘business reply envelopes’ included – you can always stuff them with some of what they sent you, making sure your name and address are in there. They’ll take you off their list quicker than by going through some other channel.

Jere answers:

Regardless of sex, social media is a great marketing tool. Reports (example listed below) show that women do use social media more as a way of communicating with friends and family. Therefore, they are also more likely to respond to marketing and refer products to others.

Statistics show that Mom’s are active purchasers on social media as well: Ninety-three percent of mom respondents to the Mom365/Direct Marketing Association’s recent survey said they seek out digital direct offers,Sixty-four percent of these moms had purchased direct within the last year, and 25 percent do so every month. More than half of these moms became more interested in online offers after having children. Why? Ninety-two percent said having a family is expensive; notably, 83 percent want to be rewarded for brand loyalty.

The two keys for anyone being successful in social media marketing is to 1) understand what you’re doing and 2) have a software tool that will allow you to consistently, quickly, and easily engage with others.

Hope these stats help

Jere answers:

Photo District News is a good resource for general news – (online at www.pdnonline.com or at your newstand) but it is centered in NY – so it’s coverage of mid America or the west coast or the south (particularly Texas – and to a lesser extent Atlanta) is not as full as I’d like.

ASMP the American Society of Media Photographers has members from all over and they may be able to fill in some gaps or point you in the right direction

The better trade magazines that will point you in the right direction are usually heavily biased toward commercial work done by ad agencies (as opposed to fine art or portrait/wedding) – and the best of these (which will have ads for creative resources, data bases you can buy into etc.) is Communication Arts. (www.commarts.com)

Before the web, (don’t know about now…) Creative Access out of Chicago was a firm that maintained databases of art directors and art buyers. Photographers and illustrators would buy their lists – local, regional and national – for a direct mail list.

Regional film commissions (i.e., state agencies) typically have this sort of data as well as professional producers associations (there’s one in Dallas for example)

Jere answers:

Genealogy is not about ‘clans’ genealogy is about ancestors, direct ancestors are your parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on, your cousins, uncles, aunts are ‘branch lines’ and you are not descended from them, you would have a common blood ancestor which makes you related…so you and your cousins share common blood related grandparents……….

Clans are a whole different thing……….. Clans are groups of people some ‘related’, some friends , some neighbours all got together to live, hunt, fight……. And from ancient history, nothing to do with genealogy at all as you can’t prove research as there are no records to prove it………… Now in today’s society the mythical surname clans, set up purely to sell products, another is the association of tartan to a surname…it is completely mythical a modern day marketing ploy to improve the textile industry and sell to Americans who are desperate to be part of a ‘Scottish clan’ and encouaged by the America film industry……….just like religion it is about a belief system and believing is real in the heads of those that do, it is not fact just because you believe it……..

” The battle of Culloden in 1745 was the last stand in the campaign by supporters of the Catholic Prince Charles Edward Stuart to form a challenge to the ruling Hanoverian King, George II (Morgan, p423). The ‘Young Pretender’ promoted Highland dress as the uniform of his Jacobite army. This led to tartan being associated with political rebellion and sedition and to its proscription under the Disarming Act of 1746. Under this Act, which lasted until 1782, the wearing of tartan was forbidden, with the penalty of possible transportation for seven years (Cheape, pp32-38).

Tartan was promoted when the textile industry was in decline causing great unemployment to a wool/weaving industry in Scotland, worn by the King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, during which the monarch appeared in a version of full Highland dress. This royal endorsement of tartan was continued from the 1840s by Queen Victoria, which was a great stimulus to its fashionability in Britain, France, and elsewhere (Scarlett 1990, pp35-37). ”
http://scottishtextileheritage.org.uk/onlineResources/articles/articlesTem3.asp?articleNo=45

Jere answers:

There are many, many online business programs out there. As far as recognition, people outside of the education and HR realms sometimes confuse online degrees with fraudalent or easy degrees.

1st of all, any program you enter should be regionally accredited. Regional accreditation shows that the school has passed a review process that will help ensure that your credits will transfer to other schools and that you are eligible to sit for licensing exams such as the CPA, CMA, etc.

Regional accreditation will also qualify for military and governmental guidelines. Be sure to check here before you enroll: http://www.chea.org/search/

Regionally accredited Online degrees are the same accreditation as other schools. However, online schools lack the prestige or name recognition of traditional on ground schools. For alot of military people and working adults, online degrees are the only option.

As far as choices, here are just some to looking to:

DeVry University www.devry.edu
Franklin University www.franklin.edu
Baker
Kaplan University www.kaplan.edu
Davenport University Online

I would avoid University of Phoenix due to the extremely high cost for no noticeable benefit.

Jere answers:

Since your only 14 you may need your parents consent with most sites, You should start selling items on ebay to see if online is for you.

1
Decide what kind of online business you want to start. Online businesses that require little to no money upfront are service businesses. Writing services, virtual secretary businesses, and web design businesses are all low-cost options. An e-commerce store using drop shipping services also requires very little money to start.

2
Set up a website to showcase your products and services. Free methods can be used to create an online business website; BlueVoda, Doodlekit, and WordPress are examples of free hosting website solutions that also include integrated web design features. Low-cost websites can be purchased for as low as $5 to $10 using affordable business services like Intuit Small Business. Alternatively, registering a domain name and buying a dedicated hosting account costs as little as $10 to $15 a month; GoDaddy and HostGator are popular domain registrar and hosting services. Free shopping cart software like Zen Cart and osCommerce can be used if you are creating an e-commerce store with product inventory.

3
Create a custom design and look for your online business website by downloading and using free web page what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editors if in-house tools are not included in your hosting package. A few examples of free HTML and WYSIWYG editors include CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor, SeaMonkey, and Komodo Edit. Be sure to preview the web page design in Internet browsers before uploading the files to your web hosting service to ensure that it’s compatible with multiple browsers.

4
Advertise your online business in free spaces both on the Internet and offline. Post your service or product offerings on classified ad sites like Craigslist. Submit your online business to free business directory listings like the Google Local Business Center or SuperPages directory. Post flyers of your online business around your local city or town on community bulletin boards. Tell all your friends and family of your online business so that word-of-mouth advertising gets started.

5
Form a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation to protect yourself in the event of lawsuits and other legal troubles. This can be done after your online business has turned a profit so that you don’t have to use out-of-pocket money for this expense.

Jere answers:

It does take a lot to start an online business, there are many programs that can actually help you on your way to doing so, but there are also a lot of scams out there. You do not really need a product to sell, all you need is a good niche to offer people great information. You can create free blogs, go through programs, etc. Check this out for alot more info: http://www.how2makemoneyonlinenow.com

Also there is alot more to it then just starting a business and getting rich, depending what you are trying to do, like give information to people, you will need very unique and up to date information in order to get the traffic needed to be considered a business. You may also join a program and become an affiliate of another product, mainly it is just being a salesperson online for that company. There is so much you can start a business out of out there, but make sure you are well organized and also it would be useful to have computer and web design knowledge as well.

For alot of great tips and information go to http://www.how2makemoneyonlinenow.com

Jere answers:

Online business is basically like you are having a virtual store online or web. You can say you are not having any physical presence but you are still earning money. There are lot of ways to earn money online like Affiliates, Ads business,

Jere answers:

Expand your business online by advertising your services on social media platforms. Not only make post but also interact with the people and make them aware of your business. Like wise, I suggest you to strength your local visibility. It can be achieved by listing up your business on the renowned business listing websites like :

local.com
hotfrog.com
yellowbook.com
www.yelp.com
www.mapquest.com

Jere answers:

Make your own!

1. Buy Avery Clean-Edge Business Cards at your local Target or office products store.
2, Download their free DesignPro software from avery.com
3. Design your own cards quickly and easily

Avoid using Microsoft Word unless you are a glutton for punishment and frustration!

Jere answers:

Definitely Vistaprint. I have ordered business products from them, and they are high-quality, they let me design them myself, online, and proof them before printing. Great company to do business with. Can’t say enough good about them!

Jere answers:

I use vista print for mine, and my mom uses then for hers as well. They look great, and u can upload your own pics if you need, the only proplem i found was that i could make my picture transparent so the words would be easy to read, so if you want to do that you need to do it to the picture before you upload it to there site. Also, doing it that way makes it cost more. The smallest amount you can do is $250 cards, but even my local print shops had that rule. My last order was 250 cards, with my own pic as the background, one sided, for $20 after shipping, go to retailmenot.com and type in vistaprint.com and they have a link to follow there, so that your first order is cheaper. Thats my suggestion.

Jere answers:

Well, I know such a company which deals in providing custom printed business cards with high quality you ask, also customizing your design with their free of cost graphic design consultancy is a plus and any image format can be given and free shipping is given by them.They provide online support for custom printing quotes regarding your specifications.

Jere answers:

There aren’t any really good sites. Places like VistaPrint trick you into agreeing to accept “affiliate” marketing. You get tons of spam or, even worse, magazine subscriptions that say that you have “agreed” to their subscription. It gets even worse if you give them your credit card number for Shipping and Handling.
You can walk into any Staples store (i don’t work for them) and design your own business cards. When you have it ready, the clerk prints them out. Watch for their specials. They give you 50 cards for free and they look nice. When i had it ready, the guy gave me 100 cards for free.

Jere answers:

First decide on what you want your business to offer. Stick to that idea once started. Evaluate who your demographic will be, how you will offer your goods or services to them, and “spy” on possible competitors who are already in the business.

For example:
For what age, gender, social group will you produce your service or product. (This will be crucial for advertising, design, logo, name of the company etc.)
Will you deliver the good or service via internet, phone, a store, an agency?
Do basic calculations of how much you would have to invest to get the company started. (mainly fixed costs)
Look for where your product or service will be needed the most, check out locations for a possible store to start off with.
Involve someone who studied economics, business or law (if you haven’t yourself). This will be crucial for contracts, legal issues, product placement, advertising and so on.
Do not hire random people. Be picky! The current economical situation allows you to pick from the best people who are out there.
Do not forget company and product registration so you are listed in phone books and other registries.
Have contact data ready for registration purposes. (eg. Business phone number, address, homepage)

It will be hard to start off from scratch without any professional help. I recommend going to already established companies that offer a similar or the same service or good that you offer. Tell them about your idea and ask them to invest in it, or give you some help starting off the company. Make a nice powerpoint presentation about your idea, it should be short, informative and convincing. Already established companies out there are more than welcome to help you with your idea, you just need to make it clear that your idea will bring profit in the future.

If you cannot get a company to invest in your idea, get a business coach who will help you professionally set up a company. It might cost a bit but for sure is good invested money.

This might also help you out:

http://www.score.org/bp_10.html

I wish you luck with your new company, and I hope it will become a success 🙂

Jere answers:

Dig a telephone line?

Comcast is a cable company, not a phone company, although they do provide digital voice service, so they would run a cable line to your home… Verizon, at&t, qwest, frontier, or whoever the RBOC or iLEC in your area would be the telephone company that would bring a telephone line to your home..

Depends on how far it needs to be run… It would more than likely involve installing several utility poles (something that the cable company does not do, but the telephone and electric company does) unless you already have poles installed from the electric company…

You are probably looking at several thousand dollars… Cable company wanted to charge one of our customers something like $50,000 to bring cable to a business, and that was only tunneling across one major 4 lane street to the back of a building that was just across the street…

You CAN get internet service.. You are just not thinking outside the box… Satellite internet is available just about anywhere globally… And you may have luck with a cellular modem – although if you really live in that rural of an area where you can not get 4G a cellular modem might not be worth it..

Jere answers:

How are magicjack or vonage scams? They are legitimate companies, that provide reasonably priced phone service..

Magic jack is not the best compared to land line phone service, but at $20 a year how can you compare the two? And how can you consider $20 to be a scam..

Vonage is one of the oldest VoIP providers in the market, you do not get to last that long, and have such a huge customer base with out knowing how to operate a VoIP business.. They have outlasted many of their competitors… Any other VoIP provider would not have been in business as long as vonage, and would be offering the same type of SIP based service…

Ooma is not that bad, but rather expensive up front.. And is really not free “lifetime” service, as there is an annual charge for taxes and fees… And the premier service is $125 per year..

The closest quality to a landline that you are going to get, with a lower cost would be the phone service provided by your cable company, and by bundling TV, internet and phone service you should be able to save more money on all 3 services..

If you really just want a regular phone line, then your best bet is to just go with your RBOC – which ever phone company owns the outside plant where you live (Verizon, ATT, Frontier, etc)

Jere answers:

Yes.
But you have to have detailed records.
If something is shared with the household, like phone, or internet service, or computer, Keep detailed logs.
Same for personal car used for business.
Get the IRS publication on in home office.

Space designated for office should be a room of its own.
Deducat rent, heat, elect based on the ratio of Sq feet in office to sq feet in house.

Anything bought for making money and used in the office is deductible:
stamps, paper, toner (if not shared), chairs, shipping material, cost of business checking, safe, all telephone exculsive to business.
Professional magazines keep in office.
Pro rate property tax or rent.

Jere answers:

You know how they always say success is the best revenge. Study hard, get a good job, and go into business for yourself. Then you might get a sense of how hard it is to make it in the world of business, and you might even change your tune. Not everyone who raises prices is increasing their profit margin. Running a fair enterprise yourself is the best you can do.

Jere answers:

Google doc is the best way of share your data. Simple online share documents..

Jere answers:

There are many paths you can take online. The first place to look to get your name “out there” is a technique, or process, called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a marketing strategy that many site owners fail to undertake. It starts with developing key words to reside within the code of your home page (meta tags) and progresses through the submission of your site to search engines. It is a process and there are many steps. I would suggest researching SEO online (or even buying a book). There are even companies that you can hire to do this for you. Properly executed SEO combined with banners and link sharing can really help increase site traffic as well. Have you ever considered blogging? That is another potential source of traffic.

Jere answers:

Accepting credit cards won’t ever be cheap. Visa, Mastercard, and the rest all want their money, and so do the companies that process the cards.

Everyone’s hand is out and getting their share before you see your funds. It’s terrible but a fact of business life.

The alternative I find to be quite useful is ProPay, which is owned by Wells Fargo. Check out what they offer and their prices.

With ProPay, you’re able to process credit cards online, by telephone, and through a card reader if the customer’s credit card is handed to you. There’s much more to consider, and ProPay’s site features an FAQ and price list for each level of service.

What I like about them is that there’s one yearly cost – no monthly fees such as $25 or more per month charged by merchant account firms. Those fees eat away at your profits.

I was glad to get away from the constant money takers and opt for ProPay and PayPal. Every credit card processor has fee structures, but some are manageable while others are astronomical.

Good luck to you.

Shirley George Frazier
Author and Small Business Expert

Jere answers:

As soon as you start doing anything towards running a business you are self-employed, and you should inform HMRC of this. They will then arrange for you to pay Class 2 national insurance contributions (about £2.50 per week) and to send you a self-assessment form for income tax at the appropriate time.

In order to make sure you pay the right tax you need to keep accurate records. For this you need to keep receipts and/or invoices for all the money you pay out. And you need to keep copies of the receipts and/or invoices that you issue to your customers to record the money coming in. Ideally you will also keep a set of business accounts that records all these transactions as you go.

If you were operating on your own then ownership of the business would be obvious. Essentially you *are* the business, so there is no argument. And ownership of any assets used (eg computers, offices, etc) will be obvious as well.

The problem you have is the involvement of your two friends. If you paid them to produce the software then they are merely suppliers of your business. However, if they did it for nothing then it could be that they are actually partners, and so are entitled to a share of the profits.

If you paid them for the software, then they will actually own the copyright to it, unless your agreement explicity provided that all rights would be transferred to you. This does not necessarily allow them to prevent you from using it, but it might, and it almost certainly prevents you from improving it, and it almost certainly allows them to use it for themselves as well.

If they are partners then the software will probably be owned by the partnership, so you all have equal rights to it, and so none of you can then use it outside of the partnership for other purposes.

The problem you have if you don’t sort this out, is that if you suddenly make a fortune these guys could decide that they want their cut. You don’t necessarily need to involve a solicitor, but a written contract in which they confirm they acted as software suppliers only, and they agree to transfer all rights to you in return for a final payment would be useful.

Jere answers:

Wow, the kind of question you are asking here makes you really vulnerable because people who are hungry for your money will be here presenting to you with many solutions which some could be scam.

Make sure you research for whatever opportunity that is presented to you before you decide to head on for it or even pay for a scam like me a couple of months ago. Just go to google and type in the “opportunity” followed by the word “scam”.

If things shows, it could be ugly…stay away from them…

Alright, I can only speak from my 5 year experience marketing online.

If you want to advertise, you’ve gotta take risk. Try Miva Ads, Yahoo Overture & Msn Ad centre Pay per click because they are cheaper than google.

You can test water first before you even go full out to promote any opportunity and waste hours of effort online. I remember when I first started, I was excited about an MLM company and it’s potential only to realized that it’s all hype.

Anyway, if you want immediate results and not waste any time or money. Go advertise your opportunity using pay per click.
You will instantly get targeted qualified traffic to your opportunity.

Within 24hrs, you could spend $20 but You would know if your opportunity could sell or cannot sell. Instantly you can know if you were being hyped up.

Just imagine, it takes you no more than 10mins to setup the pay per click advertisement and you just sit back and wait for the results.

Sure, there might be some risk that you could lose your $20-$50 but think about it. If you did not try, you would not know…and if you do not know..you would spend more hours or even months trying to make it work…how much more hours $$$$ would you be losing.

Sometimes people are so concerning with losing that $50 that they keep finding ways to do it with lesser risk and end up spending more time…and the time spend is definitely more than the $50 plus they would never know if the program they bought into works…

I hope this helps you out…

Jere answers:

Email Marketing is the single best way to make residual income online.
No matter what the guy before me said.

The best Autoresponder out there is by far Aweber.

It is recommended by most internet marketers and there is a good reason for that.

Jere answers:

Maybe you should check this list of email marketing software so you will be guided on which software to use, whether it’s free or not, as long as it meets your requirements.

Http://www.staff.com/blog/comparison-of-the-best-email-marketing-software-options/

Jere answers:

Ya i found a software that fulfill yu requirement
link below gorila contact
http://www.gorillacontact.com/a//idevaffiliate.php?id=115

Jere answers:

Do a Google search with “email marketing software”, you’ll find a huge list haha~ Whatever, here is one I’ll recommend: http://emailmarketing.comm100.com/ Check it out to see if this is something you’re looking for.

Hope helpful!

Jere answers:

Well, it automates your email marketing process especially if you’re a marketer. You can send as many emails per click of ‘Send’ and, of course, it draws more web traffic and builds relationship with clients.

Jere answers:

Marketing. Find a niche and market to it. If its say architecture then direct mail or door knock Architects.

Write a business plan and implement it – should have been done before you started. In it you have a marketing plan.

A

Jere answers:

I’d think it’s a definite asset because it required that you understand people, and having a background in something other than marketing means you’re better connected to a broader range of personalities and mentalities. So I think that’s an asset.

I found an article that has some suggestions that could help you out, especially in regards to getting additional training beyond your current certificate:

It will take determination and persistence, but it can be done. You will find that a start in marketing will normally put you in a position as a market research assistant, print buyer, general management trainee, or you can enter a program as a graduate trainee.

A few companies that offer Marketing Graduate Trainee programs are:

Mars

Mars doesn’t have a specific marketing training program for graduates.
They fun a cross-functional management development program, through which graduates have access to opportunities in marketing. Recruits to the program are typically given three to four assignments, the first of which may be related to their experience or studies. The remaining assignments will be in other areas, and one may be overseas. Their goal is to broaden trainees’ experiences.

Nestle

Nestle has recently changed its approach to hiring graduates. Nestle recruits in a similar fashion as to how they recruit other employee levels. Each department now recruits graduates throughout the year on an ‘as-required’ basis. Vacancies will be posted and advertised throughout the year.

Proctor & Gamble

Procter & Gamble’s graduate training program recruits graduates into one of eight career tracks, including consumer and market knowledge and marketing. Consumer and market knowledge involves sophisticated and proactive market research-based work to identify business opportunities, including new product development. The marketing function involves growing the value of brands within the P&G product range. Marketing trainees will learn about advertising, PR, consumer bonding, direct marketing and project management within their first two years. The applicants are selected according to application form, a problem-solving test, interview, and site visit, where they will meet prospective managers and colleagues.

If you decide that the graduate training program route is not for you; you can still break into the field of marketing by being persistent. You will need to be willing to take on an entry-level position in most marketing agencies and work your way up. If this isn’t a problem then it’s time to begin your first marketing assignment, which is marketing you using your resume.
Http://marketing.about.com/cs/marketingjobs/a/breakinmrktg_2.htm

I think the important thing to take away from the above is that you’re probably going to need to build experience by starting out at entry-level jobs. Ideally, based on your background you should look for entry-level jobs with companies that are targeting university students. Your experience working with students will make you stand-out when looking for that job. Try thinking about some of the businesses in your area that make products or have services that are geared towards students and finding out if they’re looking for any new marketing trainees.

Good luck!!

Jere answers:

Depending on the company, lead generation likely will be the hottest topic in marketing. Branding may come second – depending on the size of the company, how established they are, and the person you’re interviewing’s thoughts on branding vs lead generation

For lead generation, there are many great sources for marketing a construction company. Here’s a few thoughts:

– Online – 3rd party lead providers. Company’s such as ServiceMagic,com, RenovationExperts.com, Contractor.com – provide performance-based “pay per lead” marketing services. These are a great source to get instant results, and only pay for the leads generated.

– Online – Pay Per Click advertising can be, by far, one of the best sources of advertising any construction company can do. You simply bid to advertise on words that relate to your business, and only pay each time a person clicks on an ad to go to your website. If your website converts the visitors into leads, it can be very cost effective.

– Online – Search Engine Optimization – ranking organically for the keywords related to your business can bring massive results. It’s a full-time gig and requires a bit of time to “build up steam and results”, but the payoff can be monstrous. It’s a good thing to include in the mid-to-long term plan, but expect a delay of 3-6 months before you see the big results from the efforts.

As you can tell, I’m a big advocate of online marketing for construction companies.

Offline, here’s some other sources that can work well for lead generation:

– newspaper ads
– Magazine advertisements
– yellow page ads
– trade shows/builder shows/fairs
– direct mail/coupon mailers

For the branding push, these typically work best:

– Radio
– Television

As a wrap-up, if the company deal mainly with the residential market, social media approaches are typically not my biggest recommendation. Think about it. When’s the last time you went onto FaceBook looking for someone to replace your siding? Additionally, since most construction companies are not a “residual”-based sale (where the customer buys multiple times), staying in front of existing customers from this approach doesn’t give much value.

Social media can be very valuable, however, for networking and connecting with professional contacts that you could partner with. For example, if engineers refer work to the company, you could connect with engineers on the social media sites, build report, and give yourself the opportunity to earn their referrals.

Hope this helps. If you like the answer, give it a thumbs up!

Jere answers:

Print this article

Prepare for a Marketing Job Interview
Marketing interviews are harder than other interviews because if you can’t sell yourself, then you won’t do a very good job selling the company’s products or services. But if you have any talent at marketing, you should be able to approach the interview as a sales pitch. Follow these steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

Things You’ll Need
Portfolio
Resume
Thank you notes
1
Study the company intently. With the advent of the internet, there is no excuse for not knowing the company you are interviewing with thoroughly. Create a cheat sheet of important facts such as revenues, competitors, new product releases, good and bad press and annual report data. Mock up an organizational chart so you can begin to understand the management structure within the company.

2
Dress professionally. Invest in a good business suit, accessories and shoes. Women should dress modestly and should wear hosiery. Both men and women should have clean and styled hair as well as clean manicures. Do not try to stand out by wearing something outlandish or trendy.

3
Polish your resume, pointing out your practical experience as well as appropriate college classes. If you are light on practical experience, list class projects and volunteer work instead.

4
Gather your best work–either from college or at past jobs and create a professional portfolio. Choose your best writing samples, business plans, collateral materials and research projects.

5
Bring your professional references on a separate sheet of paper. Also collect current and old data that might be needed for an application. This includes former addresses and phone numbers, the addresses and phone numbers of past employers, your driver’s license number, past salaries, GPA, university addresses and contacts and personal references. You never know what you will be asked on an application form.

6
Prepare questions for the interview process. Remember that you are interviewing them just as they are interviewing you. You want to make sure it is right job for you. Ask all the questions you need to know to determine if the job would be a good fit for you.

7
Sell yourself. Be prepared to point out your best qualities. Give examples of how you solved problems or saved money at your last job. Offer real world examples instead of giving vague cliché answer to interview questions. Bring out samples of the work you have created and the positive effects it had on your last position.

8
Send a thank you note to the people you interviewed with. Collect their business cards during the interview and send a note promptly. Thank them for their time and their insight into the company. Reiterate your interest. This action alone will help you stand out from the pack.

Read more: How to Prepare for a Marketing Job Interview | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2049049_marketing-job-interview.html#ixzz1UT5b79fi

Jere answers:

Do you need any mail marketing company or you need to buy mail marketing software? If you need a mail marketing software , You can try Tucktail.com .It has a mail marketing software called Express Mail Marketing through which you can sen mails to many people. You can send upto 10000 to 100000 mails per month. You can create your own colorful emails here with your own contents. You have also pre built customizable templates to edit. You also have options to Detailed reports, Survey Builder, Bounce and unsubscribe handling etc. This tool is very much affordable at reasonable cost.