Can you really find a Home Business in a Box..or Hope in a Capsule?

Can you really find a Home Business in a Box or Hope in a Capsule or…

I came across a bold title that caught my attention immediately:
Gastric Surgery in a Bottle!
OK…so now I have a serious case of “cognitive dissonance” where pictures of reality just don’t fit within given frames.
Gastric surgery is pictured as an extreme open surgery, very expensive, recommended by a medical professional, surrounded by specialists, painful recuperative time and life-long severe diet restrictions. Can you visualize all that activity enclosed in a glass bottle
realistically. Of course, we know it is meant with a lot of creative license!

This gastric program consisted of swallowing one or two capsules 30 minutes before a meal with a lot of pre-measured water. Each tiny microbead inside the capsule absorbed the water and expanded 500 times in less than 2 minutes. This “stuff” filled the stomach at least 80% full which, of course, left little room for actual food and you ate less.
How does the body get rid of this “stuff”…apparently by safely flushing it out through the system. And soon, the slim body you always wanted is transformed in front of the mirror with minimal effort. Is anybody concerned about nutritional deficiencies?

Hope in a capsule? It is an imaginary picture that maybe works in advertisements full of happy people. But abstractions like hope or success must be based on real actions with tangible causes and effects. To reach any destination is a journey of a thousand steps. By managing the quality of individual steps, we can ultimately measure the quality of our journey’s destination. We realize our hopes and deserve our successes.

So is there such a thing as a “home business in a box?”….I’ve come across that heading also. Once again, any business, including home business, is a serious venture with multiple factors and daily permutations. Here is just a handful of step-by-stepvariables you need to manage: market research, inventory, production, personnel, accounts receivable and payable, customers, freight, technology, time commitments and the list goes on. Most importantly, is sales and marketing expertise to get your business into the competitive marketplace in order to make income and, potentially, profits. Can you visualize all this activity contained in a box in its own microcosm?

The good news is that home business factors have changed dramatically in our modern Information Economy. Technological advances have simplified and multiplied the process of “intellectual distribution” worldwide. Home business entrepreneurs can plug into huge successful companies and help to market their products to earn residual commissions. They can leverage their time and knowledge with information tools 24/7 and break the income cap set physically by a 40 hour week. However, most importantly, the key remains the expert marketing plan in order to attract customers and partners.
In checking out the possibilities of a home business, make sure the marketing plan is simplified in order to multiply your profits. Our marketing plan has only 3 steps and it works beautifully.


Can I have a “home business in a box?” Yes, I CAN DO IT and YOU CAN, TOO.

Standing by to help,
AnneMarie

What Works Better?...Push, Pull, or Educate and Empower about Home Business

Do You Push, Pull or just Educate and Empower about Home Business

Here is another part of an article that underlines why so many home businesses in ourf industry end up in the brambles in the ditch with the unhappy owner crying “No More, This *……* just doesn’t work!
It is written by an internet marketing guru and these “promotional pillars” are absolutely imperative for good marketing. The two main strategies are defined as:

A “push” promotional strategy makes use of a company's sales force and trade promotion activities to create consumer demand for a product.

A “pull” selling strategy is one that requires high spending on advertising and consumer promotion to build up consumer demand for a product.

A quick point by point summary of Low cost 'PUSH' Strategies include
…Affiliate Programs
…Follow Up Landing Pages By Phone
… Direct Mail with Phone and E-Mail Follow-Up
… Advertising…the frequency of your advertising determines how well the rest of the 'push' strategies work.

A quick point by point Low Cost 'PULL' Promotional Strategies include:
…Viral Promotional Products such as writing small re-printable reports for others to promote with your link or logo or sending out news releases
…Social Networking to plug your branding, links and logos
…Blogs to personalize your story and links
…Discussion Forums where you can respond to posts with helpful answers to discussion lists in your niche market
…Seminar Networking where you attend seminars and connect with others.

Now to make sure these are followed make sure you maintain a daily check list and do it.
Or find someone who can help you do the daily chores and outsource these tasks to others.

OK…I’ve been there, done that...and I ended up in the brambles in the ditch! WHAT A JOB! I want get away from working for a boss including myself! Not to mention the time commitment and no-return expenses.

What I want, and what is available now, is a simple 3 step marketing plan that covers all the essential information with a professional inbuilt training component to save me time and money. No PUSH…No PULL. I share a No Excuses Allowed Team philosophy and the rest is up to people to learn and decide. AND THIS HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

Your comments and questions are important. What kinds of marketing strategies have worked or not worked for you.

AnneMarie

Four Words Every Home Business Owner Must Say...Part 4

Four Words Every Home Business Owner Must Say...PART 4

I CAN DO IT

So far, in Part 1, we saw how self-concept determines your destination and both are relative to a successful marketing plan. In Part 2, we saw how a simple “song” or marketing plan is easier to deliver and fun. In Part 3 we saw how a simple formula can transform basic ideas into wonderful creations over and over again, even if you’re not a “guru”.
Part 4 is the last analogy that compares a concrete object we know a lot about to a
more abstract realization of one’s dream lifestyle with a home business.

These hopes and dreams will become a concrete reality with these simple words:
I CAN DO IT

We all have a can’t-live-without-them affair with CARS, sooner or later, as singular or plural experiences.
Who doesn’t remember their first car...the thrill of independence...the call of adventure...the wind in their hair...
Cars in their own rights have sported exotic imagination names like Mustang, Infinity, Explorer, Viper, Celebrity, Dynasty, LeBaron, and Phantom.

Besides these imaginary traits, cars are indispensable to our way of life. Here are some interesting facts:
Average car is driven 15,000 miles annually
The cost of driving is far more expensive than gas when you take into account sales tax, registration fees, maintenance and repairs.
Depreciation is the largest cost factor (2007 Consumer Reports) and can account for up to 48% of total ownership costs.
Fuel is the second highest cost factor per year soaking up 21% ownership cost.

So how does driving a car relate to building a profitable home business?

In a nutshell, it is the marketing plan that “drives” sales and income for business owners.
You may have the best “mousetrap” in the world but if no one hears about it, no one will beat a path to your door.

It is especially true if you have a network marketing home business that plugs you into a large company where you help market their products to earn multiple commissions. Your income will reflect how well you can “drive” home the marketing plan.

Let’s do some creative thinking. What if marketing plans were cars?

Plan A is a simple basic car with standard features:
A phone number, a website and an overview with an inbuilt industry component

Plan B is a more complicated car with extra features and specialties best managed by trained operators...there are company conference calls, upline 3 way calls, training sessions, presentations, follow-ups, more products and features and testimonials.
It follows logically that the more technicalities presented, the more objections and the less number of operators are willing or able to take on the driving challenge.

On the other hand, with a simple basic car the personal comfort levels increase. Everybody can drive this car. Your manual is minimal…cuts back hugely on time and expenses. Your odds of finding other willing and able drivers dramatically increase.
This is true duplication of a business plan that can lead to fortunes being created in this industry especially with an inbuilt industry training component found in Plan A.
Duplicating the marketing plan is the essential factor directly related to your profits.

You can consider the “fuel” to drive your marketing plan as the Business Opportunity which is constantly perceived differently by people and therefore nearly impossible to control. But the marketing plan must be the same vehicle, same delivery, same results, same financial destination.

In designing the slide presentation in the Mini-Program for Maxi-Profits, I chose the symbol of a basic red car to represent the concept of a marketing plan.

It is meant to be the opposite of high-powered marketing plans used by "guru drivers." They have the public persona, the skills to handle high tech, high performance features like 432 horsepower, radio data responders, telescopic steering, high maintenance, and higher cost premium gas. Their audiences may admire their skills and unbounded ambition and success. Some may even try and emulate their skill and “drive complicated marketing plans,” and most times they drop out of the race. THEY CAN’T DO IT!

Of course, you will always find the super salespeople who will roar into high gear.
But how many others audience members will they attract to do the same? In my experience, one or two, because this network marketing business is not about sales but duplication of marketing plan. And the great news is VELOCITY IS DETERMINED by SIMPLICITY and YOU CAN DO IT!

If you learn nothing else from this short series of I CAN DO IT, make sure you understand this statement perfectly. It can mean the difference in your ability to live in poverty or in wealth.
After all, “ability is a poor man’s wealth”. And the special network marketing home business, more than any other business model, offers the one chance to duplicate average ability to the democratic masses.

YOU CAN BE THE VERY BEST RACE CAR DRIVER IN THE WORLD BUT IF YOU’RE NOT IN A BASIC VEHICLE THAT IS SIMPLE TO DRIVE BY MANY OTHER DRIVERS, YOU’LL NEVER WIN THIS SPECIAL NETWORK MARKETING RACE

You can view these slides and other important principles about this unique home business model in our Mini-Program for Maxi-Profits slide presentation…the training component to this industry that is simple to share.
Your comments and questions are always valued.

AnneMarie

Four Words Every Home Business Owner Must Say...Part 3

Four Words Every Home Business Owner Must Say...PART 3

I CAN DO IT

So far, in Part 1, we saw how self-concept determines your destination and both are relative to a successful marketing plan. In Part 2, we saw how a simple “song” or marketing plan is easier to participate with and fun.

Now, another analogy just hit me last night. It all began with a small cluster of unexpected events…my brother and family (5 members) dropped in from their Kelowna trip. And I offered to make supper, of course, and they gladly accepted, of course, and I didn’t have enough of anything prepared to do company’s justice. In my fridge, there was a small hamburger package (enough for two people) and mozzarella cheese. Sometimes in emergencies like this I draw out an old traditional family recipe. It’s simple 5-ingredient sour cream dough that is rolled out into thin 8 inch circles topped with a filling, braided shut, rolled thin and fried in olive oil. Serve with sour cream and salsa, green onions and carrot sticks. The surprise supper was great with what was described as a gourmet treat.

I love analogies because they can take a highly complex subject and compare it to something easier to understand. In this example I was successful in preparing a good supper for several people because I had a recipe to follow that never fails.

A recipe made me think of any list of specific instructions with an end result in mind.
You take raw elements like egg, flour, salt, and create a composite wholly unlike to the elements. In the similar way, you can take a marketing plan to grow your home business and realize a dream lifestyle way beyond the words on a page.

A map is a pictorial overview of an actual landscape using labeled keys or code. You can see where you are now and where you want to be. With a business plan, you must be able to see ALL the rules to win by, offensive driving and defensive driving.

A business plan is essential to starting a business, including home-based. You need check out market research,time commitments, consultants, cash-flow projections, investment ratios, rental fees, shipping, competitors, production, sales and marketing…just to name a few.

A network marketing home business plan has the basic advantage of plugging into an established, successful company in order to help market their products and earn commissions multiple times. Get paid for monthly consumption of products you would buy anyway. This sounds great in theory.

Here are your ingredients:
BOTTOM LAYER (foundation): company, top management, manufacturing, valuable products, cutting edge advertising, shipping, accounting, service department and more.
MIDDLE LAYER (filling): personal sponsor, team training, support, marketing plan
TOP LAYER: success and financial freedom

But in reality this fails for 95% of people who try it! The top layer, the sweet, care-free, delicious topping is enjoyed by only a handful of people EVEN when the basic recipe is the same. Why? This question has bothered me for years. The company’s foundation is a prepackaged delivery. There is no need for changes here. The real variation in this recipe is the middle layer, the filling…and you can’t apply the topping if you have no filling.

So what’s wrong with the filling? It’s a $64,000 question. Here is where you find all kinds of cooks, or team leaders, using their own special flavors or strategies (sometimes tied into buying their own particular brands). Here is where you find the top “guru” chefs with experience, multi-tasking skills, and credibility in performing complicated procedures.
I can’t pretend to cook like a Julia Child, Emile Lagasee or any of the Iron Chefs.
I can only marvel at their creations of Stuffed Snapper with Orange and Lime and Manhattan Cheesecake with Flaming Apricots.
Again, I have no desire to be the expert.
I may not even know how to fry an egg (I’m new to home business) but all of the sudden I need to be able to keep up with the expert marketers! Even worse, because of the nature of duplication in this business model, I also need to go out and teach this recipe to others and then they need to do the same! It doesn’t work. Average “cooks” can’t copy and promote complicated recipes. Nor should they need to spend countless hours training.

Show me a simple, straight forward marketing plan …a recipe with 3 or 4 ingredients for the filling:
1. Phone number for an overview. Are you interested? Yes or No
2. Company’s website for more information with a 1 page overview
3. 1 – 2 – 3 Step Marketing Plan to read-and-share that covers the basics: Trends, Marketing, Action…about 30 minutes to set
4. If people want a serving of Excuses…share more side dishes of educational resources

I CAN DO IT!

More importantly, I can pass on this recipe to as many people as I wish and they can duplicate the steps. Most importantly, I can celebrate the fact that I may not be a “guru chef” with years of mastery, but I can plug into the same networking company, expand my time and knowledge by passing on a simple “recipe” and start earning multiple commissions over and over based on initial effort.
Then I’ll be able to treat my friends to a real gourmet lunch courtesy of these masters.

I’d love to hear your ideas or questions. If you wish to try the Everday Pyrahi recipe from above…send me a note.

Sincerely,
AnneMarie

PS. As an interesting note...the comparison is often made that fast food franchises can be operated by a staff of teenagers because they follow a cookie cutter system. The food may not always be “the best” but you know Hamburger XYZ in California will be exactly the same Hamburger XYZ in Toronto, Canada

Four Words Every Home Business Owner Must Say..Part Two

Four Words Every Home Business Owner must say...Part Two

I CAN DO IT…
This is a more whimsical but still vivid look at how to plan to be successful with a home business.
In the last blog these words were tied to your self-concept or self-perception.
Your mind is the key to start the journey to the destination of your choice.
It’s not about speeches, products, hype, leaders, etc.
The point was also made that a simple marketing plan will be more successful than a complicated one. More success will naturally develop self-concept.


One top networker said the way to be successful is to “listen to the music one more time.”
His training involved six weeks of regular teleclasses. Learn the strategies, learn the script and practice, drill, rehearse. Tough for even the most motivated to maintain, much less pass the expectation to others.

So, the other afternoon I was returning from visiting my family. Feeling a little nostalgic in a beautiful hazy golden autumn afternoon driving through our mountains, I decided to listen to a CD by two “singing cowboys,” namely, Slim Whitman and Tex Ritter.
They sang old treasured songs…the words made simple statements, soulful and understandable. The single guitar notes rang clear as bells in uncomplicated melodies. I could recall vaguely hearing some of the songs as a child:

When I grow too old to dream
When my blue moon turns to gold again.
Beautiful Dreamer
Green Grow the Lilacs
The point here is I found myself automatically singing along, humming the tunes, quickly learning the choruses, repeating words and rhymes long forgotten. The words were simple, the tunes repetitive and it was easy to follow along. Being masterful was long gone.

Now I can’t sing. My high notes were raspy, I forgot words and my attempts at yodeling probably scared animals in the hills. Nor did I think for a moment that I had the talent or ever be in the same league of success as these singing cowboys. Nor did I desire to be a singing celebrity at any time. But I could duplicate the words, most of the melodies, I had fun, and I didn’t have to spend months or years training to be an expert that others could admire and follow.

So how does this scenario connect to a profitable home based business? In the network marketing industry, particularly, it is the duplication of the marketing plan that builds customers and cash-flow. It follows logically if the marketing plan is simple, easy to understand, easy to read that everyone can duplicate it. In other words, everyone can sing along at their levels of ability. You don’t have to be a good singer or a good salesperson as in this example. “You listen to the simple music one more time” and you share it and so on and so on.

I CAN DO IT

Keep the words and marketing plan simple for home business success. Enjoy the ride and the time freedom on your own terms, choosing to visit and travel through the peaceful autumn mountains listening nostalgically to sweet, simple words about life and what really matters.
Check out the 1 – 2 – 3 Step Marketing Plan and see how simple it is to “sing along.”
I am here to help with questions and comments.

Sincerely,
AnneMarie

Another "amazing" home business opportunity with 2% success ratio

Another “amazing” home business opportunity with 2% success ratio...why do I say that

Another "breakthrough" home business opportunity crossed my desk the other day. There are so many of these amazing “creatures” out there hoping to find a kind ear, a dazzled eye, a vision of life-long prosperity, an excited start-up with another keen home business owner.
I checked it out. It was a network marketing opportunity. The products were about wellness with good descriptions like unique, consumable, proprietary, patented, double-blind clinical studies. What was missing, in my opinion, were words like natural, whole foods, synergy. Nature cannot be patented. I was losing interest fast.

Then I read that a successful business represents 2% of this industry based on mentoring by professionals! Why would anyone consider doing this home business with such an“amazing” low odds of success?!? Unless, of course, you were already a professional network marketer. I consider myself in that league so continued reading the marketing plan. Marketing, after all, is the key to success in this business by sharing a duplication model through multiple levels.
The point here is not to try to explain the whole marketing process but some key words are: recorded calls 24/7, live corporate fly-ins, live opportunity calls, live weekly webinars, area and regional sessions and a turn-key online marketing system which consists of replicated website, company videos, multiple lead capture pages, flash overview tours, email messages, and seamless sign-ups. All of this is monitored by a full contact manager, lead management, website path tracking, integrated real-time leads, advertising co-op rotation, meta-tag control, and a full auto-responder system.
What do you think would be a main problem in the sharing this duplication model through multiple levels?
I’ve actually worked with a similar system. It produced results for professional networkers who worked with other networkers but very few results for average home business owners.
This is the main reason why we need to restructure the network marketing plan so that everyone truly has an equal level playing field from which to gain profits and prosperity.
I’d love to hear about your home business experiences…networking or not.

A Profitable Home Business on a Table Napkin? Show Me How

A Profitable Home Business on a Table Napkin? Show me how.

I listened recently to a short video presentation about a young entrepreneur who has an absolutely unusual way of deciding which potential million dollar business to build based on a peculiar business model. Can his business plan be explained to future partners on a dinner napkin? And can his partners explain the same business plan on a dinner napkin to other prospects?

The key here is marketing with obvious simple duplication.

He continued to draw a regular sized napkin and divide it into quadrants. Each quarter represented a special function.
First, start with a capture email page with a low ticket offer.
Next, proceed to a small ticket upsell where as many as 30% of customers begin to feel comfortable with the buying process. Then, everyone is dropped into an email follow-up system called a Continuity Program. Finally, the big ticket item is produced and supported with call centers, webinars, and email contacts and updates. At any time, potential customers can remove themselves from the marketing funnel.

This program started a personal evaluation. Can my small home business be explained on a single dinner napkin? I believe so, but even in a more simplified way.

First: Invite potential prospects to listen to an overview call about the home business opportunity.
Second: If interested in more information, follow-up with the company’s website and a one page Getting Started Right Business Plan
Third: Help with questions. Continue the education with a generic overview of the business model with a slideshow and e-book…an invaluable information tool that does the work for you called the Mini-Program for Maxi-Profits.
Fourth: Read and share the 1- 2 – 3 Step Marketing Plan that covers all the main facts,neutralizes common excuses, and brings in a new business partner.

Simple is a beautiful thing. A simple dinner napkin “business” can be duplicated. In our industry duplication of a simple marketing plan can lead to fortunes.

The Many Hats of a Small Home Business Owner

Note: this is another refocused "insight" from the book E-Myths..

Every small home business owner wears several hats: you wear the hats of Entrepreneur, Manager and Technician.

At the beginning, the need to wear at least 3 hats becomes very apparent. Of course, I wanted to be the Entrepreneur, the visionary, working with a strong team to bring health and prosperity to the average family. I needed to be the Technician, the technical expert, who organized the correct emails, mailings, webinars, conference calls, company updates, training sessions, and so on. Then, of course, I was also the Manager who wore the pragmatic hat in terms of talking with people, prospects, new customers, sales and marketing questions, goal setting, solving problems and so forth. In order for any company to be successful, you’ll need to develop these 3 skills or hire somebody to play each of these roles.

However, as time and experience evolved, and the Information Economy and technology continued to expand, then more questions had to be addressed in long term management systems. I’m happy to note these questions have now been answered with the help of information tools and a simple 1- 2 - 3 step marketing system.

• How can I get my business to work, but without me?
• What’s the best way to delegate my responsibilities?
• What procedures should I implement to make the business run and grow itself?
• How can I spend my time doing the work I love to do rather than the work I have to do?

My advice for any person looking for a home business is to start with the basics: Become a student first. Learn the basic facts about the industry you’re interested in. Now you can set some entrepreneurial goals and long term vision. Plug into Information Technology to help with the technical details. For management goals, let information tools by top experts tell the story for you.
So what else is there for you to do?
How about answering the last question; mainly, spend more time doing the work you love.

Of course, we also wear a multitude of other "hats" as mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, relatives, neighbours, co-workers,employees, sports fans, hobbyists and so many more...all the more reason to use professional information tools.

Standing by to help with questions or comments,

AnneMarie

PS. Share some stories about the "hats" you wear.

refocus insight on small home business

I thought I’d share some information from a top business expert Michael Gerber and his famous book: E-Myth Revisited, Why Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. I remember reading it a few years ago with some uncertainty. But I must say my current home business has helped to refocus my time and energy. Now I have different insights and thought they might help anyone contemplating a small home business.

First, the premise of the book is the belief that many businesses fail because the founders are technicians that were inspired to start a business without knowledge of how to run a successful business. A key component in that equation is how to market successfully...and that in itself, could involve years of training and practice.


The assumption that many people make is that because they are experts regarding technical details of a product or service, they will also be an expert at running that sort of business. If you are a great cook with special ethnic dishes, you should be great at opening up a restaurant. If you are a excellent computer technician, you should be able to operate a computer service business. But as it turns out for many, this can be part mythology and a bad assumption.

Here are some of the lessons that I learned to apply to my profitable home business:

1) Don’t only work in your business; make sure you also work on your business.

How many small business or home owners do you know who work 24/7 trying to handle every single technical detail day to day? At one time, I also worked hard “in my business”, often consumed by details.

Now I invest some time developing a long term plan and vision; in other words, I work “on my business.” You need to develop systems and business procedures to ensure the success of your company over a long term range. It's best to work with conscientious, like-minded people who engage in similar goals and support.

In the earlier years of my business, I kept everything in my head. Later on, I learned that I would need to create formal systems and write out formal procedures. A critical component was a simple, formalized marketing plan. This one strategy is essential to a growing, thriving business that people want to talk about.


Next time, more about refocusing on some home business "myths."

AnneMarie

amarie10@gmail.com

ps..drop me a note if you'd like to share some of your business "stories".

PART B

Current economic times are turbulent, home businesses are booming, information is overwhelming..where do you begin to make an intelligent, comprehensive search?

In all sincerity, let's say you decide to look at one of the fastest growing trends; namely, a network marketing home business. You’re bright eyed and freshfaced and have a strong desire to do well. You want catch this train to a five or six digit income and not be left standing on the sidelines.
But how many times have I seen this happen with new people?
All of a sudden you are flooded with information overload…company, product, sales training, marketing strategies, motivation, self-development!
Plus…as a newbie you need to share this full load with others and get them motivated and excited! Yikes…stop the train! I’m just at the primary level at this time and how can I be expected to perform like a networking graduate? In time, with practice, I will master the important fundamentals. But don’t swamp me with high expectations when I’m just learning my first steps.
Don't expect me to win the marathon without practice. Just give me the basic 1- 2- 3 steps that I can do and others can do as well.

Here’s an example. Every business needs a KEY MARKETING PLAN. Don’t even contemplate starting any home business until you have examined closely the features of how you will market the product(s)
Here's your choice. What kind of marketing plan would you like to plug into?
ONE...a 10 page outline with steps to follow for the next ten days. As a follow-up, your new customer will also have to follow this plan…I've been there…done that..and it doesn't work for many reasons…No wonder this industry based on duplication has so much attrition and low rates of success…
TIME TO CHANGE!
TWO...OR would you like to get a 1- 2- 3 steps 30- minute plan to read and share…
Everybody can read and share the critical points of information: the need to changes, smart choices and steps to action.
Learn the basics…3 steps...30 minutes.
Pass it on to others.
Continue to repeat 3 steps... 30 minutes
Simple to do... simple to duplicate.
The KEY that opens up network marketing fortunes is in the duplication of simple basic business (marketing) systems
Your choice: a 10 day business follow up or a 1-2-3 step 30-minute plan
What duplicates: a 10 day business plan or a 1-2-3 step 30- minute read and share

More marketing tips next.

Your comments and questions are always appreciated.

AnneMarie