Archive for the ‘Start Up’ Category

So You Want To Become A Virtual Assistant?

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Virtual assistants are a recent trend in business that have become extremely popular, as they are handy for business owners and office managers and a lucrative trade for those who can do administrative assistant work quickly and effectively. Becoming a virtual assistant is relatively easy if you know how to go about it, so in this article we will take a look at some of the ways to do so.

Getting hired as a freelance virtual assistant can be rather difficult, but if you can get a long-term job with several companies so that you have enough work, it is not a bad way to earn a living. You can also try working for a virtual assistant business, as this will allow you to be paid on an hourly basis and give you much steadier work. You could also try starting your own virtual assistant business and start a website for yourself. Having a website definitely gives one an air of legitimacy and will allow you to attract clients that normally only go for professional businesses.

The duties of a virtual assistant are many and varied. They do everything from mundane office work, such as copying, filing, and faxing, to taking and returning phone calls, event management, and digital transcription. The obvious benefit to having a virtual assistant is that they can complete work as quickly as any office employee, but can be sent for only when they are actually needed, and can be given several tasks at once to be performed over a period of time, without having to provide pay for an entire days work if there is little to be done. This saves time and money for both the client company and the virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants are such a popular new phenomenon because by working on a per-job basis, the assistant spends less time sitting around in an office getting paid by the hour, and instead taking jobs at a higher rate because of the efficiency of the work being done, but the client company still pays less overall, because they do not have to hire someone for a full day if there is not a full day of work to be done. Becoming a virtual assistant is a great idea if you want to work from home, and if you have a set of skills that would normally be required for a position as an administrative or personal assistant.

Lilach Bullock runs 2 full time businesses, asklilach providing virtual pa services & Virtual PA Training, helping people set up their own successful virtual assistant business. Lilach recently attended an Award Ceremony at Downing Street for best Mumpreneur. asklilach.co.uk

How To Earn An Income From Home

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

There are lots of ways to work from home and earn an income. In fact, this has become one of the most popular ways for people to try and make money, as it can provide you with free time. This has shown itself in the sheer number of different work from home enterprises that have cropped up in the last few years, such as affiliate marketing, internet pyramid schemes, and automated advertising. One of the great ways, however, and one that is rapidly becoming one of the most popular, is the virtual assistant business. In this article, we will go over some of the reasons this enterprise has gained so much popularity recently.

Virtual assistants are, essentially, personal or administrative assistants that work through the internet. They remove all of the negatives of having a physical personal assistant, while retaining almost all of the positives and adding a few of their own. They do not have to physically show up for work, which means no late employees. They do not need most office equipment, as they supply their own.

On a similar note, they do not have to be used for a full day regardless of how much work there is, as they work on a by-request basis. This removes a lot of unnecessary pay, saving money for the employer and allows the assistant to increase the hourly wage they earn, increasing money for them. Virtual assistants can perform a number of tasks, since they work from a computer, and often perform them significantly more quickly than paid staff. Due to all of these benefits, the virtual assistant has become one of the most popular forms of office support in the country.

Setting up a service like this will allow you to have several virtual assistants, and take requests from businesses to be sent to them. They will then perform the tasks, send them back to the offices, and split part of the pay with you. Your role as a management figure would be only to make sure work orders are completed and pay is received and divided. Most people that run these type of virtual assistant companies work between five and ten hours a week and make as much as many small business owners. If you are looking for a great way to earn an income from home, look no further than a virtual personal assistant service.

Lilach Bullock runs 2 full time businesses, asklilach providing virtual pa services & Virtual PA Training, helping people set up their own successful virtual assistant business. Lilach recently attended an Award Ceremony at Downing Street for best Mumpreneur. asklilach.co.uk

3 Terrific Ways To Make Money Online

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

To make money online, you should be ready to work on your computer over endless cups of coffee (or whatever else you like to drink) and wear a learning attitude. If you’ve been under the mistaken notion that it’s easy to make money online, you’re wrong. Cash does come eventually, but only after you’ve put in some hard effort. You have to put in to get out. So gear up. You’re going to learn how to earn an excellent income using the Internet, as your vehicle to get you to financially independence.

How About Opening A Business?

An online business is quite different from a brick and mortar shop, in the sense that the former stays open 24/7. Besides, you don’t need any additional people to help you run your business, and there’s no need to have any extra office space either. One of the biggest advantages is that you can arrange your own working hours.

Have You Ever Thought About Affiliate Marketing?

A large number of people are opting for this alternative to make money online. You need a theme-based website for this, and you’ll be paid for promoting products for other companies. However, be sure to check out if the company you join is registered, and if their products or services are related to your site theme.

You’ll then receive a link from the company either in the form of banner, or text link. You can display this link on your site, and encourage visitors to click on it. Keep in mind that you won’t be paid for merely pasting the link onto your site, but for making a sales. Money has to exchange hands, and nothing happens until and unless somebody sells something.

One effective method for getting a laser-targeted audience to your website, is to write interesting articles related to the theme of your site. Paste the URL of your website into each article, and post them on various web directories. Once the visitors go your site, they’ll be tempted to click on the affiliate link. When they do this, hopefully you’ll make money some money.

How About Conducting Surveys?

There are hordes of companies that are looking for smart and enthusiastic individuals (like you) to conduct consumer surveys for their businesses. You just need to sign up (which is usually free) with the particular company, and they’ll send you the survey guidelines via e-mail. Usually, these companies pay around $5 to $10 for each survey, depending on its time duration. This is certainly one way to make money online.

Sign up with several companies at the same time, because each company generally provides only a few surveys at a time. There are many more methods available to make money online. The above 3 are the most popular ones. You can also take up content writing, programming, web designing, and other such tasks within the comfort of your home, and happily count away the number of dollars you make.

Charles McDuffie is an author and entrepreneur for ASB Enterprises, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success in mail order, network marketing and affiliate programs. Click here to learn about terrific ways to make money online.

Are You Cut Out To Go Virtual?

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

The credit crunch and the looming recession will have an impact on all of us, whether it is the price of petrol and food or concerns about job security and risk of redundancy. Of course, changing direction because of redundancy or the need to balance the demands of family can open up opportunities too. The Virtual Assistant profession is one of the fastest growing in the country and many secretaries and personal assistants are setting themselves up in business. It is a trend that is set to accelerate with developments in technology and the drive by businesses to keep overheads down while still tapping into flexible resource.

A Virtual Assistant is someone who offers the services traditionally provided by secretaries or personal assistants but they do so remotely, based from their own office and using their own equipment. The vast majority of tasks can be provided remotely. This can be particularly useful for individuals and organisations which require flexible expert resource but do not want the responsibilities or financial outlay of employing staff.

So, how do you know whether you are cut out to be a Virtual Assistant and what is involved? For anyone considering setting up in business the key is to be clear about what you want to get out of it, whether this is about achieving a particular lifestyle, generating a specific level of income, building a business which you can sell on, giving you flexibility to spend time with the family. You can achieve all of those but being clear on your aim will dictate the business model you follow, whether you want to work alongside other Virtual Assistants, and getting overflow business from them, or build a business by taking on clients direct and then expanding by employing staff. Virtual Assistants might specialise in a particular sector or focus on offering specific services. Prices charged typically range from GBP20.00 to GBP30.00 per hour depending on what is required and you might consider one-off projects as well as retainer packages for a specified number of hours. If you worked 40 hours a week you might expect to earn GBP1,000.

Setting up as a Virtual Assistant brings many advantages, being your own boss gives you great scope for exploring ideas and bringing creativity into your business. It is a steep learning curve – the attributes you need to be a successful secretary or personal assistant are different to those you need to set up and run a successful Virtual Assistant business. You will need to get up to speed with basic accounts and book-keeping as well as marketing and business planning. If you are looking for a challenge then this could certainly be it. Depending on the type of business model you follow, and the type of work you are aiming to get, you can work around the needs of your family. Being based at home will also save you considerable commuting time. There is, of course, a need to put money into the business and it is important to set aside a budget. By working from home you will not need the kind of outlay necessary if you were looking for premises, which might be needed for other types of businesses.

There are disadvantages in that working from home can be lonely and some people may find this difficult. It is important to remember that you have to have the mindset that you can make your business work and not expect business to just walk in the door. Juggling the needs of clients can also be tricky. What do you do if requests for support all come in at once? You do what you have always done and prioritise. Again, depending on the type of business model you will need to put considerable time into the business. Networking is important and you will find events that can fit with your schedule early morning, lunch, evening. Attending events on a weekly basis can be exhausting but if this is part of your strategy then you will need to find the time to commit to it.

The drive for new business and all business decisions are down to you so that can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure. It is important to have a good support network around you and to never give up on achieving your goal. It can be hard work but the rewards, however, far outweigh the stresses and strains.

The experience of setting up as a Virtual Assistant will certainly take you outside of your comfort zone with the need for networking, devising promotional strategies and materials and presenting in public. That might seem daunting but if you would relish the challenge then it may well be just what you are looking for.

Lilach Bullock runs 2 full time businesses, asklilach providing virtual pa services & Virtual PA Training, helping people set up their own successful virtual assistant business. Lilach recently attended an Award Ceremony at Downing Street for best Mumpreneur. asklilach.co.uk

How To Choose The Best Name For Your Business

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

What’s in a business name? A lot, actually. Your business’ name speaks volumes about who you are, what you represent, and what you do; it is both a mark of identification and a branding and marketing mechanism. So it is important to put some thought into your choice for a business name so that you maximise the positive impact it has on your bottom line.

Getting Started Choosing A Business Name

At first it might seem like a monumental task just to get started choosing a business name. But with a little thought and creativity, and a little focus on your goals, you can choose a name that is everything you want it to be.

But what makes a good business name? How do you go about choosing the right one for you?

First, know what you want (and need) your business name to be – it needs to be something that can be easily recognised and remembered, as well as something that identifies both you and your line of business. A few tips for choosing the right business name include:

- Try to keep the name short so that it can be remembered entirely, or nearly so, with ease

- Make it catchy so that it is more interesting and more memorable

- Avoid using location-specific names, unless you will be able to carry that through in the future as your business changes or expands. For instance, avoid using suburb or street names unless they make sense or can be kept in the event of a change of venue – what happens if you move locations in the future or want to expand and open up at more locations?

- Avoid using your name unless you can translate that as well, particularly if you think selling the business may be in your future – will the new owner be able to use your name? Will they want to? Will the necessity of a name change affect the valuation and profitability of your business?

- Use your name to describe your line of work – tell people what you do in a word or two. Too generic a name will not catch the eye of people hunting for a product or service like yours. For example, Clever Joe’s doesn’t say anything about what Joe does; but Clever Joe’s Small Engine Repair tells you exactly what service Joe provides. People don’t want to work too hard to find out what line of business you are in – they want it to be obvious.

- Consider what your name conveys about you and your business. For example, a very professional and formal name gives a different air than one that is more casual, and so influences what type of person people think you are, and they will choose businesses in part by the types of people or businesses they want to do business with (professional, casual, sophisticated…)

Working The Name

Once you’ve chosen the name you will want to put it to work for you. But first, you need to make sure that you are legally prepared to do that. Depending on where you work and live and the type of name you choose (for example, whether your personal name is the name of your business), you may be required to register that name with a local or government agency, and perhaps check for availability of the name and/or infringement issues. You can talk to other small business owners, research online, or contact local government bodies to find about business name registration. After you’ve claimed your name as your own, you can use it in other ways, such as on websites and domain name registrations, and you can begin to use it in marketing and advertising as well.

Success in small business starts at the beginning, with the details like choosing a business name. Start strong by taking the time to find the business name that is right for you.

Donna-Marie Coggins is an author and business owner, providing guidance, resources and support to small and micro-businesses. For tips and resources on running a small business and your free guide, “60 Free And Low-Cost Ways To Get Your Business Noticed”, go to http://www.Donna-MarieCoggins.com

A Home Business Startup Can be Easy

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

Home business startup owners are all around you, everyday. The home business industry is quite literally booming and is getting larger exponentially by the month. Home business startup and internet marketing is a viable and profitable enterprise providing you do your due diligence before embarking on your business venture. The first thing that you will need to contend with when you opt to incorporate affiliate marketing in your home business is that some merchant sites are rather difficult to navigate. However these companies would prefer you contact them directly rather than skip over the opportunity to make affiliate commisions through them.

A home business startup doesn’t have to be a challenge, especially when your equipped with the right knowledge, tools, and business planning strategy. Choosing a niche market is the first step towards building your online empire, but there are many other important factors to consider before getting started. Start part time and make money in your spare time. Start researching and planning you home business startup now and it will give you every chance of success in the future.

A home business startup is a good choice for someone who has the education and experience in the field. Many companies, especially small ones, look for these types of opprtunities so they can also expand their business online. A home business startup is a dream for millions of people. One of the motivating factors for starting a business is dissatisfaction on the job. Start with your qualifications as your tutor. What can you do or offer that others can’t?

A successful home business startup also possess good human relationship skills. Their businesses are consumer oriented and learning to communicate respectfully is very important. It’s just as if a baby has to muster up the courage to take his first steps – how he is essentially going out on a limb, knowing that he will probably fall. The baby actually knowingly fails his way to success .Once you become stronger and learn from your mistakes,you too can get a slice of the billions of dollars being made in e-business every year.

So relax, your no different than almost every other entreprenuer. We have all felt overwhelmed or afraid at one point or another. Just take a deep breath and keep moving forward. Spend sometime thinking about your business plan and then take one step at a time. There are countless opportunities for a great home business startup and right now is the best time to begin.

Gary Pettit is an established entrepreneur and mentor of 10 years who excels in helping others find online success. Click below for an excellent home business startup opportunity that will simply blow your mind.
http://www.Instant-Paysites.com
Act fast…only a few openings remain

5 Reasons Foreclosure Cleaning Businesses are Ideal Startups for Realtors

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

When you think about realtors starting foreclosure cleanup businesses, it makes perfect sense for a number of reasons, five of which we’ll discuss here.

1. Love of Real Estate: Many real estate agents enter the industry because they have an innate love of real estate. Their passion may start simple, eg, “I love to look at houses.” The more they learn about the business, the more they fall in love with it.

And, as it’s a career that can be started in a very short period of time — literally weeks — once they have license in hand, they’re ready to go. This leads us to the second reason realtors make great candidates to start foreclosure cleaning businesses . . .

2. Entrepreneurs at Heart: Real estate agents are entrepreneurs at heart. As a realtor, you work for yourself. This means you have to know how to read and write contracts, do your own billing, keep great records, market yourself, network, etc.

All of these are the exact same qualities needed when you own a business cleaning foreclosures as well. Hence, you have a natural leg up on the competition.

3. Industry Contacts: A natural part of being a realtor is dealing with handymen, locksmiths, general contractors, home builders, loan officers, bank executives, other realtors, etc. Every single one of these contacts come in handy when you own a foreclosure cleaning business. You will use the contacts to either get business from, or to help you in your business.

For example, loan officers, mortgage brokers and other realtors are excellent sources to tap to bring in business. Handymen, homebuilders and general contractors can be used to subcontract work to.

Again, this puts you miles ahead of other foreclosure cleanup companies because you already have a full industry contact list at your fingertips. Others have to go out and find them.

4. Natural Jugglers: Real estate agents are natural jugglers of responsibility. Piggybacking off the last point, they deal with a multitude of people to close a deal. There are contracts to be written and revised, earnest money to get to your broker, subcontractors to call to finish getting a house ready so that a buyer is happy, the closing attorney to call to find out when the closing date is . . . and on and on and on.

Foreclosure cleanup company owners face the same set of juggling responsibilities. There are subcontractors to deal with, contracts to be revised, invoicing to be done . . . and on and on and on.

5. They Know Where the Deals Are: This is perhaps the best reason for realtors to start foreclosure cleaning companies. They have access to inside info on a property to know if it’s a good deal or not, ie, what it last sold for, when, what the property taxes are, etc.

The Effect of the Mortgage Crisis on Realtor Careers

The mortgage crisis has forced many realtors to look for other careers; some for the first time.

But if you’re a realtor who has a love of real estate, and don’t want to leave the profession altogether, owning a foreclosure cleaning business presents a perfect opportunity to keep your entrepreneurial dream alive — doing what you love.

To learn everything you need on how to start a foreclosure cleanup business, log on to Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-Business.com for 200 pages of first-hand information from the owner of a leading foreclosure cleanup company in Atlanta, GA.

Freelance Writers: Want to Consistently Earn $100+/Day? Here’s a Plan

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

SEO copywriting is an extremely lucrative freelance writing niche that very few freelance writers know about, or know how to capitalize on. This means that those who do know about it can very easily earn $100+ — or more — per day.

It’s not uncommon for top SEO writers to pull in more than double that, once they learn how to market for the work.

Why is SEO copywriting so lucrative? Three reasons.

3 Reasons SEO Copywriting is So Lucrative & Why You Should Hop On It

An article on TopRankBlog entitled “SEO Tops Recession Internet Marketing Tactics” gives some insight into this.

1. Internet Marketing is Exploding! The article included some results from a poll. Marketers were asked the following: “What 3 internet marketing tactics will you emphasize most in the next 6 months?” Over 400 responded and the top three responses were search engine optimization (36 percent), blogging (33 percent), and Pay per click (26 percent).

Why is this important for SEO copywriters? All of this requires copy — SEO driven copy to be precise. And as there are only a handful of freelance writers who get the whole “SEO thing,” which encompass things like keywords, keyword density, black hat tactics, microblogging, social media marketing, etc.

This means a heck of an opportunity for those freelance writers who do.

2. Internet Marketing Is Cheap Compared to Traditional Marketing: And, this is why more and more companies are embracing it. Online marketing is becoming so popular with companies because they are able to track their return on investment (ROI) instantaneously.

This allows them to tweak their campaigns to increase their returns. Again, almost immediately. They don’t have to wait for a newspaper ad to run, then wait days or weeks later to judge the return. They don’t have to let a series of spots run on television to see if a campaign was effective.

The internet moves in real time. And, advertisers can adjust their campaigns in real time. This saves them thousands, tens of thousands and millions of dollars.

3. Customers More Receptive: Customers are more receptive to search engine marketing because the ads they are shown are relevant to the content/program they are already invested in.

For example, lets say you were searching for info on freelance writing. When you land on a site, if it has Google ads, it constantly serves up other relevant links about freelance writing. The links you see are paid for by companies to show up. So, you’re much more likely to click that link because it’s also relevant to what you want to know about.

And, this is the power of SEO (search engine optimization) and why SEO copywriting is a fast-growing, high-paying profession that you should learn how to do (it’s so easy) to immediately increase your freelance writing income.

To learn everything you need about how to start an SEO writing career, log on to Work-from-Home-Writing-jobs.com for first-hand information from a successful SEO copywriter. Tons of testimonials from others who’ve found success as SEO writers are here also.

Foreclosure Cleanup Companies: As Homebuilders Fold, Opportunity Knocks

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

In the MSN Money article, “Foreclosures sting even best builders,” journalist Todd Harrison writes, “Besieged by collapsing home prices and frightened banks scrounging for cash, even the real-estate industry’s brightest stars [home builders] are finding there’s no place to hide.”

In plain language, it’s not just homeowners who are being hit hard by the foreclosure crisis – home builders are suffering too. Many of them are going out of business, leaving communities with unfinished homes, empty lots – and lots of opportunity for foreclosure cleaning companies. Following is how.

When a builder goes under and properties are left unfinished, savvy investors are the most likely buyers. And, before and after they finish a renovation, they hire foreclosure cleanup companies to do the commercial cleaning needed, eg, lawn maintenance, hauling away trash and debris, boarding up broken windows and doors, etc.

According to the aforementioned article, “It’s estimated that over 20% of the nation’s homebuilders have closed their doors . . .” This means lots of unfinished homes to secure, clean out haul away trash, etc.

How to Find Home Builders to Pitch Your Foreclosure Cleaning Services To

Following are two ways to find out who the major homebuilders in your area are.

The Grassroots Method: When a community is being constructed, usually the builder has a big sign in front, eg, “An XYZ Community,” (with XYZ being the name of the construction company).

Simply by driving around, you can write down the name of the companies that appear on the signs in a newly constructed community and look them up on the internet to pitch your foreclosure cleaning services. While this can be time-consuming, it’s an excellent way to get to know the “players” in the home building game in your community.

The NAHB: The NAHB is the trade association for homebuilders. NAHB is an acronym for the National Association of Home Builders. On their website, you can find out everything you need to know about builders in every state in the union.

The site also has information about trade shows, other meets and events, press releases pertinent to the industry and a whole lot more. It’s an excellent site to bookmark if you’re interested in building your foreclosure cleaning business and want builders as part of your client base.

Why Builders Make Great Clients for Foreclosure Cleaning Companies

Lots of Business: There’s an old saying that goes, “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” For foreclosure cleaning business owners, this means making a straight beeline to builders. After all, they build homes and use companies to do commercial cleaning.

Industry Contacts: Builders have many contacts – like realtors, they know other contacts you can get business from.

Patience is the Name of the Game When Targeting Homebuilders

Getting close to builders is tougher than making contacts with realtors. After all, there are fewer of them, and many already have their contacts in place. BUT, if you can patient and consistently network and market to this niche, eventually you will get business from them.

And, what a payoff it can be! While landing the “big fish” may take some effort, for foreclosure cleaning company owners, builders are truly the “catch of the day” worth the effort it takes to reel in.

To learn everything you need on how to start a foreclosure cleanup business, log on to Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-Business.com for 200 pages of first-hand information from the owner of a leading foreclosure cleanup company in Atlanta, GA.

Work from Home as a Freelance Writer & Start Making Money in 1 Week or Less

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

With the economy shedding jobs at more than half-a-million a month since the last quarter of 2008, many are scrambling to find new employment. And, if it’s a work-from-home job, then all the better. Freelance writing is one of those careers that’s easy to start, and practically anyone who can read and write can do.

Following is a fast-growing, high-paying niche in freelance writing that anyone can enter — and start making money almost immediately.

Forget Magazine and Newspaper Writing: Online Writing Jobs are Where the Money Is

Specifically SEO copywriting. What is SEO copywriting? SEO stands for search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is simply using various rules to write copy in such a way that websites get more traffic and more sales.

And, website owners need a lot of it on a continual basis. Why? Because to rank high in search engine results, web businesses need to constantly add fresh content to their sites or their blogs and and/or to distribute via article directories.

Since most of them don’t have the in-house staff to do this themselves, they outsource it to freelance SEO writers. It’s cheaper for them. But, the amazing thing is, there are very few qualified SEO Writers. Most freelance writers don’t even know what it is, so it’s an untapped market.

And, this is why SEO writers are some of the busiest freelance writers you will find. Many of them outsource to other freelance writers because it’s so easy to get swamped with work.

Following are some sample jobs ads you may have run across while surfing the web. These all fall in the SEO writing niche.

Seeking SEO Article Writer: Need five articles on teen fashions for my website. Looking for someone who can submit 3-5 articles a week on an ongoing basis. Pay: $10-$20 per 400-500 word article.

SEO Copywriter Needed: We are looking for writers to produce SEO articles. Each article should be around 200 words. We will provide a sample as well as guide for layout and style. Pay: $10-$15 per post.

Seeking SEO Blogger: Newly launched humor blog is looking for writers to contribute humorous articles on a weekly basis. No experience necessary, but the ability to consistently deliver smart and witty copy is a must. Pay: Open.

We are looking for freelance article writers to write website content, product descriptions, etc. Our freelance writing service is currently expanding, adding new clients weekly, and needs additional writers to take on writing projects. Pay: $25-$100/article.

When many hear the phrase “SEO” they tune out, thinking that maybe it’s too technical. The truth is, it’s so simple that even a 12-year-old can grasp it, and within a few minutes. If you’re looking for a work-from-home job that is easy to do, pays well and where you can start making money almost right away, SEO copywriting is it.

To learn everything you need about how to start an SEO writing career, log on to Work-from-Home-Writing-jobs.com for first-hand information from a successful SEO copywriter.