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Monitoring what your competitors are doing is essential for any new start up and for businesses as they grow. If you really want to stay on top of things you need to monitor competitor activities on an ongoing basis. Here are some tried and tested ways to keep up to date with what your competitors are up to.

Firstly, you need to decide exactly what information would be useful and how you will use it. It can be tempting to gather a mass of information but this will just waste time and money unless you can be specific about how it will help you. The type of information you might want to gather could range hugely and might, for example, include your competitors product or service range, pricing, future plans, sales tactics, competitive advantage, marketing activities, customer portfolio, customer service, collaborations or partnerships and website links.

Whatever you want to find out, ensure that it is information that will have a use and will help you improve your own business. You are then much more likely to maintain your efforts. The real value is in research that is sustainable, you can then monitor changes over time and see how the competition reacts to changes in the industry or sector.

You can gain a great deal of useful information from competitor websites. Bear in mind that these are marketing tools but they can be useful to explore customer experience, how they want to be perceived, how they differentiate themselves from the competition, accessibility, pricing, service level, promises and links.

It is a good idea to sign up to competitor newsletters so you can see what they are issuing and the timing of announcements. It is also useful to see what sites have linked to your competitors.

Many businesses rely on industry news and websites to try and assess the competition. Experiencing their service and what they have to offer is hugely valuable. This can be quick and easy, telephone them to enquire about their products and service to assess knowledge, order or book a service or product and follow the customer service experience through to assess contact, delivery, after sales care etc, contact them to see how they deal with a complaint or your desire to return the product, if your competitors have shops or stores then visit them and make a purchase etc, if, for example, you run a restaurant then eat out at the competition at least once a month. You will then very quickly see any subtle differences.

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. “http://www.virtualpatraining.co.uk”.

Internet marketing is the new wave of the future. Even if there is a credit crunch in most parts of the world, if you know how to market yourself or your company online, you would be able to bring in more sales and probably even alternative income streams. Nowadays, the key to succeeding in business is being able to adapt to changing trends and also capitalising on the power of the Internet to reach your target niche, not only in the UK but also in other places across the globe. Not knowing a lot of things about the Internet should not be used as an excuse for not trying out online advertising.

Marketing your goods and services on the Internet is not really that hard. If you are not familiar with the Internet, then it is probably the right time for you to check out the World Wide Web. Another way you can learn more about advertising online is by reading books about Internet marketing. Just make sure that the ones you buy are published not earlier than 2005 so that you would be able to adopt the new advertising trends already. It may also be helpful to keep watch on what your competitors are doing. You can surely learn a thing or two about promoting your business online from your market rivals.

But even if you read books, magazines, or web pages about Internet marketing, you might not immediately know what to do. Instead of wasting months in learning how you can properly promote your business in cyberspace, you may want to try hiring a virtual assistant. Not only will this type of assistant be affordable, you will also be spared from the problem of providing for her computer, fax machine, telephone and other gadgets because she would normally work from her home. And even if you still do not have a good grasp of how to market your business online, your virtual assistant will already do that for you.

Simply having a website is no longer enough to boost your earnings and to effectively market your products and services. What you need to do is to seek the help of your virtual assistant to maintain a blog, create informative articles related to your business, and even participate in forums. For maximum results, it may be a good idea to find a virtual assistant who has a good knowledge about Internet marketing so that she can help you make e-books, online newsletters, podcasts, and videos. She can also utilise the power of social networking sites for your marketing.

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. “http://www.asklilach.co.uk”.

I have been working since I was about 16 years old, and I started out as a busgirl and worked my way up through the chain. My best and favorite job was Head Catering Chef, but for those of us who have worked in kitchens know, its one of the most stressful jobs out there, and it’s also one of the worst paying jobs out there. I got into working at home full-time about 4 years ago, I started out with domain parking and was to the point where I was making more than enough money, then as most first time things on the net that fell through. Later on I struggled a bit but, I knew someday I would find the golden op; and I did. Ever since then I have been working at home with a full-time business, honestly?

I absolutely love it. Sure, sometimes things can get stressful, especially when dealing with all sorts of various types of people, but for the most part I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. Today I’m going to be talking about some of the cons and also some of the pros of working at home. Now when I say the term “work at home” this can include affiliate marketing, domain parking, domain real estate, owning your business, etc. Even though all of these “positions” are different, they all have about the same pros and cons.

Pros -
I get to spend my extra time doing whatever I want. Now in most cases I do work a lot, but the nice thing about working for myself at home is that if I want to take a day off I can. Or if I want to work from 1000am to 300pm I can. One major thing I have learned; if you want to earn good money, you will have to work hard, especially in the beginning.

I can make as little or as much money as I want. Back in the day as a Chef, I always tried climbing the ladder, but it was almost impossible, even when I did get a higher ranking job it wasn’t for much more money than the lower ranking job. With working at home, I know that if I want to make a lot of money, there is the opportunity and choice to do so. I am making more now in a week than I ever did as a Chef in 6 months.

Its convenient, comfortable, and for the most part; stress free. Since I am my own boss, I make the rules. I don’t have someone constantly standing around telling me what I should do, could do, or have to do. I am my own (wo)man. Heck, if I want, I can work in my pajamas and no one would be none the wiser! If I need to make an emergency trip to the doctors, or somewhere else, I don’t need “permission” from the man!

The opportunity to branch out is there. If for example it’s a slow day, I know I can just hop on so and so forum, or email so and so customer and get the job done, and make the dough. In that sense as well, its much less stressful, finance wise.

Cons -
As said above, sometimes in the beginning while your figuring everything out, this can eat up a lot of your time. Usually in my line of work, once I gain someones trust, I have it for life. So if I decide to take an extra day for the deadline, they are understanding.

Of course with any job, there is always a situation where you need to “prove” yourself. But I find that working online with people, people that have gotten burned in the past, it takes a good bit of time to prove yourself to different individuals. Let’s face it, there are a lot of scammers out there, and when you’re not one of those scammers it can get frustrating. My best advice; stay honest, loyal, and try your best. If you really are a good guy and your legit, people will see that.

You don’t have someone looking over your shoulder. I know this was a pro as well, but depending on whom you are and how you see this, it can be a pro or a con. I’m really responsible with my business and my time. So I can afford to not have someone looking after me. However, I have found some people that own business online don’t have that professional “touch” they need someone to guide them, and they are a follower, not a leader! If however, you are a leader, and you can guide yourself, and be responsible, then this is a great op for you!

Other than those pros and cons listed above, I can’t really think of anything else that I have cheered or complained about thus far! This can be either your best dream or your worst nightmare, it all depends on whom you are, how you deal, what you do, and how you act and react for that matter. One of the most important things to keep in mind is this; be friendly, but don’t be unprofessional under any circumstance unless you become really close with a customer/client in a non-business way.

And even then, watch the things you say. Be appropriate. And your customers/clients should also (hopefully) be the same way with you. Other than that, if you are a thinker, a dreamer, quick on your feet, and you want to make some really great money on your own time, this is the best option for you! Remember to have fun with this as well!

Before starting a Home Business, Kristi recommends visiting this site http://www.envisionfreedom.net

I think I have tried just about every “scheme” there is out there in order to try and make money online, some I have failed at and others I was absolutely successful with. Now as far as affiliate programs, there really are people out there making thousands of dollars a month, and it’s all because they pick the right company to go with and the right products. Regarding products; you want something that is in demand, but not saturated so much that people won’t even notice you.

One of the things I used to like doing, was going to a site like Best Buy or Circuit city and checking out their sales page. For the most part when sites and businesses like Best Buy add specific products to their sales page, it isn’t because they are trying to get rid of the product, but because the company has done some major market research beforehand and has found out that the new iPod is going to be popular, or that the black and silver laptop speakers from Creative Designs are going to be flying off the shelf.

Pay attention to these things, go to gadget sites, or sites like Cnet and see what is being reviewed at that specific time and promote THAT product! As far as affiliate hubs go, these are places you can sign up with that offer all sorts of products, in all sorts of categories, for all sorts of affiliate percentages (your earnings). The three I’m going to list below are my all-time three favorite sites available to people who want to get into affiliate marketing. There are in no particular order!

Link share is a little confusing to figure out at first, but if you feel your way around you will eventually get used to it. Link share offers a ton of different “offers” from well-known affiliates such as wine, Iwin, ToysrUs, BestBuy, etc, as well as some other unknown sites (to me anyway). The great thing about both of these sites is that all of the affiliates on the site or legitimate. Sites like link share do all the work for you and me as how to get paid, making sure the sites are legit, the sites are legal, etc. this site offers another thing called storefronts, which I really like. These storefronts are to be put on your website directly to show what each affiliate ship has. Its like a mini store right on your site.

So, for instance, if I have a website and it’s an electronic website a good affiliate for me would be something like BestBuy. For the store front of BestBuy, what I’ll have is different products I can choose from to put in my storefront. So, say people go to my electronics website, they don’t just see the stuff that’s on my site. They also see all the stuff that comes from BestBuy within the little “mini store”. Most of the time when you choose to be with an affiliate program or you choose a store find you get to choose what you want in the storefront.

Kolimbo has been around since 1999. This is one of the original open affiliate directories. Kolimbo offers a lot of the same options as link share, but they offer a lot more too. For instance say you want to find all the advertisers on Kolimbo that you can get paid for doing CPM offers. You simply do a search for CPM programs or search directly under the CPM tab and you will find all the CPM programs. The types of programs that Kolimbo offers are:

Pay per sale
Pay per lead
Pay per visit
Pay per click
Pay per impression
Pay second tier commissions
Email Marketing

And for my last option I actually like Amazon merely because they offer many diverse products on the website. For example, I have a website, so I can go to Amazon and pick out different affiliates that I know that I will be utilizing at my joke site. Affiliates that offer such things as gag gifts, gag gifts, funny gifts, etc. Once I find the affiliates to use I won’t only set the affiliate links, but I can also set up affiliate websites. Then, I can either “sneak” in the affiliate links onto my blog, or I can also include the actual mini stores on my blog. This is good because people can visually see what I offer on my site!

Before starting a Home Business, Kristi recommends visiting this site http://www.envisionfreedom.net

If you are not familiar about the well-known movie or book The Secret, I really suggest you checking it out. This book is based on the fact that like attracts like and is formed by The Law Of Attraction. Essentially what you focus on is what you are going to attract back into your life. So if you are worrying about money or your health, you are only creating more financial problems and more health problems.

If you cringe every time you go to the mailbox expecting another bill or more bad news, you will create more bills. Obviously this isn’t something we want! By attaching negative emotions to your situations you are creating more of it, this is because you are thinking and feeling about what you don’t want, in turn making them stronger. The mind is creative, it will create and recreate whatever you think about. When you are fighting something, whatever it may be, you are unconsciously creating more of that very thing.

It really isn’t as hard as you think it is to create a positive thought pattern, all it takes is a little willingness, the courage to step out of your comfort zone and the determination to follow through no matter how daunting it may seem at first! Listen, positive thinking isn’t about denying your emotions or pretending that everything is awesome when its so obviously not. Its about learning to adjust the way you think and feel about certain events and experiences in your life. It’s about learning to create a positive angel to the things that may happen to you, even the really difficult ones.

Your thoughts, feelings and beliefs are all tied together. When you experience negative events, your thoughts about them act as a trigger for your emotions and beliefs. If you have studied the Law of Attraction at all, you are conscious that your emotional state emits a certain “frequency” of vibration that attracts your desire. By placing yourself into the proper emotional state, you will bring yourself into energetic conjunction with what you desire. The better you can make yourself feel emotionally on a regular basis, the more rapidly you will attract what you want!

There are people who do this with such effectiveness that it truly boggles the intellect! They rarely have to take action to get something they want. Instead, they have transmuted themselves into what most people would call, “lucky,” or even, “charmed.” Good stuff just comes to them all the time. You can become one of those people! It’s just a matter of learning yourself to keep your thoughts and emotions flowing in the right direction. It also doesn’t hurt to dissolve limiting beliefs and hold positive expectations!

Your thoughts are always running in the background, much of the time you aren’t even aware of them simply because its become so automatic to you. However, if you took the time to actually listen to yourself, maybe you would realize or start to realize the negativity you really are putting out there!

In order to change your thoughts, you first have to become aware of what they are. This involves turning your attention inward as much as possible. Several times throughout the day remember to pay attention to your thoughts and what is happening inside of you emotional. This is the first step in changing the way you are now, into the person you want to be. You have to change your thoughts and your emotions! If at all possible to make this easier on you, keep a notebook with you.

Write down what was going on at so and so time when you started to feel negativity dripping down into you. This is a good eye opener and will teach you how to deal with certain specifics in your life!

Apply “The Secret” to your life. Visit this site to see where the Secret Left off. http://www.envisionfreedom.net

In all realness, working at home is one of the best things you could perhaps “look into,” not only is it about exemption, but above all it’s about not being railroaded. Thousands of individuals every single day get told they are being laid off or the company where they have been working for the last 25 years has to “let” them go. I don’t know about you but, I eventually got sick of depending on other individuals for my livelihood! If this sounds like you, then working at home just may be what your looking for. In my highest opinion there is no real catch to this. It is what it is. You work from home, establishing a business online. This business can be a sophisticated full-time service, an affiliate program, business opportunity, etc. There is no actual limit here, pick a business, company, website, program, service and run with it!

Working online spares you from a lot of other things that other individuals are dealing with. For instance, with the way the economy is right now and the financial crisis, you would think everyone would be feeling it, right? Well I have been working online for years and I gotta say it, this is one of my best years yet. .

In fact, in a lot of instances I’m discovering that people that have gone to college for years becoming a Physician or an Lawyer are making more money online doing their own thing, instead of being a professional in the real world. Now, I’m not even going to bother equating a Lawyer and a Chef, because that’s just incomparable but, I’m a Chef, I worked in kitchens around the country for 10 years. And I can honestly say, I have made more money online in the past 5 years, than I ever did in my ten years as a Chef.

It’s rather impressive really, the sheer amount of money you can make online is unlike anything you ever imagined before. So, if there is a “catch” so to speak, it’s definitely not a damaging one, in fact if there’s any “catch” at all it’s when you think about the equivalence of money spent on your master degree, equated to that of setting up a home office, buying a laptop, and purchasing Internet service. Ah yes, its much easier, faster and less costly to work online! I bought my education for $25k. I bought my freedom for $10k. So how would you rather live? As a slave to the man or as a king to his throne? I pick the latter thank you!

Before starting a Home Business, Kristi recommends visiting this site http://www.envisionfreedom.net

Trusting in yourself makes wondrous things happen to you. These classic guides to self-esteem and success will help you learn how to; break the worry habit; get other people to like you; avoid “the jitters” in your daily work; believe in yourself and everything you do; develop the power to reach your goals, and so much more. The books listed below are just a few of the millions out there, but it comes from my very own personal collection.

Focus On Your Dream by Jeffrey D. Smith
This fascinating new book helps people understand they were born with all the potential they need to accomplish their goals and live the life they want. It covers all the steps to take to bring that about. By the time you finish reading this book, you will acquire a stimulating new way of looking at the universe and yourself. You will find out what success is all about! By setting goals and accomplishing them, you will learn that not only will your business grow, but you will grow as a person in the process.

You will learn and enjoy the self-confidence that comes from knowing who you are and why you are here. You won’t feel the need to equate yourself to others. Focus On Your Dream teaches how to let go of limiting beliefs, think like prosperous people, and turn dreams into manageable goals. It also teaches you how to become a “goal-getter” and develop a Goal Achievement Daily Action Plan that can help you do what you need to do. In short, this book quickly gets to the core of the matter. You cannot succeed until you FOCUS on your dream.

Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Not even mentioning this book, but this man is incredible. When I first read this, I was absolutely amazed at what I was really capable of. This book is all about becoming successful and growing rich, and every chapter within the book mentions the moneymaking secret that has made well over 500 people incredibly rich! Now if you want you can go ahead and dig down deep and do some research, but I can tell you I have already done a lot of it, and everything in this book is completely honest, and those 500+ people that have become rich and successful did so in using the “secret” in this book!

The Science Of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles
This book is a little harder to understand than the other ones listed in this article, however, this book is one of the MOST powerful books I have ever read and not just financially or in a dollar sense. But it has made me realize things I have never realized before. It’s an awakening of sorts. For those of you who think this name sounds familiar, it should! Wallace was mentioned several times in the book The Secret (go ahead and look now if you don’t believe me). All of these people are naturally bound together because they all follow the same secret. It’s the law of attraction. As Wallace once said “If you have not consciously made the decision to be rich, excellent and healthy, then you have unconsciously made the decision to be poor, mediocre, and unhealthy.” It is all about positive thinking. This is a great book to read, but make sure you read it somewhere you can concentrate.

Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
I was actually given this book by someone, for free. And yet again another book that has completely changed my life and my mind and my thinking. In this book, you will learn how to identify and revise your money blueprint to dramatically increase your income and wealth. Eker puts a positive spin on stereotypes, arguing that poverty begins, or rather, is allowed to continue, in one’s imagination first, with actual material life becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. To that end, Eker counsels for admiration and against resentment, for positivity, self-promotion and thinking big and against wallowing, self-abnegation and small-mindedness. While much of the advice is self-evident, Eker’s contribution is permission to think of one’s financial foibles as a kind of mental illness one, he says, that has a ready set of cures.

These books have helped me immensely and I know that they can help you as well, if you put the reading to use as well as the exercises and suggestions all of these books make. Don’t just read the book and let it go in one ear and out the other. Really digest it, let it seep into your brain and throughout your entire body. I have seen people literally change %100 from books such as these. And if YOU want to change and want it to change your life for good, then you will really sit down and read!

Before starting a Home Business, Kristi recommends visiting this site http://www.envisionfreedom.net

Franchising has been in the Philippines for 94 years. With the entry of Singer Sewing Machine in 1910 which introduced product distributorship. Numerous companies embraced this concept as their vehicle for business expansion over the years. From 1910 to 1965, businesses staked their flags in the Philippine economy through PRODUCT DISTRIBUTORSHIP. Some of these multinationals were tire and pharmaceutical companies.

The take off was slow in the early years as the succeeding companies like A&W Restaurant known for its root beer entered in 1965. The first outlet was established on Highway 54 (now popularly and historically known as Epifanio Delo Santos Avenue or EDSA) near the Big Dome-Araneta Coliseum. The concept was a drive-thru where women food attendants garbed in mini-skirts, black stockings and in roller skates would serve customers inside the comfort of their cars. Trays clamped by the side of the door and mugs with cold refreshing root beer partnered with foot long hotdogs were served. Its set-up was exactly the same as found in the US branches during those years. What this company brought was another form of franchising, which is known as Business Format. From then onwards most entrants into the market embraced this concept, in fact, so widely used not only in the Philippines, but all worldwide.

Product Distributorship

This is a form of franchising where owners of products allow other parties to sell or distribute their products or even use their trademark as a dealer. There is minimal or no control of operations. The relationship is centered on the quality of products sold.

Business Format

A form of franchising used by 90% of companies involved in franchising. This is the reason why franchising is considered the most successful way of expansion worldwide.

In business format, the franchisor, more than his registered trademark and products, has developed a business system that is made available for use to franchisees. Compliance to the business system is the core and essential element of their contractual relationship embodied in a franchise agreement.

The first survey of franchising in the Philippines done in 1995 revealed that there were a total of 50 operating foreign franchisors at that time. The success rate of foreign franchisees is 97%. In 2003, there were 315 foreign franchisors in the country with 87% success rate.

Philippine Based (Home-Grown) Franchises

Earliest recorded homegrown company that used business format franchising was PANCAKE HOUSE. It was franchising since 1978. PANCAKE HOUSE is still active in franchising and has transferred ownership a few years back.

In 1996, there were 94 companies using franchising as their route to expansion and the number has substantially increased to 481 in 2003. The success rate is a good 90%.

Philippine Franchise Scenario

Franchising in the country evolved from the US Franchise System. There are, however, no laws that regulate franchising. Companies and franchise developers use international franchise practices as reference and as a guide to pursuing this type of business. The increasing number of homegrown companies using franchising in their expansion can be attributed to the presence and increasing number of foreign franchisors. They served as motivators and inspiration for the local entrepreneurs.

Franchising for years has been the monopoly of food sector. It was only in mid-1990’s that service and retail entrepreneurs used franchising.

There was an absence of franchise education in the country for decades. Franchise Conference and Seminars started only in the mid-90’s. Franchise Associations were also formed with the vision of professionalizing and standardizing the franchising as well as police their own ranks.

The author’s web site http://franchisephilippines.org provides information about franchising in the Philippines.