Secrets to a Successful Business Contract

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Note: This article was excerpted from Business Contracts: Turn Any Business Contract to Your Advantage, which is available from EntrepreneurPress.com.

John, the owner of a rapidly expanding limited liability company called Carpet Glow, buys his company's cleaning supplies from Acme. Acme sent a contract to Carpet Glow to cover an order for $100,000 in supplies. The contract seemed pretty simple, requiring half of the amount due on signing and the rest a month later, so John signed it. A month later Carpet Glow had not paid the remaining balance to Acme due to a cash flow problem. Acme sued John.

John went to court and argued that he couldn't be sued because he'd formed Carpet Glow as a limited liability company to protect his personal assets. The court ruled against him because of the way he signed the contract with Acme. A very simple change in the way the signature section of the Acme contract was written would've saved John from this threat to his personal assets. If you want to avoid this mistake, read on.

How a Company Name Can Be Good as Gold
Well over half of the contracts I review have the name of one of the parties wrong. I don't mean spelled wrong, although that is a basic starting point, but legally wrong. The parties' names are the most basic part of the contract and they must be:

• included in the agreement
• indicated as a party to the agreement
• spelled correctly
• legally correct

What does this mean?

Miff Company, Moff Company, and Muff Company agree to share the cost and use of a booth at a trade show. They, smartly, draft a written agreement to document this. The agreement goes as follows:

Example A: Miff Co., Moff, and Muff Company agree they'll split the cost of a booth at the Uffelhoop trade show. Each of us gets to use it.
Signed: Peter Pink, Georgia Grey, Steven Silver.

Go back to the list above. This agreement has all the parties included. It's clear that each company named is a party to the agreement. It's not necessary that you specifically state, "The parties to this agreement are ...," but the parties to the agreement should be obvious from the context. It seems like the names are spelled correctly. But are these the real names of these companies? Probably not.

Most companies have an official legal name stated on a "birth certificate." Sole proprietorships will not have birth certificates; partnerships may or may not have them; but every other type of company will. A company's birth certificate is the form filed with the state where the company was started, which states the company's name, the type of company it is, and its ownership. These forms may be called "Articles of Incorporation," "Articles of Organization," "Certificate of Limited Partnership," "Statement of Qualification," or other similar titles. The name stated on these forms, as filed with the state agency overseeing formations of companies (usually the Secretary of State or Corporation Commission) is the company's real name.

Whenever you use your company's name or the name of a company you're contracting with it should be the exact name stated on the company's birth certificate. For example, let's say Miff Company was incorporated as "Miff Company Inc. of Boston." That would be its legal name.

It's possible to have a legal name that differs from the name your company is conducting business under. For this to be legally effective, often a notice must be filed with the state where the company is doing business that indicates the real name of the company is one thing but the company is doing business under another name. These are usually called "DBA" filings, which is shorthand for "doing business as" filings. If your company is doing business under a name different from its legal name, contracts it enters into should state the legal name of your company followed by the DBA such as Miff Company Inc. of Boston DBA Harry's Pillow Shop.

Why is it important to state the legal name of the company? Because if you don't, it can be used as evidence that it wasn't the company that entered into the agreement but the individual who signed the contract. If you sign the agreement, your personal assets could be tapped to pay contract damages. Whether you're the owner of the company or an employee of a business signing a contract on behalf of that business, you probably don't intend to risk your personal assets when you sign the contract. Failing to use the company's real name could jeopardize your intentions.

Incorporated businesses must act as entities separate from the people that run them, and evidence of that is consistent use of the actual legal name of the company. This is a simple step that can save controversy in a lawsuit. Determine the correct legal name of your company and use it consistently in contracts. Is it good enough for the agreement above to state "Miff Co." if the legal name is Miff Company Inc. of Boston"? It's always best to use the exact official legal name of the company as reflected on its birth certificate. Otherwise it creates the opportunity for disputes, and the whole point of a contract is to avoid disputes and create rules for resolving controversies. Use your company's actual correct legal name consistently in contracts.

What if Peter Pink, the purchasing officer for Miff Company, drafts and signs the following contract:

Example B: Joan Miff and Miff Co., Moff, and Muff Company agree that they'll split the cost of a booth at the Uffelhoop trade show. Each of us gets to use it.
Signed: Peter Pink, Georgia Grey, Steven Silver.

By including Joan Miff in the list of parties to the agreement, the agreement may be enforceable against Joan Miff's personal assets, as well as the assets of Miff Company, Moff Company, and Muff Company. Do you think Peter Pink has a long career in purchasing at Miff Company? Draft your contracts to avoid controversies--they should state very clearly who has agreed to what. If Joan Miff doesn't intend to be personally responsible for this contract, her name shouldn't be there.

To meet the basic requirements above we'd revise this agreement as follows:

Example C: Miff Company Inc. of Boston, Moff Inc., and Muff Company LLC agree that they'll split the cost of a booth at the Uffelhoop trade show. Each of us gets to use it.
Signed: Peter Pink, Georgia Grey, Steven Silver.

When Signing a Contract Can Threaten Your Home and Savings
Refer to Example C. The signature section contains three names, presumably one name associated with each company. By signing the contract this way, a controversy lies in wait. Were these individuals signing for the companies? Or were they really signing on behalf of themselves, even if the agreement itself contains the correct legal names of the companies? Because the way they signed the agreement makes it appear they signed on behalf of themselves, the signers' personal assets could be at risk.

The purpose of signatures on contracts is to memorialize the party's agreement to what's written down. Signatures, or signature blocks as you will often see them referred to in legal discussions, should clearly indicate who's agreeing. In this case it's not Peter Pink but Peter Pink on behalf of a company.

The signature block should start with who's agreeing to the contract. If it's Miff Company of Boston, that's how the signature block should start. If it's a person, the signature block would start with that person's name. This is how the Uffelhoop contract should be drafted:

Example D: Miff Company Inc. of Boston, Moff Inc., and Muff Company LLC agree that they'll split the cost of a booth at the Uffelhoop trade show. Each of us gets to use it.
Signed:

Miff Company Inc. of Boston
____________________
Peter Pink, Purchasing Officer

Moff Inc.
____________________
Georgia Gray, Officer

Muff Company LLC
____________________
Steven Silver, Treasurer

These signature blocks start with the names of the parties agreeing to the contract, then follow with evidence of the agreement (an actual signature), and then documentation of who belongs to the signature and that person's status with the contracting party.

It's important to think this through. Who or what do you want to enforce this agreement against if there's a conflict? Is it the company? Is it the company's rich owner? I have seen the signature block used to "capture" an unknowing person or business as a party to a contract. If you want to potentially have access to the owner's personal assets in a contract dispute then draft the signature block like Example C above--it's likely the person signing won't realize the legal implications. If Peter Pink was a billionaire and had signed the agreement in Example C it's possible his personal assets could be used to satisfy a judgment issued against Miff Company resulting from a dispute over the contract. But if you're the one signing a signature block like the "Peter Pink" example and you don't want your assets to be at risk, then don't sign. If it's your intention to bind only your company's assets in the contract then make sure that the signature block is drafted to reflect that the company is the one signing the contract.

Who can bind a company to a contract? This differs according to state law, but in general if the person signing appears to have the authority to sign on behalf of the company, as evidenced by business cards, title, and other "trappings of authority" conferred by that company, the company will have to stand behind whatever is signed. If you intend only certain people in your company to be able to bind your company to a contract, then make sure that's stated on invoices, purchase orders, and other forms and contracts. It's common to see statements like, "Only the signature of the president of Moff Inc. will bind the company to an agreement. Any other signature has no binding effect."

If you're concerned the person signing a contract on behalf of the other party may not have the authority to bind the company, check to see if that company's purchase orders or other contractual agreements indicate only an officer or some other designated person can execute the agreement, or changes to the agreement. Call the owner or president of the company and ask who has the authority to bind the company. Does the person signing appear to have the authority and title you'd give someone in your company whom you would authorize to sign contracts?

You can ask that the agreement be signed by an officer of the company, if the company is a corporation, by the managing member, if the company is a limited liability company, or by the general partner if the company is a partnership. State law gives these individuals authority to bind a company. You can often determine who's designated in these capacities for the company you're dealing with by calling the state agency that regulates business entities in the state where the company was formed. Sometimes the state agency's web site has this information.

What if the business entity is a sole proprietorship or a partnership? If it's a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor must sign. In community property states, the sole proprietor's spouse may also have to sign in order to allow recovery of any damages against the community assets. You may want to consult an attorney about this. If a partnership is involved, the general partner should sign for the partnership. An example of both types of signature blocks follows:

Example E: Piff Partnership and James Elliott agree that they will split the cost of a booth at the Uffelhoop trade show. Each of us gets to use it.
Signed:

Piff Partnership
____________________
June Ellis, General Partner
____________________
James Elliott, Sole Proprietor

For more information on how to avoid common contract pitfalls, read Business Contracts: Turn Any Business Contract to Your Advantage from EntrepreneurPress.com.

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http://www.tomboytools.com/

Cindi Dugger wears pink, loves jewelry and admits to being a bit “girlie,” but she’s not afraid to fix a broken toilet, repair damaged drywall or lay tile.

Dugger, a Joplin resident, insists she’s not different from other women; she just knows what’s she’s capable of doing. Now, Dugger is taking her “can-do” attitude and her box of pink tools to other women in the area to help them realize they can do projects, too.

Dugger just celebrated her first year as a sales consultant for Tomboy Tools, which sells ergonomically designed tools marketed to women. Tomboy Tools was started in 2000 by three friends in Denver, Colo. The company has grown to more than 1,000 sales consultants across the United States and Canada.

The tools, made for a woman’s hands, are smaller than the standard varieties, Dugger said. The idea is to get tools in women’s hands that they will actually use and that make sense to them. Some of the company’s tools feature a tape measure with measurements of every one-eighth inch labeled, a lightweight compressor that can be picked up with one hand, and a utility knife with an easy-turning adjuster, so no screwdriver is needed to change the blade.

Tomboy Tools is based around home party sales that Dugger said allow her to not only get the tools into women’s hands, but also to teach some basic home repair lessons.

“I bring in a miniature toilet display, and I can teach them about basic plumbing,” Dugger said. “We can show basic drywall repair, and I’ve even done some simple upholstery. It’s very empowering for women to learn how to do that. They pick up the tools and say, ‘I can do this.’”

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How to Sell Your Book, CD, or DVD on Amazon

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For several years I've been producing books, CDS, and DVD in small quantities for small audiences. Micro-publishing. Or to use the apt phrase of Chris Anderson at Wired: mining the Long Tail, a place where the little that sells a lot is equaled by a lot that sells a little.

I've had numerous requests from readers for the secrets of getting their self-published material on Amazon. It's no secret, but here is what I have learned in the last few years about how to get your book, CD or DVD listed on Amazon.

First, why? I began listing self-published material on Amazon because I wanted a way to reach the wider public with my stuff but I did not want to have to deal with shipping out copies to each customer who ordered on my website. For a small-timer like me, mailing out, and keeping track of onesies and twosies is very disruptive for my day job. By having my stuff on Amazon, Amazon's mighty enterprise became my shipper (they are very good at this), so the only place I have to ship my copies to is to their warehouse.

More importantly, as popular as my website may or may not be, it doesn't compare to the traffic headed to Amazon to search for books and DVDs. By having my stuff pop up among the big publisher's offerings for "similar books" or even in reader's lists and guides, my titles gain a greater chance to be seen and ordered. In a certain way, unless your stuff is available on Amazon, it ain't available. In fact for better or worse, the only way you can purchase my books is via Amazon. As a side benefit, by focusing all my sales via Amazon, tiny advances in sales are magnified by Amazon's sales rank, which garner it more attention, more links via recommendations, which increases sales in the hoped for virtuous circle.

The cost of using Amazon is high. They take 55% of the "official" price (not the sale price but the price you originally determine). That means that even if they discount the book (good for sales), the discount is coming out of their half. But it means you are only getting 45% of your listed price. In addition you pay for shipping books there, and of course for printing them, so the math does not encourage fortune making. Most self-published books are in the "long tail" zone, selling only a few copies per month. I've done better, selling several thousand copies over a couple of years, but still: This is not a way to make money; this is a way to distribute your message.

In 8 easy steps, here is how to get your book, CD, or DVD listed on the long tail of Amazon:

1 Get an ISBN (for a book), or a UPC (for a CD or DVD). For one book it costs $125, for one CD, $55, for one DVD, $89.
2 Get a bar code based on the ISBN or UPC. Costs $10, or may be included in UPC.
3 Sign up with Amazon, $30 per year.
4 Duplicate your stuff; include the bar code on the outside.
5 Ship two copies to Amazon
6 Send cover scan
7 Track sales
8 Resgister it (optional)

-- KK (with Michele McGinnis)

The full details, with how-to tips and links to recommended sources, are as follows.

1 GET AN ISBN/UPC NUMBER
Every item sold needs a unique number. In the book world, that is the ISBN (International Standard Book Number). In the rest of media, it is a UPC (Uniform Product Code). The most expensive and aggravating step of getting a book onto Amazon is acquiring an ISBN or UPC, a procedure outside of Amazon’s control. For self-publishers this is where the hassles are.

For Books:
Bowker, the big Books-in-Print broker, is the official agency in the US that assigns an ISBN to your book title. Every book (in fact every version of a book) has its own number. On its webpage Bowker requires you to purchase a minimum block of 10 ISBNs for $245; sign up here. That’s about $25 per number; but then you’re likely to have 9 numbers too many, unless you are sure you’ll want to do more than one book. Nowhere does Bowker advertise that you CAN get only one ISBN from them for $125. They seem to make this as difficult as possible. You have to call this Bowker number (877-310-7333; select option #4 in the voicemail) and ask them to fax you an application to apply for one ISBN number. (No, the form is not on their website.) After you mail them a check they will send you a number that contains the code for a blank shared generic publisher. But since I knew I was doing more than one book I bought a block of ten.

For DVDs:
The official way to get a UPC is to become a member of the UCC (Uniform Code Council). You register online as a company here, and they issue you a company number which then becomes part of your UPC codes. The minimum membership fee is $750 for a block of 100 codes, plus an annual renewal of $150. This is obviously unacceptable for most self-publishers, so there is a gray market alternative. You can buy a UPC code from a reseller. Subdivisions caters to small-time entrepreneurs, inventors, artists and musicians. You can purchase a UPC for $35 (after a one-time $75 registration fee). This is a great bargain; for your $35 you get emailed a TIFF of the actual bar code, so you can skip Step 2. If you are truly trying to minimize your initial expenses and you are sure you will need only one UPC you can purchase one (with bar code image delivered) for $89 from Rovix.

A friend recently told me about this deal, which I have not tried. If you use Discmakers to duplicate your DVD, they’ll give you a free UPC bar code. Their prices for duplication are hard to beat.

For CDs:
You’ll need the same UPC for a CD and you can purchase one from Rovix or Subdivisions. But there is a cheaper alternative for music CDs, one with added advantages. For $35 you can sign up your CD on CD Baby, which is sort of an online record store. They will list your CD on their marketplace and for another $20 give you a UPC and bar code. Here’s how. CD Baby’s marketplace in non-exclusive, so you can also sell your CD on Amazon as well. So for $55 you get a UPC, a bar code, registration on Soundscan (see Step 8), and exposure on CD Baby. For additional fees they will also produce, duplicate and package your CD (or DVD) from your files in a one-stop shop. I’ve not used those services, but we did use CD Baby to get one UPC/bar code for a CD selling on Amazon.

One reader suggested an even cheaper source for a single UPC/bar code: the Indie Artist Alliance will sell you one for $10. Sign up here.

That’s the gnarly part. The rest of getting on Amazon is easy. If you are doing a book, proceed to Step 2. If you are doing a DVD or CD skip to Step 3.

2 GET A BAR CODE
Once you have your ISBN, you'll need a scannable bar code of it that has to appear on the item. The bar code must match the item’s UPC or ISBN number. There is software for generating your own codes. Or you can purchase bar codes for books from Bowker (for $25 per bar code) at the same time that you are applying for ISBNs. Other sources are cheaper – and the bar code identical. For the occasional code we need we use a company called Bar Code Graphics; they’ll generate bar codes from both ISBN and UPC. Its easy and cheap -- $10 per code. Within a couple of minutes of ordering online you’ll receive, via email, the bar code as an attached file (in ESP, the standard postscript format) which can then be pasted into your cover artwork. (If you use the UPC resellers mentioned above, they will mail you a design-ready bar code.)

Your book or CD may already be printed. In that case you can affix bar codes printed on labels and then paste them on the back cover. This works fine. The same vendors selling bar codes will also sell a roll of bar code labels.

3 DUPLICATE YOUR STUFF
The no-brainer part of publishing these days is getting your book, video or CD printed in small quantities. There are a lot of outfits that will duplicate as few as 10 copies, and some that will even duplicate physical copies on demand of one. I’ve gotten as few as 15 DVDs made for about $4 a piece, with printed labels. Prices can drop to as low as $2 a disc for 50. There are a zillion places to duplicate discs in small quantities. Try Discmakers. For short run DVDs I’ve used MidSouth Duplication (they cater to Nashville) with happiness. For how-to print small runs of books (as cheap as $2.50 per book) see my advice here.

4 APPLY TO AMAZON
With an ISBN or UPC in hand, you can apply to the Amazon Advantage Program. It cost $30 per year to join the program. The sign up page also lists the requirements for CD and DVD packaging. You’ll need to know what bank account your sales money should be deposited in. Amazon must first approve your title, before you send them any books. According to Amazon, the approval process for new titles can take several weeks, but in my experience it only takes a week.

5 MAIL BOOKS TO AMAZON
Once your book is approved, you'll receive your first order from Amazon, via email, usually for two copies. You confirm your order, via the Advantage website, and ship them off to Amazon. (Until they get them in their system, Amazon advertises the books as “available in 2 weeks.”) Make sure you package your shipment to minimize rough handling. On a couple of occasions Amazon has returned books to us for the slightest of dings. We used to send books out in bubble wrap envelopes, but now I box them. As copies sell, Amazon will send you orders to replenish its stock. To keep their stock low, Amazon may have you ship them one or two books out at a time unless your book is a popular seller. If there is a sudden rise in sales, Amazon may request larger quantities each time. Amazon has begun to institute sophisticated algorithms to anticipate how long it will take you to fill an order, how often they should order from you, and whether you have seasonal spiky sales, etc. We found it is in our best interest to fulfill orders from them quickly.

6 SEND COVER SCAN
To get the cover of your book shown on Amazon, you can either have them scan the book, or you can ftp the cover art to Amazon. Having them do it takes a few weeks but in our experience it is more reliable than their FTP service. (If there is a problem with your image, Amazon won't put it up but they are unable to tell you what’s wrong with it. Amazon claims it will institute a new fail-proof way to upload in the spring of 2005).

7 TRACK YOUR SALES
Each month, you'll get an email statement from Amazon summarizing how many books were sold and how much money was deposited in your bank account. You can access this report on the web too. I think you can have Amazon mail you a check instead of direct deposit, but there is an additional charge for this.

As an Advantage member, you can choose to participate in Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" program. If you desire, the entire contents of your book will be scanned and made searchable via Amazon's search engine. I have not done this yet, in part because my text books are all available in full text online and my image books are not searchable, but it’s a great idea for most books. Others I know who have done this have claimed increased sales. It’s perfect for books with technical terms that may not show up in a title. The service is free; you only need to mail them one book, which they will scan. More information is available from the Advantage site.

8 REGISTER IT
This is an optional step, but since it’s free, why not? As a courtesy, Bowker allows you to register your book in its mega directory "Books in Print." This is the master list of all books available anywhere, which bookstores and libraries use. This is not an automatic listing that happens when you apply for an ISBN, so you'll have to go to Bowker directly to register each of your titles. The slight downside to this inclusion is that you may be approached by libraries and bookstores about purchasing your title directly. If you are into that, good. I’m not, so I send these direct queries to Amazon.

Tracking the charts is a big thing in music. In order to be tracked by Billboard or any other monitor your music CD or music video DVD must be registered with SoundScan. Registration is free.

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Growing companies trying to figure out how to make a splash in the marketplace sometimes pay consultants thousands of dollars for advice on the subject. And they get suggestions that will cost them even more.

But if you're clever and ambitious, there are plenty of ways to get noticed without spending a bundle. If you haven't tried these seven "guerrilla marketing" ideas, you're not really trying:

1. Press Releases. Write and distribute press releases that are newsworthy, and send them to newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations. If only one media outlet airs the story, you'll have free access to thousands of people. Design the headline to grab readers' attention in as few words as possible. Use active verbs. Get to the point quickly, with a lead sentence that will draw the reader into a convincing piece.
2. Trade Shows. Renting space at a trade show can be expensive, but the best shows are a great way to build your business. Have plenty of promotional materials ready to hand out to interested people. When the show's over, follow up. Call your leads in order of importance, but get in touch with all of them within seven days. Above all, keep every promise made at the booth.
3. The Internet. Establishing a home page for your business is relatively inexpensive and can reach many people. Use newsgroups that focus on areas similar to your line of business to draw attention to the site. Always include a phone number or email address so that interested visitors can contact you. If you are a retailer, consider putting photographs of your products online, even if you're not ready to let people to order your wares over the Internet.
Advertising on Google and other search engines can be an easy and surprisingly inexpensive way to drive a lot of potential buyers to your ecommerce Web site. Read the AllBusiness.com Buyer's Guide The Scoop on Search Engine Marketing to learn how it works and follow a step-by-step guide to getting started.
4. Direct Mail. Direct mail results depend largely upon how much you're willing to spend on finding your target market and delivering quality materials to them. The per-customer cost is much higher than you'll pay for print ads, but if you create a finely tuned list of recipients, you will reach more highly qualified prospects. Few small firms are qualified to do their own direct mailings, so find a reliable specialist to do the work for you. Interview at least three or four mailing list vendors before you commit your money to a direct mail campaign.
5. Yellow Pages. Most ads get turned into fishwrap within days, but consumers hang onto the yellow pages all year. Remember to cross-reference your listing. If you do yard work, for instance, list your business under landscaping, maintenance, and home improvements. You want your ad to stand out, so consider springing for a larger ad or perhaps even hiring someone to design it.
6. Public Service. This is a great chance to do well by doing good. Sponsor the Special Olympics or participate in the annual Rotary Club Christmas Tree sale in your area. Donate your product to local charities or speak to students at area schools about your business. All of these are terrific ways to position your company in a positive light in your community.
7. Games and Premiums. Periodic prize drawings can help create interest in a retail store or other business. Promotional materials like T-shirts, coffee mugs, or pens emblazoned with your logo also help spread the word.

Find more advice on Direct Marketing and Market Research at AllBusiness.com. AllBusiness provides practical information and services for business professionals and growing businesses.

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http://nruniversity.com/

(FSB) Scottsdale -- Several months ago Silvia Cuevas took stock of her life, and it was a profoundly unsettling experience. At 40 she had a solid job with a modest salary at the public library in Santa Ana, Calif. She'd carefully squirreled away some savings and bought herself a little house.

She was financially secure - and utterly dissatisfied. All around her, Santa Ana throbbed with the feverish energy of recent immigrants eager to cash in on the promises of America. A short drive from Disneyland, Santa Ana boasts one of the highest concentrations of Latinos of any city in the U.S., and these days it is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. Cuevas, though, felt as conservative, meek, and, well, dull as a church mouse in Vegas. "I was going nowhere," she recalls. "How was I going to find my fortune?" Then a girlfriend introduced her to Nouveau Riche University.

Not exactly a university, Nouveau Riche offers real estate investment classes -and a host of related products and services - to would-be tycoons. In April, Cuevas plunked down tuition of $16,000 and attended a weeklong program in Phoenix. Two weeks later, emboldened by her instructors and an advisor assigned by the university, she refinanced her home, taking out $200,000 - a large share of her equity.

She used the money for down payments to buy - sight unseen in one case - three investment properties through a real estate agency controlled by Nouveau Riche. By midsummer Cuevas' portfolio of investments had grown to include a condo in Colorado, three acres of undeveloped land in the Smoky Mountains, and a three-bedroom house in San Antonio. Her debt load has grown too, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans she took out on the properties, but she doesn't worry.

"I learned how to be bold at Nouveau Riche," Cuevas says. "They're the market experts, so I trust them to help me buy. I can't wait to make my next purchase!"

That's the kind of rah-rah spirit visitors encounter at Nouveau Riche (nruniversity.com), where the lectures are more like pep rallies, the tests are sometimes self-graded, and the homework is optional. Nouveau Riche has reason to cheer too. Co-founder and CEO Jim Piccolo claims that revenues will top $80 million in 2007, up tenfold since 2005, when the company was founded and the real estate market peaked. Piccolo makes money not only from tuitions but also from commissions on the properties his students buy and from the fees he charges for accounting, finance, and property-management services.

Remarkably, Nouveau Riche is able to attract huge crowds (a recent class in Phoenix lured 2,479 students) in a market that is declining rapidly. The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home price index (homeprice.standard-andpoors.com) shows that nationally prices fell 2.7% in the first quarter, more than in any quarter since 1990. In a late July conference call with analysts, Countrywide CEO Angelo R. Mozilo, who runs the nation's largest mortgage firm, said home prices were falling "almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression." That's not all. PMI Mortgage Insurance (pmigroup.com), a financial firm that tracks the market, predicts two more years of decline across much of the U.S.

Given those grim stats, why would anyone want to invest in real estate? Nouveau Riche borrows heavily from the investment philosophy popularized over the past several years by real estate guru Robert Kiyosaki, who wrote the bestselling advice book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Like Kiyosaki, Nouveau Riche teaches that working for a salary is a fool's game; the road to riches requires leveraging debt to amass a portfolio of income-generating properties. Yet investing in rental properties, like all entrepreneurial endeavors, is hard work. A successful landlord has to know the market, maintain his properties, and retain paying tenants.

That doesn't seem to bother Nouveau Riche students, many of whom have seen their neighbors get rich flipping houses or renting them out during the boom. Judging from the callused hands and well-worn work boots spotted at a recent Nouveau Riche event, it attracts a blue-collar crowd for whom the promise of riches from real estate rings true at a gut level that stocks and bonds don't reach. "I know I'm not going to get wealthy working for the fire department," says Hector Magallanes, a firefighter from Los Angeles. "I'm working up the courage to take the risks I need to take to be financially independent."

Nouveau Riche makes it easy for would-be tycoons to get started. "We learned through our research that most students of real estate seminars never actually buy any property because they don't have the tools to take that first step," Piccolo says, "so we are offering them all the tools they need to build their portfolios."

At a recent seminar at a Hilton in Phoenix, Fix 'n Flip - a daylong course in the art of the fixer-upper - was standing room only. So was Creative Financing, in which students learned how to tap their retirement savings and their home equity for money to invest. Between classes, throngs of students flocked to the lobby to booths featuring affiliates of Nouveau Riche. Save Our Scores (or SOS, as it is called) helps high-risk borrowers boost low credit scores so that they can borrow more money at lower rates. (Fees range from $600 to $1,200.) Investor Concierge, the real estate brokerage firm owned by Piccolo and his associates, helps students buy houses and condos, arranges financing, then provides management services for their far-flung properties. (The firm's slogan: "Click a mouse, buy a house.") Meanwhile, the Nouveau Riche University Store did a brisk business in polo shirts, plus jackets with the college logo, a stylized eagle.

These days alumni groups are springing up in Atlanta, Boise, Tacoma, and other cities. What's on the agenda at their meetings? "We boast about our portfolios," Heather Echevarria, 29, of Boise, says. "We shop deals too." Echevarria and her husband, Ben, specialize in pre-foreclosure properties - that is, buying houses from cash-strapped owners who can no longer afford to pay their mortgages. Typically, she says, they buy houses for half their appraised value. Last year, the pair claim, they bought-and quickly resold for a profit - 75 homes in Idaho and Nevada.

But will other graduates of Nouveau Riche do as well? What happens if interest rates rise and the monthly payments on a variable-rate loan soar, or a tenant leaves? Will the investor be able to sell at a profit in a market where home prices are falling? Casey Serin, a 24-year-old programmer from Sacramento, had already invested in property (although not through Nouveau Riche) before he enrolled in one of its classes last year. "What they teach there is dangerous," he says. "They're selling you on getting rich fast-and that's a risky game to play."

Piccolo retorts, "There is no better time to buy, because real estate is on sale. You can never go wrong with real estate in the U.S. of A." He admits, though, that he has not bought any property lately.

Raised in Nebraska, Piccolo says he was a poor student, interested more in sports and cars than his classes. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1984, he moved to Phoenix and worked in the car detailing and design business. In 1990, Piccolo says, medical bills forced him to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and list debts of $650,539. Piccolo ran into more trouble a year later when he pleaded guilty to the theft of his girlfriend's new Mercedes-Benz. Although he denies responsibility now, Piccolo admitted to the court that he had dumped the car in the desert so that his girlfriend could collect an insurance claim of about $24,000; Piccolo said she'd complained that the car was a lemon. "I couldn't bear to see her hurt," he told the court. After three years probation, his felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Not long afterward Piccolo discovered real estate. By the mid-1990s he had stumbled on the idea of consolidating investment seminars, offering students the opportunity to hear several gurus speak on various techniques. Out of that grew Nouveau Riche, which he and a co-founder, Bob Snyder, launched in 2005.

At 45, Snyder is a veteran of the multilevel-marketing business. "I'm good at building teams," he says, and indeed, he has been teaching salespeople for more than two decades, after being trained by Amway (amway.com), the global leader in multilevel marketing, in which sales reps are paid not only for selling products but also for recruiting more reps. To date, he has signed up 1,300 sales reps for Nouveau Riche. Working out of their homes, they sell two products: a 15-volume encyclopedia on real estate investing for $3,500 and tuition to the "college" for $16,000. The first five tuition sales don't yield a commission, but on subsequent ones the sellers get a 50% cut, or $8,000.

How does the company attract customers? It offers free one- or two-day intro classes. According to Andrew Yurasek, an independent regional advisor for Nouveau Riche, at a recent event in Shaumburg, Ill., the company rented Lamborghinis and Ferraris for six of its sales reps for the night so they could roar up to the hotel just as prospective students were filing into the Hyatt. "We want to generate some excitement," says Yurasek. Among the reps, he adds, were an architect, a housepainter, and an office worker, none of whom have a real estate portfolio. About 10% of those who come to the free classes buy the home-study materials or spring for the tuition.

As chancellor of Nouveau Riche, Piccolo doesn't teach any classes, but he is a regular on stage on the university's awards night, working the crowd of star-struck students eager to pose for a quick photo with him. At 50, he has the tanned good looks and boyish charm of actor Dennis Quaid, whom he resembles.

These days Piccolo is living large - and proud of it. "Only in America," he says, "can a guy who barely made it through college end up owning a college." He and his wife, Mary, own three homes, including a ten-acre ranch with a 22,000-square-foot house and a pool in North Scottsdale. Still a car buff, he boasts a collection that includes a Ferrari 360 Spider, a Lamborghini Diablo, and a Bentley GT convertible. He also travels in a Falcon 200 company jet. For their seventh wedding anniversary he surprised his wife with a cherry-red grand piano signed by Elton John. Cost: $100,000. Piccolo says he and his wife also own investment properties in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah; Mary Piccolo manages the portfolio. Piccolo estimates its total value at $20 million.

Investor Concierge, Nouveau Riche's brokerage arm, typically sells students about 100 properties a month, most ranging in price from $100,000 to $200,000, says the firm's president, Craig Cottrell, 39. To date, Investor Concierge has racked up property sales on 1,100 units, most of them in Georgia, Michigan, and Texas. Over two recent weekends the firm moved 60 condo units in a complex in Fenton, Mich., a blue-collar town 15 miles south of Flint, at prices ranging from $60,000 to $67,500.

The way Investor Concierge structured the deal in its prospectus, the buyers put 10% down, borrowing the rest using an interest-only loan. Trouble is, the rents on the condos won't cover the total cost of owning them. No problem. Investor Concierge explains that it has arranged for the seller of the condo complex to subsidize the rent for as long as two years at above-market rates. The seller will also pay all the management fees and real estate taxes for two years. As a result the investors should be $145-a-month cash-flow positive. But what happens when the subsidies expire, and the buyer discovers he is losing money every month? Will he be able to unload his property or command a higher rent?

The way the Michigan real estate market is headed, it might not be so easy. According to Judy Brant, a broker in Fenton for more than 20 years with Coldwell Banker, the inventory of homes in Genesee County, which includes Fenton, averaged 2,000 units in 2005. Today it is 8,000, up 300%. When Brant heard that Nouveau Riche students had bought 60 condo units in her town - sight unseen - she said, "I'm speechless. The housing market here is tied to the auto industry, and prices are falling faster than you can imagine: 10% last year and another 10% this year. Who knows when it will reach rock bottom? As far as rental properties, it's hard to rent anything here now. Houses and apartments sit empty all over town. People are leaving because there are no jobs here. We're really suffering."

Despite these risky deals, Nouveau Riche's enrollment keeps booming and Piccolo's pockets keep filling, which lets him plan big for the future. The company bought 24 acres on top of a black-lava mountain north of Phoenix. In 2008, Piccolo intends to break ground on a new campus with modern steel and glass classrooms and four luxury dorms, each with its own pool and barbecue pit. The pools will be linked by a man-made river; students will be able to float from dorm to dorm, riding the river on inner tubes. "It'll be very theme-y," he says. "We're going to build a Disneyworld for investors and entrepreneurs."

[Via - CNNMoney.Com] 

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During the course of doing business, there will come a time when you need to meet with customers, employees, partners or advisors but don't have the time or resources to meet with them face to face.

Your schedule is already jam packed—do you really have time for a meeting with your sales rep in Nebraska? Or time to stop in on a client in Boston? What about meeting with a potential partner or investor from Seattle who needs to talk with you in the next week? And that doesn't even take into account your routine business operations and the day-to-day aspects of working with your customers and employees.

So what's a smart business owner to do? Here's one solution: Consider setting up your office (mobile or otherwise) for remote online meetings. Although online meetings may never take the place of a firm handshake and face-to-face eye contact, they're a good substitute, especially if you and the other party are technically and psychologically ready for it.

Two weeks ago, I lead an online meeting about e-mail marketing. I was near New York City, the moderator was in Australia, and the participants, about 15 of them, were scattered throughout the United States. With the service we were using, they were able to see the presentation (and whatever else I put on the screen), use instant messaging to chat with me, and use their computer’s microphone, if they had one, to talk to me--and I could talk back. For all of us involved, it was a very productive time.

Getting Started
Before considering any of the available options, the key is to make sure you have a fast internet connection. If your connection is slow or frequently drops, your online meeting experience won’t be that good.

There are many companies that provide online meeting services (also known as web conferencing), and they all work in a similar fashion. After choosing a vendor, you sign up for the service online, then download the web conferencing software. This software will enable you to manage the entire meeting, see who’s online and manage polling, and provides other features that vary depending on the service used, such as allowing you to have audio or video conversations with your participants. You’ll also be able to share your desktop and applications with meeting participants so you can conduct demonstrations, show presentations, conduct sales or product training sessions and more.

The number of people you choose to have in your audience depends entirely on your budget. You should expect to pay $100 and up for five to 10 users. (Your participants pay nothing to view your web conference.) Prices vary considerably from service to service, so if price is a concern for you, be sure to shop around.

In order to verbally communicate with your conference participants, you have two options, depending on the online meeting service provider you've selected. Participants can either dial in to a telephone conference number or be connected via the internet. If they're dialing in, they'll have to pay toll charges, or you'll be paying per-minute charges if you decide to use a toll-free number. Connecting through the internet will either be free or very low cost.

If you want to enable video, you’ll have to have a "web cam" that connects to your computer. Fortunately, these are relatively inexpensive, running as little as $50 you’re your local computer or technology retailer.

You’ll never know the benefit and value of something until you try it. Since most web conferencing services offer a free trial, there’s no excuse not to test it out by conducting a web conference with one or two of your employees. Then, once you're familiar with it, consider using it for real. And the next time you think about declining a meeting half way cross town or half way round the world because of a tight schedule or budget, don't: You now have another option.

Ramon Ray is Entrepreneur.com's "Tech Basics" columnist and editor of Smallbiztechnology.com. He's the author ofTechnology Solutions for Growing Businesses and currently serves on the board of directors and the technology committee for the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

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Internet marketing involves more than getting traffic to your site. Sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest impact. The following five actions you can take to improve your Internet marketing and Web site are simple and often over looked when creating or marketing a site.

1) Create a unique 404 error page.

What is a 404 error page? It's the page you see when someone clicks on a broken link or a page that has been renamed. When that happens the site visitor will see a standard page that simply tells you the page is no longer available. It has no thrills, no other links, no branding and above all, very little helpful information.

The page usually starts off with these words:

The page cannot be found.
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Your unique 404 error page should look like a regular page of your site. It should include your site's header, footer and navigation bar so that the site visitor can easily click on another area of your site. The content of this unique 404 error page should contain text explaining that the page selected is no longer available along with contact information so the site visitor has the option of emailing or calling your company.

An example of our 404 error page can be found at: http://www.eplusm.com/404.html.

2) We value your privacy.

This simple four word sentence can have a tremendous effect on your email or form conversion ratios. Be sure to have the sentence, or at least the word "privacy" linked to your privacy statement.

Use this sentence next to any email form on your site or on your contact page. Clearly and simply stating your privacy policy assures the site visitor that you will not sell, give or trade their email or personal information to a third party.

While a privacy page is standard practice for most professional site builders, lawyers usually have their hand in writing a company's privacy policy. That results in having the privacy policy looking like a long legal document.

Using the simple sentence with a link to the privacy policy gives the site visitor assurance that you care about their privacy without having a long explanation.

3) We vs You.

Re-read your home page copy and make sure it is customer focused text. Customer focused text is text that focuses on the customer and not YOU. When you re-read your home page content see how often you use the term "we, us, or our" rather than "You". If your text reads something like: "We offer bla, bla, bla," or "Our services includes, bla, bla, bla," then it is focusing on you rather than the customer.

4) Email Signatures.

Create standard email signatures for ALL your employees. Anyone that uses the Internet in your company should have a company standard email signature.

What's an email signature? Did you ever notice that at the end of some emails you will see not only the email creator's name, but their phone number, fax, number, company name, logo, Web site address, etc. It's amazing how easy this is to do and how many companies simply over look it. Or they let everyone do their own thing.

Having the company's contact and Web site information makes it easy for the recipient to contact you or visit your site. Making it standard email signature improves your overall branding strategy.

5) Call to Action.

A call to action is a statement that asks the site visitor to do something. Two of the biggest mistakes made on a Website is not using call to actions or using the wrong call to actions.

You have probably been on sites that do not give you a clue as to what to do next. They have text and links but nothing that tells you to learn more, buy, compare, read, or call now. Look over your site and see what call to actions are on your site. Try to view it as a first time visitor and create a scenario or action you want your site visitor to take.

The most common and most boring call to action is "Click Here". Sometimes it's unavoidable or it's the only phrase that makes sense, but consider using other statements. Instead of "Click here" use words like learn, save, read, compare, etc.

Call to actions are usually linked to another page on your site. This is a great opportunity to use a keyword in a link on your site, which helps with search engine optimization. Use the keyword in the link for your call to action.

These five suggestion are basically simple things to do that can help improve your site overall. They are often over looked but can prove to have a tremendous effect on your site.

For one of our client's Web sites we suggested item number 2, adding "We value your privacy" just above their email form. The sentence was linked to their privacy policy. The link was hardly used, but having that simple statement was all that was needed. The added statement increased their form's conversion ratio by over 250%.

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About the Author: Patricia Hughes is founder of ePlus Marketing and has over 11 years experience in Internet marketing and over 20 years experience in marketing. To receive the ePlus Marketing monthly newsletters and BLOG - both packed with additional Internet marketing tips and suggestions - visit our site as http://www.eplusm.com.

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When I joined my first London ad agency 40-something years ago, the copywriting department was presided over by a lapsed genius who beat into me a number of immutable copy principles. These precepts, which are as valid now as they were then and which have helped me shift truckloads of product worldwide, apply to all types of promotional writing. They apply even more so to selling on the Internet, where do-it-yourself copy is the norm rather than the exception. In the old days, very few serious advertisers wrote their own material. Today, they do so as a matter of course simply because the technology allows it.

Anyway, this little article is aimed at those who write their own web pages and also at those who hire a writer and may wish to check that he or she is working on the right lines. Below you'll find just a few principles of good promotional writing. If the editor wants more, I'll gladly provide them.

Keep it very simple

All copywriting should speak to its audience in everyday, uncomplicated language. People don't like to be talked down to. And they grow tired of clich's and buzzwords. Also, keep your sentences short and punchy, with the minimum of clauses. Long and involved sentence structure is death to readership. (The six sentences above are examples of what I'm talking about. They are easy to scan and understand.)

All web pages should carry a headline

But this must be a pertinent headline. A selling headline. This headline will be, or should be, powerful enough or intriguing enough to draw your target into the compass of the body copy. If it can do that, you are on a winner.

It may go without saying that the entire thrust of your webpage should revolve around an offer or a promise. This offer or promise will be unique to you - it's your unique sales proposition. It's the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors; and it can be price, performance or service related. Given this, the headline should be a snapshot of the sales message - a pr'cis of your offer or promise. In other words, a headline that says: Buy this product and get this benefit. I'm sure you already know that people don't buy products, they buy the benefits of owning those products.

And when I say that every page of your site should carry a headline, I mean every page. Experience shows that a person will read a headline before looking at any accompanying pic or body copy. They do so preparatory to scooting off to someone else's site. But if your on-going headlines tell them things of interest, they will almost certainly hang around to explore the site more fully.

Keep headlines relevant

Around 30% of all headlines on the Net are both useless and irrelevant. The worst of them are so convoluted, so desperate to say everything all at once, that they are unintelligible. The offending lines also employ tired buzzwords. The word leverage, for instance, in completely ungrammatical context; and words like solutions and focus are thrown around like generous confetti. The moral is this. State your sales proposition cleverly, wittily, stridently or emotively, but never, ever employ a clich device simply because it's the easy thing to do. If you can't be original, at least be positive. And if you honestly don't have very much to say, there are some really clever ways of saying nothing that will endear you to your audience.

Emphasise the benefit

Copy should be more than just a description of your product. All body copy should make some kind of selling proposition. If it doesn't, it isn't advertising - it's an announcement. So many writers these days fail to understand that copy is nothing more than salesmanship in print. They describe every conceivable facet of their product, what it does, how it does it and why it does it, without once producing a decent argument for buying the damned thing! They lose sight of the fact that they should be trying to sell something.

Thus, copy must use the psychology of the salesman; and it must say, right up front: Here's what's in it for you. Nobody ever went broke promoting the benefits of owning their product.

Raising value

All copywriting should be geared to fulfilling one very important task. And this is to raise the value of your product or service in the potential customer's mind. This has nothing to do with a policy of low pricing or, indeed, cut-price offers. But it has everything to do with making a sales pitch that immediately demonstrates the outstanding value of your goods and services - no matter how much you are charging for them.

Look at it this way, a gallon of petrol costs around 5, but if your car runs out of gas on a lonely, rain-swept moor in the middle of the night, with the prospect of a 30-mile walk to the nearest filling station, how much would you pay for a gallon of petrol from a passing stranger? 10? 20? 50? It all depends on how badly you need it and how the circumstances have raised its value to you.

Raising value isn't difficult to do when people are in the market for your product. They come to you with certain preconceived notions, they are excited about owning whatever it is you make, they can already picture themselves using it, they want it now. All you have to do is exploit their desire. Bear in mind that advertising doesn't create desire, desire creates advertising.

Say it, then say it again

It has been scientifically proven that most of us take in only around 40% of what we actually see. Our brains edit out the other 60% of visual information as unimportant. On these grounds, if you have a serious proposition to make in your website it would be wise to repeat it. And not just once, but several times.

Just because you are deeply immersed in your offer or promise, it doesn't follow that your market will be likewise informed after only one reading. Websites are the most negligently read materials on the planet. Aside from you, nobody has any real or abiding interest in them. Always remember that you are preaching to the indifferent.

Resist the urge to talk about yourself

A lot of website writers seem compelled to talk about themselves. They talk about their business, when it was founded, why it was founded and by whom. Not content with this, they tell us all about their employees one by one; about the size and location of their offices or plant; and about the lengths they go to in order to satisfy their customers.

A little of this sort of thing goes a long way, but a lot of it goes right over people's heads. And they lose more customers than they gain with such naval-gazing.

The simple truth is that nobody gives a damn about other people's achievements. All most of us are interested in are our own achievements. Good enough reason, then, when writing your next website is to talk more about your potential customers and what you can do for them, than about yourself. Six-to-four, you?ll get a bigger response.

If this has been helpful, maybe you'll let me know.

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About the Author: Pat Quinn is an award-winning UK copywriter who also operates a search engine optimisation service. Because it's all in the writing! Here: http://www.search-engine-mechanics.co.uk.

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http://www.viza.com

At the age of just 13, Dominic McVey exploded into the public’s consciousness when he started importing collapsible scooters from the USA, making him a reported ?5 million. Now 19, McVey has sought to find other lucrative niches in the market, with varying success. Here the outspoken entrepreneur talks about his astonishing rise, his views on UK business and his plans for the future.

How did you first come up with the idea for importing the scooters?

I had been looking round the internet and was looking for the credit card website Visa, but I spelt it wrong – Viza, and I came across this website which was manufacturing scooters and I really wanted one. But I couldn’t afford one, and neither could my parents, so I emailed them and said “I think you should send me a scooter, I would sell loads over here.”

They said no, but if you buy five, we’ll give you one free. So as I really wanted one for free, I saved up to buy five, which I did by organising under-18s discos, buying stocks and shares and selling mini disc players in Japan.

So I got five over, and got one for free, which I was really happy with, but then I thought I should sell the other five, which I did within a week, to family and friends. The next week I sold 10, and it just went on from there.

I never really saw the potential until the product landed on my doorstep, and I guess I had to move on it. A lot of people say it was luck, but if you look at football teams they can score a goal one week, but they are not going to score goals every week if they’re bottom of the Premier League.

I looked at in a very childish and naive way, which is probably the best way to do so at the time because you weren’t bombarded with stress and issues and problems.

I was very, very competitive. I guess I was very mouthy about other products out there, but all the others out there were crap and expensive. The press really liked me and everyone liked the product, so that really helped.

You’re quoted as saying you weren’t very keen on the scooters, but you saw the business potential in selling them, which must be quite unusual for someone quite young?

After a week, I guess I was bored of the product. What really shone to me was that I could see everyone in London going to work on one, everyone needs one in the boot of the car if they got stuck in traffic, I really drove that message home.

I used to go up to Liverpool Street station and get chased around by the security for handing out flyers, I’d shoot of on my scooter in my lunch break from school. I sold to a lot of city executives as toys, but people began to commute on them, which caused a bit of a fuss with road safety people.

Did you find your age was a problem in terms of being taken seriously?

I blagged it a lot – a lot of the business I did was over the phone or on the internet. I was very good with computers at the time and had friends who were great with IT, so I had great presentations.

Whenever I did meet companies, even if I thought I couldn’t get any business out of them, I asked them a million and one questions about how they did business. They loved telling me because they felt like the other brother telling the kid what to do.
The added advantage is that the money you make is in a sense all yours, because you don’t have a mortgage or bills, all I was paying for was the internet and my mobile phone.

So you overcome the age gap with technology?

Yes, everything was done from my bed!

You didn’t go on to university – do you feel there is too much to pressure for young people to do that rather than start up a business?

It’s all wrong. The only reason that the government are pressuring people to go to university is because of the banks. Banks make more money from student loans and overdraft than anything else.

The banks tell the government they will not employ anyone without a degree, the banks being the biggest employers in the UK, the government reacts to this.
A lot more people should be encouraged to take their own steps in life and encouraged to go into apprenticeships and traded skills. There is a huge skills shortage, especially women.

Do you think there’s enough support for young people who want to start up their own business?

I think there’s a huge lack of support. What I’ve noticed about young people trying to get into business is that they aren’t really my cup of tea.
There are very few young people who are trying to start up a business and there doesn’t seem to be enough of the right sort of people. Back in the 40s, 50s, 60s, they would’ve been working on market stalls, that to me is the tight kind of entrepreneur, ducking and diving, trying to make his money to get into the bigger picture.

But a lot of the new breed of young entrepreneurs they don’t have to seem to have this streak in them, they seem very middle to upper class, parent may have a lot of money and not much to do with it.

What more could the government do to help young entrepreneurs?

There’s far too much red tape, there’s nowhere for people to go. I went down Walthamstow High Road the other day and I went into a local frame store, which is opposite Waltham Forest Town Hall.

I said to him, “you’ve only been here six months, how’s it going? Are the council helping a lot?” He said, “What? I only hear from the council when they want their fees paid.”

I said, “is there no forums, no networking groups, no grants, helping you out?” He said he wouldn’t even know where to call and they probably don’t know he exists. It’s the same for everything in this whole street, which is a nice street and is beginning to buzz a bit.
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1. Make money naming domains. The original idea comes from Dane Carson’s blog. While you can earn money as a contributor for services such as PickyDomains.Com, here is a better idea. Go to Google or any other search engine, find sucky domain names and contact their owners directly, offering them your services. The key to success is to make it 100% risk free. Inform your prospective clients that you’ll accept money only if they like your domain name. If you come up with one approved domain name a day and charge what PickyDomain charges, you can make $1500 a month. Another twist – come up with cool domain names, like SiteToRemember.Com or ItsMe.Com, register them yourself and sell them on the aftermarket.

2. eBay arbitrage. A lot of people like buying stuff on eBay, because it’s cheap. And some people never buy on eBay, because they are afraid of being ripped off. Here is your solution. Go to Craigslist.Com and see what items people buy and sell most often. Look at prices. Then go to eBay and see, if you can get it cheaper. Once you find your niche, you can buy things on eBay (or better yet, act as a representative for an eBay powerseller) and sell them for a profit using local classifieds and Craigslist. You can do this online as well. Set up a proxy store, and when you get an order, simply buy the same item on eBay for less, substituting shipping address from your own to that of your buyer.

3. eBay copywriting. If you are good at copywriting, go to eBay and look for highticket items, like boats. Find auctions with totally sucky descriptions. Contact an owner and inform him or her that good description of his or her item is likely to increase the chances of that item being sold. Then offer your services for a 1% of the selling price.

4. Get Paid Writing Reviews. This idea comes from a blog called Business Ideas That Work. A site called SoftwareJudge.Com pays up to 50 dollars per good review. However, if you are good at reviewing software, you can do this on your own. Go to CNET or any other site that lists software. Find sites that don’t have any reviews or testimonials. Contact developers directly, offering them your review services. Good reviews and testimonials increases sales, so you shouldn’t have any difficulties convincing developers that they need your services. And you get free software and games too! Oh, and you don't have to limit yourself to software alone.

5. Social Bookmark Whoring (oops, I meant to say PR). RedDit and Digg can bring a crapload of traffic. And traffic means money. If you have experience creating linkbate titles and getting to the top, why not offer your services? Say, you charge 10 dollars for submitting news to RedDit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Furl, NewsVine, Fark and all the other social bookmarting sites. The key is to work only with interesting stories, so you don’t become a spammer. 10 news a day and you are 100 dollars richer. You can probably work out a deal with online PR agencies, because they are totally clueless about this.

6. Writing Google AdWords Ads. Every time I see “Cake Icing. Used And New. eBay.Com” type ads or “Four best sites on killing your wife”, it makes me wonder. Aren’t there any GOOD AdWords ads copywriters? Look’s like a great job to me. The ads are only three lines long and if you charge 10 bucks per ad, you can make a lot of money. And the customers are easy to find, too. Just look at all these terrible ads that Google displays on their search engine and contextual network.

7. Wacky blogs. Steve Pavlina gets over 300 dollars a day from AdSense alone, writing on wacky topics, like polyphasic sleep, astral projection and psychic development. Or take David Icke, who claims that president Bush in an alien and a reptilian. Your blog doesn’t have to be true, it just has to be interesting.

8. Blog whoring. There are a number of services, like PayPerPost.Com, that pay for promotional blogposts. Once again, you can do the same thing, cutting the middleman out.

9. Unique Personal Ads. Write memorable personal ads for online daters. Most personal ads suck. “Hi, my name is Bambie, I’m a Vergo, I’m 19 and I love dogs.” Here is my favorite personal ad. If people pay for resume writing, they might pay for a great personal ad.

10. Poet For Hire. This is nothing new. Still, if you love writing poetry, why not make some money with your rhymes.

11. Don’t EVEN THINK about majoring in English, Medieval Literature, Journalism or GET A REAL JOB, IF YOU WERE DUMB ENOUGH TO DO SO. Just kidding. If you love writing, just write, and the money will follow.

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Something about the blogosphere lately has been bugging me. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what it is because it’s not a black and white problem and I’m an active participant and proponent of at least part of what I see as the issue.

Blogging as we know it today evolved from online journal writing, a very reflective and personal thing to do centered around one individual’s life. Back then it was expected that a “weblog” would focus mostly on the person writing it and consequently, unless the person led a very interesting life or had a gift for writing, only a small handful of people would read it - perhaps friends, family and coworkers.

Today blogs have become much more than journals, yet many of the blogs we idolize are very ego-centric. Often popular blogs are driven by the personality of the author. While most blogs are not necessarily talking about a person’s personal life, often “life” is the muse for topics, even if they are skewed for relevancy to a certain group of people, a target market.

For example, my blog here is about Internet business and blogging and many of the posts I publish draw on my own experience in these areas. This article you are reading right now is exactly that - I’m writing this as a result of my recent experience reading other blogs.

The blogosphere is personality driven, so it’s natural to expect that the people with the biggest personalities, the most interesting stories, unique talents and/or some form of celebrity, are at the top of the A-List of blogs. There’s nothing wrong with that on the surface, but what I do see as a potential problem is what we value and what concepts we raise to ideals to emulate.

Money As Motivation

I remember the first time Darren Rowse published how much he was earning from his blogs and the subsequent buzz that spread online about the potential for income from blogging. Since then many bloggers have revealed their earnings and continue to do so. I did exactly that for my March 2007 blog earnings.

With the obvious interest in the topic “making money online” many bloggers have launched blogs focused on it, some make money, some chronicle their journey of making money and may not make any yet. The focus is squarely on how to earn more and how to get more traffic so you can earn more. Again, there is nothing wrong with that per se, the problem as I see it, is how much energy we give to the topic and how we idolize certain people who have achieved something we want to achieve.

Will Money Make You Happy?

There’s a very old question that most people feel they know the answer to - Will money make you happy?

I don’t think money specifically can make you happy, but certainly it can buy freedoms that contribute to happiness.

The problem I believe is better defined in the reverse - does a lack of money make you unhappy?

I think for many people that last statement is true and we thus wake up each day with money as a key motivator, not the only motivator of course, but certainly a major one given society’s current structure.

If you have read my previous article - The Key To Happiness - you know that my belief is that happiness is simply a choice, but for the sake of this article I’ll assume that you may conceptually understand that, but have difficulty putting it into practice 100% of the time, which sums up my experience too.

Where’s The Value?

If you presently read blogs that talk about making money, or any blog where the author spends a lot of time focused on their own life, make sure you stop and ask yourself whether reading the blog contributes to a goal you currently have and whether you leave that blog having gained an insight or something you can actually action and benefit from.

What it is you admire about the blog and blogger and why have you have decided to offer them a portion of your life - a fraction of the time you have available in a given lifetime? That’s a hefty price to pay so you better be clear on why you are there and what you want from the relationship.

Many blogs offer very little value beyond entertainment, essentially a distraction from what you really need to get done. Entertainment is great, but often times entertainment is procrastination. This is an especially important point for all you workers out there surfing the web in an attempt to get through yet another “boring day”. Something needs to change.

At some point you have to consider how long you are prepared to read about how successful someone else is, how much money they make or the ramblings of X number of mini-me bloggers also attempting to replicate the success of A-List profit bloggers. What exactly is in it for you or are you there to simply help that blogger make more money by being yet one more visitor adding to their traffic count?

Focus On What’s In It For You

Watching others achieve what you want to achieve will not help you unless you actually take away a lesson and apply it. If you currently read bloggers that spend most of their time rambling on about how good they are, or how much money they make or what they last had for dinner, or how amazing their traffic growth rate is, and you walk away feeling feeling depressed because you can’t seem to make any money or you are simply “passing the time” you are not moving forward.

As you are about to finish reading this article you can ask yourself - What did I learn? How can I change my behaviors for the better as a result of this article from Yaro?

My hope is that you will start to make better use of your time and challenge every blogger you read to benefit YOUR life.

I may end up losing some readers as a result of this article as they realize that Entrepreneurs-Journey.com doesn’t specifically offer them any value given their current situation and goals. That’s fine, what’s important is that you read this article, have an insight and take a step that leads to enhancing your life and making you happier.

Remember, money as a purpose in life is a false idol, as is worshiping people who are fixated on making money. Monitor your feelings and gravitate towards what works for you and what feels right. There’s nothing wrong with making money and being motivated by it, just remember that it’s not the only reason to do something, there should be a deeper motivation and purpose - a reason why that makes sense to you, a way it can help you and a way you can use it to help others.

[Via - Yaro Starak]

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Every entrepreneur from New York to Los Angeles faces the same daily dilemma--a finite marketing budget and an infinite number of advertising options. After all, your customers are bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages each day. From the moment they wake up, they're exposed to advertising on television and the radio, in the morning newspaper, their favorite magazines and their e-mail inboxes, and on websites, outdoor billboards and subway signage. There are even ads on fruit in the supermarket, corporate signage on secluded nature trails and marketing pamphlets promoting products in dental and medical offices.

This flood of marketing messages will only continue to increase, and that leaves you with critical choices to make about how you'll reach your prospects and hold their attention. Since every business is different, there aren't pat answers regarding what'll work for everyone. What I can provide are four great questions. Answer these, and they'll point you toward the right media.

Question 1: Where do your prospects look first?
People who already know they want to buy what you market are your top-qualified prospects. They need what you offer and are actively shopping in what are called "marketing search corridors." Will your prospects use search engines, the Yellow Pages or both? Are they looking for you in trade magazines or in a particular section of the newspaper? Identify exactly where your best prospects look first when shopping for what you sell, and place your ads there.

Question 2: Which media touch your prospects most often?
Each of us is touched by media at various points throughout the day. The key is to discover the media with which your prospects have meaningful interactions. Find out which TV programs they watch and which radio stations they listen to, and at what time of day. If your customers read a newspaper, which one is it? And if you're targeting B2B prospects, identify the industry publications they rely on for information. Then construct an integrated marketing campaign using a mix of media that will consistently reach them during their daily routines.

Question 3: Where will your message be best remembered?
Putting your advertising message in the right context is critical to success. In fact, your prospects are probably touched by all kinds of media that would be completely inappropriate for you. When evaluating your media advertising options, look for opportunities to communicate with your prospects when they're in the right frame of mind.

For example, your customers may often dine in restaurants where they're exposed to the posters on the bathroom walls. But while this particular advertising form may reach your best prospects, if it's inappropriate for your message, you should discard it as a marketing option. On the flip side, a website your prospects turn to for information on a subject related to a product or service you market would reach them when they're in exactly the right frame of mind, making advertising on that site a good choice for you.

Question 4: Can you stick with it?
Effective advertising requires frequency for your message to be remembered and acted on. As you construct your list of advertising options, choose a mix of media you can stick with for the long haul. It's preferable to choose media in which you can afford to advertise frequently, rather than to advertise just a few times in a larger range of media. Start small with sufficient advertising frequency in a cohesive group of marketing vehicles. Then, as your company grows, you can expand into additional media.

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Kim T. Gordon is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson. Over the past 26 years, she's helped millions of small-business owners increase their success through her company,National Marketing Federation Inc.

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Owners of home-based businesses sometimes view marketing as an unnecessary expense, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because a home-based business doesn't have a storefront for passers-by to notice and no opportunity to generate walk-in business, home-based businesses need marketing more than other types of businesses, not less.

Not marketing your home-based business will almost certainly doom it to failure. Here are ten ways you can advertise your home business on a budget.

1. Direct mail. With the rise of email marketing, direct mail has fallen out of favor. But it is still a cost-effective way to advertise in many industries. To be successful, your direct-mail piece should look professional and feature well-written copy. Hire a professional copywriter and designer if these skills are beyond you ability. You may even be able to barter for design or writing work.

2. Voicemail. Even the outgoing message on your answering machine or voicemail system can help promote your business when utilized correctly. Make sure your message provides additional product or service information so that it is working for you, even in the middle of the night.

3. Brochures. Brochures are still an effective way to present your product or service to new customers. They are relatively cheap and easy to print and you can distribute them by mail or by leaving them at locations where they will be noticed. A professional-looking brochure can help convince potential customers that are still “on the fence” about your products.

4. Press releases. The only thing better than cheap publicity is free publicity, and well-timed, professional press releases can result in just that. By timing a product launch or promotion to coincide with a related local or national event, you may be able to get editors to include your release in their media vehicle, be it newspaper, radio, or television. (Read "How to Write an Effective Press Release.")

5. Case studies. Case studies aren't just for scientific applications. Studies of your products in action can help your potential customers learn more and make an educated decision before they buy.

6. Referrals. Referrals are probably the single best way to find new customers. If you do something well, chances are people are going to talk about it. Offering incredible customer service to your clients will ensure that you end up with satisfied customers who are willing to share your information with their friends and colleagues.

7. Radio interviews. If you can speak knowledgably about your product or service and tie it in well with current events, radio interviews are a great way to reach a wide audience and improve your customer base.

8. Affiliate programs. Online affiliate programs are one of the most cost-effective ways to market your products to a wide range of potential customers. It's like having the benefit of a commission-based sales force, but without any of the hassles of managing actual employees.

9. A well-designed Web site. Your Web site will be the first impression for your company for many of your customers. Make it a good one. Your site should provide information about your product or service in a clear and intuitive format. Many people prefer to do their research online before making a purchase, so make sure your site leaves them with the right impression. (See "Building a Web Site for Your Home-Based Business" and also "Web Site Quick-Start Guide."

10. Ezines or Newsletters. When you provide interesting and informative content related to the products you sell, you can turn a subscriber list into a frequent buyer list. If you do not have the time to run your own ezine or newsletter, you can submit articles with your information to different publications. When you are perceived as a knowledgeable expert, potential customers know that they can rely on you for quality information and quality products.

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