Things to Know About Small Business Online Advertising

Small businesses are the heart of every country. Almost every one of us has a tendency to buy your car from the same car dealer as your parents or your friends even if it a local retailer you know of or to shop at the same neighborhood store every week. Consequently, most of the jobs in our economy come from these small business owners. However, there are some cases wherein many of these business owners fail within their first year of business. The major reason for this is the lack of proper advertising and marketing strategies.

It is quite obvious that small business owners do not have a budget to launch a large scale advertising campaign. However, internet is a cheap and effective method of advertising since it can reach to a huge audience and thus can help in increasing your business to a large extent. Just like advertising in newspapers of your region to attract local consumers, even in internet you have to find out the websites and search engines that are mostly used by the people in your locality and region. This can be a bit time consuming but there are some websites that are aimed at a particular geographical area. Thus if you aim at such websites your work is greatly reduced.

Just like newspaper, there are classifies ads even on the internet. These are one of the cheapest ways to advertise online. For effective small business online advertising, you have to be a good copywriter in order to create effective and attractive ads that will be noticed by the users. Another very effective method is to send personal emails.

You can rent email lists from various companies and select the recipients according the geographical area and other demographics. However, you need to supply an attractive headline which will cause the recipient to open your mail and read your advertisement.

There are different ways in which online advertisements are paid. There are some banner ads that are put up in popular blogs and other websites. These ads are paid for each time they are clicked and viewed. Clicking on the banner will lead the user to the website of the product. Sometimes depending on the keyword these advertisements are placed on websites that are related to the keyword. For instance if you are florist and are advertising for your shop you can place your ad in websites that are related to flowers and buying flowers. However, there are some advertisements that are paid for each time they are simply put up online.

Unlike big and established companies, small business owners are mostly new to the area of online advertising. There are some companies that are specialized in small business online advertising. You can take help from these services in the beginning in order to understand the advertising and marketing strategies in online market.

They might even help you in drafting your advertisements in an attractive way that will definitely attract online users. It is necessary to create advertisements that have bright colors and graphics which can be easily seen among all the other ads.

Make Money Online – Best Ideas For 2013

Maybe you have already made a little money online, but are looking to make more; or, maybe you’re one of the many who try to make money on the internet, but cannot seem to reach success. The fact is, there are plenty of good opportunities available on the world wide web today, and while one method may not work for you, there are others that may work better. If you are an individual who is determined, motivated and who won’t give up or throw in the towel too easily, you can do this!

When it comes to making money online, here are our top picks for 2013:

Offer your services as a consultant. Have a special area of expertise or knowledge? Perhaps you are skilled in marketing, accounting, or some other field. Offer your services, providing answers and solutions to those who need it.

Blogging. Nearly everyone has heard of blogging, whether or not you spend much time online. With a blog, you can write about topics you’re passionate about, your hobby – nearly anything goes. So, how do you make money with a blog? Promote affiliate products that are related to your niche through affiliate links and banner ads, sign up with Google Adsense to show relevant ads on your blog (when someone clicks on the ad, you get paid), or sell advertising on your blog to other webmasters. Blogging is one of the best methods used to make money on the internet today.

Freelance. Are you skilled at writing, graphic or website design, good with customer service or qualified to become a virtual assistant? Online, business owners are looking for individuals who provide freelance services. If you can write well, offer to write blog posts, articles, even website pages for others. Many well-known companies today hire customer service staff who work from their own homes, using their telephones and internet to assist customers. If you’re good with art and design, offer your services to those who need graphic work done on their websites. Virtual assistants do everything from writing web content to writing memos for companies, email communication, telephone answering service, etc.

These are just three examples of good, legitimate ways to earn money on the internet from your own home. There are literally hundreds of methods that work, including affiliate marketing, network marketing, providing web promotion/SEO services, and more.

Are you ready to say goodbye to the 9 to 5 job and become your own boss? Consider the ideas above, and research online to find many more, one of which may be the ideal opportunity for you!

Getting The Most From Your Investment: GO Zone Property Management Options

INTRODUCTION

In Part 1 of this series, we went over some of the basics for getting a tenant into your newly purchased GO Zone property. In this article, we will go into more details on the options you have for getting that tenant and, more importantly, starting that cash flow as soon as possible.

As you may remember, there is a lot involved with getting to that first rent check. All the marketing, potential tenant due diligence, and then management of the tenant after they get into the property can be very taxing on an individual.

RENTING FROM LONG DISTANCE

All the previous discussions are further complicated depending on how far you live from the property. Take it from me, trying to do all the lease-up work and property management yourself from a long distance is an all consuming task; one which I do not recommend to anyone who has other obligations (i.e. a life). More on this shortly.

PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGERS

Enter the professional Property Manager. Typically, a property manager gets paid for both the lease up of a property, and also on the management of the tenant once in the property. During the lease up, property managers spend very real dollars advertising the property and thus they typically can command a lease up fee. In many locations (both inside and outside of the GO Zone), this typically equates to a charge of 1/2 of the first month’s rent.

In addition, a management fee is also received by the property manager on a monthly basis and is a percentage of the monthly rent amount. For long term leases, this averages in the 10-12% range. Note that the actual management fee can vary widely depending upon the area where the property is located, the type of property, etc.

OPTION 1: DOING IT YOURSELF

If you are like the overwhelming majority of GO Zone investors, you most likely do not live near your GO Zone property. In this situation, as a property owner and a real estate investor you need to think hard about taking on the property management task yourself.

With the Internet, you may be tempted to do some of the marketing on your own. However, there still is the need for the local presence on the ground for showing the property to potential tenants, getting contracts and agreements in hands, reviewed and executed, and for knocking on the door when rent is late.

In addition, if you are new to real estate investing and new to rental properties, it is probably not a good idea to try this on your own from a distance. It is usually recommended that you try your hand at self property management in your own back yard first before even considering the task of doing this long distance.

OPTION 2: COMBO PLATTER 1

Here is the case where you would pay someone else to lease up your property, and then you manage the property yourself. For this, you may get a property manager, licensed professional or other lease-up specialist to go out and market your property, find a tenant, do the tenant screening, etc.

Unfortunately, not many professionals, rental managers, etc., want to do all this work and only get some of the front end funds. IF you can find someone to take on this portion of the front end business, you should really also consider the additional lease up time that may be required; especially if they are managing other similar properties where they also get a portion of the monthly rent that comes in.

The only time that this situation works well for all parties is if you know of a real estate professional (or other person) that already knows of a tenant and does not have an available property to put them in.

OPTION 3: COMBO PLATTER 2

In this case, you try your hand at doing the front end marketing and obtaining the tenant yourself. Similar to the above situation, You figure that you may be able to save on some front end marketing costs (i.e. 1/2 of the first month’s rent as the front end cost) if you can do it on your own.

However as previously mentioned, you not only need the local presence on the ground for the showing of the property and getting the tenant into contract, but there is still something to be said about meeting the (potential) tenant face to face as part of the screening and having someone who is geared up to do this on a day in and day out basis do this for you. The old expression of “Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish” comes into play here.

OPTION 4: PAYING SOMEONE ELSE

As implied by the above, this is where you let someone else completely to the front end work, get the tenant into your property, and completely manage the tenant and the property for you. As someone who is and out of state real estate investor, this is the most common path you will likely go down.

From the GO Zone property point of view, you do want to have your hands in the pot some to make sure that you are involved in the management process. This may be as simple as working closely with your property manager on screening criteria, final approval of tenants (if outside of your normal criteria for screening), etc. Make sure, however, that you are very responsive in this situation as time is critical with getting someone into a property.

When you hire someone else to completely manage your property for you, you are typically signing an agreement with them (usually for at least 12-months) that spells out all the terms, fee schedule, services offered, payment/rent collection and the transfer of funds to you (after expenses, etc.).

OPTION 5: LEASEBACK WITH BUILDER (SEE NOTE)

Remember that this article series is about getting your GO Zone property rented as soon as possible and getting cash flowing into your pockets quickly. While this option is not really a property management solution in the traditional sense, it definitely solves the issue of rent-up times.

I will point out again (as I did in the first part of this series), that you should not run out and start getting properties that are offering lease back just on that merit alone. Remember that as an investor, the property still needs to stand on its own and “make sense” before a leaseback offer is even thrown on the table.

Some property owners and builders may throw a long-term leaseback into the deal to sweeten things up and make the overall sale attractive. You need to ask yourself, how will the property rent out without the leaseback? Is this a situation where a developer may have excess inventory on hand and is offering a leaseback on everything to make the sale (and adding it to the pricing as well)? So as an example, condos on the beach in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Without the leaseback these do not seem like a very sound investment based on the strong competition from the casinos for short term rentals and given the fact that the Mississippi Gulf Coast is really not a hot beach destination. In this case a leaseback does not make sense.

In the case where a builder of single family homes has 1 or 2 model homes that they would like to build, use as a model home, and would also like to keep that off their builder’s line, then offering a 12-month (with additional options typically) leaseback while building out that phase of the community makes perfect sense. Here you would only need to convince yourself that the community is where you would like to invest in.

Advantages of this option, other than the obvious cash flow from day 1, is that you do not have to spend any funds on marketing fees or even on property management fees since you are dealing with the builder directly.

Another advantage of this option is that if your tenant (i.e. the builder) is also using this as a model home, you have built in marketing for a home sale once the builder is finished using it as a model.

SUMMARY

There are many different paths and options for you to consider when trying to rent out and manage your GO Zone property including:

  1. Doing it all yourself;
  2. Having someone else find a tenant and you manage;
  3. You find the tenant and have someone else manage;
  4. Have someone else do it all for you
  5. Find the right leaseback situation

Whichever path you go down, make sure that you do your homework before the property purchase.

In the next part of this series, the author goes over the key point of finding the right property management group to help you with getting someone in your GO Zone property fast.

Making a Healthy Lifestyle Change – 6 Essential Steps

Making a healthy lifestyle change can be quite challenging, even if you have attempted to undertake such a change before. Many of us mortal humans have tried and failed on countless occasions to make these seemingly simple adjustments in our daily or weekly routines. The problem is that most of us have no idea what we are getting into when we make these commitments to ourselves. After all, how difficult could it be to set aside an extra thirty minutes a day to fit in some exercise or drink an additional 20 ounces of water per day? Are you lazy or do you just lack will power?

Chances are it’s none of the above. You can’t simply pass this one off as a character flaw. The more likely explanation is that your brain doesn’t work the way you thought it did. This is not a bad thing. It’s just something you need to be aware of. After all, you are going up against years of behavior and habit. An individual does not become overweight or arthritic or diabetic overnight. Maybe you should not expect to be able to change it all in a day or a week, or even a month. While you have within yourself the ability to make these changes, whether you actually take the actions necessary to bring about these changes is a matter of how well you know yourself. Here are six essential steps to learning more about what makes you tick and how to make a healthy lifestyle change.

1. Identify Your Priorities and Commitments

Have you ever considered the fact that your behaviors and habits are determined by your priorities? Doesn’t it make sense then that if you change your priorities your behavior will also change? The problem with this scenario is that changing your priorities is much more difficult than changing your behavior and attempting to do one without the other is rarely successful. If we focus on the behavior without determining the priorities, the behavior will always revert back.

The first thing to do is to identify your priorities. This is really a matter of making a list of what is important to you (e.g., family, work, health, etc.) and then organizing these things in order of importance. Typically, the things you spend the most time doing are the things that are most important to you. For instance, do you spend more time each week reading novels or watching T.V. than you do exercising or preparing healthy meals for yourself. At one time or another, most of us have probably claimed, “I simply do not have time to exercise” or “I can’t afford to eat that healthy”. These are not matters of time or money. They are matters of priorities. These priorities are not right or wrong, good or bad. They are just your priorities. So don’t fall into the self-judgment trap. That is a sure-fire way to fail at achieving your goal before you even begin to try.

At least now having done this little exercise, you are more aware of what your priorities have been then you were before. If this causes you to want to change your priorities, this is an important step toward making a healthy lifestyle change. Remember, if we can change the priorities the behavior will follow. But don’t make any changes until you consider the remaining steps and understand what is involved in this process.

People often say, “My problem is not priorities, it is lack of commitment.” So what’s the difference? Without getting into semantics, we come back to the real question: Are you spending the most time on the things that are most important to you? If you doubt that your behavior is not reflecting your priorities and instead feel that you simply lack commitment, then ask yourself why you think you are more committed to something that is not so important to you. Does that make sense?

2. Become Aware of Your Belief Systems

Now that you are more aware of your priorities, consider this. An individual’s priorities are determined by his belief system, and that belief system is based on past experiences and conscious choice. Here is an example. We have been told for years that eating eggs and butter will raise our cholesterol and lead to heart disease. We believed this because our doctors and the media told us it was so. From the moment we chose to believe it we changed our behavior and avoided eating eggs and butter. However, we are now being told that, based on current scientific research, dietary cholesterol from eggs and butter has very little, if any, impact on cholesterol levels in the blood, and that the bigger dietary culprits in elevated blood cholesterol levels are trans fats, refined sugars and processed carbohydrates.

The question of which studies or positions you will follow does not necessarily depend on which ones are correct. It depends more on which ones make the most sense to you — which ones you believe. This is often the most difficult concept to grasp because it goes against everything we have been taught with regard to nutrition and health. We have been taught to believe that there is a right way and a wrong way and these rules apply to everyone. I am sure you can think of many instances when you did something despite your knowledge that it was wrong.

Another way to look at this is to realize that the past does not equal the present or the future. If you look at the sources of your beliefs or behaviors, you will realize that most of them exist because of an experience you had or lesson you learned in the past. If you realize that this belief or behavior is holding you back today, you must ask yourself why you continue to believe or behave in this manner. This belief or behavior may have served you well then in that prior situation. But is it serving you well today? And do you think it will serve you well in the future?

The more aware you are of what you really believe in, the more likely you are to make the choices and behave in the manner that suits your best interests. If you want your lifestyle to change then you must be ready to change your self-image.

3. Create an Individualized Strategy

The standardized one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective and may even be hazardous to your health. We are all individuals and, as such, are as different on the inside as we are on the outside. As human beings, we are each biochemically and physiologically unique. This is precisely why no single diet or exercise program works for everyone. If there was such a program, we would all be on it and there wouldn’t be several completely different approaches represented on the New York Times best-sellers list every week.

Your goal should be to determine which method or approach will work best for you, not what has worked for someone else. This depends as much on your biochemical and physiological individuality as it does on your ability and willingness to adhere to a new exercise program or diet plan. It has been my experience that an individual will not make any such lifestyle change unless it feels right or makes sense to the individual. The largest institutions in the world – religions – are based on belief. If you practice any one particular religion you chose that religion because, based on all of the information available to you, it made the most sense to you or because it felt right in your heart. James Allen said: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be.”

Once you acknowledge and appreciate the need for an individualized strategy, how do you actually create one? I recommend you find a qualified professional within the area of expertise appropriate for your goal. If you want to focus on improving your eating habits, find a certified nutritional consultant. If you want to begin or change your exercise program, find a certified fitness trainer. If you need an overall lifestyle change, you may need a lifestyle coach or engage the services of more than one consultant. In any case, you should seek the guidance of a trained professional who will not simply give you a standardized or one-size-fits-all approach. You need someone who will take your health history and current lifestyle into consideration before helping you to develop a personalized approach.

4. Tap Into Your Desire/Motivation

Now that we know you will not likely take any actions that go against your belief system, what do you do about it? If your belief system is not giving you the results you desire, you must change your belief system. This is not an easy task. It requires a willingness and openness to change. Even if you seek the advice of a health professional, it may be that professional’s job to give you all of the information and guidance necessary to help you to change, but it is ultimately your responsibility to implement the change. You must have the desire to change.

Anyone who has ever quit smoking will tell you that they did not quit until they wanted to quit, until they had the desire to quit. Even when they acknowledged that smoking was bad for them or their friends and loved ones begged them to quit it was not enough. They had to reach a point where they wanted better health for themselves and acceptance from their friends and loved ones. They had to desire these things more than the pleasure they got from smoking. How badly do you want to change? What does it mean to you?

Yet another way to phrase this question is, “What is your WHY?” If you know your “Why”, you know your purpose and will always have that to refocus on whenever you become distracted or unmotivated.

5. Visualize Your Success

One of the powerful ways to ensure your success is to visualize a day in your life when you have attained your goal. Imagine yourself on a day sometime in the near future when you are healthier and happier because you have changed your lifestyle. Imagine that you have reached your ideal weight, or you are no longer ashamed of your body, or you have reached your desired level of strength, energy and endurance. Get a clear picture in your mind of yourself going about your new daily routine. Imagine it as if it was happening right at this moment. Check in with your senses. How does it feel? How does it smell? How does it look and sound? Enjoy the experience of a healthier lifestyle – of success. Was it worth the commitment you made to yourself? Are you happy? That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Numerous studies have shown that visualization is an extremely effective tool that is used by professional athletes, celebrities, millionaires, and successful people in all walks of life. Perhaps it is so effective because it taps into the emotional aspect of your determination. Perhaps visualization is a way of implanting your success within your unconscious mind. Carl Jung said that our unconscious mind communicates with our conscious mind through pictures or images, not through words. Once you have created that picture in mind it is easy to bring it back up whenever you want or need to see it again. It serves as your motivation, your inspiration. If you can see something, then you can believe it and you can achieve it.

So find yourself a quiet place where you go without being distracted and get that picture of success in your mind. And then live every day as if you have already succeeded. This will change your attitude and it will change your life.

6. Make the Decision – Make the Commitment

Probably the most overlooked and most difficult step in making a change is making the decision to change. Everyone has within himself the power to change. While it is true that in light of the variety of circumstances and life situations in which we find ourselves it is more difficult for some people to change than it is for others, we all have the power to change. Many times, the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who does not is that the successful person made the decision to succeed. You can have the best of intentions and make all of the plans necessary to make a change, but until you actually decide to take action nothing will ever come of those intentions and plans.

An important thing to keep in mind concerning any life-changing decision is that it should be viewed as a commitment. A decision stated in language such as, “I think I can do that”, or “I’ll try to do this” is not really a decision at all. This is you thinking about making a decision. And if you have always viewed yourself as an “indecisive” person, remember what we discussed in step number 2 — the past does not equal the present or the future. If you want your lifestyle to change, then you must change your self-image. Get serious about your commitment to yourself. You can waiver all you want beforehand, but when you have finally made the decision, you must actually decide that you will attain your goal and nothing will stand in your way. It’s a matter of choice.

The magical thing about a true commitment is that once you actually make the decision, attaining your goal suddenly becomes a much more likely result. It’s what we all want, and we can have it if we really, truly want it. It’s a matter of choice.

Priorities… Commitment… Awareness of your belief system… An individualized strategy… And the desire to make it all happen. These are the keys to making a healthy lifestyle change, or any change for that matter. Just make the decision and watch it happen! It’s what we all want, and we can have it if we really, truly want it. It’s a matter of choice.

- Michael A. Sallustio is a Lifestyle Consultant and co-owner of The Lifestyle Center of Annapolis in Annapolis, Maryland. Michael is also certified as a Personal Fitness Trainer, Medical Exercise Specialist, and Nutritional Consultant.