Michael Cheney's Adsense Videos ? A Review

I have to admit I'm a fan of Michael Cheney. Call me prejudiced, but firstly, the guy is British so he has a decent accent. Secondly, he knows what he's talking about when it comes to Adsense and making money of the internet. His latest venture is Michael Cheney's top 500 where he has sold 500 keywords on his page for at least $50 a pop. Yeah, that's a minimum of $25,000 US Dollars for just one page of one website. Now that is genius. I wish I had the reputation to do that. I used his Adsense videos, and the advice they contain is structured, valuable and useful. I have implemented nearly all his ideas, except where I had to put my hand in my pocket and pay for a web service where there was a limited version for free! And yes, my Adsense earnings have gone up. I'm certainly not in the league of hundreds of dollars a day, but the website is paying for itself and all the functions for the members, such as the paid for chat-room ($500) and the server fees.A summary of Cheney's advice is as follows. 1. Think like Google. Google does search. Search is the cornerstone to their business. The reason they are the most popular search engine on the internet is that they are the best at finding what you want. Adsense is a means of targeting traffic based on content, so you have to make your site easy to navigate, useful to people. Google wont just look up a whole load of keywords or spam. So think like Google, be up front, be honest and write a good website. 2. Find your keywords. Find the right niche and the right market. Choose something you're interested in. Better still something you're passionate about. Use resources like Overture's Inventory keyword tool to see who is searching for what on the internet. Then find the niche using the wordtracker tool, which will tell you who is competing for certain words on the internet and the potential for those keywords. 3. Create your website, focusing on ability to navigate and getting good content in. Write it yourself. Get free articles over the internet. Get your website readers to contribute articles. Make the content relevant and useful to your visitors. If you have money pay people to write. Put up a blog. Make the content relevant and useful. 4. Select your ads from Google. Choose the right format. Put your ads in the middle of your page. Put your content on the right hand side or the left hand side. Put your full quota of ads on each page. That's three blocks of ads, and an adlink. Put pictures above or next to your ads. Choose relevant pictures which you can find with royalty free searches. 5. Make sure your ads don't look like ads. Make the background colour the same as your website. Take off borders. Integrate your ads in the body of your website without trying to disguise them. 6. Sign up for everything Google can offer you. That's referrals, products, and sign-up to Adsense. Put it on every page. 7. Test and track your sites. Use Google's channels option in Adsense or find other tracking tools. If you notice a page or a channel has a low click through rate, or low page impressions, then check the page. Is it running all the ads in the right place? Try moving the ads around, the format of the page, the content of the page. 8. Reinvest some profit back into the website. 9. Find high paying keywords. Make content around these keywords. Some people are paying up to $40 per click! Get a slice of that by finding the high paying keywords. 10. Check out Google's Adsense resources and discussion forums across the internet. Lots of useful information and advice and hints are available. Those are the basics. However, the videos go into considerably more depth and discuss techniques and methods and websites on his videos. Are they useful? Yes. I implemented nearly all his advice and my click-through improved, and my revenue has gone up. The cost of Cheney's video has paid for itself. My site isn't yet a high-traffic site, and makes about 5,000 page views a day. So for me the challenge is to make it a 50,000 page-a-day site, but at least my ads are doing what they are supposed to do, and I am continually improving them and adding more and more content to the site. Cheney's videos are at http://www.adsense-videos.com/Alex Kituli, Intellectual Gangster and webmaster of Afrika Dating
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Adsense Arbitrage Competition: Beating Top Adsense Arbitragers At The Game!

Yes, Adsense Arbitrage Is Popular..
There are no numbers available as to how many Adsense Arbitrage people are getting this kick in the gonads from everyone's favorite monopoly. The majority of those claiming to earn in excess of $500 per month per web site from adsense were running just a simple one-page Adsense Arbitrage website!. Yet you can train in the use of the most powerful online marketing tool known to man which also happens to be free.
Avoiding the Ads Phobia!
Because of this "AdPhobia" you have to get a little crafty. These Adsense Arbitrage tips along with the systems in my e-book helped me increase my AdSense income by 560%. Like everyone else I want a bigger share of the Adsense Arbitrage pie.
Adsense Arbitrage: Here to Stay!
Online business opportunities will come and go. But Google AdSense Arbitrage looks promising as a strong investment of very little of your time in exchange for financial rewards that - if used on a good number of sites - can add up to big profits. That area is close to the browser scrollbar. This is double gain. Unless a photo or other graphical element pulls their eyes to the side there is no reason for them to look beyond those margins. Adsense Arbitrage did not change in a vacuum. While it lumbered toward smart pricing web access technology and user expectations were also in a state of flux.
Making Money With Adsense Arbitrage
There is literally an endless amount of money to be made with Adsense websites for the person that takes the time to learn about the trade and utilizes the tools and tips needed to bring home big profits from Adsense websites. What is Adsense? Adsense is a PPC Advertising system (Pay Per Click) launched by the web's now biggest search engine Google.
Knowing A Few Key Adsense Arbitrage Principles
Never place AdSense Arbitrage ads on pages that you display in Traffic or surfing/hit exchanges. You will need to know some key Adsense Arbitrage principles.
About the Author
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Adsense: Top Tips On How To Make Your Adsense Business Work Better!

Most of you may have heard about Adsense and the income it generates. However, most people don’t know how these thing work or how to make it work properly. Firstly, here is an explanation of what is Adsense all about.
An Adsense is a program designed by one of the most popular search engines, Google, to create income for your website. It is very much like an affiliate program that is delivered by Google on where you will display a text or image links where people visiting your website can click on.
You will make money in Adsense programs when people visiting your website clicks on the adsense program. Every click made by visitors in your website is equal to a specific amount of money. So, it is very important that you should generate targeted traffic into your website in order to make this work.
You may also place a Google search box in your website where your visitor can search for relevant text ads and will be displayed on your website. Another feature in the Google Adsense program is the Adsense referrals. Here, you can make money by displaying Google’s referral buttons in your website.
Application in Google Adsense is very easy. You just have to fill out an application form found in their website. Adsense is available for any websites except on pornographic websites and hate websites. Your contents should have a specific topic where Google Adsense will choose an adsense program related to the contents of your website.
All you need to apply is to have your own website.
Make sure that your website does not have any pornographic content, racism, or any other content that may offend some people. Joining in an Adsense program is fast, easy and most of all free.
Why join an Adsense program? The answer to this question is obvious: To make money at home. Adsense programs are free and relatively easy to join in one. You may think that having an Adsense program displayed in your website can lead people away. However, if you have a good content and an attractive website, you will be sure that those people will always come back and read more of your topics.
One great type of website for an adsense is a blogging website. A blogging website can generate you a lot of targeted traffic and also a lot of clicks in the Adsense program.
The placement of your Adsense program is also very important to generate clicks. Usually, you can place your Adsense program anywhere in your website. However, there is a specific placement to generate more clicks. For example, it has been found that placing your Adsense program at the top of the web page generates more clicks than that of web pages that places Adsense programs below their web page. Another way to generate clicks is to place your Adsense program near rich content areas. This is because people focus more in these areas and tends to click on them more.
An Adsense program can give you a lot of income opportunities if you do it right. Try to make your website score a high rank in order to qualify in Adsense programs. Adsense programs are also one of the easiest ways to generate extra cash. You just have to update your website from time to time in order to keep on creating more targeted traffic. Try to consider making a blog website, these types of website creates huge amount of targeted traffic and can virtually take care of itself.
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Adsense Web Tool: Increasing Your Adsense Revenues Starting Today!

There was an individual named Joel Comn who once making only $30 daily with Adsense, a program where it allows you to make money when visitors of your site are clicking on the advertising links that are placed in the host’s website. Until one day, he decides to have a try of other ways of increasing his Adsense earning.
After he had used several Adsense tools, Joel doubled his commission from $30 to $60 daily. But would you believe that his commission actually sky-rocketed for more than $500 per day? His earnings climbed up, making it $18,343 last December 2004 and it is quite possibly that his revenues may keep climbing after that period. It sounds impossible, but an individual have done it.
Adsense Basics
Joel Comn is now one of the successful Internet marketers that derive some of their revenues through the Adsense program. But you need to keep in mind that you can not earn as much as $18,000 per month if you will just allow Adsense to place its ads on your website. There are things you need to consider in order to make as much money as Joel did.
You need to apply for an Adsense account. Remember that you must be investing in your own domain so that your application will not be rejected. Make sure that your site’s contents are organized and be viewed as professional.
After your site has been accepted, Adsense will give you a code that you will place on your website, enabling them to start placing ads on your site that are with relevance to its content. For instance, if your site is about air-conditioning, Adsense might place ads that deal with different kinds and models of air-conditioning equipment.
Adsense Web Tool
Part of Adsense program is the use of Adwords, or relevant words that is integrated with Adsense advertisement. In order to attract more visitors that are generating impressions or “clicks” to the ads in your site, you must let Adsense know what Adwords are relevant and related to the contents of your webpage. In this case, the Adsense Web Tool can help you.
Adsense Web Tools provide you with Adsense HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) ad code to place on the web pages which you want to display the ads. The Adwords that will be generated using the Web Tool are based on the keyword analysis, word frequency, and the overall link structure of the web. Adsense will have an idea what your webpage is all about, and it can precisely match the advertisement on each page.
Maybe you will wonder how Adsense know what appropriate Adwords needs to be displayed in your site. If Adsense has spidered your site, it automatically knows what Adwords are to be displayed in your site. However, if your site has not spidered yet, Adsense makes use of your site’s URL first to decide what Adwords are appropriate. This is where your own domain will be important. You must invest on your own domain. Keep in mind that it has a significant impact on your Adsense revenues.
It is important that you make use of Adsense Web Tool so that you can maximize your possible earnings with Adsense. Do not rely alone on the displayed ads. Remember that you need to make it “clickable” to every Internet user that will visit your site. Start right and earn as much as $18,000 a month through Adsense!
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Finally.... An All-In-One System That Runs ALL Your Joint Ventures On Autopilot! Active hyperlink must remain with article.

How To Earn More Money From Google Adsense And Exceed Your Best Ever Adsense Income!

If you’re not in it for money - Adsense making money tips
To paraphrase the lovely Shania Twain - “If you’re not willing to give it all you’ve got- get out of here!”
It's easy to waste your time trying to understand the internet business and end up being in a daze, surrounded by too many miracle cures and instant success stories.
It’s like a tsunami of information drowning you, and there is no escape to higher ground.
I don't know how someone got my email address, but some drongo (an Aussie term - you’ll figure it out!) wrote to me asking me to put in just 5 dollars and immediately get back 20 without my doing anything…. one of those “instant cash doubler" schemes.
After all this time I’ve got more common sense... and so should you...than to get into his "program." That common sense will tell you that the only way you will get back 20 dollars for five is if five other mugs like you fall for his scam and front up with their five dollars, so that the promoter can pay you and keep some for himself.
All very well if you are one of the first in line, and get your seed money back with just one payout, but that very rarely happens.
I just got I don’t know how many of these "miracles" and at least one "NextProduct" alert in my mailbox which is supposed to help me get instant riches in internet marketing.
Listen, if you really want to make serious money, you have to be one of these promoters, cobble together a few tips and tricks that anyone can get for free, give it a catchy name, and get one of the big hitters to promote it to their list. I’m sure you’ve seen your inbox flooded by lots of these people, all trying to sell you the same thing, and with ever increasing bonuses which you will never use, but they sound great.
However, for most of us down in the food chain, that’s not a realistic option - we don’t have our own product, and no guru will touch us.
Let me tell you, the only solid money I’ve ever made is from using Google Adsense to make money. Sure I won’t retire from it, but I am making around $2.50 a day from my sites. Not much, I know, but what if I had an Adsense network of 100, or even 200 sites? (That’s $50 a day for you non-accountants!) That’s how much you can make, and that’s the secret of making money with Adsense.
You can not only use Adsense on your site, you can use Adsense in Wordpress blogs, use all the Google information marketing tools, Adwords etc.
Of course the drawback is that you have to set up those 200 sites and maintain them with constantly changing content, and that content has to be sufficiently interesting to make a few people click on a few ads.
However, there are ways to do this, using RSS feeds, feeds from other blogs, and other auto blogging techniques, but be wary of not overdoing it, make sure the feeds add genuine interest to your site.
The main problem will be in setting up 200 attractive, keyword and Adsense rich sites.
To do this yourself will take a lot of time, effort and money, and you will never do it if you’re just mucking around with internet marketing.
You will have to spend some serious cash on hiring someone to do it for you, or get a website generating software program, and a really good one will not be cheap, but if you’re serious, you will spend that money, which gets back to the thrust of my opening paragraph - “If you’re not willing to give it all you’ve got - get out of here!”
©Peter Phillips2007
About the Author
Peter Phillips is a writer living in Canberra Build your dynamic sites with a viral membership system in 10 minutes or less, and exceed your best ever Adsense earnings! AdCentsPro - the Rolls Royce of Adsense site creation!

Google Adsense Strategies and Tips

Adsense is beginning to make a huge impact on the affiliate marketing industry today. Because of this, weak affiliate merchants have the tendency to die faster than ever and ad networks will be losing their customers quickly.If you are in a losing rather than winning in the affiliate program you are currently promoting, maybe it is about time to consider going into the Adsense marketing and start earning some real cash.Google is readily providing well written and highly relevant ads that are closely chosen to match the content on your pages. You do not have to look for them yourselves as the search engine will be the doing the searching for you from other people's source.You also don't have to spend time in choosing different kind of ads for different pages. Google makes it very easy for you, with no codes to mess around for different affiliate programs. You will be able to concentrate on providing good and quality content, as the search engines will be the ones finding the best ads in which to put your pages on.You are still allowed to add Adsense ads even if you already have affiliate links on your site. It is prohibited, however, to imitate the look and feel of the Google ads for your affiliate links. One of the things you can do, however, is to utilize Google's custom palette to customize your Google ads, making them to appear a part of the web page itself. The idea here is to match background and links to match the theme of your site. People on the internet today are trained to click on a link that is blue, and if your Google ads have the same theme as your web page, it makes the Google ads appear to be a portion of your "content."You can also filter up to 200 URLs. This gives you a chance to block ads for the sites that do not meet your guidelines, and also block competitors. Remember that it is unavoidable that Adsense may be competing for some space on web sites that all other revenues are sharing.Owners of small sites are allowed to plug a bit of a code into their sites and instantly have relevant text ads that appeal to your visitors appear instantly on your pages. If you own many sites, you only need to apply once. Then ,you are issued a unique "publisher ID", which can be used on any site you currently own. A small snippet of Javascript is placed on your site in the location you wish the ads to appear in, and generally speaking, the ads from Goggle will appear in minutes. This ends the hassle of having to apply to many affiliate programs, and keeping track of many different URL's and user ID's and passwords.As Google ads are very easy to customize, and can be placed anywhere on your site you wish, you can experiment with placement, colors, and themes. Many tricks are available to the resourceful webmaster, including adding images in conjunction with your Google ads to make them more noticeable. The payment rates can vary extremely. The payment you will be receiving per click depends on how much advertisers are paying per click to advertise with the use of the AdWords. Advertisers can pay as little as 5 cents and as high as $10-12, sometimes even more than that too. Some savvy lawyers are currently paying as high as $75 for advertising the keyword mesothelioma! And you, as the ad publisher, are earning a share of that money generated. If your results remain stagnant, it can help if you try and build simple and uncluttered pages so that the ads can catch the visitor's eyes more. It sometimes pay to differ from the usual things that people are doing already. Google has many tutorials, including a "heat chart" which shows you where the best placement for ads are. You will need an account to access these tutorials. Sign up for an Adsense account at https://www.google.com/adsense/?sourceid=aso&subid=ww-et-awhome&hl=en_US. It is also a refreshing sight for your visitor once they see something different for a change.It is still wise to look at other people's information and format your Adsense in a like manner. A wise old business axiom is to "find a good business model, then copy it." Let others do the hard work for you, and learn from a successful site. Just think about it as doing yourself a favor by not having to work too hard to know what content to have. Look to sites that have high page rank, and carefully observe their layouts, their content, and placement of their ads. A little time spent doing research can put dollars in your pocket down the road. Publishers have the option of choosing to have their ads displayed only on a certain site or sites. You can also have them displayed on a large network of sites if you so desire. Google now has the option to allow other people to advertise on your site. This only makes good sense. If you are marketing to a tightly defined niche, you can place your own ads, written by you, on site that allow this option. The choice is yours, depending on what you think will work best to your advantage.It is important to note that you cannot choose certain topics only. If you do this, search engines will not place Adsense ads on your site and you will be missing out a great opportunity in making hundreds and even thousands of dollars cash.Topics to be avoided includes gambling, firearms, ammunition, tobacco or drugs. If you are being offered more cash in exchange of doing Adsense with these kinds, it is just like signing your own termination paper.With all the information that people need in your hands already, all you have to do is turn Google Adsense into your own cash cow. It all boils down to a win-win situation both for the content site owners and the webmasters or publishers.Our website, http://www.for-the-record.biz, is a good source of information for the beginning marketer. We present a lot of content for those needing more information on a variety of subjects.About The Author:Alden Smith is an award winning author who has beenmarketing on the internet for over 7 years. His site, http://www.for-the-record.biz, is loaded with articles andinformation for the beginning blogger and internetmarketer.
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Get your free AdSense ready website

If you are newbie in online money making game you will probably have problems creating your first AdSense ready website.So here we come to help at Ready AdSense websites you can choose beetwen two readymade turnkey AdSense websites. One website is on topic of AdSense itself and other is on affiliate related topics. To start with this sites you just need to download ziped package, extract all the files, add your AdSense Id to config file and upload all files to your webserver. If you don't have top domain any subdomain can be used.If you need more sites like this then consider buying FastContent. FastContent is desktop application used to produce this AdSense ready websites.AdSense websites like this can be produced very fast, only knowledge on your part is little of HTML to create template and how to use FTP to upload files to your web server. FastContent (http://www.truecontent.info) is website content generation tool. Using articles from free article directories it creates content rich web pages suitable for contextual advertaising or affilliate promotion. Anybody can build content rich website within minutes.Download a demo and try it. This is a must have tool for anybody how have already running website but need more content or anybody who need content for new niche content website. Application features: - search free article directories by keywords - search local database of downloaded articles and copy articles to new project - duplicate articles filter, already retrived articles for that project will be skiped - create unlimited number of projects - view articles before selecting it for retrival - edit retrieved articles, add your own text to articles, wrap articles with your own content - add your own custom headline and text to article - preview retrieved articles - delete unwanted articles - add your own articles - generating html,php,asp,txt files from retrived articles using templates - SEO friendly URLS for article pages generated from article title - generated page extension can be set as wished - generating sitemap with article snippets - select length of article snippet - choose number of articles per sitemap page - choose length of article snippet on index pages - option to open article links in new window - option to add related links to article pages - add your AdSense Code (3 Ads Units + Search Box) - generate pages for articles retrived after some date (no need to upload all files again only new created files) - generate pages with search engine friendly links created from articles names - generate RSS 2.0 Feeds automaticly - template editor - easy to use - easy to upgrade with all data saved from previous version - free support as long as application is on market Did I said that free demo download is available. Check FastContent free download
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Adsense Techniques Hints Strategy Making Money With Google

It's amazing how you can earn such easy money with the power of Google Adsense. By easy, I mean you don't need to make sales to generate money but just clicks on targeted ads. It couldn't be that simple. Of course you need to drive traffic to your site and as with everything in internet business, you can't get any income if you have no web traffic. Even if you can generate an extra $300-$500 per month, wouldn't that make a difference in your life? I bet it will. Google Adsense can easily cover your web hosting fees and you are already running on a profit just by using adsense. Of course there are some people who are earning thousands and tens of thousands of dollars with this program but this is not the norm for most participants. Income will vary depending on many factors like targeted traffic, number of websites, the more the better, the theme of your site whether the keywords being targeted are high paying ones on adsense. If you have a network of websites on high paying adsense keywords, you will get much more. Mind you that it's against Google terms to create websites for the sole purpose of generating income from adsense. Build a useful website, then integrate adsense in your content.You need to realise that there are certain tips and techniques to take into consideration if you want to really profit from adsense. It's not just slapping an ad on your site and watch the money rolling in. You need to tweak your ad whether it's in appearance, placement or in content. Did you know that what you write on your web pages can have an effect on what ads appear on your web site? This is one of the key factors that can decide between a high earning adsense site and a low earning adsense one. Some keywords that are bidden on Google Adwords are extremely lucrative because they yield a high return on the clicks due to the fact that the advertisers are paying a hefty sum to get a top placement in the adwords ranking. The more you pay, generally you appear higher and in some niches, it costs a lot to get top ranking in adwords.Say your site is about search engine optimization, you should try to write content focussing on this subject well so that you have ads on this topic. If some advertisers bidding on adwords have paid quite a lot for them and these advertisers' ads appear on your site, you will earn great income. Note that in an adsense ad unit, Google generally displays the highest paying advertisers. So in a block comprised of 4 ads generally, you can see only 3, 2 or 1 from time to time. This varies and is not static. Usually, the ad at the top pays higher.Also you need to take into consideration the ad appearance because this can have a positive or negative effect on your click through rate of the ads. You can have an ad with border or a frameless one. You can have ads, background or links with specific colors, all these can be changed in your adsense settings on your web page. Usually an ad without border, blue links and which blends in your site content and background works pretty well. Ad formats like the leatherboard(728*90), the skycraper(160 * 600 or 120 * 600) or the square ones(336 * 280, 300 * 250 or 250 * 250) are most used.Furthermore, adsense placement is crucial to your overall success. Ads above the fall generally viewable without scrolling down will get the most clicks and ads that are strategically integrated in your content will be more profitable. Ads at the bottom usually generate fewer clicks.Google Adsense is a fantastic way to earn extra money and should be used by webmasters for an additional stream of revenue.--------------------------------------------------------------------This article can be freely published on a website as long as it's not modified in any way including the author bylines, plus all the hyperlinks must be made active just like below.Jean Lam is the webmaster of http://www.email-auto-responder.com. Check out his Autoresponder website for autoresponder review, articles and course.
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Unconventional Ways To Approach Realtors Without Donuts As A Loan Officer

With the rise of interest rates and the drying-up of the refinance market, it makes sense to transition your business to the purchase money market. After all, home purchase loans will become the bulk of your broker transactions and it is only prudent to be prepared to capture these leads. Of course, you will always have the occasional debt consolidation, or divorce cash-out refinance, even some b-paper subprime loans. But, the majority of your coming business will be in the purchase market and you must make efforts to get out there or you will not survive. The days of the ringing phone and order taking are over. One of the questions I get asked over and over again, is how to best approach realtor offices. Aren’t they the ones with purchase loans? They hold the key, right? Yes, they do. But, why should they just “give” you loans? What’s in it for them? How many times have you called a realtor and they’ve said the following: “We’re already working with someone.” “We don’t give our business away.” “We don’t know you.” “Why should we work with you?” “We don’t want your free donuts!” They’re saying this because they’ve already been raked over the coals by about 200 other loan officers. They’re sick of empty promises and loans that don’t close. They’re afraid to lose their commission. They don’t want to take the risk of dealing with you. And…yes, it’s true…your donuts weren’t very good. ;-) If you want to attract realtors, you’ve got to catch them when they are least expecting it. You can’t do this with blind cold-calling. They’re sales people too, and their guard is up the instant you call. They’ve got other calls, and they don’t want to deal with you. To them, you’re a nobody. Don’t despair. Here are some of the best unconventional ways I’ve found to approach real estate agents and the difference in their attitude is amazing! * Business networking groups such as BNI (Business Networking International) and Leads Club. These are groups that allow only one person from each profession. So there is one lawyer, one appraiser, one realtor, one loan officer, etc. And they all trade business with each other. The groups are set up this way to encourage member participation. But, finding an active BNI group that has an L.O. position open is rare. People rarely give this spot up, and for good reason. It means they are getting leads and it works! It is worth your effort to call all the local chapters and put your name on the list. If the person leaves they have to replace them. Or if enough people show interest, they will start-up a new group. And you want to be the first to take advantage of it. * You can always try starting your own weekly networking group and approach referral partners with the incentive of generating referrals through the group. This is a harder thing to do than joining a structured environment like BNI, but may be worth considering if there is no other choice. You have to pitch this the right way, and get all the other professions set-up first before you approach the real estate agent. This way, you’ve got something to offer. * One technique I found that always worked was to give the realtor potential leads. As many of you know, I stopped buying Internet leads a long time ago and started generating my own leads through my lead site at http://www.findthelowestrate.com When I call a realtor and I tell them I am looking for a business partner to work with that I can refer business to, their ears immediately perk-up. Now, you are not just another loan officer with your hand-out, but a long-term partner with a proven lead generation system. Forget the donuts. Bring leads instead. They taste better too. * Give free seminars. Realtors are always looking for ways to educate their buyers. If you have the skills to present the mortgage industry in a nutshell, you can offer to host a free workshop for buyers. The key to getting this to work is to host it at the realtor’s office, so it looks like it’s from them and they can take credit for it. Your goal shouldn’t be to generate loans this first time, but rather to “prove” yourself and show some goodwill. There are always new realtors coming into the office, so you want to make yourself known. Eventually, there will be someone who isn’t working with anyone at the moment, or someone who is ready to change loan officers. You want to be this person! * Show up at open houses. Open houses are always fun. See if they have already have a L.O. on site. If not, this is your perfect chance to introduce yourself. Ask how many people they got today and how many were pre-qualified. I always used to carry an extra table, chair, laptop, sign and rate sheets in my car to be ready to set-up shop in a moments notice. It cost them nothing and may lead to a qualified buyer. Yes, it’s ballsy, but worth a shot! * I once knew a mortgage company that used to give away free advertising to realtors. They helped promote the properties the realtor was selling, by hosting the home flyers in their lobby. While potential borrowers were waiting, they had something to look through. It was a big selling point to attract real estate agents. You could also do cross mailings, lawn sign exchanges, newspaper co-ops, etc. Again, you are working long-term with realtors, not just asking for free loans. These are just some of the best ideas I’ve used to help generate more purchase loans. I hope they help you get out there and connect. Realtors are a tricky bunch, but once you are in their good favor, they can be a steady stream of new business. Don’t give-up. Use my techniques and may your next loan be a closer.

Traits And Skills Every Top Producer Needs To Be Successful In The Mortgage Business

When I was a branch manager, there were always certain traits and skills I looked for before deciding to hire someone. After years of experience, and learning things the hard way, I know what it takes to be successful. Not everyone is cut out to be a loan officer. The mortgage business is like no other, and it takes a certain type of person to be successful in this industry. Here are some of the top traits and skills I believe every loan officer must have in order to be successful. If you want to become a top producer… 1. You need to like the mortgage lifestyle. It needs to be more than just a “job” for you in order to put up with the demands on your time, life and family. 2. You need to be a motivated self-starter. You will either succeed or fail almost entirely based on your own individual efforts and no one else’s. If you are afraid to take the initiative, maybe this isn’t the right career for you. 3. You need to be a hard-worker and be willing to go the extra mile. Selling and closing a mortgage loan is NOT easy work or fast money. 4. You need to be smart worker. You are paid for results, not the amount of hours you put in. Organization, efficiency and productivity are the key words in this business. And a loan officer is only as good as his last loan. If you don’t systematize your business and outsource non-essential tasks, your time will be quickly eaten-up, making you less effective. Hence the reason why I invented my worksheets at http://www.loanclosingsystem.com 5. You need to enjoy solving "people’s problems". As the refinance boom and the easy loans have dried-up, you need to look at other ways you can originate business. Creative financing and thinking outside the box, will get you loans that others leave behind. Interest-only loans, debt consolidation, cash-out divorce loans, reverse mortgages, etc. are all alternative loans you need to be considering if you are to stay in this business for the long term. 6. You must have people skills and be able to interact with customers from all walks of life and economic situations. 7. You must be a good listener. The more you “hear” the customer, the less pushy “selling” you will have to do. Find out what is truly motivating them and offer them something that truly solves their problem, you’ll be more likely to get the sale. 8. You need to be emotionally stable and mature. You can’t play games or mess around with people’s financial situations if you are to maintain the trust and confidence of the other person. You also need to maintain your own sense of balance and fairness. 9. You need to know your product line inside and out. Knowing one lender is not enough, you must know at least 15 to 20 lenders, from A-paper to B-paper and beyond. How else are you going to be able to sell a customer something if you don’t know what you’re selling? 10. You need to be convinced of your product’s value. It should be easy to be enthusiastic about your product when you know you are truly helping somebody. 11. You need to be flexible and agile. The mortgage industry changes everyday in technology as well as fundamental ways of doing business. You must be willing to adapt to whatever is thrown at you. 12. You must be a constant learner. Even after many years originating loans, I still learn something new everyday. That’s why I love the industry so much! It’s an on-going education. 13. You have to persevere and never, ever give-up! Relentless perseverance is the only way you will succeed. When something doesn’t work, try doing something else! You can’t take rejection personally. If someone says “no”, it doesn’t mean they don’t like you. After all, they don’t even know you. These are the traits and skills I teach my loan officers, and I would encourage you to print out this list and look for it before you decide to hire someone else. Remember, by emulating the qualities of top producers, you are more likely to become a top producer yourself.

Thoughts To Steer By On Your Way To Success In The Mortgage Business, From One Loan Officer To Another

What sets one loan officer apart from another? And how do some people become “top producers” in their office, while others slowly squeak by? Surely, we all have the same amount of time, resources, and intelligence (debatable?!) available to us. So why do some loan officers fail, while others succeed? Here are some points to remember which will help ensure your success… Take control. Stay on top of things and be sure monitor your loans as they progress on their way to the closing table. Always be aware of what stage a file is in during process. Don’t trust anyone else with your commission check. Stay aware of any problems that arise, and work with your processor to fix them. If you can help speed things up, please do—but not at the expense of making new sales! In my office, Nancy and I have a communications system in place (namely, my mortgage closing system). I religiously write down every detail of a file and go far beyond just the 1003. Questions I ask include: “When are your taxes due?” (Useful for estimating accurate escrows). “Will you both be available to sign closing documents in the next 30 days?” (Useful for scheduling purposes, I want to know ahead of time if any vacations or expected trips are planned). “Do you need a set amount of money as cash-out at the closing table or will you take whatever is left over?” (Customers don’t understand that escrows can change, and they might be expecting a higher amount as cash-out than they actually receive). And of course, the catchall question: “Is there anything else, financially, legally or otherwise, that I should know about that may affect your loan?” (Use this to disarm any landmines that may pop-up). Remember to always put the customers needs first, ahead of yours. Empathize with the customer and let them know how hard you will work for them. Gain their trust early on, and the amount of referrals you will receive will be immeasurable. Never let a detail slip by. Remember to ask all the important questions upfront. And, always, always, always, fill out the 1003 loan application completely and fully! There are no shortcuts to success. Learn everything you can from the other, more experienced loan officers in your company and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I always ask my wholesale reps, attorneys, and appraisers questions. I want to know as much as I can about every facet of this business. And I know, that with each day as my knowledge increases, my job becomes easier, and the more sales I will make. You will too! Never repeat the same mistake twice. When something goes wrong on a loan, ask yourself “Why?”, then try to brainstorm ways to tackle this hurdle so it doesn’t happen again. No loan closes as quickly as you think it will. By ironing out as many bumps as you can, it makes your next loan that much more streamlined and straightforward. At the end of every loan we close, Nancy and I make a list of what went right, what went wrong, and why. We write down how we can improve the process and make things better. Taking 5 minutes after the closing to do this will pay many dividends to you in the future. Stay focused on why you are in this business. Is it to help people? Do you enjoy the daily challenge of earning your own income? What is it that drives you to be successful? What goals do you have? What is your long-term plan? For me, when I first started out, I was only earning about 10% commission on every loan I closed. That’s right, a measly, 10% on each one! Peanuts, you say??!!! But, I had a plan…and I knew that once I learned the mortgage business from the inside, I could move on to bigger and better things. (Not to mention, fatter commission checks!). I sacrificed two years of my life to learn the ropes, with the prospect of earning, much, much, more in the future. Isn’t that what people do when they go to college? (I did that too, by the way!). Remember this, no matter what your current firm is paying you now, there is always another mortgage company out there that will PAY YOU MORE! Do an online search for “mortgage net branch”, and you will find dozens of companies that will double or even triple your current commission check. Good sales people are hard-to-find and are always in demand. If you leave one job, don’t worry. You can easily find another. But, make sure you leave on your own terms--and more importantly--at a time of your choosing. These are just a few of the things that I have helped me become successful. I know that when I hand a borrower’s file over to Nancy, she will take excellent care of the loan. And because I do my job as a loan officer as thoroughly as I can (by filling out everything on my worksheets), it makes her job that much easier. As you can see, there are many different ways to become successful in this industry. Believe in yourself and what you are doing; put the customer’s needs first and ask the important questions upfront; and stay focused on what you want to get out of your business. If you only did these three things alone, you’d go far as a loan officer! Now go get ‘em!

7 Tips For Increasing Your Sales With A Guarantee

People are more likely to buy your product or service if you make their decision as easy as possible Based on the techniques of hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic Programming, you want them to picture in their mind what it will be like in the future after they have bought it. It may be difficult for them to do that if there is too much risk involved so your marketing task is to remov the risk. The way you do that is through some sort of guarantee. Most potential buyers will be a bit skeptical of buying whatever you sell and a guarantee removes a significant part of their risk. People want to know that you will "put your money where your mouth is." If you have confidence in your own product or service, this will help your customers feel at ease, leading to more sales. For this reason, the concept of "risk reversal" is crucial. If you can't stand behind your offer with a guarantee of some sort, people are likely to purchase from someone who does. So make sure you don't help the competition by missing out this part of your offer. Some people are too scared to offer a guarantee as they worry that people will take them up on it. The reality is that some will but, provided you deliver good quality and don't make unjustified claims, you will win more business by having the guarantee than you will lose in this way. Here are 7 ways you can get the best results from your guarantee. 1. Promote the value of your guarantee: Specify the details as though it is another product that adds value to your offer. Spell it out in plain, simple English. Make sure it is "no questions asked" to help put your customers at ease. 2. Make it personal, if possible: It's useful to help people see that there is a person behind the guarantee. So consider making it a "personal pledge" or a "personal promise" written to the buyer. 3. Longer is better: The longer the guarantee period, the more comfortable the buyer will feel - and longer guarantees typically lead to fewer refunds. In the extreme version, people only pay after they have tried it out to their satisfaction. 4. More is better: A guarantee that offers 'more than your money back' is very appealing. Let your customers keep something even if they decide to return the product. This helps them see the purchase from you as totally risk-free - because you're the one with all the risk. 5. Be creative: Think about what the customer really wants and consider offering guaranteed results rather than offering money-back. For example, a computer repair shop that will fix your machine even if it takes 5 trips back to the shop will really stand out from the crowd. No "or your money back" needed! 6. Make it prompt: When a customer asks for a refund, make sure it is prompt and courteous. Consider them a priority as it's better to refund the money than to have an unsatisfied customer. 7. Work on reducing refunds: Whatever you do, there are always likely to be some people who will ask for refunds. It is a simple fact that customers change their minds or were just looking for something else. Take the chance to get some feedback and see if you need to make changes. A good guarantee can provide a high level of comfort to your prospective customer that will make it easier for them to see the potential of working with you. So it's well worth making it part of your marketing package.

7 Tips For Increasing Your Sales With A Guarantee

People are more likely to buy your product or service if you make their decision as easy as possible Based on the techniques of hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic Programming, you want them to picture in their mind what it will be like in the future after they have bought it. It may be difficult for them to do that if there is too much risk involved so your marketing task is to remov the risk. The way you do that is through some sort of guarantee. Most potential buyers will be a bit skeptical of buying whatever you sell and a guarantee removes a significant part of their risk. People want to know that you will "put your money where your mouth is." If you have confidence in your own product or service, this will help your customers feel at ease, leading to more sales. For this reason, the concept of "risk reversal" is crucial. If you can't stand behind your offer with a guarantee of some sort, people are likely to purchase from someone who does. So make sure you don't help the competition by missing out this part of your offer. Some people are too scared to offer a guarantee as they worry that people will take them up on it. The reality is that some will but, provided you deliver good quality and don't make unjustified claims, you will win more business by having the guarantee than you will lose in this way. Here are 7 ways you can get the best results from your guarantee. 1. Promote the value of your guarantee: Specify the details as though it is another product that adds value to your offer. Spell it out in plain, simple English. Make sure it is "no questions asked" to help put your customers at ease. 2. Make it personal, if possible: It's useful to help people see that there is a person behind the guarantee. So consider making it a "personal pledge" or a "personal promise" written to the buyer. 3. Longer is better: The longer the guarantee period, the more comfortable the buyer will feel - and longer guarantees typically lead to fewer refunds. In the extreme version, people only pay after they have tried it out to their satisfaction. 4. More is better: A guarantee that offers 'more than your money back' is very appealing. Let your customers keep something even if they decide to return the product. This helps them see the purchase from you as totally risk-free - because you're the one with all the risk. 5. Be creative: Think about what the customer really wants and consider offering guaranteed results rather than offering money-back. For example, a computer repair shop that will fix your machine even if it takes 5 trips back to the shop will really stand out from the crowd. No "or your money back" needed! 6. Make it prompt: When a customer asks for a refund, make sure it is prompt and courteous. Consider them a priority as it's better to refund the money than to have an unsatisfied customer. 7. Work on reducing refunds: Whatever you do, there are always likely to be some people who will ask for refunds. It is a simple fact that customers change their minds or were just looking for something else. Take the chance to get some feedback and see if you need to make changes. A good guarantee can provide a high level of comfort to your prospective customer that will make it easier for them to see the potential of working with you. So it's well worth making it part of your marketing package.

How to More Effectively Convert Your Accounts Receivable into Cash

Converting accounts receivable into cash is a critical process in the development of a healthy cash flow. While booking a receivable is accomplished by a simple accounting transaction, the process of maintaining and collecting payments from your customers requires a steadfast commitment to a systematic process of Accounts Receivable Management. To more effectively convert accounts receivable into cash it's essential that the credit and collection process be highly efficient in order for you to shorten the accounts receivable cycle time. The accounts receivable cycle starts with a sale (credit sales) which in turn creates a receivable (monies due your company), and then, ultimately converts into cash. The length of time that it takes your company to complete this cycle, from sale to accounts receivable to cash, is the collection period. The shorter the collection period, the less time cash (capital) is tied up in the business process, and thus the better for your company's cash flow. Try to limit outstanding accounts receivable to no more than 10 to 15 days beyond your credit terms. If your credit terms are net 30 days, then the collection period should not extend beyond 45 days. Keep in mind that average collection periods do vary because of industry standards, company policies, or financial conditions of the customer. Comparing your company's actual days of collection to the average days of collection within your industry is a wise business practice. Benchmarking your actual days of collection to that of your target days of collection (no more than 10-15 days over credit terms) is also advisable. Your company's average collection period is calculated by using an Average Collection Period Ratio. The ratio is referred to as an Activity Ratio; it measures how quickly your company converts non-cash assets to cash assets. Average Collection Period (ACP): ACP = Accounts Receivable / (Credit Sales/365)) A high Average Collection Period implies that your company may be too liberal in extending credit to your customers and too lax in the collection process. A low number of days in your collection period could imply that your credit and collection policies are too restrictive. This restrictive position may be repressing your sales. Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio (ART) is an accounting measure used to quantify your company's effectiveness in extending credit, as well as, collecting its debts. This ART Ratio is considered a Liquidity Ratio; it measures the availability of cash to pay debt. Accounts Receivable Turnover (ART): ART = Net Credit Sales / Average Accounts Receivable A high Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio implies that, either your company operates on a cash basis, or that its extension of credit and collection of accounts receivable is efficient. A low ART Ratio implies that your company should re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of monies due from the accounts receivable ledger. A key requirement for effective Sales and Accounts Receivables management is the ability to intelligently and efficiently manage your entire credit and collection process. Greater insight into a customer's financial strength, credit history, and trends in payment patterns is paramount in reducing your exposure to bad debt. While a comprehensive collection process greatly improves your cash flow, your ability to penetrate new markets and to develop a broader customer base hinges on the ability to quickly and easily make well informed credit decisions and, to set appropriate lines of credit. Your ability to quickly convert your accounts receivable into cash is possible if you execute well- defined collection strategies. Credit Process: The initial requirement of an effective credit management process is to have each company that you plan to do business with, complete and sign an Application for Credit form. Your Application for Credit form should include, the "terms and conditions of sale," space for the prospective customer to provide information on company background, a list of principal owners with their percent of ownership, three to five trade credit references, and the name of their bank(s). It is important to personally review with the prospective customer their projected product purchases - in both dollars and in units. This review helps to initially assess the amount of credit necessary to purchase the projected products. This review also helps to determine inventory requirements based on a projected sales forecast Collection Process: An efficient and effective collection management process includes well defined policies and procedures that facilitate a more expedient, sale–to-cash cycle. The collection procedures require "attention to detail" and should include: • Billing: Preparation, recording, and delivery of invoices as soon as the product/service is delivered or installed. • Statements: Preparation, recording, and delivery of follow-up statements that indicate aging of outstanding balances. • Accounts Receivable Aging Schedule: Preparation and distribution of an Aging Schedule that lists all of the customer accounts that have outstanding balances. These outstanding balances are then categorized into 4 categories of time: 1 to 30 days, 30 to 60 days, 60 to 90 days, and over 90 days. • Telephone Calls: Placement of courteous and professional telephone follow-up calls to customers with past due, outstanding balances for the purpose of establishing a date of payment. • Collection Letters: Preparation, recording, and delivery of collection letters with an urgent message that demands payment and provides details of the action that will be taken if payment is not received by a certain date. • Recording Payments: Posting of the amount of payment to the appropriate customer account. If possible, it is advisable that the person performing the collection duties not be involved with the posting of payments. • Deposits of Collected Funds: Preparation of the deposit ticket, along with accompanying funds, should be deposited in the bank on a timely basis. Factoring as an Option Very simply, factoring is short-term financing that is obtained by selling or transferring your Accounts Receivable to a third party - at a discount - in exchange for immediate cash. In most cases, the third party, a factoring company, audits your accounts receivable to determine their collect-ability. If the factoring company feels that your receivables are bona fide then, they will offer to purchase the current ones at a discount. A factoring company may also, under the right circumstances, purchase your future receivables at discount off the face value of the receivables. The percentage discount depends upon the age of the receivables, how complex the collection process will be, and how collectible they are. Once the factoring company collects a particular receivable, they will pay you the remaining balance of that receivable's face value, less their fee. Fees vary widely from one factoring company to another. So, it is recommended that you do your due diligence before engaging the services of any particular company. Factoring fees are not insignificant when compared to the amount of interest you might pay to a commercial lender. For this reason alone, you should view factoring only as a short-term solution rather than a regular outlet for collecting your receivables. Many businesses, that need an immediate infusion of cash in order to survive and/or to bridge their cash flow gap, could benefit from the process of factoring accounts receivable. Since failing businesses regularly turn to factoring as a last resort, factoring may be viewed by many people as a negative. Although factoring may be a great way to generate cash quickly, you should consider the perception that factoring may convey to your customers and to others in your industry. Your good judgment here should dictate if your company could benefit from the quick cash flow that factoring provides, or whether or not it would be just adding to your company's financial burdens. Shortening the accounts receivable cycle time generates the healthy cash flow that is required to sustain your company's growth and prosperity. Copyright 2008 Terry H. Hill: Terry H. Hill is the founder and managing partner of Legacy Associates, Inc, a business consulting and advisory services firm. A veteran chief executive, Terry works directly with business owners of privately held companies on the issues and challenges that they face in each stage of their business life cycle. To find out how he can help you take your business to the next level, visit his site at http://www.legacyai.com

End Of Year Business Growth Strategies

Summary: Smart business owners know the end of year is the time to pull out all stops. To give their all to finishing at the top and leave mediocre performers trailing in their dust. Here's how to end the year on a profitable high.

While watching marathon runners it's easy to see there are two distinct types of runners. The first gets excited when reaching the finish line. This is the time for putting everything they've got into reaching that goal.

The second type of runner sees the goal and says to himself, 'Now I can slow down. Now is the time to stop pushing myself so hard. I'm almost there.'

The problem with this second attitude is slowing down causes the runner to get passed by more assertive runners. It also limits the runner's chance of reaching the best he can truly achieve. He has limited himself to a mediocre performance. Or worse, he will give out altogether.

These same attitudes also exist in businesses at the end of the year.

There's one group of business owners and decision makers who know this is the time to pull out all the stops. To give it their all to finish at the top of their game and leave mediocre performers eating their dust.

Unlike a real race though, it takes very little effort to finish on a high. That's because most competitors choose to simply sit back and watch the year wind down to an end instead of push themselves to achieve more.

So what is needed to finish first, to truly put your best effort forward and end the year at the top of your game?

First you need to make a commitment to stay in the game. Not to give up and not to make up excuses that it's almost over. And second you need to realize that in business, you get to make your own rules. You can choose your own course. No one can force you to stay in the same under-performing pack as everyone else. You can legally choose your own shortcuts for reaching the finish line ahead of everyone else.

There are several 'shortcuts' for finishing the year on a high note.

First is to look at your current client list and ask yourself, are you fully utilizing the relationships you've formed with your clients? Are you getting maximum use from your client database? When was the last time you made a special offer to your clients of something they actually wanted?

And like a runner handing off a baton in a relay race, when was the last time you passed on the tools needed for your clients to send you more referrals, given them incentives to buy more frequently and in higher volumes? When did you last reward your top performing clients?

If you are not doing these things you are not putting yourself ahead of the pack, you are running along with them with the same mediocre performance.

Also, not only do you need to focus on staying in the game and winning, you must take steps to insure your clients 'stay in the race' with you. And if some have fallen out, you need to take steps to get them back up and running.

This involves including a customer reactivation and client attrition program into your end of year marketing. What type of customer appreciation programs are you using to help your clients maintain their energy and enthusiasm for you? Don't have one? That should be your immediate focus right now. Today.

Second to reactivating clients and preventing attrition is making special offers encouraging existing clients to continuing going strong. To pick up the pace and spend more. Not just because you want them to spend more, but because it's in their best interest.

What type of pace do you think a person would put into running a mile if they were told the reward is a dollar bill versus if a hungry lion were coming after them? What if at the end of the mile is a safe, lion-proof shelter? What level of performance do you think they'd put into this mile? Obviously a huge difference.

But the thing is, the distance has nothing to do with the amount of effort exerted. The distance is the same. But the incentives differ.

It's the same with your end of year offers and incentives. You must make your offers irresistible. Not because it's what you want to give, but because it's something your clients want to get.

These are just some of dozens of ways to end the year on a high note.

Really, if you set a goal to increase sales instead of focusing on just finishing the year you can come out ahead. It simply requires making the decision to put your best foot forward and increase your activity during these final legs of the year.

By doing so you'll stand out well in advance of the pack that simply wants to reach the end of the year. You can come off victorious.

Note to Publishers: You may publish this article in your newsletter, on your website, or other online or offline publication as long as the article content is not altered without prior permission. Online the resource box must include an active link. Notification of use of this article is appreciated, but not required. The author can be reached at http://www.andrebell.com/askandre

Critical Decisions For Small Business - Planning Ahead For System Failure

Many small businesses subsist on a small but manageable profit margin. Most small businesses are run by do-it-yourselfers. When there is such a fine line between profit and loss, most owners will opt to rely on themselves rather than bring in professional resources. Unless they know for a fact that a computer system vendor or consultant is reasonably priced, ethical, and capable of remaining within the budget, they will opt to assign a low priority to what may appear on the surface to be a non-critical consideration. Oftentimes, they will backburner a project that doesn't need attention right this minute just to keep the daily work flow on track. This can become an issue when there is a need for a capital expenditure that was not carefully planned for. It not only can dig significantly into the bottom line, it can disrupt the normal course of business.

Let's take for example a make-believe business. I'll call it "A+ Clown Store". The A+ Clown Store is a retail store that has been in business for thirty years. They pride themselves on customer service, and have a loyal customer base because of their consistent ability to provide product rapidly. This trait has enabled them to continue to be competitive, even though they do not have a website. They market to existing and potential clients through mail campaigns.

They have one server and two workstations that are networked together that they purchased used fifteen years ago. The software is a DOS based point-of-sale and inventory control system. They have an aging impact printer that is used for multi-part invoices and packing slips. They have a fairly new laserjet printer used for letters and flyers. Everything works. However, the software vendor retired several years ago, so no software support. But that's okay, right? Everything works. The owner knows enough to occasionally clear unused files from the hard drive, run defrag and diagnostic utilities, and backup.

The problem is that eventually hardware components fail. One grim day, the trusty old DOS based server powers down for the last time. Let me present to you two possible endings to this unlucky event.

Ending #1: The owner knew, deep in the back of his mind, that this might happen someday. However, his luck had held out so far, and he didn't consciously consider that it might one day change. He did not have a plan in place, even though his old software vendor has warned him. His attempt to find an equivalent replacement server only met with laughter from the local computer shop. His inquiry as to whether his backed up software and data could be loaded and run on a Windows network also met with laughter, all the more when he disclosed that his backup was on 5.25 inch floppy disks. It ended up that he spent an immense amount of time, not to mention way too much money, on a new hardware platform, new software, and a computer technician to put it all together, train employees, and salvage data. Ouch! Big hit to the bottom line, and big hit to the customer base due to all the downtime.

Ending #2: Several years earlier, when the software vendor retired, he was kind enough to let the owner know that a system failure of aging equipment could have devastating effects on business. The owner wisely took this to heart. He and his employees began to review demonstrations and talk to other retail owners about available point-of-sale and inventory control software, and identified the most suitable replacement software for the future. He hired a recommended computer consultant to provide him with a plan. Since the owner had no desire to make any major changes while everything was going so smoothly, the consultant recommended a hardware backup device that could interface with the old hardware, as well as with current hardware technologies. It would be used for a data only backup, since the owner was aware that once there was any system failure, the old software would be unusable, but the ability to convert the data to a new software application would be critical. The plan also provided a method of implementing a new hardware network, loading new software, and converting existing data in a timely and efficient manner. Given a reasonable estimate, the owner increased his monthly feed to his capital expenditures account. He also devised a down-time plan describing how his business would operate manually in the transition period. So when that fateful day finally arrived, he was ready! Small hit to the bottom line, and no hit to the customer base.

The moral of this story is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". However, do maintain it, do upgrade as possible, do have an action plan, and do have funds stashed away. Do not get caught unprepared. I assure you that this will help keep your profit margin intact, and your customer base satisfied.

Huge Profits In Carpet Cleaning Business

Becoming a carpet cleaning business owner is a wonderful way to increase your income and make a good living. The carpet cleaning industry brings in good money all year long in good times and bad since it is recession proof business. there will always be carpet in the need for cleaning. This type business is quite easy to start since it requires no heavy capital, no prier experience or education.

Carpet cleaning machines can be purchased for a couple of thousand dollars. You can start your search on the internet which will bring up some good results. Some machines are way to big to fit into a car so it is easier if you have a van, pick up or truck of some sort for these type machines. There are newer models of carpet cleaning machines on the market today that are smaller, but just as powerful as the bigger machines. Since some of the newer models are smaller they easily fit into most cars. The feedback from people who own these powerful newer models are very good. These machines save them money since they don't have to buy a van to carry it around, they are light weight, and they have new technology that makes the older bigger style machines obsolete.

When entering the carpet cleaning industry you have a choice to either specialize in home carpet cleaning or do businesses either it be offices, retail or restaurants. Usually if you go the home carpet route you can clean during the day but when cleaning carpets of businesses it is usually done in the evening/night hours after the business has shut down for the day. It is really up to each person and the hours they decide they want to work. Of course there is no rules that you can't do both home and business carpet cleaning since the newer machines can handle the carpets of either a home or business.

One thing to take in consideration is that home owners usually don't have their carpets clean more then a couple of times per year so it might take a bigger cliental of home owners to reach the same profit as someone cleaning only a few offices. Office/businesses usually have their carpets clean much more frequently since there is more foot traffic in these places and they need to keep a nice, fresh appearance for their customers.

Some of the good things about having your own carpet cleaning business is you are free to make your own hours, there is no meetings to sit through, no boss over looking your every move, no time clock to punch, and best of all have the free time to enjoy the money you make. It is a business where you can easily earn $500 a day and $1,000's on a weekly bases working part time. Thousands of people have achieved great wealth by owning their own carpet cleaning business and this is because people are willing to pay good money to have fresh clean carpets in their home/business.

Advertising for a carpet cleaning business is really not a big deal. As long as you provide a professional service and do a great job for each of your clients the word will spread like a wildfire, you will have more then enough clients seeking you out for your services. Of course when you are just starting out you will need to do some advertising like send out some postcards, set up some flyers, hand out business cards and soon you will be receiving calls for your service. Before you know it your bank account will be filling up with a very nice income which will continue to grow as you get new clients.

Even though the newer carpet machines are light weight, powerful and easy to work with some people just don't like any kind of labored work. If you are someone who just can't see them selves cleaning carpet, that's okay, this type business can still work for you. For those who do not wish to do the labor they can simply invest in the machine(s) and supplies. and hire one of two reliable, good working people to do the actual labor. It is up to each business owner, they can pay them a nice hourly wage or split the profit from each job. Though it is known if you pay someone a good wage then they will take more pride in the job which in turn will make your business look more professional.

I have just informed you with some benefits of starting a carpet cleaning business. I hope this article has shined some light on the opportunities that a carpet cleaning business can provide you. It surely has given many people the chance to live the good life. Just look how many new homes and business go up each year, each of these homes/business will have carpet that needs to be cleaned and for this reason this makes the future of carpet cleaning a very good one.

What's Holding You Back from Your Business Success?

Many business owners are struggling with their success and don't know why. Are you one of them? Perhaps you've analyzed the workings of your business with a fine-tooth comb. You've even hired a consultant to come in and poke around. You've tweaked here, nipped there, and still something's not right. What could it be?

Well, have you checked your thoughts lately? Yes, thoughts. While many factors can contribute to a lack of business success, the one most often overlooked is what you are thinking about. Ignore your thoughts, and you will be dispensing with one of your most powerful business allies.

Why are thoughts so important? Because your thoughts influence your feelings. How you feel influences what actions you take. And the actions you take have a direct influence on the results you achieve. Here's how to align your inner thoughts with your outer business success.

Step 1 - Identify What You Want

Below is a list of 20 words and phrases often used to describe a successful business. Circle the three that most represent how you want your business to be:

- Prosperous
- Thriving
- Successful
- Inspirational
- Booming
- Solid
- Doing Well
- Exciting
- Gratifying
- Lucrative
- Sustainable
- Strong
- Growing
- Flourishing
- Profitable
- In the black
- Cost Effective
- Rewarding
- Stimulating
- Fun

Next, copy the three you circled and add two more of your own.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Now, put feelings to your thoughts. Beside the five success words and phrases listed above, jot down the first one-word feeling that comes to you about that thought.

1. Example: Successful - Thrilled
2.
3.
4.
5.

Next to the feeling, rate on a 1-4 star scale just how strong this feeling is for you.

1. Example: Successful - Thrilled - 4 stars
2.
3.
4.
5.

Now, write any clarifying comment about your thought and feeling.

1. Example: Successful - Thrilled - 4 stars - This is exactly how I want my business to be.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Step 2 - The "Yeah, but What If . . ." Process

This is a very important step, so don't skip it. It examines your business from the inside out by identifying any doubts, worries, anxieties, or fears that the voice inside your head is expressing.

The "Yeah, but what if..." process will help you silence the chatter of your mind so you can identify which thoughts are getting in the way of and undermining your business success. Best of all, this step will get your thoughts down on paper, making them tangible and releasable.

Of the five "clarifying comments" you wrote down (above), circle the one comment that most deeply resonates with you. Then, write next to it all the doubts, worries, anxieties, and fears that pop into your mind that begin with the words "yeah, but what if."

Example: This is exactly how I want my business to be (clarifying comment). Yeah, but there is no way I'm going to have the kind of success I want. I don't know what I'm doing and don't have enough money. What if I don't attract enough clients to make this work, run out of money, get sick, and don't have enough time to put into my business?

Step 3 - The Release

Now it's time to do a symbolic release of the thought that is keeping you from your business success. This one act may not entirely get rid of the thought. It will, however, alert your subconscious mind that you intend to release that thought and replace it with one that is more aligned with your business success. Have some fun with this release process!

Take the piece of paper containing your clarifying comment and "yeah, but what if" worry, doubt, anxiety or fear and, with great enthusiasm and vigor, crumple it up and get rid of it. You can throw it away, burn it (safely), or shred it to pieces. While you're doing this, say out loud: I release all doubts and fears that hold me apart from my business success. I am willing and ready to be successful now.

Finally, remove the thought from your sight by sweeping away the ashes, flushing the pieces, or emptying the wastebasket into an outside trash bin.

Congratulations! You've now gone through a very powerful process.

Quick and easy to do, this process will reveal which thoughts are keeping you apart from your business success. Then it will align your inner thoughts and feelings so that you can take the most inspired and productive outer actions. Whenever you find yourself struggling in your business, turn to these three steps to help you find out why.

8 Essential Tips for Personal Taxes and Accounting

A very important part of personal financial planning is tax planning. This article will help you take the mystery out of personal tax Planning by providing a financial planning perspective for your overall tax situation.

1. Be aware of the different types of taxes

Many people are not aware of the different types of tax systems that we have. Income: Federal, State and Local. Real estate tax. Tax on Investments: Dividends, interest, capital gain, and passive income on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and investment real estate. Estate or Inheritance Tax: Federal and state tax due on the estate or the inheritor. Gift tax: tax on giver of large gifts. Entitlement Tax: Social Security and Medicare (FICA), Federal Unemployment (FUTA). Sales, self employment, and corporate taxation.

2. Consider working with a Qualified Tax Professional

Tax planning can be complex for many people, therefore it may be wide to work with a trusted professional tax advisor.

Tax advisors not only prepare your taxes but can help make decisions that will affect your future. They can serve as advisors for a whole host of matters and they can represent you if you face the dreaded audit. Consider the following when selecting a tax professional:

- Local: Someone that you can easily meet with face to face

- Personable: Someone that you can interact with and who cares about you

- Proactive: Some tax preparers simply look at your previous year's return and plug your current numbers into last year's format. This of course assumes that last year's preparer knew what he/she was doing. Try to find a preparer who knows your situation. A proactive professional will ask questions that will help you anticipate changes in your tax situation to help you properly plan in advance

- Reputable: Find a professional with a good reputation. Ask people you admire for a referral.

- Skilled: Look for an accountant that is very competent. You have to be smart to obtain a degree in accounting or law.

Fees: Find out up front what they estimate their fees to be, what they charge to file electronically and whether they will represent you in an IRS audit. Avoid any 'early refund' ploys. Some well known tax preparation companies 'provide' this service which charges a hefty fee (with a lot of small print) and a lot of advertised hype for you to get your refund 'early'. It is basically a high-interest loan. Just waiting for your actual refund will save you a lot of money.

3. Remember, tax preparation entails both art and science

The science involves the mathematical calculations that in most instances can be figured using calculators and software, and the infinite number of complex tax laws.

The art of tax planning comes into play with interpretation of any special circumstances. There are some areas of tax law that leave the government's intentions unclear. No law can completely anticipate each person's situation. You could call a dozen different IRS agents with the same question and get as many different answers. A proactive planner will research any unusual circumstances you may have and help you plan a course of action.

4. Doing Your Taxes Yourself?

I firmly believe in getting professional tax assistance. However, I realize that many people prefer to do their own taxes perhaps to save money, or perhaps you have cleaned up the mess a 'store front' preparer made of your taxes and vow to do your own. It has been my experience that often the professional tax preparer has saved us the amount of their fee in our taxes. The peace of mind that the taxes are done right has a value all its own.

However, people who have prepared their own taxes at least once with paper and pencil or software usually understand taxes much better. If you self-prepare your taxes, consider having a qualified accountant review them before you send them in. They may find things you or the software might have missed.

If you made less than $54,000 in 2007, you can file your taxes electronically for free through the irs.gov website www.irs.gov/efile/. If you use tax software and wish to e-file be aware of the fees so that you can budget and compare prices properly. For example, a download of Turbo Tax Home and Business Federal and State for 2006 cost just under $100 and the filing fees cost around $30. Some States allow you to 'phone in' your State return for free.

If you choose to mail your return, go to your local post office and send it 'Certified Return Receipt' mail to insure that you have a record that the IRS received your paperwork. This will cost around $10 or less and will be worth every penny should the IRS contest the receipt of your return.

5. Keep great records

If you are already very organized you may read this section just to feel great about your organization skills or skip to the next section. If, however you have heard 'get organized' many times before and if you are the type of person who balks at the idea of organizing that mess of receipts just remember how you felt last year as tax time approached. You could become organized in only one evening of television viewing with the right tools. Arm yourself with an accordion file with at least 16 sections. Label them according to your situation or use the following sections: Auto, Bank, Business, Credit Cards, Dental, Medical, General Receipts, Grocery, Income, Insurance, Mortgage, Utilities, School, and Taxes. Now sort your receipts into these sections. Organizing your receipts will help you "Take the mystery out of..." your financial situation. Use a new accordion file every year. Not only will this help you find needed information, it will also help you find a receipt in case you need to return an item you purchased. . Your tax professional will be sending you a tax organizer the end of December or the first of January. In this organizer will be a list of information that you will need to gather. Becoming organized will help you easily gather the information you need to fill out your tax organizer.

6. Start early

Do not procrastinate on your taxes. Tax professionals are unbelievably busy January through April. Firms who prepare business returns also have a crazy March 15 business deadline. We are providing this information because we want you to get the most attention from your preparer during their craziest season. As soon as you get your organizer, begin gathering the needed papers. If you are only missing one or two pieces of information return the organizer to your accountant with a note that says what is missing. They will begin entering the information in their software. Try to get a January or February meeting with your accountant. These months are the best to meet because they will have more time to spend with you and they will be able to think proactively. If you are looking for a professional, start looking now.

Another reason to start early is allowing yourself time to look for records, ask financial institutions for copies of lost information, or calling investment companies for statements.

7. Judicious Paycheck Tax Withholding

Many people like to overpay their taxes, so that they get a nice refund in time for vacations or other wants and needs - Kind of like a forced savings. Overpaying taxes is like a giving the government an interest free loan of your money.

Good financial management involves developing savings habits so that you set aside money in an interest bearing account from each paycheck for future needs, wants and emergencies. This helps you to avoid using credit cards for those things and not having to wait until refund time. Secondly it then allows you to manage how much you can afford or are able to put into 401(k) plans at work. This accomplishes two things, first you are managing your money better and you are saving for retirement. Saving for retirement in tax deductible retirement plans like 401(k)s will also lower your taxes, enabling you to save more for retirement and everyday needs and wants.

If you want to lower the taxes that are being withheld from your paycheck, file a new W-4 form with your employer to claim an additional withholding. Make adjustment for getting married, divorced, having children and for increasing contributions to tax deductible retirement plans. Your accountant will help you estimate this.

8. Tax planning is not the tail that wags the dog

Taxes consume a large if not the largest single percentage of your income, therefore good financial planning should strive to lessen them, by whatever means possible as allowed by law.

However, tax planning is not the only core issue of good financial planning. Tax planning works in concert with your overall goals and your individual situation.

Single Entry Is Simple While Double Entry Bookkeeping May Be The Only Option

he difference between bookkeeping services and accounting may be unclear to the uninitiated while both are of vital importance to financial success. Bookkeeping is an important part of the accounting function and is essentially the record keeping of the financial transactions. Accounting is while incorporating the record keeping also includes the presentation, interpretation and financial control functions including interpretation of the numbers for the financial health of a business of which taxation can play a major part.

Bookkeeping stems from the recording of financial transactions and the accounting term for a business accounts as books. In effect the accounting function prepares a record of the monetary affairs of a business and stores the information in files called books. Hence the term bookkeeping often misspelled as book keeping which is the function of a librarian not that of a bookkeeper.

The financial affairs of a business involve many aspects and start with the recording of what is termed the prime documents. The task of a bookkeeping service which some businesses outsource is to record the prime documents, those prime documents being the sales, purchases and cash/bank transactions. All small businesses do bookkeeping and the most successful use the bookkeeping records as a basis for an accounting function to generate a more efficient financial service.

All business involves buying or selling something and the consequent function of receiving or paying money to the value of those transactions. Recording these transactions in larger business organisations is done by accounts clerks who work under the supervision of the accountant.

Invariably medium and larger businesses use a double entry system for recording transactions. Double entry accounting evolves from the fact that every transaction as a double effect on the business of which these are prime examples.

A sale is made. That creates a record of income for the business which is taxed on that income the other side of the financial transaction, the double entry, is the fact that the organisation who was sold the goods now owes the value of that sales invoice to the business. That is the double entry, record the sales income and also record the debt due from the customer who is now called a debtor.

Someone who owes the business a debt is called a debtor.

A purchase is made. That creates a record of expense for the business which can be deducted from income and lowers taxes and the other side of the financial transaction, the double entry, is the fact that the organisation who supplied the purchase on credit is now owed the money. That is the double entry, record the sales income and also record the credit due to the supplier who is now called the creditor.

Someone who has supplied goods on credit is called a creditor.

The third type of prime transaction is the transfer of money between the debtors and creditors and the business.

When a debtor pays his sales invoice the double entry is to add that amount of money to the business financial records and the opposite double entry goes to the debtor account to reduce the amount owed to the business since it has now received the cash.

When a creditor is paid the amount owed the money is recorded as reducing the cash resources of the business by for example deducting the money from the bank balance and the double entry reduces the amount the business now owes to the creditor account since it has reduced the credit received.

The bookkeeping function is to record these prime transactions. Since every financial transaction has an equal and opposite entry in the books there has to be a mathematical check that both sides of the transactions add up to zero. This check process is called a trial balance where both sides of the entries should be in agreement and normally the point at which the bookkeeping service is deemed to be complete.

Double entry bookkeeping is required for all businesses that require to produce a statement of its assets and liabilities. This statement of assets and liabilities is the total of all the balances from the trial balance and is called a balance sheet.

Many small businesses do not require a balance sheet. In the UK the production of a balance sheet is optional for every self employed business as it is not an obligatory requirement of the self assessment tax return form. A self employed bookkeeping system is not required to produce a balance sheet because the business effectively belongs to the owner and is that owners personal business.

Limited companies must produce a balance sheet under various financial acts and submit the balance sheet to both Companies House and the tax authority each year. The different rules applying to a limited company is because the accounts including the balance sheet are public records available to the members of that company and not necessarily the property of a single individual or partnership.

The self employed bookkeeping system can be simpler being produced from a single entry style of bookkeeping rather than double entry. Single entry bookkeeping makes a single entry for each financial transaction which is sufficient to produce an income and expenditure account, a profit and loss account, but does not make the reciprocal entry that establishes the value of the assets and liabilities.

Single entry can be as simple as making a list of the sales income and the purchase expenses. Such a bookkeeping system is valuable to the smaller business as it requires little or no bookkeeping or accounting knowledge. A smaller business can produce its own accounts without the need for a bookkeeper or accountant particularly if it has access to bookkeeping templates through bookkeeping software to produce the accounts in the accounting format required.

Special Tips for Selling Your Home During the Challenging 2007 Market

or those trying to sell a home this summer, the real estate climate can feel unseasonably chilly. Truth be told, this is one of the most difficult selling environments in recent history, so if you are feeling a bit frustrated and anxious, you are far from alone. All across the USA homeowners are pulling out the stops to try and encourage sales, but successful transactions are getting as scarce as hen’s teeth.

But before you despair, follow these tips offered by those with lots of experience marketing homes in bear markets:

• Calculate your heating costs going forward:

Especially if you live in a cold climate, consider the financial impact of keeping your house warm through the coming winter months. Fuel oil prices are likely to rise, and the expense of heating a home across a severe winter can add thousands of dollars to your overhead. If that is the case, you might want rebate a portion of that projected cost to your buyer, as an incentive to take the property off your hands while the weather is still warm. Don’t tell them that’s what you’re doing; just discount the price or add extra money to their side of the transaction by offering to pay some of their closing costs.

• Sweat the small stuff, but make sure you first take care of any “deal killers” that might be scaring away potential buyers:

Broken doorbells and doorknobs, cracked window panes, and dingy carpet or countertops can make a property look worn out, so consider fixing these relatively small items to dress up your home and make it more appealing. But first evaluate your property with the help of a Realtor or building contractor, to find out if you have any “deal killers”. If the house needs a new roof and has stains on the ceiling from rain leaks, for instance, it could be driving away all potential buyers. The same goes for obvious problems like the presence of potentially hazardous mold or a defunct heating and air conditioning system. Unless you address these problems – either by taking care of them or by lowering your asking price to account for them – buyers will not want to get involved.

• Add curb appeal:

If your home looks great from the curb, buyers will want to have a closer look. If it looks a bit shabby, they will just keep driving. Start with the entryway, which is what first attracts the eye, and make it look spectacular. Don’t invest a lot of money; just buy a new door or paint the one you already have and add some nice looking but inexpensive flowerbeds, potted plants, or border fencing to create a beautiful focal point leading into the home. Do-it-yourself landscaping involving some rich-looking mulch and colorful flowers can make a drab property pop like eye candy, and it doesn’t have to cost much to get dramatic results.

• Paint is the best makeup in the world for cosmetic enhancement of a home:

Paint is the most cost-effective tool for adding value to your home. Avoid expensive paints and designer hues in favor of contractor grade paint in neutral colors. Avoid dead white, because creamy shades are warmer and more inviting, and use complimentary semi-gloss colors to highlight window and door frames. A primer coat will help to cover stains and blemishes, and caulk is cheap so use it liberally to get your money’s worth from the project. For a really top-notch look, three coats of paint works miracles, and in small spaces like bathrooms this can be done without going overboard on your budget.

• Take an aggressive approach to showcasing your property:

Although it can be difficult and inconvenient, strategically redecorating your home could lure buyers and close a sale, making it well worth the effort. Don’t do a huge makeover; just concentrate on tactical “staging” of each room. Study the way that builders decorate their model homes for professional insight into how the process works to help market property. Remove all excess furniture and clutter – storing it off premises if possible – to make the rooms look larger and more spacious. You can hire professional real estate staging companies to do this, or consult an experienced Realtor for tips on how to make each room like its very best. Empty closets to show off their storage capacity, keep the property immaculately clean and neat for each and every showing to buyers, and use flattering lighting to highlight each room.

You might find that implementation of a simple and cost effective idea or two from this list might give you the advantage necessary to turn a lifeless listing into a successful sale. And that could be cause to celebrate before the last “hoorah” of summer arrives and qualified buyers begin to hibernate for winter.

To list your home with a broker committed to serving the GLBT community, visit www.GayRealEstate.com. To help your buyer get the loan they need, you can also check out www.GayMortgageLoans.com. Or just call toll free 1-888-420-MOVE (6683).