Who Should Join The Chamber of Commerce Education Committee?

Despite the critique, the United States has one of the best education system in the world, and no, it’s not perfect, and it’s almost impossible to please everyone. You have teachers unions, administrators, school boards, citizens, and you can never keep thirty kids in the classroom happy, quiet, and constantly learning. That’s a lot of minds to keep content. Okay so let’s talk about this because I’ve always believed that education is an important topic at every level of government, especially in your own community.

Most chambers of commerce have education committees, and this is very wise because the business community also has a stake in the education of Americans. After all, what good is a worker if they can’t read, write, or do basic math and can’t even count the change back to customers? Obviously you can see that point. If those who are educated are not productive members of society then we have a severe problem with keeping up in our technical age. Our civilization society cannot survive unless we have a solid school system and we are only as strong as our schools were 20 years the prior.

Now then, let’s talk a little bit about a Chamber of Commerce education committee and exactly who should be on it. Is my contention that large corporations within the district or city or region ought to be involved. Along with librarians, K-12 teachers, college professors, college administrators and even those who are running the Boys and Girls Club for instance. Everyone has a stake, and if the Chamber of Commerce is to get involved in education they need to have the proper input from the right people.

Since education is a community affair, and since chambers are part of the business community and an integral part of jobs and employment, it is critical that everyone work together. The chamber educational committee should be networking with businesses both small and large, and community groups before and after school as well. Chamber of Commerce members should be speaking at K-12 schools, and also involve themselves with the colleges and universities in the area not only for available internships, but also to advise on curriculum.

Why do I say this you ask? It’s simple; the curriculum needs to always be changing because the world is changing. Teaching people cursive writing, how to use a typewriter, an adding machine, or even a cash register doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s time for the world to move on, and the education system needs to be able to innovate along with it if it is to provide what the community needs in the way of future educated employees. Please consider all this and think on it.

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What Are the Most Profitable Home Based Businesses?

That’s a question lots of people have, especially now, when so many folks are looking for a way to supplement their income, fight the rising costs of day care by staying home with their children, or have found themselves unemployed.

Unfortunately, when the average person begins searching Google, article sites or forums for answers, what most often happens is they are either inundated with links and pitches to join “the most profitable home business in the industry” (that’s poised to be “the next industry giant”), or told that they “must have” a particular tool or system in order to be successful. For those just venturing into the home based business industry for the first time, trying to find the opportunity or business that’s right for them can be a daunting task.

There are many solid companies with great products and commissions, but not every company is right for every person. If they’re not careful, they could easily respond to the emotional message of a skilled presenter, spend all their money and yet find themselves no further ahead than when they started. But you want to have a profitable home based business and you want some answers. Honest answers to your questions; Where do I begin? What should I look for? Is one company better than another? Should I pursue affiliate marketing? What kinds of products are the “best ones” to sell? Etc… My answer…Your home based business doesn’t begin with a product or a company. It begins with YOU!

The most profitable home based business will likely be one based on something that you love doing…something YOU’RE passionate about. And given some thought, you’ll probably notice there’s more than one income stream attached to it. Create multiple “cash registers” all around you… that way, when one isn’t doing so hot, you’ll have the others to keep you going. For instance, if you are passionate about a healthy life style, you could blog about it and become the “go-to” person for information on the topic. Then you could sell vitamins and weight loss products, sell exercise programs, become an affiliate for tennis shoes, exercise clothing, pedometers, etc. A real business (think of a store in your town) has more than one item on the shelf to insure as many income streams as possible.

So start by asking yourself, “What do I really like to do?” Think, “What do I (or would I) spend money on to do it?” and you’ll find income streams. Take the time to brainstorm, and you’ll no doubt find many ways to turn what you love into a profitable business. Then do a Google search to find resources and training on that topic. There’s also lots of free training on sites like YouTube and many industry blogs and websites.

It bears mentioning again…you must be REALLY careful out there. Many people are only after the money that’s in your pocket, which is why you’ll find affiliate links and pitches to join deals peppered throughout the answers you get to your questions. (sorry guys…I call ‘em as I see ‘em) Remember…there is no “magic bullet” no matter how good it sounds. YOU’RE the one that has to put in the time and the effort, even if you have purchased a $3500 program.

PLUS…I’m an advocate of free and/or very low cost tools and training. More on that another time. You can get started in your home based business with a little self examination, some homework and very little out of pocket expense. Be careful out there…and good luck!!

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Create an Army of Followers For Your Home Based Business With Twitter

If you’re like most people, you’re still trying to figure out exactly how Twitter works, and how it can fit into your home based business marketing strategy. Well, don’t fret because you’re not alone. Many novice and experienced marketers alike are figuring out how to integrate this powerful social media tool into their marketing plans.Launched in 2006, today it is estimated that approximately 5 million people are Twitter users, with approximately 5 to 10 thousand new users joining every day. Clearly, this social networking site has the potential to put your home based business in front of thousands of prospective customers in a matter of minutes.Twitter is a public forum, and some have described it as “instant messaging to the public.” Here’s how Twitter works, on a basic level: Twitter allows you to post texted-based updates, or short messages called “Tweets” limited to 140 characters per tweet. Tweets are displayed on the poster’s Twitter profile, and delivered to those people or “followers” who have signed up to follow you on Twitter. The good news is that you can post an unlimited amount of tweets per day related to your home based business, allowing you to get around the 140 character limitation. When individuals signup to follow you on Twitter, they will see all of your tweets, therefore, the key is to establish a large group of followers who will see your updates on a regular basis.Once you establish your Twitter account, you can begin to build a following by searching for people who have a Twitter account and viewing their followers list.When you view their followers, you can simply click on the button to the right of the person’s picture, and follow each of those individuals on Twitter. Because many individuals set their accounts to automatically follow you back, by following others on Twitter, you can build a massive following of your own quickly, and therefore, build a following for your home based business.Another way to build a following is to simply tell all of your family, friends and associates to sign up as your followers on Twitter. You should also place your twitter URL on all marketing and promotional items. Once you have established a large enough following, you’ll really be able to leverage the power of mass communication. For example, a home based business owner with a following of 100 can literally tweet home base business or product information to those 100 individuals on a daily basis with no costs and minimal effort.Because Twitter is a public forum, however, it’s important to remember to keep your tweets professional, while still giving a personal touch. Tweeting about home based business updates or product information is fine, as long as you balance those posts with helpful or useful information from your particular niche of the home based business industry. Too much self-promotion on Twitter can leave a bad impression among the Twitter community, and can actually damage your business reputation on the long run.

Home Based Business Services – Do You Really Need A Bunch Of Stuff?

How many times have you seen the ads pop up during a web session browser, “Make money fast online” with home based business services? How many times have you visited the same type of site, only to find it was just another way to make a website, with all the same old fees involved? Or, perhaps the fee was all inclusive? All one knows, is that after doing enough research on these sites, it’s easier than ever to run your own home based business.So, how do you start? Well, the best way is to list the services you will offer. Keep in mind that this will need to be a pretty comprehensive list, especially if you are offering multiple services. After you have a good list, post it on your website and then it’s just a matter of providing contact information so that would be clients can contact you. With all the many, many ways to create a home based business service, how can one really distinguish what’s important to such an endeavor? There are at least two things that you will need.First, you’re going to need an auto-responder, to answer all the incoming emails for your home based business services, something along the lines to let people know that you will follow up with them at some time in the future. What is really going to be the time consuming part, is actually going through each email and adding that personal touch to it by answering that “soon to be” client. This way, you can generate your own leads, without having to pay someone else to find your new clients. This will cost about $20.00 a month, but it’s worth every penny. You’ll have a readymade list of clients that have been answered by your auto-responder. This also will enable you to answer each person individually, at your own leisure. This allows you to start a rapport with a client that ultimately will decipher whether or not you wish to work with that person.There will also be a need for a custom domain name, so that people can visit your web link, which will cost about $10.00 a year. After all, how will people find out about your services, if they can’t visit a link that lists the services you offer? There might be other fees that you will find along the way that are included as a business expense. However, a domain name fee, and an auto-responder are two fees that are essential to a home based business. Of course, all of it is useless without a computer, which you already have or you wouldn’t be reading this.Once you have your home based business services set up, the next step is to get to work. Don’t go out there and buy leads, generate your own. When you generate your own leads, you’re positioning yourself as the expert, rather than someone else. At that point it becomes about your relationship with your audience AKA your potential customers.

More Thoughts on Why Most Home Based Businesses Fail

Many of us have tried different home based businesses; MLM’s, Direct Sales, Network Marketing, whatever you want to call it, with no success to show for hours of pitching but damage to our relationships with the friends & family we’ve pitched to. Frustrated, we vow to never get duped into another “scheme” again. Here’s the truth about most home based MLM’s and Network Marketing Opportunities: they have too many variables for failure.Variable for Failure #1 – The “Warm” Market: Most home based businesses tell you to start out by writing a list of 100 people you know. Then you are told to pitch your product or opportunity to these people. There is a HUGE problem with this. These people already know you! They know you’re broker than a pyromaniac on the 4th of July! They are never going to join you in a business until you can prove to them that you are successful. If you want to have a successful home based business, you need to find a system that will teach you how to attract people to your opportunity that are already looking for it!Variable for Failure #2 – The “Presentation” Meeting/Party: Attempting to draw people to your product, service, or opportunity through small meetings and parties is flat-out a waste of time. You need to use a vehicle that places your business right under the nose of people who are already looking for it. Millions of people are using the Internet everyday to search for the products and services they desire. Your business needs to be online, on the front page of Google!Variable for Failure #3 – Lack of Automation: Robert Kiyosaki said, “The only difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they use their time.” He also said, “The poor and middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.” Many home based business owners get burnt out because they lack systems that automate many redundant tasks. They don’t have an automated system for drawing new, targeted prospects to their business. They don’t have an automated system for presenting their product to their prospects. They don’t have an automated system for signing up new members or customers. And they don’t have an automated system for training new team members. As a result, they never gain the time freedom they truly desire. Automation is the key to freeing up time. The most successful home based business owners are those who have systems at work in their business. They have systems for pitching their products, closing their sales and placing orders. These systems allow successful business owners to make money while they are taking a shower, getting their teeth cleaned or seeing a movie! Now that’s the way to do business!Variable for Failure #4 – YOU: Let’s face it, you are not the best sales person. You’re not even sure you understand what owning your business is all about. Many home based business opportunities get you to sign up, promising that your sponsor will teach you everything you need to know to make big bucks. What if your sponsor drops off the face of the Earth a couple weeks after you join? Then what do you do? When considering your next home based business opportunity, find a way to see what their training is like. If the company has an option to fully refund your start-up kit within 30 or 60 days, you may want to consider joining and take a good look at their training materials. If you don’t like what you see, get your money back! A cutting-edge company will have several different forms of training: live calls, recorded calls, video tutorials, webinars and live events. The best home based business opportunities will equip you to never having to rely on a sponsor again.

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How To Find A Real Home Based Business

It’s estimated that over 79 million people will start a home business over the next 3 years. This industry is obviously the way of the future, but with all the thousands of opportunities available, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a real home based business that can actually work. In this article, I’m going to give you a some tips on how to find a real home based business that fits you and can provide you with the type of income you are looking for.How To Find A Real Home Based BusinessIf you went to Google right now and typed in “home based business” you would literately get millions of results. Now, out of those results there actually are tons and tons of legitimate, real home based business opportunities. However, there are also a ton of low cost, no good business opportunities. So the big question people face when looking for a real home based business is “How do I know which one’s are legit and right for me?”When looking to start a home business, here are a couple of things to consider to help you find not only a legitimate home business, but one that fits you.As you are searching for a real home based business opportunity, the first and most important thing you need to look for is training and support. Whatever opportunity you are thinking about starting, find out if they offer quality training and support. One of the biggest reasons people fail when starting a home based business for the first time is due to lack of training, support, and guidance on what to do and how to be successful with their business.Just like everything else in life, if you have never done something before, you can’t just jump right in and expect to instantly know everything and get it right. You need to learn. A home business is no different. You need to make sure whatever opportunity you are thinking about joining is going to provide you with real training and support from people who are already successful in this industry and have experience.Tip – The secret to success in any home business, is surrounding yourself with the top mentors who have already been there, done that, and are willing to show you how… each and every step of the way.The next most important thing you should look for when searching for a real home based business is a marketing system. It doesn’t matter how great the opportunity you are joining may be, if it doesn’t provide you with a proven marketing system to go along with it, you are going to have a hard time finding success.While there are some opportunities out there that will provide you with a marketing system that’s already in place and ready for you to plug into, there are a lot more that will not provide you with any type of system. This is the second reason why people fail in the home business industry. If you don’t have a marketing system that is going to generate consistent leads for your business, you have no business.So when searching for a real home based business opportunity, keep these two things in mind. Any opportunity that will offer both of these things is probably going to be your best shot at succeeding in this industry.

7 Steps to an Online Home Based Business

Are you thinking about starting an online home based business from scratch but don’t really know how to get going? Well, then this article is for you! I have outlined seven steps to get your online home based business up and running in a matter of days, or even hours.Here you go…1) Defining Your Reasoning – The first thing you need to do is answer this question for yourself… why do you want to start an online home based business? Write down all the reasons for why you want to start an online business. Here are a few of the more common reasons: financial freedom, luxury vacations, more time with family, new car, new house, money for college, etc…Once you have written down as many things as you can think of for why you want to start your own online home based business then pick the best one that applies most to you. This is what you will use as your “reason” from now on. Now write this one reason on a separate piece of paper and post it everywhere you can, so you will see it many times per day. This will keep you driven and focused on your dreams.2) Domain Name – Since you are starting an online home based business it is obviously very important that you create an online presence for yourself and your business. So a website is an absolute must have. The first thing you need to do before you start building your website is to register a domain name. One of the best places for doing this is godaddy.comSo what should your domain name be? Well, I can’t entirely answer that for you but I can tell you that you want to make sure that your domain name reflects what your business is. Too many people use their names, some “cute” name, or some other irrelevant domain… do not do that unless it actually is reflective of your home based business!3) Choosing a Web Host – If you don’t have a way to host your domain/website, you won’t be able to proceed with your online home based business. Yes, this is a very important step!Here are a few things to look for when choosing a web host:SpeedIt is important to your business success to make sure visitors can see your site quickly. Part of this has to do with how fast your web-hosts servers are. Although there are a few other factors, server speeds are pretty darn important.Customer SupportWeb hosts should offer a variety of customer support options. These are typically toll free phone numbers, email support, frequently asked questions pages, live support, and help forums. Obviously the more support your host offers, the better it is for you if you ever need it.ReliabilityChecking out the reliability of a service is also very important to your website and ultimately your online business success. Hosts usually have several backup systems in case something goes wrong with the main servers. They also can promise less “down time” by backup power systems. I wouldn’t use a web host unless it has at least a 97% uptime guarantee.4) Building Your Site – This will most likely be an ongoing task for as long as you have your home based business. However, just to get something up and going at first here are some pointers…* Keep your text relevant to what you are offering.
* Do not stuff keywords in to your text.
* Do not put banners on your home page.
* Always have a catchy headline.
* Keep the site clean looking and easy to read.
* Dark text on light background is always best.
* Let your visitors know what you can do for them.
* Make navigation very simple for visitors.There are many more rules of website design but those are some of the basic ones that you need to worry about for now. This step is something you will always be keeping up on. Make sure you continue to learn, tweak, test, and build your site.5) Uploading files to your site – So you have built a few pages for your new site, now what do you do? Well, you have to upload them to your web host. Typically this will be done using “FTP”. Now you are probably thinking, “What the heck is that?” Well, don’t worry about all the technical stuff. In simple terms it is a way to get the files, or pages, that you just built onto your website and “live” to the world.You can just ask your web host for your FTP information or do some searching around the frequently asked questions in your control panel and you should be able to find this out fairly easily. Once you do it is simply a matter of putting in the information into an FTP client and watching it upload to your web site.6) Putting your business on autopilot – This is big step in creating a successful online home based business because it keeps you from being completely consumed by it and actually allows you to enjoy your new found freedom.One of the recipes to creating a successful online home based business is to automate as many things as possible. This will save yourself time to do things you do best and actually enjoy your business.One of the best ways to do this is with an autoresponder. An autoresponder pretty much defines itself. It will automatically send out your emails at intervals that you set.A great way to utilize autoresponders is to write up an e-course and/or a weekly newsletter, and then copy/paste those messages into your autoresponder, set the days you want your prospects to receive them, and voila… it’s on autopilot. You will want to have a form on your website for your visitors to subscribe to it. They will put in their name and email address and you will have a prospect to email to over and over again.I have used many different autoresponders since I started my home based business and I can tell you without a doubt that my favorite is Aweber. I use them to this day and highly recommend them. You can find them at aweber.com7) Automating the sales process – The last thing you need to do to get your online home based business up and going is to setup your ordering process, so visitors to your website can buy whatever product you are selling.The very first, and most common way people sell digital products, like ebooks and software, from their sites, is to use a 3rd party merchant called clickbank. You can find them at ClickBank.comSetting up an account with them is pretty darn easy to do and is quite a bit cheaper than getting a merchant account for your self. Just follow their instructions. They are well known and respected so you should feel safe with them.Alrighty, that’s all there is to it. Seven steps to getting your new online home based business set up and going strong. I will admit that for the complete beginner it may not be as easy as it sounds but it is not rocket science either. You could honestly have all this done in just a day or two. Do some reading, learning, a little bit of guessing, and jump right in. Your online home based business will take be up and running before you know it.If you have any questions I will be happy to help. You can find a link to contact me on my website (see resource box below).

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Legal Translators and Lawyers Work Hand-in-hand

“A poor (legal) translation can be just as dangerous as bad legal advice”. This is a quote from an article written in the Independent back in 1996. Legal translation is a very specialised type of translation service. Good legal translators know almost as much about law as lawyers do and yet they are paid less than a quarter of what lawyers earn for their professional services. The translation is not just about translating the language but it’s about conveying the meaning of foreign law, which is just that – foreign, complete with a new set of rules and regulations.

Most of us already need a translator to tell us what a legal document written in our mother tongue means, so imagine what advanced language skills are needed for legal translations. The formation of the European Union and increased globalisation of trade and industry has created a far bigger niche market for legal translating services. By the same token, it’s no longer enough for lawyers to know the law of their own country; they also need to have some idea of international laws.

Although legal translations are cheaper than lawyers, the bill can skyrocket if lawyers don’t choose the documents that are most important for the case to go through translation. The Independent mentioned a case where a legal translator was asked to translate 600 pages in two weeks. The quotation the lawyer received ran into the tens of thousands, so she resubmitted only the critically important documents.

Legal translators also have to work very quickly in certain circumstances. Sometimes a lawyer will need to read a document urgently for an upcoming case and they need the translation done ‘like yesterday’. While professional legal translators can work quickly, they can’t perform miracles and lawyers need translations to be done well. A sloppy translation done too quickly could result in the lawyer losing the case.

Legal translation services are more in demand than ever before, as City firms are unable to keep up with translations needed for foreign deals and negotiations. It’s been shown that certain City firms are unable to deal with the need for translations of French legal documents, let alone for legal documents from further afield. The globalisation of trade has brought about a new partnership; legal translators and lawyers will need each other for their continued survival in the modern world.

Professional Cleaning Services for Small Business Owners

Small businesses face many unique challenges but hiring a professional cleaning service means image won’t be one of them. Budgets are tight and a smaller company often must run on a leaner financial platform than larger competitors. When identifying where to cut corners, the small business owner might be tempted to skimp on professional cleaning services, however, many benefits to this service make the investment worthwhile.

Most successful small businesses find ways to get a leg up on the competition, and presenting a professional image is one critical way to achieve this goal. Many potential clients prefer working with a small business but how many will be willing to take a chance on a small company with a disheveled office or facility. A small business owner who thinks and acts like the big business leader he or she aspires to emulate has a greater chance of achieving those goals.

Professional janitorial services will help give the very best image for your company when customers visit. No one wants to be judged on appearance but the reality is that appearance – yours or that of your business – makes that critical first impression.. That first impression will become a lasting perception. Think about how you rate a potential employee or vendor; your future clients are likely to evaluate you and your business in the very same way. If that first impression is of a messy, dirty office, they may believe that you are already too busy to provide excellent service or – worse – that you simply don’t care.

The other critical mistake a small business owner may make is to attempt to self-clean the office or perhaps even ask employees to do it. Employees in a small business are likely few in number and probably already covering a variety of job duties. Don’t ask them to play janitor too! You’ve chosen your employees carefully and they represent one of your most valuable assets. Asking them to provide office-cleaning services in addition to everything else may leave them feeling devalued and send them in search of other employment opportunities.

Many professional cleaning services offer packages designed specifically for the small business and medical or dental clinics. Daily cleaning service may be overkill for a very small company today, both in terms of need and cost, but you may need that level of service in the future (or now if you run a medical office). Select an office janitorial service that will adapt to your company’s changing needs, allowing you to choose a less aggressive office cleaning schedule now, and ramping up the level of service as you grow the business.

Running a business of any size is challenging; running a small business requires critical thinking and tough decisions. One decision that’s both easy and wise is to make sure your company presents the very best image possible by hiring a commercial cleaning company to keep you in tip-top shape. As an added bonus, your employees are likely to be sick less and more productive.

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

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