Tangible, in-demand products sell well in any economy, and this fact of business may have drawn you to the realm of network marketing. If it has, or even if you’re entertaining the idea for some other reason, you would do very well to educate yourself about the market before attempting to start your business. Read this article for some great MLM tips.When you’ve completed your initial website, ask someone you know who knows nothing about network marketing to look at it. Have them use a critical eye when reviewing everything, and then find out if they would sign up through you if the website is all they had known about you.When you set your network marketing goals, look at the big picture. Consider how your marketing will affect your business in the longer term. Take careful stock of how your current marketing strategies will influence your business in three to five years. If the picture is not what you have in mind, make appropriate changes now.Avoid wasting your time. While working on the internet, it is very easy to become side-tracked. How many times have you found yourself reading everyone’s statuses on Facebook when your original plan was to post a quick update? Work with a schedule and make efforts to stay focused on your work.In network marketing, when people ask a question, you should provide the information they’re looking for. If you keep an index of topical information, people will see your website as a resource and continue to return time and time again. Keep your content fresh, useful, and plentiful, and you’ll see a great rise in visitors.Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. If you see other successful network marketers, ask them what they are doing to be so successful. Most networkers are not adverse to sharing their secrets, so long as long you are marketing a different product and won’t be honing in on their market share.One way to get bigger pools of potential recruits for your network marketing efforts is to encourage recruits to start thinking in terms of “friends of friends.” If your recruit provides you with a potential recruit, ask them who that person knows who might be suited to the program. Exploring wider circles this way can exponentially expand your recruiting pool.When you have a career doing network marketing, you need to make sure that you are spending your time wisely. Taking a lot of time to check your emails or Facebook is not really going to get you anywhere in terms of making more money. Make sure you know the sales of your company product, and how your sponsors are doing, then you can spend some time doing the things first mentioned.A great tip that can help you become successful at network marketing is to devote a lot of time and effort to your customers. Try to make a connection with each and every one of your customers. A great way to do this is by checking up with them after they make a purchase.Not everyone who joins your network marketing team will actually be a part of your downline. You can have what I call “horizontal hires”, people who you will pay for their services as they help you. The best way to use this is with a finders fee – a single payment that you set out when you make your agreement which they receive when finding someone who is interested in your offer.TwitterIn order to succeed at network marketing you need to focus on income producing activities and make sure that you spend your work time wisely. When working on your computer, do not waste all of your time logged onto Facebook or checking emails. Spend the majority of your online work time marketing, sponsoring people and selling your company’s products.A great tip that can help you become more successful at network marketing is to be aware of how much time you spend on social networking sites. Twitter and Facebook can be great resources when it comes to networking, but just make sure you aren’t wasting too much of your time on them.Don’t stick with what you already know and think that will be enough. If you want to be a successful network marketer, you need to have many skills that will advance your career. Know how to use Facebook and Twitter to help market. Learn how to write a successful blog. Always try and learn something new.FacebookUse the power of social media sites in today’s world to help you with your network marketing business. Network marketing is a business of today, and today is revealed through the internet and media. The two biggest things in today’s world are Facebook and Google. Optimize your search results on Google, and market your business and products on Facebook.Avoid wasting your time. While working on the internet, it is very easy to become side-tracked. How many times have you found yourself reading everyone’s statuses on Facebook when your original plan was to post a quick update? Work with a schedule and make efforts to stay focused on your work.When you have a career doing network marketing, you need to make sure that you are spending your time wisely. Taking a lot of time to check your emails or Facebook is not really going to get you anywhere in terms of making more money. Make sure you know the sales of your company product, and how your sponsors are doing, then you can spend some time doing the things first mentioned.In order to succeed at network marketing you need to focus on income producing activities and make sure that you spend your work time wisely. When working on your computer, do not waste all of your time logged onto Facebook or checking emails. Spend the majority of your online work time marketing, sponsoring people and selling your company’s products.A great tip that can help you become more successful at network marketing is to be aware of how much time you spend on social networking sites. Twitter and Facebook can be great resources when it comes to networking, but just make sure you aren’t wasting too much of your time on them.Use the power of social media sites in today’s world to help you with your network marketing business. Network marketing is a business of today, and today is revealed through the internet and media. The two biggest things in today’s world are Facebook and Google. Optimize your search results on Google, and market your business and products on Facebook.When you are involved in network marketing, it can be very easy to lose track of time by maintaining your network instead of expanding it. You can find yourself checking e-mails, logging on Facebook, and other activities that can be considered work but do not necessarily improve your income. Be aware of this and make sure that you dedicate at least a few hours each day strictly to expanding your network or finding customers.Don’t forget about social media when it comes to network marketing! Tweets get retweeted, and Facebook posts can be shared. Have your blog write on both sites when you post to your blog, and make sure to add other tidbits of information throughout the day to keep your followers interested. Link to articles that match the topic of your website, or mention positive achievements you’ve made recently.Don’t forget about social media when it comes to network marketing! Tweets get retweeted, and Facebook posts can be shared. Have your blog write on both sites when you post to your blog, and make sure to add other tidbits of information throughout the day to keep your followers interested. Link to articles that match the topic of your website, or mention positive achievements you’ve made recently.Don’t stick with what you already know and think that will be enough. If you want to be a successful network marketer, you need to have many skills that will advance your career. Know how to use Facebook and Twitter to help market. Learn how to write a successful blog. Always try and learn something new.Up top, you read about how popular products will sell well anytime. Throughout this article, you read some great tips on how to do your selling and how to pitch your products in order to build your team. Understand that there is a demand out there. You just need to educate yourself on how to become the supplier. Hopefully this article just helped with that.
What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime
What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.
As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.
That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.
Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.
Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.
Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.
Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.
That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.
Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.
Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.
My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.
Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.
And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.
All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:
• Farm eggs
• Fresh vegetables
• Cow’s milk
• Freshly baked bread
• Coal for our open fires
Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.
Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.
Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.
Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.
My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.
The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.
Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.
Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.
People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.
In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.
Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.
• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.
• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.
• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.
On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.
Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.
We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.
Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.
My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.
Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?
There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.
In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.
But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.
Different Types of Financing
One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.
Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.
But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.
Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.
Alternative Financing Solutions
But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:
1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.
2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.
3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.
In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:
It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.
A Precious Commodity
Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).
Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.
Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?