The top ranked home based businesses change over time. Mail order businesses and the service franchises come to mind. Being recognized as this year’s hottest franchise opportunity or next year’s super hot career to aspire to have always attracted interest in that direction from anyone aiming to be a franchise entrepreneur or the struggling student basing their path on what others think is a super hot career. As far as the top home based businesses, today’s opportunities exist with computers and the internet.Home Based Businesses – Top Picks for 2010SEM/SEO services. Content writers can work with small businesses to improve traffic to their websites using search engine optimization and marketing. There is such an opportunity for home based businesses because the majority of small business owners only know how to operate and run their small business and do not have any time to, first, learn how search engine optimization works and, second, implement it on their website. The market is wide open to SEM/SEO specialists. Since original content rules the web, a website is only as good as the newness of its content. It is not a do it and forget it task.Affiliate Marketing. Being an independent commissioned sales person on the web requires a different skill set than face-to-face sales but the concept is similar. If someone buys a product that you supplied the lead for, you are paid a commission. There are systems to introduce you to products to sell; manufacturers’ provide online marketing materials; and there is no inventory to stock. Find the keyword set that attracts visitors to the products you are trying to sell, get them to buy and you’ve earned a commission. Expect high commissions on digital products and lower commissions on physical products.Drop Shipping. You sell the product to your customer, collect the money, and then place an order for your supplier to ship directly to your customer. The company handles stocking all inventory and shipping all orders. There are plenty of companies willing to drop ship product one item at a time to your customer’s address. Your sales channel can be through online auction sites, your own website, or any other online marketing resulting in sales.Use the skills you already have, the experience in industries you have worked in, the hobbies that you are attracted to and the willingness and desire to create your own home based business to search and learn what will work for you. Just because the three ideas listed above have such a promising future doesn’t mean that it is what you have to do to succeed. Your home based business might have nothing to do with affiliate marketing, drop shipping or working for a small business. You may find that your home based business begins as one type of entity and evolves as time goes on.
Wondering About Financing Small Business Loans?
Many small companies in the US expect some growth opportunities in the next year. That is the great news! The bad news? Financing opportunities are looking bleak, particularly if the business owner has less than great credit, or a new business. Why would you need to know about financing small business loans? The main reasons for small business financing are to receive working capital and funds for capital expenditures.It used to be that applying for business cash for a smaller business was fairly straightforward. You’d pay a visit to your local friendly banker and talk about your business needs. You’d discuss what you needed and they would help with financing a business loan – yours, to be exact. Then, the financial crisis hit, and banks closed ranks and decided that loans for small business were too risky. Business cash almost dried up. The big losers? Small business owners.Now, we see the result of lack of financing: many small companies are either struggling to stay afloat, or are finding it almost impossible to capitalize on upcoming opportunities. In a recent Year-End Economic Report published by the National Small Business Association, nearly 40% of small businesses report they are unable to acquire adequate means for financing small business loans they deem necessary for their business to continue and grow.What are the options for companies to get the business cash they need? The large corporate bankers and small locally owned banks are not the alternative they have traditionally been. You may feel that your business is a captive being held by the current economic situation and credit crisis. What you may not know is that there is a great source of alternative lenders who can provide working capital for small businesses. It is possible for loans to be secured against cash flow or your accounts receivable. In addition things such as inventory and purchase orders can be considered. Do you own property, machinery or equipment? These things as well may be leveraged to secure loans for small business.What happens when your long time banker tells you there is no money for your business? Don’t give up and think that all is lost. There is help just around the corner for you. Business lending has changed. It may seem a little different to do business on the internet, but that is the new way. You just may be able to get the financing you need when the bankers say “No way.” Asset-based lines of credit may be the way to go in this Brave New World.Typical banks are just no longer willing to extend traditional financing to the small company owner. There are many reasons for this, some of which are tightened federal requirements, as well as skittish investors who only look at the bottom line. These factors combine to make it seem that any loans for business may seem quite impossible. But don’t believe that! There is a whole new world of private banks and small business lenders who welcome your business. Once the level of risk of the business being financed is determined, you may be pleasantly surprised by the rates and terms you may be offered. Take advantage of the growth opportunities for your business. Grow your business just as you’ve dreamed.
Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions
Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:
An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.
If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.
Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.
After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:
Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.
A Case Study
Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.
Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.
Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.
I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.
There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.
According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?
As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.
When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.
While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.
So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:
The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.
Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.
If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.
When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.
And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.