February 22, 2010

The Benefits of Freelancing... Should You Invent or
Innovate?... More Ways to Protect Your Money... How to
Make Your Next Joint Venture a Success... and More.

It used to be that freelance work was confined to writers, artists and other creative types who lived in larger metropolitan areas.

However, today, thanks to modern technology, you can live almost anywhere in the world and still freelance for a company that's located miles away.

In addition, since there is now a greater acceptance of freelancing in the business world; accountants, trainers, computer technicians and more are all able to freelance. In fact, you can freelance in almost any field.

Here are some of the benefits of freelancing:

1) You can set your own hours: As with any home-based work, you can decide when you'll start and finish and how much vacation time you can afford to take.

2)You don't have a boss: While your clients pay you, and you must meet their requirements if you want to keep the work, your clients don't wield the same kind of control over you that a boss would, as you're not an employee. A word of warning: you can still essentially be fired (i.e. lose the work) if you don't do a good job.

3) You control how much you'll earn: When you work as an employee for a company, you're usually paid a set amount of money, regardless of how hard or how long you work. Sometimes this system isn't fair (e.g. you work long hours and aren't paid accordingly). However, with freelancing, you can make as little or as much money as you want, because you determine how much your services cost and how many jobs you'll take on at one time, as long as the work is available.

4) You create your own office: Unlike a conventional job where you're designated an office or cubicle, as a freelancer, you get to decorate your own office, choosing the location, furniture and supplies that you like. You can even work in bed if that's what you prefer or at a cottage with a view of the lake -- whatever inspires you.

If freelancing is something you'd like to try, here's how to get started:

--- Find something you enjoy: As with any job, you'll succeed only if you enjoy what you're doing. If you force yourself to do work that's not enjoyable, you'll only end up losing momentum and eventually burning out. The more you enjoy your work, the more passionate you'll be about it, and clients will see that passion and be more inclined to work with you.

--- Save some money: Since you won't have steady pay, you should have a comfortable nest egg in the bank first to cover the slow months. Experts usually recommend that you have enough money to cover six months worth of your basic necessities. If that's difficult, you may want to keep a conventional job at first and do a little freelance work on the side, using your freelance money to build your nest egg.

--- Start finding clients now: Many freelancers make the mistake of starting to network and market their services only after they've left their conventional jobs to freelance. Ideally, you should start networking and marketing your services before you've left your job, so that you can build a database of possible job leads and line up some work in advance. This way, you'll have some income in the first few months.

--- Prepare a presentation package: Put together references and samples of your work to show potential clients instead of scrambling around to find some if they ask. This way, you'll exude professionalism.

--- Create a web site: The Internet is a great marketing tool. You should have a simple but professional-looking site, designed to advertise your experience and services, to help you to attract new clients.

I'm often surprised by how some of the best business ideas are rarely new ones.

Whether it means repackaging an existing product or developing a new way to fix a problem, many business ideas aren't completely built from the ground up.

Products like the very successful "Snuggie" and "Slap Chop" aren't completely new. They've been around for a long time, only with different names with slightly different features. Yet, through creative sales techniques, each of these products appears to be brand new.

The same goes for most major business ideas of the past decade. New ways to deliver products, such as online, mean that older products could have new life in a new format. And for many info marketers who have transformed older books to interactive web sites and recorded them on video, taking something old and making it new again has proved to be successful.

Of course, inventions do have the potential to become a success. But with the amount of time it takes to develop something new, test it and then start to market it, it can take a lifetime if not longer. That's not to say you should give up on your big idea. If you're struggling to come up with something new, then it may be time to evaluate the older ideas kicking around.

Remember, Amazon didn't invent selling books (and more) online, but they did pioneer customer service and interaction in this field and that made them very successful.

Take a look at your moneymaking plans. Are you following the lead of someone else? If so, do you see a way to make their success even bigger? That's the innovation you're looking for; it may be hard to spot at first, but when you do find it, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it.

Last week, I wrote about some scams that are likely to appear as tax season comes into full swing. As you may expect, the best way to defend yourself against scammers is through research and knowing what the rules are.

The best way to defend yourself against scammer attacks is by making your best effort to arm yourself with knowledge. That way, when something comes up that may appear legitimate, you'll be able to pick up on any inconsistencies.  

First off, it's important to know that the IRS does not use direct deposit; therefore, it should never require your individual banking account information. Furthermore, any e-mail or phone call that you receive that asks you to disclose your banking information is likely a scam. Look at it this way, even if you do online banking or telephone banking, you never disclose your PIN number or any other personal pieces of information.

If the banks don't need it, then why should anybody else? The only time you should ever disclose your account information is when you get a new job that uses direct deposit. You'll be required to give them a void check to open a direct deposit account, and that's all. Avoid disclosing any banking information over the phone and Internet because it is a very dangerous practice and most legitimate institutions will never ask you to do so.

Remember, there should be no reason you have to act immediately. If you receive a phone call from a person claiming to be from the IRS and asking you all kinds of questions, simply ask where and when you can reach them and tell them you'll call them back at a more convenient time. Then do some research, Either go online or phone the IRS and inquire about the call you received.

Generally speaking, any of the calls you receive will not be life or death situations, and you should have the time to do your research before making any decisions. The same can be said with e-mail; before you fill anything out or respond take some time to do the research and make the right decision.

Visit www.irs.gov for all the latest tax news and updates, regulations and practices.

** How to Make Your Next Joint Venture a Success
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

I've recently learned that a few info marketers may not quite understand joint ventures. As you know, networking is important in every business. Whether you're selling a product or providing a service, working with other companies can help you quickly build your customer base. And joint ventures mean that both you and your partner get to share in the wealth.

Not all joint ventures are destined for success. But, if you prepare and know what you're looking for in a partner company, you can help spot the potential failures before getting involved.

Here are my tips for determining the potential of new joint ventures:

--- Get to Know Your Partner: A lot of people have the image of a marketing person as a bright-eyed and greasy-haired slick talker who has the ideas of Rockefeller but the morals of a used car salesman. But this isn't always true. These folks have a job to do and can be reasonable people who want to make legitimate deals. In any case, you should meet them and see what they have to offer. Use your most professional judgment when deciding if they are the right person to work with and if their company is legit. Think of concerns you have and address them at the meeting.

--- Research and Examine the Company and Product: The person you meet might be great, but also do some research into the product and the company they want to promote. Check out their history and see what's out there online. A good company is established, with a good reputation, and their product is sound and reliable. Remember that you are promoting this product to your customers and you only want to make sure they get the best products available. Sometimes you can run into fly-by-night, junky products that last about as long as a late-night infomercial-type company.

--- Do Even More Research: You've met the promoter, seen the company, liked the product; things are going good. But don't forget to get all of the specific information on the promoted product. As an info marketer, you have to push this product to your clients and, by default of your job, have to explain what's so good about it. Your clients are going to want the product info, so you have to take down everything about it from the manufacturing company.

--- Get Everything in Writing: Once everything is said and done, sit down with the promoter and figure out a way to promote this product within the medium of your info products. Think about how you want the ad to look, what graphics to include, etc. Also get down to business and do up a deal. What compensation will they offer you? How long will the promotion last? Will there be a renewal if it is successful? Do the interaction formally as a contract and stick to your end of the deal.

Joint ventures are great and necessary for building your business to the level you want. You can meet new business associates, acquire more income and, if you are lucky, even sample the promoted product for free. Provided you approach it with the same professionalism you have used to get your info marketing business established, it really can be an enjoyable new avenue of success for you.