APRIL 24, 2008

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Make Money... How
to Test Your Moneymaking Ideas... How Visible Are You?...
Dealing with Ever-Rising Gas Prices... and More.

** When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Make Money
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

Recently I've had a quite a bit more work on my plate then usual. I've been picking up the slack created by a busier than normal schedule. Now, I'm not complaining, since these are the realities of business and I've experienced times like this before. Not to mention that I'd rather have too much work to do than none at all.

Due to my increased workload, I've been finding myself working longer hours and covering a much wider array of material than I had been accustomed to dealing with. However, once I get settled in and make some proper adjustments, things should be just fine. If there is one instant benefit created by my new situation, it's that I'm really getting the opportunity to perfect my ability to delegate and prioritize my work.

When your workload increases, it's important to sit down and develop a plan of attack. You'll need to formulate a sound knowledge of what's important and what needs to be completed first. Right off the bat, this can be a rather difficult task because you've got to switch up some of your existing priorities.

In order to make the proper adjustments to my priorities, I employed a few strategies I'd like to share with you. Here they are:

1. Create a Schedule: The first thing I did when I learned I
   would be taking on a few new tasks was plan for the change by
   creating a schedule. By writing out what I had to do, there was
   less chance I would neglect any of the material I wasn't used to
   doing. The key is to stick to your schedule; this way you can
   touch on everything you need. If the work doesn't get finished
   in the time you've allotted, continue with it the next day.
   
   
2. Stay Level-Headed: Tripling your workload can be a big
   source of stress, trust me. But if you can find a way to
   approach it with a balanced, positive outlook, then you'll be
   much better off. If you allow yourself to become bogged down
   by the additional work, it will become much more difficult to
   focus and your output will likely decrease.
   
   
3. Compound to be More Productive: I've learned that some of
   the work I've recently picked up was very similar to my own
   and can be done in tandem rather than independently. This is a
   great way to save time and eliminate stress, because it allows
   me to do three times the work in one third of the time.
   
   
4. Delegate: If you have the luxury of working in an
   environment where there are other employees, then delegate
   some of it out to them. This can allow you to free up some time
   on the little things that aren't pertinent to your skills, giving
   you the opportunity to focus on the most important aspects of
   your work and fully utilize your personal assets.

Every successful business will experience some change, and when those changes arise, it's best to stay positive and be prepared to cope with their impact. Taking a calculated, organized approach can make a seemingly rough situation smooth over in no time.

** How to Test Your Moneymaking Ideas
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

If we could remember learning how to walk, I'm certain every last one of us would be a top-notch marketing expert.

This may sound a bit confusing, so let me explain. Taking your first step was certainly a big risk. Sure, you'd become used to crawling, but that wasn't getting you anywhere fast. You knew that standing up and putting one foot in front of the other was the only way to get to those far-reaching spots in the kitchen or living room. But, getting upright and making those steps meant risking a fall or tumble.

In the end, you learned how to walk. Not because you'd read a book and not because of some fancy schooling. Simply because you learned by trial and error. However, it seems to me that learning by actually trying is something that many junior marketers are afraid to do. You can certainly learn a lot from books and experts, but all of that information becomes useless if you never put it into practice.

Now, when it comes to marketing your own product or service, part of developing a plan for success is going to be taking some risks and learning by doing.

Take, for example, creating a direct mail campaign for your product. At first, it sounds easy. Just write a letter about your product and then send it to people who may be interested in what you are selling.

However, in reality, both sides of this equation are not as easy to learn as they may seem. You need to first find out what makes your prospective customer tick, and then you need to keep testing marketing ideas until you find the one or two that work.

You can test the way you reach out to your customers using direct mail. One thing you should always do is ask for a specific action from your customer. Whether that means sending in a reply by mail, picking up their phone to call in an order or simply going to a web site to learn more, well, that choice is yours.

Taking your first steps in marketing your own product can be a nerve-racking experience, but once you start testing your ideas and seeing the results, you'll be racing towards your next idea in no time.

** How Visible Are You?
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but I recently noticed that I rarely ever use the yellow pages directory to locate a business or even to find a phone number.

It's not that there is anything wrong with the directory, it's just that I spend a lot of time on and around computers that have Internet access. So rather than leafing through pages unsure if the business I'm looking for is even listed, I simply go online, type in what I am looking for and, in under seconds I have found what I wanted.

Does this mean that the yellow pages directory is becoming obsolete? Well, I wouldn't prepare the eulogy just yet. You see, just because people can access similar information online doesn't mean that everyone is going to.

However, it is important to consider the implications that the Web can have for the old standard for information listings.

Let me use an example to explain this further. Say you are in a large city or you are in a town you haven't been to before. And you need to replace a specific item you brought with you that is typically hard to find. Like most people, you'll find a phone booth to flip through the yellow pages in hopes of finding a store that carries that particular item.

Most likely you're going to contact the shop that has an ad that
addresses what you need. And you're probably not going to try
the listings with no ads since you could just end up on a wild
goose chase.

People may have been more open to calling around blindly in hopes of finding what they want a few years ago, but now people are becoming more used to finding specific information with loads of details just by using the Web to assist their search.

So what does this all mean? Well, whether you are networking for new business contacts, advertising your product or service or even looking to change your career path, it is important that you make as much information available in the most direct methods possible.

Networking means having a business card or resume with you that lists all of your contact details and even a little about what you do. If you're advertising that means listing specifics that set you apart from your competition and appeal to your market directly.

Now that we literally have an almost unlimited amount of information available at our fingertips, it is becoming more and more important that we make sure the right information is getting to the people who are looking for it.

** Dealing with Ever-Rising Gas Prices
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

If you're like most people out there, there's a good chance that rising gas prices are making you increasingly frustrated. These days, if you can afford it, it's not strange to see a fill-up running you somewhere in the neighborhood of $65-$70 for a midsize sedan, and even more for a pick-up truck or SUV. And depending on the amount of driving you do in a week, these prices can be having a severe impact on your lifestyle and ability to make other essential payments.

Of course, there is no quick fix for this trouble, but there are a few ideas kicking around out there that may be able to curb your monthly fuel costs.

For starters, I read an interesting article yesterday that illustrated how consumers have the potential to help regulate prices through their actions. The theory suggested that if gas consumers began to fill up their vehicles at gas stations other than Shell and Exxon, we would begin to see price reductions in the next year or so. You see, since Shell and Exxon control such a large market share and have such influence over setting oil prices, avoiding their outlets would, in theory, force them to drop prices and purchase less product, thus lowering prices on the whole.

Of course, for this theory to be effective, the writer pointed out that hundreds of millions of consumers would have to take part in this practice. And the chances of that happening are, well, relatively unlikely.

However, this theory does point out a valuable lesson and that's that consumers like you and I are capable of orchestrating change by how we elect to spend our money, regardless of the scale.

Now, if this theory of avoiding Shell and Exxon doesn't catch on or if it does and you require some short-term savings at the pump, here are some things that can potentially save you some money:

Carpool: If you drive to work, take the kids to baseball practice or run other errands, contact friends or people in our area to see if they'd like to join you, or vice versa. The more people you travel with, the more your costs go down. Either charge your carpoolers gas money, or develop a schedule where each of you takes a turn driving on a weekly basis.

Public Transit: If the option is readily available, consider making the switch to public transit. In most cases, a monthly transit pass usually costs about $100, which significantly dwarfs any insurance payments you'll make on a vehicle, not to mention fuel. Many urban centers are also offering short-term car rental programs for annual fees, which can be used to run errands and do groceries.

Limit Your Trips: Schedule multiple stops on one trip to limit the amount of times you're going out in the car. If you can do all your shopping in a relatively small geographic area, park in one location, get out and do all your errands and then return to the car, instead of driving from location to location.