September 25 , 2008

 Eight Income Streams to Help You Get Big Profits... Let
Yourself Truly Shine!... Neighborhood Tours Offer Profit
Potential... How to Get Things Done, Without Doing Them
Yourself...

** Eight Income Streams to Help You Get Big Proftis, Part 2
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

Small-business experts have argued for years about whether success in the marketplace is based on specialization or diversification. I guess that would depend on the type of business and any trends or cycles that directly affect it. It's my opinion that, as long as your business sells other items that complement your primary product or service, your business can only benefit by staying fresh, exciting and innovative. Plus, retaining customer loyalty and satisfaction is also key to succeeding financially in business.

Here are the final four of my eight ideas that you can use to help you establish additional income sources in order to boost your sales while maintaining your business' unique identity:

5. Become a consultant:
Running a business is as much a learning experience as it is a way to generate revenue. Over time, you learn the ins and outs of how to run a business and now is your time to share your knowledge. You can start by offering consulting services to other small businesses. If you find there's a demand for advice in your field, your consulting service could quickly grow.

6. Offer training or classes:
Many small businesses can benefit from dedicating a few hours a week to creating a training class or even a demonstration. You could create classes where paying students learn new ways to use your products or you could have in-store demonstrations for new products that your customers may not be familiar with just yet. Either way, you'll be engaging customers with your products and possibly creating another income stream.

7. Create a rewards program:
Many large businesses have found great success in rewards programs. More often than not, they are free, but if your rewards are good enough, it could be possible to charge a membership fee. Make sure that you are truly rewarding your customers, and a program like this could attract new, loyal customers.

8. Establish a joint venture:
There's definitely strength in numbers. Teaming up with a local business to offer complementary products to your customers could help introduce you to a whole new customer base. The connection doesn't have to be obvious, so long as it is beneficial. Take a look at your local business community; any number of products or services could complement what you are offering.

Finding new ways to engage your customers is key to establishing secondary income streams. Any of the eight ideas I've provided you with yesterday and today could help you uncover your next profitable business move.

** Let Yourself Truly Shine!
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

In order to have others acknowledge your contributions, you must be able to first acknowledge them for yourself. If you do not take pride in your accomplishments, then how can you expect other people to notice your greatness?

We all have shining moments — big and small — that show how valuable we are. The key is to share these moments with others in a positive way that does not involve egoism or gloating. It is perfectly fine to take in praise for a job well done — the trick is to do it with grace!

The following points will help you to truly shine when you have an exceptional moment.

Step One: Bask in the Moment

Take a few seconds to smile or pat yourself on the shoulder privately for a job well done. You deserve it!

Step Two: Verbally Acknowledge Your Achievement Congratulate yourself. Go ahead, you can say it aloud or silently, but do it nonetheless. Say, "Way to go! You accomplished a good thing today! I'm proud of you! " Self-acknowledgement is a very powerful tool that will motivate you to accomplish even greater things and meet other, bigger goals.

Step Three: Share Your Achievement with Another Person

I love to hear about other people's accomplishments. If it is a co-worker, family member, or friend, I feel pride for them and a sense of achievement by proxy. It also motivates me to do something great in my day, too. Remember: Positive thinking always rubs off on others. It's contagious!

Step Four: Let a Superior Know About Your Accomplishment

This step might seem the most daunting to some people, but it can be quite easy to do — and quite lucrative. You can mention your accomplishment in a non-gloating way by stating it in a factual, straightforward way to your employer.

Try a sentence such as, "My day is going so well! I got the project we needed by Friday completed this morning! Now the team is ahead, and we can all move on to the next task."

Be positive and mention how your accomplishment benefits others. You don't have to be a sycophant — mention your accomplishment in a direct way that shows you did it for you and your team, not necessarily just to please your employer.

Step Five: Good Job! Now Let's Move on to the Next Accomplishment!

Once you have taken a moment to let yourself shine, move on to your next accomplishment. Dwelling on one good moment is not necessarily a good thing. First, it will keep you from moving forward and, second, nobody likes a braggart.

Remember: The key is to enjoy the moment. Take that good feeling and use it as fuel for your next accomplishment, instead of sitting on it for the rest of your day.

So, the next time you accomplish something positive, go ahead, let yourself shine! Not only will it make you feel good about yourself, but you will also encourage others around you to want to achieve their goals. It's a win-win situation!

Recently, I moved to a new part of town. Now, over the years, I'd been to this large part of town to visit with friends, but I hadn't spent more than a few hours in the area.

I knew where the theatre was and I knew where to get groceries, but that was about it. So, the day I moved in, I went searching for the "hidden gems" that make a neighborhood unique.

I found a tucked-away video store and a restaurant just off the main strip that was really a treat. Each day when I head out for a walk, I seem to discover something new.

The other day, I was looking for a specific type of restaurant, one I knew had to be in my area. I went online, went to a few different search engines and found nothing. However, when I called a friend of mine who had lived in the area for a few years, they were able to give me the address of a tucked-away restaurant, exactly what I was looking for.

And here's where an excellent information marketing opportunity lies. An informational guide to a neighborhood is often based on advertising and not on actual experience. The small restaurant my friend told me about probably couldn't afford to advertise and therefore would probably get overlooked more often than not.

The information marketing opportunity here would be to offer an "insider's" guide to this neighborhood. All you need to do is write down your own insights into what's good and offer the end product for sale to new residents. Sure, this plan would involve a bit more, but the building blocks for an information marketing product are already in place.

Starting an information marketing business can be easy once you begin to identify the needs of people in your area. From there, you can expand; but start local. You have Internet access to start your search and then you can let your feet and eyes do the rest, as you explore the people and places you live near.

I encourage you to take just a few minutes today and see if you can't create your own local information marketing product.

** How to Get Things Done, Without Doing Them Yourself
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

As an entrepreneur, you've likely felt the pressure of simply not having enough time in the day. Between handling all the daily operations of the business, coming up with new ideas, positioning yourself for the future and trying to live a normal life, those 24 hours are just not enough time to get things done.

Of course, there is no way to add more hours to the day. There are, however, ways for you to make better use of that time and get more accomplished. One of the best ways is to invest in hiring someone else or taking on a business partner.

When you hire some help, you're able to relieve yourself from the tasks that may not necessarily be your strongest and pass them off to someone else with specific skills. For instance, some people have great ideas, but have a hard time selling.

Some people can really sell, but can't work well with numbers or administrative duties. Whatever your weakest skill is, it may be worthwhile to find someone else to handle it.

Doing this lets you spend more time focusing on your strengths, thus building a more successful business. The key is to find a person with the same passion and abilities towards their job as you have towards yours. When you're confident in their passion and abilities, it gives you the comfort of knowing you can trust them to get the job done without having to keep too close an eye on them.

If making a hire isn't in the budget and it's an investment you just can't afford right now, then consider the following: a) if a hire has the potential to end up making you even more cash in time; or b) if you'd like to take on a partner.

By taking on a partner, you can boost your working capital, cover more ground and find someone who can complement your skills and visions to build a strong business. When considering a partnership, you'll want to make sure you take on someone who isn't an exact replica of you. After all, you'll want to get more done, so you'll need someone who can let you focus on your skills, while they focus on theirs.

Covering more ground with your specialties is one of the best ways to grow your business. If you're not experiencing the success you deserve because you're spending too much time focusing on your weaknesses, then consider bringing someone else aboard!