Tag Archives: Business

Dec 21

When Is the Right Time To Start A Business?

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Time, money, and a significant idea are all important factors to consider when determining whether or not the time is right to start a business. Yet although they’re important, are they essential? Most, if not all Professional Marketing International (PMI) business coaches would suggest that they’re not. And the PMI consultants have been in the business for a while, so they know what they’re talking about.

Time

The internet and Real Estate consultants at PMI will tell you that lost businesses only require an hour or so each day in the beginning stages. If you truly can’t spare just 1 hour per day, you should really reevaluate your life and get rid of some of the non-essentials or even become more efficient with the necessities so you’ll have time to work on your business. Chipping away at your idea should produce some great structure to your proposed business, and after a while the excitement you’ll have for your budding entrepreneurism should motivate you to free up even more time in your schedule to take it to the next level. Also, most of the educational packages the PMI coaches will refer you to shouldn’t take longer than 1 hour daily to complete.

Money

There are multiple no-money down Real Estate opportunities available within the investing field which can yield substantial increases in short amounts of time. Our Real Estate coaches can provide you with access to products which will help you explore these options and choose the best fit for your lifestyle. In addition, the PMI internet coaches can teach you about the no money down ecommerce option of ‘Drop-shipping’, provide you with everything you need to get started and help you along every step of the way.

An Idea

Do you need your own idea when it comes to making money or starting a business? Absolutely not. With the many opportunities out there, why would you need to reinvent the wheel? By consulting with one of PMI’s coaches, you can be directed to many different products which each give you multiple options for pursuing extra side income. Depending on how much you dedicate yourself to those opportunities, you could eventually replace your full time income and quit your job forever!

To wrap up, the truth is that the time is ALWAYS right to start a business. All you really need is the drive to make it happen. If you have that drive, then you have all the necessary tools to succeed, because a PMI consultant can help you turn your dreams into reality! Make the call to the PMI education center and get started today!

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Dec 21

Some Rhyme & Reason To Monetizing Your Blog

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If you’re not making money from your blog, you need to get up off your duff and make it happen. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be taking advantage of this opportunity. Sure, some of you purists may by calming yourself with such logic as “I don’t want to take advantage of my friends” or “Not everything is about money”. That’s all fine and dandy, but…really? I mean…really?

If these so called friends or people you don’t want to ‘take advantage of’ don’t ever spend any money on anything (food, dwelling, transportation, entertainment, etc) then I completely excuse you from advertising to them. Otherwise…get off your duff and make it happen. Besides, it’s not like you’re taking them for everything they’re worth. It’s often a mere dollar or two that you may earn from them. And not even that is guaranteed.

Ways to make money from, aka monetize, your blog are such things as adsense, affiliate marketing, and list building. With adsense you create an account with Google and have targeted ads display on your page when your readers view it. They can click or not click. It’s their call. Depending on your adsense account, you’ll have cost per click or cost per impression. Unless you have thousands reading your blog, you’ll want to stick with cost per click, as that will provide you with more money.

Affiliate marketing is simply an ad for a company with which you have a sales agreement. Let’s say you called Sony and said you wanted to sell playstations for them. They would give you an affiliate link to post on your blog. That way, you’d post a picture of a Sony Playstation on your blog, and sony would pay you a certain amount for every person who clicked on that link and purchased the unit. And in some cases, depending on the affiliate, you could even earn commission just for that person clicking the link…even if they don’t buy. Those are the exception though, and not the rule.

All the successful internet and Real Estate consultants will tell you the same thing. Entrepreneurs really should be monetizing their blogs, and other websites. It’s all about the upsell. PMI education faculty, who specialize in helping people do more with their business, will have you set this up as one of the first items of business. It’s a great start into the ecommerce world and the world of entrepreneurship.

Convinced? Trust me, there are many ways to monetize your blog without it looking like you’ve sold out. That’s part of the art. You don’t want your blog to turn away readers because you’re hitting them so hard with ads. And like I said in the beginning, if you’re not yet making money from your blog…get off your duff!

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Dec 20

Why Should Business Owners Be Concerned About Facebook?

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Why should business owners be concerned about Facebook? I sure hope I’m the only one posing that question. Facebook is HOT! It’s one of the hottest, if not THE hottest things out on the web today. It’s social marketing at its best. It’s absolutely revolutionized the online community. Never before have people been able to communicate and open their lives to the world so effectively. It’s really no wonder it’s gone from Zero to hero in just a few short years…and that it’s worth BILLIONS. If you ask me, this is just the beginning.

Professional Marketing International has a Facebook page on Facebook, and hopes to continue to create the buzz with this outlet into the social networking world. Basically, any decent way you can get exposure is good for business. The key to social marketing, as with Facebook, is to create a buzz. Facebook allows entrepreneurs and new business owners to do just that. By gaining a following (fans) you can keep people updated about the latest and greatest with your business, as well as offer discounts, etc.

As the PMI success team teaches its students, creativity is often rewarded in social marketing. When people pull off the unexpected with their promotions, the results are often quite advantageous to their future business. Facebook also allows businesses to advertise in the sidebars of users pages, which is a great way to promote your business to a select demographic who are tech savvy.

Now don’t misunderstand. You are in no way required to use Facebook to promote your business. Please don’t feel obligated in any way. Just know that if you don’t…your competitors will…or perhaps already are. Good luck making the decision!

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Dec 19

What Are ‘Autoresponders’ And Why Should I Use Them?

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Chances are that if you’ve been alive for at least a year, you’ve received an autoresponder. Anytime you’ve received an automatic message that said something along the lines of “Thanks for your request (order, question, etc)! We’ll get back to you in 24-48 hours!”, it’s an autoresponder. It’s that company simply trying to reassure you that your message was received and they’re working on it. Mainly, it’s a feel good thing.

PMI coaching has long been a fan of autoresponders, and uses them on many of their products. Especially recommended for entrepreneurs, these handy emails can help any business owner gain a slight edge in success over their competition. Customers like to know that they’re being taken care of, especially when they can’t see it.

Internet entrepreneurs will especially want to pay attention to using autoresponders to fulfill parts of their products. If there are any processes that you go through on a regular basis, which are almost always the same, you should set up autoresponders. For example, if you have to write out an email after every order you receive…you’re wasting TONS of valuable time. What you need to do is get a management system (there are plenty of free or inexpensive ones out there) to help you keep track of your business and send autoresponders.

Now, every time someone wants to learn more about your particular industry or business, you can set up a system that will provide them training without ever moving a muscle. Simply instruct them to send an email to info@yourdomain.biz (or whatever your domain is) and have that email address automatically put them into a group which starts a process to send them 4 or 5 informative emails over a period of 1-2 weeks. SO much easier than doing it all on a case by case basis. And as the Professional Marketing International Real Estate or Internet coaches and consultants will teach you, “Time is Money”!

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Dec 19

What To Consider When Choosing Your Domain

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This topic has changed significantly over the past 10 years because of the immense growth in internet activity. There are only so many words and letters in the alphabet, and chances are you won’t get the first domain you’re looking for. Nor will people sell their domain names to you for a low price in most cases. The good news, however, is that if you’re creative…you won’t have to worry about it!

For example, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Craigslist, Google, etc are all words that while just about everyone knows what they are today, no one knew about them before they got started. For that reason, they probably didn’t have to fight over their domain names. The other HUGE benefit of choosing an unknown name is that you won’t have to compete with other people for keywords and placement in the search engine results. In other words, I’m pretty sure no one was ever searching for ‘Twitter’ before Twitter got its start.

Now, if you can be creative with your domain name, I suggest it for the aforementioned reasons. However, if that’s not going to be possible, you need to figure out what keywords are going to be most relevant to your product or service…and which aren’t already too popular on the internet.

For example, if you have a product that people will use at the beach, chances are that the keyword ‘beach’ is going to be quite difficult to make a name for yourself as thousands of other companies and websites will already be competing for the same word. But if your product is a beach toy for toddlers which has batteries and make noises, then you’ll want to see how many variations you can come up with which refer to the other words. Toddlers could be kids, children, tots, etc. You get the idea.

The coaches at PMI have extensive experience in helping internet or Real Estate entrepreneurs create an online presence. Their success team spends every hour of their workday consulting clients with the most effective strategies available, as well as providing them with products and services which streamline the process.

If you’re tempted to just pick a random domain, I strongly suggest you do your homework first. Doing your research could literally save you over a hundred hours of your time…not to mention hundreds of dollars after all is said and done.

Where do I get a cheap domain name?

Glad you asked! We recommend Discover Discount Domains

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Dec 18

Why You Should Jump On The Blog-Wagon

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There are many reasons why starting a blog would be a wise move. While the most attractive part is that it’s free, a blog also provides you with more opportunities to market your material, educate and gain the trust of your customers, push your rankings up in search engines, and learn more about what people are looking for from your business.

Then again, there are also reasons why you wouldn’t want to start a blog. Here are a few…

  • It takes a whopping 10 minutes (if that) a day to maintain
  • You have to learn basic computer skills (heaven forbid…especially since knowing how to work a computer is probably the single most important asset you could have in today’s changing business world)
  • Once you start to build a community following, you’ll have to continue giving great advice

I could continue to give you reasons about why this interactive lifestyle which combines business, training, learning, and helping into one—all in a creative fashion—but I think you get the point. The only reasons NOT to start a blog are horribly ridiculous, so if you want success as an entrepreneur, I sincerely hope you don’t really see any of those reasons as justification to not start a blog.

One of the main reasons people DON’T succeed in business is that they don’t have anyone holding them accountable. A blog, once you start a following, can allow you to make promises and commitments to people. Once you’re on the hook, you’ll be forced to perform…or fail in front of your followers. Failing is never fun.

However, even though this is a great idea, it isn’t fireproof. An even more effective way to ensure your success is to become a student of a internet consultant. PMI education is an arm of Professional Marketing International, and their sole goal is to help people succeed in business. In almost every instance, they’re a great fit for budding entrepreneurs, so it won’t hurt to try if you’re serious about making your business work.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/techtrendscolumnistpeteralexander/article175236.html

http://www.blogherald.com/2009/05/04/if-i-could-start-my-blog-over-again/

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Dec 16

How To Pick The Right Business Consultant

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Whew! Where do we begin to answer this question?! How about with a story? As I sat and listened to a university psychology professor teach us that almost all psychologists have different methods of treating their patients I asked how we were supposed to know which one would work for us. Her answer? “That’s the beauty of psychology.” While that was simply the opinion of one university instructor, and not of all psychologists, it just didn’t float my boat…and really turned me off from that field.

I’m not opposed to trial and error methods, and I believe they can be very beneficial…but that’s beside the point. What I’m getting at here is that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel with a business ‘consultant’ who doesn’t really know what he/she is doing, much less on your own.

You’d think no one would ever choose a novice consultant with no actual success under their belt over a seasoned veteran who’s been around the block right? Dead wrong. The perfect example? Politics. How many politicians with absolutely no REAL experience in the field they’re attempting to lead have you seen win elections because they were able to smooth talk the voters into supporting them? Right off the top of my head I can think of 5 from the 2008 elections alone. And we all wonder why our economy is suffering so much right now. Wake up and smell the coffee people.

It certainly sounds crazy to think that one would choose a smooth talking novice instead of a seasoned expert to guide them, yet people continue to do it. Take a tip from me: If you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people. Standing in a room full of people who talk the talk but never walk the walk will get you nowhere in a hurry, other than into more stuffy rooms filled with way too much hot air.

The Professional Marketing International (PMI) Real Estate and internet consultants are all required to not only have prior experience in their respective fields, but also to currently maintain their own business in said field. How’s that for the promise of experience? With a successful business mentor like the ones PMI offers, you’re basically a shoe-in for financial improvements that will give you that lifestyle you’ve been seeking.

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Dec 16

Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Business

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You’ve thought about it for a LONG time. We’re talking years. You’ve had at least 1 idea that you’ve wanted to turn into some extra cash so that you could take a nice vacation, buy a new car, or even quit your day job. Whether or not it’s part or full-time, you want to start your own business. You’ve been pinched by the entrepreneur bug.

Now, whether you want to jump into the Real Estate or ecommerce world, there are a few things you need to consider before you start your own business. You need a game plan if you want to be successful. You need to account for everything it takes to get started, how to operate once (and if) you’re up and running, and finally for those complicated taxes and business laws.

We’re not talking about some intense, 50 page business plan here. Heavens no! Sure, the details of what you need to do will most likely be at least double that, but your actual plan? We’re talking about taking all the small, yet crucial, steps…in order. Most people fail in the beginning because they miss a few important things here and there…or even do them out of order. You do NOT want to be that person.

Professional Marketing International (PMI) has dedicated itself to improving the lives of others through better business strategies. Our Real Estate and internet (ecommerce) consultants have hundreds of combined years worth of experience with their own businesses in their chosen industry and they’re giving back every day by helping new business owners through the challenging process.

Do you absolutely need a PMI business coach or consultant? No, but do you really want to reinvent the wheel? No again. The time you’ll save by having a veteran entrepreneur walk you through the process as well as the useful materials they’ll provide you are always worth the money you pay to get the service. And yes, time IS money.

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Nov 13

Move Your Page Rank To The First Page Of Google Search Results

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When you ‘Google’ something, how often do you go beyond the first 10 results on the first page? Probably not too often, unless you’re searching images which are easier to quickly view. Even then…it’s a long shot. What can you do to get your website to appear on the first page of Google or other search engine’s results? It’s called SEO…or Search Engine Optimization. It’s one of the many supplemental materials offered by the coaches or consultants at Professional Marketing International (PMI).

For some people, what they’re trying to accomplish could be VERY difficult and costly, but for others in a smaller niche, that’s something done with minimal effort. Yet while it doesn’t take much effort, you will need to know how. That’s where it gets complicated. For this reason, I highly recommend you connect with a member of the PMI education team. Our internet coaches will get you going quickly, and it will definitely be worth your while.

Even explaining how to do it is a complicated process, which is why I suggest connecting with a member of the PMI success team, but I’ll give you a brief rundown. SEO is an involved process which requires you to ensure your web pages are ‘optimized’ for the search engine crawlers. Sound like gibberish yet? Just wait….

Your web page titles, metadata, and coding all need to be dialed in as efficiently as possible to achieve results. You need to be sure your content is keyword rich to attract the customer base you’re seeking. This is where it can get expensive and complicated if you have a topic which isn’t very niched. The reason is that you’ll be competing with monster companies who’ve been around for a while…and have quite the hold on those keywords. But don’t get down just yet…because one of our internet consultants can tell you just what you’re up against.

You should be working with Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, and other popular sites on the web to expose your site as much as possible to the search engine crawlers. But remember…you need to be methodical and meet certain requirements for it to work. Shooting blindly into the dark isn’t going to work. Again, this is one of those times when you should pony-up and let a PMI consultant help you achieve your goals. It’s WELL worth your time & money to get it done right!

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Sep 08

How To Get Your Customers To Keep Coming Back

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Any successful business owner or entrepreneur knows that it costs much less to KEEP a customer than earn a new one. However, customer loyalty is something that takes quite a while to earn. For most customers, their loyalty lies with the best deal… regardless of what you’ve done for them in the past. Don’t worry though. Not all hope is lost. If you can create an overall atmosphere which gives the customer an incredible experience from start to finish with your product…they’ll most likely keep coming back. Make a mistake that you don’t correct quickly though, and that customer could be gone forever.

It’s really difficult to not make mistakes, but when you do… you’d better do everything you can to make that customer happy. Now clearly, you’re going to have those customers who are just looking for a free ride. Drop those customers as soon as possible. But if you’ve got someone who’s likely going to be coming back for more…it will be worth your while to keep them.

Allow me to give you an example of what NOT to do. I once ordered a product from a company, they charged me, then 5 days later sent me an email saying they didn’t have that size anymore. My first thought: “Really? It took  you FIVE days to tell me that?” When I expressed my feeling and suggested they keep better track of their inventory, they didn’t apologize (which you should ALWAYS do if you mess up), but rather said their inventory was fine, and someone had just purchased that product right before me, so they took priority. This was clearly a lie because when I ordered that product…it said ALL other sizes were available, and yet now they were all suddenly gone? Hmmm…right. When I called the owner on their bluff, they responded by mocking me. Again…something you DON’T want to do if you’re a business owner. Being upfront and honest with your customers when you make a mistake, A.K.A. “HONESTY”, is the best policy.

In the end, the owner never apologized for his poor abilities, nor for his lie, nor for his mocking email. And since then, I have needed multiple items that his company carried…even at a better price, but I refuse to ever buy from him again. It’s a perfect example of how important the buying experience is.

On the flip side, I’ve worked with other companies who took care of me…even when I made a mistake. And guess what? I’ve gone back to them many times since, even when their prices weren’t the best, because I know they’re going to continue to take care of me…and that just feels good.

As a business owner or entrepreneur, it’s not just your job to create a great product or service, but to create the whole experience for the user. Any internet consultant will tell you that. It’s something we like to stress at PMI…because it works.

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