7 Steps to go from idea to cash!

Ok, so you've got a ton of ideas on how to make money and put some cash in your pocket, but where do you begin? Not to worry, I've got a few strategies to get you started. These are not the only way, but should give you a boost in the right direction.

1 Skills vs. Experience

What are your skills? What are you really good at? Maybe you are good with people, or are really technical and analytical. Are you a good organizer or have writing skills? Your skills will be extremely vital to the success of your endeavor.

Example - Maybe you are a stay-at-home mom, chances are you are a good planner, organizer, problem solver and multi-tasker.

What about your experience. Have you worked as a teacher, an attorney, a manager or a community organizer? What are you really good at? Consider what you've done in the past. Use these skills and experiences to determine what you bring to the table and what you need to get your new venture off the ground.

Write your skills down, get friends and colleagues to help you assess your best attributes

Did you know you can use OPE and OPS? You can borrow others peoples skills and experience to accomplish your business goals. If you are good with sales and people, but not a good organizer, then find someone with those skills and put them on your team, or hire them on a consignment basis.

.
2. Find a model and duplicate it
There is nothing new under the sun. Chances are some one already has a successful business like the one you are starting. Find a company doing what you want to do. Do your research, then call them up and interview them. Take a field trip and investigate the business you're considering. Determine your target market, who needs your product/service
Locate them and hang out where they are. You'll be surprised at what you'll learn. You may even be able to do a joint venture or take their overflow work.

3 Income streams

Write down how much money you need to make per month, per week and per day to cover your expenses and then to profit. Then come up with as many ways to generate revenue from your venture as you can.

Example: If you can do it, can you teach it? Can you record to audio or video and sell it? Can you have others teach it and receive percentage of their profits? How many ways can you teach it, live classes, seminars, workshops, ebooks? Write them all down.

4 –Draft a plan.

Outline your concept. Determine what makes your business different from others. What your twist? What's your USP (unique selling proposition)? Then create your action steps. Sequence your strategy, what comes first, second, third and so on. Get someone else to help map out your


5. Team Power

Since success is not created in a vacuum, the fastest path to cash is with a team. Figure out what team members you need:

1. Vision team - help to get a clear understanding of what your business looks like
2. Professional team - helps with entity structure, legal formalities, bookkeeping, accounting
3. Sales team - execute sales
4. Marketing team - create and promote marketing strategies and materials
5. Coaching team - helps you stay on track, stay focused, analyzes your strategies and provide constructive criticism to improve your results. Also your coach and mentors should hold you accountable and not let you off the hook for achieving your dream.

6 -Develop the Marketing and Sales Strategies

Determine who are your clients and go where they are. Are they online; if so, where? Forums, social networks, online groups? Are they offline? Do they network with associations, trade organizations, community groups, business referral exchanges, churches, schools, etc.?

Find out what they need and what media are they using.

Beginning marketing ideas: newsletters, newspaper ad, internet sites, radio, email campaigns, posters and flyers, parties or get togethers, third party endorsements, craigslist, twitter, facebook, etc.

Make your marketing pieces full of benefits for the customer. Communicate to them in plain english. Craft your message to let them know why your product will help resolve their problem, or enhance their life

7. Ask for the sale

No matter how good your product or service is, no matter how many networking functions you attend, how good your website looks, you will never make any money until you ask for the sale.

Make the sales process simple and easy for your customers. Your website should be simple to navigate and your call to action should be clear. Let them know what to do, then make it easy
for them to do it.

People buy from those they know, like and trust. Help customers get to know
you. Use video in your marketing campaigns to help customers get to know your
personality. Use 3rd party endorsements for added credibility. Provide samples or FREE services if possible, then ask for feedback. Use these are testimonials. Provide value.

Always give more than your customer expects. Be truthful, don't exaggerate. And don't be afraid to ask for the cash!

There you have it! Seven simple steps that will help you go from concept to cash!


Now get off your duff and make it happen!

Gail

If you have a business idea and would like to bounce it off of someone to help you
come up with strategies and implementations, contact me at divatalk@helloworld.com


Gail Turner Brown, CEO of Small Business Network TV. Business marketing strategists and consultant. Provide tools, resources and information to small business owners to start, build and grow their.

Save for college, feed a child, with NO out of pocket money!

What if you could turn your everyday spending in to college savings?

What if you could help feed America's children in need?

What if you could do all this without it costing you a dime?

Would you consider that's a pretty good deal? I thought so.

That's why I teamed up with Upromise and the Feed the Children

What's this all about? I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you about it.

I am a marketing consultant and one of my clients is Upromise. Upromise allows you to save toward college for anyone you designate just by doing what you
already do, shop. When you buy groceries, go out to eat, buy gas, go to your local drug store,
a percentage of your receipts is placed in a College Savings account. Join Upromise for FREE and let hundreds of America’s leading companies help you save for college

Not bad, huh?

Heat or Eat? America's parents are facing a tough choice. Help families avoid the dilemma of heating their homes or feeding their children.

Helping Hungry Children and Families in the United States

Feed The Children believes that no child should go to bed hungry in this blessed and plentiful country. There are many ways that we try to feed those in desperate need right here in America.

You are helping us make an important difference in the lives of families for whom hunger and need are daily realities.

What do these two have to do with each other? Nothing, except I've decided to combine these two powerful organizations to make a huge difference. When you enroll in Upromise and register your grocery store, credit/debit card or pharmacy card, you will begin building college savings, I will donate $2 to Feed the Children The idea is for a lot of people to do a little, to make a big difference in the lives of millions.

My goal is to feed 2,000 families during the month of March..

Isn't that awesome!, So let me recap:

You enroll in Upromise for FREE, register your grocery store, pharmacy or credit/debit card to begin your college savings when you shop for everyday items.

1. I will donate $2 to Feed the Children to feed hungry children in the United States
2. You will receive special savings and bonuses for items you buy everyday while saving for college
   
3. and we will all help in eliminating hunger in America for so many needy families
   

It can't get any better than that. Imagine, never can so little do so much for so many. And you didn't have to spend a dime, nothing, nada, zilch!

Why not get started now. The deadline is March 31st for this promotion. So do it now while you're thinking about it.

Join me as we help make a difference in the lives of many struggling families in America to provide higher education and put food on the table.

Do it today!

Gail Turner Brown
Small Business Network TV

P.S. Remember it costs you NOTHING when you join Upromise and begin saving for college for anyone, and I will donate $2 to Feed the Children

I’m Facing Financial Leprosy, Help!

The economy is not in the greatest of shapes at the moment, you’d have trouble borrowing a pen from a bank let alone money and if you entered this crisis with a credit history report that looked like a marker pen wielding, epileptic, tic-tac-toe fanatic had gone to town on it, then you haven’t got a chance.

Lenders don’t want to know you unless you have a credit history that resembles Christ’s resume; but all is not lost. This is the time when you should look to preserve what credit score you have and possibly improve it by some positive action.

We’ve already mentioned that lenders will treat owners of bad credit histories like social lepers, well that’s not completely true. If you are a home owning leper you may have a chance!

With the government urging banks and financial institutions to start lending again the likelihood is that the first borrowers who will benefit, are those able to offer collateral so if you fall into this bracket you may be able to apply for a secured consolidation loan, it won’t be easy though, and hopefully, by the time you will be able to do this, you may even have some value left in your!

If you don’t have any collateral I’m afraid it is about making the best of a bad situation and the best way to do this is to manage your debt effectively. You need to work out your income and your vital expenditure (mortgage or rent, utility bills, telephone, car costs, taxes, gas, basically everything you need to live, get to work etc.). Now, what you have left over is what you have available to pay off your unsecured debt each month.

Your biggest concern should be if you are struggling to make monthly payments yet you have more than enough to cover your monthly repayments – this generally means that you are partying way too hard and you probably have a drug problem too, get some help. If, however, and I suspect this maybe the case, you don’t have enough left over to cover your debts, then you need to start the process of negotiating with your creditors to lower your monthly payments before things start to get ugly and you’re debt keeps growing.

There are two ways to go about this; the first is to approach one of hundreds of debt management service companies currently available, many of them are excellent but just as many deserve to be put up against a wall and shot. I don’t, and never will, condone this sort of behavior towards financial institutions, it doesn’t work for a start; best to hit them in the pocket.

Seriously though, check out whoever you are considering speaking too with the Better Business Bureau first.

Debt management companies are excellent at negotiating with your creditors and will manage your debt by asking you to make a singular payment to them each month which they will distribute between your creditors, after taking a small management fee of course, even the non-profit companies have to eat!

The other alternative, and it is the one I would advise to use is as above but you act as your own debt manager; it is not as hard as you may think and the biggest benefit is you remain in total control the whole time.

If you want to know about the methods that the banks and other financial institutions hate people using to eliminate their debt quickly check out the sites at the end of this article. I have knick-named these methods ‘MEL’, which stands for Moral, Ethical and Legal, no wonder the banks hate them!

By: Daniel Major

Now Is the Time says Donny Deustch!

People are scared! Everywhere you turn the bad news keeps coming in. Recently the jobs report came in at 10% unemployment and over 100K people lost their jobs in 2 days. Whoa! that's enough to make your hair stand on end! Are you wondering is your pink slip next?

If you have finally figured out that job security is an 'oxymoron', and you have watched your 401K turn into a $1k and discovered your blood pressure and your home value is about the same, chances are you maybe scared to death and ready to jump out of the nearest window.

Before you take the plunge think about one valuable asset you may have forgotten. Think about it, there is someone you can always count on to get you out of any financial disaster. Someone who can never be fired and that has the capability to build a huge portfolio that can never go down. It's YOU! Yes, you heard me right, "You" are the best asset you can have. Your ability, your brain power, your creativity and imagination.

According to Donny Deustch of the "Big Idea", now is the best time to rely upon you. Let's face it, you can't rely upon anyone else. Not your boss, your company, your government. It's time for you to invest in "YOU".

I know what you are thinking " ARE YOU CRAZY IN THIS ECONOMY?" Stop yelling at me and just listen for just a minute. Even during the "Great Depression" there were millionaires created because they understood that the best time to create and innovate was during bad times.

This will be the most innovative, creative, robust time in a generation. We have to learn to do more with less. So why not put your thinking cap on and figure out what you want to offer. Everyone has great ideas, often times million dollars ideas, even you.

Listen to Donny Deustch of the "Big Idea" and hear what he has to say about it.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ok, feel better now? Maybe you are still a little skeptical and think no way can you, just an ordinary Joe or Jane can do this.. is that's what's going through your mind? I see you still need some convincing. Take a look at this lady. Donny Deustch highlights her in his new book.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Come away from the window, sit down at your desk, take out pen and pad and start sketching out your "Big ideas". I know they are in there. Just let it flow. Don't second guess or judge just allow your creative juices to go for it. You have nothing to lose. I know you can do it!

Get on your mark, GO!


***********************************************************************************
Need some help with your ideas? Would you like to have someone to bounce some suggestions back and forth in a positive, supportive way? Looking for a way to share your thoughts with confidence? We are here to help work with you to get your ideas out of your head and into the marketplace. Just contact us at sbntvlive@gmail.com for a FREE 30 minute brainstorm session. Our consultants and strategists will help guide you toward your "Big Idea".
***********************************************************************************

It's All About Teams

You’ve heard of the term ‘self made millionaire’, haven’t you? Well guess what, that’s a myth. There is no successful person from a child, to multi billionaire who did it without a team or network of individuals and systems behind him.

I think it’s amazing how so many entrepreneurs and small business owners think they can do it all themselves without enlisting a great team.

If you have watched the political transition, it is made up completely of teams. There is the transition team, the economic team, the foreign policy team the domestic team all led by its leadership the President.

Well if the President has to put together a team in order to lead the country, why do you think you don’t need a team to lead your company? Makes sense doesn’t it?

Why is a teams important to your success? Because one you can’t do it all yourself, and two teams help take your vision from concept to reality more quickly and efficiently. The team also takes your vision and helps to implement it according to your guidance and leadership.

Are you convinced yet? Ok good. So who should be on your team as a business owners. Well, there are several areas but there are 6 basic areas of every successful company:

1. Financial
2. Sales and Marketing
3. Management
4. Communication
5. Ecommerce
6. Health Care
   

Let’s examine some of the key players and components of these teams and networks.

Financial

You will want to attract people who can assist you when you need a loan to start or expand your business. You need people to help guide you through the process as well as investors and lenders who are open to your type of business.

Then there are the professionals and tools to help keep you build or rebuild your credit, protect you from ID theft, bill payment system and accounts receivables.

These professionals and tools are critical for the financial wealth of your empire n whether you starting out or expanding.

Sales and Marketing

I don’t care how great your product or service is, if no one knows about it, it’s useless. Sales and marketing are the life blood of any business, heck for that matter to any endeavor. Think about it when you were dating or looking for your first job You marketed yourself every way possible from how you dressed, your makeup and grooming to where you put yourself. Whether it was on the internet network or a social setting.

We are always selling and anyone who says I don’t like sales, doesn’t want to make any money or succeed. Nothing happens until a transaction is made. There are buyers and sellers in every situation. You are either selling or being sold, period.

So what’s needed to help get the word out about your product or service and start ringing up the sales? Glad you asked. Here are a few tools,

Press releases, PPC, classified ads, banner ads, directory listings, SEO, article submission, Video email, events, social networks, print shops, newsletters, etc.

Think about how you could rev up your sales if you decided to put your attention into just a few of these strategies and tools.

Management

Every good business needs proper management. The problem is most of the time the one doing the managing is the one doing everything else. So not much gets managed. Your job is to put together a great team and then lead them to your satisfaction.

Who’s on your management team?

Legal professionals, tax professionals, business consultants, coaches, mentors, You are going to want your team to help you set up the right entity structure, understand your tax liabilities and advantages, guide you through a business plan, be a sounding board and help keep you on track.

Telecommunication

In our high tech society it’s there is no excuse not to stay in touch with your customers and clients and for them to stay in touch with you. Here are some of the tools of the trade.

VOIP with unlimited Long distance, fax, voice mail, conferencing, IM, email, mobile
phones, Podcasts

Proper use of these tools managed properly can have your customer and clients coming back again and again because you cared enough to stay connected.

Ecommerce

No matter who you are and what type of business you have, you need an online presence. Oftentimes your website is the first place someone will go to determine more about you and your products and service. Even if you have a brick and mortar business, consumers today expect you to have a website or a blog.

Who plays a role in this team,

Web designers or DIY builder
Web hosting
Email
Domain registrant
Graphic Designer
Blog
Shopping cart
Merchant account
Streaming media

Health Care

Let’s face it, if you are not healthy and fit, you won’t be able to spend all the money you are planning to make. Also, if you can get affordable health care your business will thrive.

Team mates -

Doctors
Dentists
Pharmacy
Vision Care
Spa and Health Care

There you have it the main ingredients to a highly successful business venture regardless of the economic climate or the kind of company you plan to build or are building.

Though it may seem a daunting task to find these tools and players to participate in your game, it will be much easier if you find networks of companies that offer these services.

Join your local chamber or business network groups and ask for referrals. Talk about putting together a group comprised of your community professionals. Remember, it’s all about teams. That is what will take you to the level of success you want to achieve.

Gail Turner Brown
Business Consultant

If you'd like put together your team of professionals and get access to marketing and managements to start, build and brand your company check out My CEO, Inc

Turn Everyday Spending into College Savings!

What if you could turn your everyday spending in to college savings?

What if you could help build a home for some of the most impoverished children around the world?

What if you could do all this without it costing you a dime?

Would you consider that a pretty good deal? I thought so.

That's why I teamed up with Upromise and the Caring House Project Foundation

What's this all about, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you about it.

I am a marketing consultant and one of my clients is Upromise is it? Upromise allows you to save toward college for anyone you designate just by doing what you
already do, shop. When you buy groceries, go out to eat, buy gas, go to your local drug store,
a percentage of your receipts is placed in a College Savings account. Join Upromise for FREE and let hundreds of America’s leading companies help you save for college
Not bad, huh?

Ok, so what is Caring House Project? I knew you'd ask that.
Frank McKinney is a Real Estate "artist";
super hero meets Robin Hood, 2-time international best-selling author (with 3 more books by 2.13.09);
risk taker & visionary who sees opportunities & creates markets where none existed before.

He is considered the Maverick real estate developer who is famous for building the most luxurious, most
expensive homes in southern Florida. In 1998 he developed the Caring House Project
to provide homes and villages for the poorest people, in the poorest locations, in the poorest cities in the
Western Hemisphere.

What do these two have to do with each other? Nothing, except I've decided to combine these two powerful
entities to make a huge difference. When you enroll in Upromise to begin building college savings, I will donate
$2 toward the Caring House Project Foundation. The idea is for a lot of people to make a big difference in the lives of millions.

My goal is to reach the $2,000 which is the donation required to attend the grand unveiling of Frank McKinney's newest project, Aqua Liana, the the most expensive green house estate and book signing on February 13. This donation will build 1/2 a home for a family in the Caring House Project Foundation.

Isn't that awesome!, So let me recap:

You enroll in Upromise for FREE and begin your college savings when you shop

1. I will donate $2 toward Caring House Project unveiling on February 13
2. You receive great satisfaction in knowing you are saving toward college for your loved ones
3. and helping to build homes for some of the world's poorest children and families

It can't get any better than that. Imagine, never can so little do so much for so many. And you didn't have to spend a dime, nothing, nada, zilch!

Why not get started now. The deadline is November 30th for this promotion. So do it now while you're thinking about it.

Join me in these worthwhile projects of higher education and building homes for some of the world's poorest citizens.

Do it today!

3 Ways to Succeed in This Economy

3 Ways to Succeed In This Economy

By Brian Tracy

November 11, 2008

Excerpt From: Sales Success

Are you wondering what to do to attract clients and create a surge in sales? Are you frustrated by getting minimal response to your advertising or online promotions? Are you asking yourself,

"How can I avoid having my sales and profits dry up in this market?"

"Should I reduce spending on marketing to preserve cash?"

If you're like most business owners and marketers, you're doing everything you know how to bring in more sales, and you're still not realizing the profits you want. You've worked for years to grow your business and now a financial meltdown that you had nothing to do with is making it harder.

What can you do? You could bury your head in the sand and hope you've still got a business in a few years. You could copy your competitors' marketing, but their sales are hurting, too. Or you could ask yourself,

"Is there a way I can actually grow my business in this economy?"

Yes, there are easy and inexpensive ways to increase your profits.

Start with these 3 steps:

1. Change Your Marketing Strategy
When we get the rare cold spell here in San Diego, I change the clothing I wear. I put on a sweater or even a jacket. The same is true for your marketing strategy; when the economic climate changes, you need to respond.

In good times you can get away with fairly ineffective marketing, and the rising tide will float your boat along with everybody else's. In an economic downturn, you can't afford to be haphazard about your marketing. You'll pay the price in reduced sales. Spending money on ads or mailings that barely generate sales isn't affordable anymore.

2. Focus Your Efforts
While fusion food is popular here in San Diego, we don't have a single restaurant that is a combination of French, Italian, Mexican and Chinese cuisines. Can you imagine a pasta dish with jalapeno cream sauce and a ginger root topping? It'd taste terrible. That's not a time-tested combination of flavors; it's a mess in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, most small business marketing isn't much more than a mess in the kitchen, a collection of sales and marketing activities that don't work together. Many businesses don't grow as fast as they could because they don't have an optimized marketing strategy or a system for implementing it.

3. Use Cost Effective Marketing Strategies
Let me tell you a secret. Some of the most effective marketing and selling tools are inexpensive or even free. Most people don't use them, so when you do, you can easily beat the competition. 92% of businesses overspend on marketing. They're wasting money on marketing that isn't getting results.

You may be doing all the right marketing activities, but without an effective marketing system, you could be struggling for a long, unprofitable time. Now, thanks to marketing expert Charlie Cook, there's an easy way to transform your marketing, grow your business and maximize your profits.

60-minute CD Your Price: $23.60 $19.95

Abracadabra - YOU'RE RICH! Change your Marketing, Change your Life! Do you want to put your business or yourself at the top of your industry? Do you want everyone to know that your services or products are the best? It's easy - With Magical Marketing Now you can... in my 60-minute CD I teach you the key strategies, concepts and ideas of marketing practiced by the most successful and profitable companies in every industry. >> Buy Magical Marketing today, and like magic, you’ll be rich tomorrow! <<

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21 Great Ways Entrepreneurial/Finance Success Series Take charge of your life and increase your income immediately. Learn how to achieve financial independence in your own business!