Cheap airfare > Have you set your business up for failure?

Have you set your business up for failure?

Have you unintentionally set your business up for failure?

No one sets out to fail! Most business owners read all thestatistics (maybe more than once) before they open theirdoors. Many know the reasons why businesses fail. But somebusinesses operate under this paradigm: "failure can neverhappen to me because I know better." Is that you?What most business owners miss is looking at the reasons forbusiness failure and turning them into action steps to helpovercome the odds of failure. How do I know? I once thoughtI knew better, too!Bear in mind that even "adolescent" businesses fail.According to the SBA statistics, 90% of small businessesfail within the first five years. Many businesses aren'tproducing enough income because the business owners aren't"business wise." They may be excellent at a specific task -consulting, programming, massage therapy, web site design,copywriting, etc.

Or they have a great product. But wiseabout the "business" of business, they are not!In the past five years of my business, not one client(including those who have been in business for more than 10years) provided me with a business plan to review. Not one!Two of 100 clients have had marketing plans, but marketingplans don't work without a business plan and other focustype tools, too. The other common (95%!) mistake I see (andhelp my clients correct) is pricing their services very lowas a way to gain market share and new clients. So low, infact, that a potential buyer will perceive the service orproduct as being cheap and of low quality, even when theprovider offers years of expertise.

NO ONE wants to hire abusiness that is cheap! Inexpensive - yes; affordable - yes;cheap - no, no, no!The most common problems business owners experience stemfrom simple functions like streamlining, organizing,information resourcing, marketing, planning, visioning,languaging, communication, technology and ecommerce.Example: If you know that most businesses fail because theydon't have a usable business plan, develop your own businessand marketing plans and use them daily; don't create onethat gathers dust on a shelf. I use the One Page BusinessPlan Book or Interactive CD by Jim Horan. It helps businessowners create very realistic, focused, and well thought-outbusiness and marketing plans, including scorecards to helpyou anticipate and avoid business problems.Example 1: Recently, a client turned down an opportunity toteach computer classes on a subject she could easily teach.Using teaching to market her business is on her marketingplan. So why not? Well, the proposed classes weren't goingto help her get business for her primary business, theyweren't going to attract her ideal client, and the pay wasmuch lower than her usual hourly rate. She felt confidentabout declining the offer.

Of course, that same week, othernew business - the type she really wanted - came her way!Example 2: New client knows she wants to create a businessplan. She also has a strategy of increasing her income byjoining four organizations with networking opportunities forher to meet her ideal clients. She joins the first twogroups - total cost: $400.As she starts her business foundation work, which includesthe One Page Business Plan, she realizes that her idealclient isn't whom she originally thought it was! Someclients might be found in the two groups she's alreadyjoined, but not her ideal clients. As a new business owner,she wants to spend her time around her ideal clients, firstand foremost. Planning just a little more for her businesswould have saved her $400 in membership fees.What other simple things can you do to build a solidbusiness foundation??
Use a one-page plan daily to create your to-do list and
monitor your business.?
Create an Ideal Client Profile and Elevator Speech and
define a niche for your business.?
Read one of the "E-myth Revisited" books by Michael
Gerber.?
Go with your strengths.

Hire individuals whose strengths
ARE your weaknesses to "fill in the gaps."?
Remember that there is no need to repeat the SAME mistakes
others have made.?
Know what your business exit strategy will be.Most business owners don't know what they don't know. Getassistance by hiring non-biased professionals who help yourealign with your vision, create plans and financialscorecards to monitor your business. Look for someone whocan suggest resources to help you and your business grow.Someone who's been in your shoes and succeeded. Startlooking at how having a partner - a business consultant,coach, counselor, strategist, organizer or planner - canhelp you grow your business.Ready to learn more about business success? Take a look atthe articles I found on business failure that are postedbelow, (http://www.coachmaria.com/articles/succeed.html).Learn to overcome the costly (both in money and your time)errors that other business owners have already made. Giveyour business a fighting chance to continue to succeed.? 2004 Maria Marsala, is a business builder who helpswomen-owned service businesses increase their bottom linein less time.

A former Wall Street trader and manager, she used her business expertise to create 6 S.I.M.P.L.E. Business Steps, a program developed to help her clients succeed in less time. Learn more at http://www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com.

Is An All Inclusive Resort Right For You?

All-inclusive resorts can really help vacationers get the most out of their travel dollars. Today, over 400 hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico are either all-inclusive resorts or offer all inclusive packages. Destinations such as Aruba, Cancun, St. Thomas, and Bahamas have an infrastructure that is well suited to all-inclusive and not all inclusive resorts because there is a wide election of restaurants and amenities for tourism. Jamaica and the Dominican Republic on the other hand don't have the tourism infrastructure in place and are best suited for all inclusive vacations.You'll want to consider carefully before choosing an all inclusive resort.

Resorts do vary -- some are designed for couples, some for singles, some for gays and some for families. Some cater to a younger or older crowd. There are also some that offer clothing-optional activities. For obvious reasons, most of those don't allow children under 18.The resorts come in all shapes and sizes. Some include airfare...

Is An All Inclusive Resort Right For You?

Cheap airfare > Is An All Inclusive Resort Right For You?

1000tags.com, a New Trend in Advertising that Delivers Results

Sunnyvale, CA (ContentDesk) January 14, 2006 -- 1000Tags is different enough from MillionDollarHomePage that is no wonder that in barely three days since it was launched is already collecting great success, great reviews and yes, lots of visitors. They call it "the first commercial tag cloud". And thats exactly what it is. You can purchase a tag, pay by the character and font size, and expect a lot of traffic to your site as a result. If you're not familiar with "tags" and "folksonomies", they are the hottest thing on the web when it comes to label and find information, and the proof is the quick raise that 1000tags has gotten in such short period of time.

In short, tags are like keywords but slightly different. For a better explanation, visit 1000tags.com, read their FAQ and see for yourself.The goal of the site is to sell up to 1,000 tags, and they've sold up over 150 tags already, so they surely are going fast. At 1000tags.com, tags can be exclusive (once purchased, nobody...

1000tags.com, a New Trend in Advertising that Delivers Results

Cheap airfare > 1000tags.com, a New Trend in Advertising that Delivers Results

Surefire ways to make money on eBay

One of the ways to make money on eBay is sourcing products to sell.

The first questions eBay sellers should ask themselves are: "What can I sell?" and "Where can I buy?"

If you are a business seller, it is fundamental that you spend some time researching before you decide which products you want to sell.

There are nearly 69 million eBay users who spend $59 million every day.

Most eBay sellers are home-based businesses that sell everything from porcelain dolls to locks of Elvis' hair to $100,000 Mercedes convertibles to $5 million dollar vacation homes.

Every minute of every day more than 150 new items are listed for sale, more than 500 bids are placed, and seven new people register to shop on eBay.

About two million new items are offered for sale every day, and 62 million registered users scour the site to find them.

All these given facts are enough to assure you that...

Surefire ways to make money on eBay

Cheap airfare > Surefire ways to make money on eBay

How to find the best airline prices on discount airfare!

Locating the best airline prices on discount airfare just got easier. It used to be a cumbersome, time consuming task to buy your airline tickets, but not anymore. The ball really has shifted into the court of the traveler. No need to contact a travel agent and wait for them to get back to you. Today, you decide where and when you want to go, enter a few keystrokes into your computer and, like magic, all the information on airline prices on discount airfare and decision-making tools are at your fingertips.Do you want to find the best airline prices on discount airfare for travel to Las Vegas? No problem, a few minutes on the computer and you'll be all set.

Do you want to locate a company that offers streamlined airline prices on discount airfare to Cancun? Simply enter your destination, when you want to travel and your set.All the information you need for cheap airline prices on discount airfare is on the internet.These are amazing times we live in. Take advantage of the power...

How to find the best airline prices on discount airfare!

Cheap airfare > How to find the best airline prices on discount airfare!

The Coach Purse, the Better Purse

Before getting my first Coach purse a few years ago I would use nothing but cheap bags I found at discount department stores. When I decided to finally splurge on something better it was only because I was going to be at a formal event and needed something that was practical but still looked classy. The Coach purse that I bought was stylish and went well with the dress I was wearing and in the end it all made me look and feel great.
Once I used my Coach purse that night I began looking for other excuses to take it out with me because it got so many compliments. Eventually I began taking it with me everywhere sometimes even dressing up to match the accessory instead of the other way around. Not only was the purse as good as any other in terms of being roomy easy to organize but I found that it outlasted any other handbag I ever owned.

In the past I would replace my handbags all the...

The Coach Purse, the Better Purse

Cheap airfare > The Coach Purse, the Better Purse

Ninety Percent of Business Cards Get Dumped Because of Poor Planning

Springfield, MO (ContentDesk) September 1, 2004 -- Many entrepreneurs waste money on poorly designed business cards and as a result, 90 percent of them get dumped. That's according to Chris Brunner, President of GreatFX Business Cards (http://www.greatfxbusinesscards.com), who has just published a free guide, "Unforgettable
Business Cards," to stop the waste and help businesses use their cards to generate more profits."Most business cards are designed with little thought and handed out with little thought. It's hardly surprising then that many are discarded without a second thought," says Brunner.
"Contact information alone doesn't make your card memorable or desirable. You've got to add some marketing sparkle to your cards so that people will remember you and want to do business with you." Brunner believes that a well-designed business card with a strong business message, when handed out appropriately,...

Ninety Percent of Business Cards Get Dumped Because of Poor Planning

Cheap airfare > Ninety Percent of Business Cards Get Dumped Because of Poor Planning

PodcastDesign.com Signs 6 Clients in First 48 Hours of Existence

The phone would simply not stop ringing, and the email was overwhelming.The HTML was written, the pages were formed, and the site was FTPd. It then took less than 2 hours for David Lawrence, the founder and lead podcast designer for PodcastDesign.com (http://www.podcastdesign.com), to sign his first client, and less than 2 days to sign 5 more."Podcasting has the kind of heat that surrounded blogging, streaming, Napster and Google. Everyone's hearing about it, but not everyone knows what it is, or how podcasting might help their business strategy. Putting a sound and personality to any organization via a podcast is an amazingly sticky way to humanize your image and instantly connect with your customers. My job is to help my clients create the podcast that's right for them."Why podcasting? And why now? "It's the right time and the right medium, and the audience loves the convenience," said Lawrence, from his Los Angeles studios....

PodcastDesign.com Signs 6 Clients in First 48 Hours of Existence

Cheap airfare > PodcastDesign.com Signs 6 Clients in First 48 Hours of Existence

Your Refilled Cartridges Can Pay Some Bills

Ever thought about putting your refilling talent to work for you? I'm not talking about starting an inkjet refilling business, however, there's nothing stopping you from doing that. What I mean is if you enjoy refilling inkjet cartridges there are ways that you can sell them and make some money without a whole lot of effort. Many people think that a refilling business is the type that people bring you their cartridges, you refill them, and they pay you and leave. That's the hard way to do it. A much easier way is to obtain empty cartridges, refill them and sell them.

The trick is where to get the empties so you don't go broke in the process. Another thing to realize is you only want to refill cartridges that have print heads on them. Most HP and Lexmark cartridges fall into that category. Most Canons and all Epson's won't.The easiest place to sell your cartridges is on eBay. You can also sell them to your friends, neighbors and work associates.

If you sell them on eBay...

Your Refilled Cartridges Can Pay Some Bills

Cheap airfare > Your Refilled Cartridges Can Pay Some Bills

Car Prototypes

A car prototype can be considered to be the test model of a new car design that is intended to be produced in mass quantity. There is no company that goes out and starts mass production of a new car, without first creating a prototype of it.

Before a car is actually built, it is designed, researched and developed into a car prototype. It is the researchers who conduct consumer surveys and analyze market trends to get an idea of the type of car people want, and then, based on these...