Identify Your Unique Brand

Remember the theme song from Rocky, theme song from Bonanza, theme songs from your favorite commercials? Theme songs are brands; these are unique identifiers of a specific product, person or production.


Sports fans wear the team colors of their favorite team. One man in Michigan was such an avid fan of University of Michigan that he actually decorated his Christmas tree in maize and blue. Team colors represent another way of branding.


Companies use colors to brand themselves. IBM was noted as Big Blue. Colors in the logo identify specific companies. Cascade comes in a green box; Ivory soap arrives wrapped in a white cover with blue writing. Colors form an image in our mind of a company or product.


Logos are another identifying factor. Big G forms the association of General Mills. The letter L in a circle on a vehicle represents Lexus. Automobile manufacturers all have a logo which identifies the company. Branding is critical.


Comedians have a tag line which brands them. When you hear the line, “Take my wife, please,” you automatically associate the name Henny Youngman. Henny was the king of the one liner. Rodney Dangerfield coined the line, “I don’t get no respect.”


Avis car rental capitalized on being number two by saying they try harder because they are number two. Enterprise car rental focuses on the customer service of personalized pick up and delivery.


Branding comes in many forms. Logos, music, colors and one liners are all forms of branding. Every speaker, writer, performer or business person adopts their own individual style and market niche. Identifying and monetizing your brand becomes your unique selling position. Advertising frequently refers to this as your USP; your unique selling position identifies you and differentiates you from everyone else.


Identifying and promoting yourself is critical. Think about your strength, your individual qualification which sets you apart from everyone else. What special talent, ability or experience do you possess which will entice people to choose to work with you? Everyone has something they do better than everyone else. Find your special niche. You have something to contribute. Maybe you are an excellent writer. Perhaps your special field of knowledge and interest is computers. Web design may be one of your attraction points.


Your branding may relate to your former career. Former corporate executives speak the language of experience of other executives; develop your brand around attracting those who relate to your background. A former marine focuses on attracting other marines; they identify with similar training and mindset. One truck driver started writing articles about long haul problems; he speaks to the pain of other truck drivers who also want to be off the road and at home with their families.


Develop your personal brand, your unique selling position. There is something special about you which attracts others to work with you. Every entrepreneur, company and individual performer seeks their special niche. You have often heard the expression, ”get rich in a niche.” Identifying and promoting your individual brand represents step one in your marketing and business plan.



Home based businesses such as network marketing and MLM entrepreneurs are even more concerned with branding because their product is identical to everyone else in the same company. Does that mean it is impossible to create a niche for yourself in network marketing or MLM? Absolutely not. Developing yourself as an individual brand, an individual leader becomes even more important in home based businesses.



Every actor and actress seeks something which sets them apart from all of the others. This same principle applies to every entrepreneur and every business. Find your brand. Identify your unique selling position and promote it consistently throughout all of your marketing.



Identify your brand and monetize it. Your bank account and income statement will thank you. If you want specific personalized suggestions on identifying your brand, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com.



Titles:

Personal Branding is Key

Personal Branding is Your USP

Your Brand is Your USP

Identify Your Personal Brand



Keywords: home based business, network marketing, MLM, entrepreneur, personal branding, Unique selling position, USP, www.Elaine4Success.com, Elaine Love

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty proudly stands in New York Harbor as a beacon of hope. Even the title of the statue, “Liberty Enlightening the World” depicts freedom. Look at her carefully. We pay so much attention to the way we dress and the way we wear our hair, yet this symbol of inspiration barely affords a second glance by Americans.

Why should you care? What does a statue mean to your current life and economic situation? Regardless of your political views, we live in the greatest nation in the world. We have more opportunity, more freedom and more income per citizen than any other nation in the world.

If your heart is heavy and your bank account is light, it is time to reverse the weight. There is hope and there is help. Read these words and think about your blessings and potential instead of your possible lack.

Madame Liberty wears a stola, a radiant crown and sandals. She tramples a broken chain under her feet. She stretches her right arm high in the air as she hoists her torch high in the air. Madame Liberty's welcome to visitors and immigrants symbolizes freedom and hope for a better future in a new country. America’s forefathers founded our very nation on the principles of liberty and freedom; they stepped up to this mission at the very peril of their own lives and fortunes.

Read the inscription,

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

When we see the starvation, lack of clean water, and lack of medical attention in most third world countries, we cringe. When we turn on the faucet and see the gush of abundant clean water, do we feel grateful or take it for granted?

Not enough money right now? We can get a second job, start a home based business, and find a way to be more valuable at our current job to earn a raise.

Get a second job. No one said it had to be a glamour job. Look at your options. Your second job may be on a grounds crew at a golf course, landscaping or construction crew. Yes, it is physical work but it may also be on weekends when you are not working your current job. Food service places frequently need additional help. This does not have to be a long term solution but it may ease your short term financial crunch.

Home Based Businesses. Home based businesses abound and can be started for an extremely small investment. Maybe you produce crafts or bake something wonderful which could be sold at a farmers market or roadside stand. Perhaps you are talented at woodworking or as a handyman. Home based opportunities are everywhere when you look openly for them and are willing to work.

Improve your current job. Where do you have abilities which would benefit the company? Help organize the storeroom, improve efficiency on a paperwork task, or assist co-workers to improve the overall function of your department. Talk to your supervisor. Ask where you could contribute extra effort to improve your department or even another department in the company.

The key to any of these actions is to not only instigate new ideas and effort but also follow through. Starting something and not following through is worse than not starting.

Be thankful that we have the freedom to take action to make our lives better. Our forefathers paid a dear price for our freedom. Immigrants suffered horrid conditions in order to experience the freedom so openly available to us.

I know first hand what it feels like to be so broke that I had to look up to see the financial basement floor. Swallowing pride and working hard to achieve is worth the effort. Come join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. Let me help you brainstorm ideas to improve your life.

Criteria of a Business

Keep your fork; the best is yet to come. Remember your mother saying that when you were growing up? Mmmmm. Just inhale that delicious aroma. Savor the taste. Can’t you just taste it now? Dessert. Every child’s delight. Who are we kidding? Every adult loves dessert. How many of you have a favorite dessert? This question is not directed at your waistline, it is directed at your taste buds.

My mother was a combination of Martha Stewart, Julia Child and Betty Crocker when it came to baking. She knew how to perform magic with a few mixing bowls and an oven.

When Mom said, “Keep your fork, the best is yet to come.” We knew it was true.

Launching your own business requires a winnowing fork and a tuning fork, not a dinner fork, but the best is yet to come.

Compare the new business to a cake. Before you start gathering ingredients, decide what flavor cake you choose to make. Do you have the ingredients on hand or do you need to go shopping? A cake requires basic ingredients: flour, shortening, sugar and eggs, plus special additions for the special flavor variety.

The ingredients of a new business are just as basic.

Decide what kind of business you wish to open. Are you seeking a franchise, a brick and mortar or a home based business? Franchises are typically a quarter million to three quarters million to buy the rights to the business and even more money for the physical location. A home based business has the lowest start-up cost, usually less than twenty thousand and a lower overhead since it is home based. Typical brick and mortar businesses have a slightly lower initial cost than a franchise but probably require the cost of a physical location.

Do you have the skills necessary or do you need to seek a coach to assist you? Franchises provide training and business plans. New brick and mortar business provide neither training nor a business plan. Home based businesses may provide some training if they are part of a network marketing company or MLM; however, since it is your own business, you still have 100% responsibility for you business plan and your results.

How many hours a week do you plan to devote to your new venture? Franchise or brick and mortar will require closer to sixty hours per week at the specific business location. Home based businesses can be conducted on a part time or full time basis; ten hours per week is minimum and twenty to thirty is more realistic.

How much investment will be required and do you have not only the minimum start up capital, but also extra income to support yourself in the interim? Any business will require development time. Purchasing a franchise or existing business will provide some existing customer base due to the name recognition; however, building a business requires time and effort.

Free marketing trades off low cost for slow speed of locating customers. If you want large quantities of customers within a short period of time, you will need marketing dollars. Regardless of cost or speed, every business requires marketing and customers. A plethora of marketing methods, techniques and cost factors are available. Balance your marketing budget with the speed and quantity of customers desired. Add in your marketing expertise in order to estimate the total cost and time.

Have you written a business plan which incorporated the SMART criteria?

S – specific
M - measurable
A - attainable
R - relevant
T - timely

Gather all of the ingredients; combine them in proper proportions and develop the new creation. Select the proper location and target customer.

With your cake, you selected the proper size pan, prepared the pan properly, preheated the oven to the proper temperature, placed the cake inside the oven and checked it frequently.

Your business requires your time, constant attention and total dedication. Unlike a cake, the business requires tweaking and shaping on a frequent basis.

Once the cake is baked, you may decorate it.

Your business may take months or even years to bake. Decorating the business with flourishes and fanfare may consume several years. With consistent, persistent and focused action, it is possible.

Anticipate the delectable morsel of cake on your dinner fork. Use your winnowing fork and your tuning fork to create the profits of a well designed and managed business.

Keep your fork; the best is yet to come.

For a complete personalized goal setting and goal achieving plan, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com

Resolutions Require Passion

Change waves the flag of new beginnings everywhere we gaze. New Years resolutions lurk just around the corner; 2010 strolls into our lives within the next few days. Frequently people resolve to lose weight, make more money, exercise more, and spend more quality time with the family.

Resolutions officially commence on January 1 and all too frequently collapse by January 10 or even January 3. Review the "for sale" column of the news paper, Craig's List, or e-Bay and find fantastic deals on exercise equipment; ads appear in abundance by February. All of the well intentioned folks who requested exercise equipment for Christmas or purchased with high hopes for their New Years resolution have given up by February. What does that say about our persistence as a society?

The common joke in most gyms, particularly in a ski resort, is that the six busiest weeks of the year are two weeks before ski season, two weeks before bikini season and the two weeks after New Years resolutions. Our good intentions live a very short life span.

No wonder 97% of all businesses fail. Regardless of the type of business: franchise, brick and mortar, home based business, service business or retail business, only three per cent succeed. Look at our track record as a society. Persistence and resolve to commit to a goal until the goal has been achieved remains dismal at best.

Why do statistics reveal such a high failure rate? Examine the goals and the reason for stating them in the first place.

1. Did you set a goal you passionately desire to achieve or a goal you thought you should desire? Most people set goals they think they should set: lose weight, spend more responsibly, spend more quality family time, earn more money or start a fitness program. Guilt or responsibility fades much faster than a deep passionate personal desire.

2. Examine the language of your decision. Using words like "I'll try," "Maybe," "If," or "I'll see how it goes" set you up for failure from the beginning. Wishy washy words and luke warm feelings predict failure. Any time the statement "I'll give the business 3 months and see if it works" leaves the lips, failure waves the red flag of disaster.

3. Life offers very few guarantees. One steady rule of predictability remains true. If the goal is an absolute life threatening necessity, the odds of success skyrocket. People almost always get their "must" goals.

How seriously did you commit to your New Years resolutions? Examine your motivation for setting each resolution. Did you select goals you absolutely must find a way to achieve? Is your goal something you passionately desire? When you speak about your goals, what language do you speak and think? What feelings do you associate with each goal?

Our current economy entices many people to decide to start a new home based business. Good news about home based businesses is not only the low start up cost, but also the higher profit margin and faster return on investment. The bad news about having a lower start up cost is the lack of long term resolve because of a smaller loss of investment in case of failure. A large portion of the population wants to make more money and in many cases actually needs to make more money, but how many really commit to the follow through.

Regardless of the goal the bottom line remains the same. Weight loss, fitness, new business or any other decision, the more passionate the desire and the more solid the commitment, the greater the likelihood of success.

A new business or any other worthwhile goal requires an investment of time, effort and money. How badly do you desire success? What are you willing to do to achieve it? The more you desire success the more important it is to seek the help of a mentor to guarantee your positive results. Seek resources.

Brick Walls

Brick walls exist! Erroneously people believe those walls are to keep you out. Not so. Brick walls exist to help you determine exactly how badly you desire to achieve something.

Throughout my decades of life, I’ve encountered many brick walls. Some were worth scaling, tunneling under, or parting the brush to go around the wall. Other walls could have been a thin veneer and they just were not that important. Goals and obstacles reveal not only our character but our determination. Even more than the brick wall itself is the way we choose to scale the obstacle. Napoleon Hill once said,” Taking the path of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.”

The stronger my desire and determination, the easier it became to surmount the obstacle. Love and money top the list of motivators. When the object of your affection consumes your thoughts, causes your heart to beat faster and becomes almost an obsession, there is a strong likelihood you are in love. Love causes people to perform feats inconceivable under different circumstances. Strong independent men have been known to get down on their knees. Some have even gone so far as to utter words which defy the “bachelor’s creed” I remember observing my college senior son actually quake at the very thought of allowing the “c” word, “commitment.” E for engagement was about as likely as seeing the Amish drive up in a Hummer. Fast forward ten years and he is married and the proud father of two adorable little rascals, sons of his own. His brick wall of commitment crumbled in the face of the petite, athletic, intelligent Morgan.

Money forms its own brick walls of various thicknesses. One aspiring young rock star was so determined to start his own home based business that he actually listed his couch on e-bay. His passion for his music created such desire that he was compelled to do whatever it took to earn an excellent living and still have the time flexibility for his bass guitar. Happily I report that he now has both a thriving internet business but also performs concerts on stage with his brother and “the boys” on a regular basis. Determination, persistence, and consistency create results.

People constantly ask, “How fast will I make money?” Absolutely no one including a guru with a crystal ball can honestly answer that query. The star gypsy gazes deep into the crystal ball and says whatever thought pops into her head. Intuition, history, statistics and guess work still fail to make a reliable prediction. Be realistic, if some ‘far seeing genie” could really predict then we would not have 97 per cent of all new businesses fail. Notice that statistic flows across the board with home based business, franchise, retail business, service business, and any other conceivable money-making opportunity.

Everything comes back to brick walls. How inspired are you to find a solution to penetrating the brick wall? When your back presses against the wall and you must find a way to succeed in your business, you will. Regardless of whether your wall consists of debt, desire to provide for your family or simply an unquenchable fire within yourself to achieve, you will persist until your objective is obtained.

Brick walls may be erected in our minds or in reality. Either way, the wall is just as formidable. When the motivation is so strong, the why and how become easier. I can remember times when Doug and Dan were one and three; we were so broke we had to look up to see the financial basement floor. Nothing would have stopped me from penetrating that brick wall. All I had to do was peer into Dan's trusting blue eyes or Doug’s loving greenish eyes. Success was the only choice.

In this instance, both love and money played a significant role. No brick wall in history can withstand a mother’s love for her sons and her determination to provide for them.

For more articles and mindset personal training, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com

Set Point

Set Point

In tennis, the final point which allows one player or team to win the set. A set is typically when one player or team wins at least 6 games and wins two more games than their opponents.

Any one who has ever dieted also knows that their weight seems to have a metabolic set point. This is the mark on the scale which your body seems to return to time after time. Unless a significant change in behavior and eating pattern occurs, the weight always returns to the same number of pounds. Note the key difference becomes making a significant change in the type of foods consumed, quantity of food consumed and the behavior. Going on a diet and returning to the same behavior and eating pattern as before the diet is pointless. A significant behavior change must occur to keep the weight at the lower level.

Your finances also have a set point. The reason most lottery winners return to the same level of poverty as before they won the lottery, is that their money management behavior did not change. Statistics show that lottery winners go from broke to wealth and back to broke within three years. Why did they lose all of those windfall earnings? The spending patterns and money management behavior remained the same; there was simply more money to spend for a few years. A significant behavior change must result in order for the end result to be different. Financial education consists of managing money with a fresh new mindset. In order to elevate your financial set point, there must be changes.

Change the amount of money you mentally deserve. Surprised? Amazing how many people have deservability issues with money. Some of those issues stem from our childhood and the discussions within our family of origin. If we heard statements such as “filthy rich” or “money does not grow on trees,” those statements unconsciously set a negative image of money in our programming. One of the statements which causes me to cringe is “I may be poor but I’m a good person.” Once again, the implication pervades that being a good person and being wealthy are opposites. Determine your internal beliefs about money. Chances are that some of your original programming needs a revamp.

Unless you readjust your mental and emotional financial thermostat, you have tied both hands behind your back and placed a gag in your mouth in terms of speaking and receiving wealth. You have also placed a lead weight on the water level of your bank balance. You have predetermined yourself to sink into debt rather than float along in affluence.

Many home business entrepreneurs discover this economic dilemma. Home business opportunities are frequently highly lucrative. A large income can be earned with extremely low overhead. If you are struggling with your home based business, it may be that your financial thermostat is set so low that you are unintentionally blocking success and income. In other cases, home based business entrepreneurs experience tremendous success and then plunge backward because they have not reset their financial thermostat to believe they deserve wealth and success.

Financial set points affect many areas of life. People have been known to deny themselves dream vacations, new homes, new cars and various other material possessions because they did not feel that they deserved such rewards.

Examine your early programming about money and success. Look deeply into your feelings and deservability surrounding money and success. You will probably discover that you have unintentionally been blocking your own path to wealth and freedom.

For more specific ideas on raising your financial set point, contact Elaine at www.Elaine4Success.com. Let me help you make forward progress toward the success and financial freedom you deserve. Let me help you raise your financial thermostat.

Power of 5

The first time I learned about the power of 5 was the five things every successful person does every day in their daily method of operation. I am certain you are familiar with these five action items

1. Daily visualization and meditation on your goals. See each of your goals in living color with all 5 of your senses.
2. Income producing activity – lead generation, conversations with leads and follow up after they have reviewed the information
3. Masterminding with other leaders through live phone calls, recorded calls or the very best is live events. Meet and interact with other leaders face to face.
4. Personal development remains one of the most critical elements. Personal growth almost always precedes financial development. You can not grow within and stand still outside yourself.
5. Cultivate the expectation of leadership and success. BE the leader in self talk, feelings, words and actions. DO what the leaders do; take the actions they take. You will HAVE what the leaders have.

The five daily methods of operation items are consistent among all leaders throughout all industries. These items are absolutely essential in the home based business industry. Most home based business entrepreneurs are solopreneurs – a one person company. You are the only one responsible for doing every function. You are a solo act. Hence the term solopreneur, solo entrepreneur.

In order for your business to grow and flourish, you must focus on these five items every day. There is also another power of five which I feel is equally impactful toward your business success.

The second power of five is the practice of determining five action items to do every day to move your business forward. I first learned about this second power of five from Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield. When they were first launching “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” they developed this highly productive habit. Obviously it worked because now we have Chicken Soup for the Everything Imaginable books.

My experience with this simple technique has been fantastic. Every evening before I close my eyes and turn out the lights on the day, I write out a very specific list of five action items to be completed the next day. Two or three of them may be the same every day, but I always tap into my creativity for at least two items every day.

Why do I make the list as the last thing before I put a bow on the day and consider it wrapped and completed? The subconscious mind is the most receptive and most easily programmed immediately before slipping into n alpha sleep and the very first thing in the morning as you emerge from the alpha sleep. Your final thoughts before you drift off to slumberland and the first thoughts when your sleepy eyes flutter open in the morning are the most influential. Make those thoughts very positive to set a positive tone for the new day.

Another interesting fact is that the subconscious mind actually works on the situation for you while you sleep. You may be resting; however, your mind still functions. Why not have your uninterrupted subconscious mind activate its creativity for you. Ever wake in the middle of the night with a fantastic idea? Of course, your mind has remained active and creative. For this precise reason I have a notepad and pen on my bedside table to jot those flashes of inspiration. Once I jot them down, I can go back to sleep and not give it a second thought. If you do not record them on a note pad, you will either forget them or stay partially awake for hours for fear that you will forget that flash of genius.

The power of five has success magic. I highly recommend that you utilize both power of 5 practices. Your personal life, your business and your bank account will thank you.

For more tips and techniques for success, visit me at Elaine4Success.com. Give me your contact information and let me stimulate your life.

Dust Off Your Dreams

Yesterday is a cancelled check and tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is our current cash. Use today wisely.

How happy are you with your current work and financial situation? Today is a new day and the opportunity for a new beginning. When I was young, I had a list of 100 things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see. Over the years many of those items have been checked off the list. How about you? How is your list doing?

I wrote an article once called “Someday Isle.” Are you still living on Someday Isle? Someday I’ll do this or someday I’ll do that or someday I’ll go visit my dream vacation spot. Time keeps moving forward. What we do with our allotted time is under our control. If you temporarily are low on financial resources, that can be corrected. When you run out of time, it is all over.

Being broke or out of work is a temporary situation. Being poor is a state of mind. Revamp your mindset to prosperity and use the time and resources you have wisely to improve your life and financial situation.

You are only out of solutions when you decide that you are out of solutions.

Dust off your dreams and put the sparkle back in your eyes and your future.

This economic downturn has many people searching for solutions to put their financial future back on track. Start by honestly looking at your current financial situation. Make a detailed list of assets (things you own), liabilities (things you owe), and available income sources.

If your current income potential seems to fall short of meeting all of the bills you owe, then consider dusting off that dream of owning your own business. Starting a home based business can be done on a part time basis with very little cost. Not only does a home based business offer the potential of additional income but it remains the easiest way to set your own hours; you work whatever hours you have available.

Low start-up cost, flexible hours, no outside office cost since you work from your home, and the potential of additional income make owning a home based business an excellent solution. The home based business industry is the fastest growing industry in the world right now.

Selection of the ideal home based business for you presents the next issue. I suggest you consider the following factors:

1. Select a company you will be proud to represent – a company with integrity. You can check this through any number of governmental and internet sources. I suggest you choose a company incorporated in the United States rather than offshore. There may be a reason the company chose to move the main corporate office offshore – taxes or legal problems perhaps.

2. Select a product people really need in every economy such as marketing or financial education. Avoid the “flash in the pan” fad products. Even some lotions, potions, pills and juices will fade in popularity during the economic downturn.

3. Look for a compensation plan where you are NOT passing up any sales. Marketing time, effort and money becomes even more important for you and your new people especially at the start of a new business.

4. Look for products which are stand alone. People want versatile products; they want products they can use in a variety of ways. For instance marketing education and financial education can be used in many different ways for all economic levels.

“There is only one way to make a great deal of money, and that is in a business of your own,” said J. Paul Getty, oil tycoon.

Feel free to contact me for additional coaching and mentoring. My mission is to help.

Success is Failing Forward

In John C. Maxwell’s book “Failing Forward” he dispels the myth that failure is a bad thing. The man who has never made a mistake is taking orders from the one who made several mistakes. Sometimes what appears to be a failure at the moment is simply success trying to be born in a bigger and better way. When I have failed, and yes I have many failures, it generally meant that I was not thinking big enough. I simply needed to tweak my thinking and action.

There is the story of a man who made a fortune in oil by going back to wells others had abandoned and drilling just a little deeper. There is the story of a man who stopped just three feet short of one of the biggest gold mines ever discovered. Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, successfully identified 10,000 ways that the electric light bulb would NOT work before he discovered the one that did work.

Major league baseball players expect to be out every two out of three or three out of four times at bat. Pro football quarterbacks know that some passes will be dropped or intercepted or even caught out of bounds, but they don’t stop throwing. The pass that results in a first down or a touchdown makes up for the ones that were not successful.

In my own home based business I have reinvented my strategy many times. Not every Google campaign worked. Not every web page design attracted leads. Not every print ad resulted in sales. Did I stop marketing and give up? Absolutely not. When my pay per click campaigns with Google were costing more than the sales they were generating, did I say Google does not work? Of course not. I decided to change my landing page, change my ad or change my keywords. Sometimes I changed all three. The secret there is to only change one at a time. Otherwise you will not know which change made the profitable difference.

When Google changed their rules, and they do change their rules ever four to six weeks, I added article writing to my marketing arsenal.

I am a hiker. Sometimes when I am making a long climb and my legs are complaining, do I turn around and quit? No because I know I am closer to the top than I think. We have a winding road in Steamboat which we lovingly call the “run of the false summit.” Every time we come around a corner, we think this must be the top. Unfortunately, there is another switchback and then another before the top. It is not a point to stop, but a reminder to keep pushing forward just a little longer.

Remember, whether you are an inventor, a major league ball player, a hiker, a runner, or a marketer, one monumental success makes up for several temporary setbacks. The key is always to learn from your failures. When you use mistakes or failures as learning and growing experience rather than a defeat, you actually progress forward.

Notice I said learn from each temporary setback. When you view them as learning experiences on your way to small successes, and even greater success, the temporary defeat does not faze you. Or at least not for long. When you view every experience as a learning experience, it becomes a college classroom on life. When you view a failure as a failure, it becomes a failure.

Sports, business and even our personal life presents us with challenges. Some of those challenges become victories and some become learning experiences. It all depends on your attitude and how you view your present and your future.

My college professor told me something I have never forgotten. Even though that was 40 years ago, the message is still valid today. “You can have ten years experience or one year’s experience ten times.” Use every situation as a learning experience and you will have ten years experience.

The attitude of a winner, the attitude of a professional, is to continually learn and grow. Developing a learning mindset rather than a failure mindset will propel you through life in an upward spiral toward success. Any other choice but learning and growing and you will defeat yourself. Do an attitude check on yourself right now. Are you failing forward toward success?

Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com and together we will propel you toward success.

Prosperity Thinking

Current economic situations tend to place prosperity thinking at the bottom of a deep well. I am extending a golden opportunity for you to float those creative thoughts to the surface of the well. In fact, let prosperous thoughts overflow.

Your thoughts are triggered by your beliefs. Those thoughts transmit into feelings and words. Your words influence your actions and your results materialize accordingly. Have a heart-to-heart talk with your core beliefs. Do you truly believe, absolutely know in your heart, that you are in the process of becoming a resounding success? Examine your self-talk. Are you telling yourself that you will “try” or “test it out for awhile?” Those thoughts and words are the kiss of death for your current and future success. “Try” is a way of giving yourself permission to fail.

No one ever starts a business with the deliberate intention of failing. If so, why bother? Unfortunately so many people start a business, especially a home based business, with a half-hearted desire and lukewarm expectation of success. It is the “dip your toe in the water” mentality. How many Olympic swimmers would ever succeed if they did the toe test and walked away from the edge of the pool because the water felt a little cool today? Are you doing that same “toe test” attitude with your business?

Ok, I understand that you have a family to support and you feel compelled to start your business on a part time basis rather than plunging into the business stream head first. I advocate responsible thinking and actions. Before you breathe a sign of relief and start making excuses for yourself, stop right now and breathe in an air of determination. Every good swimmer puts their head down and surges forward. Sometimes it is every stroke and sometimes every few strokes, but they do take a breath of air. My caution to you is not to spend so much time casually breathing and relaxing that you forget to put your head down and focus on the task at hand.

Every successful business person spends absolute focused time and effort surging forward with their business. Regardless of whether you start part time with only 2 or 3 hours per day or 8 hours per day, you must do 2 critical things:

1. You must have an uncompromisingly positive attitude and expectation of total success. No options, no hesitation, no “toe testing.” Success is the only outcome acceptable. Commit to do whatever it takes to succeed and persist until you succeed.

2. Design a specific plan to proceed from where you are with your current economic situation to reach your predetermined goal. If you decide to swim across the lake, you start on one shore and determine the exact line necessary to reach the predetermined spot on the shore on the other side of the lake. The exact principle works with your business. Distractions occur even more with a home based business. You must design a clear and workable plan.

3. Work that plan with focus. Give yourself checkpoints along your path. For instance if your success plan is designed to be achieved in 6 months, then set a progress checkpoint for a week, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days and 180 days. Check your progress and make slight course corrections if needed.

Who knows, you may have to increase the goal because you are ahead of schedule.

Prosperous thinking, a well designed plan and focused implementation of the plan yield success. It really is that simple. Head down and surge ahead. Checkpoint to breathe and celebrate prosperity at the finish line.

Due Diligence

Life is learning and growing experience. Sometimes the experience delights the soul and sometimes it challenges the patience.

I am still dealing with a pesky web site situation. What I learned after a visit to the FBI was that phishing, taking the contents of a web site and using it without the original owner’s permission, is fairly common. The FBI agent was not only polite and very thorough, but truly concerned about my rights as a citizen. He diligently recorded the details of my situation and received copies of all of the documentation.

Now I realize in comparison to 911 or any other potential terrorist attack, my web site issue pales in comparison. If fact in comparison to those issues, I’m not even on the priority list. The courtesy, consideration and professionalism of the FBI agent were commendable.

Identity theft whether it be stealing your credit cards and amassing charges by pretending to be you or stealing your web site content and pretending to be you still leaves the victim feeling violated.

With your bills, credit cards or other documents, you can shred sensitive information before it leaves your home in the form of trash. You can avoid giving your credit card information to a caller who claims to be verifying your information. If they are truly verifying, they already have your information; ask them to tell you and you will confirm or deny. Chances are they do not already have it. Check the source carefully and be certain you are clear as to the identity of the person before you release sensitive information. Do your due diligence.

Unfortunately far too many people fall for unethical individuals and do give money to the caller or internet offer. Please do not fall for this unethical behavior. Do your due diligence. Make a checklist: ask for an official company web site, ask where the company is incorporated (inside the US or off shore), check the attorney general’s office for complaints, and be certain you can contact a person by phone and email.

There are so many businesses on the internet. Many of them are honest. Unfortunately, the ones which are misrepresenting honest people and honest businesses sour the opinion of the public and create distrust of all opportunities.

My web site www.NewMillionaireBlueprint.com is honest, ethical and legitimate. The copy which is pretending to be me is a fake. Oh, he did a good job of making it appear to be me. Do not be fooled.

I really commend Host Gator for following every letter of the legal DMCA official requirements. It feels good to know people care about legal rights and proper procedures.

www.NewMillionaireBlueprint.com is really Elaine Love. Call me 303-284-0514 or email me at Elaine@ResultsForLife.net to obtain the REAL Elaine Love.

I am a member of the ethics committee for the home based business industry in order to help protect people. There are many honest companies on the internet. They say a rotten apple can spoil the entire barrel I believe this Halloween you can still bob for good apples. You simply need to perform your due diligence checklist to determine the good from the bad.

Entrepreneur

Success and life are a package deal. How many of us focus so much on one part that we neglect other essential parts? Probably the most common violation is the workaholic. Yes, we convince ourselves that it is our responsibility as head of the household to provide a living for our family, and that is true. Now before you get defensive, I have been totally guilty of exactly that logic.

Throwing myself into my work 80 and 90 hours a week with the self-inflicted justification that it was essential seemed like the right decision at the time. Now that I look back and see all of the school events I missed and the landmark occasions in my son’s lives, I question that logic. Was it really worth it? Viewing that decision through the eyes of my sons, the perspective changes.

How many of us have spent so many hours providing for the physical and materialistic needs of our families that we have neglected the mental and emotional needs? As a young high school teacher, before I started my own family, I observed so my students who had every possible materialistic possession. They wore designer clothes. They drove expensive cars. They lived in affluent neighborhoods. Far too many of them were seeking attention and approval, sometimes from the wrong sources. In our striving to provide for the material possessions, it becomes too easy to give money rather than focused time.

As a single mother, I know I am guiltier of that than I would like to admit. Yes, I rushed home from work as quickly as possible and spent every weekend moment possible with the boys; however, I missed far too much. Any of you relate to this scenario? Thought so.

What if there was an alternative where you could set your own schedule and work around your kids activities rather than during those school events? What if I could you’re you a way to earn at least as much income as you do now and have total control of your future earnings? Yes, it really is not only possible but probable.

The home based business industry is the fastest growing industry in the world right now.

People are learning that corporate America does not have the security it once possessed. Jobs are going overseas. Companies are downsizing. Unfortunately some companies are closing their doors totally. Retirement plans were defined benefit plans; the company funded them for the employee, in the 1950s. Retirement plans have now become defined contribution plans, the employee contributes and sometimes the company matches the employee’s contribution. When a defined contribution plan runs out of money, it’s done. Even worse what if the company goes out of business and the retirement plan disappears along with the company?

The only true security and control for the future lies in being an entrepreneur. Business owners control their time, their current earnings, their future earnings and their retirement.

I’ve been and employee, a small business owner (brick and mortar business) and a home based business entrepreneur. Personally speaking, I am so thankful for the opportunities and future as a home based business entrepreneur. I’ve tried the others. I love my life now. Now that I fully grasp the joy of being a home based business owner, I must admit that I am now psychologically unemployable.

Come check it out for yourself. See if this will answer your goals and lifestyle dreams. Visit Elaine4Success.com and enter your information. Let’s design a plan for your future.

Game On

The secret of victory resides in the practice before the game. The team who drills with serious planning and preparation for every possible situation during the days and weeks before the game, almost always performs better during the game. Most speeches are a success or failure before the speaker ever steps on the stage. Most sales presentations are closed or rejected before the presentation folder is ever opened.

The key is preparation. You will never hear your boss tell you to practice all week in order to make one sales call on Friday afternoon. That would be absurd. It is a known fact that being prepared and ready to speak intelligently smoothes the path to success.
Relaxed confidence comes from preparation.

A professional athlete practices for hours and hours to perfect his skill. A professional musician practices countless hours before a performance. A professional salesman has researched his product line and if possible has researched the needs of the customer before they ever walk in the door of the customer’s office. When I am delivering a speech, I have rehearsed it numerous times and perfected the timing, gestures and emphasis on words in order to maximize the impact. I know precisely the time required.

With a home based business, you will not be able to research the needs of the customer in advance; however, you do have the opportunity to determine certain important questions in advance. Personally, the more I know about the specific circumstances, goals and abilities of each individual, the more quickly and efficiently I can assist them in reaching their desired outcome. Each individual arrives with a different set of skills, desires, budget and time available to achieve those goals. Personalization assists preparation in designing your individual plan.

Game on for a home based business professional means caring about each person. That doe not mean doing everything for them. It does mean guiding them in the correct direction to find the answers and resources best suited for their individual situation. No one wants to be “thrown to the wolves” when they start a new business. In fact, that is one of the fears of a new entrepreneur; will you be there after the sale?

The home based business professional walks a fine line between being there enough to provide support and guidance or either leaving the new entrepreneur feeling abandoned or hand holding to the extent that the new business owner does not learn. Sometimes this is a razor thin line because each person is unique.

I am very good at many things, but mind reading is not one of them.

Let me know what you need but also be willing to learn and perform tasks on your own. Most resources and answers are available in the back office. Look once or twice or even three times before you dash off a quick email or pick up the phone to plead for help.

Athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, and all professionals seek guidance and examples of excellent performances. Professionals ask intelligent revealing questions, practice and follow through on the information and skills until they reach the competency level desired. “Game on” means treating your business like a business and not like an occasional hobby. Professionals are always in “game on” mode. Professional entrepreneurs are not part time or some time but all-the-time achievers.

For more information on building your business and life success, visit me at Elaine4Success.com. You will find helpful articles as well as numerous other resources.

Go for the Gold

Why are you settling for pennies in an MLM? Money may not be the most important thing in life, that’s true; however, living without it isn’t fun either.

Granted, a home based business presents the greatest opportunity for earning an income in your bathrobe and slippers. Yes, the thirty second commute from the bedroom to the home office eliminates the traffic, weather and even speeding tickets.

Home based businesses also allow time flexibility. You can work before sunrise or long after sundown. Grab a couple of hours when the kids are in school or even taking a nap. With the internet as your assistant, any of the 24 hours in the day is an acceptable time to work. The World Wide Web has solved the time zone issues. Send the email at a convenient time for you and they can read it at a convenient time for them – no time problem. No danger of awakening them in the middle of the night with an email. Phone calls in the wee hours of the morning jolt you awake with an earsplitting ring shattering the silence. Emails simply slip in quietly and wait patiently.

Obviously there are many advantages to a home based internet business. Now that you have completed that decision, it becomes selection time for the ideal home based business. Examine the facts carefully. Every business requires marketing. Every business has a goal of making money. Profit is certainly one of the sweetest words to a business owner.

It will require the same amount of time, effort and advertising dollar to earn a tiny little commission as it does a four or five figure commission. Logic immediately presents the case for a five figure commission. Why would you even consider earning a ten or twenty dollar commission when you could just as easily be earning 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000 dollars? It does not take a rocket scientist to know that you will receive a significantly higher commission with a 10,000 dollar commission than a 10 dollar commission.

Most MLM companies pay the tiny little ten dollar commissions and expect you to continue working and marketing and building a down line of thousands in the vague hope that someday you will receive a residual check of a thousand dollars. Honestly, most people do not stay long enough to receive the residual checks.

Network marketing pays 1,000 dollar checks immediately and a minimum of 400 dollar residual checks very quickly. Which would you rather deposit in your bank account – 1,000 or 10 dollars? Any answer except 1,000 and I will recommend a math course immediately.

You do not have to take my word for it; you can connect directly with industry leader Mike Dillard. Watch the video on www.MLMNewsFacts.com. Complete your information and read the free report with details all of the differences between MLM and Network Marketing.

Your choice, settle for pennies and no profit or major dollars and high profit. I choose to spend my time, effort and advertising dollars where they will generate the highest return.

Cost calculation

Reality check! What is most important to you, the initial cost or short and long term value?

When Jim Rohn was 25 and broke, his first mentor, Earl Shoaff, recommended that Jim purchase the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. Jim Rohn, now a multi millionaire, purchased the book from a used book store for 47 cents. Jim Rohn estimates that the book helped him to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. He spent 47 cents and gained value which earned hundreds of thousands of dollars. I repeat the question. What is most important to you, the initial cost or the short and long term value?

It is not unusual to hear people balk at spending $400 to start a business which can generate a hundred thousand dollars year after year. Look at the cost to value ratio.

A franchise will cost 250,000 to 500,000 to 750,000 for the initial purchase. In addition there will be employee costs, rent and utilities for the space to locate the business and inventory for starters. As the past owner of more than one brick and mortar business, I can guarantee that there are MANY additional costs associated with a brick and mortar business. Employee costs alone are extensive.

A home based business can be started from your garage or kitchen table or even a spare room in your house. Therefore, zero additional rent or utilities. No employees or employee costs which represents a huge decrease in expense and headache. There should not be any inventory. If you select a company where you have an auto ship and end up with a garage full of product, shame on you; that is an expense you do not need to incur.

Another factor to consider with a franchise or brick and mortar business is that you must physically leave your home and spend time at the business. This adds the travel expense of going back and forth to work as well as additional clothing expense; you can’t go to most professional businesses in your bathrobe. Lunches away from home becomes another expense,

Personally, I have a thirty second commute from my bedroom to my home office. No traffic. No weather challenges driving. No vehicle expense. No expensive restaurant lunches. No lost time commuting.

Every business everywhere requires marketing! There are many ways to advertise your business to fit any marketing budget. Every business will require marketing. Marketing will consume either time or money or a combination of the two. This is the one thing all businesses have in common.

Franchise and brick and mortar businesses are very expensive to start and operate. Home based businesses are extremely low cost to start and operate.

Bonus! The return on your investment is much faster with a home based business than any franchise or brick and mortar business and requires far less time to earn a profit.

Carefully examine the cost to value ratio. Home based business wins every time.

Excuse Generator

The current American economy has so many people holding desperately on to a thin fraying rope tied to the open tailgate of a small truck heading down a cliff. Time to stop clutching to the old job mentality and start taking charge of your life. If you think holding on to a job which may or may not even exist a few months from now represents security, good luck.

No one can withhold your destiny from you except you. The ship of failure floats on a sea of excuses. Don’t blame your parents or your boss or the economy or even education level.

Parents excuse – Gaius Julius Caesar, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, John Keats, Henry Morton Stanley, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Steven Paul Jobs, Aristotle and Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong were all orphans.

Boss excuse – For every boos who schedules a working “doughnut and chips” lunch meeting and frazzles us with a 6 pm assignment to be completed by the “end of business day” there are courteous bosses. When I worked as a student secretary in college, Doc Reilly knew that I could not be paid overtime nor could he add additional wages, so he delivered a long stem red rose to my desk the morning after an exceptionally long assignment. Amazing how appreciative a boss can become when you also go the extra mile for them. Hmmm. It is a two way street.

Economy excuse - At the beginning of the economic decline, nice way to say the beginning of the recession, a real estate sales meeting revealed shocking results. One salesman had over 400% better results than anyone else in the district. During his interview it was revealed that his success strategies were two fold. He declared that there was gold dust in the air and proceeded to conduct his business as if that were a fact. He then called every one of the customers in his file and told them that now is the time to buy since the prices were down. Since he believed the economic change was a good thing for him, it became a good thing. His mental success training gave him a powerful edge over the competition.

Education excuse - Edison only had a few years of formal schooling and yet he became one of the most brilliant and most accomplished inventors in the history of the world.

In network marketing or home based businesses, there is the frequent excuse of “but I don’t know marketing” or “they have this long list of people they know and I don’t so I can’t do it” or “they have a big marketing budget and I don’t.” Bottom line is if you want to find an excuse, you will find one. If you want a reason to succeed, you will not only find the reason but also the way to make it happen. Jay Kubassek, now a multi millionaire, was a broke Midas Muffler salesman when he entered the industry. He did not know marketing or have a marketing budget. He taught himself Google and prospered. Yes, Jay is a great guy; but he is not really different than any of us. He simply rolled up his sleeves and went to work learning what he needed to learn to succeed. Know and believe you can achieve, learn what needs to be done and do it.

Success is a choice, not an accident. Excuses are the nails that built the house of failure.

I see people who can hardly speak English come here and succeed. I see people with zero budgets, all age levels, all experience levels and all walks of life rise from the ashes and thrive. Examine your own life. Examine your internal excuses. Decide how badly you desire success. You can have it.

As Tony Robbins said, “Everything you need is already in you.” I stand for your greatness.

Marketing Small Business

Marketing budget, income potential, market area and knowledge all play a significant role in the choice of marketing method.

Marketing budget decisions present a major stumbling block for many new home based business and small business owners, or even “want to be” owners. When I started my first business in 1981 (yes I know that dates my age), the options for free marketing were limited to friends and family, free newspaper ads, bulletin boards, roadside signs and flyers. Oh and there was also the delightful option of cold calls. These methods worked. They were time consuming, frustrating because of the high percentage of rejection, and limited to the geographical area near your home.

Today there are so many social networking sites which reach a world wide area. Once again these are free or extremely low cost. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, and Linked-In are a few of the more popular. There seems to be a new one popping up every day. Not only can you connect with numerous people as individuals, but there are a plethora of groups of every imaginable type available as well. Video is currently taking the Web 2.0, social networking, by storm. Videos can be uploaded on You-tube for free and displayed on site or on your web pages or even embedded in your emails.

The next step up is print media: newspaper classified, newspaper display ads, magazine classified, magazine display ads, and postcards are the most popular. There are also printed calendars, printed note pads, pens and various other items printed with the business contact information, and even brochures. Business letters are not as frequent but they also appear. The trick to letters, brochures and anything else which arrives in an envelope is getting the envelope opened instead of taking a dive bomb straight for the waste basket. I have seen colored paper, “urgent” stamps, promo checks peering through the window in the envelope, and even actual money enclosed to get people to open the envelope. If the envelope remains sealed, your marketing dollars just crashed and burned.

The internet is all the rage now. Google is the 800 pound gorilla. They rule the jungle and consume the lion share of the market. Yahoo, Bing, MSN and other smaller search engines are tripping on the brush in the jungle attempting to stay on their feet or ideally gain a few steps on Google. This is Google’s eleventh anniversary; notice today they spelled Google as Googlle in honor of the eleventh anniversary. Pay per click presents a more intense learning curve and higher cost for the total marketing budget. The critical factor in pay per click is selecting the targeted keywords and embedding them properly in a compelling ad. When they click on the ad, it must take them to a web page with the specific information promised in the ad. Relevance is key.

The next element in pay per click marketing is designing a web page with enough information to present value and just enough intrigue to entice them to fill out their contact information. Web page design discussions involve chapters, not a single article. No matter which form of marketing you select, the goal is to capture the contact information. Sooner or later you will arrive at the web page design decision.

Happy marketing. It is exciting, ever changing and a fabulous growth opportunity.

Start a Business

Home based business is the fastest growing industry in North America and perhaps the world right now.

Having owned several small businesses in a variety of industries, I truly know the contrast.

Small business
1. Even though I started the property management business in my home, it was far from ideal. A proper small business seems to require a separate physical office. It simply looks more professional for guests checking in to their vacation lodging and home owners requesting professional management. Having an official office in a business setting requires paying rent. Along with rent usually comes utilities and office furniture. Some leases even require a percentage of the building taxes and insurance as an additional fee. Also some leases require a percentage of your gross income as payment to the landlord: this is commonly referred to as a triple net lease. READ YOUR LEASE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY.

2. Other expenses with an official office outside of your home are a business telephone, computer, printer, liability insurance and some signage to let people know your business name. Depending on the nature of the business, you may also have inventory. Inventory could include office supplies as well as products to sell or products used in service to your customers.

3. Since you will be traveling from your home to the office, you will also have vehicle expense.

4. Employees are a complex issue. Federal unemployment, state unemployment, social security, possible health care insurance, payroll preparation expense and the actual salary. Sick pay, vacation pay and supervision time and expense are also to be considered. Since I owned a property management company in a world class ski resort, there were powder days when employees simply did not report for work or could not be located performing their assigned duties.

Home Based Business
1. Use a room in your house. No rent, office utilities or leases to consider. You might have to get some basic office furniture.

2. You will need some basic office supplies, a computer, a printer and a telephone.

3. No vehicle expense since you has a 30 second commute from your bedroom to your office.

4. Probably no employees.

The differences are dramatic between a home based business and a small business in the set up expense and ongoing monthly expense.

Life is a GPS

Anyone who owns a recent model car with a GPS system is familiar with the turn by turn instructions it provides. When you remain on course it simply tells you how many miles until your next turn and whether it will be a right or a left. If you are off course, however, it will either tell you to recalculate or make a legal U turn ahead.
Life is like that GPS system. We go along on one course until circumstances dictate a change in direction. Many people are now recalculating their career path due to the economic conditions. When you honestly review exactly where you are at the moment, how does that match your goal projections? Are you on target to achieve your goals? When you think about your day, do you get excited and happy to go to work? Do you dread Monday mornings?
Your immediate feeling when you wake up and think about starting your day indicates your feelings about what you are doing for a living. If you are excited and grateful for the opportunity, wonderful. I suspect that is not the case or you would not be researching opportunities for home based businesses. What you do for a living does not have to be drudgery. When you are your own boss and you have total control of your future, it is exciting, challenging and rewarding.
If your work feel like being a salve to someone else’s dictates and desires, maybe it is time to have the GPS of your life recalculate your future and change directions. Life is too short to be miserable. Miserable and under paid really deserves recalculating.
In order to reset the GPS to a new direction, we need to define exactly what destination might be best for you. There are several questions to ask yourself.
What are you doing when you are the most happy?
What are you doing when you feel the most productive?
What are you doing when you feel the most challenged and liking it?
What are you doing when you feel the most profitable?
What are you doing when you are learning something new and liking it?
The answers to these questions give you a clue as to the new direction you would like for your life and career path to follow. It really is possible to earn an ideal living, enjoy what you are doing and know you are giving real value to people at the same time.
The ideal situation is to get out of bed every morning like a child on Christmas morning. I have heard Dr. Srikumar Rao, legendary professor at the Columbia School of Business and the London School of Business, says you should feel so grateful for what you are doing for your career that you want to get down on your knees in gratitude.
If this level of excitement and gratitude does not resemble your feelings about what you do for a living, it is time to explore the idea of recalculating the GPS for your life.

Pay Attention to Your MVP

Sports fans will think of MVP as Most Valuable Player. Good thought, but not this time.

In terms of your home based business, the term MVP means Most Valuable and Profitable activity. One of the 5 things every leader focuses on every day is income producing activity. These are your profit producing activities. Lead generation, customer needs focused conversations and follow up are crucial ingredients to any sales funnel.

Lets break it down. Without leads entering your sales funnel to read your web pages, receive your autoresponders and have the opportunity to speak with you, your entire sales process is DOA, dead, stopped cold and totally worthless. You can have the most attractive web pages, brilliantly written autoresponders and a silver tongue to speak with people; however if you do not have any leads, it is about as useful as art behind a locked door which no one can see and appreciate. Or to keep the sports analogy, a football team without a football. The game will not progress.

Goal one is obviously to get leads. Your goal is to have a minimum of 100 leads per week. Top producers will generate over 200 leads a day. Don’t push the panic button; it will take time to work up to that volume. There are many sources to generate leads and I absolutely recommend you self-generate your leads. When I started in this industry I was told to buy leads. In many cases buying leads is an expensive way to get frustrated. Some leads have been sold several times and may be 30 or more days old. Other leads may have been incentivized – they were told to enter their information in order to win a toaster or a camp stove. The only thing being heated up and burned in that situation is the person buying the lead. Stop being the kindling for someone else’s fire. Generate your own leads which you know are fresh, original and interested in your offer.

All of the sources for lead generation are far too extensive to detail in this article. Contact me at Elaine@ResultsForLife.net to gain access to all lead generation resources.

The next step in the income producing activity process is meaningful conversations with prospects. Focus on them. No focus on yourself. Ask about their interests, their current occupation, their desire for a job or a home based business, and their reasons for wanting their own home based business. This process is all about serving them and their needs, desires and goals. If their desires fit your opportunity, great. If not, be honest enough and caring enough about them to allow them to make whatever decision is best for them. This conversation is all about serving them and fulfilling their highest and best purpose. Never put your personal financial interests ahead of caring for the prospect.

If it appears to be a fit, give them access to more information and schedule a time for them to review the information. Set a follow up appointment right now for a future time and date. Some leaders prefer to call the prospect at the scheduled time and others prefer to have the prospect call them. I request the prospect call me. It helps me gauge how serious they are about making a decision. If they are serious, they will either call you at the appointed time or notify you that they prefer to reschedule. Communication is key.

Never neglect your Most Valuable and Profitable activities. MVP is a daily activity.