Business Gift Guide

There are many reasons to give a business gift to a college or client. The types of gifts vary for each occasion. It is paramount to understand who and what type of business, general relationship, policies on gift amount limits, culture and region when you decide giving a business gift is appropriate. So try to avoid the embarrassing pitfalls of giving too much or too little by using this guide to help steer you towards success. Here are a few reasons to consider gifting:

Holidays
Birthday
Special Occasions
Motivation
Recognition
New Clients
Client Retention Campaigns
Branding
Trade Show & Events
Awards
Speakers
Valued Supplier
Advertising Incentives
Special Programs
"No Reason at all"

Individual Taste: Adopt the policy that a gift is for someone else and try to gear your selection towards their tastes and preferences. The catch is that you need to know a few things about their tastes and preferences. Finding out can be an adventure. A few examples are: foods, favorite sports teams, music, events, authors, travel destinations, color preferences and hobbies.

Probe: You may never know unless you ask. Without being "captain obvious" about your intension, a pointed conversation covering general topics should get you the basic background information you need for appropriate planning. Birthdays, special occasions and promotions are just some areas to consider. Where and when is up to you.

Alternative Probing: Sometimes a conversation with your recipient is not an option. Fear not, because making a tactical "back door" call to their college or secretary should provide you with at least one target event. Be upfront by explaining your intension: let them know that your gift is a surprise and always remember to thank them for the information. If you are motivated, you could even drop your contact a quick note or a card expressing your gratitude. Remember, "All hail the mighty secretary!" A gatekeeper is seldom impressed. This is your chance to do so when they feel involved in what you are doing.

Your Calendar: Keep your database flourishing with important dates. For example, a personal call on someone's birthday may just make all the difference in your relationship, even if you leave a voicemail. Having a current calendar assists by helping you avoid last minute shopping. You can plan your ordering and delivery of your gift (s) in a targeted manner.

Creativity: Sometimes creating your own occasion offers a twist to the norm. For a few of your colleagues and clients, certain holidays or occasions offer a mountain of gifts. They have no idea, or in some cases do not care where they came from. Sending a small token may be appropriate, but stand out from the crowd by giving off-season gifts in a scheduled manner. Be consistent. You will have the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

Your Budget and Legal Allowances: This becomes a juggling act for business people in any number of industries and government to make the gift fit with legal allowances. Some entities allow $ 25, while others up to $ 75 or more. We suggest you get the facts for yourself before you continue through our suggestions below. However, if there is no legal cap on your ability to invest in your gift (s), then you need to decide what the breakout of your budget will be. A gift should never look like a bribe! Some companies issue a blanket maximum, while others base budgets on performance levels or even a flat budget. It is up to you to decide how you break that out. Most importantly, try never to embarrass a superior by out spending him or her.

What to give: Now you know what your college or client would consider a great gift, your budget is set, but how do you decide what to purchase? That directly correlates with the value of that person as an asset to your organization and your professional relationship with them. Remember, never too personal, but something which will be appreciated. This is a cold statement, but a complete reality. Would you purchase a $ 2500 watch for a salesperson that loses you money consistently or for the one that just made you a $ 250K profit this quarter? Sometimes multiple gifts following a theme will be greater then giving just one item as well. For example, if you give a nice bottle of wine, accompany that with tasteful stemware or a jazzy corkscrew. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions broken out by organizational level:

A. CEO / Board Members / VP and Director: At the highest levels, we suggest you try to stay with a more traditional route of standard corporate gifting. This may include quality pens, personalized notepads, desk clock, fine wine, trips or even art. If you are a CEO reading this, then all bets are off and you will garnish presents as you please. For everyone else, depending upon your level and the size of your company, sometimes less is more. KISS absolutely applies to you. B. Middle Management / Supervisor / Supplier: For folks in the middle of the management structure, we suggest a mix of both traditional and non-traditional gifting. These people are the rising stars in most organizations and why not let them feel like it! We still suggest quality pens and desk clocks, but also add tickets, Mp3 players, PDA, dinners, flowers, as well as a weekend "get-away". The possibilities are awesome! C. Colleagues / Counterpart / Employees / Speaker: These folks are in the trenches with their sleeves rolled up! Treat them well, for motivation and productivity may just rise! Most at this level really do not expect much. The "WOW" factor might not have to either when it comes to gifting for them. We suggest personalized desktop or travel items, flowers, tickets, gift baskets, gift cards, wines and even surprise them by letting them off for the afternoon on a Friday. D. Your Boss: Since this person directly decides if you collect your paycheck and pass go, be extremely tactical when looking for an appropriate gift. Only you know your boss' personality. Depending upon the size of your company, you may get to know them rather well. If the organization is immense, you may need to ask a close colleague. To repeat from above: Do not out spend your superiors! E. Your Client: Who keeps the lights on? Your clients do! Since in most cases, your competition is waiting for a slip up, never give them that opportunity. Your database should have multiple types of information about them and their like / dislikes. Trust your instincts, your budget and stay within those parameters. Think about your best client for a moment. What is their birthday? Favorite activity? Goals? Expectations of you? That should already have your brain fired up about what you need for them. We probably do not even need to suggest anything, but, in case you do not have the answers, may we suggest considering all the above? What are they really worth to you? As a reminder, this is a generalized guide and not written exclusively for multi-million dollar corporations or sole proprietorships, so we must leave it at that. Only you know what your client is worth. F. Trade Shows and Events: Who just walked up to you? Good thing you probably got their business card. After a few hundred of them, those cards are all you have to remember them by. We suggest bulk purchase items with your company logo. Believe it or not, plastic bags are very appropriate when people are collecting information from many companies over a short period. The standardized gifts of pens, calculators, hand sanitizer, note pads and stress balls all fit the bill.

Surprise: Hand delivering a gift may require an appointment (for something else of course) and offers The Personal Touch. However, some gifts need to be delivered by a courier.

Thank You: Professional gifts are a great way to say thank you. This not only can help you to brand yourself, but your company as well. Gifts show respect for the recipient when they are thoughtful by acknowledging your relationship. Plus it is a great way to keep your business card in their hand and your company on their mind.

Gift Wrapping: One of the most overlooked ways to "un-impress" someone is to give them a gift that looks like you wrapped it in twenty seconds or less. The quality of the gift can be eliminated by the first impression. There are many brands and styles of gift wrapping out there. Make sure yours is appropriate. BusinessGifts.me always always The Personal Touch when choosing how to impress. Beautiful rice paper vs. newspaper is just one example of how to make even that $ 50 box of chocolates look like they are so much more. Not all gifts need you to wrap them, because the status and prestige of the store it came from can offer a much higher impact to the recipient. High end brand names are stand alone. Think about receiving a "gold bag" of chocolates accompanied by a "blue box" of jewelry with satin ribbon. We rest our case.

Correspondence: Even the most lavish gifts can be compromised if you give a generic or unprofessional card. If at all possible, handwrite a sincere and professional note.

Delivery: Face to face delivery is the best way to give your recipient their gift. Practically, this is hardly ever an option. If that is the case, always send your gifts first class or a similar option with your preferred business carrier. The third class delivery option may save you a few bucks, but could introduce the person receiving it.

Gift Etiquette: If you delivered the gift yourself and they opened it right in front of you, it is very appropriate to see how they have or are enjoying it. Tickets, dinner reservations or other date-sensitive gifts fall into this category. But, not always, so use your best judgment when venturing into the topic. They will usually bring it up first. Asking: "Did you get my gift?" is probably the absolute worst thing to do with your recipient if you have not received a thank you yet. What if they did not receive it? You could stand a good chance of ruining the surprise. Plus, it is quite frankly poor etiquette. Surprising someone is a personal excuse which they may need to enjoy during the right moment in their day. A wrapped gift offers anticipation and excitation when sitting on the edge or a desk.

We hope this guide has been helpful to you in understanding what business gifts represent and can help steer you in the right direction in your decision. It is always recommended that you check any questions you may have with the appropriate parties. Remember The Personal Touch can make all the difference. Please visit our store!

Planning For Emergency Financial Situations

Emergency financial situations can happen to anyone and any financial arrangement exercise is not ideal without planning for such occasions. The whole idea of ​​having an emergency fund is to offer a cushion against any unexpected expense.

This will ensure it does not have any negative impact on your financial condition and does not rip off the whole financial security.

There are many circumstances which can cause a financial emergency such as a sudden illness, accident, medical emergencies, emergency house repairs, loss of a job, emergency car repairs and much more.

The major reason for having an emergency fund is very clear because when a person falls into an emergency financial situation, they will have to break their savings or make a compromise to get the needed money.

It's not rare to find people who just take out their credit card and swipe it for hard cash. Opposing popular opinions, credit cards are the worst way to fund any financial emergency. The fastest way to get thousands of dollars its to get a car title loan it is not a long-term solution but a short-term solution.

In a circumstance where you've taken a cash advance with your credit card to get the needed money, the credit card company will charge you a cash advance fee with an interest rate. This is a very cost way to borrow and manage finances for emergency situations.

Therefore, what is the best amount that should be set aside as emergency money? There are diverse opinions on it. Some professional's experts agree that a minimum of 3-6 months' worth of monthly income should be set aside for an emergency situation. This amount can differ according to marital status, the size of family and lifestyle.

Everyone must reserve some extra cash in case of emergencies. But, the amount to reserve depends on your income and monthly expenses. The amount that is needed for your emergency fund is open to debit, the minimum amount should be sufficient to cover your expenses for daily living for at least 3 months. It's also ideal to save for 6 months even though some financial advisors agree on a full year worth of cash.

These funds must be kept in an instrument, which is easily available when needed. It could be money in a bank account, hard cash, liquid funds or fixed deposits. This will ensure the fund is always accessible immediately or within a short period when it's needed.

Where to Keep the Cash

Your situations and what can offer you peace of mind are the factors that can help you determine how careful you want to be. Keep your emergency fund somewhere that is safe and accessible because you may be required to get the cash in a hurry when an emergency arises. The best option you've had to open a money market account or savings account. But, always examine their offer with regards to the interest rate, minimum balance, and other terms.

When you think you've saved enough, you can stop. You can now sleep easier and try to start placing your extra saving into higher-interest and less accessible accounts or investments.

Important Aspects of a Business Strategy

A proper strategy requires time and effort put into it, but in the end, it will all be worth it. This is why it is so important to create a strategy if you plan to have a business. You need to understand the different aspects of creating a proper business strategy before you go about doing it. By understanding the different parts, you can create a whole strategy.

A business strategy is not the same as a business plan, although the two are similar. A strategy is more detailed about the necessary actions that need to be taken within the venture rather than just vague ideas. When it comes to your strategy, you need to think more carefully about the marketing, product planning, and the targeting than in a plan for your venture. The plan is more about profits and expenses while a strategy is more about how to go about winning customers and profits.

The first thing that you need to think about in a strategy is the target market. You need to know who you want to advertise your products to and who is most likely to buy them. These future customers are the people that you need to target for your product or service's advertising campaign. Rather than blindly advertising and wasting money, you can strategically advertise and gain more customers while saving time and money.

The next thing you should outline in your business strategy is your plan for marketing. While there are a lot of ways to market, there is only one best way. There are a lot of marketing portals such as newspaper ads, radio, internet, billboards, posters, and word of mouth.

While a business may have a general type of products that they want to sell, it is important to figure out exactly what to sell. You could make your own products or you could provide services to your customers, or sell products of others and be a middleman. You need to know what your product is about, what it is for, and every other possible detail about it.

The last thing that you need to figure out is how to start. Once you have all your plans drawn up, this does not mean that you will automatically have a great venture. You need to start smartly and start soon so that your ideas and your motivation will be strong and fresh in your mind. With all of these parts of the business strategy, you have the building blocks of a great business that will definitely lead you to success and a great amount of profit and efficiency with the least possible expenditure.

Everything You Need To Know Regarding Mobile Bingo

Bingo is a game that has been played for ages all over the globe. The origins of Bingo can be traced back nearly 500 years, but it was not until the early 1900s, 1920 to be precise, that Edwin S. Lowe introduced the modern version of the game in the United States. He is the one we can give the credit for the development and marketing of the 75-ball Bingo game. The Italian version of Bingo, called Tombola, traditionally played only during Christmas, led to the 90 ball Bingo that is so popular in the UK. With the advent of the Internet, it was just a short wait until this game made an appearance on this platform. Hundreds of Bingo sites popped up in the early 90s and today, the global gross gaming yield of online bingo is estimated to be over $ 1000 million!

Today, Internet connectivity with the Smartphone has had entrepreneurs, investors and developers scrambling to create gambling games that can be played on the go. Mobile Bingo can now be accessed from iPhones, Blackberries, iPads as well as Android devices. The growth in this sector has been phenomenal and the already lucrative online Bingo industry is leveraging the power of mobile bingo. The mobile gambling industry itself is awesome and there are millions of players all over the world accessing gambling sites with their mobile devices. The reason for this is the high returns in the form of real cash, low costs of games, lucrative bonuses and game-playing fun on the go!

How to play mobile bingo?

If you are new to the world of mobile gaming, it can be helpful to understand how these things work. Basically you will need a mobile device (which is WAP / GPRS enabled-most mobiles today are) with Internet connectivity. With this, you can access a reliable website that can help you download the gaming application, in this case, mobile Bingo, directly onto your device. You also need to enter some details like your name, address and telephone number etc. Initially, one need not enter any credit card information as most developers offer a free demo option as well as a bonus, just for signing up. Once the application has been downloaded and the registration complete; you receive a text message with a link and further instructions. You can choose to play mobile bingo in the demo mode or take advantage of the sign up bonus and play for real cash. Once you decide to go ahead and play with real money, you have various payment options like credit / debit card, or direct debit from your phone bill.

Benefits of playing mobile bingo on your phone

• It is great entertainment during vacations, while traveling, in your lunch break, or on your commute to and from work.
• With large touch screens available on most mobile devices, one can enjoy stunning life-like graphics.
• There are many chat rooms where you can socialize while playing
• Developers and promoters of mobile bingo usually offer attractive bonuses, promotions and specials which players can avail of.
• Great cash payouts and jackpots

Precautions to consider prior to playing mobile bingo

• It is a good idea to try out the free or the demo version particularly when you are playing for the first time or have budgetary restrictions.
• It is a good idea to read reviews of the application prior to investing your money in it.
• Many sites have come up with innovative rewards and ways to review mobile bingo applications. These reviews are based on factors like: ease of application download, free trial or not, how easy the sign-up process is, how lucrative the site is with the value of money being offered to players, the fun factor, the payment process and the customer services etc. Based on these players can get an idea about the top mobile bingo apps.

Apart from this, one should only trust those sites which have 128 bit SSL or secure socket layer digital encryption to protect the personal details that you have entered.

Bingo is a great game that has several advantages. It enables one to exercise one's brain; something that is extremely important to keep it young and active. Th at apart, Mobile Bingo can offer you great fun and excitement as well as give you a chance to win tens of thousands of dollars. Bingo chat rooms offer you a chance to talk to 'like-minded' people and make friends. With so many advantages it is indeed worth trying such an app.

7 Things Every Home Business Entreprenuer Needs To Know

Looking back on many unsuccessful attempts at home business, we wish we had received guidance from someone who had already been down the road we wanted to travel. We had so many failures that we were starting to doubt that success in a home business would ever happen for us.

Thankfully, we did not give up and through perseverance we were able to achieve the success that had eluded us for years. Along the way we discovered many things that we wished we had known when we started this journey.

Our success has literally transformed our lives. We believe that to what much has been given, much is required. Consider this information our gift to you. If we can be of assistance please, do not hesitate to fill out the contact form at TheHomeBusinessPodcast.

1. Success does not happen overnight.

For some reason people think that they should become rich in a few months with their new home business and some people believe success should happen within weeks or days! We introduced a man in his early 50's to our business and he was excited. When we first met he complained that he had been working hard for more than 30 years and he was broke.

He said he never had any time for himself or his family. We told him what it would take to become successful and he agreed to do it. Then, he disappeared. A few weeks later he called to tell me that he was quitting. He had not even started and here he was ready to give up.

We asked him if he would be better off quitting his full-time job and keeping his home business! Of course, we did not really mean that he should quit his job, but he had been working full-time for more than 30 years and he was still broke. He started his home business just a few weeks earlier and he never gave it a chance.

Why is it that so many people think that they should become wealthy in a few weeks? The answer probably lies in all the get rich quick schemes that are so prevalent in our society today. You've seen the emails or read these lines in your junk mail. No Selling, We Do All The Work For You, Make $ 30,000 in 90 days and on and on.

Those get rich quick scams cause people to think that every home business is a scam and that's not true. We just got off the phone with Doug, a nice guy who is seriously considering our home business. During our conversation we made it clear that he would not be rich in 60 or 90 days and his response was the kind of response we hear often, "Thanks for telling me the truth. with people of integrity. "

We were frustrated so many times in the first year of our home business that quitting seemed like the sensible thing to do. After all, these things do not work. Who do you think you are? Why do not you just get a job like everyone else? These thoughts and many like them nearly kept us from success.

If you already have a home business, sometimes you are facing the same thoughts. Do not let the negative thoughts crowd out the life changing success that a home business offers. Sure, we struggled at first, but after 20 months we were making $ 100,000 a year in lifetime residual income! When you find yourself facing bankruptcy and foreclosure as we were and then apply for food stamps you have a firm grass on the tough times life can bring.

Occidentally, we'll say "What If?" As in, what if we had not stuck it out through the hard times? What if we had taken the advice of supposedly well meaning people who said that we would never have success in a home business?

What if it took you two to four years to become successful in a home business? What if you could make $ 100,000 without a boss and a job to go to? What if you could actually be home for your children and know them as people instead of looking at them as the little people who live in your house?

Most people who start a home business quit in their first 90 days and go back to their dreadful lives of desperation. Most people are not really living. They are only existing. They're going from one day to the next without any hope of a better life. Benjamin Franklin said "most people die at 18, we just do not bury them until they turn 65."

2. Success does not happen without work.

I spoke to a woman who said she was interested in changing her life. When it was time for her to make a decision she asked me, "Do I have to do anything?" "No" I replied, "once a month we just back the money truck up to your house and unload!"

If you had a traditional business you'd have to open your business every day. If you have a job you've got to show up if you want to get paid. When you start a home business you can not simply sign up and expect the money to start being deposited in your bank account. There's work to be done.

Is it hard to become successful in a home business? Comparing to giving all of the best years of your life to your employer and missing birthdays, anniversaries, your child's first words, your child's first steps and realizing that life is nearly over and in your golden years you do not have the money to do the things you want to do, no it really is not that hard at all!

If you're in a business like ours when you employ leasing, getting paid for other people's efforts, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor so much more. Even if you have a home business where you do all the work it's better than working for an employer.

We are convinced that to live a great life your home business must employ the leakage concept. It's the only way you can have money and the time to enjoy it. The wealthiest people in America became wealthy by owning businesses. The businesses that created great wealth were out in front of a trend and the business owner got paid based on the efforts of thousands of people. We would not be enjoying the life we ​​live today if we were getting paid only on our own efforts.

We worked really hard with very little success in our first year. Our 2nd year was the breakthrough that we were looking for, success was on the way. What we failed to realize was that during our first 12 months we were improving our skills and our confidence and that's when success started to happen.

So, how much did we work in our first two years? We worked as much as it took. How much should you work your home business? That depends on a variety of factors. How bad do you want it? How fast do you want to achieve success? We recommend that you work your home business a minimum of 7 to 10 hours a week, and do it consistently for at least two years.

Success does not happen without work and it is not limited to working your business. Are you committed to improving your skills and working on you? Read at least 10 pages from a great book every day. Books like "Think and Grow Rich" will change the way you think and when you change the way you think you will change your life.

Expecting success without work from your home business is like expecting a paycheck from a job that you never started. It just does not make sense.

3. You must be disciplined to achieve success.

So, you're working your new home business and a friend calls offering to take you to lunch. Can you afford to go? Your favorite show is on TV, but you know you need to be working your home business, what will you do? Perhaps the largest adjustment most of us need to make is to be disciplined in our home business.

Let's face it in a work environment there is usually supervision. Many people fail in a home business because there's nobody looking over their shoulder to see that they do what they need to do.

Since most people who start a home business have never owned a business, we must learn to be disciplined, if we're going to operate a successful home business. There were times when somebody told us no and that was devastating. We'd usually mope around and fail to do anything else the rest of the day. Had we maintained that attitude, we've got a job right now instead of an successful home business!

Consider setting business hours. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but asking friends and family members to respect your business and your business hours is an important step to success. We've got a good friend who makes more than $ 100,000 a year and when you come over to his house during business hours you can visit with his wife, but he excuses himself and works his business. If you have a small child, work when he or she is napping and when they are in bed at night.

It's also a good idea to have a permanent work space, so you can shut the door, eliminate distractions and get your work done.

This is a difficult adjustment for some people to make, but your children can learn that when Mommy or Daddy is in this room with the door shut that they are working. You'd be amazed at how many children will respect your space and time if you ask them too. We've seen many successful stay at home moms and dads work with children nearby. Do not let screaming children or children that interrupt you on occasion become a big deal, the person on the other end of the phone may be convinced that your business is right for them BECAUSE they hear your children in the background.

When you promise to call somebody back at a certain time you've got to find the time. Children will appreciate knowing why Mommy or Daddy is not available at certain times and you can explain to them that it will be worth all the sacrifices once you become successful.

Discipline can be difficult with all the distractions that can occur in your home, but it is one ingredient that you must have to become successful.

4. Who you're involved with is more important than the business you're in.

Let's face it, most people do not really have a clue how to operate a business, any kind of business not just a home business. When we're young we are told to go to school to get good grades so we can get a good ... JOB! That's exactly the path most of us start on, get a job, work hard, work long hours and try to get a promotion so we can work more hours and hopefully make more money.

We do that for 10, 20 or 30 years and then realize that we are never going to get ahead. That's when the idea that a home business could change our lives hits most of us. We've been told to be good employees and that's what most of us have done all of our lives.

There is no substitute for leadership. If you are blessed to find someone who has been successful in a home business and you know that they can certainly help you change your life forever, you should jump at the chance to work with them. Make sure you're comfortable with them before you get started. So, what should you look for? You should look for someone that knows exactly what they are doing. When you ask questions are they comfortable or uncomfortable? Do they have a system that you can plug in to and have immediate success?

One of the reasons I failed in other home businesses is that I did not understand the importance of finding the right person to work with. I am not blaming my failures on somebody else, but if I had been associated with people who really knew what they were doing they would have given me guidance that I did not get. Perhaps I would have failed anyway, but there is no doubt that working with successful people will cut your learning curve and save you a lot of time and money. Only you can assure your success, but finding the right person to work with and then listening to that person gives you a tremendous advantage over most people working business from their homes!

Let's say you have what you think is a great idea and you've got a little extra money stashed away for a rainy day. Your spouse is not overly supportive, but he or she wants you to succeed. You decide to invest $ 1,000 or $ 2,000 in your new business by taking out an ad in a local magazine. You get no response at all. How do you think your spouse feels about your home business now? That kind of mistake destroys most people and they never recover.

Last week I received an email from a so called marketing guru offering his services. I could get his marketing expertise if I paid him almost $ 800. Almost everything he offered we give to our team members for FREE! We know that what we're doing works for our business because it has been tested and proven to be successful or we would not do it. His material, although similar to ours, has not been tested in our business and could prove to be a waste of both time and money. What would happen if you sent that $ 800 and it did not work? How supportive would your spouse be then?

5. Technology has changed everything.

Many years ago you had to get out and meet people and most business was done face to face. You could call people around the country, but if they had any interest in your business you had to send a package overnight. That proved to be very expensive.

When we were broke, I thought everyone that sounded serious, was serious. I was sending out packages several times a week only to find that these people were not serious at all.

Then, the internet changed everything. You do not have to meet people face to face anymore, although I must admit it's still my favorite way of doing business. Today, you can upload a video in seconds, so people can see you. You can send an email with links to websites, videos and your contact information. Auto responders make you look like a Fortune 500 company, and nobody knows how big your business really is because anyone anywhere can have a great looking website.

When I started my business more than 10 years ago my long distance phone bill was nearly $ 1,000 a month, today we can call as much as we want for $ 20! You can use conference calling and web casts to present your business to hundreds of people at a time.

People can automatically receive your latest Pod cast and watch it in the subway or at lunch. This is the information age and you should capitalize on the shift in technology in your home business. Do not worry about all the latest gadgets when you start your business because the personal touch will always be important. Even if you do not have a lot of money technology allows your home business to operate and look like a very big business.

Do not get too preoccupied with technology. You can, however, use it to enhance your image and your productivity if you know what you are doing. Today, we do not mail anyone any information regarding our home business. With internet access almost everywhere, we realize that if somebody needs us to mail them something, they probably are not the person we were looking for.

6. It's a home business, but that does not mean it can not be a big business.

Most people that start a home business are looking for an extra $ 300 to $ 500 a month. What would an extra $ 50,000 or $ 100,000 a year do for you and your family, seriously! Maybe it's because so many of us have failed so many times that we just do not believe in ourselves anymore.

Once you understand the basic fundamentals of your new home business and once you've achieved some success, you'll understand that the sky is the limit. We make much more money than we ever thought possible and we have friends that are making more than $ 1,000,000 a year! Hard to believe? Of course it is! Just because it's hard to believe does not mean that it is not happening.

After we struggled at so many other businesses I wanted to believe that we could become incredibly successful, but my past was holding me back. Today, we operate a home business that generates almost $ 10,000,000 in annual sales! Years ago I never knew anyone that made $ 1,000,000 a year, so it was hard for me to "see" myself ever reaching that that stone. When a good friend of mine did it, I could then start to see that I could have that kind of success.

So, do you really want to struggle all your life? Then why do we settle for mediocrity? Here's why, we're unsure of ourselves, stuck in a rut, scared, we lack confidence, we tried and failed and tried and failed, what would my spouse, mother, brother, best friend think? We care too much about what other people say, think and do!

7. As a Man Thinketh ...

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Joyce Meyer is fond of saying that where the mind goes, the man follows. Of course, it makes no difference whether you are a man or a woman, you are what you think you are. As we struggled in our home business it was easy to become discouraged. We had always failed. Those constant thoughts of failure surrounded us.

Then, we realized that others had succeeded. Why did they succeed where so many others had failed? Could it really be that the only reason they achieved success was that they thought differently? We were so broke and so desperate for a breakthrough in our lives that we realized that we could not afford the luxury of having negative thoughts. There were plenty of other negative people that we could have listened to, but what was that going to get us?

What if we listened to the people that were positive, which by the way were the same people who were achieving success? When we started our home business we felt like the largest loser on the planet. If something positive did not happen soon we were going to have to move out of state to live with Judith's mother. How were we going to explain to our children that we had lost our home? If our home business was going to change, we would have to change first.

We could not afford the luxury of one negative thought. We started making good choices. We would distance ourselves from anyone that had anything negative to say about anything! We would surround ourselves with positive, uplifting people who would speak life into our lives.

We did not listen to people who laughed at us and yes, there really were people who laughed at us. We believed that we would have life changing success even before there were any real signs of success. Some people call that the "fake it till you make it" concept. While we wholeheartedly endorse that concept we do not recommend that you mislead people.

There is nothing wrong with having a positive attitude. It is wrong to misrepresent your current financial situation. One of the most disappointing things we encounter in home business is the tendency that people have to inflate their incoming. There must be some school of thought that this is appealing or OK and it is not.

Once you lose your integrity, you can never get it back. We have done everything we can to make it clear that a home business will not typically solve your financial pressures overnight. We know many people that have made $ 500 to $ 2,000 in their first month in a home business. Very few make more than that in their first 30 days. If you think you have to lie to become successful you are wrong. We made just over $ 300 our first month in the home business that has paid us more money than we ever thought possible.

Negative people tried to convince us that we would never have success. We did not listen to them then, and we do not listen to negative people now. We know that you can have success in a home business. We know that it will not be easy. We know that if you get guidance along the way from successful people that you will live an extraordinary life.

How to Advertise Your Dance Classes

This is a very short list of easy and FREE (yay) ways to advertise your dance class. It's important to get enough people in the class to run it. After classes are established there are definitely other ways to build and retain customers but these are basics that are quite easy to initiate.

1. When you write an ad for your classes be sure to include detailed information

• Time, date, location and contact email or phone number
• Include a call to action (ex: Call xxx-xxxx to sign up)
• Post often. Most people make a first contact after seeing an ad 5-7 times! You have to be patient and persistent.

2. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are free advertising platforms that are highly effective.

• Fresh posts are better than shared.
• Pictures with text are most effective
• Tag yourself in posts with pictures as it will reach more of your network. If on Instagram tag your studio and the city you live in.
• Post at times when a lot of people are online (ex: weekend mornings before 11am, and Sunday evening, weekdays around 11 or 12pm, 3pm and then again post-dinnertime around 7-10pm).
• Ask friends with different networks (non dancers in Toronto) to share your posts.

3. Online Advertising is also a free way to advertise your classes

• Look for likeminded message boards and sites such as dance (non BD) enthusiasts, pregnancy groups and even yoga communities may very well be interested in trying new classes outside of their practice.
• Craigslist, local online zines and Kijiji etc (include pictures and as much information as possible)

4. Your Friends and Colleagues

• Carry studio cards (or your personal business card) everywhere you go. Talk about what you do and offer people a card.
• ASK PEOPLE TO TRY YOUR CLASS! This one is almost the most important point of them all. I would say most of the time, people might be dying to try your class but customers want permission to buy. It's something that is highly stressed in sales seminars. You need to say to people "I think you would enjoy this class, you should sign up." IT WORKS!
• Tell your friends and family to spread the word. Mothers, for example can be the best solicitors!

5. In the Community

• Leave cards and flyers where it makes sense. Likely, at the stores and coffee shops you visit regularly downtown or close (ish) to the studio. Dance supply stores and costume stores are definitely an option!
• Postering on community message center boards is also a possibility (not on poles, there may be a big fine in your city. Check local rules and regulations)
• Talk about your class after performing. Always have cards!
• You likely come across a large number of people in a day. Share information about your class. What you are offering is fun, cool and beneficial to people and your excitement will be contagious.

Finally, feel free to communicate with your studio if you have been hired to teach from a specific dance school. Express your needs. If you require assistance with getting the word out let the studio know what they can post on their website or social media pages on your behalf. Your success will be their as well!

Highlights of Financial 2013-14 Budget in Share and Stock Sector

The Union Budget of India, also referred to as the Annual Financial Statement is one of the most important financial plans made for the forthcoming accounting period in the country. The Financial Budget is presented by means of the 'Financial Bill' and the 'Appropriation bill'. It is also known as the 'Estimated Receipts and Expenditures of the Government of India' and lists of a list of all the estimated expenses, revenues and expenses of the Government of India. This document is presented on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister. It is basically an account of how the Government has spent the money in the previous year as well as how the Government proposals to spend the same for the coming year.

The bill has to first be approved and passed by both the houses of the Parliament before it can come into effect on April 1st - the start of the financial year. These budgetary proposals stated in the budget will then be applicable from the 1st of April and continue till the 31st of March of the following year. Initially the bill was announced at 5PM on the last working day of February, but has changed to announcing the budget at 11 AM.

It is through the budget that the Government can modify tax heads; with an objective of either increasing the Government receives or with an objective to promote certain behaviors like spending.

The budget does not directly affect one's lifestyle or responsibility towards the family; but it does change the personal income tax rates or slabs which in turn have a bearing on salary; impacting the cash flow for the family.

Some of the key announcements that were made in the Union Budget 2013-14 which specific to investments and the share markets include:

· An allocation of INR 97,000 Crore has been made towards women's development

· There will be two new ports that will be set up in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal which will add 100 million tonnes of handling capacity

· The textile ministry has been allocated INR 50 Crore to establish apparel parks

· The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme is to be liberalized

· The production of food grain during 2013-13is estimated at 250 million tonnes

· An allocation of INR 110 Crore will be made towards the department of disability

· An allocation of INR 15,260 Crore will be made towards drinking water and sanitation ministry.

· A regulator will be designated for road projects; 3,000 km of road projects will be awarded in the first 6 months of 2013-14.

· The farmer-producer organizations will be associated INR 50 Crore.

· Excise duty on cigarettes will be increased by 18 percent.

While some of the proposals in the Union Budget will adversely affect the select companies in the long run there are certain stocks that investors should shed from their portfolio. Some of them include Force Motors, HCL Infosystems, and Specialty Restaurants.

The 2013/14 budget caps an intensive and detailed seven month campaign which was presented by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. It has been one of the most anticipated Indian budgets of recent years as the Government tries to rein in a bloated fiscal deficiency; theby restoring confidence to Asia's third-largest economy.