A lot of people thing that opening a99-cent store is a gold mine. After all, we see so many all around us, people must be making money at it, right? Well, yes and no. The fact is that the more stores open, the more competition there is. And there is a lot more to opening and running a 99-cent store than just getting in a few handy items and watching people rush in to buy. Read more: How to Open a 99-cent store
Tag: business
How to Create Compelling Infographics Easily
Infographics seem to be the next wave of user friendly content. They’re visually interesting. They communicate a thought or message quickly. And they’re easy to share on social networking sites. That makes them excellent viral and social marketing tools.
If you’re new to the world of infographics, rest easy. You don’t need to be a designer to create compelling infographics. With a few steps and user friendly tools you can begin capitalizing on this new content form.
Step #1 Choose Your Tool
There are actually several free and inexpensive tools you can use to create your graphic. Here are a few of the top tools:
* Wordle – Wordle is a graphic tool that makes it easy to create a word cloud. You simply paste your text into their form and click “GO.” Or you can enter a URL and click “Submit.” The results are fun and can be surprising. You can then save the image, print it, randomize it, or save it to a public gallery.
Each time you click on “Randomize” the image changes. You’ll see different fonts, colors and layout.
* Creatly – This software offers an abundance of shapes, templates and diagrams so you can create the infographic you need. You can try a demo version for free. Prices begin at $5 a month.
* Visual.ly – Visual.ly is more of an infographic sharing site. It’s free to use. You can upload your own infographics for others to post on their site. Additionally, you can post existing infographics on your own site. You can also use their software to create your own infographic. You do need a Facebook or Twitter account to register.
These are just a few infographic tools. There are actually dozens to choose from.
Step #2 Plan Your Graphic
Before you start drawing or creating your graphic, plan what you want to accomplish. What is your goal? What is your message? Who is your audience? Remember to keep your graphic simple. You want people to be able to glance at your graphic and understand the message in just a few seconds. Complicated infographics are often overlooked.
Use complimentary colors. While your infographic may be published on many sites, you’ll want it to be visually appealing on your site too. You can brand your graphic a bit by ensuring that it matches your brand, logo and website colors.
Do your research too! You want the data that you present in your graphic to be timely, interesting, and accurate. Make sure your graphic makes a point and draws a conclusion.
Finally, don’t forget to include your URL in your graphic. Ideally, it will be somewhere near the bottom and easy to spot.
Step #3 Create Your Graphic
Have fun with this process. If you’re keeping it simple, you should be able to create your graphic reasonably well. Remember, it’s not about complicated designs or information. Keep it simple and to the point. As with any content, test and track your results. You may find that some information performs better as a graphic while other info may make a better post or article.
Infographics are a hot trend right now. Have fun with them. Experiment and test your audience. You may find this new information format is a new favorite.
OTHER READING:
How to Prepare Your Business for the Summer
Summer is right around the corner and that means summer vacation. Children are home from school. Vacation plans are pending and customers and clients begin to alter their schedules too. It’s often a time of change and uncertainty. You can take steps now to prepare your business for the summer months.
Step #1 Take a Look at Your History
What happened last summer? Did sales go up? Did profits decline? Did you have trouble relying on contractors? Did you have way too much free time on your hands? History often repeats itself. If you can document what occurred last year by looking at the data and your analytics, then you may be able to use that information to plan ahead.
For example, a copywriter may find that his/her business increases during the spring months and then declines during the middle months of summer. Knowing this information, a copywriter can then plan ahead. They might launch a special offer during the slow months, or use that downtime to create an information product or take a vacation.
Step #2 Schedule Ahead and Automate
If you’re busy during the summer months, then scheduling ahead is extremely important. And there are many things you can do right now so your summer is relaxed and easy. For example, you can write your blog posts now and schedule them for the summer. You can do the same for your email messages. In fact, you can plan a product launch and automate all of the processes so that the product launches automatically several months from now. You don’t have to lift a finger.
Step #3 Get Help
You can also simply schedule downtime. Many sole proprietors simply take a hiatus or time away from their businesses. If you’re a blogger or service provider, this is certainly an option. A better option may be to ask a guest blogger to step in and help while you’re away. You run the risk of losing clients and readers if you’re gone too long.
Virtual assistants, interns and partnerships can all help you take time away during the summer. And if you are swamped during the summer, then additional help can make the bigger workload easier to manage.
Summer will be here before you know it. Taking steps now will help you enjoy the warmer months while still growing and managing your business. It’s smart business and it’ll save you future stress and anxiety.
MORE READING:
How to Create Viral Buzz Online For Your Business
Top Tips on How to Improve Your Website Performance
Credit Card Question, Part 2
Continued from Part 1
*Insurance Coverage
Also remember that charging certain items on a major credit card can confer some extra benefits. For example, car rental liability insurance is offered by some major credit card companies. If your card has this coverage, you don’t need to pay the incredibly high fees for the “loss and damage waiver” car rental companies try to charge you when you rent a car.
Insurance coverage for baggage lost when you fly is also available, depending on the credit card you choose. In fact, some credit card companies offering this insurance actually cover in addition to what the airline will pay you for lost bags. This baggage coverage is no cost on some credit cards and is well worth having. Travel insurance is also included, so that you would not lose the whole cost of the flight, and would just need to pay a ticket change fee of about $50 to $100 if an emergency cropped up. If the flight is a long-haul one, this insurance coverage is worth having.
*Consumer Protection
Price protection for items you purchase that drop in price after you buy them is offered by some companies. Stores must allow a 30 day ‘cooling off’ period with an unconditional money-back guarantee. They should honor any price differences and refund the money within 30 days. Some major credit card companies allow up to 60 days and will refund you such price differences.
*Fraud Protection
A debit card will not usually confer all of these perks. And indeed, the major difference is the most crucial one: You liability with credit cards in the event of identity theft or fraud will be zero or much lower with a credit card than with a debit card. With a credit card, if you suspect anything fraudulent, you have up to 90 days to report it. With a debit card, you need to report it within 2 business days. Otherwise, you will be liable.
If you do not look at your online banking account that often, or you are overseas, for example, this can be a major financial disaster. Therefore, use your debit card only sparingly for online purchases, and use a credit card instead because of all the extras it offers. Then pay off the bill at the end of each month.
*Determine Your Benefits and Weigh Risks Versus Rewards
One final suggestion is to take time to read all the fine print on a credit card application to determine what special privileges and perks you get with your card, or call customer service and ask. Then choose to use the card that gives you the most benefits in terms of cash back, benefits, insurance, and other perks.
Credit cards do not have to be a disaster and can indeed improve your credit score and even help you save money if you care cautious and learn how to use them to your advantage financially.
For more information on how to improve your family finances, see
Emergency Fund 101: How to Save Money for Unexpected Expenses
and
How to Start Your Own Business With Little or No Money, Part 2
(Continued from Part 1)
4-Become an affiliate.
An affiliate sells products and services for a commission. You are probably familiar with Avon and Tupperware, in which people sell products to friends and family, host parties and so on. This is commonly referred to as direct selling, and is done in person.
You can also sell products online for a commission, in which case it is referred to as being an affiliate. There are many affiliate marketplaces in which top companies and designer brands recruit people to sell for them.
The largest marketplaces for affiliate selling are Commission Junction (cj.com), LinkShare and ShareASale. Amazon and eBay also have affiliate programs. You don’t even need a website to sell these products. Simply create your links and put them in the signature files of your emails, put at the end of any posting you create on notice board or forum, use in the comments section of a blog you read and use in your social networking area.
If you do have a website, so much the better. You can post [honest] reviews of the products you are selling, the latest hot items in your niche, and more.
Choose a niche, that is, an area of expertise, and stick to it. Study it carefully and know what people like and are genuinely interested in. For example, if you are a real movie buff, then selling DVDS is a great option. Do not do it, however, if you barely ever see a film.
Being an affiliate can be a fun and interesting way to make your own money and even start your own side business. You promote the products, and the company you are an affiliate for does the rest, taking care of all the order fulfillment, packing and shipping. The commissions may not be that high, but they are better than nothing.
You can also consider being an affiliate as an ‘instant discount’ on any products and services that you buy. For example, you shop online at Amazon anyway (and tens of millions of people do), become an Amazon Associate, then set up a second account so you can buy through your own link and get instant savings.
Being between jobs doesn’t mean you have to do without income. You might also want to supplement your income from your day job, or start moving towards the financial and personal freedom you long for by starting your own business.
There are many ways to start your own business even with little or no spare cash, if you are willing to put in the time and effort. The ideas above are just a starting point to get you thinking about all of your available options.
As an added bonus, by earning any sort of temporary income, you can start creating the kind of wealth you need to start the business of your dreams. You will also be coming into contact with people who may be able to help you find a permanent position.
If you still have a job but you are underpaid, underemployed, or both, these are just a few of the ways that you can make extra money to pay off debts, start an emergency fund, or start saving for your financial goals for the future.
Further Reading
YOUR RECESSION SURVIVAL GUIDE: How to Save Money and Even Boost Your Income in This Recession
How to Start a Successful Small Business Even If You Don’t Have Much Cash
How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing Even Without a Website
How to Start Your Own Business With Little or No Money, Part 1
Many people long to own their own business, but don’t know how to get started. Thanks to the Internet, many people are now able to start their own business and work from home, using the assets that they already have.
If you are eager to start your own business, but think you can’t because you haven’t got a lot of spare cash, here are some ideas that can help you get started today.
1-Clean out your house, and buy garage sale or eBay items to re-sell them for a profit.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Clean out your house of any old items you no longer use or might already have replaced with a newer model. Why have it cluttering up the house when you can sell it and put that money in the bank or pay off your debts?
Spending Fridays and Saturdays snapping up bargains from garage sales and selling them at flea markets or on eBay can be very lucrative. So can buying items in bulk at wholesale prices from websites or eBay and selling them on your own site or in the Amazon Marketplace. In the past decade or so since Internet shopping has taken off, this has become a profession that provides a full-time living with part-time hours for many people.
You need to know your niche and the prices for things, and what is hot at the moment, to do really well financially. You will also need to know about packaging and shipping rules and have a good customer service mind set in order to get good reviews. The good reviews will help keep repeat customers coming back for more. If you have a particular skill set or in-depth knowledge of a certain topic, known as a niche, you can do well by providing exactly what the people in that niche are eager to buy.
2-Try landscaping.
Landscaping has become a profitable hobby or full-time living for many. If you have a way with plants and an eye for design, you can charge some good professional fees for doing some landscaping. Start with your own garden and those of as many neighbors as possible to get your portfolio going, and then you should be able to start charging competitive rates to new clients.
3-Make money from your hobby.
You can build furniture or decorative items, arts and crafts, create personalized scrapbooks, home-made gifts of all kinds, and so on. If you don’t have a hobby like this, the skills for many of them are easily learned and enjoyable as well. Sell your items at flea markets, on Etsy.com or eBay, or spread the word through friends.
(Continued in Part 2)
Top Tips on Outsourcing For Your Small Business, Part 2
(Continued from Part 1)
* What to Outsource
The first few things to outsource are:
1. Low-level tasks that take up a lot of time
2. Things that take up a lot of your energy
3. Things that you are not very good at, annoy you, or you dislike
By easing the burden on both your time and energy, you will feel less drained and be better able to tackle the really important challenges in your business.
* When to Outsource
The real answer is as soon as you start your business, but you might not have the cash for that. However, do include it as a built-in part of your business plan. Once you have some cash coming in, go to the freelance marketplaces and fiver.com and see who you can find to lend a hand with certain tasks. You can easily get rid of the bad workers and find some reliable good ones to help you. Just remember that outsourcing should actually make you money, not cost you money.
For example, if your work is ultimately worth $50 an hour but you are spending your time on $10-an-hour tasks, you can hire 4 workers at $10 an hour and still be making a profit, but you will have reduced the value of your time. However, if you can boost the value of your time to $100 an hour because you are free to focus on what you do best, then your outsourcing will more than pay for itself and leave you plenty of profits besides.
* Outsource In All Areas of Your Life the Box
Don’t just outsource things inside your business, but in your personal life as well, to help you become more efficient. You might not like the idea of people ‘waiting on you’, but especially in this economy, think of all the people you can help earn money in gainful employment.
If your time is worth $50 an hour, then by all means pay someone $10 an hour to do your laundry, clean your house, shop for your essentials, and so on. Even if you are only paying your child or spouse, remember that there are many acceptable tax deductions once you own a business.
It might seem like an extraneous expense, but again, every extra hour you can put into your business is more money earned. More money earned means more success for you and your loved one, and more ability to help others.
*Outsourcing Online
Outsourcing online can give you access to people all around the world willing to work to earn money. In this case, you might not outsource ongoing tasks, but small projects. Logo creation, website creation, and other one-off projects can all be running in the background simultaneously while you do other work. You can also outsource ongoing tasks like attending to customer service, virtual assistant tasks and more. See how you spend your time every day and what you can safely hand over to others and free up your time to generate more revenue more rapidly thanks to outsourcing.
FURTHER READING
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PROFITS THROUGH OUTSOURCING
