GlobalBX Entrepreneur Business Articles - August 2008

Search Engine Optimization and Where to Start

The first thing I would recommend is to do some research. Sign up for some SEO newsletters, join some news groups and browse web sites like these.SEO can be very in depth and continues for the length of owning your web site. Since this is a new web site here are some things to consider before beginning the creation:

  • Choose a domain that matches your products/services
  • Host your web site on a reliable, host. One that does not use reseller accounts (possible SPAM issues) and doesn’t hide behind the wall of a ISP (could block search engines).
  • Make your site easy to use and the navigation clean.
  • When writing the code keep as many of the technical functions outside of the main page. By this I mean include the Java script in a separate file, the same for the CSS etc.
  • Keep flash to a minimum and always provide a text menu where the main menu is flash or graphics
  • Keep a detailed and up-to-date site map
  • Register your site with Google Site Maps
  • Install some tracking software so that you can see how your on going changes effect your traffic
  • Be sure to manually submit your web sites to the major engines and directories
  • Search out some like minded web sites to exchange links with
  • Don’t do it all at once. Leave some content back so that you can continually update the site. Search Engines like to see you adding to your content on a consistent basis and so do people.

These steps won’t guarantee you success but they will help.

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The Effective Way to Use Free Traffic Tools

Many people spend hours that turn into days that turn into weeks and even months attempting to sell things using free Click Exchanges, Pay to Click sites, Safelists, Ads, and Auto-surf sites only to end up not selling one single item for all of their effort. These sites provide their services for free in order to get you involved so that they can hopefully sell you increased features. You should follow the same strategy if you use them.

Free traffic generators can be used to generate income on the Internet, but they are not in themselves, ways to sell products or create lasting, worthwhile website traffic. These free advertising sites are only good for creating downlines and mailing lists. The Pay to Click sites, where you can earn advertising credits to be used to place your ads or, in some cases, money, should not be confused with the publisher programs from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN that pay you when people click on ads on your website. Some people in developing nations, where $2 per day is good pay, make a worthwhile income on Pay to Click sites.

The people using free traffic generating sites and viewing your ads are people who, just like you, are trying to sell things. They are not there to buy anything, but all people buy something. In order to use free traffic exchanges effectively, you have to offer something free. The exceptions are the free ad sites and safelists where you can occasionally sell something that doesn’t cost a lot. Only the credit-based safelists are effective and your effort will far exceed your income.

Some of the free things you can offer include a free affiliate program, a free newsletter, a free book, a free contest, or even just free advice. Whatever you offer for free has to have value. In order to receive these free things, people must sign up for them and give you their email address. Once they sign up, you can offer them things that cost money via email.

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The Most Important Decision of Your Life

On November 19, 2005, a day after having surgery, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma cancer. I would compare receiving the news to going to the dentist and being numbed. However, this numbed my whole body. For 20 minutes I rushed through all kinds of thoughts and emotions - shock, anger, “why me?” questions, sadness.

After the 20 minutes, I made a big decision. I decided to live. I decided that all of the emotions and thoughts I was experiencing were not supporting me. I decided right then and there to switch my mind and all actions to that of support and complete cure. At that moment, I was cured.

On January 31, 2006 I received my 33rd and final daily radiation treatment. I am now cancer free. I did not need the doctor to declare that for me; I had already made that decision from the day of diagnosis. I had even told my doctor that at my first appointment.

My whole life I have believed in the power of the mind. The ability to create your outer life from thoughts and emotions from within are undeniable. Nothing is as powerful as your personal philosophy in life. The good news is that your personal philosophy is simply decided by you and your own free will.

In my lifetime, I have been both poor and rich. I have had both sad and happy times. I have lived through tragedies and triumphs. One thing that has never wavered has been my mental approach to whatever has come towards me. Nothing can create wealth and abundance in any segment of a person’s life more than their attitudes and thoughts.

I have seen materially rich people with great poverty of mind and I have seen people in great struggles with an attitude of abundance. Wealth and possessions can flee in an instant, but nothing or nobody can take away your mind and your choice of thought.

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The Top 10 Mergers And Acquisitions (M&A) Of 2007

Business appeared to be booming for the top companies in all sectors during 2007 if the list of mergers and acquisitions is to be believed. The number of companies bought and sold was certainly impressive, with 42 FORTUNE 1,000 corporations exchanging hands. This number of corporation buyouts had not been reached since the year 2000.

2007 was a huge year for mergers and acquisitions around the world. In the US alone, it was the single biggest year since the turn of the millennium, suggesting that many corporations actually faced tougher competition from their rivals than they were able to cope with or, alternatively and much more likely, that they faced financial difficulties as consumer spending begin to falter in line with the American economy and the credit crunch took hold. These factors probably lowered the selling price of the individual corporations that were the subjects of mergers and acquisitions but would have also made them vulnerable to corporate takeovers by larger and more dominant companies within the individual industries.

The majority of mergers took place in the sector of finance, healthcare, technology and energy, with the latter two attracting higher average selling prices for individual businesses. Mergers and acquisitions also took place in the utilities, capital goods, consumer staples, basic materials and consumer cyclicals sectors but the levels of the final buyout prices were nowhere near the level of those in the former sectors. However, in terms of the number of mergers and acquisitions, it was the consumer cyclicals sector that saw the majority of the action!

The top 10 mergers and acquisitions are listed below for ease of reference. Out of the ten, there were only two acquired by private equity buyers. The rest were the acquisition of corporate takeovers. They are listed in order, from the highest to lowest:

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Should Your Business Seek Bankruptcy Protection?

Businesses, meaning corporations or partnerships, have two options in filing for bankruptcy:  Chapter 7 and Chapter 11.   (Individual self-employment businesses can also potentially file under Chapter 13)  Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is designed for businesses that seek to remain operating and wish to “reorganize” their debts.    Depending on how the corporation is structured, how the debts are allocated, the value of all assets–both tangible and intangible–a plan can be proposed that repays anywhere from zero to 100% to unsecured creditors.

Chapter 11 also provides the ability to break leases and contracts, and enter into new ones more favorable to the business.  This can be particularly helpful if the lease for the premises on which the business operates is burdensome and causing profits to suffer.

Chapter 11 is, however, very involved and expensive.  In order to keep expenses down (as much as possible) and promote successful reorganization, it is important to seek professional counsel as early as possible to allow sufficient time for pre-filing planning and structuring.

Chapter 7

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You Can Make Things Happen

Thoreau once said, “Things don’t change, people do.” If things are to happen, you must make them happen. Good people and businesses always make things happen. Let’s look at the essential rules of making things happen.

       
Rule 1 – Always have a CEO attitude - You must start by taking responsibility for all things both good and bad. Accept that your company signs your check and you fill in the numbers. Your own personal philosophy, which is determined strictly by choice and your own free will, determines your first step in success or failure. 

Rule 2 – Every business operates two businesses: People and Marketing. If you are great with people but don’t have people to speak to, you fail. Marketing has become essential to all sales people.

Rule 3 – Lead generation equals dollar creation – The more leads you generate the more money you earn. How do you create leads? Develop a marketing web – Draw a small circle on a piece of paper and put the name of your company in the middle. (Your company, not the one that signs your check). Now draw lines in different directions that look like spokes coming out of the circle. Label each spoke as a source of leads. (Example: walk-ins, incoming sales calls, referrals, repeats, be-backs, service, networking, prospecting etc.) Notice that each spoke can have multiple spokes that sprout from it.

Rule 4 – Add value first – The perception of price is always in relation to the value perceived. Perception is reality for your customers. What do they perceive to be the value in your offer, product, you, or the business? To create value you must TLC - think like a customer - and then take action.

Rule 5 – Give HFG - hope for gain. People always want something better than what they have. It’s human nature.

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You Are The CEO

Are you the CEO of your company? If you’re a sales person, and you answered no to this question, think again. To be successful you must have a CEO mentality. All successful sales people view themselves as a business within a business. Never forget that the company you work for writes and signs your check, but you fill in the numbers. Always take responsibility for everything. You are the CEO. What does a CEO do?First of all, a CEO designs a marketing strategy. How do you get your business? Walk-ins, in-bound phone calls, repeats, prospecting, networking, referrals, bebacks, affiliate marketing programs, database mining, database swapping, niche marketing, seminars, websites, email responses with auto responders and sequential auto responders. Do you have at least one strategy for utilizing each one of these? Many people may not even know what many of these items are. The bad news is that you are way behind the top businesses in the world, but you can catch up and even pass the most productive sales people with dedicated strategy and smart actions.
 
Top sales people gain and maintain their results through many avenues beyond walk-in traffic. When you are new, you spend 80 percent of your time gaining new customers and 20 percent maintaining them. As each month goes by, your goal will be to reverse the time used to 80 percent maintaining current customers and 20 percent gaining new ones. To do this, you must develop a marketing web with multiple streams of lead generation. Lead generation = dollar creation.

If floor traffic dries up, you will have an excuse not to sell vehicles. From now on, excuses are not allowed. What is your strategy for walk-ins? Do you have a process? Does anyone besides you follow up with unsold customers? If you TO in person why not TO on the phone? Are you utilizing monthly planners or productivity software that allows you to automate your follow-up of sold and unsold customers by phone, mail and email?

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Ten Commandments Of Self Development For Business Excellence

1. Leave your comfort zone:
Many people feel very comfortable and complacent in their comfort zone.  Comfort zone refers to those areas of work with which we are happiest or fastest at.  It is often observed that people bask in their previous glory and stop putting further efforts towards development. Thus, they breed a feeling of indifference within themselves and towards others around them.
 
2. Learning is a never-ending process:
This realisation could go a very long way in our process of self-development.  Let us remember that education and training is a time-bound process but this is not the case with learning.  One of the easiest ways to continue learning is to cultivate the reading habit.  This not only enriches your knowledge and skills but helps you to shape your personality and character.  Busy executives can spend travel time  by reading. It is often rightly said “A house without books is like a body without a soul”.
 
3. Attend seminars/conferences/workshops:
Many executives do so but more often than not the choice of the above depends on factors like location and comforts than on  contents.  We should study various seminar brochures and then decide on those courses which would be of greatest relevance and  value-addition to us.  We not only learn by listening to distinguished speakers but also learn by interacting with each other.  Further, the relationships so built, go a very long way in our process of self-development.  If the company cannot sponsor us for a course which we think would be useful, one should not hesitate to invest one’s own resources for self-enhancement.

4.

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