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How To Successfully Be Your Own Boss, Easily And Fast

If you are going to successfully be your own boss then the internet is the perfect place to start. In the real world of bricks and mortar setting up a business can be a lengthy and costly process with set up costs easily running into thousands. The internet offers you so many options to run a business, and there is no faster or easier way. Have you got 15 minutes and an Internet connection? Then, you can have an online business. However, I’m guessing you want to be successful at this too, and that takes a bit more time, a few more qualities from you and a little money.

There is no better place to start if you want to be your own boss, than affiliate marketing. It is truly the job of the future, and no longer a dream, but a reality. However, to become a successful affiliate marketer there are a few qualities that you must possess in order to take your business into profit. So many people put up a freebie website, opt in to a few affiliate programmes (without researching them well) and then head straight for the finishing line without thinking about what to do in the middle. It doesn’t take much time for these people to decide that their internet business is going to be much harder than they thought, and that getting traffic to their site is going to be tough. Some of these people will try a few free ads, some will blow thousands on ads they have not tested but all of them will end up in the same disappointing place with the conclusion that a successful internet business can only be achieved by the lucky few. Nothing could be further from the truth; there is tons of information on the internet about people who have made fantastic incomes with the internet and affiliate marketing. Look for it, and you will find it. Unquestionable proof that ordinary people are making extraordinary incomes, lists of testimonials from real people who are doing it for REAL. And you can too, but there are a few things you need within you, to succeed where others have failed.

TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY YOU WANT IT
And this must be a strong why. Ask yourself the question and write it down. Keep your answer somewhere you can see it and it will keep you focused in those times during your learning curve when you feel it is impossible to achieve what you want. For me, my why, was my children. I am a single mum who is determined that my children shall not suffer financially just because I am their only carer. I want them to enjoy the good things in life like having a good neighborhood to grow up in with a safe place to play outside. I want us to enjoy holidays together so they can experience different cultures of other countries. Also, I do not want them to be sent out at all times of the day and night for other people to care for them. I want them to know a home life, where Mum is there for them to talk to when they come in from school, to feed them a home cooked meal and to be present at all their nativity plays and sports days. An ordinary 9-5 would never offer me the flexibility, freedom or financial reward in order to be able to achieve these things for my children. Things that I believe they deserve. Life is short, and I do not want to waste it working away behind a desk, missing out on my children growing up just to be able to pay the bills and nothing else.

TO SUCCEED YOU MUST PLAN, AND BELIEVE THAT YOUR PLAN IS POSSIBLE
If you don’t believe you can ever be your own boss then you won’t be. It’s that simple. You must visualize it, hear it, see it, and live it. Once I realized that other people were genuinely making fantastic incomes online, people who were no cleverer than I am, and had no more about them than I have, I began to believe. So, go do your research, take a look at these people and what they do. They are not gods that are unreachable, they are just ordinary people like you and I who had the belief and determination to make it happen for them. Once you see for real that they can do it, then you will know and understand that you can too. You just need to figure out your plan to do so. Figure out what all these people who are making money are doing and modify it to fit your situation. Planning to succeed will shorten your learning curve considerably. From the day you begin you must learn all you can about web promotion, read other people’s opinions using forums and look at the programs others have tried, tested and reviewed before you embark on anything. Always try to learn from other people’s mistakes as well as their successes. For the newbie to internet marketing, beginning a pre-built program is the ideal place to start as not only do you get to be your own boss and start making money, you also start to learn how the business works with someone holding your hand every step of the way and this can be a much needed comfort to those who know nothing about internet marketing. Be careful to select the right venture for you though, there are many out there to chose from. I have spent years looking, trying and sadly, quite often, being ripped off. The one which has impressed me the most would be http://www.your-perfect-solutions.com/pips.html The support on there is second to none and you will learn well, and fast! Stone Evans, is in my opinion, the perfect person to hold your hand.

AND NOW YOU MUST JUMP!
To be your own boss you could spend years researching different topics on the internet and by the time you feel you have learnt then all, they will have all changed, as the internet is an ever changing thing. It could take a lifetime to learn it all, and you’ll still be nowhere closer to owning your own business. The best and only way to truly learn how to be successful at affiliate marketing is simply to experience. Take the jump and do it. You have to be in it to truly learn it. There is no other way. Don’t be afraid to spend a little money either. A little money can shave years off your learning curve and the cost of failure on the internet is minimal. There is no need to start off spending anymore than £75. To be your own boss successfully there isn’t much that comes in cheaper than this. The Plug-In-Profit site is a great place to start for those who need coaching and learning in a supportive environment. The structure provided is simple and extremely easy to follow yet so effective and the learning curve you go on will be as fast and efficient as any out there. You simply need to begin. The more time you sit reading about it and thinking about it the more time and money you waste. Don’t be behind the times and find yourself looking back on this moment in your life wishing you’d taken action. Life is too short for ‘what if’s?’. Why not make it an ‘I did!’ ? Go on, be your own boss. You know you want to, and do you know what, I think you deserve the success it will bring you!

Is National Certification Worth It?

          What started out six years ago as a simple quest to become «qualified» to manage the activity department at a local Rehab has developed into a pursuit for «self».  Back then, I spent several weeks exploring my options and discovering resources for my new found profession.  The lure of being a nationally «certified» activity professional not just a «qualified» director won out. 

            I got an application and began to fulfill the requirements.  I found the nearest «certified trainer» to me was two hours away, halfway across the state.  Nonetheless, I contacted her and made arrangements to take the basic course with her, because that was all that was required on my national application.

            Eight weeks later, I had my certificate of completion in hand, and was in route to fulfilling the required hours of service, and getting transcripts from my alma mater.  Two years pass as I earned the 4,000 hours required.  Alas, with all my paperwork in hand, I mailed my application out.

            Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I accepted a new position at a manor very near my house.  One day, after I started, I got a call from National Headquarters.  They had received my application, but it was incomplete.  I was missing the advanced course work.

            It seemed that somewhere between me getting my original application and my submitting it, they had changed their requirements to include the advance course as mandatory for all certifications.  It was part of an initiative to improve the educational system by which they wanted recognition.

            I accepted their offer of provisional certification.  The stipulation:  I was required to complete the advance course within four years.  So I once again set out to find a «certified trainer» to teach me part two, the advanced course.  I found one, this time she was half a continent away.  We made arrangements and I completed the course.  Nine months later with my certificate of completion in hand and seeing that I only need to complete an additional 200 hours of consulting experience, I chose to jump to the head of the class and get the top of the line certification available.

            Well, National Headquarters «lost» all of my consulting hours, documentation, and pages from my application are missing.  Sure they gave me the «certified» activity professional credentials I wanted four years prior, but that wasn’t what I had spent the past year dedicating my life to.  Phone calls were made, the executive wasn’t available, wouldn’t be for several more days.  She’d return my call on Tuesday morning.  Tuesday morning comes and goes.  I called back, no, sorry the executive makes this decision, can you remind me again what this is about, I talk to 50 people a day and can’t keep it straight.  She’ll return your call.  The classic run-around.

            So I question is national certification worth it?

            At this point, no.

            Easily putting sour-grapes aside, not being disgruntled, harboring no ill-will, I ask:  is national certification worth it?  Compared to what?   I could have settled for being «qualified», but I wanted more than that.  I could have pursued state certification, but I wanted to be better than that.

            Don’t get me wrong, I took the courses with some very remarkable instructors.  They helped me change the direction of my career.  They helped me become a better business leader.  I don’t need some «higher authority» to validate what I know, or what I know I can do.  I don’t need a piece of paper with initials stamped on it that I can use after my name.  I am just as good with it as without it.  What makes them so important?

            I ask this of the state level also.  What makes the state association so important?  It is a professional association.  Kind of like a pro-golfers association.  Sure you look good by being a member, but in the end, that’s all you are, a member.  They don’t license you to be a golfer, they can’t discipline misconduct.  All they can really do is take your money and say you’re a «certified» member and at worse revoke your membership.  It is not like the state or national certifying association is a state or federal agency.  We are not licensed by any one.  So who are they to say I am «certified»?

            How does being nationally «certified» improve my lot in life?  A certification indicates that a minimum of qualifications have been met.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re good at what you do.  It doesn’t even mean career advancement.  In my case, I am already at the top of the ceiling; there is no room for advancement.

            So why pursue national certification?   For me, it’s a milestone; a feather in my cap; proof of my unrelenting pursuit for self-improvement; a desire to show others that with a lot of hard work you can make a difference in your own life.  And with a difference in your own life, you can make a difference in someone else’s life.  And so on, and so on.  It has to start somewhere; I am always willing to be the one to step up.

            I do not need validation of an outside agency to know what I know.  I don’t need validation of an outside agency to do what I do.  I meet minimum state and federal guidelines to be «qualified» to manage my activities department.  The certificates of completion from continuing education classes and conferences and training courses do the same thing.

            So why pursue national certification?

            Because at the moment that’s all there is.  And because they claim to stand for the same things I believe.  They are fighting the good fight to improve educational requirements, improve our standing in the healthcare community, but they are standing in my way.  I am sure that for every one of me that gets rubbed the wrong way, gets our nose bent out of shape, there are dozens upon dozens upon dozens of other who have had the most remarkable, joyful experience ever.  God bless them.  But this isn’t about how we are treated, this isn’t about pointing fingers and saying you did this or you did that.  It’s about self improvement.  It’s about validating yourself.  The goal was never the certification; it was the journey to getting there.  That has been the most remarkable journey imaginable.  I would never have taken this journey if the goal weren’t to become nationally certified.  But the journey, and the people I have met along the way, is what’s important.  It is what changed my life.

            Is national certification worth it?

            I don’t know.

            I haven’t gotten there yet.  Maybe someday I’ll be able to look back and say it was all worth it.  I doubt it.  But the journey…

            Yes, the journey to pursue national certification was worth every painful paper cut, sleepless night, mad dash to a deadline, soul searching moment. 

            Yes, the pursuit for national certification is worth it.  That little piece of paper at the end, I can take it or leave it.  It is just another mile marker in my life that says I was here, I did this.

            If when the dust settles and everything clears up and they offer me my advanced certification, will I accept it?  Sure.  Gladly.  And be an asset to their team.  But I already am.  I just don’t have a key to the executive washroom.  And that’s okay.  My journey isn’t complete, even with certification, my journey won’t be complete.  My journey will never be complete.

            Is national certification worth it?

            To some yes, to many, perhaps, to me, I don’t know.  I guess it’s the wrong question.  Is going through nearly a year long process to become a better professional worth it?  Absolutely.  And getting certification too would just gravy on top.

            I absolutely recommend pushing your comfort level.  I absolutely recommend you tackle educational pursuits.  I absolutely recommend that you better yourself professionally and be more than merely «qualified».  I absolutely recommend that you be the best you you can be and the road to national certification is a great place to learn who you really are, what you can really do and what you are really about.

            And having that little slip of paper with initials that you can use after your name may not be that important.  It’s up to you.  I don’t know.  I’ll let you know if I ever get mine.

How To Handle The Occasional Oop-See!

Q: My company is really in hot water with one of our best customers. I can’t reveal exactly what happened, but suffice it to say that we really dropped the ball and the customer is furious. I’m not even sure we can save the account. What’s the best way to get back in a customer’s good graces after making such a mistake?
— Charles W.

A: Without knowing the full story, Charles, I can’t give you a specific course of action, but let’s start at the sharp end of the uh-oh stick and work our way back to see if we can come with up some advice that might help.

First off, it’s important that you understand that the magnitude of your mistake will determine the course of action you take to make amends. If your company’s error was such that it caused your customer a significant amount of lost time or revenue, embarrassed them publicly, caused damage to their reputation, or otherwise negatively affected their bottom line, you may face legal repercussions that saying «I’m sorry» will not deter. If that’s the case you should consult an attorney immediately and prepare for the worst. Whether or not the worst comes is irrelevant. You must be prepared for it.

Now on to dealing with more minor offenses. As anyone who has read this column for any length of time knows, I’m cursed with daughters. I used to say I was blessed with daughters, then they learned to walk and talk. Blessed quickly became cursed. Now my oldest daughter is an inch taller than me and getting all lumpy in places I’d rather not think about. She’s a sad case, really. The poor kid needs an operation. She has a cellphone growing out of her ear. But I digress?€¦

When she was a toddler she coined the phrase, «Oop-see!» Whenever she did something innocently destructive, like knock over a glass of orange juice on my new computer keyboard or shove a Pop Tart in the VCR tape slot, she would look at me with her huge brown eyes and say, «Oop-see!» My wife says there is a reason God made kids cute. Oop-see moments are evidence that she is right.

Oop-see meant, «Uh oh, I didn’t mean to do that. I was wrong. I’ll never do that again. Forgive me? Love me? Buy me toys?€¦ Oop-see worked like a charm every time. Now, I certainly don’t expect you to bat your eyes at your customer and say, «Oop-see!» but consider the effect her words had on me. Instead of screaming at the top of my lungs like I wanted to do (hey, have you ever tried to dig a Pop Tart out of a VCR) I immediately softened and found myself actually taking her side. «Aw, it’s OK, really, we all make mistakes?€¦»

What my daughter had figured out is that it’s hard to stay mad at someone who admits a mistake, sincerely apologizes for it, and vows never to let it happen again. Little did I know this was only one of many tactics she would employ over the years in her never-ending quest to wrap her daddy several times around her little finger, but that’s a whole different column.

Dale Carnegie said it best: «Any fool can try to defend his or her mistakes — and most fools do — but it raises one above the herd and gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admit one’s mistakes.»

Carnegie and my daughter were basically saying the same thing: When you (or your company) make a mistake, no matter how large or small, the best thing you can do is quickly admit the error of your ways and face the consequences, come what may.

Here are a few things you can do to help set things right with your customer.

Assemble the facts. The very first thing you should do is find out what went wrong and why. Meet with your key people and gather the facts. Ask specific questions like: What was the mistake? What caused it? Who was involved? What could have been done to prevent the mistake from happening and what can be done to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. I’ve been on both ends of the uh-oh stick and neither is very comfortable. My company has dropped the ball on occasion and we have also been negatively impacted when one of our vendors did the same. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and consider what could be said or done to remedy the situation from their point of view.

Take responsibility for the actions of your company. In my role as a company president there have been times when I’ve had to call up a customer and confess that a mistake was made, and as president it was also my responsibility to take the heat for it. Remember, you’re the head cheese, Charles, you get to sit behind the big desk and take home the nice paycheck. You’re also the one that gets to mop up when your employees makes a mess. It just goes with the job.

Do not place the blame on specific employees. No matter how tempting it is to put the blame on specific people in your organization (even if that’s where the blame lies), do not do it. It is unprofessional, counterproductive and can backfire on you, especially if the person you’re blaming reports directly to you. Saying something like «My sales manager is always making mistakes like this!» is not going to make your customer feel any better. To the contrary, such statements will make the customer question your leadership ability and the quality of all your employees, not just the one that made the mistake. If you don’t have faith in your company and employees, why should your customer?

Don’t deny that a mistake was made, especially when there is clear evidence to the contrary. You’re not Richard Nixon, for petesake, so don’t try to pretend that the mistake didn’t happen or stage some elaborate cover-up to try and dodge the blame.

Admit your mistake. This may sounds trite, but you must admit your mistake before you can move ahead and start to make amends. Don’t be so afraid to take this step. I doubt your company is the first one to screw up with this customer and I can guarantee you certainly won’t be the last.

Apologize for the mistake. The one thing that could make the situation better is often the thing that companies find hardest to do. I don’t mean to sound like Dr. Phil, but simply saying you’re sorry is often the best way to get a business relationship back on track. Ensure the customer that it will never happen again. After you have taken responsibility for the mistake and apologized in a sincere and professional manner, you must then start the process of rebuilding the trust that was lost. Promising that such a mistake will not happen again is a good way to start.

Compensate the customer for his loss. Even if your mistake didn’t cost the customer a dime, he will appreciate an offer of compensation. This can be something as simple as a lunch on you or a discount on his next order. The size of the compensation offered should be in direct proportion to the size of your mistake. A word of warning: don’t let the customer bully you into overcompensating him for your mistake. That can be more detrimental to the relationship than the mistake itself.

As my daughter understood all those years ago, Charles, a sincere Oop-see can help make things all better.

Here’s to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net

In Pursuit Of Miller’s Landscape

I have always been a great admirer of the artist John Miller. His simplistic coastal landscapes are a wonderful escape from the rigours of city life in Birmingham.

But what of the subjects of his work? Were they just figments of his imagination or did these places actually exist?

Since buying my first print ‘Estuary’, his worlds have always seemed a beautiful Utopia, scenes of unrivalled natural beauty, somewhere I wanted to be.

Eventually I discovered his work portrayed much of the coastline of St Ives Bay in Cornwall, the county of unrivalled myths and legends, and that the estuary in question was in Hayle.

It wasn’t long until I was making my way south along the M5 motorway in pursuit of the landscape John Miller had found so irresistible. The M5 takes you to the south of England.

Picking up the A30 would take me into the far reaches of the southwest, first Devon and ultimately into Cornwall.

The journey down the M5 was fairly nondescript. There’s little to catch your eye as you make your way south. The motorway is simply a link to all the towns and cities along the west coast.

But upon reaching Devon, the A30 takes you through beautiful English countryside. Green rolling hills frame the horizon. The land is dressed like a patchwork quilt as farmers go about their daily business harvesting the land and seeing to the many animals scattered about their fields.

Driving through Cornwall was equally enjoyable, though the skyline was dominated occasionally by manmade structures.

The green land and blue waters of isolated lakes were interrupted by huge wind turbines. Stood like giant white sentinels, though they may be a little sore on the eye, they are an essential piece of the jigsaw if governments are to find alterative energy sources to ease the threat of global warming.

The ‘Welcome to Hayle’ sign was greeted with a sigh of relief having spent the past five hours on the road. I headed for the docks and parked the car.

There were a dozen or so fishing boats in the harbour, many manned as fisherman prepared their vessels for a days work.

I left the boats and followed the water as it led through the estuary. It snaked its way through the contours of the land.

As I rounded a final bend the river met the sea and for the first time I could see where Miller had painted ‘Estuary’. I stood at the precise spot he must have sat with his easel. It was easy to imagine the inspiration that must have flooded through his body.

As I walked nearer to the sea, the scene unfolded before me. To the left the coast continued to sweep around before reaching the town of St Ives.

I headed right, trying to stay out the way of the dozens of wind surfers scattered about the beach. Now the whole of the bay was visible. Several miles of golden sands lay before me.

As the shoreline drifted away to the left, Godrevy Lighthouse stood at the end of the bay, so prominent in many of John Miller’s paintings. Finally I had seen Miller’s landscape come to life.