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Affiliate Marketing Programs Can Make Money For You

Why and How of Affiliate Marketing Programs

Just as in referral marketing, Affiliate marketing is earning money by recommending products and services to others. You earn a percentage of the sale when your visitors buy those items you are recommending. Affiliate marketing is a proven money-making model you can focus on for your business and is still, the number one way for aspiring Internet entrepreneurs to get started. The benefits of affiliate marketing programs are:

1. There’s no inventory expense

2. No hassles with payment processors

3. No extra time spent on processing refunds or returns

All these are carried out by the affiliate program owner. Your job as an affiliate is to recommend the products to your website visitors and cash your money when they buy. However, you still need to get the necessary marketing skills that will bring success in any other business you pursue.

The Three Affiliate Marketing Programs Models

There are three types of profitable Affiliate Marketing models: Pay-Per-Sale (PPS), Pay-Per-Lead (PPL) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC). The first thing to understand about affiliate marketing is that it is a “pay per action” model. However, the meaning of “action” is defined in a couple of different ways. An action can be:

1. The sale of a product

2. The generation of a new lead (potential customers)

3. The clicking through of a link (e.g. Google AdSense ads link)

1. Pay-Per-Sale Program

In Pay-per-sale program, you, the affiliate, are tasked with sending traffic (website visitors) to the merchant website in order to help the merchant acquire new customers. Whenever one of the visitors you refer buys a product from that merchant, you are credited with the sale and you receive a commission. This is where your profits come from.

2. Pay-Per-Lead Program

In pay-per-lead program, you generate commission by generating leads (potential customers). Instead of referring people directly to a product, you refer them to product information. E.g.:

•           Refer a prospect to mortgage Refinance Company, where he fills out a form to get pre-qualifying information about potential loans.

•           Refer a prospect to Health Company offering free vitamin samples in exchange for filling out contact form.

•           Refer a prospect to a trial version of a product or service.

3. Pay-per-Click Program

Unlike the previous two models, pay-per-click affiliate marketing is actually the simplest but incentives for your visitors to click on the links are more difficult to provide. Most advertising programs (such as Google AdSense) fall under this category. There are many ways of selling advertising space on a blog or website but some of the different advertising options include AdSense and YPN (Yahoo Publishing Network), which are very popular with bloggers or many website owners and are probably the most common income streams being used by them today.

These programs can easily be implemented and used to make a six figure income. However, you require detailed information to make them work.

Millions of people dream about owning their own business. Having the independence that being your own boss brings, the security that no one can fire you, enjoying a good income – and for the most successful – the accumulation of wealth and prosperity. Unfortunately, the cards are stacked against a new small business making it big – or making it at all. An endless stream of problems makes competition from large, sophisticated chains too intense. Many new start-ups end as failures.

Buying a franchise represents a different approach to starting a business.  For an upfront franchise fee plus ongoing royalty payments, the parent company teaches its business model and methods to the franchised-operator who shoulders all operating and financial responsibilities of the outlet. Some statistics are impressive: it is said over 40% of all U.S. retail sales are through franchised establishments. While franchise giants like McDonalds, KFC, H&R Block and Radio Shack are familiar, household names, franchises are available in a wide range of industries. The list of 3,000-plus companies selling franchises span over 100 different industry categories.

American Dream … Or Nightmare?
But just as franchising represents a chance to get rich, it’s also a chance to get stung. An alarming number of franchised operators make less than the minimum wage, working seven days, sixty to eighty hours a week, pursuing an expensive and elusive American Dream that turns into a nightmare. Since the ongoing franchise royalty payment comes right off the top, as a percentage of gross sales or a fixed minimum amount, the franchise company gets an assured revenue stream, even if its franchised units are operating unprofitably and are sold over and over again to new, unsuspecting buyers. The internet is filled with comments of the many people who lost $250,000 and more on concepts like eBay Drop off stores (iSold It), 30 Minute Fitness concepts (Curves), The UPS Store, etc. Yet many of these companies continue to sell and resell franchises over and over again. How do they accomplish that? Because there are enough people who think they can “believe” their way to success, even with a concept or business that’s not working in the marketplace. As discussed below, in many cases franchise investment decisions are incredibly based on emotionalism, not on business logic or even common sense.

Ownership And Being Your Own Boss?
Pride of ownership and being your own boss are highly touted phrases in franchise recruitment ads. But these are more fantasy than reality. Although you get all the financial exposure, headaches and stress of business ownership, what do you really own? A franchise owner is merely licensing a trademark (or service mark) from a company that dictates every detail of business operations. So the real boss isn’t you, but the company that sells you their franchise rights . . . and sea of franchise obligations.

Equity Build up?
But at least you’re building up equity, the ownership value of the business as a going concern beyond your investment of money, to compensate for all those years of hard work and long hours – right? Wrong – at least in the world of franchising. The franchise company reserves rights to acquire your entire business at below wholesale prices if their contract is not followed precisely. The acquisition rights provide for predetermined asset-based valuations, like book or liquidation value. These valuation methods provide bare minimum compensation (the used value of some file cabinets, office furniture, equipment, etc.) and are not generally used to determine the selling price of any business.

Absolutely no compensation is paid for established goodwill, the value of a business that is generating $X in profit or cash flow every month after years of effort, investment and expense – thus eliminating the most valuable ownership asset. Of course, you may be able to sell your franchise to a third party for a sales price that includes an earnings-based valuation. But that’s possible only if:
(a) you can find a buyer who is willing to live within the complexities of a franchise relationship, and
(b) you happen to own a franchise that’s showing healthy profits.

What follows is a bottom-line franchise checklist and tips compiled by franchise attorney and franchise expert, Mr. Franchise, based on reviewing over 500 franchise offering circulars and twenty-eight plus years of experience in the franchise industry – including ownership of a very successful franchise. These factors to consider in making a franchise investment will help you eliminate 95% of the companies you are considering. Then, you can concentrate your efforts on the 5% “cream” of the crop” companies that may deserve consideration. This franchise checklist assumes you’re suitable for and willing to live within the confines of a franchise relationship. It also assumes the franchise company:

(1) has itself successfully operated the concept being franchised for at least five years at multiple locations;
(2) is not plagued by franchise litigation and franchise lawsuits from disgruntled franchise owners;
(3) does not have unusually high franchise attrition rates (owners who have “left the system”); and
(4) has a balanced, fair franchise contract.

SOLD It – An American Dream That Turned Into A Nightmare
An example of a franchise company in trouble that failed to meet basic threshold standards is iSOLD It, an eBay drop-off store franchise. The company started its one and only company-owned store in November of 2003. Just weeks later, on December 10, 2003 they filed an application to sell franchises. The California Department of Corporations didn’t say “What are you thinking? You’ve only been in business a couple weeks, how can you even consider selling franchises?” Nor did they require this be disclosed as a risk factor on the cover page of the Franchise Offering Circular, as it should have. Disclosure responsibilities ultimately rest with the company (and its attorneys), and this will become one of many issues in future franchise litigation.

Instead, the Department simply collected its $675 filing fee and issued an order declaring the franchise registration effective the next day – on December 11, 2003. Then the magic of franchise marketing  took over. By 2006 the company had nearly 200 franchised drop off stores in operation and was touted by Entrepreneur Magazine as #1 in their list of “Top New Franchises for 2007” and #17 on their “Hotter Than Hot” franchise list. Entrepreneur Magazine, which requires franchise companies to submit their FOC’s (Franchise Offering Circulars) for supposed review each year before they’re listed, didn’t consider the high attrition rate (franchise owners leaving the system) or the fact that the audited financials in their FOC showed the company hadn’t operated profitably since 2004 as serious negatives and awarded iSold It the #1 listing for Top New Franchises of 2007. How did all of this happen? It’s yet another bizarre reality in the world of franchising.

The franchise company’s audited financial statements for the year ended 12-31-05 showed an operating loss of $1.1 million. Nine months later, in September of 2006, the net operating loss mushroomed to over $4 million.

In its November 3, 2006 Franchise Offering Circular, the table in Item 20 disclosed a total of 10 franchise owners leaving the system, yet a hand count of Exhibit D-3’s “Former Franchisees” revealed a significantly different number – 44. A similar “discrepancy” exists about franchise transfers. Item 20 says 12 transfers whereas Exhibit D-3 discloses 27.

In a long overdue letter distributed to franchise owners on April 5, 2007, CEO Ken Sully painted a dire picture of an American Dream that had turned into a nightmare. Mr. Sully’s letter admitted the company has not been profitable since 2004 (according to the audited financials, the company showed its one and only operating profit of $356,286 in 2004 before the precipitous downward spiral of 2005 and 2006). Over 60 franchised stores have closed and many more are struggling for survival. Mr. Sully observed “Tragically, many individuals who believed passionately in the potential for the category have lost sizable investments, including homes and retirement savings.”

Lost homes and retirement savings? How could such a travesty happen? I counseled a number of persons considering an iSold It franchise and warned all of them against the investment. Fortunately, they followed my advice. The concept was never proven in the marketplace before franchise efforts began, violating the most basic Franchise 101 precept. I also felt the management team lacked strong franchise credentials and the five-day training program was woefully inadequate. Finally, the franchise company was operating increasingly in the red and had a high attrition rate (owners leaving the system). It didn’t take a lot of brain power to see this was an accident waiting to happen. I predicted the bubble would burst and, sadly, it did.

Common sense could and should have prevented so many people from losing so much. Unfortunately franchise sales persons appeal to emotions (passions and potential, to use Mr. Sully’s terms) and strive to keep common sense and business logic out of the buying equation. If a franchise company is able to obtain a ranking on a media list, the sale is even easier. Reprints of high rankings on lists, like Entrepreneur Magazine, are included in the package given to franchise buyers, who are lulled into a false sense of security and begin to stumble over each other in a rush to sign up before someone else takes their desired territory (another favorite closing technique used to sell franchises).

iSold It! amended its FOC at the end of May, 2007 to add some long overdue risk factor language to the cover page of its Franchise Offering Circular. Hmmmm… maybe they read my comments above and did a little research. The new FOC cover page risk factor language says their “franchise system is still new and unproven.” That’s very interesting. How can they say a franchise system, that’s approaching its fourth anniversary, is “still new?” Maybe they’re looking at things from a ‘how old is our universe’ perspective? The word “unproven” is another play on words. The system is most certainly proven in the sense that many people, to quote Mr. Sully, “have lost sizable investments, including homes and retirement savings.” So why not use this quote directly in their Franchise Offering Circular? Answer: can’t sell any franchises that way.

In an August 31, 2007 Business Week article, CEO Sully claimed it wasn’t necessary to disclose these risk factors in the FOC. His reasoning: “We told everybody that this is sort of like the wild, wild West” he says. “It’s a brand-new concept and nobody knew for sure where it was going.” Disclosure was added to the UFOC recently, he says, “because of the number of stores that weren’t understanding the complexity of the business.” Hello? You don’t tell your franchise investors after the fact what you were required to disclose in the FOC before they bought so they could make an informed investment decision. That’s the purpose of franchise disclosure laws. And claiming written disclosure of risk factors in the FOC is not necessary if a prospective buyer hears a salesman’s verbal wild, wild West story ignores franchise disclosure responsibilities and is really an admission the company failed in this regard. With its amended FOC, the company incredibly continues marching forward with franchise marketing efforts.

Now, let’s consider the franchise checklist and factors to consider before any leap into franchising.

INDUSTRY TREND
Is the franchise in a cutting-edge industry that is doing well currently and is projected to do well in the future despite any economic slowdown? Education and home-improvement services are stable categories. Food is over-saturated generally and, except in exceptional circumstances, is not worth the high investment, long hours, headaches and marginal income.

TOTAL INITIAL FRANCHISE INVESTMENT
In general, don’t expect a franchise that requires a five-figure initial franchise investment to produce a six-figure income. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. On the other hand, don’t assume a six-figure investment will lead to a six-figure income level. Be realistic and conservative. Is the total initial franchise investment range (including working capital) $125,00 or less; and the maximum investment less than $200,000? You can find solid companies in this investment range if you’re willing to look around.

Don’t forget to consider long-term financial commitments, particularly the real property lease (see discussion below under “LEASING AND LOCATION”). Also, the working capital estimate (called “additional funds” in Item 7 of the company’s franchise offering circular) does NOT cover operations up to the break-even point. It only covers a short initial phase (usually only three-months) of operating costs As the break-even point (where revenues cover all operating costs) may not happen for one, two or more years, knowing only what it’s going to take to get you through the first 90 days is not helpful – in fact it may set you up for financial suicide. In many cases, reaching the break-even point can require more reserve funds than the total initial capital investment. Don’t ever forget the name of Item 7 in the Franchise Offering Circular: “Initial Investment.” If you don’t have enough reserve capital to reach the critical break-even point, your entire investment will go down the drain and franchise failure occurs.

One franchise owner in a relatively low investment and low operating cost window cleaning franchise said his biggest surprise was how long it actually took his franchise to be profitable. Going in, he thought it would take 12 to 15 months. It ended up taking twice that time. Fortunately, he had enough reserve capital to make it there, but declined to say what his actual franchise profits or income level were once he reached “franchise profitability.” If you’re operating just above the break even point and making less than minimum wage, is that anyone’s definition of success?

REAL BUSINESS
Is this a legitimate retail business, as opposed to a “work out of your home” operation? The vast majority of work out of your home concepts produce marginal income at best.

FRANCHISE MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE
Does the management team of the franchisor (the company selling you the franchise) have executives with demonstrated past achievement and experience in operating a franchise company (not just persons who have sold franchises)? If not, this is a big RED FLAG. Many companies enter franchising and fail to realize they are in a brand new business – one requiring entirely different management skills and abilities to navigate franchise relationships. A seasoned franchise management infrastructure must be in place. If the franchise management team lacks strong franchise credentials, or does not receive ongoing advice from qualified individuals, you might as well take a trip to Las Vegas with the money you’re intending to invest. Your chances of making vs. loosing money are roughly equal.

NORMAL WORKING HOURS AND DAYS; SUFFICIENT FRANCHISE INCOME LEVEL
Will the nature of the business allow you to work a normal five-day, forty-hour workweek? Life is too short for the seven-day, sixty to eighty hours a week, workaholic lifestyle that destroys health, family and pocketbook. Financially, we’ve calculated the true hourly rate for franchise owners who work these workaholic hours and discovered many are making far less than the minimum wage. One couple who operated a $200,000 fancy pizza franchise in an upscale mall were shocked to discover they were making fifty cents an hour each. Hardly an income level to recoup or justify the franchise investment. Many more fast-food franchise operators make even less, or operate at a loss until their funds, retirement savings, homes, etc. are exhausted. Buying a franchise in a non-food industry doesn’t necessarily improve the franchise profit picture. In a 2006 article “Mail Boxes Etc. Owners Fighting UPS Conversion,” a Mail Boxes, Etc. franchise owner who operated his franchise since 1993 reported profits for a typical MBE store like his were $16,000 per year after paying royalty and advertising fees to the franchise company. That calculates out to about $8.33 per hour for a forty-hour work week, approximately the wage of an entry fast-food worker.

Another major shortcoming of disclosures in the Franchise Offering Circular is not telling you how much money the franchises in the network are making. Instead of answering what is the most important question in a franchise investment decision, the franchise disclosure laws make this “optional” for the franchise company to answer or not. If they do answer this critical question, it will be found in Item 19. But don’t hold your breath – more than 90% of franchise companies “decide” not to answer this question. It’s another bizarre reality in the world of franchising. Although they collect complete monthly (and in many cases, weekly) financial profit and loss statements from their franchise owners, and know exactly how much their franchises are making (or losing), more than 90% decide not to share this information before you buy one of their franchises. A number of franchise salespersons have told persons asking this question: “the franchise laws don’t allow us to answer that question.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

And just because you’re a business executive making a 6-figure income now, don’t assume this income level will be duplicated in a franchise investment just because the company “approves” your application. One such executive, despite a plethora of negative feedback from current and past franchise owners who’d lost everything, marched forward with her franchise investment in a 30-minute fitness concept. Despite her 6-figure income, she didn’t invest a dime in professional franchise evaluation advice and stated she was taking a leap of faith, hoping to build her wings on the way down. Build her wings on the way down? Sound’s (and is) crazy, but this happens all the time. Due to the ploys of the franchise salesperson, too many franchise investment decisions are based on emotionalism. Prior business skills, business sense (and even common sense) are short-circuited. Needless to say, if this business executive made a similar investment decision for her corporate employer paying the 6-figure salary, she would be promptly fired.

MINIMUM NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Can you operate the franchise business with 6 or fewer employees? Managing dozens (or in the case of some fast-food operations – hundreds) of minimum-wage teenagers who are constantly quitting or simply not showing up for work is a royal pain in the ….. Well, you know what we mean.

LEASING AND LOCATION
For most retail franchises, the triple net lease of the location is the biggest financial commitment, larger than the total franchise investment. Yet, the typical real estate lease and its ramifications are not required disclosure in any Franchise Offering Circular (FOC). For example, an estimate that you’ll need 2,000 sq. feet of space with expected rental of $5 to $10 a foot per month is normally disclosed in the Franchise Offering Circular’s initial investment table as Leased Real Estate $10,000 to $20,000. A footnote to the investment table may say “assumes 2,000 sq. ft. at $5 to $10 a foot.”

But, that’s only the beginning of a much longer story. The lease is normally a 5 to 10 year triple-net lease. So, the financial commitment made when the lease is signed is at least $600,000 (at $5/foot for 5 years) to $2,400,000 (at $10/foot for 10 years). And this doesn’t include substantial, additional obligations to pay all of the landlord’s yearly property taxes, insurance, common area operating expenses, etc. With hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of dollars in financial obligations at stake, personal guarantees and other risks, more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling that everything will work out is necessary.

Key questions to ask here:

(a) is the franchise you’re considering one that can be operated in a low rent commercial business zone? Avoid franchises requiring the costly expenses and triple-net leases of a visible retail storefront and the extravagant rent associated with areas of high foot traffic, like shopping malls. You’ll sleep much better at night.

(b) What’s your total financial commitment under the lease?

(c) Do you have sufficient liquid assets (or a willing, sufficiently liquid third party guarantor) to meet the landlord’s lease qualification standards?

If you don’t, you might as well forget about investing in the franchise. Or even worse, getting involved in a questionable franchise and business model, then realizing you’ve made a big mistake – and discovering you’re on the hook personally for a $500,000+ lease obligation.

A related real estate variant is securing a lease with a sufficient term (with renewal options) to recoup your investment and make a profit. In July, 2005, an attorney in her mid-forties purchased an existing ice cream store franchise for $375,000 believing it to be a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Trading her briefcase for an ice cream scoop, she attended the company’s 11-day Ice Cream University and assumed operations of the ice cream store. Turned out it was an opportunity – but only to inherit a store with numerous problems. These problems included (but were not limited to) a lease that would expire the following summer and a landlord who’d previously announced the lease would not be renewed. Rather than pay the $100,000-plus in relocation costs, the attorney returned to the practice of law, but is still paying off $350,000 remaining on the loan taken out to buy the once-in-a-lifetime franchise opportunity. Although there’s a franchise lawsuit pending, it’s yet another case of “franchise fever” – this time attacking a professional no less. Who would ever commit to paying $375,000 for an existing retail franchise without checking out the l-e-a-s-e? Sound’s like another bad attorney joke, but I can guarantee she’s not laughing. Business fundamentals were ignored or forgotten in the rush to acquire the opportunity of a lifetime. And I’m willing to bet not a dollar was spent on competent, pre-investment franchise advice.

IMAGE AND LIFESTYLE
How does flipping burgers, scooping ice cream and cleaning restrooms fit the image of what you want to do for a living? Investing in a franchise will be the most important financial and psychological decision you ever make. Many prospective franchise owners fail to realize they’ll be wearing virtually every hat at some point, from salesperson to bad-debt collector, from firing employees to bathroom janitor. The franchise owner is usually the first one to arrive in the morning – and the last one to turn out the lights late at night. And you’ll need to forget about corporate perks like paid vacations, paid holidays and sick pay. In their place, substitute financial pressures, unexpected events and money draining out of your savings and retirement accounts. Does the typical working day and responsibilities of the franchise you are considering fit your personal image and desired lifestyle? You can experience some of this BEFORE you invest by working for a couple weeks in an outlet owned by one of the existing franchise owners.

TRUE FRANCHISE VALUE
Buying a franchise from a “blue chip” franchise company that has spent decades and hundreds of millions on advertising to develop their brand can make a lot of sense. These companies have “true franchise value” that compensates for the long-term disadvantages of ongoing royalty and advertising fund payments. Often these additional payments literally mean the difference between earning a profit and operating at a loss. In unknown franchise chains with little or no brand recognition, you the franchise buyer are building their brand from scratch, and are saddled with severe, long-term competitive disadvantages.

In these unknown franchise chains, you have to ask yourself a simple, common sense question. What value is the company giving you that you couldn’t learn on your own by working at one of their locations as an employee for a couple months? Franchise truth be told, what most unknown franchise companies are selling is just a business opportunity – teaching you how to get into a new business venture. But unlike a business opportunity seller that charges a one-time fee to help get you into business, they call it a “franchise” and charge ongoing royalty and advertising fees like they’re a McDonalds or other blue chip franchise company.

The reality is they’re not a McDonalds type franchise – not even close to one. In the majority of these lesser-known franchise chains, you’d be much better off starting an independent business on your own. You can learn most or all of their so-called “secrets” in the franchise interviewing process and by talking to (and possibly working a short time for) existing franchise owners.

FRANCHISE PROFITABILITY & “SUCCESS”
Dr. Timothy Bates’ study released in 1993 by the Entrepreneurial Growth and Investment Institute in Washington, DC (and another study published in 1996) was the first to compare start-up costs, franchise profitability and franchise failure rates for franchised vs. nonfranchised firms. In his analysis of some 7,270 firms over the test period, Dr. Bates found that startup capital for a franchised business averaged $85,293 compared with average startup capital for nonfranchised firms of $30,156. In 1987 nonfranchised firms reported average pre-tax net income of $19,744 as compared to a loss of (-$1,548) for franchised firms. Dr. Bates concluded “Despite their larger revenues, much better capitalization, and their supposed advantages of affiliation with a franchisor parent firm, the franchisees lag behind cohort young firms in profitability and rates of survival.”

The franchise companies ignore both studies by Dr. Bates, pretending they never happened. Instead, other techniques are employed. For example, some franchise companies use misleading success statistics to sell their franchises. Their promotional materials say franchises generally enjoy a 90% success rate, compared to less than 20% for independent firms. These figures are based on unverified information supplied thirty years ago by a select, non-representative group of franchise companies. A full third of the companies receiving “questionnaires “ elected not to participate. There was no verification of any of the information supplied by the franchise companies, not even random, spot checking. Nor was any effort made to identify franchise companies who, along with the franchise owners in their chain, had gone out of business.

Even more recent “studies” saying nine out of ten franchise owners (90%) consider their franchise to be somewhat or very successful also suffer from serious methodological flaws. These were simply telephone surveys of franchise owners who were still in business and asked to say (with absolutely no definition of the term “successful”) whether they felt their business was “very unsuccessful,” “somewhat unsuccessful,” somewhat successful” or “very successful.” Franchise owners who had gone out of business or bankrupt were not included in the survey.

Even if terms are defined and a representative sample obtained, franchise owners can be a quirky group. Hence the need, as in Dr. Bates’ studies, for review of financial data. I remember evaluating an existing franchise for a client. I asked the current owner of the franchise if his business was successful. He said it was very successful. But his financial statements revealed a different picture. He’d never taken a dollar out of the business for himself, never made a profit in two years of operation, and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Another owner of a bakery franchise, interviewed by Business Week, says being successful in franchising means “adjusting your definition of success.” He says he makes a profit, but declined to say what it is, or if he’s ever recouped his $250,000-plus initial franchise investment. Incredibly, he insists he’s in business “for lifestyle reasons, not profit reasons.” Huh? Probably a quote from the company’s franchise recruitment materials. In the world of franchising “success” and “profitability” are very subjective terms.

FRANCHISE BROKERS WHO FIND YOUR PERFECT MATCH?
Does the franchise you are considering have its own in-house marketing department, or does it utilize outside franchise brokers? The use of franchise brokers is a definite red flag. First, it indicates the franchise company is not very serious about who it lets into the franchise network, or even worse, they’re desperate to sell franchises. Second, franchise brokers receive a substantial commission up to 50% or more of the franchise fee you’re paying the franchise company. Franchise Broker Realities: (1) Their service is definitely not “free” despite these and other similar misrepresentations. It’s really common sense – how could anyone offer a “free” service and survive in business? Unfortunately, the common sense part of the brain tends to short circuit when the franchise brainwashing process begins. The simple truth is if you buy one of the franchises they’re hawking, your money goes to the franchise company, then into the broker’s pocket. If anyone ever calculated how much time they spend to collect their $15,000 or $20,000 commission, it’s probably a lot more than a brain surgeon earns. (2) Franchise brokers definitely do NOT have your best interests in mind. They will do or say whatever they have to in order to close a deal and earn their commission.

Many franchise brokers claim they will help you find a franchise company that is the perfect match for you. In the beginning it sounds good. There’s some personality testing and review of your personal finances. At the end of the day, it turns out they only represent (and steer you towards) a handful of small franchise companies you’ve never heard of before. A detailed analysis often reveals these highly touted franchises produce mediocre or even below minimum wage financial performance. Yet franchise brokers don’t mention this, and individuals continue to rely on their recommendations, believing the broker represents them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Also, many franchise brokers call themselves franchise consultants. A franchise consultant is usually an independent adviser who offers advice to others (usually franchise companies or firms that want to franchise their business) for a fee. This makes their advice more impartial in theory as long as they are not compensated by third parties. Because they are not legally required to disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest, it’s important ask questions. For example, if you’re using a franchise consultant who is recommending the “best franchises,” are they paid anything by the companies on their list? This could be a commission, kick-back or consulting fee. As mentioned, many franchise brokers call themselves “franchise consultants” to hide their true identity. So, make sure if you’re dealing with a franchise consultant, he or she is not really just a franchise broker in disguise.

FRANCHISE DISCLOSURE LAWS
The franchise disclosure laws, while requiring franchise companies to give you certain, limited information, don’t come close to protecting your interests. For example, as discussed above, Item 7 of the Franchise Offering Circular only requires an estimate of additional funds for 90 days as part of the investment information. But economic reality is you need to know the additional funds you’ll need to reach the break-even point, which can be years away, or your entire “initial” investment will go down the drain. You’d think this type of information would be required by franchise disclosure laws, but it’s not.

FRANCHISE REGISTRATION LAWS
Don’t ever assume that because a company has registered its Franchise Offering Circular in your state, someone at the state has approved or reviewed the document in your favor. Franchise registration is obtained by simply forwarding documents and paying a filing fee – period. In most cases, franchise offering circulars are given an extremely limited review to ensure state-specific disclaimers are present.

I remember filing a registration application for a new franchise company in a state with a reputation for being one of the “toughest” franchise registration law states in the country. After the three-week review period set forth in the statute had gone by, and not hearing anything, I called the examiner assigned to the application. After looking through his files, he finally found my client’s offering circular and application. He apologized for entirely misplacing the file and promised to immediately review the application and call me back. Ten minutes later, he called to say he’d finished and was making the registration effective that day. Ten minutes of review and the franchise company was given the state’s green light. This is not an isolated case – it happens all the time.

WHAT STANDARDS MUST A FRANCHISE COMPANY MEET TO SELL FRANCHISES; ARE THERE ANY REQUIREMENTS TO FRANCHISE A BUSINESS?
Incredibly, the answer is – none. There are no minimum standards or requirements to franchise a business except preparing a Franchise Offering Circular. It’s yet another bizarre reality in the world of franchising.

You and I could have no background in any business, form a new corporation or LLC, capitalize it with only $1, put together a Franchise Disclosure Document and file it with any franchise registration state. While the offering may be subject to an impound or escrow requirement because of the low capitalization ($1), we’d still get “registered” and be able to sell as many franchisees as we want.

In these 14 franchise registration states, we may not be able to receive any money until each franchise actually opened, but simply posting a bond would alleviate this difficulty in the franchise registration states. And in the vast majority of states there are no franchise registration laws, so we’d be able to sell franchises and collect fees with impunity once we compiled our Franchise Offering Circular. The federal FTC Franchise Rule doesn’t protect against this risk either – it only requires disclosure (i.e. provide a Franchise Disclosure Document) and has no registration component or minimum standards for franchise companies.

Basic investor protections and requirements found in both federal and state securities laws for over 50 years were never carried over to franchise investments. While most non-blue chip franchise companies could never even qualify to sell you a single share of stock in their company, they are entirely free to collect unlimited franchise fees, ongoing royalties, equipment and other purchases, as well as cause you to incur financial obligations totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions in some cases. This isn’t information you’re likely to find in the glowing articles about franchising and franchise companies prevalent in the media.

CLOSING REMARKS
Remember, you are the only guardian when it comes to your franchise investment. It’s definitely an environment where the phrase “Buyer Beware” applies. So, before you sign on the line and make what will undoubtedly be the most serious financial and emotional commitment of your life, get all the facts and figures.

One couple I counseled after-the-fact, invested $2 million in a new franchise company. The contract they signed gave them no right to terminate, no matter what the franchise company did or didn’t do. Of course, the contract gave the franchise company unlimited termination ability, a right it had exercised. The franchise company’s management team had no one with experience in running a franchise company. Incredibly, the couple had not spent a dime on legal or business advice before investing $2 million. The once friendly franchise company had transformed into a formidable foe and was poised to take over their franchise. Sadly, this happens too frequently in franchise investments. Decisions are made on fuzzy feelings and emotionalism. In an effort to save a couple thousand dollars, franchise investors risk homes, retirement savings, everything they have. Then they scratch their heads in amazement later on after inevitable and often horrific problems develop, wondering how they could have been so nearsighted.

Another indispensable level of inquiry is whether you’re getting true franchise value and whether you’d be better off doing the business on your own. In the overwhelming majority of franchises touted by unknown companies, franchise value isn’t there and doing the same thing independently makes better economic sense and actually decreases the risk of failure.

Finally, and this applies to franchise investments as well as investing in any business venture, develop a plan to succeed but also plan a franchise exit strategy that minimizes financial risk in case things don’t work out. Both plans need to be thought through before the investment is made. Don’t wait until problems develop to start thinking about a franchise exit strategy – by then it’s usually too little, too late.

For more information, visit the Franchise Foundations Website.

© 1990-2008, Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. – all rights reserved

In order to invest wisely, you need to have a suitable investment plan that will ensure the appropriate amount of growth for you. Your investments will also need to be safe and easy to manage.

Developing an Investment Plan:

The first step in developing an investment plan is to identify what type of an investor you are. Investor types are often determined by their stages in life. Here is a guide:

- Single person under 40 years old. Focus: Long-term investments, medium to high risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.

- Two-income married couple, no children, aged 20 to 40 years. Focus: Long-term investments, medium to high risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.

- One-income family, young children, aged 20 to 40 years. Focus: Long-term investments, low to medium risk. Emphasis: compound growth.

- Single person, aged 40 to 60 years. Focus: Medium-term investments, medium risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.

- Married couple with adolescent or independent children, aged 40 to 60 years. Focus: Medium-term investments, medium risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.

- All investors, aged 60 and over. Focus: Short to medium-term investments, low risk. Emphasis: Income.

The following are examples of investment portfolio mixes for the various types of investors.

Low Risk Investments:

Low risk investments are predominately cash, fixed interest and superannuation. This has the lowest risk of all investments but has also the lowest return – in today’s market, approximately 3% to 6% per annum. Fixed interest includes cash, cash management trusts and bonds. They return approximately 5% to 10% per annum, sometimes as high as 15% if you invest in global bonds in good markets.

Superannuation returns and risk profiles vary from institution to institution, however the best and safest usually return on average 10% per annum.

Medium Risk Investments:

Medium risk investments include property and non-speculative shares. Diversified funds, which invest in a range of asset groups, are also considered to have medium risk profiles. Average returns from these types of investments will range from 8% to 15% per annum.

I also like to include the broad spectrum of mutual funds, to be discussed later, in the range of medium risk investments. Some can return up to 25% and more depending on the fund type and managers.

High Risk Investments:

High risk investments include all speculative shares, futures and any other type of investment that is purely speculative by nature. Because with these types of investments we are betting on whether the price will go up, or sometimes down, I often classify this as a form of gambling. Accordingly, the returns are unlimited but so is the ability to lose the total money invested.

The basic rule for investing in highly speculative stock is to build in ‘sell-out’ thresholds, three up and three down. For example, if you buy a stock at $20.00 per share, your sell-out thresholds might be:

Sell out threshold 3 $30.00

Sell out threshold 2 $25.00

Sell out threshold 1 $22.50

Buy $20.00

Sell out threshold 1 $17.50

Sell-out threshold 2 $15.00

Sell-out threshold 3 $10.00

Each time your stock reaches one of the threshold levels, you sell a third of your stock.

If the stock starts to rise, you sell a third at $22.50 and then another third at $25.00 and so forth. If the stock starts to fall, you also sell a third at $17.50, then another third at $15.00 and the final third at $10.00. In this way, you will never lose all your money, however you have also put a cap on the total profit you will make on the investment. This I have found to be the best and safest method for investing in speculative shares. In 1987, my husband and I were saved from the severe losses of the Wall Street crash because we were well and truly out of the market by taking our profits beforehand. Like all systems, this strategy will only work as long as you obey the rules and do not get too greedy.

Mutual Funds:

Mutual Funds are a selection of investments that are professionally managed by a financial institution or organization. These institutions have a wide range of specialists, researchers and advisor’s who devote their time to ensuring that the fund invests in the best companies and assets.

As well as the advantage of having experts manage your investments, managed funds also give you the ability to invest in a wide range of shares, property or fixed interest markets, either locally or internationally, for as small an outlay as $1,000. In the latter case, they also require a savings plan where you agree to deposit additional capital of a minimum $100.00 per month.

Because managed funds cover the whole spectrum of investment risk profiles, you can easily cover your preferred investment portfolio, as described above, by investing in several different funds.

Putting Together Your Investment Program:

After you have identified your investment type, you need to either seek a good financial advisor or devote your own time in researching investment options.

Shares have traditionally outperformed other asset groups over time. However, share markets can widely fluctuate in the short term, so any entry into the market should always be done with a long-term view of up to 10 years. Even the best managed share funds can fall if the stock market crashes or enters a severe downward cycle. As long as you ensure that you are with a reputable fund with good managers and are willing to ride the waves, your investment will do well in the long-term. If you are in the short-term, low risk category then your investments should be in the safer, more stable areas with lower returns.

Rules for Investing:

Investing may seem daunting for a lot of people. Maybe you have tried it once and failed, or maybe you are simply frightened of losing your money.

To avoid losing any capital, you simply need to be aware of the main pitfalls and always avoid them. The simple, reliable rules for investing are:

1. Have a plan. Always ensure that you or your financial advisor draws up an appropriate investment strategy for you that incorporates your risk profile, timeframes and financial goals. As foolish as it seems, many people plunge headfirst into investing without thoroughly working through these fundamental issues.

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Obvious advice, but many people fail to follow it. Many people think that they are on the right financial track by paying off the mortgage on their family home and then buying another property for investment purposes. Think about it! You have put all of your financial eggs in one asset basket – property. What happens if the property market collapses? Despite common thinking that this is a safe way to invest, the outcome is very risky. You have invested all of your well-earned money into only one area.

3. Build in appropriate timeframes. There is an old saying, “When the tea lady starts to invest in the stock market, it’s time to get out.” What this means is, when the share market is so high that everyone starts to clamber on board, it has probably reached its peak. There are two ways of successful investment timing. The first is to always pick the low-end of the market to buy and the high-end of the market to sell. This is extremely hard to do. Even the best-informed experts have trouble. The second way is to choose good investments and stay with them over the long-term (say 10 years or more) and ride the waves of the market. For safe, easy investing, choose the second method. Do not buy into the top-end of the market and sell once it starts to fall. You will definitely lose money this way.

4. Avoid high-risk investments. These include risky business ventures, highly speculative stock, tax avoidance schemes or too-good-to-be-true propositions that promise unusually high returns.

5. Avoid borrowing for your investments. Although some financial advisors advocate ‘gearing your investments’, this can be fraught with danger. Gearing means to borrow. If borrowing for investments takes you over your 40% fixed costs margin, you will be cutting it too fine, particularly if you lose your current income level.

6. Stay with the traditional and known. The best and surest investments are fixed interest, property and shares. Although all asset classes will fluctuate over time.

Work out the optimum mix for your investment profile, have a safe plan to work with and you can’t go wrong.

MLM is very attractive, however, because it sells hope and appears to be outside the mainstream of business as usual. MLM is also frequentlycalled network marketing, consumer direct marketing, or sellerassisted marketing and other terms continue to surface. MLM is essentially any business where payouts occur at two or more levels. MLM is all about nexus building and that is all a part of any business.

Products

You market Products through pseudo”Mini-Franchises” that when joined, contain the ability to distribute products to people. This is especially popular now with online ordering and Stores being created with a multitude of products. MLM companiesusually conduct more rigorous testing because public expectations of MLM productsare unusually high, and are usually subject to much broader guarantees or warrantiesthan other products. AdvertisingThe highest-leverageselling process, in which consumers are pulled toward the products/services and theirbenefits.

Success

Success is something that we all seek, and want for our lives, families, and future. Success is a focus to most in Network Marketing, who are seeking Wealth in MLM. Success is predicated upon you making decisions and taking action to lead toward success.

Income

“MLM industry claims of distributor income potential, its glorifieddescriptions of the “network’” business model, and itsprophecies of dominating product distribution have as much validityin business as UFO sightings do in the realm of science. The retailing activity is, in reality, only a pretext for theactual core business, which is enrolling investors in pyramidorganizations that promise exponential income growth. As in all pyramid schemes, the incomes of those distributorsat the top and the profits to the sponsoring corporations comefrom a continuous influx of new investors at the bottom. Itstrue products are not long distance phone services, vitamins,or skin creams, but the investment propositions for distributorshipswhich are deceptively portrayed with images of high income, lowtime requirements, small capital investments, and early success.

Downline

What you have done is create a Network of “Distribution Channels” for your Product( a downline) which you can receive “Brokerage Royalties’ or Overrides on that can be quite substantial. The possibility is always held out that you may become rich if not from your own efforts then from some unknown person (“the big fish”) who might join your “downline. Short of termination, downlines can be taken away arbitrarily. It’s a two tier residual affiliate program and it is obvious I want to build a downline and another income stream with it. You’ll see that they offer something to their downlines much more than just “How to Make Money”.

MLM is very attractive, however, because it sells hope and appears to be outside the mainstream of business as usual. MLM is also frequentlycalled network marketing, consumer direct marketing, or sellerassisted marketing and other terms continue to surface. MLM is essentially any business where payouts occur at two or more levels. MLM is not replacing existing forms of marketing.

Vitamins of the Future will be rediscovered in Mother Nature’s Pharmacy

…a three person debate about dietary supplements

and grandmother may just have been right all along..

The dietary supplementation business has never been bigger. Consumers are looking for specialized supplements hoping for their active role in preventing disease.

As consumers we understand that one of the most important decisions we can make for long term health is our choice of proper vitamins and minerals. The word “supplements” can be interpreted in multiple ways and therein lays the first problem. In this boom mentality, in this maze of products, one needs to be extremely knowledgeable about the total picture of diet and supplementation, the main players, and the best value of vitamins for our human biology, not just our pocketbooks.

Let’s set up a little debate with the top three players in this business presenting their different points of view. One of the players is an imaginary figure and therein lies the second problem. Her voice is not heard on media commercials, splashed in ads or read on the side of bottles or boxes. But she originated vitamins and with imagination let’s give her a speaking platform. For now, let’s keep her name unknown and see if you can guess who she is.

First, there is Mr. Pops…he is a successful owner of a vitamin manufacturing company and produces colorfully labeled Optimum MultiVitamin Pills. He advertises copiously online and offline and people buy what sounds familiar and doesn’t cost too much per item.

Second, is Dr. Smith who is a bioscientist in the newly emerging field of nutritional science only a few seconds old on a 24 hour medical timeline.

Third is our mystery guest, old, grand and venerable.

Mr. Pops gives us a quick overview of the vitamin industry.

“The word vitamin was first coined in the early 1900’s by a scientist recognizing this “vital amine” as important to proper cell functions. To make our pills, we first bulk order 20 kinds of vitamin and mineral raw ingredients from a GMP registered facility. The mass production is automated on conveyor belts and starts with high speed tableting machines on paddles or ribbon blenders to allow for separation of particles based on density.

The carefully measured ingredients (as per label) are combined with other fillers, flavors, and colorants. The tablets are pressed and spray coated to help withstand the packaging and shipping process. We’re pleased to say we use hydrolyzed vegetable protein which we believe allows for better absorption by the intestines than the cheaper mineral salts used by the majority of brands. We bottle the pills, label with a full disclosure of ingredients, stamp expiry date and ship.

We spend a lot of money on branding and advertising market recognition. It was a coup for us to get a multimillion dollar endorsement from a great sports star with a great likeable personality…young people want to be just like him and based on that, I’m sure, will buy the pills.”

The mystery guest only smiles acknowledging silently that there are thousands of competitive companies like Mr. Pops, but most get their supplies from only 12 main manufacturers with the laboratory ability to extract raw ingredients.

Second is Dr. Smith, a nutritional bioscientist.

“I’ll begin by first saying some exciting news that relates to grandma…

Remember when grandma first use to tell you to eat all your vegetables…she may have been right after all. She may not have told you that when you eat just one serving of vegetables you’re ingesting at least 100 different phytochemicals or phytonutrients. But science is now validating this health connection to a whole base of ethno- botanical knowledge and plant pharmacology!

Plant constituents are variously called phytonutrients, bioflavanoids or polyphenols and are found in seeds, bark, flowers, and fruit skin. In fact, nutritional sciences have advanced in the same way as pharmaceutical science through molecular cell cultures and long term reviews to show a multitude of benefits in our plant food. Who would have imagined? Real food compounds have been proven to reduce allergic responses, prevent formation of carcinogens, control inflammatory conditions, lessen coronary heart conditions, reduce liver disease, protect against cataracts and macular degeneration, and inhibit bacteria and yeast. These bioflavanoids also scavenge free radicals that cause oxidative damage in the cells that is implicated in long term inflammatory and degenerative diseases. For example…blueberries by virtue of plant pigments (the known 40 anthocyanins and 300 other compounds) have 2400 times the antioxidant power of Vitamin E by itself.

No wonder the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) has pointed out that “it appears that an effective strategy of supporting health is to increase consumption of phytonutrient rich food.” It is with just cause that the Cancer Institute and the Heart Institute recommend eating a variety of vegetables and fruit 5 to 7 times daily or more if possible. Statistics show that most people do not, but even for those who do, there is the overriding question of how nutrient-dense supermarket vegetables are because of factory farming, mineral depleted soil, green harvesting and storage. So many consumers subscribe to supplementing their diets as we’ve heard. Lately, the market trend is towards whole food extracts, super food formulas as liquid nutrition to provide the holistic synergy of total vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients rather than an array of pills. The question consumers need to answer in their own minds…do we trust what comes out laboratories more than what is already provided naturally?”

Both look towards the mystery guest…it is her turn to speak. Her voice is low and liquid like waves “shooshing” against a sandy beach.

“Thank you for your comments and I appreciate your efforts in helping people’s quests for health. Your hearts are in the right place and I am particularly delighted to see how scientific studies are now validating our ancient wisdom.

Science is now corroborating what people have known that food from plants is our best source of natural biochemicals that support levels of biochemicals found in human metabolism. Health and disease begin in the single cell and each cell needs one hundred plus nutrients on a daily basis. Depriving even a few proper nutrients will cause cellular degeneration over many years which evolve into a disease.

You see I am known as Mother Nature and my provisions are the foundation of human biology from time immemorial. My language is the physical world and my physical elements became part of your physical structure…no formulas, no programs, no theories. My plant micronutrients become your cellular micronutrients and they are programmed to be part of your inborn potential for growth, repair and protection from disease.

In trying to understand the breadth and volume of my world, scientists have managed to delineate and classify me into “specialists” sections many with names that only linguists can pronounce. Currently scientists are struggling to classify at least 20,000 phytonutrients, of which only 4000 have been analyzed or tested. To appreciate my complexity, there are about 500,000 plant species in existence. Only a mere 10% have been investigated from a phytochemical and pharmacological point of view.

More sadly, food manufacturers have over processed, preserved

and de-nutriented my natural foods with thousands of artificial man-made chemicals. People can be compared to being “hunters” in supermarkets… loading their buggies with bottles, boxes and cans full of refined, reconstituted and fortified unnatural food stuffs. Yet our genetic biology has not changed that much from the earliest times when our diets were based on gathering foods, such as whole grains, seeds, fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, my lack of formal language has placed me in the back of the room, drowned out by louder more persistent voices carrying the debate, often based on profit margins. However, it is no longer reasonable to assume that a single substance whether nutrient, pill or drug, can aid or fix all of the body’s interdependent systems. In my world, vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients, amino acids, essential fatty acids, enzymes and minerals work together.

In fact, I find myself in a strange place of having my natural plants, herbs and spices tested for their nutritional value and questioned in terms of “preventing, curing, mitigating or treating diseases.” Drug companies especially cannot patent a natural plant and make no profits unless they can sell an exclusive “discovery” or a new and improved facsimile.

My hope for you is to begin to use the word phytonutrition in every day language…I am absolutely amazed that this word isn’t even found in the dictionary but it should be heralded as the word of the century. Phytonutrition is all about using whole plant foods and supplementation to provide the essential micronutrients for metabolic energy, body building and protection against cellular diseases.

My last warning is if you’re confused or lack knowledge about the studies drawn from scientific laboratories and manufacturing claims, then draw your nutritional and supplementation needs from the natural world. In my world, my foods are not designed as ‘optimal daily recommended intakes’ or parts of double-blind studies or bioengineering or some co-factor activity combination. Trust the Divine Mastery of Nature. Be awe inspired that you can trace the course of nutrients through the ocean, the air, the soil, your plants, your body and back to the ocean again. You are of the earth. Protect and embrace it as you protect and embrace yourself.”

By .-  http://www.PracticalDayTrading.com

A beginner usually feels very attracted to the stock market while for example discovering a small cap stock that’s being reported in CNBC or the news program and watching it rise steady fast and make new highs from $10 to $70 in just 2 months.

While learning about this successful news story he’s saying to himself “Oh boy if I was one of those lucky guys who bought that stock back when it was priced at $10 I easily would have tripled my money by now… That means my 10 grand would transformed in to a whooping 70 K! hassle free … I would have been able to grab one of those big HUMMERs on the spot and probably pick up a nice Rolex by the way!”

The stock market news constantly reports of hot small cap stocks that are breaking out and making tremendous gains on the same day or doubling in price in just a few hours. Back in the bull market of the late 90′s you could easily see a good number of hot stocks sprouting out every week.

Those years surely made it look like every body could easily take LONG SHOTS and make a shiny pile of gold every day in the stock market. But today’s market is a different story. A totally different animal.

Some say that the stock market has gotten more realistic. Fantasy land is over and GAMBLING YOUR WAY TO RICHES is not an option anymore. You might get lucky a few times, but your constant loses can wipe you out sooner or later.

The fact that the bull market period has ended for now doesn’t mean that you can’t make a great deal of money in today’s market. A lot folks from many walks of life keep making excellent profits on a daily basis, pocketing hundreds & thousands of dollars by trading stocks online.

Success in stock trading starts by applying a wiser and REALISTIC methodology for choosing hot stocks as well as for getting in and out of them with profits in mind.

You need to look at the stock market more realistically. You got to learn that you can benefit when stocks go up and also when they FALL down.

You got to WORK SMARTER and get more selective about the hot stock trading opportunities that you choose. You need to embrace the nature of day trading and be fully prepared to take advantage of stocks that are poised for a BIG RISE on the same day.

The bottom line is you have to PREPARE YOUR SELF to be successful, just like you would do it in other areas of your life in order to achieve success.

What a loaded question! Let’s narrow that down a bit and take it from the perspective of someone who wants to work from home and make money online in a home business. That will make it an easier question to answer.

Let’s assume you’ve never had a website, don’t know how to get a merchant account, don’t know html, and are pretty much stuck with being an expert on sending and receiving email.

What’s there for you to do online to make money? Lots, in fact! These days are not at all like a couple of years ago or even six months ago. If I only had all the opportunities to make money online when I started marketing!

Here is a list of things you can do with just a website and a hosting account today:

Sell affiliate products (products like reports, e-books, hard goods of every conceivable make, model, size, shape and function, and much, much more). Sell services (do you know how big a business being a Virtual Assistant is these days? It’s quite amazing what you can do for people without ever meeting them face-to-face, anywhere in the world!) Online auctions (EBay has made thousands and thousands of people full-time incomes from auctioning collectibles, antiques, and even brand new equipment and gadgets of all imaginable types. You name it, it has been sold on EBay!) Membership sites: Know of any groups of people that would love to get insider information on virtually any topic? You could make money online with a membership site!

The list is a long one and one I am not prepared to detail here. You have found your way onto the net and if you have been surfing for very long at all you know it is a gigantic super shopping mall. Who to you think is making the most money online? Aside from big corporations, most of the web is made up of sites put up by little businesses people work from home.

I sell information and I love it. Most of the products I sell are other merchants’ products. I just drive traffic to my site, provide information, and point to relevant products related to the information I provide people looking for a way to make money online. I love helping people make their first few sales.

After that, they are always hooked and cannot do enough to learn everything there is to know about how to make money online. Many people I have worked with now have a couple to several websites selling everything from reports to hard goods that can be shipped direct to their customers. Most people start out to make money online as affiliates of certain products or authors. This is a great way to get your feet wet and learn what making money online is all about. People then either work to create their own products (which they get 100% of the profits from) or expand their website into other related niches.

Many businesses are looking for alternate methods to grow their businesses due to the apparent downturn in the economy. This translates to the need for business owners to look for other proven methods to generate income with a current trend in the business world showing an increase in eCommerce interest.

According to Forrester Research, 2007 online sales experienced a growth of 21% over 2006 and future trends show a continued growth of around 14% p/a over the next 5 years, despite the current wavering economy.

The Dilemma of developing an eCommerce site that performs -

How do you build a good eCommerce website that delivers profits to the bottom line? One of the great challenges for Australian Businesses deciding to tackle the on-line world, is in the style of site they believe they need to design to generate any real profits.

Director of retail Phil Bonnano from The Leading Edge said, “Many websites in Australia are a basic catalogue pages placed on their website. There isn’t really a good demonstration of integration between websites and other technologies. A Majority of websites lack innovation, offer nothing new or exciting and fail to engage their visitors,”

This identifies an untapped market in Australia, where anyone with vision can establish themselves as the market leader in their niche.

Successful eCommerce websites are built by using Proven Techniques -

The key to a successful eCommerce site is in establishing a solid foundation and planning the future success. It’s critical to understand what and how a customer will buy from you and the message you want to portray about your business.

Think of creating a new website like the opening a new outlet or store.

Would you expect to have a high performing store if your customers had to walk through an unidentifiable maze to find your cash register? Or even worse, would you design a physical store where you customer is ready to buy only to discover they can’t complete their transaction as they are shopping in a display only store?

It is critical for your customers to find their shopping experience simple and enjoyable.

It is possible to achieve this through a combination of proven web design and eCommerce techniques.

eCommerce offers a Measurable Return on Investment -

One of the greatest challenges in marketing is through understanding what does and doesn’t work. Different marketing strategies can take months to come to fruition and you may not even understand if they are actually achieving a return on investment. eCommerce is proving to break free from the mould offering a medium that allows successful measure of campaigns through applications such as Google Analytics.

As David Trewern from marketing agency DTDigital was quoted as saying “You are able to prove your return on your investment – it is pretty difficult to find that level of information and data from other methods of measurement. You no longer have to guess what is working which gives you an upper hand in a bad economic environment, when people want to ensure they are achieving a result.”

eCommerce offers the opportunity for all businesses to compete on a level playing field -

In the world of Bricks and Mortar there is a huge difference between small and big business. Myers, David Jones and Woolworths hold the obvious upper hand over smaller independent retailers. This translates across many different industries and identifies a necessity to consider other mediums in order to grow business.

Any business with a solid eCommerce plan are proof anyone can out perform their competition in the on-line world.

Sites like vroomvroomvroom are an example of how smaller businesses can compete on the same playing field as Hertz, Avis and Budget through smart eCommerce sites that make it easier for visitors to navigate and buy through.

They currently have only 10 employees, and through well thought eCommerce strategies and implementation of technology have established themselves as market leaders in the Australian car hire industry. By redeveloping their eCommerce strategy they managed to grow their revenue by 121% in 12 months.

Do I need to take out a second mortgage to get a piece of the eCommerce action?

With expected growth of 14% p/a it is important to ensure you have a well thought eCommerce strategy to establish yourself as a leader in your niche. This will obviously involve an investment, but will not cost you anywhere near the price of setting up a physical shop and hiring a team of people to run it. Think of an eCommerce presence like a sales person servicing your customers 24/7, reducing your time and expenses you’d normally have to spend.

In today’s economic climate it is critical to ensure you are adapting to the market place. What better way to do that then to become a market leader in your niche through the development of an eCommerce strategy that will outperform your competition.

Want To Make Money Online? Some Easy Ways To Do So

The Internet is allowing ordinary people to create incomes working from home. I am going to reveal some easy ways to make money online that are proven and successful. Putting a little effort into these techniques will help you start to build your own business online.

Have or create your own product giving information to people on the subject they are searching for. People use the Internet to search for information. Find a market that has a lot of people searching for information and create a product around that. Having your own product will give you a much higher chance of making money online as every sale gives you huge profit margins. Try to make at least one product and that will help you on your way to riches online.

Selling other people’s products is another great way to make money online, and the only downside is that you do not get 100% of the profits for each sale. However, this does save you the time of creating your own product and can help generate an income quickly which in turn gives you more time to work on producing your own products. Affiliate Marketing will allow you to do this and with thousands of products available finding one to suit your marketplace should not be hard.

Writing reviews of the product is best as this helps people to make a purchasing decision and if they see someone else has benefited from the product, they are more likely to buy it themselves.

Creating a website and sell advertising space on it is another great way to make money. The most popular way for this is to use Google Adsense. These small ads appear on your site and are always relevant to the content you have published there. Whenever someone clicks on a Google Adsense Ad, you will earn a small commission from that ad on your site. Of course, you will need a lot of traffic to make big money using Google Adsense so do some research first before going down this route.

If you have your own product, or are selling products from an Affiliate program, then using other people’s mailing lists will help you to make money. Some call it Join Ventures while I prefer to call it “UOPML”. “Using Other People’s Making Lists”.

There are two ways to do this. One is to write and ask if you can pay for an advertisement to their list, or the other is to write and offer them a commission for promoting your product to their list. You will need to have an affiliate program in place to do the latter of course, but in time as your business grows, you will begin to understand how this works a lot more.

Until you have an Affiliate program in place for your product, contact people and pay for advertising to their list. Do some research first on the people and maybe even subscribe to their list to see how they market. If you like the content and form trust for this person, it is likely others are doing the same.

If you find the right people to advertise your products for you, you can generate a lot of traffic to your website very quickly and this in turn can lead to huge profits fast.

Any of the techniques above will help you to make money online, but unless you put effort into this you will not make any money. Take the time to research and then take action.

The Consumer electronics market suffered badly in 2009 for recession-hit consumers around the world cut spending on new gadgets, but demand for new electronics started to grow again in the fourth quarter as economies recovered.

In the first month of the New Year, the headline news was almost covered by the latest launched consumer electronics, mobile phones, Video games, computer accessories, just to name a few categories. Large consumer electronics manufacturers are taking advantage of the turnaround seeking to occupy more market share. Smart retailers would never stay away from the fierce competition. They would bulk wholesale electronics from reliable wholesale electronics suppliers. In order to earn more profits, most of them made a decision to source online.

Finger clicks bring retailers millions of wholesale electronic suppliers.

The most important for retailers is to find a legit and reliable wholesaler. In fact, it is not as difficult as many people think. A trustful supplier can provide detailed photos and description of products which should not be copied or downloaded from the internet. If a supplier cannot describe commodities he is selling with his own words or refuses to offer in-kind photos, you can assume that the supplier is irresponsible or his products is inferior which both are reasons you delete him from the candidate’s list. In the view of safety, retailers should also take payment methods under consideration and wholesale consumer electronics or dropship electronics from suppliers accepting PayPal or other methods you can trail the payment.

Wholesale electronics online give retailers more profits.

Selling the latest designed electronics may get more profits. And, nothing can be equivalent of internet in terms of change and speed. Wholesale mobile phones, wholesale Video games, wholesale computer accessories or other electronics online, you will remain a head start in the competition. Thanks to the internet again, retailers can get products information from various suppliers and compare their prices at the same time. Therefore, you find the products at the lowest price possible.

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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/consumer-electronics-market-to-be-flourishing-wholesale-electronics-online-for-more-profits-1780471.html