Who said that making money online has to be hard? Actually it is very easy. There are not many other places, or at least I have not found another place, that you can make money without working too hard, or following a boring routine over and over. I would like to show you 2 best ways that will enable you to make money without working too hard.
1. Setting up your own web site
There is no reason why you could not be up and running within an hour. Setting up the website, and selling a product online through your own online store can be done in less than 60 minutes. You can get set up for around $15. The best way is to use a drop shipper to move your product, so you don’t have to have any inventory at all, no need for storage or purchasing the product, and no hands on handling and shipping for you at all. The drop shipper will do all that for you, and most importantly, it will eliminate the risk of purchasing inventory that might not sell. You will be able to adjust your inventory and what you want to sell over time when you get a “feeling” for your market and the marketing you do. Furthermore, you will not have to put any effort forth in finding a wholesaler.
2. Become a blogger
There are literally thousands and thousands of people doing this already, Why? Because it is so easy to do. You can be very successful doing this and join others making thousand of dollars every month just blogging away on the internet. Not only will you find that this is easy to do, but you will find that many of the people doing it do it because of personal enjoyment. This can be such great fun, that it will never feel like work. And you will be making money. You can even sell your blogs for big money. A few managed to sell their blogs for millions of dollars, even so this is rather the exception rather than the norm. Fact is, you can make lots of money. No matter what, you can be a successful blogger and join the other thousands of people online and make some extra money, or even a living blogging away.
Setting up your blog is easy and all you really need to be concerned about is a good subject. Make sure you spend a little bit of time doing research online, as you do not want to do what everyone else is doing. It will be very helpful, if you have specific knowledge about the subject, which will also keep your research time to a minimum. Find something you enjoy, so you keep interested in the subject and have lots of ideas to write about, and don’t run out of interesting things to say. Creating a good content for you blog will be very important as the foundation for your blog, and then add advert code into your blog. There are free blogs available online from WordPress or Blogger. You cannot bear free! So there will be no reason for you not to be up and running literally within minutes of visiting those sites.
to my join me and learn more on how to make money online, easy to follow steps, and look over the shoulder of a successful online entrepreneur.Article Source:
In all honesty, whenever I’ve travelled anywhere in the 42 countries I have provided business consultant services in, every business owner and private consultant only relates Liverpool, Merseyside to the two great football teams and the globally recognised band The Beatles.
In reality Merseyside consultants are delivering business strategies for both in-house and outsourced consultancy Merseyside. Just as Liverpool maintains two famous football teams in the UK premier league, it also boasts of a premier league buoyant business consultant industry. Consultant services for just about every north west consultant is exceeding demand.
Any premier league service lives or dies on the strength of the success of the previous consultant work provided. A key performance indicator is whether the support consultant was able to offer far more value than cost,and steer the business he or she was supporting into long term sustainable business growth.
Many factors dictate the success of the consultant services provided. Typically a business owner calls in a UK consultant when their business is growing too slow, or too fast for comfort, known in the consultant industry as boom and bust. Or when a business has hit the financial tipping point, or when a business is in trouble. Or finally when the business is seeking to grow exponentially. I’ll discuss these points later in this article.
It is rare for a business owner to call upon a support consultant or a private consultant when their business is just ticking along nicely. However in reality, every professional north west consultant has identified that this is the precise best time to retain someone from the consultant industry.
Prior to & during 2008, Merseyside consultants and business strategies delivered by consultancy Merseyside came under intense media scrutiny. Investment poured into Liverpool for its European Capital City of Culture status.
Just about every north west consultant was engaged as a support consultant for Merseyside consultant work. Consultant services boomed as local businesses prospered thanks to every uk consultant in the consultant industry.
Many key business strategies were identified by Merseyside consultants, which if applied can assist all others identify business problems before they manifest, and help other businesses turbo charge their business growth.
Merseyside Consultants Outline Consultancy Merseyside Business Strategies #1 Slow Business Growth
It’s no great secret that a very high percentage of new business ventures fail and close down within the first year. This attrition rate continues at high levels for the following two to four years. One of the greatest problems facing new business owners is that they simply don’t know – what they don’t know.
Small to medium business owners fail to realise that one of the things that separates them from larger companies is that they don’t have the benefit of a board of directors.
In reality the added value that most board members bring to a business is individual business skills, which when harnessed as part of a larger business development team, ensures a higher percentage success rate at a quicker pace.
However, when your business is experiencing slow business growth, one of the best business strategies is to tap into the consultant industry and engage a support consultant or a private consultant to assist you in achieving faster business growth.
Consultant services brings added value to a business that is experiencing slow business growth. You may be pleasantly surprised at the low cost of hiring a north west consultant for your consultant work. UK consultant fees are very reasonable in today’s current economic downturn
Merseyside Consultants Outline Consultancy Merseyside Business Strategies #2 Boom And Bust
97% of business owners have never received any formal business academic training in how to be a managing director, or in how to implement business strategies. Every private consultant knows it is the managing director’s role to manage the business, so every UK consultant understands why so many businesses fail in the first 12 months.
Consultant services advise that because of this lack of business training, many managing directors try to run before they have learnt to walk the business walk. Although a proven business growth support consultant once advised me that Impatience is a virtue, this doesn’t count for an inexperienced MD where patience is definitely the virtue required.
As a north west consultant providing consultant work for various businesses this boom and bust is one of the consultant industry greatest problems.
Merseyside Consultants Outline Consultancy Merseyside Business Strategies #3 Business In Trouble
The consultant industry is no stranger to assisting businesses in trouble, and as a north west consultant, I have seen a sharp increase in the number of businesses in trouble.
In this regard, my consultant work and consultant services are geared towards getting the business owner to take two steps backwards in order to take one positive step forward.
I once heard a private consultant in America refer to this as ‘circling the wagons.’ Whatever phrase you assign to it, one thing is certain. The first rule of being in business trouble is to get out of business trouble. Business owners should not be embarrassed about seeking business consultancy advice and support.
Merseyside Consultants Outline Consultancy Merseyside Business Strategies #4 Financial Tipping Point
In my role as a north west consultant two of the last few businesses I provided my consultant services to, had reached what the consultant industry calls the financial tipping point.
This is when a business typically navigates through the most difficult first few years and experiences some initial growth, only to find their annual turnover is not increasing any more. I’ve also heard a UK consultant call this ‘hitting the wall.’ Whichever phrase you use, reaching the financial tipping point is a very precarious period for any business.
Any private consultant or support consultant retained by you to deliver consultant work will advise you that a few companies will bumble along for a year or two at that tipping point. But be advised, that most businesses who have reached the financial tipping point will only spiral downwards into liquidation at a fast rate of Knots.
Merseyside Consultants Outline Consultancy Merseyside Business Strategies #5 Exponential Growth
Any UK consultant worth their salt will understand the importance of getting all the business owners ideas for business growth into a concise strategic plan specifically designed to aid exponential growth.
During the pre-capital culture year in Liverpool, every north west consultant engaged in consultant services would have had much hands on practical experience of this type of consultant work.
In order to get exponential business growth right, a business owner requires expertise from the consultant industry. Retaining a support consultant should only be considered if the UK consultant has proven experience in steering a business or ideally businesses into exponential business growth.
It is sometimes difficult to get this skill set from an individual private consultant unless he or she is affiliated to one of the larger consultancy groups.
The International Business Guru & Growth Consultant grows businesses fast delivering exponential growth, increased turnover & profit margins. He delivers business support to small, medium & large businesses in 42 countries. To claim his FREE business case files e-mail him at drmarkdyates@aol.com
It’s a tough time to get a small business loan says UnsecuredBizLoan.com. Since the fall of the largest banks in the US almost all traditional lenders have tightened their lending practices. Even some of the nontraditional lenders have tightened their standards.
As a result, most banks and credit unions are only lending to those with 720+ credit scores, 20% towards the investment, and 2 years of proven business experience. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has been able to open up the market to new business owners and many existing business owners.
The government has given bailout money for SBA Loans for small businesses to be created or to be grown. The same federal SBA rules apply but it’s easier to get a loan of $25,000 for a startup loan. Loans for existing businesses are for $35,000 are very accessible.
“The best way to get an unsecured business loan in this economy is through non conventional lenders — either a Venture Capitalist or Line of Credit firm. At UnsecuredBizLoan.com we work with many different lenders,” explains Daniel Drew owner of UnsecuredBizLoan.com. The three best options for businesses include: SBA Loans, Business Lines of Credit Online, or Business Cash Advance.
Drew tells businesses not to give up or become discouraged. “The great thing about America is that we continually strive to improve ourselves. In this industry I have found that many people are looking for a loan to fund a new business or existing business. Unfortunately, because of the recession and other circumstances most credit scores aren’t good enough. For those customers a SBA Loan or Business Cash Advance is there best option,” Drew said.
One of the most common myths Drew sees with his customers is that they think it’s impossible to get a business loan right now. That simply isn’t true. What is true is the amount of loans available at one time is no longer available from most lending institutions. That is why SBA Loans are great. Almost anyone can get one without much scrutiny if their credit is 720 or better.
“The great thing about the SBA Loan is that they are subsidized 80% by the federal government. The lenders available through UnsecuredBizLoan.com help small businesses get into a loan.”
About UnsecuredBizLoan.com offers Business Lines of Credit Online, Small Business Loans, Unsecured Small Business Loans, Unsecured Business Lines of Credit, and SBA Loans. Soon the company is hoping to offer Business Cash Advance Loans.”We specialize in any business loan or business line of credit that is unsecured. Meaning that the business loan/line of credit isn’t tied to assets. We also specialize in helping businesses get an SBA Loan.”
Business intelligence and performance management focuses on providing the tools and processes to help you make better business decisions. In order to make better business decisions you first need to understand how your business is currently performing, you then need to understand why it’s working the way it is and this should lead you to be able to see where you need to take your business next. Business intelligence and performance management is all about making sure you’ve got the right tools and solutions to make these analyses accurately enough to derive better business decisions.
Performance management is the encompassing term that looks at both understanding the process of being able to pull in all the data within your business, then turning that data into useful information that can then be used with processes like budgeting and forecasting. Business intelligence is the specific process of taking that data and turning it into useful information that the people within your business can then use.
Performance management is particularly important if your business is growing because of the amount of data you have is always going to be growing and changing as the business grows, this means that the complexity of your processes, planning, budgeting and forecasting is also going to be increasing too. The tools you may be using already such as spreadsheets are going to quickly become overwhelmed and not suitable for the data they need to manage. A fully comprehensive performance management system will enable you to have greater control and add more cohesion to gathering and analyzing the data you need to ensure you are able to push your business forwards.
It’s not just growing businesses that could benefit from performance management systems, any organization from commercial to not for profit to public sector of any size can benefit from performance management because it’s about the data coming in and using it to power the business. It’s not just internal information and data that needs to be analyzed and assessed, no business can afford to be slack when it comes to keeping up with their industry and what their competitors are doing, by analyzing this information you are able to decide which direction you want to focus your business on. When it comes to critical business applications, like the general ledger, it’s often the finance department that’s in charge and responsible for running processes like the annual planning exercise, the budgeting or forecasting exercises. However, in order to gain real value from performance management you need to ensure it encompasses all departments within your organization like sales, HR, marketing etc. For example, by understanding the data from the sales department, the marketing department will be able to ensure campaigns are targeted in the areas that have proven to be successful. This means the finance department then acts like a central hub and gathers all the information from the different departments and can use it to the generate projections and outcomes for the overall business.
Once you’ve implemented an effective performance management system, you should start to see improved business performance which will give you the ability to make better business decisions faster. You’ll be able to identify any risks facing your business at a glance and mitigate them before they become a real threat as well as being able to identify opportunities and action plans to act on them. Performance management also means you’ll be able to have confidence that the data you’re working from is accurate and up to date which means time management should also improve too as no one is going to be arguing over whose numbers are correct.
IT Performs are , their primary objective is to help organizations get the most value from their data in the most effective way possible. IT Performs not only offer a full range of software solutions, but also consultative advice and too.
There are many different types of information products that you can profit from very quickly it comes down to choice and how to target the marketing of them correctly. The choice of product is vitally important and one of the ones that I want to look at in this article is e-zines.
e-zines also known as e-letters or electronic newsletters have been around for almost as long as the internet itself, there are many different types of e-zines and most of these are free. These may be produced daily, weekly or monthly depending on the nature of the e-zine. Many of these are available on line blurring somewhat the distinction between a news letter and a membership website.
The basis idea of the e-zine is to provide information which is of use to the e-zines subscribers. But with the availability of so much free information is it still possible to make money from e-zine marketing?
Well it is but there are some very large buts!
Firstly the content must be first class, not only in content but layout and most of all usefulness to the subscriber.
Secondly one of the other sources of revenue apart from subscriptions is advert placement, trying to get advertisers to place advert in your e-zine can be a long and daunting task. Your success in attracting advertisers will depend upon the value of the content, how well that content is targeted and most of all the active subscriber base.
Most e-zine owner will try to moneterise the site by selling products or services on the back end. Now to me this seems like too much hard work for my liking a much easier and quicker alternative would to be to provide the e-zine content online as part of a blog or website.
You can then moneterise the website by providing affiliate links to other products and services in keeping with the theme of the e-zine. You could promote products for sale on eBay, Amazon, Paydotcom, Clickbank or Resale Rights Products.
A few carefully target affiliate links will help to generate revenue to pay for the site and a tidy income from affiliate commissions. You can exchange links and banners with other sites to generate visitors for both sites.
Remember only to provide top class content as this will ensure return visits, give outstanding value and quality content at all times.
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Affiliate Marketing vs Network Marketing – Are they the same? Or do they have any differences? Many people tends to get confused between the two, or think that they are of the same thing.
To start off, let me first give you the definition between the two (extracted from Wikipedia):
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site.
Network Marketing
Multi-level marketing (MLM), (also called network marketing, direct selling, referral marketing, and pyramid selling) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by some companies as part of their overall marketing strategy. The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of the company’s products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduce to the company, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation in the form of a pyramid.
What I’m going to share with you in this post are the similarities, as well as differences, between affiliate marketing and network marketing:
1. Commissions
In affiliate marketing, you work directly with the merchant and you’ll get paid whenever someone purchases the products and/or services you recommend from your unique affiliate link (which is used by the merchants to identify which affiliate generated the sale, thereby allowing him/her to pay the affiliate accordingly).
However, in Network Marketing, you work not only with the merchant, but also with the person that’s immediately above you in the network hierarchy. You’ll get paid whenever someone purchases the products and/or services from you. Not only that, you’ll also receive a cut of the commissions generated by your downlines (meaning those that are under you in the network hierarchy).
2. Training
In affiliate marketing, you are not responsible in training other marketers to promote the merchant’s products and/or services – It’s the merchant’s responsibility to provide affiliates with the information necessary to promote his/her products and/or services.
However, in network marketing, in order for you to be able to generate more income from your downlines (which is where most of your income should come from), you need to help them with their marketing efforts.
3. Recurring Payments
As far as affiliate marketing is concerned, most of the products that you promote are single payment products (where you’ll only receive one-time commission for every sale you refer), unless you are promoting membership sites where, in order for one to remain as a member, he/she is required to pay membership fees on an ongoing basis.
With network marketing, as most of these products require people to buy again and again (such as vitamin pills, weight loss products, skin care products, etc.), you’ll receive commissions from your customers over and over again (as long as they keep on purchasing these products).
4. Cost To Signup
In affiliate marketing, there’s no need for you to pay to sign up as an affiliate for the merchants (I know there’s a very small minority of merchants that requires you to pay a sign up fee to be their affiliate – I would advise you to move on and promote for other merchants that allow you to promote their products for free instead).
However, in network marketing, you will need to pay a cost to join their company – Where you’ll get their “Starter Kit” with product information, as well as other company information that you need.
5. Marketing Techniques
As far as marketing techniques are concerned, you can use the same techniques to promote products and services for both affiliate marketing, as well as network marketing.
6. Monetization Potential
Both networks, in my opinion, are great potentials for you to generate a substantial income from, as long as you follow proven step-by-step instructions.
I hope that with this article, you now have a clearer understanding of both affiliate, as well as network marketing, along with the similarities and differences between each of them.
Jun Yuan Lim is a full-time Internet Marketer who is dedicated in helping newbies generate their first dollar on the Internet. Visit his website at to discover proven strategies on how you can generate a massive income on the Internet.
Jun Yuan has also created a website to provide top-quality Internet Marketing guides at hugely affordable prices. To find out more, visit now.
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.
Ben is an Internet marketer who has been making a living online. For detailed information on how to make money online, check out , where you can find step-by-step information to make money online.
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.
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.
Known in the industry as Mr. Franchise, Mr. Murphy is an internationally-known franchise expert, author, and instructor. For the past twenty-eight years he has specialized exclusively in the franchise industry and owned a very successful franchise in the home improvement field. He has written over 30 publications, including four books on franchising and one book on trade secrets. Mr. Franchise has drafted, reviewed and negotiated more than 500 franchise offering circulars and instructs franchise company personnel in best franchise practices. He also teaches franchise, licensing and intellectual property courses to attorneys. Mr. Franchise is a franchise attorney and Director of Operations for a San Francisco-based professional law corporation.
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Work From Home Mothers Who Want To Learn About Affiliate Marketing.
Whether you’re Mom with new born looking for extra income or a empty nest mom who doesn’t want to go back to a 9-to-5 job or just someone who’s stuck in a low paying job, Affiliate marketing is for you. I know they’re are millions of women looking for a door out of their boring routine and yet so many fail to take that first step in even trying a small business online. Unless you’re on the Internet promoting a product or service that has the potenial of reaching millions of people, then you’re just not “getting it.” That’s why I know that you will love with the idea of Affiliate marketing, once you see how it really works. Here is a list of just some of the benefits.
* You don’t have to have your own product or service to market.
* You don’t have to invest a dime to join a legitimate company’s affiliate program.
* You will have full accountablitiy on traffic stats, conversion rates, click throughs, and purchases made by visitors.
* You don’t have to deal with shipping orders or customer service.
* You can do this part time.
Ever since Amazon.com first started it’s Affiliate program in 1997, million of people have been making money as Affiliates. Forrester Research reports show that this business model will grow exponentially over the next few years. All you have to do is to direct surfing visitors on the internet to one of your offers. The best companies already have “landing pages” already designed for you with a sales page and merchant account to take the order. You don’t need to know how to “Sell” any product or service. In fact you should not even try to sell. Your job as an Affiliate is just to “warm up” or “Pre-sell” visitors with an article or blog so they will click through to your Affiliate page to your company’s Sales page to complete the order. You are given a”URL CODE” as an affiliate that is unique to you that is hidden or “embedded” in your website or landing page. This is your “Cookie” that is tracked by your company so you get credit every time a visitor clicks through your offer to the sales page. I know the aspect of not knowing how to sell stops a lot of people in their tracks from ever trying an online business. Don’t be afraid to start today. You don’t have to sell anything. All you have to do is write content about your niche product or service, especially if you already use that product or service yourself and feel passionately about recommending it to others. There are various ways to get the message out as long as you are determined to succeed.
How To Tell The Difference Between A Good Affiliate Program And A Bad One, Part Two
If you want to start a small business online but have no product or service of your own, then Affiliate marketing is your answer. Find out what the “Affiliate Model” is all about. Remember the Affiliate model is a high reward/low risk plan where you do not have to invest a dime to join. That’s the first test. Some companies want you to purchase their vitamins, dish soap, etc first so you can “really recommend the products.” Don’t go for any of that because you’ll wind up with cartons of products in your garage and someone in your “Upline” telling you that all you need to do is “get out there and tell your friends.” You must understand that you need to promote your product or service on the Internet where you have the potential of reaching millions of people. I have been involved with one of the top Internet companies on the Web, we are 100% affiliate driven. It is widely regarded as the most rewarding and original program online. Look for a company that has been in business for at least 10 years with a proven track record.
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I have a Business background with over 10 years experience in Real Estate Sale and Loans. I have been involved with Affiliate Marketing for the last two years.