How To Walk The Floor And Talk To Customers

How To Walk The Floor And Talk To Customers by John Stanley

This may seem a strange topic to introduce. Yet, it is the most under-used skill by many retail managers, but one of the most important roles in their supervision.

1. You Are the Maitre of Your Business

Your role is take that of a maitre d’hotel. You should meet your guests (customers), welcome them and ensure they leave with a positive feeling about your business. You should set aside at least one hour a day to walk the store and talk to customers.

2. Overcoming Embarrassment

Many owners will not walk the floor and talk to customers because they get embarrassed starting a conversation. If this applies to you, then take out a sample of products and ask customers to try them. This always starts a conversation and then you can ask them what they think about your store.

3. Clean the Tables

An alternative approach is to clean the tables in a restaurant or work on bag filling at the checkout. These are ideal locations to start a conversation and really find out what customers are thinking about your store.

4. Walking The Floor Should Be Done Openly

When walking the floor introduce yourself to the customer as the owner. Get them to provide you with ideas on how they believe you could improve the service to your customers.

5. Vary The Time Of Day You Walk The Store

It used to be traditional for owners to walk the store at opening time. This is still a strong tradition in Japan where it still is a very formal arrangement. You will gain more from varying the time of day that you actually walk around. This will enable you to meet different customers and see your team and store at different activity points.

6. How Much Time Should You Spend On The Floor

Some of the leading retailers spend as much as 20% of their time walking the store. They also believe this is the most important and enjoyable part of their working week.

7. Feed Back The Ideas

Make sure you feed back comments to your team. Remember, praise in public, reprimand in private. Your team will be interested in your comment. Make sure they are aware of why your walking the floor. Make sure you talk to them as you walk the floor. This will relax them and make them feel your part of their team.



Management Memo

A message from McDonald’s

One day while on his way back to the office from an important lunch in the best restaurant in town, Ray Kroc, owner of the McDonald’s chain in the United States, asked his driver to pass through a few McDonald’s car parks. In one he spotted papers caught up in shrubs along the outer fence.

He immediately went to the nearest pay phone, called his office to get the name of the manager, then called the manager to offer to help him pick up the offending rubbish.

Both the owner of the McDonald’s chain in his expensive business suit and the young manager met in the carpark and got down on their hands and knees to pick up the paper.

As managers we are frequently more interested in the activity inside our business premises than in the building’s outside appearance. The appearance of your building and it’s surrounds is at the front line of your organisation’s public image – as Ray Kroc was well aware.

John Stanley is a conference speaker and retail consultant with over 20 years experience in 15 countries, and has authored several successful marketing and retail books including the best seller Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know. www.johnstanley.cc

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What Influences Your Prosepects Decision to Buy

What Influences Your Prosepects Decision to Buy? by Mark Satterfield

“One of the concerns I had about calling on key decision-makers was determining what I was going to say. My experience had been selling much lower in the organization and I considered myself pretty effective at the standard features and benefits presentation. I knew that this wasn’t going to be enough if I was fortunate to get the attention of the top person.

Over time (and more than a few botched attempts) I was able to determine what was important to these senior level executives. Although it varied somewhat depending on who I was talking with, the key areas of concern included; increased efficiencies, growing market share, reducing expenses and increasing shareholder satisfaction. Once I figured this out, I was able to align the benefits of my products and services with what was top of mind with the senior executive. It was a subtle rather than dramatic shift in how I sold. I truly think it made me more effective. If nothing else, it raised my confidence level that I was communicating on the same level as the person I was talking with. This made me, at least in my own mind, equal in stature to the top person.” Tim Lang, Professional Services

The more you know about the individuals on your account the more effective you’ll be at managing the account as a whole. The more knowledgeable you are about this particular account the more you’ll be able to make accurate judgements about the issues that affect other companies in the same industry. For example, if managing supply chain relationships is an issue for your client, it’s possible or even likely that this may be an issue for other companies in the same industry. If nothing else, it will give you a bona fide reason for calling other companies to determine if they are facing the same issues. Having assisted one company in an industry goes a long way towards establishing your credibility with others in similar fields.

Although your long-term strategy should be to become an industry expert, it’s important to remember that sales is an intensely personal process. Companies don’t really buy from companies as much as people buy from other people. The client really isn’t Citibank; it’s Nancy who’s a senior executive in the finance department. Thus, it’s very important that you have a deep understanding of what motivates your decision-maker.

Business success and personal achievement are usually intertwined. This is important to keep in mind during the sales process, since individuals usually will not agree to a business decision unless they feel that it’s both in their own personal interests and in the best interests of their company. As an extreme example, getting a prospect to buy a product that could result in the elimination of his job is a highly difficult sale. Prospects are most likely to buy products and services if, 1) it helps their company achieve its goals, and, 2) helps them as individuals achieve a personal goal. We refer to the first as business results and the second as personal wins. We need to discover what constitutes results and wins for everyone who has influence on our account.

What might a result be for the decision-maker? It could be increased efficiency, greater market share or an increased percentage of repeat customers. Other results might include greater employee utilization, reducing the cost of sales, or lowering expenses. These are all business results that are of importance to decision-makers.

The more you can tailor your communications to the specific needs of your audience, the more effective you’ll be. For example, if you discuss technical specifications and ease of training with a senior level decision-maker, she probably won’t particularly care. Conversely, if you talk about how your product fits into the broad business objectives of the organization, a lower level manager might find the discussion to be intellectually interesting, but it won’t relate to the specific reasons for why he should buy your products. Successful communication of results depends upon tailoring what you say to meet the business interests of the person you’re speaking with.

Mark Satterfield is the author of the Gentle Rain Marketing System: How to Generate a Consistent Flow of New Clients. Quickly & Easily. With No Cold Calling. Find out more:
http://www.gentlerainmarketing.com/product_bootcamp.html

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The 10 Building Blocks to a Becoming a Household Name

The 10 Building Blocks to a Becoming a Household Name by Kim Nishida

Do you struggle to attract and retain business? Do you yearn to be seen as an expert in the field? In an increasingly challenging market flooded with fierce competitors and extremely savvy consumers, learn how to develop a killer brand that will inspire you, attract loyal customers, and knock out the competition.

1. Identify your values: This is the most critical step and the one most often overlooked in business. Do some soul searching and get a crystal clear idea of what matters most to you as an individual and then as a company. Your values form the base of your company and should influence every decision, from what kind of toilet paper you buy to the business partners you seek.

2. Identify your mission: Once your values are identified, it’s time to write a mission statement. Ask, why does my company exist? What do we aim to do? Write it in simple language that a 12-year old can understand. Do a search on the internet for mission statements and use the most compelling ones as a template. This is the statement that should get you out of bed each morning and inspire you morning, noon, and night.

3. Identify your ideal client: Again, a critical step. Look at your mission and why your company exists at all and ask, “Whom do I serve?” The hard part is getting as specific as possible to the point of potentially turning off a lot of other people. Don’t worry. The biggest mistake you can make is trying to please everyone. This dilutes your service/product so much that you really don’t strike a nerve with anyone. No one will have a compelling enough reason to buy from you. By turning some people off, you attract others who will bond with you for life. And a final benefit to knowing the specifics of your ideal client is you then have a much better idea of where to look for them.

4. Create an emotional connection: Every potential customer wants to know one thing, “What’s in it for me?” In order to compel someone to pull out their money and buy, you need to connect them to you in an emotional way. How are you going to make their life better? What pain is your product or service going to eliminate? Watch some television and notice how the best commercials create an emotional atmosphere. Which commercials get your attention, which ones stick with you, and how do they get their message across?

5. Identify the benefits vs. the features: Know your product/services inside and out. But instead of just listing the features, describe them in terms of how the client will benefit. Remember, it’s all about creating that emotional connection with your ideal client and telling them how you can make their life better.

6. Create an experience: Why should consumers buy from you as opposed to any one of your competitors? What makes you unique? Successful companies are now in the business of creating experiences that enrich lives. Starbucks does not just sell coffee. From the music they play (and sell) to the comfortable furniture and inviting décor they offer, they create an atmosphere that people will pay for above and beyond a beverage in a cup.

7. Commit to a message: How do your values and mission tie into your image? Carefully look at what matters most to you and broadcast that to your ideal client. Once you are clear on your message, stand behind it and don’t waffle.

8. Enforce consistency: This also relates to your values and mission. Once you are clear about why you are in business, maintain your integrity, from the level of service you provide and your logo and printed materials to the way you follow-up with customers and the stamps you buy. Be conscious of every detail and match it to your values, your mission, and your message.

9. Have the courage to reinvent yourself: Even (or especially) if you have been in business for a long time, take the time to ask, who do we REALLY want to be? You might have created your business without being clear about your mission, or your mission might have changed. Or because the climate and the market constantly evolve, you might have hit the target five years ago, but have lost your edge since then. Be brave enough to ask if your current image is right. If not, this is the time to reconnect with your current mission.

10. Lastly, beware of following trends: If you want longevity, don’t fall prey to the seduction of the latest trend. Besides, if something is trendy, it’s probably already too late to jump on that bandwagon. Keep looking inward at what you stand for and forward at how your company will change lives. Build trust by showing you aren’t fickle or easily swayed by the flavor of the month.

Not enough clients for your small business? Kim Nishida, author of the innovative program Conception to Completion helps you realize your full potential. Pick-up your free Success Kit while supplies last at http://www.readytoevolve.com/

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Cultivating a Network

Cultivating a Network by Jeremy Duboys.

In order to grow your business, whether home or office based, you need to develop a network of contacts. Think of networking as planting and tending a garden. You are planting, growing and cultivating your contacts, and, as with a garden, this has to be a long term investment of your time. Eventually the harvest produced will be repeat orders, and increased business.

You should look for every chance to grow and strengthen your network of potential clients. There are many tools you can use to achieve maximum growth, but probably the most effective and indispensable tool is your business card. Make sure you always have a plentiful supply of clean, correct and professional business cards.

Would you try to dig a garden without a spade? Have your cards professionally produced and keep them crisp and clean. Business card holders are an ideal way to keep a stack of cards presentable. Any soiled or damaged cards should be discarded. Don’t keep a pile of damaged ones to give to less important prospects. You simply never know where your next best customer will come from, they are all of equal importance, and each should get a pristine and professional card (or two).

Take plenty of your business cards with you everywhere you go -- professional meetings, social gatherings, parties, weddings, funerals, even to the airport to collect Aunt Nelly. Beware though if you are only going to places where people know you already. If you are doing this then you are really only socialising and not networking. It is impossible to create a network without meeting new people. Networking will provide you with customers, potential customers and suppliers.

It is important to understand that networking is not primarily about making sales. Networking is about making, and keeping, contacts. Remember that rewards from networking are not short term. This is a long term project, which will offer fruit (in the form of increased business) for many years to come. Very often, it is the people referred to you by your initial contact who give the greatest reward.

Thinking the philosophy behind networking is beneficial. With long term networking, which will produce the best results, it is not a question of asking “What do I get out of it?” Your question should be “What can I do for you?” The outcome of the second question is often the answer to the first. The key to developing new contacts is to be helpful. Think of something which can be useful or offers assistance to your new potential customer. One of the golden rules is – never try to make a sale while networking, however tempting it may be.

It is helpful to have a networking plan, even if it is informal. Decide how many new contacts you would like to make in a month, then plan how you will do it. Will you enroll in a class? Join a church group perhaps?

Tending to your network of contacts is also important. You should always be thinking of what you can do for them. Perhaps follow up on your initial meeting with a handwritten note, asking for them to forward on to you their business details? This is the beginning of a business relationship. Some of the things you can do to make your selected networking partners feel special include -- clipping out and sending them relevant information from magazines and newspapers that you know will interest them. Ask their advice. Contacts like to be asked advice generally, it makes them feel that you trust their advice and value their comments. Don’t over use your contacts, and be careful to be diplomatic. Don’t talk in a derogatory way about your competitors. One of the key aims of building a network is to create trusting relationships.

So if you have green fingers in the garden, turn them to networking and grow your business the same way you grow and care for your garden. As with a garden, the benefits and rewards at harvest time can be huge.

http://www.business-cards.com is one of the leading business stationery websites on the internet today. For more business related articles please take a look at his journal at http://www.business-cards.com/business-cards-journal


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In Marketing, Enthusiasm Connects

In Marketing, Enthusiasm Connects by Marcia Yudkin

Two incidents in one week got me thinking about an ingredient in persuasion that we don't often hear about.

In the first incident, an accomplished copywriter asked for feedback on a letter he intended to send to members of the local Chamber of Commerce that he'd just joined. The letter was technically excellent. It contained all the ingredients that a sales letter should have, in the right proportions and in the right places - except for one. The letter came across as cold and mechanical. The tone was distant and impersonal. Inevitably, the reader would be conscious that the writer was trying to make a sale, not trying to help out new friends and by doing so, to make a sale.

In the second incident, a woman in my copywriting training program showed me an email she sent to an entrepreneur who was looking for a ghostwriter for a collection of spiritual stories. My trainee had no ghostwriting experience and had never been published. Without any nod toward the usual credentials someone might expect in a ghostwriter, my trainee's letter expounded on other reasons why she would be perfect for this assignment. She opened with a paragraph on the power of stories and created further rapport by mentioning involvements that would show how in tune she was with the spirit of the project.

From beginning to end, the second letter showed a sincere desire to connect with its audience. The entrepreneur wrote back that of all the responses she received, the one from my trainee "spoke to her heart." They arranged a meeting. This letter persuaded because it made a connection.

A third incident came to mind as I continued to ponder the element that the second letter had that the first letter lacked. Three or four years ago, a personal coach asked me to review his web site, and I told him that he had done a masterful job of coming across as different from all the other coaches whose sites I had looked at. His site breathed with uniqueness and life, as few web sites do. So when another coach or consultant asked how it would be possible to position himself as distinctive in such a crowded industry, I wanted to refer him to the site that had impressed me so much.

But when I went back to look, the site had changed. The wording now had a slick, remote veneer. Instead of sincere enthusiasm and confidence, the site projected a self-conscious and somewhat formulaic attempt to attract coaching customers. "Uh-oh," I said to myself. "He's been knocked off center. He's trying too hard. He's going for polish and professionalism instead of, rather than on top of, who he is and what he really does for his clients. Too bad!"

Unlike most of the other ingredients in persuasive copywriting, this one is pretty elusive. It has to do with presence and animation and a whole-hearted desire to connect with readers. Sometimes there's playfulness in it, and other times it's plain, straightforward earnestness personified. In either case, the voice has no fakery in it. The impact of this element resembles that of charisma, but here the connection occurs through words and without in-person contact.

I cannot prove that the full-blooded verbal magnetism I am writing about sells more products and services than lifeless or mechanical wordsmithing. But I know that it attracts ideal clients, and that it can enable someone who's new in business to outshine someone with many more years of experience. The way to get it into your writing is to communicate with a confident desire to connect. Before sending or posting your text, smooth away most of the rough edges. I also know that it's sometimes very easy to capture the right spirit, and other times it takes crumpling up a draft and trying again time after time after time.

When Ingredient X is there, I feel it. Customers eager for something real feel it, too. They read this kind of copy with interest and attention. And they respond.

Marcia Yudkin (marcia@yudkin.com) mentors copywriters and helps business owners communicate their unique essence to ideal customers. For more information on her copywriting training program, see http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm . Learn more about how she works with business owners here: http://www.yudkin.com/seminars.htm .

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How To Ensure Your Employee Incentive Program Pays Off

How To Ensure Your Employee Incentive Program Pays Off by Trevor Marshall

Non-cash incentive programs and fringe benefits can have a powerful influence on attitudes, that should in turn improve results. You can give employees the greatest incentive program, however, by impairing a sense of ownership in the organization. Ultimately, loyal and happy employees tend to work harder, leading to increased overall productivity.

1. Share Ownership

Use share schemes as an incentive program to reward people for contributing to team success. An employee who sees his or her efforts rewarded in company shares will, in theory, identify with the company, be committed to its success, and perform more effectively. A company with shares in the company will see that, quite literally, their sucess is the company's sucess, and vice versa. The harder they work, the better chance their shares have of increasing in value. In reality, it may be hard to tell whether the company’s success is due to employees owning shares, or whether the success itself has the led the company to issue shares. It is also difficult to know whether employees would have performed less effectively if no shares had changed hands. Nevertheless, by giving people a stake in the company as an incentive program, you are making a highly positive statement about them, that encourages them to feel positive in return.

2. Gifts Aren't Just For Christmas

Surprise people with gifts they do not expect. Expected remuneration has less impact than the unexpected. Even generous pay rises are taken for granted after a while, as salary increases accordingly. Incentive programs are like a far smaller payment, in the form of a gift, and are priceless in the eyes of the recipient. An employee could use a cash award to buy a gift, perhaps a weekend vacation, but that would provide less satisfaction than an incentive program in kind from the management as a reward for work well done.

Consider which incentive program is better: A company called for a special meeting for all of the employees that had achieved the sales quota for the month. In the meeting, the company announced that the incentive is a gift certificate. They went to the Accounting Department, as instructed, signed their name, and off they go. Or: The company gave them a specialized mug embossed with the word Congratulations, plus a special card with a special message personally written by the manager. Between the two incentive programs, the latter is more appreciative. Gift certificates could be a good incentive program but it is sometimes taxable, so they get only a fraction of what was written on it. Plus, the first incentive program lacks personalization. On the other hand, the second incentive program is far more favourable. A more specialized and personalized gift ideas as incentive program can be more appreciated. It makes your employee feel that they are individually valued especially if it comes with a thank you note. Best of all, presents are also a better incentive program and a cost-effective method of motivating staff when cash is short or when competition does not allow an increase in pay.

3. Optimize Benefits

Fringe benefits have become much less effective incentive programs financially in many countries because of tax changes, as mentioned earlier. Good pension schemes, however, have become more attractive as incentive programs wherever state-funded provision have fallen. The same applies to medical insurance. The knowledge that the company cares for its people in sickness, health, and old age is a basic yet a powerful factor.

Other benefits

- Company cars

- Paternity leave

- Vacations

- Help with children’s education

- Medical care

- Mobile phones

- Computers

- Spas

4. Bequeath Status

The modern company, with its flat structure, horizontal management, and open style, avoids status symbols that are divisive and counter-productive. Reserve parking places and separate dining rooms are rightly avoided. Important-sounding job titles are easy and economical forms of incentive that provide recognition and psychological satisfaction. Giving people incentive programs of any kind sends a very positive signal. As they say, it’s the thought that counts.

For more great employee incentive related articles and resources check out http://www.incentive-tips.com

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Delaware Limited Liability Companies

Delaware Limited Liability Companies by Matt Garrett

So what exactly is the deal with Delaware limited liability companies? Put that particular combination of words into a search engine, even using the advanced search capability of searching for those words in that order, brings up an amazing number of hits? What are they and why are they popular?

Delaware limited liability companies are one of those kicky little legal tangos that America is famous for. It’s one of those legal loopholes that allow the wealthy to get around paying taxes that most regular people can’t get out of and, although the way they are set up allows for them to be explained as being available to anyone. In reality, however, most people would never need to go through the trouble of establishing Delaware Limited liability companies.

Delaware limited liability companies are allowed to engage in any kind of business except particularly kinds of insurance and banking activities. By establishing itself in this way, the business becomes a legal entity unto itself and is legally separated from its owners. In fact, the owners of Delaware limited liability companies aren’t even called owners; they are called “members.” Isn’t business in America, fun?

Why bother with this system? Well, let’s say that you own a business called Stuff and Things. Whenever you engage in any kind of legal transaction, you as the owner are responsible. But if you turn Stuff and Things into one of these Delaware limited liability companies, then Stuff and Things is the name on the contract whenever the company buys something or sells something, engages in business practices with other companies.

Or is sued.

Basically, Delaware limited liability companies are created in order to protect business owners from personal liability to third parties. Oh, to be sure, there are many other benefits to forming one, including legal-friendly advantages when it comes to estate taxes, investment securities, property, and other business-related interests most people never worry about it. But the protection against personal liability is the big selling point, make no mistake.

To put in plain language, if you are a member—or a manager, for that matter—of one of these Delaware limited liability companies, you instantly achieve the status of no longer being held liable for any debts, obligations or liabilities faced by the DLLC. This status is, in fact, the main difference between general or limited partnerships and Delaware limited liability companies. Typically, the partners who control general or limited partnerships are held liable for debts and liabilities in cases where the assets of the partnership itself cannot cover those debts and liabilities. You can clearly see where this could potentially be a problem.

If you’re involved in one of these partnerships and you get into financial and legal problems and the company doesn’t have the money to cover it, guess who’s next on the lawsuit hit list? Now you can also see why Delaware wants it made perfectly clear that as long as your business is lawful and not subject to the insurance or banking restrictions then anyone is capable of establishing one of these Delaware limited liability companies.

You’d almost be foolish not to.

Matt Garrett
www.Accept-Credit-Cards-Online.co.uk
www.explanation-of-llc.com

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Is Working At Home Right For You

Is Working At Home Right For You? by Wendy Betterini

If you've just begun your search for a work at home job, you probably have a beautiful concept of what working from home is like. You probably imagine yourself waking up whenever you want, sliding your feet into fuzzy slippers and shuffling to the kitchen to get some coffee, then shuffling along to your office to put in another wonderful day at work, then later going to the mailbox to pick up your weekly paycheck of several thousand dollars. I hate to burst your bubble, but it doesn't work that way. Actually, let me clarify that and say it doesn't always work that way.

The truth is, working at home is usually a lot harder than working in an office somewhere. Scammers and hyped-up business opportunity ads have given us the belief that working at home is oh-so-easy. We just relax on a tropical beach, then go collect our paychecks. I'm sure you've seen ads like that. Those of us who already work at home know better!

Here are some things you should consider before jumping into a work at home job:

How much do you want to earn? - If you want to work for an employer as a telecommuter, be prepared to earn less than you would at a job outside the home. A job that pays $11.00 an hour in the regular workforce might pay $7 or $8 an hour at home. There are exceptions of course. Some jobs, like virtual assisting, web design and graphics, medical transcription and coding and other professional jobs will probably pay more than a simple data entry or customer service job. Many work at home jobs don't pay hourly either. For data entry work, you might get paid per piece, and for telephone jobs you might get paid per "talk minute" (only those minutes you are actually on the phone with a customer.)

Do you need benefits? - The majority of work at home jobs do not provide benefits like health insurance or life insurance. Again, there are exceptions.

Taxes - There are companies that will hire you as an actual "employee" and they will take taxes out of your pay. But some will only hire you as an "independent contractor," and you are responsible for paying your own taxes.

Work availability - If you are hired as an independent contractor, it's important to understand that your employer is not obligated to provide any work for you. Most companies have busy seasons and slow seasons. During a busy season, you might be working 40-50 hours a week, and then the slow season arrives and suddenly you're fighting to get even 10 hours of work per week. If your income is especially important to your household, definitely keep that in mind. However, many people choose to work more than one job at a time. If one slows down, they simply start working more for the other.

How motivated are you? - If you are the type of person who usually needs a kick in the rear to get moving, working at home will be very hard on you. You have to be extremely disciplined to sit down at the computer, log in and actually WORK each day. There are so many distractions in the home that will pull you away from work if you let them. You have to be very focused and set a schedule for yourself, just like you would at a job outside the home.

Do you mind solitude? - Working at home can be lonely. If you thrive on social interaction, working alone can be difficult to adjust to. However, you can ease this by spending time with friends frequently, or joining some online groups to chat with like minded people.

Flexibility - Some employers require you to work a specific set schedule, while others might be more flexible, allowing you to choose your own hours. Give some thought to which type of schedule would work best for you. When I first decided to work at home, I made the mistake of choosing a job that had a rigid schedule, and I hated it! I had forgotten that that was one of the things I disliked about working outside the home - living by someone else's schedule. Think about how you work best, and choose accordingly.

Childcare - So many mothers want to work at home so they can raise their own children, rather than sending them to a daycare. However, working at home with small children underfoot is no easy task! It's not impossible, and it depends greatly on the ages of your children and what type of work you are doing at home. If you work a telephone job, most employers will require a very quiet background, which is impossible if you have small children. You also can't stop working every few minutes to entertain the kids, unless you want to put in a very long day at the computer to make up for all the interruptions. There are certainly things you can do to make it easier, like have a neighborhood teenager come in for a few hours to watch your children while you work, or work only when your spouse is home and can keep an eye on the kids.

Choosing work that fulfills you - This is SO important! Right now you're probably thinking, "I don't care what type of work I do, as long as it brings in a paycheck." I guarantee that attitude won't last long. Like I said, you will need to be extremely self-motivated and self-disciplined to work at home, and your job will be a lot easier if you actually like what you do! Think about the type of person you are, and the type of work that suits you best. Are you creative and free-spirited, or nose-to-the-grindstone efficient? Give some thought to your "vision" of working at home, and try to find a job (or business) that will complement that.

Do you even want a "job?" - When some people decide they want to "work at home," they don't want a regular J-O-B at all. What they want is the freedom to set their own schedule and do work they love. It's certainly possible to find those qualities in a job, but it can be difficult. If this describes you, consider starting your own business instead, focusing on your existing talents and abilities. I think many people shy away from this idea because it seems so overwhelming. But people do this every day! It's not hard at all. If you don't know much about business but have an interest, start learning! There are so many great resources on the internet today. If you're still not sure what type of work at home is best for you, get out a pad of paper and a pen. Write this sentence along the top of the page: I want to work at home because . . . and then write down as many endings to that sentence as you can think of. If most of your answers have to do with freedom and passionate, fulfilling work, a "job" might not be the best thing for you.

Regardless of what type of work you decide on, understand that working at home can be difficult and challenging. But for most of us who do it, it is also wonderful. Personally, I wouldn't trade it for anything! And once you find the right job or business, you will probably feel the same.

If this article has given you the impression that working at home might not be for you, remember that you can change if you want it badly enough. If you're not very motivated, work on that. Give yourself little challenges every day and strengthen your level of self-discipline. If you need health benefits, keep searching for a job that provides them, or research other possibilities like affordable health insurance for the self-employed. If your resolve is strong enough, you can make it happen! Never give up on your dreams.

Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer, web designer and owner of http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a resource center for home business owners and telecommuters. Visit today for information on how to make your work at home experience successful.

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Slush Funds

Slush Funds by Sam Vaknin

According to David McClintick ("Swordfish: A True Story of Ambition, Savagery, and Betrayal"), in the late 1980's, the FBI and DEA set up dummy corporations to deal in drugs. They funneled into these corporate fronts money from drug-related asset seizures.

The idea was to infiltrate global crime networks but a lot of the money in "Operation Swordfish" may have ended up in the wrong pockets. Government agents and sheriffs got mysteriously and filthily rich and the whole sorry affair was wound down. The GAO reported more than $3.6 billion missing. This bit of history gave rise to at least one blockbuster with Oscar-winner Halle Berry.

Alas, slush funds are much less glamorous in reality. They usually involve grubby politicians, pawky bankers, and philistine businessmen - rather than glamorous hackers and James Bondean secret agents.

The Kazakh prime minister, Imanghaliy Tasmaghambetov, freely admitted on April 4, 2002 to his country's rubber-stamp parliament the existence of a $1 billion slush fund. The money was apparently skimmed off the proceeds of the opaque sale of the Tengiz oilfield. Remitting it to Kazakhstan - he expostulated with a poker face - would have fostered inflation. So, the country's president, Nazarbaev, kept the funds abroad "for use in the event of either an economic crisis or a threat to Kazakhstan's security".

The money was used to pay off pension arrears in 1997 and to offset the pernicious effects of the 1998 devaluation of the Russian ruble. What was left was duly transferred to the $1.5 billion National Fund, the PM insisted. Alas, the original money in the Fund came entirely from another sale of oil assets to Chevron, thus casting in doubt the official version.

The National Fund was, indeed, augmented by a transfer or two from the slush fund - but at least one of these transfers occurred only 11 days after the damning revelations. Moreover, despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, the unfazed premier denied that his president possesses multi-million dollar bank accounts abroad.

He later rescinded this last bit of disinformation. The president, he said, has no bank accounts abroad but will promptly return all the money in these non-existent accounts to Kazakhstan. These vehemently denied accounts, he speculated, were set up by the president's adversaries "for the purpose of compromising his name".

On April 15, 2002 even the docile opposition had enough of this fuzzy logic. They established a People Oil's Fund to monitor, henceforth, the regime's financial shenanigans. By their calculations less than 7 percent of the income from the sale of hydrocarbon fuels (c. $4-5 billion annually) make it to the national budget.

Slush funds infect every corner of the globe, not only the more obscure and venal ones. Every secret service - from the Mossad to the CIA - operates outside the stated state budget. Slush funds are used to launder money, shower cronies with patronage, and bribe decision makers. In some countries, setting them up is a criminal offense, as per the 1990 Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime. Other jurisdictions are more forgiving.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands issued a press release November 2001 in which it welcomed the government's plans to abolish slush funds. They described the poisonous effect of this practice:

"With a few notable exceptions, the practice of directing funds through politicians to district projects has been disastrous. It has created an atmosphere in which corruption is thought to have flourished. It has reduced the responsibility of public servants, without reducing their numbers or costs. It has been used to confuse people into believing public funds are the 'property' of individual members rather than the property of the people, honestly and fairly administered by the servants of the people.

The concept of 'slush-funds' has resulted in well-documented inefficiencies and failures. There were even accusations made that funds were withheld from certain members as a way of forcing them into submission. It seems that the era of the 'slush funds' has been a shameful period."

But even is the most orderly and lawful administration, funds are liable to be mislaid. "The Economist" reported recently about a $10 billion class-action suit filed by native-Americans against the US government. The funds, supposed to be managed in trust since 1880 on behalf of half a million beneficiaries, were "either lost or stolen" according to officials.

Rob Gordon, the Director of the National Wilderness Institute accused "The US Interior Department (of) looting the special funds that were established to pay for wildlife conservation and squandering the money instead on questionable administrative expenses, slush funds and employee moving expenses".

Charles Griffin, the Deputy Director of the Heritage Foundation's Government Integrity Project, charges:

"The federal budget provides numerous slush funds that can be used to subsidize the lobbying and political activities of special-interest groups."

On his list of "Top Ten Federal Programs That Actively Subsidize Politics and Lobbying" are: AmeriCorps, Senior Community Service Employment Program, Legal Services Corporation, Title X Family Planning, National Endowment for the Humanities, Market Promotion Program, Senior Environmental Employment Program, Superfund Worker Training, HHS Discretionary Aging Projects, Telecomm. & Info. Infrastructure Assistance. These federal funds alone total $1.8 billion.

"Next" and "China Times" - later joined by "The Washington Post" - accused the former Taiwanese president, Lee Teng-hui, of forming a $100 million overseas slush fund intended to finance the gathering of information, influence-peddling, and propaganda operations. Taiwan footed the bills trips by Congressional aides and funded academic research and think tank conferences.

High ranking Japanese officials, among others, may have received payments through this stealthy venue. Lee is alleged to have drawn $100,000 from the secret account in February 1999. The money was used to pay for the studies of a former Japanese Vice-Defense Minister Masahiro Akiyama's at Harvard.

Ryutaro Hashimoto, the former Japanese prime minister, was implicated as a beneficiary of the fund. So were the prestigious lobbying firm, Cassidy and Associates and assorted assistant secretaries in the Bush administration.

Carl Ford, Jr., currently assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, worked for Cassidy during the relevant period and often visited Taiwan. James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs enjoyed the Taiwanese largesse as well. Both are in charge of crafting America's policy on Taiwan.

John Bolton, erstwhile undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, admitted, during his confirmation hearings, to having received $30,000 to cover the costs of writing 3 research papers.

The Taiwanese government has yet to deny the news stories.

A Japanese foreign ministry official used slush fund money to finance the extra-marital activities of himself and many of his colleagues - often in posh hotel suites. But this was no exception. According to Asahi Shimbun, more than half of the 60 divisions of the ministry maintained similar funds. The police and the ministry are investigating. One arrest has been made. The ministry's accounting division has discovered these corrupt practices twenty years before but kept mum.

Even low-level prefectural bureaucrats and teachers in Japan build up slush funds by faking business trips or padding invoices and receipts. Japanese citizens' groups conservatively estimated that $20 million in travel and entertainment expenses in the prefectures in 1994 were faked, a practice known as "kara shutcho" (i.e., empty business trip).

Officials of the Hokkaido Board of Education admitted to the existence of a 100 million yen secret fund. In a resulting probe, 200 out of 286 schools were found to maintain their own slush funds. Some of the money was used to support friendly politicians.

But slush funds are not a sovereign prerogative. Multinationals, banks, corporation, religious organizations, political parties, and even NGO's salt away some of their revenues and profits in undisclosed accounts, usually in off-shore havens.

Secret election campaign slush funds are a fixture in American politics. A 5-year old bill requires disclosure of donors to such funds but the House is busy loosening its provisions. "The Economist" listed in 2002 the tsunami of scandals that engulfs Germany, both its major political parties, many of the Lander and numerous highly placed and mid-level bureaucrats. Secret, mainly party, funds seem to be involved in the majority of these lurid affairs.

Italian firms made donations to political parties through slush funds, though corporate donations - providing they are transparent - are perfectly legal in Italy. Both the right and, to a lesser extent, the left in France are said to have managed enormous political slush funds.

President Chirac is accused of having abused for his personal pleasure, one such municipal fund in Paris, when he was its mayor. But the funds were mostly used to provide party activists with mock jobs. Corporations paid kickbacks to obtain public works or local building permits. Ostensibly, they were paying for sham "consultancy services".

The epidemic hasn't skipped even staid Ottawa. Its Chief Electoral Officer told Sun Media in September 2001 that he is "concerned" about millions stashed away by Liberal candidates. Sundry ministers who coveted the prime minister's job, have raised funds covertly and probably illegally.

On April 11, 2002 UPI reported that Spain's second-largest bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), held nearly $200 million hidden in secret offshore accounts, "which were allegedly used to manipulate politicians, pay off the 'revolutionary tax' to ETA - the Basque terrorist organization - and open the door for business deals, according to news reports."

The money may have gone to luminaries such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Peru's Alberto Fujomori and Vladimiro Montesinos. The bank's board members received fat, tax-free, "pensions" from the illegal accounts opened in 1987 - a total of more than $20 million.

Latin American drug money launderers - from Puerto Rico to Colombia - may have worked through these funds and the bank's clandestine entities in the Cayman Islands and Jersey. The current Spanish Secretary of State for the Treasury has been the bank's tax advisor between 1992-7.

The "Financial Times" reported in June 2000 that, in anticipation of new international measures to curb corruption, "leading European arms manufacturers" resorted to the creation of off-shore slush funds. The money is intended to bribe foreign officials to win tenders and contracts.

Kim Woo-chung, Daewoo's former chairman, is at the center of a massive scandal involving dozens of his company's executive, some of whom ended up in prison. He stands accused of diverting a whopping $20 billion to an overseas slush fund.

A mind boggling $10 billion were alleged to have been used to bribe Korean government officials and politicians. But his conduct and even the scale of the fraud he perpetrated may have been typical to Korea's post-war incestuous relationship between politics and business.

In his paper "The Role of Slush Funds in the Preparation of Corruption Mechanisms", reprinted by Transparency International, Gherardo Colombo defines corporate slush funds thus:

"Slush funds are obtained from a joint stock company's finances, carefully managed so that the amounts involved do not appear on the balance sheet. They do not necessarily have to consist of money, but can also take the form of stocks and shares or other economically valuable goods (works of art, jewels, yachts, etc.) It is enough that they can be used without any particular difficulty or that they can be transferred to a third party.

If a fund is in the form of money, it is not even necessary to refer to it outside the company accounts, since it can appear in them in disguised form (the 'accruals and deferrals' heads are often resorted to for the purpose of hiding slush money). In light of this, it is not always correct to regard it as a reserve fund that is not accounted for in the books. Deception, trickery or forgery of various kinds are often resorted to for the purpose of setting up a slush fund."

He mentions padded invoices, sham contracts, fictitious loans, interest accruing on holding accounts, back to back transactions with related entities (Enron) - all used to funnel money to the slush funds. Such funds are often set up to cover for illicit and illegal self-enrichment, embezzlement, or tax evasion.

Less known is the role of these furtive vehicles in financing unfair competitive practices, such as dumping. Clients, suppliers, and partners receive hidden rebates and subsidies that much increase the - unreported - real cost of production.

BBVA's payments to ETA may have been a typical payment of protection fees. Both terrorists and organized crime put slush funds to bad use. They get paid from such funds - and maintain their own. Ransom payments to kidnappers often flow through these channels.

But slush funds are overwhelmingly used to bribe corrupt politicians. The fight against corruption has been titled against the recipients of illicit corporate largesse. But to succeed, well-meaning international bodies, such as the OECD's FATF, must attack with equal zeal those who bribe. Every corrupt transaction is between a venal politician and an avaricious businessman. Pursuing the one while ignoring the other is self-defeating.

Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com


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Pamper Me Please! - Self Care For The Busy Entrepreneur

Pamper Me Please! - Self Care For The Busy Entrepreneur by Kristie Tamsevicius

Why am I doing this? I just feel like I can't focus today! I feel like I'm not enjoying my job like I used to. What's the matter with me?


I NEED A BREAK!!!!


When you are CEO, head nurse, mommy, head of janitorial services, and chief crafts coordinator, life can leave you a little weary sometimes. As a business owner YOU are your most valuable resource, so it makes sense to take care of yourself! When you start to feel overwhelmed, it's important to know when to slow down and take a break. Below you'll find 10 tips to help you take a vacation pamper and renew.


1) SCHEDULE A DAY OFF: Often when we are the busiest is when we need a break the most. Write a day in your calendar just for you. Promise to enjoy your time off. Turn off the computer, and don't answer the phone. Don't let guilt, or a list of impending deadlines steal your relaxation and enjoyment for the day.


2) MAKE TIME FOR THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE: Go on a date with you're your husband. Enjoy a cup of gourmet coffee with a friend. Steal away on a mommy and daughter/son breakfast. Write a special note to a friend or spouse letting you know how you feel about them. Give someone a long meaningful hug. Spend a little extra time cuddling with your children before bed.


3) TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE: Make up a holiday. Invite a friend to a "just because" lunch. Order out for pizza. At our house, we have a tradition called "pajama party". When we want to celebrate, we all get into our pajamas extra early, get all our pillows and blankets, pull out the sofa bed, snuggle up, watch a special movie, and tell each other stories. This is a special treat that the whole family REALLY looks forward to!


4) PAMPER YOURSELF: Indulge in a candle lit bubble bath. Listen to some soothing music. Read a juicy romance novel. Take a day at the spa. Soak up some sun at the beach. Sip a glass of wine and watch the sun set in your back yard. Why not buy yourself a bouquet of flowers?


5) NURTURE YOUR BODY: Treat yourself to plenty of sleep, eat balanced meals, drink lots of water, and take vitamins. If you've been neglecting a checkup, now's the time to schedule it! When you take care of your body, you'll have more energy and feel happier.


6) GET OUT OF THAT CHAIR & EXCERCISE: Sitting in your office chair all day isn't exactly the ideal workout. Head to the gym, take a walk thru the park, or take a dip in the pool. Take in a game of golf, racquetball or tennis. Exercise is a proven stress reducer!


7) CATCH A RAY OF SUNSHINE: Remember the song "I'm walking on sunshine, well…and don't it feel good?" There's nothing more energizing then feeling the sun on your face and breathing in some fresh air. Spend time in your garden, play ball with the kids, or take a trip to the park. I enjoy taking a "nature walk" right in my back yard. I walk slowly looking at each flower, and really taking each detail in again as if for the very first time.


8) BE A KID FOR A DAY: Forget your responsibilities for just one day. Put away your "to do list" and revel in all the things you'd like to do but shouldn't. Let your house be messy, sleep in, eat an ice-cream sundae for supper, and watch you're a funny movie. Make up a silly song. Put on your favorite CD and dance! Mix up a batch of monster size cookies! Let the little kid in your come out and play!


9) RENEW YOUR SPIRIT: Often in the busyness of life, we forget to take quiet time for ourselves. I encourage you to take time to journal, daydream, read the scriptures, and meditate. In stillness, you can tune-in to what really matters to you. Take time to listen to your heart, reflect and honor the quiet voice within.


10) GET A MAKEOVER: Do you feel pretty when you look in the mirror? If not, you deserve to! When you look good, you FEEL
good. Get a new haircut or a manicure. Spoil yourself and buy a new outfit. Try a new perfume.


MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE TO YOU:

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy! Don't wait until you are feeling burned out to take a break. I challenge you to take out your pen, flip thru your calendar, and schedule yourself a day off. When you are well rested, ou'll have a newfound energy, spark and passion to drive you forward to success!

Kristie Tamsevicius, is the author of "I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home"! Thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs have used her step-by-step home business system to earn money working from home. Get a free ecourse Home Business Success Secrets at http://www.webmomz.com/ilovemylife1.htm

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Whatever You Do, Don't Quit Your Job

Whatever You Do, Don't Quit Your Job! by Aaron Potts

The world today is based on work. You work for someone else. You work for yourself. You own your own business and you work at that. You own someone else's business, and they work for you. You're a mover and a shaker, and people everywhere work because of you and your influence.

Work work work work work!

Do you like to work? Do you enjoy commuting every single day, wasting hours and hours of your life behind the wheel? Do you love your boss? Do your co-workers inspire you to become a better person? Can you even IMAGINE your life without that job to hold you together?

Well, luckily, you don't have to! Utilize all of the following concepts as a reminder that no matter what, whatever happens, NEVER EVER QUIT YOUR JOB!

College - Go through 4 years of high school wanting to do nothing but get drunk, do drugs, and have sex. Be denied all of that by your entire society. Now pay $20,000 to $40,000 per year, move into a dormitory unsupervised where you can indulge in as much sex, drugs, and booze as you want to, and then be expected to focus on your career goals. This makes sense, right?

Job Hunting - This one is simple. You can't get a decent job because you don't have any experience. You can't get any experience because you don't have a decent job. Repeat.

Payroll - You make plenty of money, right? In fact, you wish you could give some BACK to your employer every week. After all, they have been generous enough to give you a job, the least you could do is add some of your own pitiful salary to their already fat bank accounts.

Management - Your boss could not possibly be any smarter or more in touch with you and your fellow coworkers. In fact, it's a miracle that your boss is only a manager, and doesn't actually own the whole company. He or she is, in fact, your very Guiding Light. Don't do anything to jeopardize that valuable resource!

Day Shift - Here's a question: Whose bright idea was it for almost every person in America to go to work at exactly the same time, to go to lunch at exactly the same time, and to leave at the end of the day at exactly the same time? Your life would NOT be easier if you were allowed to telecommute, set your own hours, or perhaps think of your own resourceful way to get your job done every day. Stick with day shift, and pass the road rage, please.

Co-workers - Now here is a lovely idea. Take a whole bunch of people who have absolutely nothing in common except their need for a very small paycheck, force them into situations that they hate, and ask them to get along, smile, and be team players. Don't forget to give a wink and a nod to Greaser Bob at the office who may actually not even own a shower, or to Perfume Pam who thinks that personal aroma products are to be doled out in serving sizes, not in spritzes.

Benefits - Thank the Maker that you can work between 50 and 80 hours each week for the privilege of paying hundreds of dollars of the money that you make working 50 to 80 hours each week for a benefits package that doesn't cover squat in case you end up in the hospital and have to stay for 50 to 80 hours each week. Was that a run-on sentence?

Pension Plan - Here is another gem of today's society. Work for the same company for the 40 years needed to retire in order to earn a pension plan that gives you a small weekly percentage of the money that wasn't enough for you to live off of in the first place.

In conclusion, it seems that we have clearly demonstrated that getting and holding on to a corporate position is DEFINITELY something that you want to to do.

However, if you think that any or all of the above rings very true and you just want OUT, then by all means, take the leap. The ridiculous scenario illustrated above will still be there later if you decide to go back to it!

Aaron Potts continues his one-man crusade to teach the world that the corporate mentality simply does not work! If you want to shed your corporate chains and make a true difference in the world - oh, and make some great money in the process - email Aaron at unitedplanet@oneteamglobal.com. http://www.fitnessdestinations.com

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A Franchise - Your own business, but include support and guidance

A Franchise - Your own business, but include support and guidance. by Ventura

Many people dream of running their own business and of giving up the day job. Most of these ambitious individuals only have the most basic of skills needed, and recognize that their business would not stand a great chance of success.

A Franchise is the answer for many of these would-be entrepreneurs.

A Franchise works by the franchiser selling a business plan to the franchisee. The fee paid may include marketing, a site, a website and vehicles in company livery. The most important thing the franchiser provides is training in implementing the business plan.

Franchise businesses have a much greater chance of success because the franchisee has training, guidance and supervision in the early stages. This support is expensive and the franchisee may have to pay a percentage of turnover or profits to the franchiser.

Many high street businesses are run on a franchising business model including McDonalds and many other fast food and coffee businesses. Other favorites are cleaning businesses and vending machine businesses.

A franchise has disadvantages, too. You have to obtain your supplies from a limited range of approved suppliers, or even, just from the franchiser. You have to stick with the franchiser's business image and are not free to develop or change the business image as you want to.

You may find franchises from unscrupulous business owners who have decided to offer franchises in an unproven business to make a quick buck. You need to research any potential franchise in great detail, and to make sure the franchiser is part of a Franchise Member Group. If possible, you should talk to others with the same franchise and try to benefit from their experience.

Franchise operations do offer a supported and easier route into running your own business than just going alone, but there can be heavy upfront costs. Your research will soon show you that most franchises cost between five and twenty thousand dollars. You may find a vending machine franchise for less, and a McDonald’s franchise could cost you a cool $250K.

If you have read this article and your imagination is firing up, you need to do a large amount of reseach. Food franchises are a popular choice for many. though they do mean you have to work long hours. Find out more about franchise opportunities generally at this site.

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