Hub You - Business

Article Marketing - What's The Difference?
Writing and distributing articles is one of the best ways to generate interest in your business, gain quality incoming links to your website, and increase your page rank all at the same time.Unfortunately, with so much hype about article marketing it’s easy to become confused about how it really works and what you can do to create a successful article marketing campaign.Search engine technology has improved tremendously, which means that link farms, link exchanges, Meta tags (not as important as they once were, but are still recommended), and cheating are quickly becoming a thing of the past. For instance, when Google’s robots crawl the Internet they are no longer simply considering the amount of links pointing to your website, they are getting smart enough to read what is actually on your we

a regular basis. Some examples you should have: marketing intro letter, follow up letter (i.e. send every three to six months, depending on your business), monthly newsletter, invoices, thank you letter (and make sure you buy thank you cards as well), employee contracts, commission-based contracts, referral contracts, consignment contracts, etc. Also take a look at Legal Zoom for some samples of contracts: http://www.legalzoom.com/legalzip/businessservices/index.html

4. Get that professional voicemail and fax system set up. For those of you with the sexy music or real laid back voicemail, "Whasssuuuuup!" (Wow, remember those commercials?) this tip is for you. Okay, I’m exaggerating here; but in any event, you might want to give up a professional number or voicemail, instead of your personal phone number to a potential client. Hey, image is everything! If you work from home or don’t have a business line as yet, try http://www.ur

Why Your Business Needs Professional Photography
When running a business you have to worry about many different aspects of your business to make it successful. You have to worry about payroll, rent, product development, and following governmental guidelines. However the most important part of your business is actually selling your product to your customers. Without sales your business will fail in a very short period of time.The hardest part of selling your product is getting the attention of your customer. The world is full of many different stimuli, so somehow you need to make sure that your product stands out and grabs the attention of your prospective customers. The easiest and most efficient way of doing this is to have eye-catching pictures in your advertising and on your web site. To do this you will need to hire a professional photog

When you are in business for yourself, you can never have too much time management and organization. One of the most important things to have are systems in place. Many successful entrepreneurs I’ve met along the way have instilled in me the power of having certain procedures down.

The best analogy I use for my clients is what I learned from Michael Gerber’s book, The E-MYTH Re-visited.

He talks about businesses that run like well-oiled machines because of systems that are in place. McDonald's is one of the best examples he offers. At McDonald's there’s a pretty slim chance that the owner will be there when you show up to buy your Big Mac and fries. You see managers, you see cashiers, but where is the owner? Even though he or she might not be there, I can bet you the owner is confident that his or her team is doing everything that needs to be done, because of the systems that McDonald’s has in place. They have their manuals, training (Hamburger University to be exact…that’s really the name of it). Their team knows that every Sunday at 8am, there is a team meeting. They know procedures for dealing with difficult customers, know what steps to take in order to start and end the day, and also know that the bathrooms should be cleaned throughout the day, (okay, maybe not all McDonald's, LOL) Well, you get the idea. They have many of their procedures down pat!

If you think about it, pretty much any franchise is really a great example to look at when thinking of having tight systems in place for your business to run…with or without you. However, one might think, "Heck, I’m no McDonald's. I just make homemade soaps, or I just manage a Hip-hop artist, or I’m just an Executive assistant." You might skim through this article and think, "It’s really not a big deal. I don’t need all of that hassle."

And to you my friend, I have this to share…. You can save a tremendous amount of time if you build your business better, work faster and smarter, but most importantly, be able to take time off and relax, when you do have your system running like a McDonald's restaurant! Here are 7 SYSTEMS to get you started:

1. Create your own focus days. Create specific days that you focus on various areas of your business and life, i.e. this comes in handy if you have a full-time job and a side business or two businesses. You’ll be able to set aside chunks of time; pay attention to that particular thing and only that thing. This means, when you are doing a sales call, that’s all you are doing. If you are writing bills and filing on Monday, you won’t set up meetings with clients on that day. As for a personal focus day, you can use this example: Sunday is family day where you don’t check email, you don’t call clients, you focus on the ones who should count first. Take a look at these articles that break it down even further! And start to design your own focus days and see your schedule begin to feel a bit better. http://www.cob.fsu.edu/jmi/articles/focus_days.asp http://www.90dayplan.com/article/manage.htm

The key is NOT TO OVER SCHEDULE. BE REALISTIC. You might try to pack too many things in your day and then beat yourself because you didn’t accomplish them. Put it on the list and get it done that day! The Art of Getting Things Done is a great to check out. I love this book! It helps you with just your DAILY DRAMA of dealing with your IN BOX!

2. Create a company manual or how-to guides. This can include your mission statement, company history, product or service overview, employee policies, job descriptions, customer service tips, company goals, reward program for employees, etc… Anyone should be able to read them with ease and duplicate the steps in them.

3. Have templates of documents and contracts you use on a regular basis. Some examples you should have: marketing intro letter, follow up letter (i.e. send every three to six months, depending on your business), monthly newsletter, invoices, thank you letter (and make sure you buy thank you cards as well), employee contracts, commission-based contracts, referral contracts, consignment contracts, etc. Also take a look at Legal Zoom for some samples of contracts: http://www.legalzoom.com/legalzip/businessservices/index.html

Managing The Fear And Anxiety Of Finding Another Job
Layoffs in today’s business world are common and with it comes the fear and anxiety of finding another job. With this in mind, here is a list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their stresses and anxieties in finding a new job.A technique that can be used to reduce the stress of finding another job is to divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. For instance, the first thing you should do is to determine what kind of job you want. Once you know what you are looking for, the next step is to update and prepare your resume. Once that is finished, you should then concentrate on finding the companies that interest you and send your resume to them. Once you submit your resume, the next step is to prepare for the job interview

, training (Hamburger University to be exact…that’s really the name of it). Their team knows that every Sunday at 8am, there is a team meeting. They know procedures for dealing with difficult customers, know what steps to take in order to start and end the day, and also know that the bathrooms should be cleaned throughout the day, (okay, maybe not all McDonald's, LOL) Well, you get the idea. They have many of their procedures down pat!

Elusive Images in Stock Photography - Ocean, Water, Life
As humans, our strongest emotional responses - both positive and negative - come from visual cues. That's precisely why the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words," has more than a ring of truth to it. When you're flipping through a magazine or surfing the Web, the photos are what make you stop and look. Today, the images that are most effective in capturing the attention of readers and web visitors alike can be summed up in three words: ocean, water, life.Imagery is EverythingThose who are in the business of advertising or web design understand that developing a wonderful product or a website full of useful information is important, but it's only one component of success. Choosing the proper imagery to communicate to the potential customer or visitor can result in resounding success

e a tremendous amount of time if you build your business better, work faster and smarter, but most importantly, be able to take time off and relax, when you do have your system running like a McDonald's restaurant! Here are 7 SYSTEMS to get you started:

What Qualities Do Franchisors Need?
When I got into business I wanted to build a company, which helped people and provide a product and service that people loved and were willing to pay for; one I would not have to sell or convince anyone of. Something that people truly wanted to extend and enhance their pursuit of happiness. I found the perfect service that everyone wanted and where sales were not really needed at all. In addition I found a way to allow my team to reap the rewards of delivery of that service to the masses.Franchising accomplishes all those goals for me. Franchising is the hardest business in the World. You have to be a coach, a psychologist, a lawyer, a strategic planner, a king, a marketer, a janitor, a grandfather, sounding board, and a mentor. The pressure is on and if you make a mistake there is no one to blam

reak it down even further! And start to design your own focus days and see your schedule begin to feel a bit better. http://www.cob.fsu.edu/jmi/articles/focus_days.asp http://www.90dayplan.com/article/manage.htm

A Career As A Massage Therapist
When it comes to getting a great massage the most important step is always to seek out that massage therapist who has the ability to work magic on our bodies. The experience is different for everyone but, ultimately, if you find the therapist with whom you can be comfortable and relax – and who professionally and adeptly performs this strenuous work to your specific liking - than you have found the key to a really enjoyable massage.For the massage therapist, the process of a massage can be physically grueling work. Often, a therapist will not schedule more than a few massages per day as any more than that can be exhausting and result in less than optimum results for the client - and possible injury for the therapist A good massage therapist wants their last massage of the day to be just as good as t

5. Create a filing system on your computer and off! Organize your filing cabinets so that important files are easy to find. It’s easy if you mirror the same set up in your physical files with the files on your computer, i.e.: Create a client's MAIN FOLDER and then a folder for each client. Take out inactive clients and create an INACTIVE folder. I was once told by my computer technician, Andrew Grant, to think of my desktop on my computer as a real desk. Wow, changed my way of thinking! Don’t have a zillion documents on the desktop and you can’t find them. When you are done working on them, file them back in their proper 'virtual' folders. Just like you would a desk.

6. Start building a database. It should include a list of clients and business partners. You can do it in excel or your business files in your PDA.

7. Communicate with Your Team Often: Schedule a regular weekly and/or monthly meeting. Try to make it the same time and day so that it becomes a habit and everyone has it in his or her schedules.

Don’t have time to do it face to face? No problemo… I use www.freeconference.com with my team. It makes it easy for people who are not in the same city and you can have a large number of people on the call when needed. Notice the key word…FREE! What works for Gots To Have It is a weekly Manager’s meeting where managers discuss developments in their departments, then once a month the entire team is on the call and we go over company updates, exciting news, ideas, feedback, employee of the month winner, etc.

The better the communication with your team, the higher your business will soar!

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2 minutes. That’s how long it takes for an employer to decide whether they want to hire you or not. First impressions set the tone for the interview and in the vast majority of cases, once that impression is set, it is not usually turned around. So here are some important tips you can use to ensure you make a great first impression.

Writing an effective sales letter is more a science than it is an art. This simply means that that even a person who isn't the necessarily the best writer can create strong and effective sales copy by following a proven formula.

If your outgoing voice mail message tells callers you don't know if your on the phone or away from your desk... you might wanna look into changing it. I share my 20-minute outgoing message that lets my customers, clients and prospects know I care.

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