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How to Fulfill Orders in Your Sleep

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How To Fulfill Orders In Your Sleep

by: Lynette Chandler

So you have a digital product to sell, but how do you make it automatically downloadable so you don't have to be sending out emails at all hours of the day (and night)? The solution is really very simple. Just use your autoresponder and the good news is most web hosting accounts already come with a basic autoresponder system.

The general idea is to create a special dedicated email address where payment notifications will be sent to. Once the autoresponder detects email being sent to this address, it will immediately kick back a reply email that you pre-programmed with download information and that is it. You're in business.

Easy as it is, this system does have a few flaws. For one, any email sent to that special address will return a reply with your product download information. Secondly, some payment processor's notification emails come from the payment processor themselves and it is only within the body of the notice will you find the customer's email. This is a problem because autoresponders that come with your web hosting account are not very sophisticated and can only reply to the originating email address. In plain English, this means all your order thank you emails will go to your payment processor, your customer receives nothing. And that is not good.

Thankfully, there are autoresponder systems that are much more robust and truly intelligent. They can literally scan the payment notification email, extract your customer's information, add them to the database so you can follow up with them later and send out a reply immediately to the customer using the information it gathered. All of this is done immediately behind the scenes in a matter of minutes (and even seconds); all your customer sees and experiences is one seamless process. These intelligent autoresponders come in the form of monthly services or scripts.

But what about securing the download? That is easy too. In many web host control panels, you will find a 'Protect Folder' or 'Password Protection' feature. By putting your downloads in a special folder and password protecting that folder, you will now keep spiders, robots and people who do not have access to the password out of your downloads.

What if you want a stronger protection system? In that case, you can use a membership manager where people can create their own logins. You can also get scripts or hosted shopping carts that will generate unique download links that expire after a certain time. These systems can set you back from $50 to $200 or more.

Up till now, all the options discussed only protect the download, not the product itself. If you're really concerned about piracy or if piracy is getting out of hand for you, the best way is to protect each download with its own unique key code. Fortunately there are services who can do that and integrate seamlessly into your existing checkout system. They cost $9.95 to $24.95 a month. If you are losing a big amount to piracy, the price may be small to pay.

Some food for thought, there will always be a small percentage of customers who will try to do what they know is wrong. The more control you exert, the more resentful customers will feel. Regardless of copyright, people do not like to be limited over something they already paid for. You just have to weigh it out what matters to you, keeping the majority of good customers happy or you want to spend time on a few rotten apples and of course don't forget to spell out your copyright and terms of use clearly. That's about the best you can do.

About the author:
Lynette Chandler helps entreprenuers leverage readily available technology for their marketing. Learn to apply the power of technology to your marketing today http://www.TechBasedMarketing.com

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Home Business Start up - Relocation Consultant

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Home Business Start up--Relocation Consultant

by: Shawn Price

Copyright 2012 Shawn Price

The Relocation Consultant Home Business

Vital Information:

• Start-up Investment: $300-$700 (advertising costs)

• Break-even time Two weeks to one year

• Estimate of Annual Revenue and Profit: $15,000-$25,000 Part time $40,000-$50,000 Full Time

Who needs a Relocation Consultant?

• a single parent who has a demanding job with working hours that directly conflict with apartment or home rental research, would find the services useful.

• Workers who have been replaced or who are going to be relocated.

• People who are returning to work from an extended stay away, due to an injury or illness.

• Companies who are expanding or relocating.

• Companies who have traveling employees.

• People living in heavily populated cities.

What does a Relocation Consultant do?

A Relocation Consultant's duties consists of locating neighborhoods, apartment and home dwellings, childcare services, religious organizations and selecting a moving company for individuals, families, and employees for relocating businesses.

More specifically, as companies continue to downsize and or relocate, there's a growing need for the services provided by a Relocation Consultant.

Often, companies contract with Relocation Consultants so that the consultant's services are readily accessible in the event that an employee or numerous employees are relocated.

The Relocation Consultant will match an employer or an employees’, living requirements and requests as closely as possible.

Additionally, a Relocation Consultant's services are solicited for individual's who are relocating for reasons other than employment.

Many individual's seek the services of a Relocation Consultant due to time restrictions which prevent them from locating desired living arrangements.

Getting started in the Relocation Consultant Business

• Advertising your Business

Run Classified ads and 1-2 inch ads in newspapers and magazines in both the Metro areas as well as suburban areas. Good examples are Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New York....

Internet Classifieds work well also.

Consider leaving brochures at various Hotels and Motels.

• Tips for running a Successful Relocation Business

One of the keys to success in this business is your ability to network with others around the country.

Successful Networking will provide you with the ability to thoroughly examine an area prior to running advertisements.

So...it's important to develop business relations the country. Of course, the internet and email provide the perfect vehicle for this type of relationship building.

Understand that your learning curve NEVER ENDS. You will need to regularly develop your business skills. Don't be fooled into thinking that "a good product sells itself.”

"Consumers buy you" is what I used to teach to my telemarketers.

I've listed on my site, a few Home Business Courses to get you off to a good start.

Don't stop there. Continue to research and develop skill.

For example, I dedicate at least 5 hours weekly toward increasing my personal business building techniques.

• Visit the Relocation Council.

This Organization has been in operation for a number of years. They have a Newsletter and other training materials to help you to develop your skills.

On their site, you'll notice that there is an option to become Certified. In the event that you decide that you want to expand your part time business into a full time career, having employees...you can prepare for your certification with the Relocation Council also.

erc.org 1-202 - 857- 0857

Note: When you are ready to begin larger ad campaigns, visit, Standard Rate and Data srds.com SRDS has a database of media rates for at least 100,000 publications.

The Relocation Consultant Work At Home Business is a very inexpensive Business to start. It's fairly straight forward and it has the potential to create a full time income while working part time. This one is Really worth considering.

• If you decide that this is the Work from Home business opportunity for you, continue reading our Ezine for continued Home Business Start-Up's since there will be ideas and information in each issue that you can tweak a little to benefit you within your Business of Choice.

To eliminate some trial and error, in our Ezine, also provide you with ongoing Small Business support…deals on business tools, marketing research information, and more.

• You will need to create a Business Plan if you are serious about creating a profitable Home Based Business.

I found a good Business Plan workbook that you will find quite useful. Writing Business Plans can be frustrating… I won’t lie. Thus Using a workbook and/or software is by far the popular choice for those who don’t want to pay $700-$1,500 to have one professionally prepared.

• Ensure that you take your business to the internet. I’ve evaluated a few web hosting Companies and I’ve listed their advantages as well as their disadvantages. You’ll also find discount computer hardware locations.

You may find that marketing your business using RSS is an unthinkable opportunity to overlook. You’re right. I’ve listed free RSS readers and software that you can use To get your feeds up and going WITHOUT the need of studying all the techie stuff. Just visit our Resource Page.

If you have not read AND STUDIED, the World's Famous, "Think And Grow Rich", you can receive it Free:

This is a must read. Creating a proper mind-set is critical. In addition to your studying your business, you will need to develop a mind for business.

Wealth is NOT about Money. Download it And see for yourself.

Bridging the GAP between Opportunity and Success,

OwnABizToday.com

About the author:
Shawn Price, Author of OwnABizToday's Ezine, due to her son's severe medical needs was forced to leave the job market and enter into the world of self employment. Experience has taught Shawn that one can NEVER predict future circumstances and thus one should if at all possible , become financially independent. In an effort to lead people toward self employment, Shawn and her partners, regularly evaluate home business start up's as well as small business resources and tools. Bridging the GAP between Opportunity and Success http://www.OwnABizToday.com RSS: subscribe@ownabiztoday.com

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Home Based Franchising

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Home Based Franchising

by: Shawn Price

Copyright 2012 Shawn Price

Is Home Based Franchising for you?

Do you desire Home Business Ownership but cringe at the thought of starting from scratch?

Possibly a Home based Franchise is your answer.

A Franchise is a business in which "... the franchisor, the owner and developer of the franchise system licenses [you] franchisees to use trademarks, service marks, logos, or advertising owned or developed by the franchisor." (International Franchising Association, Franchising basics).

With some franchise programs, the business operates using the Franchisor's brand name only.

Other programs are less restrictive and allow for the usage of both a trade name in addition to the franchisor's brand name.

Common to all franchise programs, the franchisee[ you] is responsible to pay the franchisor, advertising fees, initial fees, service fees, and or royalty fees.

You are responsible for payment whether your business is profitable or not.

Additionally, many franchisor's provide educational programs to franchisees before the inception of the business.

Often times, they've done demographic studies and other studies to ensure that you have greater odds of returning a profit.

Major Franchise Types

• Unit Franchising

Is the most simple type of franchise in which the Franchisor grants the franchisee the right to operate a single operation at a specified location or within a particular territory.

• Area Development Franchising

In accordance with a "development schedule", the franchisee agrees to establish a predetermined number of "unit franchises" within a particular territory.

• Subfranchising/Master franchizing

Is quite similar to Area Development Franchising with the major difference being that the franchisor grants the subfranchisor the option of opening the unit franchises herself or selling the the franchises to third parties. (Common with International franchising)

• Affiliate Franchising

This type of set up is typically used by an owner of an established business who decides to join/affiliate with a franchised chain.

This allows for the benefit of the franchises brand. This is common with many real estate.

• NonTraditional

This type of set up is customized between the franchisor and the franchisee.

Franchises are not the same as Dealerships and distributorships

A dealership or distributorship differs from a franchise in that there is no FEE involved. Dealers purchase products usually from the manufacturer at wholesale prices.

Note however, that a dealership can become a Franchise IF a FEE is paid to the franchisor AND the distributor is dependent upon the franchisor's pay structure.

Considerations when buying a franchise

• There's a benefit to purchasing a franchise that is well known

• Will the franchisor provide ongoing education and support?

• Were demographic studies performed?

• How many of the franchises have closed operation? Why?

• Have you STUDIED the franchiser's Comprehensive Disclosure Statement? It's required by Law that prospective Franchisee's are provided Comprehensive Disclosure, a copy of the franchisor's Standard Franchise Agreement, Audited statements, a list of the names of all of the Franchisees, as well as a copy of all documents that require the franchisees' signing.

By law, each of the above must be provided at least 2 weeks prior to purchase date.

• I've heard the saying, "if you buy a McDonald's, be prepared to eat burger's for breakfast lunch and dinner." In other words, your business requires commitment.

Additional Sources of information

•Success Magazine

•International Franchise Association www.franchise.org

•Franchise Sales Press *Get this magazine since it is known for its focus on franchise opportunities. Further, they perform regular interviews with both franchisees as well as with franchisors.

•SBA Small Business Association

•Brokerage firms and analysts Since stock information on A public company is useful.

•Franchise Lawyer •Federal Trade Commission Public Reference Branch

•UFOC "Uniform Franchise Offering circular -- the material that is provided by law, by the franchisor to the qualified franchisee. This is likely the most telling of all information gathered.

•Attorney General's Office

•BBB located in the city of the Franchisor's headquarters.

•Your Banker should have access to the Dunn and Bradstreet Report on the particular Franchisor.

•Contact the franchisor's franchisee's listed in UFOC. *** Prepare a list of relevant questions prior to calling.

Purchasing a franchise usually equates to a reduction in investment risks since the" system" and Franchise name is established, training and ongoing support is provided, market research has been conducted... Conversely…

franchise ownership can be costly. Consequently, it is critical that you investigate the franchise thoroughly prior to purchasing.

There is a continual rise in the number of franchises. Obviously, there's a HUGE market for this method of business ownership. When approached methodically and practically, Franchise ownership can be Very lucrative and much simpler than beginning a business from the ground up.

Be wise and ensure that you conduct sufficient research prior to committment.

If you’ll need financial backing, then you will need to create a business plan. There’s a handy Business Plan workbook available at our site.

Bridging the Gap between Opportunity and Success, OwnABizToday.com

About the author:
Due to her terminally ill, physically and mentally handicapped child, Shawn was FORCED out of the "job market" and FORCED into "self employment" ...After experiencing a multitude of financial difficulties. Because of her life's experiences, Shawn understands that it's impossible to predict future circumstances and thus it's terribly important that people...particularly parents, develop financial security. Consequently, leading others toward business ownership has become a passion for Shawn. Presently, Shawn is the Author of OwnABizToday's, Ezine, which presents New Home business Start up's and Small Business Resources each week. To receive our weekly Ezine, send a blank email to: subscribe@ownabiztoday.com RSS: http://www.ownabiztoday.com/ownabiztoday.xml Bridging the GAP between Opportunity and Success, OwnABizToday (http://www.ownabiztoday.com )

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Get Real About Home Business!!!

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Get real about Home Businesses!!!

by: Michelle Cornes

Copyright 2005 Michelle Cornes

Are you thinking it might be time to take control and work for yourself?

The degree to which YOU are up for this challenge is everything. Here are some of the things about yourself that you really need to be thinking about:

How much do you really want to redesign your life? How much does this mean to you? What will you and your life look like 5 years, 10 years down the track if you stay on the track you are currently on? (and let's face it... most of us work our tails off for 40 odd years, pay our bills, pay our taxes... and die without leaving any substantial financial legacy behind us. In my view - that's a pretty odd plan for a life... and a long way from what we imagined we would do with our lives in our earlier days!)

So - how much do you want a different future - and what sacrifices are you prepared to make to achieve that? Do you want much more from your life and efforts - without making any extra effort?

If that's the case - I suggest you stay employed by someone else. If you are prepared to learn new skills and develop a higher value to the marketplace than you currently command - then self employment could be for you.

How teachable and receptive are you to new ideas and new ways of thinking and behaving? You want more - you have to become more!! Are you prepared to learn and grow and develop as an entrepreneur?

In business - you don't get paid for turning up... you get paid for the value you bring to the marketplace. Are you prepared to understand that and work on learning how to add value to what you offer the marketplace? The marketplace pays on value - not on need, or hours used.

Are you a stayer or a quitter? Are you going to finish what you start and see it through? Focus, patience and self discipline are common to people who are successful in any field of endeavour (sport, the arts, business... doesn't matter!)

You will never truly succeed at anything if you are prone to tantrums and giving up as soon as something doesn't go the way you expected or wanted... and things in business will sometimes go wrong!

Are you EXCITED and PASSIONATE about the future that could be yours if you work for yourself and get it right? Are you liberated by the idea that you can become more valuable and with work and time can totally reshape the future for yourself and your loved ones? Do you BELIEVE you can change your destiny and do something "different" - or do you think that's not really possible for you? Has life got you by the throat - and you can't see any possible way of that changing... or are you ready to fight for your future and make it a reality?

The emotion and belief you have for this new direction as a real and totally valid future for you... is what will "make" you or cause you to fail.

So... if you feel you stack up on the "you" issue... then the other major issue is...

What on Earth do I do to find the right business?

Investigate... then investigate again :) Get a feel for what your options are, how viable or desirable those options are for YOUR circumstances and resources.

My experience on this was that there are some real scams and dodgy "businesses" on offer out there - and essentially - they weren't too hard to pick out.

I also found quite a number of business opportunities that required major capital (and I mean MAJOR!) and major financial inputs over probably quite a few years - just to stay afloat. I personally could not afford to operate a negative cashflow business for 6 months - let alone a number of years! It just wasn't what I could do - and unless I could do that - those businesses would never survive. Not what I was looking for...

I found that this all narrowed down the field quite considerably..in fact I was starting to wonder if I would ever find what I was looking for... but I ploughed on. I learnt a few things:-:

My business needed to be based on real products or services that there was a PROVEN market for. I also had to like and feel good about them. I wanted to enjoy and be proud of what I did.

Those products/services needed to be something that required repeat business, customer longevity. In other words - I wanted good products/services that the market had already demonstrated it wanted - and was actually in a GROWTH phase. I was not interested in getting into an industry that was well over its hay day. I was building for the future!

I wanted something I could grow and develop into. Something I could start with the resources I had (a little time, a little money, and a lot of ambition!). Something that would allow me to develop a business income around my existing obligations to start with - but which would allow me to buy back my life in chunks over time.

If I wanted to earn a lot more from a business - I understood it would not come about overnight. It was going to take some time and some learning of new skills.

That was over 18 months ago now, I found my perfect business and have never looked back.

About the author:
Michelle Cornes runs an international internet based home business from the United Kingdom. For further information on the ethical, honest business she found and works on today please visit her website http://control-your-income.com/?refid=article-567887726

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Do You Have a Business Idea?

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Home Business Start up--Relocation Consultant

by: Shawn Price

Car Insurance Quotes and Estimates

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Car Insurance Estimate

by: Timothy F

Shopping around for a car insurance estimate is not something most people look forward to. It is one of the least exciting chores that is required in order to have a car on the road, but it is worth seeking out the most competitive car insurance estimate available. Although getting a car insurance estimate from a number of companies isn’t a desirable task; many people spend far more than they absolutely have to each year on their auto insurance because they simply haven’t taken the time to compare rates and policies with other auto insurance companies. It would be hard to find someone who would walk into an appliance store and decide to spend $200.00 more on a washer that offers the same exact quality and features as the one next to it that costs far less. It doesn’t make too much sense to do the same thing with car insurance.

Most of the time, a car insurance estimate will include collision, liability and comprehensive coverage on a vehicle. Most households have two or more vehicles and every car should be included when seeking out a car insurance estimate. There are a few things that can be done to make getting a car insurance estimate easier and more accurate especially when dealing with more than one car insurance company.

One of the best things to do before looking for a car insurance estimate is to see exactly what the state requirements are as far as what the necessary minimum coverage is in order to have adequate coverage. This is something that might be better to do without the assistance of an insurance agency if possible because their job is to sell insurance and they make more money with the more coverage they are able to sell.

In order to spend less time on the phone when looking for a car insurance estimate, it is a good idea to have a number of items handy including a driver’s license, vehicle identification numbers, make, model and year of each car and even the name and contact information for the company that is financing all vehicles if applicable. There are also a number of factors that can be taken into consideration when seeking a car insurance estimate that may mean additional savings per year. Features on each auto including airbags, auto alarms, anti-lock brakes and other things may mean discounts on auto insurance. Some insurance companies will even offer discounts for having more than one policy with their company as well as insuring multiple cars through with their coverage. Additional discounts may be found through other things like accident-free driving record, defensive driving course incentives and other discounts.

Other circumstances may cost a driver more with certain companies when looking for a car insurance estimate. Men under the age of 25, single drivers, younger drivers under the age of 21, the number of miles driven per day and even the kind of car that is driven can cost a person more money on car insurance when shopping around. The best part about this is that not one car insurance will probably charge the same amount of money for the same coverage so shopping around will prove that there are better choices available.

About The Author
Timothy is the webmaster and owner of " Discounted-Car-Insurance.com " and has been researching and reporting on Car Insurance Estimate solutions for years. Click Here ==> http://www.discounted-car-insurance.com/

About the author:
About The Author
Timothy is the webmaster and owner of " Discounted-Car-Insurance.com " and has been researching and reporting on Car Insurance Estimate solutions for years. Click Here ==>

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Boosting Employee Moral with Employee Surveys

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Boosting Employee Morale With Employee Surveys

by: Bill Roche

Copyright 2005 Bill Roche

Do you know exactly how your employees feel when Monday morning approaches?

Are they eager to get back to a satisfying workplace and to perform important tasks?

Or, do they sit home Sunday night dreading another week of unimportant work performed for an ogre of a boss?

The truth is probably somewhere in between; but without actual knowledge of the facts, it’s hard to improve anything.

The ideal workplace provides employees with empowerment and direction when needed, but shies away from unnecessary micro-management. Employees feel they are contributing to meaningful goals in a significant way. The ideal workplace offers compensation and benefits that meet the needs of employees and cause them to remain loyal to an organization for the long term.

If you don't know where your employees’ morale level stands, you can't make life better or productivity higher. Better morale means greater productivity which translates into an improved bottom line. Unhappy employees miss more work and produce inferior work.

By measuring your employee morale level through an Employee Satisfaction Survey, you can learn how your employees feel – provided your employees believe that their honest input will result in appropriate change where needed. The danger of conducting Employee Satisfaction Surveys, of course, is that if you do not allow change where change is needed, you may well cause employee morale to drop even lower.

Suppose, for instance, that one result of a survey is that your employees feel your management style inhibits effective production of quality work. Would you be willing to alter your management style and more proactively empower employees?

If you’re not willing to change, you will likely be wasting time and money by performing surveys. If you’re willing to keep an open mind, surveys can lead your organization to greater heights and result in decisive morale increases.

Some questions that can reveal a great deal about employee satisfaction include:

(1) Do you feel that management listens to your ideas on how to best accomplish tasks?

(2) Is there a recognizable tie between how well you perform your job and your monetary compensation?

(3) Do you often feel you could do a better job if management would only get out of the way?

(4) Do you feel, once assigned a task, that you are empowered to perform that task?

(5) Do you feel that innovative thinking or "outside the box" thinking is encouraged and rewarded?

(6) Are there enough recognition programs for recognizing outstanding accomplishments on the part of employees?

An effective Employee Satisfaction Survey should not be too lengthy; 20 to 40 questions ought to reveal what you need to know about your employees. Whether you select yes/no questions or choose a 1 to 5 scale (where 5 means complete agreement and 1 means complete disagreement with a survey statement), you should, upon survey completion, compile the results using a database that will let you to analyze the results and convert them into bar charts or other graphics which make them easier to understand.

Once you’ve analyzed the survey results, feedback to the employees is crucial. Otherwise, they will likely conclude that what they have to say doesn't matter, resulting in an additional hit to morale.

Hopefully, some of your survey results will indicate areas of high employee morale. Those areas are not likely to need significant attention. The areas where employee morale gets low scores offer the greatest potential for improvement. Develop an action plan and implement that plan with full knowledge of employees. Better yet, involve employees directly. Employee involvement in the development of the action plan and its implementation can lead to positive outcomes and creative solutions to identified challenges.

Most importantly, be aware that you can only fix what you know is broken. Once you’ve identified areas of low employee morale, you can zero in on those weak spots and achieve measurable increases in employee morale, productivity, attendance and loyalty on the part of your employees.

About the author:
Bill Roche is the publisher of "Boosting Employee Morale," a free ezine that provides readers with tips on how to improve employee morale. For regular tips to move you toward a more positive and productive work environment, sign up for your own subscription at: http://www.TopResults.com

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