How To Design Your Business Card

The truth about making money from home

In order to promote both yourself and your business to customers, a business card is one of the most important tools you can use.

A business card will ensure that you always have something handy that you can give out to people whenever the opportunity strikes. But while a business card can be a useful tool, it can also be a waste if you do not know how to make your business card effective. Not only should your business card list a name and phone number, but it also needs to inspire people to call the number!

One thing you have to remember when you hand out your business card is that the people you give your business card to will not always remember who gave it to them. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to end up with a pocket full of business cards every day! In addition to clearly stating who you are and how you can be reached, your business card should also clearly state what you do. It is especially important to make sure the card clearly states what it is you do if the name of your business does not make it clear!

Another thing you should add to your card is your logo, but you should be aware of its placement; do not allow it to take over the card! The logo should be noticeable, but it should not be the focal point; after all, the logo is an important element, but it is still only one element.

A high-quality business card will reflect well on your business, so pay a little extra money to make sure that your card looks professional. If someone is looking for a plumber, for instance, and they have nothing to go off of but a few business cards, they will choose the highest-quality, most professional-looking card.

It is not difficult to make sure your business card helps your business stand out, but it is also not difficult for your business card to detract from your business! Make sure that your card is effectively designed, and make sure that you spend a bit of extra money to have a card that looks great!

Tips For Taking Care Of Your Fountain Pen

The truth about making money from home

Owning a pen was a thing of beauty back in the day; back before the advent of ballpoint pens, fountain pens were the rule of the day, and everyone not only knew how to take care of their fountain pens, but they also had a healthy adoration and respect for the fountain pen they owned. While fountain pens are certainly not a necessity these days, there are still many people – either because they are collectors, or simply because they prefer to write with a truly grand writing instrument – who prefer to use fountain pens, and while you can get a great fountain pen for under one hundred dollars, this investment will do nothing for you if you do not know the proper way to take care of your pen.

The first thing you need to know about your fountain pen is that you should always store it upright (with the nib facing upward); if you store your pen with the nib (the writing portion) pointing down, the ink will have a tendency to coagulate – or clog – in the nib, which will make the pen rather useless.

One of the reasons many people derive great pleasure from writing with a fountain pen is that they write much more smoothly – with far less strain on the hand and arm – than does a ballpoint pen; when you write with a fountain pen, however, make sure you remember that they write more smoothly, as pressing down too hard while writing with your fountain pen will ruin the nib.

And of course, cleaning your fountain pen periodically will be important; generally speaking, you should rinse out your fountain pen after every two refills of ink – running cold water (not hot, as this can ruin the nib as well!) through the inside of the pen and allowing it to dry for a few hours before filling it with ink again.

When you take care of your fountain pen with the proper approach, you will be able to write the way people used to be able to write – with a priceless instrument that required attention and care, and that paid the user back with hours of pleasurable writing!

Managing Upset Customers

The truth about making money from home

When you run a business, one of the keys to reaching success will be making sure that you know how to manage customers who are upset, or who have a complaint about the way they have been handled by you, your employees, or your company. When an upset customer has a legitimate complaint, they can ruin a lot of business for you if they share their complaints with others, but when you are able to fix a situation with an upset customer, they will often be so impressed with the way you handled things that they will end up sending more customers your way!

Regardless of whether you feel their complaint is legitimate or not, the first thing you need to do is to acknowledge the problem; when you acknowledge that their complaint and convey that you understand the complaint, you will be on the right path to making the situation better.

Secondly, you should start taking steps to resolve the problem - but the mistake that many people make when trying to resolve a problem with a customer is that they allow the customer to dictate the terms of the resolution. Remaining helpful while keeping the power in your hands is a delicate balance, but this is an importance balance to maintain - otherwise, you may end up with a customer who is not satisfied no matter what you do.

Finally, it is important for you to recognize the fact that some customers actually will not be satisfied no matter what you do; these are the customers who tend to complain with every company they deal with, and the best way to deal with such customers is to do the best you can and then send them on their way!

Managing upset customers is not always easy, but it is one of the most important aspects of keeping your business in good shape - and when you can start to do this effectively, you will maximize the positive news that customers spread about your company.

Choosing Real Estate Over Stocks

The truth about making money from home

A lot of people start each day waking up earlier than they want to, and then they drive further than they want to drive and work all day at a job they do not particularly enjoy, around people they do not particularly like; at the same time, however, many of these people have a desire to quit this job and change up their lifestyle - finding a way to instead work for their own self, from the comfort of their own home - and nevertheless fail to ever take the necessary steps.

One thing that tends to especially stand in the way of people taking the leap of faith required for them to quit their job and go out on their own is the fact that "making their money work for them" - instead of "working for their money" - can be an intimidating proposition, and this is especially true when it comes to investing, where the risks are heightened because of the chance you might lose the money you risk.

If you have an interest in starting a life of your own, however, you should realize that it is entirely possible to do so - and when you take the right approach to investing in real estate, you will actually be able to make good money in the short term and great money in the long term, while also protecting your money from risk.

If you are interested in making great money on your own, the best thing for you to do is take the time to look closely at the ins and outs of rental real estate; the simple truth is, when you invest in the right sorts of rental properties (most particularly multi-family dwellings), you will be able to make truly great money, and will be able to move toward the life of your dreams.

It can be scary to take a leap into the unknown - but when you think about it, this is actually a whole lot less scary than reaching the end of your life and feeling like you wasted it; take the time to start learning about things you can do to make money on your own - then get out there, and start doing it!

Exploring SEO: Hiring Out Versus Going It Alone

The truth about making money from home

If you have a website for your business, you probably understand how important it will be for you to boost this website's online visibility (after all, you are unlikely to get a lot of visitors to your site if no one knows that your site exists in the first place!), but while this might seem like a straightforward issue, there are a couple complications that come into play when you are trying to boost your website's profile: namely, whether it is better to do this yourself, or to hire someone else.

While it would be great if there were an across-the-board answer to solve this problem, the truth is that the answer to this question will be different for every different company.

SEO (which stands for "search engine optimization") is the process of causing your website to appeal to search engines - and there are actually people who are "SEO experts," and who make a living doing SEO work for different websites; the good news about hiring one such expert, of course, is that they are able to quickly carry your website to the top of search engine rankings pages, but the bad news is that they often charge an arm and a leg to do so!

When trying to figure out whether or not you should hire someone to do your SEO work, the main thing you need to determine is which is more valuable for you: your time or your money. For some people, it will be worth the money they save for them to study up on SEO themselves, and to build their website on their own; on the other hand, there will be those who will lose more money in the amount of time it takes them to learn and implement all this stuff than the money they would pay someone else to do it - in which case, it is well worth hiring out!

Of course, it doesn't really matter how you get to the desired end result (that is, a website that ranks highly on search engines) so much as it matters that you get there somehow - but with this knowledge, you can decide whether you want to get there on your own or hire someone else to help.

Taking Care of Copywriting - the Face of Your Business

The truth about making money from home

Anyone who works for a large business probably realizes that there are people within the business who are in charge of all copywriting duties. But many who run a small business - or who have considered running a small business - tend to believe that they can take care of all of their own copywriting work. While this might be true for you, of course, many people who do their own copywriting would be better off hiring out!

Websites, print ads, and billboards are all considered to be part of copywriting, as copywriting covers anything intended to promote a business or its products. And even though many people think the only thing they really need in order to write successful copy is an understanding of the message they wish to convey, this is often incorrect. In fact - considering the fact that those who copywrite for a living understand the exact words necessary to grab the attention of readers - this can be absolutely wrong.

If you decide to hire a copywriter full time, you should make sure that they have experience, and that they can prove their abilities. In order for them to prove their abilities, you should have them write a couple sample bits of copy, and you should give these sample bits to test readers so you can gauge their reaction.

If your copywriting needs are less extensive, you may want to hire a freelance copywriter, which is less of a commitment. One of the benefits of working with a freelance copywriter is the fact that you can assess their success as the projects progress, and can replace them at any point if it becomes necessary.

And if you decide to continue doing your own copywriting, make sure you study the craft of writing successful copy! After all, you might think that you are in fine shape as long as the stuff you are writing is both error-free and competent. But you will be in much better shape if you can write something that grabs the attention of anyone who reads it!

Make sure you are giving the copywriting for your company the attention it deserves, as the copywriting for your company is the first face of your business most people will ever see.

Tips For Releasing Press Releases To Help Your Business

The truth about making money from home

One of the biggest keys to success when you run a business will be figuring out all the little things you can do to bring more customers your way and to give you an edge over your competitors; of course, the list of "little things" you can tackle in order to accomplish this is extensive, and perhaps you even have some things of your own that you have found work for promoting your business - but one thing that you may have been overlooking is the value of releasing press releases to help your business.

The first thing for you to be aware of when it comes to releasing press releases is the fact that you cannot simply do this for every little thing that goes on with your business; however, if your business is launching some sort of new product - or, even if your business is not launching something new, but something noteworthy has happened in the area of business you operate within, and you are able to write a press release regarding this new development, and can put the press release under the name of your business - this will give you a great opportunity to release a press release.

Now, understanding some of the finer points about writing a press release will also be important; before you go ahead and write a press release, you should take the time to read through a number of other press releases to get a feel for the manner in which they are worded and the typical length and pace of these press releases. And of course, there is no need to shy away from hiring someone else to write the press release for you if you are not absolutely positive you can do a terrific job; after all, people will associate your press release with your business, and considering that it only costs about $50 to hire a professional to write a press release for you, it can be well worth the money!

And finally, it will be important that you release the press release in the right place; if your press release will only be of interest to those in your area, there is no need to release it nationwide, but if people everywhere will be interested in the content of the press release, you will be perfectly fine releasing it nationwide, and can gain some extra exposure in the process!

Drawing Readers To Your Website

The truth about making money from home

You need to know how to draw readers to your website - and this goes for any time of website at all, regardless of whether it is for business or just for fun. After all, a website has no real purpose if it has no real readers - and readers are not likely to simply "happen upon" a site! In order to build your website, you have to get the word out there, and no matter the kind of site you run, the principles are the same.

You need to make sure your website is appealing; this is the first step in creating a website that will draw readers. Your goal will be to create a place where readers not only want to visit, but where they want to "hang out" and never leave! In order to create this, you need to either know what you are doing, or you need to hire someone who knows what they are doing!

You also need to flood your website with content that will be both appealing and useful to your prospective readers. Even for a business website, "useful information" is not enough to keep readers around; the information must also be presented in an appealing manner! Early on, you should not worry about gaining readers, but should instead worry about building up content, as you will need content built up. Your early focus should be on taking each day to add as much content as you can, and in this way the site will be ready when readers come.

Once you have structured a website that is appealing and have started to load it with content, you will finally be ready to attract readers. Creating content that urges your early readers to share the page with others is the best way to start attracting new readers. This can be anything from funny, engaging stories to videos your readers will want to share to contests that people will have to visit the website if they want to enter. You will start to see your website grow and grow as others begin to do all the work for you; and once you reach this point, your only job will be to make sure you keep loading the site with content!

Tips For Vacationing In Florida

The truth about making money from home

If you are thinking of going on a vacation with your significant other or with your family, one thing that may have come to mind is all the wonderful, exotic places outside the United States that you would like to someday explore - but while it would be wonderful to be able to visit all these places, money will often stand in the way; not to worry, however, as there are plenty of wonderful vacation destinations right here in the States that are worth keeping in mind, and if a warm, laid-back climate is the perfect vacation fit for you, there are especially plenty of places in Florida to choose from.

If you are looking for a busy, eventful vacation, one of the best options in the States is Orlando, Florida, as you will be able to spend your days at Disney World and your evenings hanging out at the restaurants and bars that the city of Orlando is full of; furthermore, there are some great beaches in Orlando, in case you want to get away from Disney World for a day or two, and because of the great waves of tourists that are always making their way through the city, there is always something fun to do.

If, on the other hand, you prefer a place that is still inviting for tourists, but that is less crowded and a bit more laid-back than Orlando, think about heading over to the Gulf side of the state and spending a few days hanging out in Sarasota; Sarasota is known as much for its art galleries as for its beaches, and a few days here will certainly go a long way in helping you to unwind and relax.

And if you want to truly escape everything for a few days - not only the crowds of Orlando, but even the sparse tourists of Sarasota - consider getting offshore and hanging out for a few days on Saint George Island. For a surprisingly good price, you can rent a house or a condo on this island, and this will give you the chance to spend some time relaxing on a quiet beach, watching the dolphins that frequent these shores, and replenishing your mind and body in the sun and quiet of this lovely slice of Florida.

How To Overlook Bad Days At Work

The truth about making money from home

When the job you work at is relatively stressful at times, one thing that can be especially frustrating is those times when you experience a bad day at work, as this can not only ruin the rest of your day at work, but can also carry over into the rest of your day even after work ends. While there are plenty of people who have a tendency to allow a bad day at work to pull down the remainder of their day, there are others who have learned how to separate the frustration of a bad day at work from the tranquility they hope to experience throughout the rest of their day - and if you are trying to figure out how to overcome a bad day at work yourself, the great news is that it is really quite easy to do!

In order to overcome a bad day at work, the first thing you will want to do is put work completely out of mind during your drive (or commute) home; this can be more difficult than it sounds, of course, but when you make a concerted effort to do so - perhaps distracting yourself with music or the radio - you will soon find you are able to do this.

A lot of times, an evening at home after a long day of work consists of nothing more than some dinner and some television, but when you have experienced a bad day at work, you will want to make sure you are maximizing your evening; do something fun or memorable during the evening, and you will feel a lot better when it is time to wake up the next morning and head into work again.

And as for "waking up the next morning and heading into work again," your best bet will be to try and "press the reset button" and start over as you enter into your new day. As you put the difficulties of the previous day out of mind and approach this new day of work as if it is going to be great, positive results are sure to follow!

A Great Book on Internet Marketing

The truth about making money from home

A tough challenge to meet is to be found on the internet. Constant evolution is a staple of this area of business. Following the advice of an expert is probably the best way for you to begin getting your business found online. Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs is a book written by two internet marketing experts, Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan. Succeeding in the internet environment shouldn't be a problem as long as you follow their advice.

The traditional methods of marketing are better known as outbound marketing methods. Your message is sent out to your customers with these techniques. These methods usually include outbound calling, commercials, and mass mailing. Generating business through these methods does not work like it did in the recent past. Tuning out these techniques is becoming easier and easier for a majority of consumers today.

Marketing is moving toward a different arena. Newer techniques are referred to as inbound marketing and it is outlined in detail within the book. Instead of bringing your marketing into the eyes of consumers you will have them coming to it on their own. A forward method of marketing will no longer be required; you will instead just place your marketing in areas that it can be easily found.

This can be done in many different ways. The most popular place to go is search engines since most consumers use them in order to find products. Blogs are very popular as well since a very specific audience can be targeted. And recently social networks have entered the discussion since customers can follow your business. The book will go over all these methods in detail.

So as marketing changes your techniques must change as well. You will fall behind the pack if you continue to use old inefficient methods of marketing. Shah and Halligan are two experts who like to share their ideas, so be sure to listen. Learn about inbound marketing by picking up their book soon and reading through it.

Inbound Marketing Get Found Using Google Social Media and Blogs

Tips For Eliminating Bad Mistakes At Work

The truth about making money from home

It is pretty much a given that every person will make mistakes at work at one point or another, and for the most part, the people with whom you work will be perfectly understanding when you make such mistakes (after all, it has probably not been all that long since they made a mistake at work themselves!). But of course, there is a difference between “making mistakes at work” and “making big mistakes at work”; big mistakes are no different from little mistakes in that they really can happen to anyone at any point, but big mistakes are often more costly, and it is for this reason that you will want to make sure you know how to avoid making big mistakes at work.

Probably the best thing you can do in order to eliminate bad mistakes at work is to always double check your work; it is easy to get so comfortable in your job that you end up never looking back over the work you have done, but once you get in the habit of taking a few extra minutes to always double check your work, you will be able to catch all those little mistakes that happen, and more importantly, you will be able to catch those big mistakes when they come along!

Another way to avoid mistakes at work is to always be willing to ask questions and try to learn more; it is easy to get comfortable in a job and assume that you already know all there is to know about it, but when you get in the habit of always trying to learn more, you will be able to continually improve at your job, which will continually separate you from those bad mistakes that can be made.

And realize that there will still be times at your job when things will go wrong, even when you do these things, and the manner in which you react to these things going wrong will be key; rather than simply getting upset because things went poorly, learn to always break down what went wrong, identifying the problem so you can avoid it next time around.