13 Online Business Ideas

One of the quickest and easiest ways to start your own business is to do so online. Rather than spending thousands of dollars and countless hours finding the perfect brick-and-mortar location, you can get an online business up and running rather quickly, for a fraction of the cost. In addition to generating an idea that will get consumers to gravitate to you, starting an online business requires you to create a well-designed website and figure out ways — through search engine optimization and social-media, email and content marketing — to drive consumers to your site. If you think you have what it takes to become an online entrepreneur in 2015, we've got 13 business ideas to help you get started.

1. Specialized retailer – An online store lets you reach customers all over that world and that means you can afford to specialize. Whether it's dollhouse furniture or organic dog food, there's an audience for everything. Using a web hosting service with an integrated shopping cart or e-commerce sofware, your business will be operational in no time. Many vendors will even ship products to customers on your behalf, which means you don't need to own a lot of inventory.

2. Social media consultant – Larger firms can hire an agency or full-time staff member to run their Facebook and Twitter accounts, but small businesses often have to handle their own social media marketing. With so many other responsibilities, business owners are often too busy or overwhelmed to spend time developing and implementing a great social media strategy. As a consultant, you can help them determine the best tactics, posting schedules and content for their target audience. As their follower count grows, so will your business.

3. Web design – Have you ever been turned off by a business’s generic-looking website layout? If you know some HTML and have a good eye for design, you can launch a service to create attractive, easy-to-use websites for small businesses. You can put your skills to good use for business owners who want to take their online presence to the next level. Build up a portfolio of work with smaller freelance jobs, then create your own website to show it off and bring in a steady stream of clients.


4. Resume/cover letter writing – It's a tough truth to swallow, but a standout resume and cover letter can make all the difference when applying jobs. While listing career accomplishments might seem like an easy task, the fine art of “humble bragging” eludes some of us. Get hired to help others get hired by writing stellar resumes. Capitalize on the increasingly important social media branding bandwagon and offer to fix LinkedIn profiles as well. 

5. Professional freelancer – You might not think of freelancing as a business, but with more and more companies turning to part-time contract workers to fill their skill gaps, it's not hard to imagine making a living providing businesses with a variety of freelance services. Depending on your skill sets, you could work for multiple companies in a variety of fields, offering flexibility and a refreshing change of pace. According to the freelance job listing website Freelancer.com, tech services, content creation and web design are popular fields for contract work.


 
6. Affiliate marketing – If you're a person that loves leaving customer reviews on sites like Amazon, stop doing it for free. Word-of-mouth advertising is still a huge lead generator for many companies, and a lot of businesses are willing to share a portion of their profits with persuasive individuals who will promote their products to the public. If you have a personal website with a large following, this might be easier to accomplish (PR reps are always seeking out brand advocates they can send free samples to). Smart Passive Income breaks down three types of affiliate marketing and explains which one is most profitable.

 7. Health/nutrition coach – When it comes to nutrition, Americans seem to have a mental block. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 70 percent of the adult population is overweight or obese, and many people that want to lose weight and eat better simply don't know where to start. You don't necessarily need to be a registered dietitian (RD) to offer meal plans and diet counseling to your client base, either. With the right combination of personal support and nutrition and exercise knowledge, you could be helping people get healthier through your online service.

8. eBook author – Have a ton of knowledge on a particular subject that you want to share with the public? With e-readers now a staple in most households, self-publication has become a reality for many writers who might never get picked up by publishing companies. With the right marketing tools, you can successfully publish your own books on anything from cooking and weight loss to real estate. Inbound Pro’s advice from successful e-Book authors offers tips for writing content that sells.

9. Remote technical support – Many small businesses don't have room in their budget for a full-time IT employee, so when their systems go on the fritz, they'll usually call a computer whiz friend or family member. If you have experience working on computers and networks, you can eliminate their need to call in a favor and offer immediate remote technical assistance.

10. Virtual consignment store – Bargain hunters and thrift store enthusiasts can turn a nice profit reselling their vintage clothing finds. Brand yourself by setting up an independent website as your virtual storefront, but use a managed service like Google Checkout to handle transactions. High-resolution images and catchy copy for your products will make you stand out in the sea of Internet users trying to sell their used items..

11. Handmade craft seller – Online sites like Etsy and ArtFire are platforms that make it extremely easy for crafters who can produce a steady supply of quality handmade items, like crocheted blankets or unique painted glassware. Startup costs are extremely low if you purchase your materials in bulk from a craft supplier, and if you can turn orders around quickly, you’ll be making a profit in no time at all. It’s even possible to turn your store into a full-time gig.

12. Teaching online courses – You don’t need a degree in education to teach people how to do something you know inside and out. You can help others enrich their lives by offering classes in an area you’re passionate about, like yoga or baking. Create instructional packets and videos for download from a website, or schedule real-time Skype lessons with clients.

13. App development – Mobile applications are more popular than ever, and people are willing to pay good money for ways to manage their lives from their smartphones. If you have a great idea and happen to know coding, you can run with it and create your app yourself. If you just have an idea and don't know the ins and outs of how to turn it into a reality, there are plenty of software developers looking to collaborate with people on app creation.

 More at:http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4572-online-business-ideas.html

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Advice From 100 Successful Entrepreneurs On Starting Your Own Business

Advice From 100 Successful Entrepreneurs On Starting Your Own Business

 

1. I wish I would have known how unpredictable things can be at ALL times. I read a lot before starting my business and realized unexpected things happen, but never did I realize the frequency in which they do. You really need to learn how to adapt everyday to things you may not have forseen waking up that morning. – Scott Fineout
2. Before going into business I wish I knew the importance of having an established “Advisory Board”.  Having a mentor is one thing but having a counsel of people who are not only experts in various business related functions but are also cheerleaders and coaches for your success is another. – Kellie L. Posey
3. I wish I knew about the value of keeping it simple. Starting out young with plenty of energy and great ideas led me down many paths of distraction. Instead, by focusing first on what sells, why and at what price and then staying true to that over time, I would have saved a lot of headaches, time and supported profitability a lot sooner. The saying KISS is popular for a reason and particularly applicable when you’re an entrepreneur. – Deborah Osgood
4. The one thing that I wish I knew before starting a business was how much time you spend learning – it is constant – from self development, to business basics, to social media, – talk about wearing many hats! Oh my and thought motherhood was challenging. I love to learn new things but had no idea it was going to be like this. You have to learn how to act, how to present, how to close, how to keep in contact, how to prospect, and how to keep customers! – Michelle Morton
5. Focus on yourself as much as your product/service. The recipe is only as good as the Chef preparing the dish. – Mujteba H. Naqvi
6. That whatever my start-up budget is… I should have multiplied it by three – Aliya Jiwa
7. The most important, and costly, lesson I had to learn is that in order to grow in a good economy, and in order to survive in a bad one, it’s necessary to understand that one person can’t do it all. It requires the efforts of a team (sales, accounting, production-service delivery, management, etc.) to be effective. Too many young entrepreneurs, myself included, feel they can do it all. That’s a huge mistake. – Tom Coalson
8. Financially, I learned that you should get incorporated and need to have a great accountant that specializes in small business taxes.I also discovered that success is easier to achieve if you learn from people that know more than you instead of going it alone. – Eddy Salomon
9. I wish I would have known that the hardest part of owning and operating my own business would NOT have been how to create revenue on a monthly basis. I wish I would have hired a full time IT guy and a shrink to manage with my sales force! – Bradley W. Smith
10. I really wished I developed more social skills early on to spend more time developing relationships. Networking has been key to bringing in more business and I had practice this social ability more, then business may have come sooner rather than later. – Ali Allage
11. The best thing i did is to outsource all my administrative tasks. Now i have enough time to focus on other important tasks. – Gagan
12. Never pay full price for anything online (office supplies, stock photography, services, etc.)–always Google for coupons. – Bill Even
13. Location, location, location. It really is true! – Tanya Peila
14.  Finding the right Accounting / Financial Manager right up front was our biggest learning and biggest mistake. Completely changed our financial performance and caused us to hit a wall we should have avoided. – Mike Cleary
15. I wish I knew how much general information I would need to know and how long the process would take. Almost three years later Im still in the “set-up” phase to my business and teaching myself all about websites, graphic design, business law, bookkeeping, customer service, etc. – Leslie Boudreau
16. It’s important to get customer validation early on. You can have the greatest technology, or website, or service, or whatever, but it’s ultimately meaningless if you haven’t verified that there are actually customers willing to spend money on or around what you do. – Adam Rodnitzky
17. Business partnerships are like marriages and should be entered with the same care.  Like marriages, there are a lot of assumptions about what the partnership is/is not and communication about those will lead to better success. – J. Kim Wright
18. I wish I had known how few true entrepreneurs there are out there. Every time I thought I had a kindred spirit with whom to share experiences, lean on for support and provide support to them, it turned out that they were looking for a paycheck. Find a partner and a kindred spirit BEFORE you launch.  – Tom Reid
19. Small business owners should carefully reflect on how they can tastefully build referral sources through all contacts, and how to utilize social networks, including the vast resources of the internet, to build a referral base and, in turn, a client base. – Jay Weinberg
20. I wish I knew how important it is to never rely on anyone else. I  wasted a number of years “networking” in hopes of people referring  business. It never worked. My career took off when I assumed  responsibility for every aspect, including marketing and sales. – Rob Frankel
21. I did not realize the level of sacrifice that would be required to become not only an entrepreneur, but a successful entrepreneur. Don’t get me wrong, it is worth every single second, but I had no idea that friends and family would not be able to relate. – Amber Schaub
22. I wish I had understood how little time I would have to do the things that I need to do in order to “produce” and to make money. Make sure that you spend your time and your energy on the revenue generating matters. Spend the money necessary to get help. Pay someone else to take care of all of the admin stuff. – Francoise Gilbert
23. I wish I knew how hard it was to manage employees and have good, competent help. I also wish I knew how to market, advertise, and work these social media tools. – Jamie Puntumkhul
24. Have a serious exit strategy & plan prior to opening doors. As an entrepreneur I was ready and willing to take the plunge to open my own company, but didn’t realize I had to structure my company around the exit strategy (i.e. make it sellable and transferable, and self sustaining without my everyday presence). – Christopher N. Okada
25. With my first companies I wished I had lined up a client and received a commitment to buy before I jumped in the water. – Patrick  J. Sweeny II
26. I wish that I would have known that my MBA wasn’t necessary to be an entrepreneur. I started business before and thought the MBA+ would give me a better insight to prevent me from making mistakes but I believe you either have it or you don’t. – Janice Robinson-Celeste
27. I wish I would have known how expensive running a business is – mainly payroll taxes, medical insurance, etc. We researched all of our fixed costs, however, the more we billed out, the less we keep. – Marian H. Gordon
28. Find the very best, most knowledgeable people you can afford and hire them with not just salary, but incentives. The better the people, the better the job done and advice given. – Ric Morgan American Business Arts Corporation
29. Several years after starting my business I learned that the best source of advice and peer support are fellow entrepreneurs, especially those who have attained the level of business success to which I aspire. – Charles E. McCabe
30. I wish I had understood the value of investing in high-level talent. As a start-up, it’s scary to think about hiring someone whose experience demands a higher-level salary. So you tend to hire less experienced individuals, but they typically don’t bring the intellectual capital or business savvy that can help you grow faster. – Susan Wilson Solovic
31. Starting a business is like getting married, you think you know what youre getting into and that youll be better then the median, but when it comes down to it you have no idea. – Summer Bellessa
32. The biggest thing I’ve learned and wish I would have known before I had started our company is the difference between sales and marketing. Everyone says sales and marketing together like they’re the same
thing. They’re not. – Scott D. Mashuda
33. I wish I would have known how important a real business plan was, a marketing strategy, and exit strategy were. You should really plan your first two years and have a hit list of sales/marketing opportunities that are interested before you take the leap. – Ben Wallace
34. Probably the most important thing I wish I had realized earlier was how little I knew about how consumers bought things on the Internet. I have been a web developer for years and knew all about technology, but little about marketing and getting inside the mind of the consumer. – Sara Morgan
35. You can’t put your life on hold while waiting for your venture to hit.   I have tremendous regret  around all of the family events, vacations, and time with friends that I missed because I was working on getting my film/company off the ground. – Pamela Peacock
36. Admittedly, we went into GiveForward knowing we’d have to be flexible and patient. All of the good books tell you this, but no one really tells you how emotionally draining that wait can be. – Desiree Vargas
37. Hands down without a doubt no questions asked – effective marketing. It truly does not matter how great your product or service is unless someone knows about it you are still behind the start line. – Leanne Hoagland-Smith
38. I thought if I had a great product and an attractive, functioning website customers would come.  Boy, was I wrong!  In the online world its all about SEO! – Semiha Manthei
39. I wish I’d have known that the only thing important in business is building a product that someone will buy. That’s it. It’s real easy for first time founders to get caught up in visions of grandeur – but in reality, the only things that matter are having a great product, and having customers that will pay actual money for it. – Brett Owens
40. Business books and all the education in the world can give you the foundation for starting a business, But they cannot show you the cold hard truth about how difficult it can be to start a business. – Michael Grosheim
41. One thing I wish I knew right off the bat is the benefit of networking.  I spent a lot of time trying to tackle everything on my own, but its really important to reach out to fellow entrepreneurs, complimentary businesses, family and friends for advice and support. – Cailen Ascher Poles
42. I wish I had known how important it is to outsource to other  professionals instead of trying to do everything myself, and  ultimately not always doing everything correctly. – Jennifer Hill
43. I wish I knew exactly how important it is to prioritize tasks and goals. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in the last few months is to prioritize what is important, in order of its proportionate worth. It is easy to do the little things that make you feel like you are accomplishing something, but it is the big important things that need your full attention – even if it is uncomfortable. – Evan Urbania
44. I was naive enough to think that if I had a great product that helped  people and at the same time had the lowest prices available for the  products we did sell that word would spread and people would be  excited to use our product. – Chris Sorrells
45. I wish I had known that you dont need to be right with your first iteration of your business plan.  Young businesses naturally deviate from their roadmap as the founders ideas about what will work get tested by reality.  Smart entrepreneurs listen to the feedback they get and adapt. – Matt Lally
46. I wish I’d understood the incalculable value of having just the right executive assistant, someone who can leverage your time and actually be an extension of yourself. – Barry Maher
47. I wish I had more marketing skills to take my business to the next level.  At this point I have to hire someone as I am super limited in this area. – Deb Bailey
48. I’ve learned that I can’t micromanage everything, no matter how much I want to. Sometimes you have to delegate certain responsibilties to others. Not only did this help keep me sane, but it was good for team building amongst employees. – Lev Ekster
49. I wish someone would have explained the difference between sales verses marketing. – Tom Pryor
50. I wish I knew depth of the thought process needed in starting a business, especially on a personal level. I wish I understood how my thoughts would affect my business. – Jennifer Ann Bowers
51. I wish I understand “cash flow”. I figured that as long as I brought in lots of business, the business would be great. Cash is king and always keep MORE of it than you forecast or expect to need. – Ryan Kohnen
52. I wish I had taken a class, or gotten practical experience in, using business accounting software. The investment would’ve been minimal, and it would’ve saved me (and my accountant) hours of frustration. Additionally, I wish I had spent a few bucks on an accountant to set up my books properly. – Shane Fischer
53. What I didn’t know then was the value of networking. You never know where business will come from. And having friends and acquaintances from political, business and social circles may prove to be your best new business referral! – Melissa Stevens
54. I wish I completely understood what “cash flow” meant and how important it is to live within a budget and how important it is to hire the correct people, rather than just able bodies. – Kelly Delaney
55. The one thing that I wish I would have known before going into business more, was my own strengths and how I use them on a daily basis. – Jason C. Raymer
56. Trademark/ Copyright info – 3 months after we had started one of the businesses we had to completely scrap all the branding and build a totally new site, social media, EVERYTHING due to a legal issue regarding trademark. – Sarah Cook
57. I wish I knew how to proficiently do marketing via the web, newsletters and blogs. The other key thing is to get the right coach. I eventually used www.onecoach.com, headed by John Assaraf of “The Secret”, who finally helped me pull my business together. – Nancey C. Savinelli
58. I really had to understand the “basics” of business and how to capitalize on the small opportunities to given to me and turn them into “larger than life” success stories. – Darren Magarro
59. I wish that early on I had sought out more business leaders in my field. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized the value of the knowledge to be learned from veteran industry players and how it could help me grow my business. – Jim Janosik
60. I wish I had seriously thought about branding and the longevity of the brand. Looking back, I should have thought about what was going to define my company, what would be a look that would last for years and not go out with the trends, and what image I wanted my customers to see when they first started researching my company. – Katie Webb
61. If you have taken the time to think through things (price, service, contracts, delivery) don’t be so quick to change it up just because a Client wants you to. – Joni Daniels
62. I wish I knew not to expect things to happen for us. Often times, we were waiting to get lucky and not making our own luck. We learned that nothing is going to get handed to us on a silver platter and if we want it, we have to go out and get it. – Ben Lerer
63. At the time of founding it I was so focused on survival I didn’t think about the exit strategy. – Laurence J. Stybel
64. I wish I’d know how much easier it is to build a business around an established market that’s already looking for a solution to its problems rather than trying to build the market around the business I wanted to start. – John Crickett
65. How challenging it is to get people who request our services to pay. Since we are a nonprofit/community organization, everyone thinks our services are free because of grants or corporate giving. – Candi Meridith
66. You have to have to have some sort of passion in order to be successful. But no matter how much you want to believe it, doing what you love because you love it and doing what you love as a business are different. Don’t expect every day to be bliss. – Andy Hayes
67. I wish I knew it didn’t take tons of money to get started, so I would have started it sooner. I think that holds a lot of people back. – Candy Keane
68. When I was opening my first business, I made the near lethal error of leasing a business location without a plan. Once I got in the location I had to do three times the amount of marketing necessary just to contend with the competition. I spent more on marketing than I would have spent on the extra rent of a better spot on the street I was on. – S. Zargari
69. I would have spent more time selecting the most qualified technical resource by interviewing more people more strenously to ensure we got the most talented resource for our money…both short term and long term – Jennifer Myers Robb
70. Get a coach – someone who can walk you through the jungle to get you to the gold. Why bother flying blind, when others have blazed the trail before you? Starting a business without a coach is like getting in the car and driving. Sure you can move–and fast–but using a map is so much smarter than not. – Richard J. Atkins
71. I wish I’d known it would not be enough to know my stuff cold. (I’m a subject matter expert, but the same would apply to someone with a product.) You have to really know (or be willing to learn FAST) how
to market yourself and have a plan to do it. – Judy Hoffman
72. I just wish I knew how much free goods I would have to give out in order to promote my products. – Jacqui Rosshandler
73. I wish I knew that there was a fine line between self-employment and un-employment. Second, I wish that I knew more about the competitiveness of my type of business and had spent some time interviewing people who were successfully doing what I wanted to do. – Cyndi A. Laurin

More at : http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/advice-from-100-successful-entrepreneurs-on-starting-your-own-business/

 

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7 Ways Startups Can Kill It With LinkedIn

So you’re a startup and you want to crush it in the worldwide business community using LinkedIn? If only we had met 12 months ago but its okay I am here now to save the day. If you haven’t already figured it out, LinkedIn has long gone past the point of being a place to get you your next job and moved into one of the best business development tools you have ever seen.

 

I was lucky enough to spend two full days, with some of LinkedIn’s finest, (from Silicon Valley) when they were in town 3 weeks ago. I was also fortunate enough to be one of the first people in Australia to become what’s known as a LinkedIn Instruct trainer. What does this fancy title mean you ask? It means that I am certified to train any of my 40,000 colleagues on the benefits of LinkedIn Sales Navigator as a business development tool – you guys get access to this info though, thanks to Addicted2Success.

1. A premium account is very valuable and here’s why

LinkedIn offer a range of different premium accounts depending on what you use it for. In the past I have found the free one to be more than adequate but once you want to move on from using it as a networking tool and to using it as a business development tool I am afraid you will need to pay. Don’t stress about this though because the investment is well worth it and everything, that I talk about in this article, can be done with a Premium Sales Navigator account.  The main reason you need a premium version is that the sales landscape has changed. “An average of 5.4 decision makers are now involved with a buying decision.” A premium account will help uncover who those decision makers are which can’t be done easily any other way.

2. Take those skeletons out of the closet and show the real you

Too many people on LinkedIn try and hide things about themselves. If you want this to be a successful business development tool for your startup, then you really need to consider putting as much valuable content about yourself on your profile, along with a quality photo. A lot of founders try and hide their skeletons but what they don’t realise is that things that they think they should hide, they actually should show to the rest of the world because it makes them real. Failures are one of those things you should be proud of and you should show it off on your profile.
You should also make as much of your profile public. This means that in your settings you can select to show different bits of information to people you’re not connected with. This is very important because success on LinkedIn means being open and honest. The moment you don’t, it lessens its effectiveness significantly. With my own profile, I have chosen to show everything publically and to my connections. The advantage here is that if someone has never done business with me before they can really do their research first, before having to make contact with me.

“Think about it, would you prefer to do business with someone you know a bit about or that you have been referred to, or a complete stranger?”

3. On to the sexy stuff – premium features

The premium tools are what allow business development on LinkedIn to occur. See below for what each one does and get using them asap.
•    Send Inmails – the way to speak with people you don’t know.
•    Save accounts and leads – an easy way to keep track of prospects
•    Separate LinkedIn page – this is a separate page that only show you what your leads / accounts are up to so you can be well informed.
•    Lead recommendations – get to know who the other decision makers are in a prospect’s company.
•    Unlocking people beyond your third-degree connections – a premium feature that is really helpful when you have no connections in common with someone and want to view their profile. You get 25 of these per month.
•    See who’s viewed your profile – great for starting a conversation with someone and finding out why they looked you up.
•    Lead Builder – build your own custom list of leads via a highly targeted search tool.
•    Teamlink – see who else within your team or within your 1st degree connections might know a prospect to get a warm introduction

4. You must be the most recent and the most frequent

Jack Delosa, who was recently featured on Addicted2Success, says at his Unconvention event that you must be the “most frequent and the most recent,” in front of your prospect (without spamming them) and if you are this will significantly help you to win the business. LinkedIn will help you do this by being able to stay top of mind with any prospect you’re following. By commenting on their posts, liking their status’s and inviting them to groups you’re able to get them to remember you easier than any other way – especially if the comments you write are valuable and insightful.
With Sales Navigator, you will be able to follow people without notifying them, before you decide to connect. This can help you to see what their company is doing via the news feed and track any content or comments they post. Whether you’re a startup or a sales person, this takes a lot of the researching out of your day. You can take this a step further by seeing if they have a Facebook Fan page where you can use the same strategy. A word of warning though, make sure your Facebook page is clean and doesn’t have any photos that you would rather not let your business prospects see. A photo of you in your birthday suit, sculling a beer would not be something you want the business world to see I’m sure!

“A photo of you in your birthday suit, sculling a beer would not be something you want the business world to see I’m sure!”

5. The way you connect with people is important

With LinkedIn, it’s always best practice to try and only connect with people you know first. As a startup, you want to be able to prospect with it and there are two ways to do this without knowing the person first. One way is to see whom you have in common with them and then ask that person for an intro. I don’t personally do this too much as I am more like a hawk and like to avoid any delays. I find this works for me about 90% of the time. The other way is to save them as a lead and then send them an inmail to introduce yourself to them. It’s good practice to save them as a lead because it allows you to see them in your custom Sales Navigator news feed.
The aim here is to strike up a conversation and see if there are any synergies. If there are then it’s usually good to connect with them then and stay in touch. I like to always ask them how they like to keep in touch. Some people like email, some like Twitter and some still prefer the old fashioned SMS.
The only other thing, I would say about  connections, is that when I look at someone’s profile for the first time, their LinkedIn connections tell me a powerful, subconscious message about them. This is because the types of people you mix with tell someone a lot about your character and your interests. I find it fascinating to see who I have in common with someone and I can be often seen in first meetings with clients, on an iPad, comparing whom we have in common.

6. Increase your “Social Selling Index.” What an earth is that?

The reason, I was given the opportunity to do the LinkedIn Instruct training, is thanks to a new phrase your going to hear a lot more in the business world about called your “Social Selling Index.” In simple terms, this means your score out of 100 to be able to sell via social media on sites like LinkedIn. Mine ranked as one of the highest in our organisation based on a number of different factors. Those factors included things like number of connections, the amount of connections that had a senior role in an organisation, the number of Inmails sent, my interaction with the community via comments / likes, the number of people who viewed my profile etc.
If your startup or sales people are serious about using this tool then you’ll need to get this index higher, although the most important factor here is really the profile part.

7. Inamils are important and are gods gift to you

It goes without saying that Inmails are an important communication tool on LinkedIn and having a compelling subject line will determine part of your success. If the newspaper can draw people in via a headline then you can do the same with a subject line of an Inmail. A story, that I heard recently, was of a sales person who found out that a prospect used to own a Porsche (a mutual connection told him). Rather than sending a boring Inmail introducing himself, he chose to make it all about the prospect and write a subject title that was human. The subject title he chose was “How’s the Porsche running?” What was clever is that this title showed the prospect that there had been research done before making contact rather than sending something more generic. He got a very prompt response from the prospect, which led on to further discussions after that.

The other important factors of  an Inmail are:
- No more than 3 paragraphs
- Mention someone you have in common with the prospect
- Ask questions about them and don’t talk about yourself too much
- Try not to talk too much about your company until the prospect asks
- When making requests in the Inmail, always give them a chance to make a counter offer
- Get to the point and ask for their contact details when you feel the times right
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to very senior people – you will be surprised at the response rate

 More at:http://addicted2success.com/startups/7-ways-startups-can-crush-linkedin-as-a-business-development-tool/

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5 Ways Fiverr Jump-Started My Life as an Entrepreneur

 


In your heart you may believe you have the skills to start a new business but you're stalling because you haven’t proved it to anyone, not even yourself.
How do you earn the credibility you need to attract the clients you want? How do you transition from thinking about becoming an entrepreneur to actually developing the skills needed for long-term success without the pressure of raising startup funds and investing in marketing?
If going for an MBA is out of your price range, I highly suggest using Fiverr as a source of business accreditation. Fiverr is an online marketplace where anyone can sell products or services for as little as $5 and have their work reviewed by customers. Don’t be fooled by the low pricing. Hundreds of skilled professionals are using this platform to create a steady stream of income, charging more than the initial starting price and I am one of them.
My journey with Fiverr began as a simple experiment. I wondered if I could earn income by offering a service that I usually did for fun. This trial effort has since evolved into a full-time consulting business and I have helped dozens of business owners by creating marketing, branding and business development strategies and helping visionaries structure their ideas.
Through Fiverr, I was able to help numerous clients meet their business goals and now I can confidently identity myself as a digital branding and marketing specialist. Today I offer my creative services, along with other helpful information, on my own web platform. I still solicit work through Fiverr because it is a great way to introduce my services to emerging businesses.
Fiverr gigs, which might seem like small fries to many businesspeople, have allowed me to supersize my income and offered me the credibility I needed to create a brand-new dream from scratch. Here’s how Fiverr can help you build your business skills as an entrepreneur:

1. Turn play into pay.

When you offer a service for $5, it can’t be too complex or you'll take a loss. Beginning a business on Fiverr forced me to offer a service initially that I could deliver without elaborate effort, yet still add value to people’s lives. It had to be something that I would be thrilled to produce so that the novelty of creating it wouldn’t wear off.
I chose to offer digital marketing services, the very activities that always felt like "play" to me.
Offer a service that feels like play and your income will increase exponentially since entrepreneurs flourish when they do work they enjoy.

2. Reveal your goals to the world.

It's easy to hide a passion if you aren’t very confident in your abilities. But if you want to make sales through Fiverr, you can’t hide.
Not only did I feel like I had to share the fact that I was offering a service on Fiverr for $5; I had to announce to everyone I knew that I was undertaking a new goal. That was scary because if I didn’t do well, everyone would know.
Fiverr forces you to publicly acknowledge the goal you're trying to reach, which every entrepreneur needs to do if they want to reach the next level in business.

3. Become a better communicator.

This platform helped me to further hone my skills as a communicator by introducing me to many other personalities that challenged me to create a digital voice that was appealing and professional.
Through trial and error, I also learned the importance of communicating to potential clients what they should expect from my work. I set limits on what I was willing to offer and established terms for how my work would be evaluated.
I learned that responding quickly and politely, assuring customers that I sincerely wanted them to be pleased with the work and offering a money-back guarantee helped customers trust my intentions.

4. Become confident.   

Because of my work on Fiverr, creating solutions for businesses is now second nature to me and I am completely confident in my ability to offer a service I once thought slightly out of my league.
When a potential customer contacts me to share a marketing goal or business-development issues, I can typically decide which type of solution I can offer within five minutes.
With dedicated practice you can become astute at problem solving, reducing the time you will spend on each project and that will enable you to help more customers and increase your profits.

5. Keep trying.

When you begin working toward a new business goal, you might make mistakes. Those mistakes may lead you to believe that you have sabotaged your progress forever. After a while I began to understand that each time a customer decided not to work with me there was a lesson to be learned.
Fiverr delivers such a steady stream of clients that even when I felt rejected, I knew that I had to dust myself off and move forward with confidence because each new sunrise would bring a new customer and a fresh opportunity to adjust my business style and work toward delivering perfect execution of my skills.
As an entrepreneur develop a system that lets you flow seamlessly from one project to the next, exceeding the expectations of customers along the way.

More at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242687

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The Power Of Youtube For Online Marketing

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Add Youtube To Your Marketing Plan

Youtube is one of the most visited websites on the internet. It’s also a search engine. I suggest you put your business on it. Although this idea of using Youtube to increase your online presence is an obvious no brainer, it’s not always easy to get videos produced. If you have someone on board who can video edit, you should consider allocating some time for them to produce videos. Otherwise you can find decent videographers in your area who are relatively inexpensive (see craigslist.org). Here are the reason’s why you should go the Youtube route:


1. Youtube Is The Number 3 Most Popular Site On The Internet.
People spend a lot of time on Youtube. People mostly use Youtube for entertainment, but the way Youtube is designed, people will eventually run into your videos. Thanks to Youtube’s related video panel, chances are people will see your video as a possible compliment to the video they have just finished watching. Just be sure to title your video in a seductive manner.

2. Youtube Results Show Up On The Front Page Of Google.
Why not help your search engine presence with some video results as well. In the ongoing battle for search dominance, Youtube video placement is part of the two pronged attack of getting on the first page of Google. If you don’t get your videos on Google, your competitors will.

3. Video Is A Powerful Communication And Marketing Tool.
Video is attention grabbing. It quickly relays your message to your viewers. The best part is your viewers don’t have to read! In contrast to your website, chances are most of your visitors simply skim over your website textual content. They never read every word (bloggers, this section is meant for more commerce clientele). This doesn’t mean your site should not have many words, it’s just the words are really their to serve the search engine bots. With that said, write for the search engines and produce videos for the humans.
The beauty of video is that it communicates in three synergistic ways that website text alone can’t compete with: sound, images and text. Video is by far the most effective form of communication (read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud) .

4. Ranking Well In Youtube Is Relatively Easy.
Since Youtube is only a few years old, ranking in Youtube is sort of easy right now. Make sure you title your videos with your favorite keywords and add some useful tags. And take advantage of it now! The web so far has treated early comers better than the stragglers. So when something new hits the web, get on it quickly.

More at:  http://www.ocsearchconsulting.com/blog/search-engine-optimization/the-power-of-youtube-for-online-marketing.html

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4 Things That Can Break a Leader

4 Things That Can Break a Leader

Avoid these actions, or risk weakening your leadership.

Jim Alampi

One doesn’t need to look far or wide to find what leading entrepreneurs and business executives do to make their companies so profitable, innovative and successful. But what about all the things they avoid doing? Like kryptonite to Superman, some activities are poison to the head honcho at any business. Here are four things that smart leaders avoid at all costs.

• Attempting to make perfect decisions: “Paralysis by analysis” is a serious shortcoming for many CEOs. The mentality that you can never have enough data will only hold your company back.

• Wearing too many hats: Smart leaders do not build companies that revolve entirely around themselves. No one person can be an expert in every facet of a business. Know your specialty and stick to it.

• Attending all meetings: It can be a growth experience to have a subordinate attend a meeting in your place and then brief you on what occurred. And it saves time.

• Under-communicate: Good leaders do the opposite. Executives should not be afraid to over-communicate the same message multiple times; providing the same information via different channels increases the likelihood that employees will actually remember what you tell them.

- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/4-things-that-can-break-a-leader#sthash.shOMoTCt.dpuf

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5 Perfect 'Spare-Time' Online Businesses

With all the doom and gloom news about the economy, there's never been a better time to make an extra paycheck online with a minimal amount of time and effort.

If you have an internet connection, you can get started on the road to having the internet pay for your mortgage, car payment, kids' college tuition, or even that special vacation you've wanted. Now, don't worry that you have to be a tech whiz to start a business online--I'm a complete techno-dunce.

A perfect part-time business would have to be very easy to start, require little time and money and no technical expertise, be easy to maintain with just a few hours a week and have a proven track record with a high probability of success.

There's actually one other important criteria--it has to be perfect for you! Experience has taught me that it's different strokes for different folks, and there is no "one size fits all" perfect business. You're much more likely to be successful if you do something you find fun and interesting.

With that in mind, here are five of the best ways to make extra cash moonlighting on the internet:

1. Information marketing: We're in the information age, and the internet provides you with the ideal medium to exchange know-how for money. Do you know the best fishing holes? How to play guitar? The secrets to a successful marriage? A recipe for moist and delicious brownies? A trick for saving gas?

Think about your career, your hobbies and your interests. Virtually anything you know can be turned into extra cash. And don't worry if you think you're not an expert--as long as you know more than the average person on the topic, that information is valuable.

However, if you don't believe you know anything that others would pay for (highly unlikely), you can take someone else's know-how and make money that way! It could be as easy as interviewing a veterinarian to help you create a dog-training product.

Ninety-two percent of people go online looking for information, and you could be one of the many people cashing in on selling it.

2. eBay: One of the largest online marketplaces makes it a piece of cake to get your own business going. You can open an account and start making money within hours on eBay!

While I dislike that whole "sell your garbage on eBay" thing, there is some validity to it as many people get their start on eBay by selling items from their garage or attic that pre-eBay would have been thrown out. This approach is fine, but where is the business once you run out of those items? If you want to create an eBay business that doesn't require tons of time and effort, you need to leverage products that can be sold over and over again.

This is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the "eBay seller for hire" kinds of opportunities, where you sell things on eBay for other people. You get access to stuff people want to sell, but because each item is unique you have to work to list each and every one. There's no leverage there!

Take a look at some of the largest eBay PowerSellers and notice how they specialize in very specific products (iPods, cell phones, dog grooming kits, etc.). This allows them to leverage their efforts. A listing is created once, and money is collected over and over again.

Unlike information marketing, this business requires the handling of physical goods, but even that can be automated, so it shouldn't prevent you from considering this idea.

3. Affiliate marketing: This may possibly be the absolute laziest way to make money because it doesn't require you to have a product, make a sale or ever have any interaction with customers.

This is essentially a "referral" business, or as one of my book contributors likes to call it, "passionate recommendations." Basically, you can get paid a referral commission just for sending people to sites (or vendors) that are set up to pay affiliate fees once a sale is made. The vendor does all the selling, fulfills the purchase and handles any customer service issues--and you just collect your check..not bad!

Some people choose affiliates based on who or what is paying the highest commissions, and that certainly is a viable option. Most people opt to choose products or goods they are passionate about so that the process is much more fun and engaging.

Insurance and credit card companies pay high commissions for referrals that convert to customers ($40 to $150 and up), but the competition is fierce. It may pay well, but is this something you'll enjoy doing for the long haul?

Alternatively, you could take a look at your hobbies and other things you enjoy and see which affiliate programs are a good match. As always, do your research to verify the viability of your market. A good place to look for ideas (and downloadable products just waiting for an affiliate) is ClickBank.com.

4. Blogging: This business is best suited for folks who enjoy communicating about a particular subject. Think of blogs as journals of sorts. Although you can have a personal blog, writing about a particular topic will have a higher chance for financial success.

The range of topics is virtually endless--photography, sports cars, parenting, dieting, star gazing, the latest gadgets, Hollywood gossip--you name it, as there are blogs on just about everything you can imagine. Don't worry about competition. Folks who read one blog are apt to read others on a topic they're passionate about, as long as you have something interesting to say.

Once your blog starts getting traffic, you can make money passively with things like AdSense (Google's ad revenue sharing plan) or actively by doing a little bit of affiliate marketing. You can see both types of moneymaking strategies at SparkleCat.com, which is a blog about a person's cat. What makes it interesting is that it's written from the cat's perspective and often refers to her "human." At the top of the page are Google AdSense ads, and sprinkled throughout are suggestions for things like cat furniture and premium cat food, which are tied to an affiliate program. Pretty cool, no?

5. Yahoo! Store: This business is very similar to eBay in the sense that it's a monster-sized marketplace but more similar to a store in the true sense of the word. Think having your own retail outlet but without the hassles of rent, employees, utilities and all the other expenses of a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

The neat thing is that it can be as hands-on or as hands-off as you want it to be because of companies called drop-shippers, which can do most of the work for you. In fact, you don't even pay for the inventory until you make a sale. How cool is that?

Most people think the hard part of this business is creating your virtual store, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yahoo! has made the templates and wizards so easy that, dare I say, even a caveman can do it!

The best way to ensure your success is to do your homework and research what products people most want to buy. You need to find a niche. Once again, start with things you enjoy. Let's say you love fishing. What products do fishing folks want to buy most? (Or get even more specific, like, what are bass fishermen looking to buy?)

Then the task is to find the right source of those products so you can carry them in your Yahoo! Store. In most cases, you'll be able to pull pictures and product descriptions directly from your sources and plug them right into your store.

As you can see, this business requires a little bit more upfront work, but once it's done it can be maintained with very little regular input on your part.

There you have it--five perfect part-time businesses. Are you ready to start moonlighting on the internet now?

More at:  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/194524

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