1. You do not need to provide a physical workspace. A virtual assistant works from their own home or office. This is especially convenient if you are running a business from home or if you have limited space at your own office.

2. You do not need to provide costly equipment. Virtual assistants use their own equipment to provide services to you. This can result is tremendous savings especially if the virtual assistant has access to equipment that you don’t already own. Also, you don’t have the worries of dealing with the maintenance and upkeep of office equipment.

3. You save valuable time not performing tasks you don’t have time for or are not able to do. As a business owner, the highest and best use of your time is to work in your business. Delegating important and necessary administrative tasks like web design and maintenance, bookkeeping, writing, shopping cart setup, and other tasks will allow you to spend time developing your business and building relationships with your customers or clients.

4. You do not have to deal with payroll, taxes or benefits. You can hire a virtual assistant as an independent contractor which frees you from spending time dealing with tax filings and compliance issues. You also have the added benefit of hiring them just for the task at hand, paying them at an hourly rate or by the project. This is much more cost efficient than having a full time employee who you might not be able to fully utilize.

5. You can accelerate growth by finally having the time to focus on the most important issues of your business. The administrative tasks related to running a business are overwhelming, even for a one-person business! The best way to grow your business fast is to concentrate your energies working on your business and leaving everything else to your virtual assistant.

6. You have the freedom to work on growing and improving your business/life skills, knowledge, and relationships. We have a vision for our business. We are constrained by time which limits how quickly we can move towards achieving the goals which underlie that vision. With the help of a virtual assistant, we’ll have more time to do the things that matter most to us, the things that will bring richness and enjoyment to our life.

7. You are able to make better decisions by having a partner to “bounce” ideas off. Having an assistant is a great benefit especially if you are a solopreneur. Their strengths, background, and expertise can provide fresh eyes through which to view your business problems and projects. There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “Two heads are better than one.”

8. You have peace of mind knowing that the details are being handled. Most business owners find themselves swimming in details. There are so many things to handle, from paying the rent, to returning calls, from updating the customer data base, to sending out products. There are literally dozens and dozens of details to remember and juggle which leads to mental and physical exhaustion. By turning over these tasks to your assistant, you’ll get more done faster and with a lot less stress.

9. You are finally able to run your business instead of it running you. At some point during the progression of our business, we start feeling like our business is running us instead of the other way around. Feelings of overwhelm from the countless tasks we must complete can make it difficult to do anything at all. Partnering with a virtual assistant can help us avoid getting stuck. Instead, we can then stay focused on our goals and in control of our business.

10. You have flexibility to assume new, challenging opportunities. With the administrative details handled by your virtual assistant, you’ll automatically be more open to taking on new projects that can benefit you and your business. Your talents and creativity can really shine when you aren’t bogged down in details, overworked, or distracted by things that aren’t directly related to serving your clients.

© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith

Benefits of Virtual Assistance is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

Of course there are, but is it reasonable to expect that you can be one of them. Don’t let the hype surrounding the emergence of opportunities cause you to lose your common sense. Millionaires are made by effectively assessing the needs of a market and having a product or service that addresses those needs.

The internet can greatly expand your ways to sell products or services. Some people have been able to use this to make a great deal of money. Some companies that operate only on the net have made online millionaires of their founders.

Before the internet there were auctions, but no eBay. With thousands of items sold daily, each one making a profit for eBay, there is no doubt that the founders must be online millionaires.

Before the internet there were bookstores, but no Amazon.com. Amazon is now outdoing traditional bookstores. Don’t you wish you were the founder of Amazon?

Online millionaires start with an idea and a belief in themselves. They find a way to set themselves apart from the rest. Like real world millionaires, they often have enough faith in their ideas that they risk their own money and even seek additional funding elsewhere. Once they get started, they make themselves big enough that the other competition does not threaten them.

Online millionaires start early in the game. For example, now that we have eBay, people often forget there are other auctions. The only real competition Amazon has is traditional bookstores that were always there.

If you want to be an online millionaire, think of a need that is still largely unfulfilled. After that, you will probably have to believe in your idea enough to take some financial risks. If it doesn’t work, you lose your investment. If it does, you might join the ranks of online millionaires.

Believe the Hype? – Making Millions Online is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

One advantage to having a mobile kitchen is a word in its title “mobile.” Rather than staying in one location, someone with a mobile kitchen can attend events and sit in places for business in areas all over. This allows for high-paying events to be in reach for the business owner. The traditional stationary restaurant does not have the luxury of moving from on place to another based on potential profit. This is definitely one advantage to having a mobile kitchen over a stationary restaurant.

Another reason being able to move a restaurant can be a great advantage over a stay-in-place restaurant is that, if business is bad in a certain area, a mobile kitchen can get up and move to a location that will provide more customers and therefore more cash flow. With a restaurant in a building in one location, if a restaurant is failing because of the location such as scarcely populated area, or food that does not go together with the area, the owner can not just get up and move his business. He must figure out another alternative to moving in order to save his business.

One final reason that purchasing a concession trailer can be advantageous over a restaurant in a building is the fact that it is very affordable compared to the cost of a stationary restaurant. Hundreds of thousands of dollars may be required to successfully get a traditional restaurant off the ground. For as relatively little as $25,000 – $30,000, you can purchase an almost new, spacious concession trailer equipped with a grill, deep fryers and other cooking equipment suitable for running a restaurant. This is a fraction of the cost a traditional restaurant would cost just to get it ready to run, much less order food and other miscellaneous supplies.

There are several reasons that a mobile kitchen could be more beneficial to purchase than a regular restaurant. Some of them include that mobility is a very advantageous thing to be able to do with a restaurant, particularly if you are not having any luck in the location you are currently at. Another reason is that concession trailers cost much less to purchase, supply, insure, and maintain than any traditional restaurant you can find. Having a concession trailer does not have to be the end of the business line for you. Purchasing a concession food trailer can be just the stepping stone you need to move on to purchasing a traditional restaurant.

Become a Concession Vendor is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

Ha – don’t make me laugh. What do you think the chances are of ever getting to meet this 26-year old brat who has more money than you’ve had hot dinners?

Oh, you want to BE a Rich Jerk?

Well, that’s a completely different story! I’m going to tell you why.

A few days ago, I heard about this fellow who had sold a web site and business on eBay for a fabulous sum of money. More than that, he is still running extremely successful online businesses, which are adding to his considerable wealth, every minute of the day. Now, if like me, you’ve built the web sites, made sure that the search engines find them – and then still only make a modest living online, there’s surely something to learn from this guy’s approach. So, I bought the eBook that he wrote and, although it’s only a small book, it has some great advice.

The topics covered in the eBook include

· Which are the best affiliate companies to join
· Tips on writing a sales letter for your product or website
· Pay-per-click search engine strategies
· How to improve your search engine results
· Selling on eBay – some really interesting stuff here

I have to be honest here – there’s quite a bit of this information available in forums and discussion groups online. What isn’t there, though, is how this guy applies the information to his own online businesses to make a great living. I would also say that he’s got a chapter in the book about some investment strategies; that’s one area that I am going to steer well clear of, because I don’t know enough about investments to make a good judgment on the advice.

Will these strategies make me money?

Well, since I bought the eBook, I have already put a couple of strategies in place and can confirm that I have already got a return in my investment. The next trick is to reinvest the profits and build up some capital. Then, with some good working capital behind me, applying more of the tricks and tips to my online business will start to pay good dividends. If you want to check out the eBook for yourself, you can buy it online at Meet the Rich Jerk – there is a 45 day money-back guarantee. (I’d be surprised if you need it.)

Be a Rich Jerk! is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

There is money to be made on the internet if you know how, the problem is finding a proven way that anyone can follow. Most of the sites I checked out claimed to teach you how, but charge large amounts and deliver only vague information that did not help me. Finally found a system that delivered real results for me.

When I found Mark Warren’s Ultimate Wealth Package, I started out trying to poke holes in the system to prove it did not work, but could not find any holes in it. Even found several independent research sites that had compared his system to many others, basically confirming my findings.

The most recent research site found (www.brlent.com) compares 3 systems proven to work, listing unbiased strengths and weaknesses of each. I encourage you to look at this comparison if you are considering the Internet as an income source.

Avoid scams and concentrate on real $$$ is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

One of the first things to consider when starting a food concession business is the location where you will set up your vending equipment. You’re best bet is to set up in a highly trafficked area where many people live and work. One of the biggest parts of your clientele is potentially the work force around the location. Even better would be to find a highly trafficked area that also had little choice of food. People are more tempted to think outside the box and eat from your concession trailer. Many of these workers do not have a lot of time for a lunch break. Quick, simple, cheap, and delicious food is the key to drawing people in and creating loyal customers.

Another thing to consider when you start a concession business is what type of food you will serve. You must first consider the part of the country you are in. Goulash may not appeal to New Yorkers. Another thing you must consider is financial history of the area you are serving. Some people may neither desire or be able to afford sushi or caviar for lunch so be careful about offering food out of the economical means of those to whom you are planning to sell. Another thing to consider about food is how easy or difficult it may be to prepare in a mobile style kitchen and how long it will take to prepare. You definitely don’t want the items you are selling to take a long time to prepare. If so, people will be more tempted to just go into a sit-down restaurant to eat. Quickness is definitely a way to go for the food concession business.

One other thing you may want to weigh when setting up a food vending business is advertisement. Roadside signs and billboards are a great way to go, albeit expensive. A great way to make sure you have great advertising is to have exceptional food and service. With these to attributes, your company will be advertised by one of the best and most powerful means of advertisement: word-of-mouth. Get people to enjoy your food and the friendly face you offer in the middle of a possibly hectic workday. Having a great relationship with your customers is definitely a must when dealing with the food service industry. Other forms of advertisement include fliers, sale signs, and coupons. Bags, napkins, and containers with your company name and logo on them are also great ways to advertise. For the business with the larger budget, t-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers might be a way to go.

Whatever decisions you might make about your mobile concession business, there are certain things you must consider to make having a successful company easier. In the mobile food service industry, important options include location of your vending equipment, type of food served and advertising your business in order to make it more successful. By considering these things, you will have a better chance of making a name for yourself in the food industry.

Aspects of Creating a Mobile Concession Business is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

Yes, they may be running ads that are pulling in leads or customers. And yes, they may be writing a regular column for their local newspaper so they are perceived as the expert in their industry. And yes, they may even be doing a pretty good job of marketing on a regular basis to their prospect list.

So if they are doing all of these things “right,” how are they sabotaging their success? Well there are lots of ways.
Following are just a few of the ways small business owners unknowingly sabotage their own success.

(1) They have not taken the time to develop a marketing plan.

A plan focuses your efforts and allows you to make the most of your marketing budget. Unfortunately, you can market without a plan. Yes, you read that right. You can do it, and people do market without marketing plans everyday.

But that does not mean you should. To make the most of your marketing efforts and budget, make sure you take the time each year to create a plan.

(2) They don’t have written goals

Smart business owners have written goals and objectives for what they want to achieve with their business and for each of their marketing activities. I know this sounds b-o-r-i-n-g, but it’s a fact.

There is proof that people who put their goals into writing have a higher success rate than those who do not. Plus, how can you develop a plan if you don’t have concrete objectives? You need a clear vision and target to aim for. You can’t possibly determine what marketing or how much marketing you need if you don’t know what you are aiming for.

(3) They have a short-term attitude.

They are reactive in nature, and while on the surface it appears they are doing a lot of marketing, they are not doing anything consistently or long enough to make an impact. Running an ad or sending out your newsletter a few times and giving up when you don’t get immediate results is worse than doing nothing at all.

How so? Because at least when you do nothing it doesn’t cost you any money. Pulling the plug too soon costs you money. And statistics show it takes somewhere between three and 10 exposures to a message for the average consumer to notice it and take action. So it is quite possible your audience was just beginning to take notice right about the time you threw in the towel!

(4) They don’t know their USP.

Probably the worst way business owners sabotage their marketing efforts without even realizing it, is to NOT have a clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

The greatest marketing plan in the world will not be effective if you have not clearly defined why someone should buy your product or service instead of all the other products or services available to them.

If you have not figured out what is unique and better about your product or service, and found a compelling way to communicate this in everything you do, you can market ’til the cows come home and you will be wasting your time and your money

10 Tips to Banish Marketing Sabotage

(1) Develop a marketing plan. Make sure you make it your number one priority to develop a marketing plan every year.

(2) Write objectives. Write at least one objective that states what results you would like to achieve with your business over the next year. And, write at least one objective for every marketing activity you undertake, that states what results you would like to achieve from that activity over the next year.

(3) Stay the course. Check in on your progress toward your objectives every three to six months, but give your plan a good nine to 12 months to work.

(4) Determine your unique selling proposition and make sure it is represented clearly and in a compelling way in everything you do.

(5) Don’t try to be “everything to everyone.” Focus on a few specific benefits and a specific audience.

(6) Track all of your marketing activities so you know exactly what is working and what is not working.

(7) Don’t rely on one marketing activity. Employ a mix of several marketing activities to reach more people more times.

(8) Create a system to help you stay on track with your marketing activities every month and to help you plan ahead for future activities.

(9) Create a realistic budget based on a percentage of your projected revenue, or the dollars you have available for marketing and stick to it. Marketing is an investment in your business. You have to spend enough to make progress but not more than your business can financially support.

(10) Understand your environment. The economy, competition, the strength of your particular industry, your prospects’ situation. You have to understand them all so you can create an effective plan to either overcome obstacles or take advantage of opportunities.

Follow these guidelines and your business stands a much greater chance of succeeding. All of these activities are part of a good marketing plan. And no business that wants to succeed should be without one.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success? is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

According to the SBA, two-thirds of new businesses survive at least two years and 44 percent survive at least four years. Two of the key factors in the businesses survival and ability to thrive: the owner’s education level and the owner’s reason for starting the firm in the first place.

How can you make sure that you are among the winners rather than the losers in this high stakes game? The answer is inside of you. You must ask yourself four key questions to determine whether your own small business will survive and thrive.

1. Are You Ready

Have you mentally prepared yourself for the switch from employee (or student or whatever label fits you currently) to boss. You are going to be the one making decisions now about everything from office products to product line. This total control is one of the driving forces behind many people who take the plunge into starting their ownbusiness but it is also one of the elements that drives new entreprenurs crazy. When you start out there is an endless list of decisions that need to be made and new questions crop up every day.

Even more important you will need to remember that in a small business you will wear many hats. Even if you manage to start out with one or more employees you will each fulfill more than one role in your new business. And if you are running a one-man or one-woman show then you serve in every capacity from file clerk to maintenance crew to salesman to CEO. Can you handle switching from task to task and role to role like that? Are you willing to make those switches?

Similarly, have you prepared your family and friends for this switch in attitude. Your life is going to change — probably pretty drastically — and that change can have a positive or negative impact on your family life and social interactions. It will make things much easier if your friends and family are supportive going into the process.

2. Where Is Your Niche?

Have you identified your niche yet? One of the reasons many businesses fail is that they fail to focus on a target audience. Yes if you are a major discount chain then you can sell everything from peanuts to wallpaper but this type of business requires vast resources that just aren’t available to the small business. But small businesses dominate the marketplace (creating more than 50 percent of the private gross domestic product last year) by finding a different approach — a niche.

Knowing your niche means you are better able to find, target, and maintain your customers as well as provide the best possible goods and services to that customer base. That focus is one of your best chances to not only survive but to thrive in a very competitive marketplace.

3. What Is Your Plan Of Action?

Another key factor in the survival and ultimate success of your business is how much planning you do before you open your electronic or physical doors. You need to decide if your business will be based on the internet or include more traditional models. Are you going to work full-time or part-time at your new business? Are you going to hire help or go solo? Have you written (or at least outlined) your business plan? Dreaming, thinking and planning can save you much trouble and waste later when things are hectic and problems strike. Planning can also help keep you focused and to balance your spending and time.

4. Who Are You Going To Call?

At some point, no matter how experienced a business person you are, you will need help. You will need support, advice, tools, or information — or all of the above. One of the beautiful, and most frightening, aspects of growth is that it can lead you to places you never imagined. No matter how much planning and experience you bring to your new position as CEO the unexpected will arise. How will you cope with this? It is important to recognize that no business is an island. It is not failure to seek help. Failure is when your business shuts down because you didn’t get the help you needed.

The best way to get timely help is to work on your support system while you work on building your business. That way you will already have a ready list of resources available that you can quickly tap into when emergencies strike. In today’s world there are many marvelous resources available to you no matter what your business model may be. These include:

~ Publications (newsletters, magazines, books)
~ People (professional advisors, mentors, teachers, consultants)
~ Networks (organizations and forums in your niche as well as general business and marketing)
~ Education and training (tutorials, courses, and seminars)

After you have answered these four key questions you are now ready to ask yourself that one big question again — are you ready to start your own business?

Are You Ready To Start Your Own Business? The 4 Key Questions You Must Ask is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

What is it?

Sending email. How many email messages do you send in a day?
I recently went back and counted the messages in my Sent folder.
I use several email accounts, but in just one of them I found an
average of 10-12 messages a day. That’s 70-84 message per week!

Two Chances for Free Promotion

Did you realize every time you send out an email, you have two
opportunities to market your business?

#1 With Your Email Address

Take a look at the email address you’re using for business. Are you
using an email address such as “crazyjane@yahoo.com” or
“fitbodyhunk@hotmail.com”?

Okay, so I’m poking a bit of fun, but you’d be surprised at some
of the email addresses I see. Granted some of them may be
reserved for ezine subscriptions, but I also receive a lot of email
from small business owners with these types of email addresses.

So what’s wrong with this?

Well, for one, they are missing out on a free marketing opportunity.
When you use an email address such as debbie@10stepmarketing.com
you have the opportunity to get repeat exposure for your company
name with every email you send out.

You Can Build Your Brand and Business

What, everyone you send email to already knows your business
name? That’s okay. It’s good reinforcement. And it doesn’t cost a
dime, so why not do it? Plus, it presents a much more professional
image. It says you are a real business. Even if you are sending
out your emails while wearing your pajamas in your home office.

Use Your Web Site Domain Email Addresses

Ideally your web site domain should be the same as your business
name. And you web hosting should come with at least a handful of
free email addresses. It’s fairly easy to set up, but if you’re not sure,
check with your host. Odds are they’ve addressed it in their FAQs
or online help.

#2 Use An Email Signature

The second way you can market for free is with your email signature.

Even if you don’t have a web site, or if your web site address is not
the same or similar to your business name, you can easily take
advantage of this.

Set It Up Once … Use It Everyday

Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express (and probably other email
software as well) offer a Signature option you can program so every
email you send is signed off with a consistent signature.

Create Your Own Personal Signature

You will want to consider including some of the following information
in your email signature. I wouldn’t suggest including all of this
information or your signature will be too long. Pick what’s important
to you, and include information that represents how you want people
to contact you.

Your First and Last Name
Your Title (if appropriate)
Your Business Name
Your Tagline
Your Email Address
Your Web Site Address (include the http:// so it becomes a live link)
Your Phone Number
Your Fax Number
Your Snail Mail Address
An Invitation to Subscribe to Your E-newsletter, Ezine or
Receive a Free Report (or any other free information you provide)

Following is an example of the email signature I include on every
email I send out:

Debbie LaChusa
The 10stepmarketing System
“If you can answer 10 questions, you can
successfully market your business!”
619-334-8590 phone
619-334-8591 fax
debbie@10stepmarketing.com
http://www.10stepmarketing.com

Subscribe to the free 10stepmarketing Ezine
to receive weekly marketing how-to articles,
low-cost marketing ideas, tips and advice at
http://www.10stepmarketing.com

It Equals 70-80 Free Promos a Week!

By signing off all your emails with an email signature, you are
constantly promoting your business. Plus your contact information
is right there if someone wants to get in touch with you. They don’t
have to take the time to look up your phone number or web site
address.

A good email signature also clearly communicates to people what
your business is all about or what you do.

Who Knows Where Your Email May End Up?

You never know where one of your emails is going to end up. It
may be forwarded to someone who could just become your next
subscriber or client.

Build Web Site Traffic With Special Promos

You can also use your signature to build traffic for your web site
by inviting people to visit your site to get a special report or to
subscribe to your e-newsletter.

You can even use it to announce new products or promotions.
In fact, I just changed mine today to promote my new
Extreme Marketing Makeover program.

Your Email Address Format

Make sure the email address you are using is formatted something
like this: yourname@yourdomain.com

How To Set Up Your Email Signature
If you use Microsoft Outlook, simply go to the Tools option on
your toolbar, click on Options, and then Mail Format. You’ll see
Signatures down at the bottom of the window. You can set up
one, or as many as you want. You select the one you want to
use as your default and it will automatically be added to all your email messages.

By doing these two things, you will be building your brand and
your business without spending any extra time or money.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Are You Missing Out on Free & Easy Marketing? is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

The way I’m talking about that details can kill your business is if you focus too much on them.

Say what?

How on earth can focusing too much on details hurt your business?

Ever tried to walk on a railroad track?

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had a house right next to a railroad track. My uncle once challenged me to walk on the track without falling off.

Hey, it’s not like walking a tightrope. That track was as wide as my feet. Should be no problem. So I started walking it, carefully watching my feet with each step to make sure I stayed on the track. But I couldn’t get more than a couple of steps before I’d lose my balance and fall off.

My uncle taught me that the only way to walk that track successfully was to look at a point a ways down the track – not down at my feet. By setting a goal and focusing on it, I could walk on that track as easily as if I was walking right on the ground. It was only when I focused on my feet that I tripped up.

It works that way with business, too. Our natural reaction is to put all our attention into “watching our feet” as we deal with this short-term detail and that. But when we do that, we “fall off the track” of where we wanted to go.

Now, I’m not saying that we should ignore the details of our business as we gaze wistfully toward our vision of the knock-out business we dream of building. You never get anywhere without taking step after step after step to reach your goal. But you never get anywhere, either, if all you look at is the present step.

The point in the distance that you need to focus on is the need your audience has and the solution you have that will fill it. It requires you to understand your audience – who they are and what they need and what concerns stand in the way of them choosing your solution.

It’s way too easy for us to focus on details, namely, on the latest traffic building tips or tools, the latest bells and whistles we can add to our site. Details are usually driven by facts, and facts are something we feel we can learn and control. Understanding the people who make up our pool of potential customers is a lot more scary. It requires us to step outside ourselves into the hearts and minds of other people.

Given the choice between dealing with predictable facts and details or dealing with unpredictable human nature, most of us will jump at dealing with facts any time.

But that just gets us stuck staring at our own feet as our feet inexplicably slip off the track. The only way to stay on track is by looking toward your ultimate goal: you helping people solve some problem in return for them repaying you fairly for the time and effort you put into it.

That’s really the most simple definition of what business is. The details are not your business. The facts and the tips and the tools are not your business either. They’re merely the steps you take to get to that point in the distance. And the more you take that to heart, the more easily you’ll stay on the track toward your goal.

Are You Derailing Your Business with Details? is a post from: Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com