A Small-Business Success Formula
Issue #2290
- WEALTHY: Why you should give tech a chance (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: How to lessen the effects of aging - and even prevent some cancers (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: George Bernard Shaw on getting on in the world
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 3 letters that can help you realize your entrepreneurial dreams (Paul Lawrence)
- A "harmless" convenience that’s derailing your progress (Jason Holland)
- It’s Fun to Know… about gold
- Add "bibulous" to your vocabulary
Pennies-a-Day LIFE-SAVER Heart Surgeons NEVER TELL YOU ABOUT!
This free report reveals a heart miracle so powerful it can reverse 50 years of artery plaque.
Scientific studies have proven this one nutrient is up to 82% effective at eliminating rogue calcium from plaque, causing clogs to soften, and be flushed away. As plaque is flushed away, healthy blood flow is restored to the heart, brain, muscles, and every organ in your body.
This free report reveals the astonishing yet little-known health miracle thousands of grateful patients swear by. So safe, it’s FDA-APPROVED for use in baby food. So effective, you can actually SEE it working. So cheap, it’s just pennies a day.
CLICK HERE to Claim This and Two More Healthy Heart FREE Reports NOW!
How to Play Tech During a Recession
If you had invested $1,000 in semiconductors, you would have lost $840 in the last recession (2000 through 2002). Mobile telecoms would have made $910 disappear. And telecom companies (which encompass both mobile and fixed-line) would have stripped you of $920.
But avoiding tech stocks this time around would be a classic case of learning the wrong lesson.
In 2000, techs were at all-time highs. Their prices were absurdly expensive. The dot-com crash brought down the entire sector, deservedly or not.
It’s different now. The tech stock index, Nasdaq, has made much less progress than the Dow or S&P 500 in making up lost ground since 2002. And tech stocks are no longer so expensive. Yet, I’d understand if you were nervous about rushing into this sector, so I have a suggestion for you: Look at telecom and semiconductor stocks from overseas instead of the U.S.
My favorite telecom stock, France Telecom (FTE), is exceeding analysts’ expectations and had a great year in 2007. My semiconductor favorite is from Taiwan - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM). And both companies give generous dividends. These are the safest tech plays with the most upside - even with a recession bearing down on us.
[Ed. Note: ETR's Investment Director, Andrew Gordon, is the editor of INCOME, a monthly financial advisory service that uncovers income-generating stocks that promise safety (first and foremost), along with much-higher-than-average profit potential.]
"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them."
George Bernard Shaw
A Small-Business Success Formula
Stuart and I clinked glasses, toasting our upcoming success. It was New Year’s Eve about 20 years ago. My entrepreneurial career had just begun. I was a college student living at home with my mom. I didn’t have much money, but I felt good about the $500 each of us had just invested.
About six weeks later, we’d lost our precious money.
We’d been suckered into investing in a poor business idea. The idea? Buying the rights to distribute video memberships where customers could rent videos through the mail for 35 cents. It sounded good, but there were a couple of catches. For one thing, the customer had to purchase an expensive membership. For another, the customer had to pay an exchange fee on every transaction. (Details that weren’t included in the sales literature we saw.)
Eventually, I picked myself up from the disappointment of that first business failure. But several other failures followed. And they all fit the same general pattern: Identifying a product that seemed great, trying to sell it, and then discovering it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
For the longest time, I couldn’t see what I was doing wrong. In fact, it took me several years before I figured it out and made a major change in the way I did business. That single change had an enormous effect on my success as an entrepreneur. By implementing it, I was able to create a string of profitable small businesses.
What I’m talking about here is a strategy I call the F.A.N. ("Fill A Need") Formula.
What I had been doing was first coming up with the product or service to sell, and then going out into the marketplace to see if anyone would buy it. But with the F.A.N. Formula, I first studied the marketplace to look for customer needs that were not being met. Only if I discovered a hole would I create or find something and try to sell it.
And it’s not hard. You don’t have to come up with revolutionary new ideas. Sometimes you can find a need for a "bread and butter" type of business that just has to be tweaked a bit to make it stand out from the competition.
My first successful business was a pool maintenance service. I was cleaning my mom’s pool when a neighbor peeked over the fence and said, "Hey! You’re doing a good job!" Then he started complaining about how expensive and unreliable his pool company was.
A light bulb went off over my head. I realized that there was a big need right there in my own neighborhood. And where there is a need, there is an opportunity for an entrepreneur to make money.
I printed up some flyers advertising my "reliable pool cleaning services at good prices," and began distributing them. Within hours of posting the first ones, my phone was ringing. This led to what eventually became a six-figure business… a nice accomplishment for a college student with no capital.
Later in my entrepreneurial career, I became interested in the ballroom dance industry. While working in a dance studio, I discovered two holes in the market. First, virtually every dance studio in the area aggressively sold "packages" and persuaded clients to learn all the dances. Second, I noticed that it was hard for many busy people to make the time to get into the studio.
So I came up with the idea of "pay as you go" lessons. People didn’t have to buy a package, and they could learn only the dance or dances they were interested in. Plus, they didn’t have to come to a studio. They could take the lessons at home.
My approach was so novel that several major metropolitan newspapers did feature stories about me. (Free publicity!) And the business took off. I was soon earning $40,000-$50,000 a year with it. And since I was only working that business part-time, I was able to develop other businesses simultaneously.
Applying the F.A.N. Formula to Your Own Ventures
Here’s how to start a business with the F.A.N. Formula:
1. Pay careful attention to markets that interest you. Then search out information about customer needs that aren’t being served efficiently.
Keep your eyes open. Just look around for things that annoy YOU. Keep your ears open too. You can sometimes hear about a need that’s not being met straight from a disgruntled customer. (That’s what got me started on my pool cleaning service.) You should also read local newspapers, particularly stories about consumer problems. And articles in national magazines can help you identify trends that could inspire you to come up with a business idea.
2. Once you’ve pinpointed a need in the market, figure out how you can fill it. What will your product or service offer? How will it benefit the customer?
My dance instruction business had three main selling points:
- No contracts to sign or packages to buy
- Learn only the dances you’re interested in
- Convenient, private in-home lessons available
3. Evaluate the feasibility of the business.
Just because you see a need for the product or service you intend to offer doesn’t mean you can sell it profitably. Sometimes, the reason nobody is doing it is because there’s not enough of a market for it. So crunch the numbers first.
With my pool cleaning business, I figured out that by being a "no frills" operator with little overhead I could undercut the competition by about 20 percent. And I found that I could still make an acceptable profit even if I hired other people to do the work.
Operating your own small business is rewarding in many ways. It offers you job security. (You’ll never be afraid of a boss letting you go.) It’s a good way to accumulate wealth. And it allows you to spend your days doing something you can enjoy and be proud of. By using the F.A.N. Formula, your odds of success will increase exponentially. Try it.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is the creator of the Quick and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR's program for starting a business for under $100. The F.A.N. Formula is just one of the techniques Paul teaches in his "Smallbiz Rocket Launcher Program." Check out the details here.]
Economic Uncertainty = Deep Profits for YOU this year?
Don’t let the talking head zombies of the mass media frighten you into inaction!
A troubled marketplace means MASSIVE opportunities for those in the know. Yes, I’m talking to you…
This April in sunny Orlando, Florida Early to Rise will prove YOU can enjoy passive income streams that profit regardless of what the economy does.
Join us at our never before offered “Profits in Paradise ” Wealth Summit. You will learn how easy it is to set up a variety of income streams that churn out cash month after month - and these profit streams are NOT dependent upon what the market does.
Moreover, we’ve lined up a “Dream Team” of experts in their respective fields, based on a documented track record and ability to teach and share what they know.
You get it all - soup to nuts - action steps for everything from boosting your present income… to quickly setting up profitable online businesses that throw off profits - even in economic downturns.
Plus, once you’ve got a system for setting up passive income streams, we will hand you proven, actionable strategies for swelling your portfolio in record time.
Nothing will be left to chance when your success is on the line. And every idea and action step is presented in clear, “beginner friendly” language you can immediately use.
Hurry and you will lock in the low price for early bird registration. Don’t wait until the price jump in the coming days. If you are serious about quickly amassing great wealth - even during uncertain economic times - this is your best opportunity.
Click here for the exciting details…
A Simple Way to Make Today More Productive
By Jason Holland
You can quadruple your productivity and efficiency at work, just by doing one thing: Cut back on the number of times you check your e-mail.
E-mail is a useful - and often necessary - tool. But don’t let it be a constant interruption. One of the biggest e-mail disruptions? Your e-mail provider’s "alert" - the little ding or pop-up window that informs you a new e-mail has arrived.
That alert is a seemingly harmless convenience. But it halts your momentum and derails your thought processes. At best, it’s a distraction. At worst, its promise of a new message persuades you to stop working on an important project. And guess what? You can get rid of it with a few clicks of your mouse.
Here’s how to do it in Microsoft Outlook:
- Go to the Tools menu and click "Options."
- Then click "E-mail Options."
- On the next menu, click "Advanced E-mail Options."
- Go to the section labeled "When new items arrive in my inbox" and un-check each option.
Don’t become a slave to your inbox. Disable this disruptive "convenience" and you will see your productivity and concentration soar.
Reader Feedback: "It is so easy with the success techniques I learned in this program."
"A number of people I met at the October Bootcamp have asked me about the Total Success Achievement Program, and l have been encouraging them to join. When I am asked how it is that I have so many projects going, I always say, ‘It is so easy with the success techniques I learned in this program.’
"Thanks a million."
Jacqueline E. Peters
[Ed. Note: Want to get your name and opinions published in ETR? Let us know how reading ETR has helped you - maybe even changed your life. Send your comments to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your name and hometown... and we may print your e-mail in a future issue.]
A Crispy Way to Protect Your DNA
Preventing DNA damage and boosting the body’s antioxidant defenses at the cellular level may help lessen aging and reduce the risk of some cancers. And now it appears you can get that protection just by eating watercress.
This member of the cancer-fighting cruciferous family of vegetables was recently evaluated at the University of Ulster. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , included 60 cancer-free adults, half of whom were smokers.
The researchers looked at the participants’ blood for levels of antioxidants and signs of DNA damage. They were then split into two groups.
For eight weeks, the first group ate three ounces of raw watercress each day in addition to their regular diet. The second group (the control group) ate no watercress. After the eight weeks, the participants provided blood samples and took a seven-week break. During that time, they ate what they wanted.
The groups were then switched. Those who previously ate watercress followed a normal diet; those in the original control group ate watercress.
After this second eight-week period, researchers took final blood samples and analyzed the data. They found that when each group ate watercress, they had higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of chemicals indicating DNA damage. What’s more, the pattern was particularly strong in smokers.
So enjoy the crunch of watercress in salads and sandwiches… and guard against DNA damage at the same time.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: About Gold
More than 20 percent of the decorative gold in the world is used as thread in Indian saris.
(Source: Discover Magazine )
They’ll Wonder How You Got So Much Time And Money On Your Hands
If an immigrant can start a business with less than $100 and almost no effort…start making a great deal of money by the end of the week…then turn around and sell it for a massive profit within the year… surely you can, too.
Kim Martowski says " I was able to use this system to build a large business… that could sometimes make as high as $7200 in a month."
Paolo Torres adds "I studied your strategies and, although this isn’t usual, this month I actually earned over $15,000 in commissions."
They’re living the American Dream! Now it’s time for you to start living it too.
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Bibulous
"Bibulous" (BIB-yuh-lus) - from the Latin for "to drink" - pertains to the consumption of alcohol.
Example (as used by Sally Chatterton in The Independent): " Ever since the joys of the fermented grape were discovered, the bibulous have been waking up feeling the worse for wear."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
Similar Articles:
- A Small-Business Success Formula - Stuart and I clinked glasses, toasting our upcoming success. It was New Year’s Eve about 20 years ag…
- The 25-50-25 Formula for Business Success - "I was quite eager to learn about marketing, and began reading everything associated with it,&q…
- A Secret to Success - Yesterday morning, after an early morning walk with Bally, my 3-year-old chocolate lab, I sat down i…
- Raising Capital for Small Business Ventures - The 28-year-old man was in a difficult financial predicament. He had an idea for a business … but …
- A Mission Statement That Gets Right Down to Business - It was about seven years ago on the cobblestone streets of Old Town Alexandria that I first enjoyed …
- Finger Length and Financial Success - Look at your hand. Is your ring finger (the one next to your pinky) longer than your index finger? I…
- The Key to Getting Someone to Invest in Your Small Business - In this tough economy, you might be thinking that it’s impossible to find the capital to start a sma…