Working At Home? This May Help...

When you work from home, one of the hardest things to get right is knowing where to do your work. In your bedroom? In a special home office? Well, here are a few pointers.

A Dedicated Space is Best.

I really believe that you won't get far unless you set aside a space and use it for work only. Why? Well, if you use your work space for things other than work, then you'll get distracted by anything you leave there. Other people in the family might become frustrated by not being able to use the space, or you might find that you simply don't have anywhere to put all the important pieces of paper you acquire, meaning that they get lost.

The Art of the Home Office.

A home office is really what you want -- this really needs to be a dedicated room of a reasonable size. You shouldn't have too much trouble if you convert a small bedroom, as most bedrooms are actually surprisingly large once you take away the bed.

Your essentials for a home office are a desk, chair, computer, filing cabinet and phone/fax. If you don't have spare ones of these lying around then you should buy them used, or from some kind of discount store -- don't spend a cent more than you need to on your office furniture and equipment, at least to begin with. Still, though, do try to find things that don't look too bad, and that match.

Do make sure that you have everything in the room that you'll need for your business, and that your equipment is good enough that you'll be able to use it for long periods of time without it becoming painful. If you plan to do a lot of phoning, for example, buy a headset so that you can do it hands-free. It's also worth spending just a little extra on that chair, if you're going to be sitting on it a lot.

You should also make sure that the room is well-lit and decorated in a style you like: one that says 'serious', but not 'dull, terrible work'. Keep it at a comfortable temperature, with good ventilation. Many people like to make their home office visibly different to the rest of their house, by having a differently-coloured carpet or wooden floor, or painting the walls an entirely different colour. Whatever you do, though, I have no doubt that it'll be better than 99% of the corporate offices out there. The most important thing is that you don't spend too much, but that you make sure to solve any problems you have with your space as soon as they come up.<





A Whole Other Building.

One thing that some people like to do when they set up home offices is to make it completely separate from their house: a business annex. This could be expensive -- for goodness' sake don't build a whole other building if you don't have something like a shed or garage to convert -- but it is also one of the most effective ways to work from home. It's not so much a 'home office' as an office that you've built right next to your home -- and it gives you a much clearer sense of when you're working and when you're not.

This option is especially worth considering if you do a manual trade, especially if you already have some kind of workshop space. I knew a carpenter who saved himself all sorts of headaches when he moved his home office away from his bedroom and into his existing workshop in his garage.

A Question of Tax.

When you're organising your home office, don't forget about tax. The area of your house that you do business in should be tax-deductible, and so should any equipment you buy or other work you have done. Don't use it as an excuse to get carried away, but do remember that you're not spending quite as much as you think. As long as you don't go overboard, your home office will be one of the most important investments you will make -- as anyone who's ever tried to work from home without one can tell you.

How You Can Create Advertising That Sells...

A well-planned and properly executed marketing program should include a sufficient commitment of capital resources to an ongoing, well executed advertising program. Yes, this includes your business.

Businesses spend too many dollars, however, on ads that simply will not result in increased sales and profits. These ads are poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly designed, poorly targeted, and poorly placed.

Sounds like a poor way to do business, doesn't it?

I often ask clients (as tactfully as possible), why they have run a particular ad. I get a lot of blank stares. A few tense moments will pass while the client tries to think of a clever answer. "To get the company name out in front of the public so I can get more business." they reply, with some relief.

This poor soul has just described a lack of a well defined goal, which leads almost inevitably to what I call an institutional ad. An institutional ad can best be described as one which identifies the advertiser and lists address, telephone number, hours of operation, and (maybe) the company logo. That's it. What a terrible waste of money!

Unless your company grosses a billion dollars a year, you can't afford to do institutional ads. If your company does gross over a billion dollars a year...you're probably too smart to run institutional ads.

Every ad you run must result in increased sales and profits and an enhanced image for your company. Every ad should make the customer a solid offer and give the customer sound reasons to buy from you now. Remember, the customer is sitting back and asking, "What can you do for me?" If you're careful to answer that question with a powerful offer and reasons to buy now, you're on your way to advertising success...which results in increased sales and profits.

How can you improve your chances of increasing sales?

Let's look at some profit-producing ideas...

SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
Very few businesses are prepared or qualified to produce quality advertising. If you spend more than $2,000 per month in advertising, you should seriously consider hiring a qualified advertising professional. There are any number of skilled freelancers who can develop strategy, and create your marketing materials with a keen eye to using proven methods and techniques.

Good advertising talent always pays it's own way through increased sales and profits, improved cost-effectiveness, reduced selling costs, and shortened selling cycles.

If your resources are limited, don't feel lost. There's no reason why you can't learn to write an effective ad. That's what the rest of this article is all about...how you can create advertising that sells.

FOLLOW A PROVEN FORMULA
One of the oldest and most useful formulas for ad design takes its name from the opera Aida by Giuseppe Verde. In this case the letters A-I-D-A stand for ATTENTION, INTEREST, DESIRE, AND ACTION.

In it's simplest form this formula serves as a structural blueprint. It guides us to: (1) Get the prospect's Attention, (2) Foster his or her Interest in your offer, (3) build Desire for your product or service and (4) Generate some type of Action on the part of the buyer.

As we expand on each of these elements individually, you'll discover for yourself how to apply the formula to your specific situation.

ATTENTION (The Headline)

Hit your prospect right between the eyes with a magic wand. How? With a powerful benefit headline. The headline is the most important single element of your ad. You have two to three seconds to stop the reader as he or she passes by. You must stop the reader, and interest them in your benefit, if you expect them to read further.

A powerful headline will (1) stop the reader (2) isolate and qualify your best prospects, and (3) pull your reader into the sub-heads and body copy.





How do you write the attention-getting headline? First, carefully review all the benefits of-use of your product or service. Second, take your most important benefit and weave that benefit into your headline. Use action words to describe the benefit to one individual reader.

Here are some examples...

"Save 50% On Office Supplies...Send For Your Free Catalog Today !"

"How YOU Can Create Advertising That SELLS!"

"New! Amazing Techniques That You Can Use To Land A High-Paying Job...Today!"

"How To Design Profit-Producing Web Sites That SELL!"

APPEALING TO BUSINESS EXECUTIVES

When writing your ad to a business-to-business audience you should keep in mind the six key benefits most likely to get attention:

1.Save Money 2.Save Time 3.Increase Sales 4.Increase Profits 5.Enhance Image 6.Boost cash flow

Most other benefits are subordinate to these key six. I call them the"Business Benefit Six-Pack." Show your customer how your product or service provides these benefits, and you will dramatically improve your results.

INTEREST AND DESIRE> (The Offer, Body Copy, Benefits-Benefits- Benefits)

You build interest in your product or service (and the desire to buy) by making the customer a compelling offer and by describing as many benefits as possible in simple and interesting terms.

Tip # 1: Top ad pros always write the ad first, then buy whatever space necessary to display the ad message with clarity and power.

Tip # 2: Words sell...graphic design displays the words in a visually appealing way. Don't confuse the two. No amount of trendy design will make a poorly written ad sell for you. Good design reinforces good copy...it cannot take the place of it! The implication for internet marketers is that content is king. Avoid glitsy, moving graphics that only distract from your message and increase load times. Good design and good copy should work synergistically.

Tip #3: Long copy sells...as long as it's good copy. I call it "greased slide" copy. You get the reader on the top of the slide when he reads a powerful headline, and he can't get off until he has taken the action asked for (i.e., ordered the product, made the trip to the store, dialed the phone, clicked the order/inquiry button, filled out the on-line order, etc.).

ACTION(Ask For The Order)

Now comes the moment of truth. You must ask for the order. Give reasons for the customer to buy now...and make it easy for him to do so. In direct response marketing, this will involve a coupon for mail orders, a toll-free order line, an e-mail address, an on-line order form, a fax order line..any means to make it easy and simple to order!

Take the fear out of the purchase. Give solid guarantees. Offer secure ordering for on-line customers. Show testimonials from satisfied customers.

Show what the customer is going to lose if he doesn't order now.

If you are a retailer, include a map to your store(s) (newcomers love them). Show the credit cards you accept, list the hours of operation, tell them about your friendly staff, include a special coupon or other incentive. In other words, "Roll out the red carpet."

INVEST IN FUTURE PROFITS

So there you have it. A primer on good advertising. If I've piqued your interest to learn more, then check out the other articles available at this resource.

Remember, bad advertising...no matter what the media...is an unproductive expense.

Good advertising is an investment in future profits!

Good advertising and good management go together. You can't have a successful business on-line or off-line---without both.

The History of Hyundai

If you live in North America, you likely are now very familiar with the Hyundai line of vehicles. Back in 1986, the first Hyundai was introduced to the market – an Excel – and the company's line up has changed dramatically since that time. Hyundai produces much more than cars; in fact, by the end of the last century Hyundai became one of the largest companies in the world. Let's take a look at this Korean based multinational corporation and the company behind Hyundai vehicles.

It was back in 1946, just one year removed from Imperial Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula, that a new company was birthed in what is now known as South Korea. Hyundai Motor Industrial Company was founded by Chung Ju-yung, a child of northern Korean peasant farmers, and in 1947 Ju-yung launched a second company, Hyundai Civil Industries. Self educated, Ju-yung transformed the entire Korean economy with the tight control he exerted over his Hyundai companies.

The first Hyundai business was tasked with building automobiles while the second Hyundai company concentrated on construction. Indeed, much of modern South Korea's infrastructure was built by Hyundai in the period after the cessation of the Korean War in 1953 and on through the 1970s. Dams, an expressway, a shipbuilding yard, and a nuclear power plant were all built by Hyundai Civil Industries, while Hyundai Motors produced cars made primarily from Japanese components. Hyundai's influence stretched far beyond the Korean peninsula as the company won contracts to build an expressway in Thailand and a major port in Saudi Arabia. Clearly, Hyundai dominated the Korean market and quickly became a major player on the international scene.





By the 1970s Hyundai began to build vessels as well as shipyards and by 1986 Hyundai produced its first vehicle made entirely from Korean components. From the 1980s forward Hyundai added additional specialties including the building of semiconductors and magnetic levitation trains.

All hasn't been glossy for the company, however. Decades of labor problems culminating in new employee safety standards put in place from the 1990s on, tempered the Hyundai mystique. Indeed, up to that time the company was cited for having the worst safety standards of any corporation in the industrialized world.

Cars were another source of problems for what became known as the Hyundai Group. Although now manufacturing their own vehicles, the quality of Hyundai vehicles for the first decade was considered by automobile experts to be sub-par. Today, Hyundai vehicles and Hyundai parts are, for the most part, slightly above average in quality compared to the industry as a whole.

With Chung Ju-yung's death in 2001, Hyundai was divided up into three separate companies: Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Hyundai Motor Group, and Hyundai Engineering and Construction. Today, all three Hyundai companies continue to compete successfully in the global marketplace thanks to the vision of a peasant farmer.

Empowering Your Manager

"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."
- Peter Drucker

Managing is often equated with controls rather than leading and developing a business. The manager feels more comfortable and secure when they are able to put in strict controls on everything that happens in a business organization. This is so especially of Senior Managements where the controls and directing becomes so severe that it erodes any creative freedom for the middle managers to work towards achieving the goals set out for them.

Here are a few simple prescriptions to get the best out of your managers.

Avoid Centralizing Decision Making

This is perhaps one of the best ways to achieve totals control. You feel by centralizing decision making you will be able to avoid wrong decisions. While this may be so to some extent who is to prevent your own wrong decisions. Unless your managers are able to make mistakes and learn from them you will never be able to develop expertise through experience. Centralizing decision making is also the surest method to kill your business growth.

Provide Working Space

The top management often entrust tasks and responsibilities to their subordinate managers. More often than not any specific time frames which are comfortable to achieve the given responsibilities or tasks are discussed. However in their anxiety or aggressiveness and sometimes over enthusiasm you start chasing your subordinate for action and results. If you do it too soon and too often you are severely limited the working space of your managers. They may be spending more time in complying with your commands rather than focusing on operational priorities and important tasks.





If you are not providing sufficient working space for your managers you are surely heading towards disaster as important tasks may be getting neglected to escape from your frequent and aggressive follow ups.

Listen to Your Managers

While experience is an asset it also makes one arrogant and conceited. Sometimes one tends to believe because he is the superior, he always right. The Boss Is Always Right principle looks good only on posters. It doesn't work if you want to build a Professional organization.

Cultivate the ability to listen to the voice of your managers. Most times they know better as they are more familiar with the ground realities. If you decide on their behalf and just issue orders, you will have clerks in the guise of managers as you have killed their initiative.

Don't Get Into the Nitty Gritties

Once broad goals and objectives are set with specific time frames and key results are outlined leave your managers to perform. If you get into too many details and meddle with the execution at every stage, you may be sure to mess up the entire process and ultimately the results.

The key to managing effectively is to empower people across the management structure so that they feel part of the responsibility and ownership.

Who's the First Person to Greet Your Customer?

I approached her sliding glass window and stood in back of a gentleman whom I assumed she was helping. After about three minutes, I realized he was waiting for the office manager and she could have acknowledged my presence. I stepped up to the window; she did not say good morning; she did not smile; she just glared at me. I started to speak; she pointed a finger at a clip board with a paper to fill out. I placed the completed sheet in front of her, perhaps expecting a thank you or a smile or at least 'have a seat; the doctor will see you soon'.

I was so intrigued by her manner that I watched her interaction with the other patients. The man sitting next to me started to tell me that even though he had an appointment he had been waiting a long time. He told me he was extremely dissatisfied with the way the place was run and was starting to regret his association with this office. With a bit of humor, I told him I was watching the receptionist and asked if she had uttered a word to him. He started to laugh, and said, "Come to think of it, not a word!"

The next patient to come in was an older woman with a walker. The receptionist was not at her desk so the woman took a seat and waited for her return. She again pointed at the clip board, took the form, threw her sliding glass door closed and said nothing. The next one was the mailman, who I'm sure she sees daily. Again, not a smile or a hello; she stuck out her hand for the mail and handed him the outgoing mail





Now my new disgruntled friend and I were sort of enjoying this and decided that maybe she was a mute….and then it happened. A good-looking UPS delivery man came in. Lo and behold, there was a big smile and a voice that was able to say good morning! That was short lived. She treated the rest of the patients in her same rude uncaring manner, a total lack of personality.

To me, the ability to positively interact with the customer, no matter what the business, is most essential. Hire your receptionist with as much thought as you would hire a sales person. Some smart person once said "If today you give a stranger one of your smiles, it might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

Catch the Spirit of the Entrepreneur

Grabbing opportunities with open arms is often easier to talk about than to actually do. Most people find themselves dreaming about being rich but never actually doing anything about it. A combination of procrastination and 'what if' syndrome can cripple your creative spirit and might mean your idea will never become a reality.

Socrates said "Action equals knowledge'. He was one of the greatest philosophers of our time. What he meant was that it is through action that we achieve results.

For example, you could think about learning Spanish for months, imagining the holidays you will take and the people you will communicate with. You can dream forever but accomplish nothing unless you actually make the effort to start taking lessons.
Much like the martial arts approach - the idea is to take action immediately and avoid over analyzing the situation.

Do you want to start your own business but are afraid of what kinds of things can go wrong? What if your initial investment doesn't pay off? There are millions of things that could go wrong but likewise there are many things that can go right! Fear can be paralyzing. When thinking about starting a business particularly if you keep waiting for the right time. There will never be a perfect time. It's now or never when it comes to starting your own business. <





Overcoming your fear is a step by step process.

- Do you have a clear idea of what kind of business you want to start? A clear plan will help keep your worries at bay.
- Do you have access to the resources you will need? This includes the necessary start up cash as well as anything else you will need.
- Do you have access to clients or do you know enough about marketing basics to ensure you will have enough interest in what you are offering?

Just like anything - taking action is the most important part. Make an itemized list of what you feel needs to be done in order for you to start that business you always dreamed of.

Prioritizing your list will help too. Don't wait for all your ducks to be in a proverbial row before you begin but make sure you have all the basics covered. Don't wait for that 'perfect someday'. Make an imperfect start.

Don't over think everything. Sometimes the best approach is to just jump into the deep end.

Don't wait to start discovering your own entrepreneurial spirit. Take action today!

Team Building Training

Where "training" is concerned as a part of team building, this often refers to a more skills-centered approach, rather than the more generalized methods of team development. However, your team building training will depend both on the needs of your organization, and the style and capabilities of the team building consultant you bring in to facilitate the process. Virtually any team building activities can be made more or less training-oriented to suit your goals and expectations.

Team building is a process of bringing together individuals who need to work cooperatively and providing activities or exercises that help develop the basic skills required for effective teamwork, including:
- good communication skills, including conflict management
- the ability to clarify goals and work cooperatively towards achieving these
- staying focused on the task at hand
- problem solving
- the importance of each individual's contribution towards the greater goal

These general concepts will carry over in the form of improved interpersonal relationships at the office, improved morale and more effective communication and cooperative efforts during the course of daily work. The ultimate result of a happier, more motivated team is increased productivity for the company as a whole.

As mentioned, these benefits can be augmented by focusing on specific problem areas your team may be encountering, or areas for improvement. It may be helpful to sit down together before choosing an approach to training, to allow each team member to voice any concerns, issues they would like help addressing, suggestions, and so on. The intention behind team building and training is to empower each team member to be as effective as possible, not to point out deficiencies or place blame. The more involved each individual can be at each step of the process, the more helpful the experience is likely to be.





Finding ways to help a group of individuals function effectively as a cohesive team is a process that requires structure and commitment over time, as well as regular review. Like any other relationship, communication, change and growth are all necessary components of the way team members work together, and the working relationship will evolve naturally over time given the attention it needs. Periodic team building training will ensure everyone is on the same page, and going in the right direction.

Take some time to explore the vast range of team development resources available and start to think about methods that may be the most useful for your team. Try to keep an emphasis on the fun side of learning and make the experience an enjoyable one. Remind your team of their many strengths as you explore ways to become more effective together. With a clear, shared focus on goals you maximize your combined ability to reach the desired outcome, and can look forward to celebrating future successes.