I admit it, I am one who has always been stubborn, and I hate being told what to do. But before you think badly of me let me finish. No I am not a bully. No I do not always get my way. In fact I have learned to "go with the flow" fairly well. I can even admit when I am wrong, I often make mistakes, I am human.
My husband and I opened a mobile oil change business several years ago. Before starting this home based business we set up the rules. He would be in charge of the service part and I would run the home office. This allowed us both to be our own boss while working together for the same goal. Of course there have been times when I would go and help him provide service. That was a big help for me to learn how things were done, I could see from firsthand experience how long it took to do certain things. I could see that on occasion that something out of the norm could occur.
This experience helped me in my part of running the office. I could adapt what I learned to help me to schedule better. It also helped me better maintain inventory because I saw firsthand what was being used more or less on the job. I found that I love to learn! I love to find ways that I could make things go more smoothly on the "job site" (as a mobile business it was never an actual "job site" but that is the best term I can think of to describe it). Many times I would hear my husband say "this would go better if I had such n such" or "I wonder if there is a tool to do this?"
Once I was back in the office I would get online and start searching, many times I could find what he had talked about and order it for him.
I love talking to customers, the friendly "how are you?" before getting down to actually scheduling the appointments. As my own boss there is no one standing over me saying "hurry up" if my customer and I felt like chatting some, we can do that, no problem. People enjoy that, they miss the days where a business could be friendly. How many complaints do we hear all the time about "lousy service" sales people being "short" with customers?
Even doing my paperwork, posting invoices, checking inventory, and ordering product is a joy. I found vendors online so many orders would be delivered by UPS. It is like Christmas all year around receiving deliveries!
The freedom of my home office allows me to still conduct a normal life while taking care of business. If I need to dash out to the store I can. With a cell phone I can accept customer calls from anywhere and as long as I keep myself in "business mode" my customers have not a clue that I am in the grocery store! Their perception is that I am sitting in my cubicle working. What is not to love about that?
Yes, I can honestly say "I love my job" and mean it. That is why I love being my own boss!
Melinda Johnson co-owner with husband Eric of Melrics Mobile Lube Started their Mobile Oil Change Business in Oct.1999 and found no resources out there to help them with their questions. After finding out on their own by trial and error they started helping others via email. They also have their own copy-written version of "How To Start A Mobile Oil Change Business" manual. To read more about this business please visit their site at http://www.melrics.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melinda_Johnson
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Working Online - How to Increase Your Sales
Your online business operates very differently than a storefront. Physical businesses have the advantage of being visible, whereas your online business is invisible until you let your customers know where you are, and what you offer. Many online businesses fail because too many owners do not understand the daily need for advertising and marketing. For online businesses, there are two key factors to focus on to attracting customers; networking and advertising.
Networking is simply making connections with other site owners. You can share links with other bloggers, or simply leave comments on other blogs that will contain your link information back to your site. This slowly increases your visibility and brings more people to your site that are interested in your comment, or the information you have to offer. The second factor to consider is advertising. Probably the most effective advertising is something that will remain online indefinitely.
For this reason, I don't recommend traditional advertising such as banner ads or one-line links on sites. I do recommend article writing, or journaling online. If you have a few blogs, or continually produce new articles, you will have greater presence on the web. More people will see your byline and read your articles. If your information is useful, they will sometimes click on your biographical information that links to your website.
Of course, there are other social media that seem to produce a greater volume of leads and perhaps better coverage, but you need to be sure the links they generate do not disappear over time. I've found over time that the best way to ensure the effectiveness of your links is to track how popular your articles are. If they are consistently being read and referenced, then you are going to get at least some traffic from them. The more you write, the greater the overall traffic will become. When your visitors are at your site, be sure and offer them a content-rich experience and strong closing arguments. The goal is to make money, not to make friends, so you will want to ask for the sale as many times on your website as possible.
Don't forget, advertising is visibility on the Internet. You need to have your site linked and your information visible to as many readers as possible. Don't limit yourself, and try to leave comments on other blogs, and write articles with your linked by-line at least every day. The results do not come right away, but slowly build until you are consistently making sales.
Michael Taylor is a professional freelance writer with experience in high-tech and the travel industry. See his blog at: http://highpaidwriters.webs.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_X_Taylor
Networking is simply making connections with other site owners. You can share links with other bloggers, or simply leave comments on other blogs that will contain your link information back to your site. This slowly increases your visibility and brings more people to your site that are interested in your comment, or the information you have to offer. The second factor to consider is advertising. Probably the most effective advertising is something that will remain online indefinitely.
For this reason, I don't recommend traditional advertising such as banner ads or one-line links on sites. I do recommend article writing, or journaling online. If you have a few blogs, or continually produce new articles, you will have greater presence on the web. More people will see your byline and read your articles. If your information is useful, they will sometimes click on your biographical information that links to your website.
Of course, there are other social media that seem to produce a greater volume of leads and perhaps better coverage, but you need to be sure the links they generate do not disappear over time. I've found over time that the best way to ensure the effectiveness of your links is to track how popular your articles are. If they are consistently being read and referenced, then you are going to get at least some traffic from them. The more you write, the greater the overall traffic will become. When your visitors are at your site, be sure and offer them a content-rich experience and strong closing arguments. The goal is to make money, not to make friends, so you will want to ask for the sale as many times on your website as possible.
Don't forget, advertising is visibility on the Internet. You need to have your site linked and your information visible to as many readers as possible. Don't limit yourself, and try to leave comments on other blogs, and write articles with your linked by-line at least every day. The results do not come right away, but slowly build until you are consistently making sales.
Michael Taylor is a professional freelance writer with experience in high-tech and the travel industry. See his blog at: http://highpaidwriters.webs.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_X_Taylor
Sunday 8 August 2010
Be a Jewelry Designer - Part Time Or Full Time - Your Choice
Think about it. That is what you have been doing. And you have been thinking about being a jewelry designer for a very long time; in fact, you have been secretly dreaming of going into a home based business for years. You just need a little push to make a decision.
Let this be the day which you decide to have a business of your own. It is time to do work you really love. Working your passion makes living much more meaningful as you experience fulfillment being the person that you were meant to be. An artisan needs to pursue their passion as it is their lifestyle or calling.
I think that you would agree with me that most of us work forty to eighty hours a week at a job that we like to a point, but it is not our passion. We work mostly for the income to handle our financial responsibilities. And that is why we experience burnout. We quit our job,and try for another job, only to have the same problem recycle.
To own and operate your home based jewelry designer business and do the type of work that you love will eliminate burnout. Love is uplifting, joyful, and brings about many positive experiences. Love frees your mind to open and welcome new opportunities and challenges without fear.
After you quit your job you will realize why:
You experienced burnout.
You were always tired and lack enthusiasm.
You hated the unnecessary meetings.
You hated commuting and fighting the daily congested traffic.
You tired of office politics.
You knew you reached a dead end, again.
You knew there were no advancement opportunities.
The advantages of a home based business are:
Gives you the freedom to be free and to design your destiny.
You can control your time that is dedicated to work and time that is dedicated to loved ones.
You have a chance to create and demonstrate your talents.
You have the freedom to create new products or introduce new services.
You have control over your financial rewards.
You can maintain a small business or you can grow it into a large industry.
Let it be your time to do what you love which is being a jewelry designer and start your self employment path to achieve the rewards of owning and operating a home based business which will grow into a small business, and much more. Let your creative hands and your entrepreneur abilities guide your business destiny.
Start your home based business of being a jewelry designer today. Visit the home page of Tricia Deed at http://www.Infotrish.vpweb.com/ Review "The A-Z Steps to Becoming a Jewelry Designer".
Tricia Deed of http://www.Infotrish.vpweb.com/ brings you through internet marketing hobbies for your leisure and recreation and business hobbies to increase your household income. I invite you to my web pages to visit and review hobby companies of your choosing. Do take advantage of their free giveaway.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tricia_Deed
Let this be the day which you decide to have a business of your own. It is time to do work you really love. Working your passion makes living much more meaningful as you experience fulfillment being the person that you were meant to be. An artisan needs to pursue their passion as it is their lifestyle or calling.
I think that you would agree with me that most of us work forty to eighty hours a week at a job that we like to a point, but it is not our passion. We work mostly for the income to handle our financial responsibilities. And that is why we experience burnout. We quit our job,and try for another job, only to have the same problem recycle.
To own and operate your home based jewelry designer business and do the type of work that you love will eliminate burnout. Love is uplifting, joyful, and brings about many positive experiences. Love frees your mind to open and welcome new opportunities and challenges without fear.
After you quit your job you will realize why:
You experienced burnout.
You were always tired and lack enthusiasm.
You hated the unnecessary meetings.
You hated commuting and fighting the daily congested traffic.
You tired of office politics.
You knew you reached a dead end, again.
You knew there were no advancement opportunities.
The advantages of a home based business are:
Gives you the freedom to be free and to design your destiny.
You can control your time that is dedicated to work and time that is dedicated to loved ones.
You have a chance to create and demonstrate your talents.
You have the freedom to create new products or introduce new services.
You have control over your financial rewards.
You can maintain a small business or you can grow it into a large industry.
Let it be your time to do what you love which is being a jewelry designer and start your self employment path to achieve the rewards of owning and operating a home based business which will grow into a small business, and much more. Let your creative hands and your entrepreneur abilities guide your business destiny.
Start your home based business of being a jewelry designer today. Visit the home page of Tricia Deed at http://www.Infotrish.vpweb.com/ Review "The A-Z Steps to Becoming a Jewelry Designer".
Tricia Deed of http://www.Infotrish.vpweb.com/ brings you through internet marketing hobbies for your leisure and recreation and business hobbies to increase your household income. I invite you to my web pages to visit and review hobby companies of your choosing. Do take advantage of their free giveaway.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tricia_Deed
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