See, Multiple Streams Of Income Gold!

See”multiple streams of income ARE gold”or golden. With the economy the way it is today, making financial ends meet can be challenging. One way I have stayed two steps ahead of the game is by not having all my financial eggs in one basket. For the last thirteen years I have been working from my home and out of my home, for several different sources bringing in multiple streams of income. Doing it this way has allowed me to stay ahead of the bill collectors, while at the same time affording me time with my husband, children, extended family, and pets. What can a person do”you may ask? Here are some ideas:

*Write for Greeting Card Companies (Freelance).
*Work from home as a Solicitor for Charity Pick-Up Services.
*Become an Independent Merchandiser.
*Work as a Personal Assistant to the Blind as a Shopper or Driver.
*Work for Cleaning Services for Commercial Buildings at night.
*Work as a Phone Actress.
Or My Personal favorite:

*Collect Gold and Silver Coins while Making Money at the same time.

OK, what are these gigs, and how does one go about finding them?

*Greeting Card Companies: To find companies hiring freelance writers” buy a reference book at your local bookstore, or find it at your local library, entitled: Writers Market Guide for 2010, or search Google, typing in: greeting card companies. Then look up or send for writers guidelines. To submit to these companies simply present your ideas on 3 x 5, or 4 x 6 index cards 12 at a time with a rubber band around them, placing your writing verse as so: on one side of the card write: Outside: your verse, Inside: your verse. Then on the back of the card write your name and contact info. This gig used to pay very little but now you can get up to $50.00 for one idea!

*Solicitor for Charity Pick-up Services: All States have charitable pick-up services that call citizens homes to solicit for old clothing, and small household items. They take those items and sell them at thrift stores and then use all or most of the proceeds to help charitable organizations. If you are aware of this, you can ask the person that calls you for a pick up if they have a number you can call to apply. Otherwise I”d suggest calling your local thrift stores and asking the manager if they know of one, or just look in your local yellow pages under charity pick-ups, or get the number off of the trucks you see doing these pick ups, and then call them to see if they hire people to work from home. You can make a good supplemental income doing this as well as feeling good about helping out a charity. When they hire you they will train you.

*Become an Independent Merchandiser: There are dozens of companies across the United States that contract their work to outside vendors. Those vendors will hire you to work for them independently and at your own pace, if you know where to find them. These are not work at home jobs, but flexible positions outside of the home. (Note: if you live in a small town you might have to drive to a larger neighboring town where there are more retail establishments) The companies don”t charge you to work for them; they are legitimate. You can find several positions close to your home to maximize your profits. These multiple streams of income help with holiday money, or just to make ends meet. I sent my son to an Ivy League college three years ago and these jobs helped me to make it until he got that scholarship; they were a God send. To find them look up NARMS on goolge.

*Work as a Personal Assistant to the Blind as a Shopper or Driver: This is a little known creative job niche that most people don”t think of. There are thousands of blind people across America that need personal shoppers, drivers, and or assistants. Because of their vulnerable state, they are wary to advertise due to lack of trust. They usually just network through friends and family to find help, but often times this is not enough and many of them are in dire need of hiring help. They have you shop for and label food items, pick out their clothes, clean their houses, drive, and even gift wrap and do crafts for them. Pay varies, but the word spreads and they tell their disabled friends about you. To find them: Google local blind centers, and blind website addresses, then email, or call the directors with your request.

*Work for Cleaning Services for Commercial Buildings at night: This is a very lucrative job that can be done a few times a week late in the day, at night, or on the weekends. It is possible to get several different jobs at the same time for more money. Basically you apply through a company, interview, and then try to get gigs near where you live. My favorite company is servicemasterclean.com, or smcleanbusiness.com, because they train you well and the pay is excellent.

*Work as a Phone Actress: This job is not for the modest or faint at heart. It is mostly an opportunity for women and gay men. You get paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly by a company to talk to callers that dial in on a 900 number. They have seen an ad in their local paper and think they are calling a certain type of person, ex. skinny, fat, submissive, lonely ETC. You dial in on an 800 number and plug in your extension. Then you wait on the line and you get call after call. You just get paid to talk, but keep in mind the conversation may and often times, does go sexual. If you don”t mind that”the pay can be excellent, and you get to work from the comfort of your own home.

*Collect Gold and Silver coins while making money at the same time: Collect M70 high grade gold and silver coins monthly, and make money while doing it. This is a new business opportunity that has just come on the market. It is only ten months old as of April 2010, with only 8000 people involved so far. It is really a ground floor opportunity, and the possible money potential is off the chart. What could be better than to collect inflation proof assets for your family”s future and at the same time build a recurring monthly income that can reach 7 figures swiftly? This works on an automated system that takes maybe an hour of your time a week, once it is in place. For more on this “see my website in my Resource Box. Hope all this information will be as valuable to you as it has been for me. To your success!

How to Build Great Relationships through Cold Calling

Master the foundation for cold calling success

Sometimes the finest solutions are the simplest. Focusing on relationships when making cold calls is one of them. It keeps us genuine, and eliminates our dread of making cold calls. Were real people talking about real things. Were interested in the conversation, and it shows.

Most of us dislike putting on our “salesperson persona” when we make cold calls. We think its needed, however, because weve been trained to make the sale. And yet were interacting with a live, breathing person without having any real connection to him or her. It often feels fake, and it often is.

This artificial role puts a great stress on us, and sabotages our cold calling conversations. When we arent genuine, its a red flag to the other person that we have a sales agenda. This puts nearly everyone “on guard.” Theyve never met us and are wary of possibly being manipulated.

Have you ever noticed that most cold calls break down the moment we try to “move” things along towards a sale? Its as if were getting ready for battle, and the tension pushes us along.

But the person weve called doesnt know us. The momentum were trying to impose puts him or her in a defensive position. Theyre protecting themselves from a potential “intruder” who might have a self-serving agenda.

So how can we to shift into something more positive? We begin by focusing on the relationship rather than salesmanship. We call with the anticipation of meeting someone new, and looking forward to a pleasant conversation to find out whether we can be of service. This mindset is subtle but powerfully felt by the other person.

Building relationships humanize our cold calling conversations — and ourselves. We are less artificial. Cold calling conversations become more natural. And people tend to respond with more warmth and interest.

The point is not to use the “technique of building relationship” to improve sales. Thats having a hidden agenda rather than a relationship. Our goal is to see if we can provide something that will benefit the other person. If it doesnt, then we prefer not to continue interrupting their day. Thats a real relationship, even if brief.

When were being real people treating others as real people, the difference is amazing. Both people are both more at ease. We anticipate talking with someone who may possibly have an interest in what we have to offer. And if they dont, weve enjoyed our time with him or her.

When others feel this relaxed mindset from you, they are much more likely to welcome you into their day. But if you rigidly follow a script or launch into a mini-presentation, then your call is immediately pegged as something initiated primarily for your own gain. And that puts most people into resistance.

Here are 8 keys to building relationships in cold calling:

1. Focus on the other persons needs rather than on securing a sale

Corporate Image Management A Marketing Discipline For The 21st Century

The Corporate image is a dynamic and profound affirmation of the nature, culture and structure of an organization. This applies equally to corporations, businesses, government entities, and non-profit organizations. The corporate image communicates the organization’s mission, the professionalism of its leadership, the caliber of its employees and its roles within the marketing environment or political landscape.

Every organization has a corporate image, whether it wants one or not. When properly designed and managed, the corporate image will accurately reflect the level of the organization’s commitment to quality, excellence and relationships with its various constituents including current and potential customers, employees and future staff, competitors, partners, governing bodies, and the general public at large. As a result, the corporate image is a critical concern for every organization, one deserving the same attention and commitment by senior management as any other vital issue.

Historically, thinking and writing about the subject of corporate image has come from the area of graphic design, with most attention given to name selection, typography, logo design and usage rules, color palettes, uniforms, and marketing collateral. This approach no longer suits the global, dynamic, cross-border and cross-cultural world in which a growing number of today’s businesses and organizations operate. What is needed, instead, is a practice called Corporate Image Management. This is a holistic management discipline designed to prepare organizations to compete for resources, partners, customers and market share well into the early years of the 21st Century.

Corporate image management is founded upon modern cooperate identity practices and the marketing premise that everything an organization does, and does not do, affects the perception of that organization and its performance, products, and services. These perceptions affect its ability to recruit the financial resources, people and partnerships it needs to attain its goals and objectives.

This approach evaluates corporate image from a marketing, rather than a graphic design, perspective. The premise has two predominant concerns for companies entering the 21st Century:

* an understanding that the corporate image is a major strategic concern that can have a direct impact on the level of success the organization achieves through its other marketing and management efforts, and
* an understanding that a coherent corporate image needs to be integrated into the organization at all levels.

Looked at from a marketing perspective, corporate image management becomes an on-going, synergistic management tool, rather than a one-time “corporate image exercise” as currently practiced by most organizations and almost all corporate identity consultants. Corporate image management, therefore, becomes a comprehensive and all-embracing process that internalizes a new skill set for managing relationships between constituents at all levels in the organization. Its goal is to enable sustainable relationship advantages to be developed with key audiences. Since the process of corporate image management is on-going, these relationship management skills are applied to all current, prospective and future relationships. It applies equally to commercial, non-profit and government organizations.

Spin Art Machine Rental Tips And Tricks On How To Get The Best Deal

If you want an interactive game for your kids party, spin art is the perfect choice to entertain the kids. Aside from being affordable, they can also sharpen kids creativity skills thru fun arts and colorful designs. Spin art is truly enjoyable that even adults can enjoy playing them!

Compared to other forms of party activities, spin art machine rental is indeed more practical and cost efficient. To those who dont have big spaces at home, and needs something that is colorful and kids can truly enjoy, spin art machine rental is the most perfect option for your kids party. However, one must bear in mind that not all spin art machine rental companies can provide you efficient machines and equipments. In the internet alone, you can see thousands of party rental companies that offers spin art but not all of them can be tagged as trustworthy and dependable providers. To avoid hoax and substandard equipments as well as spin art machine rental companies, see these tips and tricks below.

1.Look for reputable and long standing providers this is the first thing that you need to bear in mind when looking for high quality spin art machines. Most spin art machine rental companies do offer affordable rates but then you must note the reliability of the provider. Make sure that the company has been in the business long enough to be tagged as honest and reliable. Dont waste your money from substandard and unsafe spin art machines, getting the best provider is the first key.

2.Choose the right size of spin art machine depending on the number of your guests, the size of the spin art machines should be greatly considered. Small spin art machines are only applicable for familial celebrations while big ones are meant for parties. Be sure to talk to your spin art machine rental company because can offer double or even quadruple spin art toys for kids to enjoy. If you will be using this machine for your kids party, it is advised to rent two or more machines to provide comfort and adequate chances to all your visitors.

3.Variety of designs and colors you also need to consider the number of frame designs and paint colors present on the package deal. Ask your trusted spin art machine rental company about the different packages they offer and pick accordingly depending on your needs and wants. Remember that the more colors and designs present on the package, the more fun spin art machines can be. Dont limit your choices on colors and patterns because they dont cause a fortune!

4.Use of non toxic materials this is where most fraudulent companies start with, toxic vs. non toxic materials. If you saw an ad that offers insanely low prices (more than half of the usual price), be wary because they might be using a toxic and unsafe color paints. Remember that safety should always come first, second to quality and affordability. Ask the spin art machine rental company about the type of paint they use, it should be non toxic and washable.

5.Quality of the machine and safety precautions there are different types of spin art machines, there are those that comes with grills while others are covered and lockable. It is advisable to choose a safe machine that is well covered and protected. You dont want those little fingers poking into the machine! You need to ask your spin art machine rental company regarding the quality of their machines. Do they operate consistently? Are they suitable for long use? Do they require special wirings and structures? Are they safe regardless of the weather? Do they have catch trays for easy cleaning? Ask all these things to ensure high quality of the machine you are renting.

Renting a spin art machine is actually easy and uncomplicated if you just know what to look for and where to find it. Browse the internet but be smart when choosing a provider. Always ask questions including discounts, some spin art machine rental companies are very lenient with regards to pricing.

Innovation Management Systems – A Useful Corporate Element

The incorporation of innovation management systems in modern
offices is a well-deserved change that comes from the old systems of a
suggestion box. Companies today thrive on the presence of an active
participation amongst employees and a constant thought process that
suggests ways and means of improvement. This was earlier available in
the form of a suggestion box, which has now taken a more sophisticated
and well-managed form. Presently, companies have departments for an
innovation management process that take care of all aspects of the
management and implementation of software for optimum results. They
ensure that the software is accessible for all and opinions are
available from all brackets and groups of employees.

A natural question that may arise at some point of
time is the actual relevance of this sphere of activity within
organizations. The implementation of innovation management software to
enhance the performance of this activity is also under question.
Generation of opinion is the objective for the innovation management
process to bring comprehensive growth for companies. This is led by the
idea of a concerted bank of information based on different ideas and
opinions put forward by employees. Contrary to the use of the old system
of the complaint box, this is aimed at garnering resourceful criticisms
and information or suggestions on improvement.

There is no
doubt that employees and those within an organization will always be
prone on providing their suggestions and ideas in addition to genuine
complaints. The department in charge of addressing these issues will
have to be equipped with software tools for this purpose that can code
and effectively synchronize the storage of information. Another
resourceful use of this software is the organization of campaigns to
generate opinions. It will encourage all groups and ranks of employees
within a company to reveal their thoughts and ideas for suggestive
improvements.

One
of the chief discouragements that could work against the use of
innovative software is the lack of popular acceptance. Its success is
completely dependent on the scale at which modern companies and
commercial organizations find its implementation as a viable resource.
The second argument that could also go against it is the absence of a
personal interaction in this system, which is completely computerized.
The innovations may be feared lacking at some stage owing to the lack of
personal interaction, reliance and more emphasis on the use of data.

There
is a wide range of innovation management software tools and
applications available for corporate and commercial implementations.
These are not only effective within a single premise of an office
location, as they are capable of providing assistance to modern day
organizations that have multiple bases of operations across the world.
With innovative management systems, there can be a better organization
of opinions followed by positive growth.

Innovation Funnel and Creativity in Business

Proper channeling of management and innovation is one of the
highly analyzed topics in business management. Most of the companies
today have adopted the strategy of open innovation that uses a
methodology that allows companies to co-innovate with their suppliers,
partners and customers. When it comes to managing innovation, it is a
multifaceted answer and unique to all businesses. Specific innovation
management strategy enables services and products to differentiate
themselves from the competition in the market. Companies must
appropriate sufficient resources and time into the innovation funnel.
Business innovators bring surprising changes in business operations as
well as customer retention, development and product design.

Creativity in business refers to identification of
customer friendly solutions to ensure distinguishing them from the
competition. When companies land on a specific strategy with the use of
the innovation funnel, they are seen by outsiders as innovators in realm
of customer service and customer relationship management. Businesses
adopt different approaches to ensure an environment that is suitable for
innovation and encourages a more expressive thought. Some companies
enlist use of creativity exercises for businesses. The strategies range
from engaging complex exercises to simple variants as well. For example,
a company utilized their market experience and adopted exercise for
their employees to eliminate negative or non creative thought patterns.
This was done by removing negative statements from the vocabulary. This
involved elimination of sentences such as “I can’t think creatively”,
“my job does not create a creative environment” and so on. These are
some patterns of negative thinking that creates a negative environment
and pushes creativity and innovation to the back seat.

Creative
exercises for business and adequate implementation of imaginative funnel
help a business reassess the question of ways to manage innovation. It
is important to create an environment that encourages free thought and
generates free ideas. The innovation funnel ensures that ideas and
thoughts are nurtured and directed well.

Large corporations use creative exercises for businesses in conjunction
with innovation and creative funnels. When businesses seek to implement
an innovation funnel or look for other methods on ways to manage
innovation, they can make use of the following tips that have proved to
be successful in other industries.

Creative exercises
in business and proper utilization of innovation funnel creates a
dramatic effect on the entire organization. So, now that you have read
the entire article, you must be clear about the importance of creativity
in business.

Advanced Management Systems for the Telemarketing Business Sector

An efficient quality telecommerce management system is vital to supervise and guide your call centre’s functioning, staffing utilization and staffing costs. The normal call centre expends nearly three-quarters of its total budget costs on personnel, so managing how the workforces spend their time at work is pivotal to budget management.

Today’s increasingly high-pressure labour market makes employing each operator efficiently, a prime target. Holding the right total of staff active at the right moment increases customer satisfaction and personnel team spirit by cutting wait times and associate frustration. A dependable telemarketing organisation system can do this for your business organisation.

Many companies are selling telecommerce management systems. Nearly all have like features and functionalities. Telemarketing management systems can be used to tag operator time management and attendance, plan staffing schedules and assignments, and may even interface with the general payroll scheme service providers. The majority of the telemarketing management systems on offer today inter-act immediately with the concern’s other systems, most typically the predictive dialers or automated telephone call distribution systems. This integration is a great cost management feature, securing that payroll department information is accurately reported, billable hours are transcribed and charged precisely, and elimination of manual staff tracking. The greater accuracy means more extended payroll accuracy, more billed hours and not so much time spent checking out and communicating payroll.

Most of the systems feature staff scheduling modules too. Integrating the scheduling operating function with call traffic practices provides more correct and efficient program scheduling of teleselling workers. Appropriate staffing levels not only aid client satisfaction levels but they step-up worker team spirit besides. Advances in decreasing the rate of in the rate of absenteeism, turnover and public presentation are all added extras of keener scheduling, all of which can add to a telemarketing business’s net profit.

All of the telecommerce management systems have sophisticated reporting capabilities, with reports to contend with every item of your telephone call operator’s working day, inclusive of short-break time, education sessions, work time and rest time. Attendance accounts, clock in, as opposed to sign-in time and rates of pay for hours worked reports can be generated by associate, staff supervisor or whole team.

Each of these management tools can be used to step-up a company’s profitableness by more effectively superintending personnel monetary costs and appropriating more time. The real impingement of establishing a satisfactory telemarketing management system is awkward to judge, since its consequence is so diffusive through the whole of the company. Almost all telemarketing business enterprises estimate that their scheduling efficiency can be amended up by just under twenty percent after establishing the planned programs, with the total cost savings lending more net profit to their net profit. Mooting this statistic, nearly all telephone call centre management systems should have a tangible return in just under a year. Of course, advances in client satisfaction and staff morale are less concrete, but equally as noteworthy.

Additions to or upgrading your teleselling management system will have prompt tangible and bottom line consequences. With broad gains in staffing efficiency and the associated monetary cost decrease, and additional advantages in the form of increased customer satisfaction and better business functioning, an upgraded telemarketing management system can be a valuable investment in your business organisation’s prospective future.

Customer Relationship Management And Crm Kpi

Customer relationship management or CRM refers to all of the processes that an organization makes use of to organize and track its contacts or relationships with prospective and current customers. Hence, CRM covers quite a wide array of activities, departments, and processes, from front desk or first line interactions to analytical and behind the scene procedures. These varied practices are sometimes tracked and monitored using so-called key performance indicators or KPI practices are sometimes tracked and monitored using so-called key performance indicators or KPIs. There will be a good variety of CRM KPI to consider, associated with the different aspects of the entire customer relationship management paradigm.

CRM can be more or less divided into four separate but interrelated aspects: front office operations, back office operations, business relationships, and analysis. Front office operations would refer to that part of the system involving dealing with customers directly, whether face to face or through the phone or the Internet. Back office operations, on the other hand, vary from business to business, and involve those processes necessary to provide the appropriate products or services to the customers. Business relationships, the next aspect of customer relationship management, involve, as the term implies, forming working relationships with other companies and organizations as opposed to clients or customers. That is, these would be the firms that a business finds itself working with, as a manufacturer would work with a distributor, and so on.

Key performance indicators refer to particular measurable quantities or metrics that serve as either the most relevant or most important signs of progress or performance in particular aspects. In practice, they are usually not chosen by themselves or out of nowhere. Instead, they form an integral part of a measurable, objective goal. For instance, such a goal may be Increase gross sales by 10% from 2008 to end of year 2009. The KPI in this case would be gross sales. Of course, this specific example would not be applicable or appropriate to all organizations. Other possible KPI’s could be net profit, customer satisfaction rate, return client percentage, employee turnover, and so on and so forth.

In customer relationship management, some performance metrics may be identified in general. Front office operations, for example, would want to process customers not only quickly, but also thoroughly. That is, not only average handling time or maximum customer capacity is important, but also customer satisfaction ratio and percent of cases fully resolved. For the back office and analysis aspects, on the other hand, other KPIs would be more relevant to consider, mostly relating to the speed and efficiency of information storage, processing, and analysis.

But, of course, CRM KPI would be useless without a solid strategic plan backing them up. It would not help much to measure an assortment of quantities if they are not integrated and considered as painting a whole picture of organizational performance. However, if they are used with the proper context and mindset, metrics and key performance indicators will be able to provide invaluable insight into often mis-estimated overall performance.

Ethics 101 Morals At Work

You have probably heard the word “ethics” thrown around quite a bit, but do you know what ethics are? Ethics are a person or corporations moral philosophy, which involves how a person or business defines and handles right and wrong behavior. A solid ethical foundation is generally based upon human rights, what is fair and what is in the best interest of the workplace (both employer and employee).

Due to the fact that ethics can vary greatly depending on many factors, it can be difficult for a business to determine where the lines are drawn in the sand when it comes to quandaries involving ethical decisions. It is important not to confuse ethics with the law, as some laws may not be in line with what we consider to be ethical. What is ethical can change based on where we work and who we interact with.

Almost all employees will find themselves from time to time in a position where they are being asked to do something that is unethical. If a superior requests a financial report but asks that the numbers be manipulated, it is unethical, especially if you know that finagling the figures will benefit the recipient.

Managers are supervisors are not the only people who can dish out unethical requests and behaviors; colleagues are guilty of the same. Some new employees have reported being asked by more senior staff members to do their assignments or even take tests on their behalf. Of course, because the staff member is new, they feel pressure to be accepted and comply with the requests.

If you are in a position where your ethics or that of your employer comes into question, sit down and have a very frank discussion with the offender or even your Human Resources Department. Chances are, they may not even recognize their own behaviors. Be proactive and take steps towards prevention by educating yourself on workplace ethics.

If you are a job-seeker, it is important for you to know whom you are working for when you are seeking employment. Do research on the companies where you have applied and make sure you are asking questions.

Ask about the work environment, where the company sees itself in 5 years, and what the turnover rate is like. It is just as important for a recruiter to learn about its potential employees, as it is for to determine if the company will be a good fit for you.

The Dangers of Freelancing and How to Protect Yourself from Thieves, Plagiarists and Time Wasters!

Are you a freelance designer that is worried about or has been affected by thieves and plagiarists that waste your time and lose you money? If so then read on…

I hear a lot in the forums about designers that are angry because they have just been scammed. No one expects to be a victim of theft until it actually happens to them. I personally rarely have this problem as I am careful about whom I design for and always protect my work. This does not mean to say that it will not happen to me and unfortunately does happen to freelancers all the time.

Some people feel they can use freelancers and the contest forums as a free service. They will pose as a client and give a project specification with a set price. Freelance designers will submit their work and may even get responses from this so called client. They will then steal the designs, usually using the old copy and paste method. Some more bold thieves will even request the files to be sent to them before they give payment. NEVER send your completed designs to a client before payment has been confirmed as it will leave you open to scams.

Just like thieves, time wasters do not pay for your services, but they will not steal them either. They will simply give up and ignore the work submitted. More often that not what happens is a client requests a logo or template and does not like the results they are getting from the freelancers submitting their entries. They then decide to go elsewhere without selecting a winner from their posting. The client has not looked at the rules of the forums carefully and although they do not mean to cause the freelancers any problems, by ignoring entries they are significantly wasting the designers time. This has resulted in a lot of people being banned from forums and labelled as time wasters.

The final issue of plagiarism tends to be more of a problem from new freelancers who are unaware of the laws regarding protected works. In order to copy a design in part or in full you need to have some expertise of how to do so. Remember, it is one thing to draw inspiration from other freelancers designs but another to steal and copy them. Sometimes you find a new designer who has only had a few posts and may be unsure of how the freelance business works. They may find an image from Google or even from another freelancers entry and feel they can apply it to their own designs. So they use the copy and paste function, slap it into Photoshop, add some text and call it their own. Fortunately for them, most of the time a more experienced freelancer will notice this and show them the errors of their ways and they never do it again. However, some people are aware that it is wrong and do it any way. These are the real bad guys who freelancers need to protect themselves from.

Surprisingly, a lot of freelancers are not aware of the basic method I am about to show you for how to quickly, easily and effectively protect your designs. This proven method can be applied to anything from a small logo to a large template. The method is called watermarking. It is basically faded text that is placed over a design to protect it. This text blocks the image resting under it and stops potential theft by making it almost impossible to clearly copy the design without the watermarked text showing up.