Don’t let Social Networking Kill Your Business

When I started in the corporate world, I was shocked at how religiously people kept the “Coffee Break” tradition, NOBODY would move a muscle during Coffee Break, even if they didn’t even had coffee… soon, I discovered that the water cooler was another religious icon.

Almost always I was considered as “anti-social” because I would go take my mug, fill it up and go back to my desk and drink my water there… same goes with the coffee.

Nowadays I work at home, online since 2004 and now there is Social “NETworking”, there are social networking sites as diverse as there are people, and of course there are many for work at home individuals and that is great, because working at home can be PRETTY isolating!

We are social beings, so we need to interact with other people, but when you work at home and you don’t have anyone supervising you it requires a lot of discipline not to let your Social Networking kill your business.

I’m telling you from personal experience, when I discovered message forums and social networking sites, I was so happy! There is so many people out there who struggle with the same things I struggle, who know things I need to know, who have so many things in common with me, who ask things that I might be able to answer… Oh wow, I can keep going and going and that is why, in the beginning, I had NO control and the “addictive” nature of these sites made me work on my business late nights, in order to make up for the time lost.

Social networking is necessary for internet marketing success, people need to know who you are in order to trust you and buy from you, but you need to create a “social networking budget” you just can’t be all day spending your time on sites doing things that won’t make you money.

When social networking, ask yourself this question: Is this going to help me get more sales, bookings, or sign ups? In other words, is this activity going to make me any MONEY? If the answer is “No” or “In the long run” then STOP!

Put your priorities in order, work on your business, and when you need a break (because we  do need a break from time to time!) check on the new posts on your favorite message boards, contribute and then go back to work. After you finish crossing out all the items in your “to-do list” and you need to relax and have margaritas with co-workers … go and do your social networking.

Are you praying for a BIG break?

A friend of mine, just posted this on Twitter “Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet” (Author unknown)

I have read it several times… and I realize this is something most of us do… ok, I’ll talk about my personal experience, I have done this numerous times.

All my life I’ve wanted to have that BIG break that will give me money and fame , but everytime I get the lead to that break… I freak out and I say “Oh I’m not ready for this” or “Oh that’s too big for me” or “Oh I don’t know if I can do this”

How many times you have wished for a way to earn money from home? How many times have you wished for more bookings? How many times have you wished for a big account? What will you do if that actually happens?

When I started my first online business MindBodyAndPaw.com I was praying for it to work, but at the same time, I was super scared of what would happen if it actually worked… I remember that when I got my first order I wasn’t ready, my shipping options were not properly set up in Paypal, I spent so much time getting ready to be ready, that one of my suppliers stopped their dropshipping service and I had to make my first refund on an item included in my first order… I had to face EVERYTHING at the same time!

But I was praying for it to work, I was praying for orders to come, I was praying to be able to make money from home, and my prayers were answered… I had to move my feet, I had to work forward… I couldn’t reimburse the money and shut down the site… right?

I see so many people online wishing to work from home, they join a few websites, ask questions, contact several reps for different companies and never do anything, they join a business opportunity, but they never promote it, if you suggest they promote it offline, they tell you that is not an option, if you suggest they purchase products and give them to their friends, family and acquaintances as gift for holidays or special ocassions they tell you they don’t have the money. They never ask their upline for help, they don’t answer their upline’s emails or phone calls, and then one day, puff! they stop showing on their downlines. 

If you want to work from home, the only thing different than owning the corner’s bakery is the location. If you want to be in business, you will need to act as if you were in business. You need to be clear on something, you will need to promote your business, you will need to tell others about it, you will need to use your products and/or service, you will need to create a budget, because you will need to invest in your business.

If you’re going to ask for the big break, think about what will you do if it happens (and it will happen) because YOU WILL NEED TO MOVE YOUR FEET and take it seriously!

How do YOU use Twitter?

Today I’m featuring a guest blog post. I know a lot of people are asking what is the best way to use twitter for business… I have asked myself the same this many times, that is why when I read this article I knew I had to feature it on my blog.

Enjoy reading it!

How do YOU use Twitter?
By: “Karen & Frank”

Some friends from over at Ryze inquired as to how we use Twitter and were requesting some feedback about Twitter and Facebook. It’s good to see the interest that simply asking about Twitter generates, and here are our replies to the questions that were asked.

1- What specifically do you write about on Twitter or Facebook?We have found that everyone is looking to sell their product or service on Twitter and Facebook. When you do so, most of the “Social Networkers” ignore your posts because most of them just aren’t interested in them, much like they would probably not be interested in what you had for lunch today.

We have found that when you initiate a topic and then talk TO the social networkers, you tend to get a better response and they will be more apt to start a conversation, albeit a short one, but at least it is a start and then they are more likely to click on your link to find out more about you.

We have a post on our blog, if you will allow us to provide a link here, about our experience with Twitter. Here is where you can read more: Do You Twitter?. Let us know what you think.

2- Do you join and participate in the various forums and groups there?
There are a few in Twitter but the popular ones seem to be dominated by celebs most of whom really don’t seem to care who you are or what you have to say. So we take the stand that we are going to treat each person on Twitter as if they were a customer coming into our store, and we always treat our customers as friends, ergo the “Social Networking”.

We also believe that Quality is more important that Quantity when it comes to Followers. Whereas that may not bring a BUNCH of traffic our way, we hope that it will at least develop relationships that will eventually work out to more incoming traffic. Kind of like an online “Word of Mouth” marketing. (I may have to put this in one of our blog posts, this is good stuff!)

We are investigating groups and forums in Facebook to see if they are (1) of interest and (2) interested in us. We generally see what our friends are joining and then check those out.

3- How much time do you spend on them?
TOO MUCH it seems!!! At least when we aren’t busy with the store or in our personal lives. But we are of the mindset that nothing comes easy and sometimes you have to put in the time in order to reap the benefits.

It seems that because a few made millions on the internet, too many people think it is easy money and try to do the same (kind of like the Gold Rush of old), but I am willing to bet that most of us found out differently.

4- How many unique hits to your website are you getting from your activities on Twitter and Facebook?
Not as many as we had hoped and we have come to the conclusion that it is because, like we said above, these are SOCIAL networks and are not really business oriented.

Now that doesn’t mean we aren’t cultivating some relationships, however time-consuming those may be, but we look at it like this: You wouldn’t want to go to a Free barbecue only to have everyone you meet handing you a business card and then constantly try to get you to see what they have to sell. That’s like a Huckster (or even a Billy Mays “Hawker”). We feel that you need to get to know the people first and then you can find out who is interested in what you have and THEN show them where they can go to see more IFF they are interested (IFF = If and Only If – remember, Frank is an Engineer).

We hope that this has shed some light on your questions and we apologize for taking so long to post a reply (and posting such a long reply), but things did get a little bit busy there for a while, thank goodness, since we started Tweeting and Facebooking. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the new business actually came FROM Twitter and FaceBook, but we like to think that those relationships that we are cultivating may have directed some business our way. And the Google page positioning hasn’t hurt since we started Twitter and Facebook either.

We would like to thank, Adam + April, for asking these questions and allowing us to acknowledge them in our blog post.

BTW, Blogging seems to be helping too.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and Have a Great Day!

Karen & Frank
OurKnickKnacks – Gifts, Decor and More!
Join us on Twitter at twitter.com/OurKnickknacks
And on FaceBook at FaceBook – OurKnickknacks

The Real Secret of MLM Sponsoring and Success

By: Mariangie Gonzalez

First of all, let me start by saying that I am by no means a MLM expert. This is just what I have learned in the past year or so.

Years ago, MLM guru’s advised that in order to have success in your MLM business, you needed to do the following:

• Place newspaper and magazine ads
• Hand out samples
• Hand out audio cassettes, videos (WAY back then), CD’s and presentation DVD’s
• Use the 3-feet rule (talk about your business with everyone you come in contact within a range of 3 feet)
• Make a list of 200 names and cold call on them
• Send postcards and other direct mail pieces

Recently, the guru’s have shifted to another approach… “The Law of Attraction” they call it now, “Attraction Marketing” meaning that you now need to:

• Post articles on blogs
• Interact in Social Networking sites and message boards
• Create and give away free reports
• Create eCourses
• Write eBooks
• Become the “expert” in your field

I have done both… first one and when it didn’t work, I did the other, which didn’t work either… and just recently I discovered the REAL secret in MLM sponsoring and success.

Let’s forget for a moment that we’re talking about a MLM business. Let’s think of a business, ANY business… I’ll choose a franchise… McDonald’s…

Let’s forget again about their product, let’s just focus on their marketing approach. Mc Donald’s is involved in many charities, they have foundations, they sponsor events… that is all related to “attraction marketing” they are “attracting” the attention to their brand by giving away either products, money or time. But then, I see their commercials every day on TV, in the newspaper, their banners on the street, and the posters in the bus stop, everywhere! That is traditional marketing. On top of that, they keep their image fresh to the public’s eyes by having a new toy on their Happy Meal every 4 weeks or so and by creating their own local events for the community.

With that in mind, I turned my attention to the people online that were successful in their respective MLM’s… those who did not jump from one new opportunity to the other, but stayed with a company and were really successful with it.

Guess what I discovered…. Duh! They conducted their businesses, just like McDonalds’ they use attraction marketing; they have their own blogs, they post in message boards, they publish articles, they write hold contests, and they are active in social networks on a regular basis. But just like McDonalds’, they advertise their businesses daily and they find new ways both offline and online to create a fresh image of their business opportunity and products all the time!

I have been doing this since I started my MLM business and I have been able to sponsor an average of 1 new distributor every 3 days, since I started… I know it doesn’t look like much, but most “regular” people never sponsor more than 5 in a year!

In order to make sure it was the combination of the two methods I took 2 weeks to conduct a trial:

Week 1: I advertised but was inactive in the “attraction methods”
Sponsored – 1
Week 2 : I was active in the attraction methods but didn’t advertise
Sponsored -0

As soon as I went back to “The Combination” I started to sponsor new distributors to my team as I had been doing since I started “The Combination”. So, in order to be successful in MLM or in ANY other business, you need to advertise consistently AND use the attraction methods mentioned above. Take it from me, a regular Jane and don’t let any guru’s tell you differently!
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The author is the owner of the online pet remedies store http://www.MindBodyAndPaw.com since October of 2004 and is an Independent Distributor for Forever Living selling Aloe-based health & beauty products and helping other start their own businesses from home, you can learn more about her products and business opportunity here: http://www.mariangie.myflpbiz.com. She lives in Puerto Rico with her husband, 2 children, 2 tuxedo cats and a pit bull.

What is your purpose?

By: Mariangie Gonzalez

Two days ago I was having a conversation with my husband, we were talking about work politics, the economic situation, continued education, etc.

My husband started college after we had our first child, back in 1998, after 2 years he got a new job, the new work schedule didn’t allow for a regular college curriculum anymore, so he dropped out.

About 2 years ago, his company announced that they will be reimbursing their employees for their college education, so he grabbed the opportunity and started studying again. He studies in one of those 5-week class programs.

Anyway, during our conversation, I asked him when the new session was going start and what class he was going to take this time, (he had been off since Thanksgiving and to be honest I saw that “not-planning to-go-back-to-college” attitude in him).

This is how the conversation developed:

Hubby- “You know what? I’m so unmotivated this time, there’s no use for me to keep studying, I’ll never advance in my company”.

Me- “What do you mean there’s no use? Are knowledge and a free college degree not enough?”

Hubby- “No, I mean, no matter how hard I work and how prepared I get, other people will get the promotions, not me”

Me- “Well, if that’s how you feel, then finish the education, and when you are finished, you serve your company a year or two, whatever they require you to work for them because they paid for your education, and then you leave and get a better job with your “new” degree or even start your own business. ”

Hubby- “The only require 3 years of service for those that they pay for their master’s degree; there is no requirement for those that they pay for their bachelors degree”

OK, at that point I wanted to slap my husband.

Me- “I can’t believe that you don’t want to do something for yourself! I would have like 15 bachelors degrees if I had the money, it’s not about getting promotions is about LEARNING! NOBODY CAN TAKE KNOWLEDGE AWAY FROM YOU!!!!”

Yeah I had to raise my voice a little, I was so mad…

Me- “Dad, always told us that we should learn about EVERYTHING we could, because we never knew when that would come up handy, I hated that he forced us to take music classes for years, but how was I able to purchase and pay-off my car when I was in College?… Teaching music lessons!”

Me- “Years later, when I was offered the Landscaping Teaching position in the Vocational School, if I hadn’t had previous teaching experience, I would have not being hired and helped to get my teaching certification or would I…? And you know that has been my BEST job ever…”

He nodded his head and said: “Yeah… maybe you are right…” (of course I’m right!, LOL!)

But, seriously, sometimes we don’t have a clear purpose or we have the wrong one to begin with, and that is why we lose our motivation, that’s what happened to my husband.

In life and in business, we need to carefully define our purpose, why we want to do this or that, and we can’t have a purpose for outside reasons, it has to be for us.

We may want to get a higher degree, increase sales, homeschool our children, get out of debt, but NOT because of the reasons the world thinks we should do it, but because of what we want to accomplish, what we think is best for us, what will makes us happy, what will makes us grow as a person, as a professional, as a parent, etc.

What is your purpose… is it YOURS really? Sit down and define your purpose, put it down in writing so you never forget…
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The author is the owner of the online pet remedies store http://www.MindBodyAndPaw.com since October of 2004 and is an Independent Distributor for Forever Living selling Aloe-based health & beauty products and helping other start their own businesses from home, you can learn more about her products and business opportunity here: http://www.mariangie.myflpbiz.com. She lives in Puerto Rico with her husband, 2 children, 2 tuxedo cats and a pit bull.

Just for fun…

They say that kids say the darndest things…

I know first hand what that means, my son has been coming up with comments, questions and answers that leave us with our jaws dropping ever since he started to talk….

This was forwarded to me by a friend, I don’t know if it was for real, or not, but I can tell you, I know that my son could have come up with some of these answers when he was 6, in fact he told number 14 to a teacher when he was 7…!

1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It’s hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are 6-year-old first-graders, because the last one is a classic!

1. Don’t change horses — until they stop running.
2. Strike while the — bug is close.
3. It’s always darkest before — Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of — termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but — How?
6. Don’t bite the hand that — looks dirty.
7. No news is — impossible
8. A miss is as good as a — Mr.
9. You can’t teach an old dog new — Math
10. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll — stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust — Me.
12. The pen is mightier than the — pigs.
13. An idle mind is — the best way to relax.
14. Where there’s smoke there’s — pollution.
15. Happy the bride who — gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is — not much.
17. Two’s company, three’s — the Musketeers.
18. Don’t put off till tomorrow what — you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and — You have to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as — Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not — spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don’t succeed — get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you — See in the picture on the box
24. When the blind lead the blind — get out of the way.
25. A bird in the hand — is going to poop on you.

And the WINNER and last one!
26. Better late than — Pregnant

The Opportunity to be Barefoot

I love to be barefoot, but this post is about the “Barefoot Books” business opportunity.

My friend Elizabeth just started her Barefoot Books business and being a mom of very creative kids, (my son is into Visual Arts, my daughter is just leaning towards Theater) I feel that is important to stimulate those little brains at all times, that is what makes this opportunity so relevant.

This is not just your regular business opportunity, this is a tool for raising heatlhier, smarter, more creative, well-rounded kids.

I just went to Elizabeth’s website and I liked everything I saw, the colors, the illustrations, the titles. This is a great home based business opportunity option for moms, teachers and everyone that cares about our kids.

Please take a moment to visit Elizabeth’s website and start your own Barefoot Books businesss today

PS: You can even start with no out of pocket cost!

Who is in charge of YOUR success?

I hear it all the time….

• Oh my upline doesn’t help me, (s)he doesn’t respond to my emails…
• How can I be successful in my business if no one trains me?
• Can I quit and sign up under someone else?

Or on the other hand…

• My downline is not responsive, they don’t reply to my emails
• I can’t make my team to stay on autoship
• Why isn’t everyone on my team as motivated as I am?

Let me tell you something, this is YOUR business, when you joined your opportunity, you knew you were starting your own business, there were reasons why you chose your company and products, you had dreams and plans, you were excited, but if you ask any… ANY business person the pizzeria owner, the dry cleaner owner, the grocery store owner, anyone with any business they will never tell you owning a business is easy.

Network marketing and/or online businesses have less “complications” than a regular brick and mortar business, but this is not a walk in the park, you need to step up and take action, you need to treat your business like you would treat any other business.

If you had purchased a million dollar franchise of McDonals, would you be blaming your lack of success in your customers, employees, suppliers, etc? NO! You would be dealing with the problems and you would do everything in your reach so your business takes off. It’s the same here!

YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR SUCCESS

Sit down and create YOUR plan of action. You need to promote your business, use and recommend your products (or service), you need to keep sponsoring and training, you need to be in the constant look of new customers and team members.

Coca Cola does, Macy’s does, AT&T does… why wouldn’t you?

Try to concentrate in finding customers for your product/service, I know that is gratifying to see a team grow but would you rather have 1,000 inactive team members OR 100 active team members? I know the answer!

When you are a satisfied customer of your company you will talk about your products in a natural way, not in a pushy “I-need-to-sell-something” way. When your customers are happy with your products it’s easier to tell them, “why don’t you sign up as a distributor/rep so your business can pay for your own products/service?”

You need to rely on your own methods, work on your business as hard as you would work for someone else… it’s sad to see how many people work their butts off for someone else, but when they are given with the opportunity to work for themselves and their family, they become lazy, they want others to do things for them.

“But I still need help…! It’s hard to do it alone…” Did I hear you say that? Yes, it’s true, you need help, but there is plenty of helpful people online! In social networks, message forums there is plenty of people with whom you can network, ask questions, give answers…. they don’t need to be from your own company!

If your upline is unresponsive… that is not an excuse, forgive them and just find another mentor.

If your downline is lazy and lack motivation despite your efforts… forgive them, and just keep prospecting, the right person is waiting to hear from you and your opportunity right around the corner!

Im saying this once again: Sit down and create YOUR plan of action. You need to promote your business, use and recommend your products (or service), you need to keep sponsoring and training, you need to be in the constant look of new customers and team members.

You are not the “boss” of your downline to tell them what to do, THEY TOO started their own business and all you need to do is send them to this blog post so they can read it and know what to do!

You are not your upline’s employee waiting for instructions or directions you are your own boss now… it’s funny but if it works for you, do this exercise… in the evening, before you go to bed, think you are the boss of a company that sells this and that (your stuff) and write a to-do list for your employees for the next day.

Next day, follow the to-do list your boss left you the night before
This is your chance to take control of your future, take it seriously.

If you want to learn more about the Forever Living FREE home based opportunity please visit us here!

Why Blog? The purpose of blogging

This is a blog post sent to me by Kenneth Koh, I just wanted to share it with you…

In my last blog post, I said that blog plays a different role in advertising. As a follow up, let’s discuss the purpose of blogging and the role it pays in advertising. My discussion is purely from marketing point of view. If you are blogging for fun or to pass time, that’s another purpose but it’s not our focus here.

So, why blog?… Read the complete article here

Bodies – “The Exhibition”

OK, so this is not business related or Aloe related, but we just went to this exhibition today and it’s amazing how perfect the human body is designed, how it works…

I don’t have many words to describe it… just take a look at this video below: