Telecoms for Business

Any business relies on technology to operate. With fast and reliable internet connections, strong mobile signals and advanced telecoms systems, it is possible to effectively communicate with customers and collectors, suppliers and partners in a variety of ways. Any business that does not have access to the latest technology is put at a disadvantage.

The accelerated rate at which digital technology has grown in recent years and our reliance on it has put great pressure on the capacity of copper based networks. The wide scale deployment of fiber (often referred to as Fiber to the Premises or FTTP) networks is being seen as the only way to address this and equip homes and businesses with what they need.

A recently released 'Building Gigabit Britain Report' compiled by leading UK businesses highlights the importance of a wide spread fiber network to the long term prospects of British business and the wider economy. As the population embracements advances in digital communications, wireless devices, remote working and competition in global markets, the need for fiber is obvious.

The Report highlights a number of ways in which the Government could, and in opinion of the authors should, support the roll out of a new fiber infrastructure. These include investing in a clear strategy that commits to 80% of the population having access to fast fiber broadband by 2026, with near universal coverage by 2030.

In regards to the regulations which currently govern the industry, it is noted that whilst some regulations help to protect customers, others are more of a hindrance to progress. It suggests that some of the financial barriers are removed and that current regulations are reworked in order to encourage both competition and collaboration from telecoms companies. This is seen as vital for innovation in communications and private investment in rolling out the fiber networks.

The report also raises the importance of advertising guidelines being enforced, so that clear and transparent information is available to the public. The success of many local economies could depend on the timely roll out of fiber and how the process is communicated and managed by local councils and telecoms companies.

Fast and Reliable Broadband

So, if fast and reliable broadband and embracing digital technology is so essential to the future of the British economy, how does it affect your business? Did broadband speed influence your decision on where locate your business? Are you reliant on the roll out of fiber in order to realize the goals in your business plan?

Has fast reliable broadband enabled you to make the most of the latest business telecoms systems? If so, your employees could be as easy to contact (by you and your customers) whether they are at their desk, out at a business event, or working remotely. You could be saving time and money by conference calling partners and clients, rather than meeting in person. You can avoid missing that important call with voice mail and printed transcripts of the message.

Many companies have not upgraded their business telecoms in recent years, it simply has not seemed like the top priority, but much like your IT, there can be significant benefits from streamlining procedures, increasing productivity and integrating one system with another.

Business Telecoms Systems

Your company may have to wait several years before fast and reliable fiber systems are in place, but you can give your operations an advantage by investing in the latest business telecoms systems. If your team are finding it increasingly difficult to manage the increasing volume of calls, or seasonal peaks, then this could be a sign that an upgrade is due.

Other indicators include issues with resolving problems with the system and the prohibitive challenges associated with adding new lines or integrating the phones with other technology. Whilst many Company Directors have concerns about the cost of an upgrade, the reality is that the latest business telecoms are often far more cost effective that older systems and can lead to considerable savings in the long term.

Writing Your Affiliate Home Business Plan

Here's a typical scenario: You are deciding to start a home business and suddenly everyone you know has his nose in your business, literally. What do you tell them? And how do you answer your own questions? What should you expect from the company in terms of stability, longevity, vitality, trust, income, and so forth? First the bad news: there are no guarantees. Then the good news: there is plenty of information from which to draw your own conclusions. The internet is huge, and any good company will offer free marketing tools and training.

But back to the WHY of that business plan. You're going to be starting small, slow and boy! is there a lot to learn. What's the point of actually sitting down and writing a business plan? You're not Bill Gates, this is not Microsoft, just you in your home office a few hours a week, slowly building an online business presence, not really understanding what the heck you'll be doing.

Relax and breathe. Unlike Mt. Rushmore, your plan will not be designed to withstand the weathering of the ages. You can expect it will change and bend with the flow of your real experiences, which will be totally yours, not identical to anyone else's.

What writing your plan will do is cause you to pause, think, dream, study and focus. The written document, whether it is one page or twelve, will give your business a framework to work within. The internet is vast and seemingly endless. It is easy to lose focus and drift away on a different whim or idea every day. Understanding where you are today, what tools you have to work with, what your goals are, and how you can best achieve them and measure your success, will help you stay on target and not waste what few hours you may be investing in your business at start-up.

Whenever you feel lost or confused, you can return to what you have written. When you analyze your situation and decide to make a change, rewrite that part of the plan. Understand that it's a living document, intended to grow with you and your business. Your business plan is your friend.

Getting Started with the Business Plan

First you need to study the company and its management. You need to read and learn about the products, the compensation plan and the network structure. See you next month. Just kidding.

Plan on doing SOME reading each and every work day for the next few months, if not indefinitely. Keep up with the company forum entries every day; read something in the training reports every day. Your education will continue. Plan for it.

When you are ready, open up a Notepad window and answer these questions:

What service / products does your business provide and what needs does it fill?

Who are the potential customers for your product or service and why will they purchase it from you?

How will you reach your potential customers?

Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?

Ok. Maybe your company offers many products and services. What do you want to focus on? I suggest that, at first, you focus on one or two products and / or the affiliate opportunity. In other words, keep is simple. Once you get the hang of what you're doing, you will KNOW when it's time to expand. Do only what you are comfortable with, every step of the way. This is YOUR business, it's your right and privilege to decide on your approach.

Internet marketing hinges on building trust. How will you do this?

Reaching customers means marketing. Your decision, once again. And again, the options should be in your company's training materials.

So we're talking developing a reading / study schedule. Here's a possible list, once you've read enough to make your own decisions to answer the above questions, start writing. Your writing can be lists of words and phrases, free-form brainstorming, outlines, mind maps, whatever works for you. Just write it down, and do not forget to save often. If your home office is affiliated by cats or small children, they have the tendency to press on random keyboard keys. Documents do occasionally just disappear. Saving avoids total disaster.

1. Study the products.
2. Read the training materials.
3. Read about decisions, bonuses, etc.
4. Study the marketing aids and strategies
5. Find out what free tools are available.
6. Visit the forums on a regular basis. Read everything about getting started.
7. Ask questions.

Your final written business plan will have at least four parts:

Introduction / background: history of the company and its founder, internet marketing trends, why THIS company and why NOW, and so on.

Goals: I suggest you think of what you would like to be learning in two years, but mainly focus on goals for your first year. Realistic goals can be planned based on info on the company website, in newsletters, searches on the forums, and focused questions to other affiliates.

Marketing plan: based on your answers to the first 3 questions above and your study of marketing aids and tools.

Action plans: the specifics of what you will do on a monthly, weekly, and / or daily basis for the next year.

I can not tell you what your answers should be, because you have to decide how much money you have to invest. Only you can decide how many hours per day, week or month you can invest in your business. What products you feel most comfortable marketing, and who you decide to target as your customer base, are all decisions only you can make. If you get stuck and do not understand a question, do not know where to find information, or do not know how to ASK a question, contact your sponsor or someone in your upline. If they can not help you, they should be able to send you to someonewho can.

You should NEVER feel alone. Work should be FUN! ...

Use the WWW to Make Money

The Internet has opened innumerable opportunities for people, thanks to the growing popularity and success of online jobs. There was a time when making money online appeared to be an unbelievable affair. Today, the scenario is completely different. Do an online search for money making opportunities on the World Wide Web, and you would be bombarded with hundreds of thousands of results in the fraction of a second. Right from data entry jobs to affiliate programs, or even clicking ads, the Internet seems to abound in jobs for everyone- student, homemaker, self-employed and even the elderly.

But then there is another side of this beautiful picture. Spamming has become a global affair. Every now and then, you would come across someone being spammed. Agreed, there are genuine online jobs too. However, you may have lost hundreds of dollars by the time you come across a genuine job. Bet-rich-overnight schemes continue to lure everyone, though most of us know deep inside that such promises are based on unrealistic aspects.

The question remains- how to make money online without being spammed? Online jobs can simplify your life. With an online job, you can say goodbye to debt and financial worries. You can spend more time with your loved ones. Most importantly, you can work from anywhere, and still make a full time income online. However, the income source should be reliable and residual, and not a one-time opportunity to make a few bucks.

A genuine online job that can teach you how to make money online should be more of a step-by-step system that should allow anyone, regardless of their age or location, to make a decent income, month after month, consistently. Some of the popular money making opportunities online involve writing, editing, transcribing, and other affiliate programs. While some companies offer regular writing jobs, and pay on a per-article or per project basis, many others allow you to earn through the income generated through PPC.

Your aim should be learning and mastering a proven system that teaches you how to make money online. Do not spend hundreds of dollars into buying schemes and systems that promise you a six-figure income. Learn to tell a genuine job from a bogus one. You may come across moneymaking websites that show pictures of lavish bungalows, luxurious cars and bundles of money. Remember, there is no way you would be a millionaire doing an online job overnight. A genuine job would help you increase your income gradually. If you want to learn how to make money online, you need to be vigilant. Keep an eye on the latest developments on the Internet. Read about freelancing jobs, and subscribe to blogs that send regular updates about online jobs.

How To Play Time Management Games Online For Free

1. First a warning, playing games can be addicting so remember to manage your playing time. Also be sure to download time management games from sites that you trust and always keep your anti-virus program up to date.

2. Check your browser some time management games require the Internet Explorer browser and will not work with Firefox and some other browsers.

3. Decide if you want to play time management games online or download them and then play. Please check our "Times Management Games" section for resources that is updated regularly.

4. Let us look at some of the games that you can play for free online. As you will see there are many time management games to choose from so take the time and try several of them, you will soon find out which one you like the most.

Belle's Beauty Boutique:

'Belle's Beauty Boutique' you must help run a beauty parlor single-handedly. The owner, Belle, needs your help to give all of her customers the treatments they want. Help her wash, cut, shampoo and color a crazy cast of characters. Watch them gossip, flirt, and help Belle realize her dream of creating the ultimate beauty salon.

Big Island Blends:

After arriving on Big Island you discover that the "fortune" you've just inherited is an orchard? Well, what better way to turn your fields into a real fortune than opening a smoothie stand Serve your delicious fruit concoctions to the thirsty inhabitants of Big Island in level after level of fast-paced fun. Then, use your hard-earned money to purchase a wide variety of sparkling upgrades to make your smoothie stand the best on Big Island! Colorful, fast, and fun, try Big Island Blends for a unique taste of the tropics.

Burger Island:

Help our heroine Patty turn around a run-down burger stand located on deserted Mount Tikikola Beach in 'Burger Island'. Juggle orders from demanding customers, purchase over 30 exotic mouth-watering recipes, unlock more than 40 delicious ingredients, combining up to 9 per order, all while keeping an ever-watchful eye on the clock. With 60 increasingly challenging levels, see if you have what it takes to help Patty build the best burger stand on the island!

Burger Shop:

After receiving a set of strange blueprints in the mail, you build an extraordinary food-making contraption and open a restaurant. Your goal? Make food and satisfy customers until you discover the truth behind the mysterious blueprints. Burger Shop is a fun and addicting time-management game with several play modes including: Story Mode, Challenge Mode, Relax Mode and Expert Story Mode, each with different trophies you can collect. Utilize unique food making devices to make over fifty different food items during your quest. With four play modes, over sixty upgrade items and ninety-six trophies, you can play Burger Shop forever!

Cake Mania:

Baking runs in Jill's family. Help Jill upgrade her kitchen with state-of-the-art baking tools, while serving her ever-increasingly difficult customers. Help Jill earn enough to reopen her grandparents' bakery in this fast-paced culinary crisis.

Cake Mania 2:

After re-opening the Evans Bakery, and sending her grandparents on an exotic Hawaiian cruise, Jill is back in an all-new, out-of-this-world adventure! Explore six far-flung bakery locations; serve up deliciously original creations to 18 quirky customers, ranging from Federal Agents to mysterious Aliens, and choose the path Jill will take in 'Cake Mania 22!

Delicious 2:

Uncle Antonio needs Emily's help to get out of a financial fix. Help Emily rescue her family's finances in five all-new restaurants, each with a unique menu and theme. Use your earnings to purchase decorations sure to make your customers smile. Emily's friends and family are on hand to help, but it's going to take your serving savvy to get Uncle Antonio back on track. Featuring two game modes, all-new customers, and hours of fast family fun, 'Delicious 2 Deluxe' is just the thing to satisfy your craving for fun.

Features:

* Two Game Modes

* Five All-New Restaurants

* 60 Challenging Levels Featuring New Customers

* Decorate Your Restaurant Your Way

Delicious Deluxe:

Join Emily on her quest to make her dreams come true in two game modes and seven different restaurants. Success means more tables, bigger restaurants, and a menu full of uniquely delectable items. Tasty treats may keep your customers happy, but it's going to take quick clicks and careful timing to get Emily's ambitions off the ground. Take a bite out of Delicious today!

Features:

* Two Game Modes

* Seven Different Restaurants

* Bonuses Like Bigger Trays, Chocolate, and Stars

* Five Types of Customer

Diner Dash:

Diner Dash is the action-puzzle that brings out the entrepreneur in all of us. Poor Flo! Sick and tired of pushing paper in the world of finance, she ditched her desk job and is setting out to build her very own restaurant empire. Flo's on her own now and heading for the top! It won't be easy, though. To get there she'll have to start on the ground floor and she needs your help to survive and thrive. Diner Dash combines fast-paced puzzle action with a build-your-restaurant-empire theme. You'll start with a run-of-the-mill greasy spoon and end up in a dream restaurant that will take your breath away!

Features:

* 40 challenging levels of addictive, skill-based game play that allows you to grow your restaurant through 4 complete re-models

* Five different types of customers, each with different behaviors

* Two modes of play: Career and Endless Shift

* Fun sounds, cool visual style, flashy effects, and humorous animations

* High score tracking and automatic game save

Diner Dash®: Flo on the Go:

Flo trades in her apron for a passport to paradise! But will our hard-working waitress get a chance to relax? Seat customers, take orders, collect tips and dress up Flo in hundreds of vacation outfits in the all-new Flo's Closet".

Wedding Dash":

Help Quinn, a hopeful wedding planner, make wedding bells ring! Featuring the hilarious ups and downs of wedding day drama, 'Wedding Dash"' incorporates the plate-spinning fun from the 'Diner Dash®' series with the added challenge of pulling off the perfect wedding reception. Can you keep the bride and groom happy and Quinn's business afloat? Help couples select all the details - from tasty cakes to gorgeous flowers - but once they've tied the knot, lookout for obstacles preventing the perfect party, such as tipsy guests, falling cakes, and catty bridesmaids. When the going gets tough, keep an eye out for extra help from everyone's favorite server, Flo! It's a fast-paced challenge to execute a flawless event, but for the determined Quinn, it's all in a day's work!

5. There are several types of games available, some give you resources that you have use or spend to advance to the next level. Some time management games you must complete a number of tasks within a fixed period of time while in other games you have a certain number of lives, when you have lost them the games are over. Also there are games where you can continue to play until you figure out how to advance to the next level.

6. By now you have decided what time management game you want to play. Before you start the game check the game options, select the easiest level or story mode (where available) first time so you time to become familiar with the game.

7. As you become more experienced move through the different levels or game modes. Remember one of the advantages of playing time management games online is that you can communicate with other people playing the same game, so you can always ask for help.

8. Have fun but remember playing time management games can be addictive so take a break away from your PC every now and then.

Shortly we will look at time management games that you can download and play for free, so please re-visit or subscribe to our blog.

Warm regards,

Henrik

PS. Where can you find the games mentioned above? Please go to: http://games.aol.com/browse-games/arcade/time-management/

An Inspiring History of a Small Business

In 1980, a husband and wife, purchased their first home in Arizona. The husband was managing a vacuum cleaner store, and the wife was a cashier at a grocery store. The husbands only day off was Sunday, and the wife was off 2 different days of the week, so, they never had much time together. They had no children, but the wife was breeding Afghan Hound dogs.

The husband was watching TV one peaceful Sunday afternoon, and all of a sudden the TV sparked, smoked, sputtered, and lit on fire. He jumped off the sofa, opened the front door, unplugged the TV, picked it up and thread it in the front yard.

Even with both the husband and wife working, they did not have enough money to buy a new TV. The new house had eaten up all of their extra money, and there were a lot of new expenses in owning a new home.

The husband was talking to a friend of his about his financial problems. His friend stated that his father used to own a vacuum business, and said, "Why do not we go to the Flea Market in Phoenix on weekends and sell vacuum cleaners, bags, belts, and parts." I told him that it sounded like a good idea, but my only day off was on Sunday. We agreed that he would work Saturday, and we would both work on Sunday.

The only other problem was that this person had no money for inventory, so his friend said that he would put up the money for some inventory to get their business started. They both agreed that they would put all the profit into buying more inventory, and vacuum cleaners that they would both rebuild and sell.

They followed through with their plans, and their new business was a success. They were selling huge amounts of bags, belts, and parts, as well as buying old vacuums, fixing them up, and reselling them. All of the profit they made went back into the business, and they started doing more and more business. It was all very exciting, but the only problem was that one of the partners was now working 7 days a week, and still did not have enough money to buy a new color TV.

After about 2 months, the one partner mentioned that he would like to get a little money from the business to buy a new color TV. He was kind of surprised when his friend said, "No Way". He tried to talk his friend into it, but his friend was totally against the idea of ​​taking any money out of the business. His partner said that he would rather just buy him out of the business that they started, and have the business all to himself. They agreed, and the one partner was paid about $ 800.00, for his share of the business.

Finally the one partner was able to go out and by a new color TV. Then, he thought of what he could do with the other $ 400. Well, right or wrong, he called the vacuum parts distributor that they were both buying from and ordered $ 400.00 worth of bags and supplies, and the following Sunday, he went to the Flea Market, and started his own business. His friend ran into him and kind of smiled and said, "Oh well, I guess we did not talk about you doing your own thing out here." The other partner said that all he wanted was some money to get a new color TV, and that he was the one who wanted to split up the partnership. They both laughed and remained good friends and competitors that helped each other for many years.

The one partner continued to buy more and more supplies, and soon had a huge display of parts, bags, belts, and new and used vacuum cleaners. He was so busy that most of the time, he had no way of going to get lunch, or a coke, or anything. After a couple of months of suffering alone, he needed help so badly that he asked his wife to quit her job which she did, so that she could help out with their new business.

During the next several years they continued to grow, and soon they had a 30 foot trailer and 4 employees helping them at the Flea Market, and at their home, where they were repairing and rebuilding vacuums during the week. They got to know all of their neighbors at the Flea Market, including the ones who sold futons behind their stand.

After a few more years they became friends with their futon friends, and they decided to rent a store together. It was their first actual store, and they split the store space and rent. I all seemed to be going well for both of them, but one morning, after a couple of months, the vacuum people went to open their store, and all of their futon friends things were gone. All of their futons, desks, computer, everything was gone. They had vanished in the night. All that was left was a note explaining that they were not making it, and that they felt bad, but they had to abandon ship and move to Seattle. This was quite a surprise to the vacuum people, who were left with all of the expenses of the store, but luckily their business was able to handle the bills.

The first day that the futon people were gone, they had 2 or 3 people come into their store and ask them where are all of the futons were? They could have told them that the futons were gone, and that all there were now were vacuums. Instead, they asked the potential customer what size they wanted and what color, and they knew enough about futons, and where to get them, that they were able to make a couple of sales without any futons in the store at all.

This was the beginning of a kind of a strange combination that was not planned at all, but it worked, and they had many customers who bought both a vacuum cleaner and a futon. Sometimes the futon part of our business was so busy that they had less and less time for the vacuum part of the business, so they ended up selling it to one of their competitors. This futon business has continued to grow year after year, but was never planned.

That is a story of how 2 people started a business on the side, which developed into a full time business, and then completely chaged to a different business altar. It shows how in business you must be able to adapt, and to go with the flow, in order to survive.

Easy Ways to Make Money

"Are there any easy ways to make money?"

The short answer is "Yes", but this needs to be qualified.

First, understand that there are NO FREE WAYS to make money, nor are there any ways to make FREE money, whichever way you like to say it! There is no scheme where you pay nothing and do nothing, and you make money automatically. If there were, millions of people would be doing it and they certainly would not tell anyone else about it. There are no on-line philanthropists who wish to "help" you to make money from the goodness of their heart; They want only to help themselves in some way. To make money you must expend some measure of your own cash or time or effort, or some combination of these.

That does not mean that you must always pay money for help or ideas to make money. There are several sources of information, and even software, which require no cash payment, but do require your time and effort to make the ideas work. An example is automated advertisements. More of that in a moment.

"What is the easiest way to make money?"

The easiest way to make money is, without a shadow of a doubt, by using the communicative power of the Internet, through which you can reach millions of people who may be looking for what you are offering. If you think that you have nothing to offer, you're almost certainly be wrong!

"What can I offer to people?"

The easiest way to make money on the Internet is by offering products or services provided by other companies. This is known as "Affiliate Marketing". You become an affiliate of the product manufacturer or service provider, and they pay you cash as a commission on whatever you sell for them.

How much does it cost to become an affiliate? Nothing! Only the time it takes to find some good affiliate products or services. Search the Web for "affiliate program program" (where "????" is your chosen subject of interest). When you've found some you like, sign up with them. (You may need to give a web site address for them to check. Do not worry if you do not have one; We'll deal with that in just a moment.) When they've approved you, go to their ' banners' or 'creatives' page and pick a suitable banner. Copy the banner code and paste it into your web pages where you want the banner to appear. Done! Now, whenever someone clicks on the banner and buys a product or service, you'll be paid a commission.

If that's too time-consuming for you, there is, fortunately, a quick way. Join one or more of the "affiliate trackers". These are companies that handle the affiliate sales tracking and commission payments on behalf of a large number of suppliers. You can select the suppliers that interest you from their lists. They also e-mail you whenever a new supplier joins their scheme. This saves you the time spent on looking for suppliers, but the banner work still needs to be done. Some affiliate trackers are LinkShare, ShareASale, WebGains, AffiliateFuture, LinkConnector, Buy, AffiliateWindow, CommissionJunction.

If you find all that too hard to do, there's an even simpler and quicker way. In fact, it's probably impossible to find any method for making money simpler and quicker to set up than ClickBank with the automated advertisements mentioned earlier. ClickBank is an affiliate tracking company that deals only in digital products, that is, products that can be downloaded from the supplier's web site immediately after they have been paid for, such as software, e-books, videos, etc. Just follow these steps:

(1) Join ClickBank as an affiliate. (You do not need to give a web site address.) The cost? Nothing.
(2) Sign up for automated advertisements lifetime membership. The cost? Nothing.
(3) Watch the automated advertisements training videos.
(4) If you do not have a web site, create a WordPress blog in a few minutes, and then watch the advertised advertisements WordPress video. The cost? Nothing.

For about an hour's work, you should have banner ads on your web pages or blog. Each time a visitor visits or refresh the page, the banner ad changes at random among the most popular ClickBank products in the category you chose. This random display is controlled by the automated advertisements software, and always displays the most successful products.

Once you're set up, either with your web site or WordPress blog, you'll need to attract visitors to it. In Internet marketing, visitors are known (somewhat impolitely) as "traffic". Driving traffic to your site is the hardest part of Internet marketing, but there are many ways to do it. This subject is beyond the scope of this article, but, if you can not get good advice from someone you know, there are many training courses available at various prices. Regrettably, many of them are not worth the money, being either poorly written or not comprehensive.

"How much commission will I be paid?"

There are no rules. You'll probably want to go for those affiliate programs which pay a minimum of 4% on consumer goods like TVs and games consoles. Digital goods like e-books and software can pay 50% or more! 25% is common for financial services. Insurance companies can pay you $ 5 just for a lead, without selling anything, and $ 70 if the prospect buys a policy. You may be surprised at some of the companies that operate affiliate schemes, even huge ones, like Sony, Argos, Wal-Mart, Sears.

"What else will I need?"

Patience. Do not expect miracles overnight. It may take some time and effort on your part, but success will come for sure. The amount of your success is usually commensurate with your effort in the early months. Sooner or later, your enterprise will achieve critical mass and start to snowball. Then it will be difficult to stop the money rolling in. Good luck!