Twitter is good for business and the right tools can save you time

Although some people still use Twitter to talk about what they had for lunch or the latest gossip, Twitter is also a strong business tool when used with a plan.

One problem facing everyone is finding the time to add effective tweets to their marketing plan. There are now hundreds of Twitter applications to enhance your tweets and give you the edge.

Some of these can be very useful and save you time. With so many available, we have found this list to be easy and effective:

Timer - Set an alarm for things you have to do

TwitterFox: A Firefox web browser plugin which allows you to view Tweets within your web browser (in a popup menu).

TweetLater: A service that allows you to schedule tweets. (hence the name)

Ping.fm: If you have accounts with many services, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, this site allows you to post an update and then designate if that update should go to all or selected social media sites with one click.

hellotxt - Similar to Ping.fm. You can add multiple accounts, ie: more than one Twitter or Facebook account.

Twittermail - Update twitter via email

Twittershare - Share pictures, music, video and other files on Twitter.

Looking for quality people to follow?

We Follow - Follow people through popular tags

Twellow - Find people by area of expertise

Twitterment - Search Twitter users and topic

Twitterholic - Find out who the top twitter users are

Toptweet - Find out the top twitter users on one place.

Twitrank - A list of the top 150 Twitterers

Use Twitter with your Blog or Facebook:

Twitter for Facebook - If you are on Facebook, this application forwards your Twitter updates directly to Facebook as status updates.

Add Tweets - Make Twitter Update Widgets for site or blog using javascript

Twitterfeed - Post your blog to Twitter and Facebook through your RSS feed

Twitter for Wordpress - displays latest tweets on your blog

Set your tweets apart

Twignature -Create your own custom twitter button with your name

Twitter Keys - Brighten your tweets with little pictures (remember your time.....)

Twitpic - Let you share photos on Twitter

Autopostr - Update your Twitter when you post a Flickr picture

Twixr - Allows you to share pictures on Twitter via your mobile phone

and how about your ebay account and your amazon wish list:

Twibler - Update Twitter with your current ebay listings

Buy Later - Receive tweets when an item comes back in stock at Amazon

Although each of these tools can save time, you can also lose time by playing with any one of them too much. Save time by using your time efficiently.

We invite your comments how these tools work for you. Comment here or click the Facebook icon to share on Facebook.

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Your Ideal Vision

“Every desire is the heart of some Ideal. Your desires always come true. Your wishes seldom do; they die by consuming themselves in forever wishing wishes. An Ideal is a perfect image in the mind. An Ideal differs from an idea. An idea is only an image in the mind. An Ideal is a perfect image, with all the sounds, tastes, measurements and feelings.”  Excerpt, book:How the Turn Your Ideals and Desires into Reality 2^nd Edition with Testimonials 

Describe in minute detail every piece of your business ideal. 
What do you plan on accomplish? (not wishing or hoping for)
Where are you going?  
How big will this become for you? For others?
 
Describe your business/product/service success as if you were talking to someone who was interviewing you for a detailed success profile. HOWEVER, you are going to look at your success from a different perspective.

Start writing your detailed success profile, your ideal vision from today projected 10 years ahead. Write as if it is already 10 years from today and you are sharing your success in detail with a friend who you haven’t seen in 10 years. Describe HOW YOU DID IT. It is easier to reflect on success, than to attempt to imagine success if you have never been there.


Where are you in your business?
How are your finances?
What freedom are you now enjoying?
How are your relationships with your clients, vendors and employees?
Write it all – every area of your business and your success.

Now as you imagine that you are 10 years down the road of your successful journey, you are contacted by a well known journalist. You are invited to be interviewed for a prestigious publication that publishes the detailed profiles of successful entrepreneurs. The interviewer wants you to reflect on your previous 10 years and describe HOW YOU DID IT.

Let your imagination run free. You may find real solutions in your creativity.
 

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Introduction to Solving the Entrepreneur Puzzle

INTRODUCTION "The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work." ~ Mark Twain Entrepreneurs are four times more likely to become millionaires than people who work for others. Entrepreneurs also include salespeople in every field whose financial rewards are dependent on their efforts. Entrepreneur (Dictionary.com) a person who organizes and manages any enterprise and significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome An Entrepreneur is one who is willing to take upon her/himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome. 50% of college graduates currently identify themselves as entrepreneurs, compared to 15 years ago when less than 25% did. With downsizing and job dissatisfaction, over 58% of the corporate business sector are motivated to move into their own small business, if only part time. With the increase in entrepreneurism, more emphasis and training is being offered on how to succeed, yet many entrepreneurs still fail within their first two years. Many entrepreneurs enter into business with the education of an employee. Although this education and experience is valuable, it is also limited when balancing all the pieces of a new venture. Even more entrepreneurs attempt to grow their success “by the seat of their pants” or “plan as they go”. Salespeople, network marketers and others with a product to sell are embarrassed many times when they find that their lack of planning has caused them a loss of a sale or business rather than success. A comprehensive written business map can overcome many obstacles and frustrations. A map written from the perspective of your ideal vision can also keep you on track when experiencing unexpected success. Many people are thrown off track when a windfall of success shows up. They celebrate the success and then find themselves farther behind afterwards. A map written from your understanding of your motivations, your limitations, your strengths and your challenges will give you a clearer view of your road and how to travel on it. Over the years I have met several entrepreneurs who scoff at the idea of researching their idea and mapping out a plan. I have met many “spiritual’ people who tell me that to make God laugh just show her your plan. I have met sales people and people searching for a new job or a promotion who tell me it is a waste of time to research their prospect or their company and use this research to advance their goals. In all these cases, their results are a reflection of their strategic planning or lack of it. Your map is a focusing tool and is a reflection of your commitment and your flexibility. Without one you become a victim to whatever shows up. With one, you are empowered with your creativity, your inspiration, your guidance, your new opportunities and your choices. A persons focus changes when they take the time to write down their ideal vision and their goals. Their awareness of everything around them becomes clearer, suddenly they begin to see and hear answers and opportunities they didn’t notice previously. Success comes from focusing on your ideal vision, your ideas, your plan, and placing all your energy, all your will power, all your effort, everything you have behind them. The world of today is filled with unlimited opportunities, which the dreamers of the past never knew. Success comes with an unwavering commitment to your ideal vision, mapped out and put into a plan of action. This map that you relentlessly follow, will overcome many otherwise obstacles, including lack of capital. Your map is a guide that you can use to direct you on your continuing journey towards success. Your illustrated map can aid you in your strategic thinking. It can act as a communication tool when speaking to potential people to join your downline, potential investors, potential key employees, partners, and strategic alliances. It can motivate you when uncertainty or struggle arises. It can assist you to motivate other people who work with you. This written map is a tool for others to see your goals and dreams as seriously as you do. It can be a gauge to measure your growth and solve problems. "For most people, their planning consists of setting the alarm clock to get out of bed to go to work; Others plan by daily To-Do lists and crisis management; Those with an unwavering commitment to a desire of greater success will take the steps to plan their business and their life." ~Sumner M. Davenport~ For many people, this will be a complete departure from their current habits, activities and thoughts. Many people are afraid to write down their ideas because they fear that their dream might evaporate under scrutiny. Actually the opposite should happen. The more you write about your ideas, the clearer your road will appear. Some people will say that they don’t have the time, or they think they can keep everything straight in their head. The reported major reasons for lack of success are (1) failure to identify the actual ideal vision (2) failure to research and gather the proper information, (3) neglect in mapping this information and ideas into an action plan, (4) lack of focus, persistence and motivation, and (5) lack of sufficient capital. (Notice how capital is last?) STUDIES SHOW: 85% of the people that do not take the time to plan their businesses or career will not reach their desired level of success or will fail altogether. Of those that do take the time to write their plan, 85% will succeed. STUDIES SHOW: 40% of people with a strategic plan will double their income and profits within two years of writing their plan. With a strategic plan, greater than 70% of these people will exceed their own expectations within the next 5 years regardless of economic conditions. Whatever result you desire in life and business, you must institute the most definitive actions that will bring these results. The results you are now creating are a result of the actions you performed previously and the actions you are currently taking. I order to gain different results you must use different behaviors and continue with these behaviors until they become a habit, second nature to you. If you continue the same behaviors attitudes and habits that you are currently exercising, you can only achieve the same results you currently have. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein Simply put: If the road you are driving points South and the destination you desire is West, you will need to change your direction to point West if you want to arrive at your destination. You now have an opportunity to develop new habits that will lead you to your goals. Most entrepreneurs are visionaries. A visionary can see and feel the dream or idea in its complete state. You can see the future unfold. By mapping your ideas iinto a well formulated written plan, you provide yourself with the powerful structure and the daily steps to make your dream a success. Avoid the temptation to stop short with the reading of this information and not follow-through with the work especially if you already have a collection of books gathering dust on your shelves. With proper use, this information should stimulate your thinking, challenge your limitations, anger you, frustrate you and shine a light on your best answers for yourself. Recently there has been an increase in the “Law of Attraction” and “Vision Boards”, however many of these same people fail to attract what they say they want. If you are only partially clear on yourself and your ideal vision, or only think about your goals part of the time, and look at your vision board occasionally, your positive results will be sporadic and only part of your long term vision. As you clarify your vision through the puzzle pieces posted here, I suggest you put the pages into a 3 ring binder and make sections in your binder for each part of your map (ie: vision, goals, financial, marketing, etc.) With use your pages will become full of notes, and the edges may get tattered. Also, carry a spiral notebook with you. Write your ideal vision on the inside cover where you can look at it throughout the day. Add small pictures so you have a visual as well. As you go through your day and you stay focused on your ideal vision, your map, your goals and your plan, new answers and ideas will seem to appear out of unexpected places for you and you will need to write them down and then transfer the sheet to the appropriate section in your three ring binder. Your map will being to formulate itself. If you were planning a trip across country, and your vision was to arrive 6 months from today, you would not hesitate to start collecting information and ideas. You would research the route, the sites special places along the way. You would make decisions on when to leave, who to take with you and where to stay along the way. You would begin noticing special offers for what you think you need. Pictures of sites along the route, as well as those at your destination would keep you excited. This is the same energy and actions, once mapped into a business action plan that will drive you closer and faster to your success. With each entry in your book and wrinkle on the pages, you will notice changes in your success. Wrinkles will seem to disappear from your path of growth and more answers will continue to unfold. You will find more answers “come to you” that you might not have heard or seen previously, or you may have simply overlooked. As you research and map your plan, you will be able to identify your areas of strength and your personal challenges and fears. You will recognize opportunities and hazards for your advancement. You will better understand the full potential of your ideal vision and why it is so important that you do it. Mapping your action plan is more than reading a book or copying someone else’s notes. It is more than just mere ink on paper. You must intimately understand all the puzzle pieces of your ideal vision, your ideas, dreams and goals. Your map is never final because your ideal vision will continually evolve. Success can be compared to a puzzle. There are many “pieces” that must fit intimately together in order to create the profitable outcome you desire. Many entrepreneurs experience difficulty in starting or expanding their new personal or business venture because they mistakenly look at the freedom of entrepreneurism in the wrong light. Many erroneously think it is freedom from time restrictions, freedom from a boss or freedom from authority. The truth is in fact that entrepreneurism does offer a new freedom. This freedom is earned by careful mapping, organized and consistent action (especially when you don’t feel like it), continuous reevaluation of results, and the courage to make changes. The freedom earned is the pride of taking responsibility, the ability to express your ideas, the joy of meeting and overcoming challenges, and the joy of your own personal development with the advancement towards your ideal vision. Check back for future posts: Clarifying your ideal vision Why you? Business mapping Mentors and role models? How active are you? What are you worth? Organizing your time Who is your exact target market? Keeping it legal What's in your way? What about competition Getting the word out? Can you show yourself the money? Who else benefits from your success? networking Education Free Resources and more..... As each personal and business is unique and one of a kind, the author, publishers and associates having no control as to how this information is to be used, here in disclaim liability of any kind or nature in the use of this information, No representations, warranties or guarantees are given, either expressed or implied, that this information will raise capital, guarantee financial or business success or job satisfaction for the reader, end user or end user’s intended use. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, investment, or accounting advice. The reader of this information assumes all responsibility for the use of this information. The author assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever resulting from the use of this information.

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FREE – e-workbook, Solve the Entrepreneur Puzzle ™

Yes, this book is free, and you won't even be asked to enter your email or any other information about yourself in order to get it.

Profitable ventures and successful careers are like a puzzle.

This is true if the entrepreneur venture is:
Full time
Part time
Network Marketing
Sometime, to supplement the family income
Seasonal
Brick and Mortar
Retail
Wholesale supplier
Internet
Commissioned sales
and any other type of businessor income venture.

When each action, each business function and each step interlock with all the other pieces of the vision (completed puzzle), the balance that supports ongoing success is a greater possibility.

Stop and go planning, will produce stop and go results.

Think about this:
if you lived in San Francisco and wanted to travel to San Diego and you had never been there before, you would probably get a map and plan your trip.

However, let's use this following example to show how your trip would go if you followed the routine that many aspiring entrepreneurs follow.

You get in the car, and start out and then remember that you forgot your wallet,
so you turn around and go back.
You start again.
Now, you get to the first intersection, and since you don't know which way to turn,
you stop - turn off your car engine- and wait.
You either then make a hasty decision or just guess.
Then you start your car again and proceed.
You don't pay any attention to the road signs on the way, so when you come to the next decision crossroads,
you stop, turn off your car and wait until a decision "comes to you".
Then you proceed.
Unfortunately since you didn't pay attention to any of the signs along the way,
you didn't see that this road is the most bumpy and you have to detour in several places.
Now you recognize that you need gas, so you change your focus from driving towards San Diego, to searching for a gas station. You may even have to detour with several side roads hoping to
find a gas station.
Then you find one and realize that you don’t have enough cash to buy gas and this station only accepts cash because their credit/debit card reader is broken.
Now you start detouring again,
this time in search of a bank and an ATM.
You find an ATM that isn’t your bank, so it charges you an extra fee, but at least now you have cash for gas.
You detour again to find that gas station and put gas in your car.
You don’t ask anyone at the gas station for directions or a better road, so you get back in your car and onto the bumpy road.

You either make it to San Diego longer than it might have taken other travelers, or you give up and settle for where you are, or turn around and go home.

Interestingly, some people do travel their trips this way, however, the majority of people who have a goal to get to their destination, the fastest and easiest, will do some planning and
preparation.

They usually,
Decide where they want to go
and when they want to be there
Decide from where they will be leaving
Check a map
Sometimes check the traffic report for bad traffic and closed roads
Write a list of what they want to take with them
Check this list and their packing before leaving.
They leave home as prepared as they can be based on all the information they have available
The better they write their list and the better they preplan their trip, the easier their journey will be.
They keep an eye out as they drive, as well as on their fuel level and they ask for directions, or check their map (or their GPS) when the travel starts to get difficult.
They start their journey with the best planning they have, and with the tools they brought with them (GPS, internet, map, reference books) they can make intelligent informed decisions at any unexpected detour or crossroad.
And their journey is much smoother than the person who travels with limited preparation and planning.

Many entrepreneurs lose momentum in their business growth every time they have to hastily REACT rather than consciously PLAN for an opportunity. This is similar to turning the engine off in your car every time a decision needs to be made. The bumpy roads are the sporatic results received from traveling blindly.

I recently met someone who had decided that he wanted to run a marathon. Since I have participated in several marathons, I know from experience that there are ways to train that will make you strong enough to complete the 26.2 miles and other behaviors that may hurt you along the way. This man had never completed a marathon. He just decided that since he had seen other people do it, that he could as well. He showed up to train with a team of other marathoners in training, on one of our long 4 hour training days. It was a cool morning and he was wearing long sleeve shirt and long pants, and gym shoes rather than sports shoes. When the group trainer suggested that he might train better if he was dressed differently, he announced, he knew what he was doing. We started our training run.

An hour into our training day, the temperature rose 15 degrees. Many of the marathoners took off their long sleeve jerseys which had been covers over their short sleeve shirts. This man took off his long sleeve shirt and continued bare-chested.

As the sun and the temperature continued to rise, the marathoners who preplanned, began to put sunscreen on their exposed skin and made sure to drink plenty of water and rehydrating drinks. The new person had neither with him and didn’t ask anyone else for help. He started to lag behind, limping and panting. The group trainer held back to keep an eye on him.

When we completed our 4 hours, most of us were energized with sweat and the feeling of accomplishment. We took turns comparing our personal times and the sights we saw along the way. When we noticed that our group trainer and the new guy weren’t showing up at the finish spot, we backtracked to find them. When we did, the new guy was vomiting from dehydration, his skin was blistered from the sun and his feet and lower legs so swollen that he had difficulty standing up, much less walking. To be safe the group trainer had called an ambulance that showed up the same time we did. These medical experts determined what was necessary to help this man recover, and even then he maintained that he knew what he was doing, but gingerly accepted the help offered by the EMT’s.

His results would have been different had he accepted what he did and did not know about a goal he had never reached before; preplanned, researched and learned what tools might be necessary to assist him in getting there and followed a proven plan. Success does leave footprints.

When planning the start, change or growth of your professional life, the more you are conscious and responsible with every piece, the easier the full picture will come to life. In order to understand the workings of the business puzzle, you must identify and understand your choices as well.

The Solve the Entrepreneur Puzzle™ e-workbook FREE for you to download is an effective tool for anyone whose income from a project, venture, or product is based on their actions.

This e-workbook is written with thought provoking questions to assist you in putting your puzzle pieces together. There are several detailed pieces to the Solve the Entrepreneur Puzzle™ series, and this workbook is only part of that training series. This workbook can be used as your starting piece, or a reminder along the way, whether you attend any part of the training series or not.

Many people are over-read and under-accomplished. This e-workbook is not designed to sit on the shelf; It is designed as a hands-on workbook for persons looking to create results.

You can download this e-workbook with this link.

Please come back and post your progress to help others.

You will need Adobe acrobat reader in order to read these books. If you currently do not have it, you can download a free copy from www.adobe.com

Network Miracle

Blog post by: Michelle Hazelwood
Universal Wellness


I was attending my monthly business networking meeting held at various local businesses. This meeting was hosted by a deluxe assisted living facility in Venice. The first miracle was the luxurious spread they provided us for breakfast complete with chefs making our custom omelets to the beautifully carved ice sculpture.

Every meeting there is a drawing from the business cards for lovely prizes. Often they are things/services that I’m not interested in and I wish them for the person whose life will be enhanced most in receiving them. However, on numerous occasions there are prizes I desire and I say, “That’s mine” or “I want that!” Yes, they’ve picked my card 99% of the time that happens. Today I wanted a gift for a very silly reason. I wanted the gift bag it was it. The bag was all sparkly and pretty and I’d run out of bags to gift people things in. The prize happened to be a bottle of wine (not something I’m big on) and a bottle stopper with a beautiful silver heart….the heart will stay with me for a while

Everyone gets a chance to stand up, introduce themselves and their businesses. I stood up and said, “For all those who have been following my Spa Retreat progress…..manifestation, I thought it was Costa Rica but recently Panama has been presenting more powerfully. If anyone has any leads or ideas, please let me know.”

At the end of the meeting, a gal who worked at the assisted living facility, Julie *, came up to me and said, “I live in Panama”. She has homes here and there. She asked what areas I was considering. Trying not to be too specific and open, I said, “kind of around the west side, near Costa Rica.” Julie says, “I live in Bocas Del Toro.” She couldn’t help but notice my eyes getting bigger than saucers. Bocas Del Tor has been in my mind for months. Bocas info and pictures were on my desk that very moment. She said she could connect me with the various spas around and I could stay at her apartment. We agreed to get together later that evening at her place.

So I’m going to my new angel’s place to talk business and possibilities. Lo and behold, thanks to my morning’s winnings, I even have a gift to bring….a lovely bottle of wine! I arrive at Julie’s condo right at the beach on Venice Island and her husband Dan* answers the door. It was kind of interesting as he is all dressed up….in swim trunks! As I enter I see she is wearing a bathing suit herself. I’m thinking, “She’s totally comfortable in the midst of luxury and totally down to earth too – I like these people!” My first feelings couldn’t have been more right. We talked and laughed for hours feeling like we’d known and loved each other forever.

Turns they have all the connections I could possibly dream of in Panama. Dan is in construction and knows about properties, building and dealing with “the system”. Julie has holistic training, knows how to go into the rainforest to get plants for cooking and healing. She gave me some soap she made that smelled good enough to eat. She showed me her hand-crafted jewelry made from sharks teeth and shells. Layer after delightful layer of complimentary information unfolded.

So, I had all sorts of choices. I could go now, stay at their place and flounder on my own…..not good timing anyway (legal stuff not quite finished here). I could go with Dan in August when he prepares the way for Julie’s effortless arrival. Or I could go with Julie in September effortlessly flying in with her. I won’t need to know how to call a taxi or even where my apartment is. I’ll just have an Angel to guide me around, show me the ropes and introduce me to all sorts of cool people and adventures. I choose Door 3, thank you Universe!

So, I’ll be dancing off to Panama in September to live and scope out areas for the Spa Retreat. I’ve been doing plenty of virtual traveling and now it’s time for me to really see and feel the areas. Then I’ll be able to provide more info for the Spa Retreat Birth Plan to present to my potential financiers. They are beautiful people but a little more “practically” minded than I. The Universe will provide and my Angels and Fairies are always taking care of me aren’t enough for them.

More adventures later……


Michelle Hazelwood has contributed to the elevation of the planet through motivating, training, and sharing the personal benefits of fitness with men and women throughout the United States since 1982.

Offering a high level of expertise to the Personal Training profession, Michelle brings years of certified qualifications to her clients. You can learn more about Michelle through her website: Universal Wellness

Is there really Instant Success?

Everybody fails but very few successful people ever want to discuss it.

Anyone who does anything in the world has to experience failure. It is impossible to have all the “right” answers before setting off in pursuit of your goals. We all know that Henry Ford was responsible for manufacturing the first mass produced automobile called the Model T. But very few people are aware that the Model T was not his first automobile. He went through models from A to S that all were failures before he got it right. Coca-Cola was only selling a dozen cases a week for a long time before they got it right. Even Thomas Edison failed over 1,000 different times while working on the filament for the light bulb before he was successful.

Our society should glorify failure the same way it glorifies success. The stories we read about in the general press and in special interest magazines all make success sound easy. They tell you stories similar to the housewife who was selling her "Best Tastin’ " cookies at school bake sales when her son’s teacher suggested she should sell them in stores. Almost overnight she's a millionaire.

These stories make you feel that you should also be a success overnight or you are a FAILURE. Not true! Go out and fail ... that is the best way to get anywhere. The odds of being an instant success are about the same as you being hit by lightning. If you live in Florida, where lightning has a habit of striking often, your odds may not be so bad. However, if you're waiting for the right idea that is sure to be an instant success like you see in the magazines, you'll never do anything. Magazines write their articles so that you will believe that you, too, can be an instant success, if you must have the “right” idea, just like the people they profile. This is how they sell magazines.

The problem with these instant success stories is instead of encouraging you, they are more likely to stop you from fulfilling your dream. When you hear about a common persons instant success you might find yourself thinking..."If that average person can do it, why can't I?" If that average person really did it and you can't, you're going to feel dumb. How can an average person be smarter than you? No one wants to know that an average person is smarter than you are so you don't do anything about it. Or, if you attempt to figure out and make your own instant success, you get angry because your life didn't change overnight. You get discouraged and hang up your dreams.

We all have misconceptions about the way things work and what will be successful. We are inundated from all sides with opinions. Our friends, family, associates, and teachers all continually tell us why they believe someone else is a success. If they really knew the answer, they would be doing it too. Or these well-meaning folks hinder your success by attempting to protect you. They do not want to see you hurt. They will show you 15 ways your idea is likely to fail. Something to remember, though, the founder of Federal Express first presented his idea as a paper in business school and the professor barely gave him a passing grade because he thought the idea wouldn't work. And that was at Harvard! So trust your instincts and set your idea in motion, regardless of what some people might say.

The reason for your success will be because you are different than anyone else and your product and/or services will fit a niche and fulfill a need better than anyone else's.

If you want to succeed, most likely you are going to experience failure. A “failure” can be a good thing. If an idea appears to flop, take time to analyze before moving on. Rather than assigning blame or beating yourself down because of it, re-examine the failure. Determine it’s cause. Was it insufficient planning? Was it poor timing? Was it insufficient research? Was it insufficient resources? Was it erroneous data?

Don’t let yourself jump to conclusions. Allow yourself to get all the facts , so you can make a well-founded decision on the actual outcome of your efforts. You may find some efforts were useful or correct, however, most of all with proper analysis, you will gain a valuable learning experience

Welcome Failure.

It's the best springboard to your future success.

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Pryamids, MLM's, Network Marketing, Ponzi schemes, and more.

Network marketing although a relatively new term, is not a new idea. One-to-one, word of mouth marketing and tell your friends and family has been the most effective marketing of any product or service.

Tell someone your company is Multi-level, or network marketing and some people will recoil in fear or immediate distrust when actually many things in our lives are really multi level already. Nearly every business has a top level person who has several persons who report to him/her, and that person has departments or committees who report to them, and those people have employees as well. Even families are multi level if you look at them: Grandparents, the parents, the children, then grandchildren, I wonder how many MLM companies will now quote this paragraph, and I wonder if they will credit me?

In this challenged economy and downsizing of countless workers, some companies identified as network marketing and MLM, have given many people the opportunity to get into a business of their own - with no experience and very little money. Some people learn success tools and challenge themselves to new heights and succeed in ways that they could not have imagined previously. These people get up in the morning with a renewed sense of hope. There are Network marketing companies today who offer legitimate and life changing opportunities.

At the same time other companies are more hype than help. Some companies use flashy videos and sales meetings to stimulate rather than educate. They withhold vital information until they have you hooked. Some will nag about "get out of your J-O-B", and "quit making someone else rich". It's funny that every successful entrepreneur I talk with believes that their business is their job and no matter what company you work with or product you sell - someone else is benefiting financially from your efforts. With the internet it has become easier for people to post long winded web pages promising instant business success and with outrageous promises.

Is it wrong for want a business or opportunity that will make a person rich quickly? Not necessarily. Not all people that are looking for a quick result or a result with minimal effort, are lazy or looking to scam anyone. So many people have worked very hard their entire lives with minor results. Some have felt like they have been kicked down so many times that all they want is for life to be easier. Some people are in such a financial bind that they feel like a quick influx of money will help them get their heads up again. These ethical people can sometimes be lured into something that creates more problems for them instead of solutions.

As an entrepreneur coach, I am asked for my opinions on various companies and business opportunities, so I continue to observe and research and share my results.

Every day I am sent a link to yet another web page that promises huge financial success with little or no effort, but won't give you any answers on how this is done this until you purchase their product which is usually a book or alleged proprietary software. Every contact I receive from them is filled with alleged testimonials of people who are making amazing incomes following this same program. No real answers, no clues of what is required until you purchase their product. The success of this program comes when you replicate the exact same sales page and re-sell the same product, which in this case is a book. The book then instructs you to duplicate the exact same sales page and resell the book that is telling you to duplicate........ I felt like I was in a house of mirrors.

One company promised me instant answers with a $4.95 instant download of a report, and what I got for $4.95 was a pdf file of the same webpage text and hype, and a sales pitch for their $197 product. Even though they stated in the purchase offer of these instant answers, that I had 60 days to return for a refund, the fine print of the download stated that "digital products because of their nature are not refundable". A few thousand of these downloads a day can add up for an unscrupulous marketer.

For those people I mentioned about that are desperately looking for a way, these small investments are really quite costly to them.

Some programs actually encourage breaking the law. Some "gifting programs" are guilty of this behavior suggesting ways on how to avoid paying taxes, playing games with phrases or advising how to interpret the IRS gift tax laws when they are not tax experts or authorities. Generally, these gifting programs recruit people to "gift" a specific amount of money to the person who invited them, and by the golden rule or law of attraction process and sometimes using specific software, you have the potential of being gifted in return. Usually the "have the potential" part is less visible than the videos and testimonials of people who were gifted in return while they slept. Certain gifting is legal and ethical, however, many of these gifting programs appear similar to a cloaked ponzi scheme, where each Giftor collects payments from a stream of people, promising them all “the potential” of a quick high rate of return on their gift. In these schemes the money from new recruits is used to pays the “gifts” owed to the longer-standing members of the program. At some point the trickle down will run out and the newest members to the program will Gift but not receive. When I originally wrote this paragraph in another blog, I received a barrage of emails from people stating that their program was not a ponzi scheme, yet they admitted their gifts did come from other people that had been recruited to Gift; and from some of the people that they recruited to Gift and people that their recruits had recruited to Gift. It's beginning to sound a lot like Ponzi...

Some business opportunities promise hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars in income when the people making the promises aren't able to make their own mortgage. I met someone through Twitter and visited her website. I read that her life was filled with family and God and her goals were to share her success and teach others how to be successful entrepreneurs. One of the pages in her website was devoted to a cash making program with an ad promising up to a six figure income. So I wrote to her (twice) and asked if she was making this level of income. If you read the copy on her page she says her goal is to teach others how do do what she has done, and is doing. Unfortunately, two direct emails to her and no reply.(?)

These types of behaviors tarnish the reputation of the entire business community.

Sometimes it's not the company, but it's representative. A few years ago a friend bought into a network marketing company and then decided he wanted to promote his opportunity in ways differently that the company's approved marketing. He blamed the company for having a multi page agreement as his reason for not reading it and seeing that that the company had restrictions on the type of marketing that could be done. They soon parted ways.

Affiliate marketing is also becoming multi level. Affiliate marketing is where one company rewards another company or person for bringing them new customers. The company with a website places ads text links, or product links from an advertiser in return for a commission when a sale is made or when a lead is acquired. Amazon.com is one of the first and largest affiliate marketing companies. You will see links on countless websites for products sold through Amazon,com. The websites hosting these ads will get a commission from Amazon.com for the new customers who click these links and buy the product advertised. Many companies are now offereing two and three level rewards to motivate their affiliates to not only bring them new buying customers but more websites to show their ads. There are now hundreds of legitimate companies offering affiliate programs.

Some companies emphasize making money by only recruiting others.

I was first introduced to Network Marketing in 1972 with a now defunct company called Holiday Magic. In those years it was common for products to be sold one-on-one and door to door. Selling was personal and making a commission on sales was common, although the commission percentage might have been small. During that time a number of other companies sprouted up that promised people huge cash earnings. It was the beginning (and end) of many MLM companies. Some of these companies were legitimate and had viable products and income potential. However, others promoted buying your way to the top and less emphasis or support was given to actually selling any product. Buying into the company gave you the title of a Distributor which commonly defined means to distribute "something", usually a product. Instead of earning money with the profit from the sale of product, the distributors were motivated to make a larger commission on the recruitment of other distributors. A top level position could be bought into without the sale of even one bottle of product. Even though each rise in position in the company required that part of the investment included the purchase of product, there was very little training on how to actually sell the products. The company continued to make a profit and garages became full of products as more distributors were recruited. People could no longer park in their garages, which didn't matter because some sold their cars to get the investment money and others lost their cars because they couldn't pay for them any longer. Some people were spending their life savings and being unable to recruit other distributors, didn't know how to sell the product or recoup their investment. It was happening through hundreds of MLM companies nationwide and to hundreds of thousands if not millions of trusting individuals.

The government did step in and the term "Illegal Pyramid" was born. Suspicious companies were scrutinized, some passed and many others failed the microscope. Sadly many did not survive, and people who actually used their products still report that they had a quality product line, There is a very educational article on the FTC website that explains the precedent from the 1970's, What is a Pyramid Scheme and What is Legitimate Marketing? and tips when considering investing into a Network marketing company. My first red flag today would be a company who is afraid for you to read what this FTC report has to say.

There are still many Network marketing companies today who offer legitimate and life changing opportunities. The difference in these companies is the level of honesty, not only in what they promote but in how they support the people who buy into their company. I have met a few admirable companies through their successful representatives and I hope to see more. The people who succeed with these companies are usually doing more than simply spending a few dollars. They have made a commitment to the long term success in their life. These successful people educate themselves, run their organization like a real business and honestly care about the success of their downline, the people they recruited. There will still be people who take the initial step into these companies, but won't do the work required for the same success. They are looking for a get-rich-quick avenue, and they usually don't find it with these companies. That doesn't make the company or the potential entrepreneur wrong; just not the right fit.

The best solution is to take the time and do your research.
> Look at the 10 warning signs listed in the FTC document;
> Write a list of what you need this business opportunity to do for you;
> Write another list of why this is the best opportunity for you. Many people jump in out of desperation and end up in a business that either doesn't fit them, they don't understand or they don't like.
> Write your goals;
> Write your plan how you will work this business;
> Make a list of where you will get the support you will need, whether that support is in the form of education, training or financial assistance.

When you are convinced by your own assessment that this is the right business for you - then go for it will all your passion.

Wishing you awesome and continuing success.

About the Author, Sumner M. Davenport
Sumner is an Solutions Consultant, Author and Speaker.
Her deepest passion is to see people empowering others while living the life of their dreams. When coaching entrepreneurs, she employs a unique method of clarifying and envisioning business goals which assists her clients to break out of their habitual box of thinking and planning. She is a member of the Solve theEntrepreneur Puzzle (STEP) Network. She can be reached through her website: http://SumnerDavenport.com

These books and audios have been recommended. No representations, warranties or guarantees are given, either expressed or implied, that this information will guarantee success for the purchaser, end user or end user’s intended use.

Comments and opinions are welcomed. All comments will be moderated to remove sales pitches to join or invest in a particular company or business opportunity.