Business Marketing Online - Control Your Own Website

Having your own WordPress website provides you a platform to actively showcase yourself so your current and potential clients have the opportunity to get to know you. A WordPress website can also be used as an interactive platform that gives you the opportunity to get to know your current and prospective clients better. How cool is that! Let me explain what happened recently.

I was presenting at an event giving some examples on how to get your customers to interact with you by creating interesting things to do on your website. I suggested creating a page with make your own quiz or possibly a puzzle or even a quick contest - making sure all topics were relevant to the industry of your business. I watched the faces of the participants as I was talking and some looked puzzled - so I stopped and asked if there were any questions. I was a bit surprised when the first question (actually statement) was - "I can't create my own pages on my website and I'm sure not going to pay my web person to create these kind of pages."

When I saw a lot of the others nodding I asked how many other people felt they couldn't create their own pages on their website. Almost every hand went up. I then asked how many used WordPress for their website - three hands went up.

ONLY three - WOW! I knew having a WordPress site was great but I hadn't realized (or remembered) until then how much NOT having a WordPress site restricts you growing your business. You can't even do your own marketing with your site. You are at the mercy of whoever created your site to make changes for you and they need to understand what you want and know how to give it to you.

I always suggest my clients have a WordPress.org website even if they already have a really great business site and especially if they only have a corporate site to send people to. It's fine to send people to your corporate site to purchase what you sell but you usually aren't allowed to make changes to that site so you can't add your own personality which is what you need to attract clients.

People need to know who you are as well as knowing how good your products or services are. In the past, it was enough to create a business site just like a brick and mortar storefront. You show what you are offering and wait for people to come by, see it and buy it. That just doesn't work anymore - not for brick and mortar businesses and it definitely doesn't work for any type of work from home or virtual business.

It's not really very difficult to create your own WordPress website. I learned how to do it and if I can do it - so can you. I know that may seem like just words but it really isn't. I recently ran a Virtual class where I taught how to do just that. We started at 9AM and by 4PM that same day, everyone had their own website up and running and are using it today for their business.

Post Source: EzineArticles

Take the Career Change Challenge and See if You're Ready to Start Your Own Business

Everyone gets stuck in a rut professionally at one time or another. Sometimes it's just a temporary state of mind, which passes quickly and you soon find yourself back on track after a weekend off or a holiday break. But what happens when that feeling inside does not pass? You start to realize that you are unhappy more than you are happy. The job you once loved, just doesn't excite you anymore. You get up in the morning dreading going to work and once you get there, you just can't concentrate. You find yourself becoming what you thought you'd never would when you took that job, a 9-5 clock-watcher.

Well, buckle your seatbelt. It's time to take the Career Change Challenge and see if you need a career change boost. Simple make your own quiz below and see how many apply to you.

The Top 10 Signs it's Time for a Career Change:

1) You no longer feel excited about going to work.

2) You find yourself daydreaming during meetings.

3) You leave a bit early or sneak in a bit late.

4) You aren't as thorough as you once were when it comes to completing projects or meeting deadlines.

5) You aren't feeling challenged anymore - your workday is just a routine.

6) You call in sick more often.

7) You haven't come up with a new idea or procedure in months.

8) You go through the motions at work and put in minimum effort.

9) You surf the Internet looking at other opportunities when you should be working.

10) You make more personal calls on company time just to make the day go faster.

If you saw yourself in more of these than you'd like to admit, perhaps it's time to consider making that change and finding that passion again. It's time to decide if the right move for you is pulling out the classifieds and finding a new position in your field or perhaps finally taking the plunge you've always dreamed of and starting your own business. Entrepreneurship, being your own boss, financial independence, it sounds too good to be true. But it's not.

For those wanting to start their business, it is important to find the right home-based business. You need to match your skills and experience with the business that will leave you the most satisfied and also one that will give you the greatest profits. One option that many career-minded individuals are turning to is starting a business in the lucrative educational industry. With the right skills and tools, you could become a home-based tutor broker and match qualified tutors with students in your area.

One of the reasons this is such a good business opportunity is the demand for qualified tutors is at an all time high. Nationwide, parents spent $5 billion to $7 billion on tutoring sessions last year, an 18 percent increase from 2005 according to the Education Industry Association. Five years ago there were approximately 800,000 tutors nationwide, today there are approximately 2 million tutors according to the National Tutoring Association. As you can see, now would be the perfect time to start your own business in this thriving Industry.

Post Source: EzineArticles

Private Family Foundations - Are You Ready to Create Your Own Foundation? A Quiz

Would you like to create a private family foundation? It can be the most rewarding thing you'll ever do -- or not. Take this make your own quiz to find out if you're ready.

To find out if creating a foundation is right for you, mark the following statements as either true or false.

1. The main reason for creating a foundation should be the resulting tax savings. 
2. Setting up a foundation is similar to setting up a corporation. 
3. A private family foundation would make a terrific Christmas present for my family. 
4. If I don't like my foundation anymore, I just close up shop. 
5. Done correctly, a foundation can be very rewarding and bring the family closer together. 
6. It's important to focus on political correctness when picking a purpose for the foundation, whether I like the activities involved or not. 
7. A private foundation is private, so there are few if any reporting requirements and administrative hassles.

Answers

1. False. Tax savings may be one of the benefits, but you should focus first and foremost on what you're passionate about and make that the mission of your foundation. To make your foundation work rewarding, you need to find a way to integrate it with your own passions and your life. Many of the tax savings actually come from your being able to pursue your passions on pretax dollars.

2. True. Setting up a foundation is very much like setting up a corporation. In fact, a foundation is generally set up as a corporation. There's also a significant amount of legal and administrative work that must be done on an ongoing basis.

3. False. A foundation is a huge commitment. Unless your family has been closely involved in the decision making process, and is deeply committed to the foundation, it won't work. "Surprising" your family with a foundation is a very bad idea.

4. False. A foundation, like a corporation, is a long-term commitment. It becomes an entity of its own. You can't just start and shut them down at will.

5. True. If your foundation is truly built around your passions and those of your family, and is well integrated into your life plan, it will likely be very rewarding. And working together on a shared passion is bound to result in a closer relationship between you and your family.

6. False. Absolutely not. You must create your foundation around your own passions, not around what you perceive to be the politically correct issue of the moment. If you don't, you will lose interest very quickly, and your foundation will become a chore, and maybe a nightmare.

7. False. The name notwithstanding, a private foundation is subject to numerous requirements. For example, there are reporting requirements, legal and administrative requirements, as well as requirements about disbursing funds to charities or for charitable activities.

Post Source: EzineArticles