Personal AND Business Development

Here are 7 home business tips to keep in mind when you first start your home business.

1. Set up a separate place in your home to work. When you are at your desk tell everyone to leave you alone.

Distractions are not allowed at your full time job, so why should they be allowed at your home business?

2. Don’t co-mingle funds. Open a separate checking account. ALL business transactions should go through it only. Pay ALL expenses that you plan to deduct through this account.

Best is to use a debit card from this account as a credit card. If you must use credit, get a separate card that only has business transactions on it.

3. Set a work schedule and then actually work. Do not waste time online on things that will not make you money.

This means surfing the internet and calling it work does not count. Neither does playing games or listening to music.

4. Set up a blog even if you are using a replicated website from the affiliate merchant or internet business you represent.

Use it wisely to create content readers and search engines enjoy. Pre-sell your products before passing your visitor thru to a company sales page.

Add videos to it to liven it up. Make it and exciting place to be and people will come back.

5. Do at least one form of paid advertising. Find one you can afford and do it. This is the only way to guarantee traffic when you first start out.

6. Work on long term traffic with free advertising generating backlinks. This is why article marketing, social marketing, and any marketing you do where you get your website url on someone else’s website is so effective.

7. Get Organized. Keep records and receipts. Write stuff down. Consider keeping a log and possibly a master index to your log. Some of the daily planner materials lend themselves nicely to this.

There is plenty more to say, but you can get to that later. Right now learn or start practicing these 7 things by heart and your home business will thank you.

I know that many would say that political commentary is absolutely taboo for an internet business blog, but I have to coment on this guy. If you live in America and have not heard of this guy, you need to come out of hiding and connect with the world around you!

Glenn is a recovering alcoholic with a tough background that goes from crying real tears in sincere moments to silly “over the line” satire on his radio show. He has done some rather outlandish stunts on his TV program, but his silly antics with his on-air cohorts is unrivaled on the radio.

What I have to comment on is the very thing that makes him so controversial. People like to make fun of his silliness and his emotional moments, but what REALLY gets them worked up is the stories he airs concerning political activists, largely in the current administration. Funny thing is many of the “big-wigs” in both political parties dislike him and well they should. He has accused both sides of playing politics with our finances and our futures. He just happened to become more visible with his new TV show during the Obama administration, but he has been REALLY hard on W’s presidency as well.

Funny (or sad) thing is, none have yet to actually challenge the charges he makes with any facts. His research is extremely thorough, and he frequestly begs his opposition to prove him wrong.

So, I must simply say this, If you live in the United States and care at all about this country, I challenge you to prove him wrong. Don’t send it to me, send it to him. Don’t just repeat what some opposing talking head has claimed, but check the sources and see for yourself. I find that most don’t make their information sources available. Mr. Beck does.

Sometimes I hate his style, other times I’m ashamed at how I laugh with him, but most of all I share his genuine concern for this country and our failure to hold those in office accountable to the Constitution they have take an oath to protect.

Most of those he exposes, I don’t see as evil, simply misguided idealogues that have mistakenly bought into the belief that the desired end justifies the means. There will be no utopia where the riches will be shared with “less fortunate” and all will share in the blessings. Good fortune frequently appears to be involved in causing wealth, but as an old dude, my observations have been that on close examination, the good fortune was the result of hard work an determination. Most of those I know that are truly successful, have also failed a time or two (or more). The ONE common trait I find in the wealthy is determination. Socialistic sharing of the wealth suppresses business and job creation to the point of ulimately creating more poverty.

The greatest environment for the determined to succeed in is our capitalist free enterprise system. The less  government interferes through regulations and taxes, the more creativity in this environment blossoms. This is the only effective source of job creation that has ever worked in a sustainable fashion.

Whew- finally got it off my chest- Jolly Joe

Hey guys,

I used to teach a program on “Time Management and Goal Setting”. One of the first principles laid down was that TIME is NOT manageable. Time is made up of events, so we have to learn how to manage events. Many people trying to develop a web based business are also busy people with a full time job and a “life” that does not leave a lot of room for scheduling additional activities. If you are a “boomer” like me, many of the so-called tech skills require some actual study and learning.

The challenge when taking on something new is finding large enough time blocks to really add to your comprehension. Most of us can find 15 minutes a day to work on a new project. The problem is for most of us 15 minutes just won’t give you the time to absorb, much less try to apply a new skill. You can’t believe how long it took me to just get this blog up and running. Here is the trick - Find at least 4 things that you are trying to allocate fifteen minutes a day doing. Next - Stop giving those items fifteen minutes every day! Instead - Try devoting one hour to each one of these projects every four days. You will find that in many cases you will be able to free up some time, because you are wasting less time starting and stopping and your efficiency improves.

Keep applying this principle until you can find a couple of hours to work on your NEW project. I know this works. When I was young I subscribed to the “what are you doing with the time between 1 AM and 4 AM ” attitude. In other words, you can always give up a little sleep to work on something that you are excited about. The problem is if you keep operating that way, your health will eventually fail. If you are fighting health issues, you have to make that part of your event control that you practice. Forcing an exercise schedule and reasonable sleep times has been one of the greatest scheduling challenges I have. But I have FINALLY realized that if I ignore these things I am less productive than if I make time for them. 

Remember we ALL have 1440 minutes in our day. If you take 1% of that (14.4 minutes) and actually plan your events for the day, you will be an EXCEPTIONAL PERSON. If you WRITE your goals, you WILL see success that will not be seen without writing them.  This is a topic for a future post.

His Best to you all,

Jolly Joe 

I was reminded of a comment by the character Will Smith played in the movie “Hitch” while speaking to a group recently. He said, “I tell all my clients to live every day like they were doing it ‘on purpose’. So, I do the same”. Now this was probably not an exact quote, but the intent is intact and very clear. I imagine that Will Smith practices this. He is a man of great and varied accomplishment. I believe that this is something that most of us often fail to do. If you are feeling overwhelmed, after getting enough rest to think clearly, take time to assess where you are and build a plan. Often we are overcommited and need to prioritize, organize, and ELIMINATE! I struggle with the last one the most, but if I could stop overcommitting all would be well. OK, maybe not all, but at least much. It is funny how many times I need to force myself to practice things that I have taught others. In the book of James, we are told that faith w/o works is dead. Well I am also of the oppinion that wisdom not practiced is worthless! Be Blessed, Wise, and Organized!!!

Jolly  Joe

I have often told my classes that when you go into business for yourself, if they were not previously, they WOULD become a person of prayer!

The comment usually brought some knowing nods along with several snickers. Occassionalyy there were even a smirk or two!

One of my favorite examples was the story of how I paid my Personal Property Taxes on the inventory of my first motorcycle business. Shortly after opening in a great building that was only in a fair location, I was able to purchase a good building in a much better location. After being in this location for a couple of years, I discovered that I owed Personal Property Taxes on my inventory! This business was started with a lot of debt and no operating capital. ( A whole story unto itself that we may address later) Because of the financial condition, I did NOT have the money to pay the tax.

At that time I was in the habit of praying for guidance in my business daily. I knew that God wasn’t going to support cheating on my taxes, so I decided to let him figure it out. I knew that he knew I didn’t have the money, so I left it with Him and told Him I would address it when He told me to. Several months later, when praying over the business, this came up after I had completely forgotten about it. I know I may have just been in denial, but regardless it had come up while in prayer, so I took this as God telling me it was time to deal!

That day I went in to see our County Treasurer. When he came out, I introduced myself and confessed that I owed taxes that had not been paid. He looked at me with dismay and said that he had never had anyone come in and volunteer to pay taxes that they had not been billed for! He invited me into his private office and listened to my story. He asked how much my inventory was worth, and asked me about my building. He also asked if the building had been appraised, which it had. It turned out that I had paid taxes on the building based on a value that was just enough higher than the appraised value to cover my inventory. He looked at me and said, “Looks like your biil is paid in full”.

Some may say it was all coincidence, but I say God answers prayer!!

Jolly Joe 

It is said that in order to become a successful individual in whatever endeavor you wish to take, you must have the right attitude and characteristics. This is also true with an entrepreneur. Not everyone can become an entrepreneur. But before anything else, what is an entrepreneur?

According to one definition, an entrepreneur is someone who finances or initiates a certain business undertaking. If you too would want to become a businessperson, you have to possess the characteristics of an entrepreneur.

What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur? Are they really important? Well, of course the characteristics are important because if you don’t possess them, you will have lower chances in terms of business success. The characteristics are as follows –

1. Risk taker – this is a very important characteristic of an entrepreneur. If you’re not willing to take any risk, then you will not succeed as a businessperson. In the everyday course of the business, you will encounter a lot of problems and challenges which you need to decide the soonest.

Some risks are worth taking after careful evaluation especially if it’s for the good of the business. If you’re not a risk taker, then you’re not an effective entrepreneur and you’re bound to fail in your business undertaking.

2. Smart – being smart is another characteristic of an entrepreneur. You have to be clever, keen, and witty in all your business dealings. You have to show mental alertness and intelligence so that you can win the respect and trust of customers and other clients.

3. A leader – leadership is a characteristic that is hard to find among individuals. Not many individuals have the nerve to take the lead. To become a good entrepreneur, you must be a leader. Some say that this is a born characteristic but if you don’t possess it, you can also learn to become a leader.

You’re quite lucky if you’re a born leader because you only have to develop your other qualities and use them when you choose to become an entrepreneur. As a leader, you should be able to guide, influence, and direct people. This way, you can handle all your business activities with ease and fewer worries.

4. Inner passion for business – another important characteristic is having the right passion for business. You have to maintain your enthusiasm and interest in the business. As long as you have the right drive and passion, you can run the business for a long time.

5. Honest and trustworthy – some say that eighty percent of an entrepreneur’s time is dedicated to pooling and attracting customers. This may be true because without the customers, the business will not exist. You have to be honest and trustworthy so that you can develop good will.

There are other characteristics that an entrepreneur should possess. These characteristics help him or her do all the business responsibilities and obligations that need to be done.

These are also the keys to business success. If you want to finance a certain business venture and run the business yourself, you should develop these characteristics. Without them, your business will soon fail and you will suffer the losses.

Be thankful if you already have the characteristics of an entrepreneur. All you need to do now is to study the market carefully, think of a good business venture, and provide for the capital and you’re all set.