Most small business owners who have managed to survive the proverbial
first 2 years in business probably started out thinking mail order was an
easy business to get into.
Chances are the experience would have been a fun-filled nightmare they may
not want to experience again. Sure, it was full of fantasy and hope. But
it also means a lot of hard work and long hours.

When trying to figure out where you want to take your business financially,
it is common for entrepreneurs to extrapolate numbers based on their
advertising budget. This style is perennial among mail order people who equate
advertising as the foundation of their operations.

This approach sounds very logical and statistical, but it doesn’t happen
like that in the “real world” of mail order! Well, maybe once in a blue
moon, but most of the time – it just don’t happen. It’s not always because
your offer is bad or the price is too high. And it’s not always because
your mailing list was bad. Often times, the reason lies in the fact that
you and your company are unknown.

But one of the most important reasons this statistical data only works well
on paper is that most beginners are not skilled in the area of TARGET
MARKETING. Yes – that word is vital to the money your business will make.

Target marketing is the process of focusing on a select and specific group
of people you are advertising to. And it has everything to do with the
product you are selling.

For example, if you are marketing infant products, it would be very unwise
to stage a direct mail campaign on a random list.

How many times have you got a mailing that went in the trash just because
it was selling a product or service you have no interest in? See what I mean.
If the company mailing these catalogs and advertisements would have
pre-qualified you or I and target-marketed their items correctly – we would
have never received them. It is wasted money for the company!

But how can you pre-quality or target market your audience before placing
an ad? If you are a beginner, it will take some time before you are
experienced enough to do so. However, you can always get a sample copy
of the publication first and see what items other people are advertising.
Then, test your ads in the smaller mail order publication that offer
low-cost advertising until you refine your ad and hit the right market. 
As soon as you begin generating responses to your ads, keep in contact
with these customers and grow from there. They will bring you more customers
like themselves because “birds of a feather flock together.”

Therefore – SLOW DOWN a little – but if you don’t slow down, you could easily get ripped-off
and lose a lot of money. Just like attending college – you won’t get a
Master’s Degree the same day you begin classes. It takes 3-4 years!

Take your time to get to know some of the pros and read what they have to
say. Survey and study the market. Read and educate yourself by investing
time into study. Start out in mail order like you would start working for
any company – at the bottom. Learn the tricks of the trade. Make friends
and associates with “good” dealers and stick with them. Honor your word and
work dealerships to the advantage of yourself as well as others.

Mail order is only a process by which products are advertised and delivered
to consumers. It works for any product and works for anybody. You don’t have
to be rich, educated or a certain age, color or heritage. You don’t have to
wear certain kinds of clothes or have your hair styled in the latest craze.
The only limitations are your own abilities and confidence in yourself.
I know because I started out really poor and brought my business up to
a thriving, self-supporting home business!
a lot of money. Just like attending college – you won’t get a
Master’s Degree the same day you begin classes.

Get Your Site Seen By 1000′s

Lots of people all over the USA just love a great pork steak, center cut pork-chops.
For last 15 years I would shop at my local grocery store, and be very disappointed in the
qualty and value of what you get.

A good pork chops that not too thin, not too thick, not too much fat and not a lot of bone.
That’s not asking too much, but after shopping at the grocery stores and seeing the nicely
packaged packs of pork on display at the meat counter, and buying and serving to the family
for so long and just dealing with the fact that in each package of 5 to 10 pounds 1/3 to 1/2 of the pork is fat, bone and mixed lean, fat, that looks like throw away scraps.

We went to 4 of the major grocery supermarkets in Raleigh and surrounding area’s and purchased 2 packages of pork chops about 7 to 10 pounds per package, from each store,
we found that all four stores was doing the same thing. Each package had the top of the package displayed very nice, the meat looked great through the plastic wrap but under the top layer was, what my sister calls, “scraps for dogs food” not what you want to eat.

Each package had only 1/2 to 2/3 of eatible meat in them, this is a practice that’s been happening for years, and it could be an industry practice accross the board.

Well what can you do? Write you grocery store, call your consumer BBB, your local government, complain to the USDA or don’t shop that store.

I found a place in Raleigh NC, at the North Carolina State Farmers Market.

PORK KING, Nahunta Pork Center (919) 242-4735

The State Farmers Market is conveniently located on I-40 and Lake Wheeler Road, exit 297. Covering 75 acres, the modern facility provides up to 225,000 square feet of covered, climate controlled, all season retail and wholesale spaces

Garner NC City Guide       

Get your site listed in 2 min

It’s lonely at the top for small- to mid-sized business CEOs

(ARA) – It is no secret the economy took its toll on the nation’s businesses in 2009. Some businesses shut their doors, others made major sacrifices to stay afloat, while some lucky ones thrived through the turmoil. So what’s the secret to sustaining healthy revenue and profits?

Executive peer issue processing.

According to ChiefExecutive.net, “In the past few years, the failure rate of CEOs has increased significantly even as average tenure has dropped sharply . . . The resulting turnover has placed CEOs in difficult environments without much support.”

This was true for Vistage member Gus Cicala, president and CEO of Project Assistants, Inc., a project management consulting company based in Delaware. After losing clients, such as Freddie Mac, at the end of 2007, other clients began cutting their consulting budgets and Project Assistants saw their revenues drop more than 50 percent in just a year and a half. Facing a cruel reality, Cicala knew he needed to make some cuts, and struggled to make the hard, emotional decisions on his own. He turned to his executive coaching group for help.

Last March, revenues continued to fall, so Cicala’s executive coaching group helped him make one last cut. “It was that last Wednesday in March when things had gotten really rough and I knew I might have to do something drastic,” says Cicala. “When I walked into my Vistage meeting and informed my group I might have to shut down, one member said ‘not on my watch.’”

Sixteen heads are better than one

* Making cuts without cutting too deep. Cicala’s executive coaching group helped him reduce head count and cut salaries, and coached him on how to do this without damaging the morale and work ethic of those he kept. Project Assistants went from 30 to 15 employees and everyone, including Cicala, took a 25 to 35 percent pay cut. With strategized cutbacks, he didn’t have to shut his doors.

* Create variable costs. His executive coaching group helped him see and create variable costs and now Project Assistants is making more profit than when they were double the size. Losing five percent in the first quarter, Cicala made some adjustments with the advice from his Vistage colleagues. While revenue continued to drop throughout 2009, they were able to make a two to four percent net margin for Q2 and Q3 and a seven percent margin for Q4, ending the year with increased profit.

“We survived because my Vistage colleagues insisted I keep trying,” says Cicala. “It was painful advice, but I did it. We are a stronger company because of the employees who stayed with us, and I am a stronger CEO because my executive coaching group taught me how to run a more profitable company.”

Executive coaching groups not only provide the support CEOs need make emotional decisions, but they also help companies remain proactive and ahead of competition.

CEO Dave Dastur, of Chicago’s oldest architectural firm, Jensen & Halstead Ltd., says his company never felt the recession like most of his industry did. According to the American Institute of Architects, January of 2009 was the worst month ever recorded in the 15 plus years they’ve been tracking the industry revenue, jobs, and leads … and they have yet to see an upturn.

“One hundred percent of our work is repeat and referral,” says Dastur. “So, for me, it was about hiring the A players and focusing more on keeping the current clients happier by being engaged.”

While Dastur’s executive coaching group is extremely helpful, Dastur says the monthly speakers were a big help early on.

Expert speakers

* Brian Beaulieu, on macro economics. In the fall of 2007, Dastur thought seriously about a macroeconomics speaker who predicted the downturn. Following the speech, Dastur decided to be proactive in protecting his 141-year-old company, in case the predictions were true by making sure he had cash in hand.

* Jeff Vogelsang, “Lessons Learned on the Turn-Around Trail.” Jeff talks about the things to do to help a failing company. After Jeff’s speech, Dastur took a hard look at his gains and losses and cut a lot of non-essential items that wouldn’t affect the business. This not only helped Dastur cut expenses but helped build cash in case business slowed down enough to need it.

* Kraig Kramers on “CEO Tools.” Kraig has turned around a number of companies and several of his management techniques, as well as ways of tracking numbers and “what gets done,” are helpful in tracking the trends of Dastur’s business and making sure they are moving in the right direction.

Dastur’s Vistage group helped him realize that it was OK to let some clients go. He started off with 20 percent of clients producing 80 percent of the revenue. Now, they have 45 percent of clients producing 80 percent of their revenue.Through December of 2009, 23 percent of architectural jobs have been lost through the recession, according to the American Institute of Architects. While most of the industry had to lay off large numbers of employees, Jensen & Halstead was able to maintain stability.

Executive coaching groups make the top less lonely, and provide sounding boards for companies without a board of directors.

Vistage International is one example of a handful of CEO executive coaching organizations. The organization is represented in 15 countries with nearly 14,500 members. Collectively, members run companies with an estimated $300 billion in revenues and employ two million people. In addition to their executive coaching groups, CEO members have access to expert resources speakers and receive monthly one-to-one coaching from a mentor called a Vistage Chair. The sharing of information in a group is completely confidential, allowing for the open exchange of issues, ideas and solutions. For more information go to www.vistage.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

“Opportunities, Resources, Indexes, and Software – if your are marketing on the net, you need to visit: HERE