Business Archives - Page 7 of 134

Accounting and Assignment Help

Accounting or generally known as the “language of business” is the systematic way of recording, reporting and studying financial transactions and business’ data. The recorded information is then utilized by users who evaluate the fiscal health and an organization’s condition.

Accounting is considered as one of the foundations of business, that’s why it is very important. A business cannot be run without a good accounting help.

Accounting has a lot of principles, types, concepts and processes involved. One of the processes is the cost accounting. Cost accounting is generally designed for managers. It is an accounting process type which intends to attain the costs of production of a company by evaluating the costs of input and fixed costs including capital equipment’s depreciation. It measures and records the costs then compares the input outcomes to the actual results that help the company management measure its financial performance.

It is a field of accounting wherein the economic performance in measured by means of money. It is where financial statements and reports are made to be presented to the decision makers by gathering and summarizing the financial data. It is also where the money coming in and out of a company or organization is monitored. Financial accounting doesn’t necessarily state or report the value of a certain company; rather, its purpose is to provide enough information for others to assess the value of a company for themselves.

Management accounting or also known as the managerial accounting is where management accounts and reports that are provided with precise and well-timed fiscal and statistical details are prepared. This information is needed by managers to be able to make daily and immediate decisions. It generates weekly or monthly reports for companies or organization’s bosses or executives. The reports show available cash’s amount, produced sales revenue, amount of available orders, accounts payable’s condition, as well as inventory, raw materials, outstanding debts and accounts receivable.

Most students find it hard to solve accounting problems. Their minds are tortured, their nose bleeds, their eyes narrows. But now, because of the bright minds of people in the field of accounting, the misery of students studying accounting is now lessened. Answers are given for those who ask, clear explanations are explained for those who are confused and help is extended for those who need with the help of the internet access. Accounting assignment help and homework are provided and contains articles that can eventually help not only the students, but everyone who needs help when it comes to accounting. It includes articles from basic to complex topics, everything about accounting. It also includes assignment help and homework help for students who are stuck on solving an accounting problem and finds it hard to apply the accounting concepts and principles to the given problem. It also provides sample problems with complete solution to demonstrate the systematic way in solving problems.

Even professionals are provided with reliable help trough the cost accounting assignment help, the financial accounting help and the management accounting help, everything about accounting. It provides help thus making their work easier and one click away. Data were sent and receive through emails. With low rates, but reliable and efficient service, it is indeed a great help. A lot of website now offers assignment help not only in accounting but also in a lot of subjects. Reliable and high quality information, it is really a great help to students and professionals.

Security Guard Post Orders

Post Orders are all the rules security guards must follow at any given post. Without post orders, officers simply do not know what to do, what is expected of them, and there is no accountability. Many posts that hire security staff put nothing in writing. More often than not, this creates huge problems. The more complicated a post is, the problems arise when all rules and expectations are not written down. Security personnel must know what is expected of them. Below are some key ingredients that all post orders must have.

1) Emergency contact information. This should include all tenant phone numbers in case something happens to their particular suite. Obviously, building management and police information must also be included as well as maintenance and engineering.

2) Emergency procedures must also be written down including but not limited to bomb threats, fire, theft, flood, kidnapping, and the list goes on.

3) Lock up procedures must also be covered.

4) Any pertinent phone directory information is usually included.

5) Check-in policy involves building access of couriers, guests, clients. The more specific one is the better. Must all visitors sign-in? Are V.I.P’s exempt?

6) Report writing requirements are usually demonstrated through examples. DAR, also known as daily activity reports, should include an example of what is considered appropriate for a day’s work so officers know how detailed they should be on their report. Also incident reports are important because they are used when serious accidents happen, and are often brought into the court of law to prove legal cases.

7) Customer service skills, a big part of security, should be stressed, defined, so that officers are clear on how the client wants people to be treated. Some clients, for instance, have a very strict anti-fraternization policy they want enforced.

There is much more information that needs to be included in post orders. Every account is different and the rules should be tailor made to consider those differences.

Vending Machine Business Record Keeping Basics

Keeping good records of the status of each of your vending machines when you service them is both a critical and very easy practice. Even for those who strongly dislike record keeping and struggle with the practice, the process is not overly taxing. The benefits, after all, far outweigh the small inconvenience that it presents. After all, by keeping records, you will be able to see how you are doing over time so you will know exactly which machines are offering the best performance, how many of what product is being sold, and what profits you can anticipate in the weeks and months to come.

As a business owner, this is information that you need. With even the most basic record keeping, you will have a much more thorough understanding of your business and how it is doing from one machine to the next. This allows you to continue what you are doing right with some machines, and consider the relocation of other machines that just aren’t performing as they should be.

That being said, you will also greatly appreciate your efforts to keep accurate records when tax time comes around. Nothing is more painful than trying to scrounge together exact numbers from records that are either sketchy or non-existent.

The two kinds of records that you will want to consistently maintain within your vending machine business are a basic ledger and a report of all of the locations on your route. The basic ledger is essentially your general bookkeeping. It should document all of the income and expenses totaled from all of the locations on your route. You can do this on paper, but it is much easier and faster if you use a simple bookkeeping program on your computer. If you save all of your receipts and keep a good route report, you will be able to update your ledger quickly and easily each time you complete a service route.

While on your service route, you should keep a record of the status of all of your machines at each location. Each machine should have its own page where you take notes from each servicing. This way, you will be able to flip to the page for any given machine to observe its performance including expenses, income, the placement of products, and the popularity of each of the products.

When your business is still small enough for you to do all of the routes yourself, you will be responsible for all of the record keeping for both the ledger and the route. However, once your business gets large enough that you need to hire someone to run some or all of your routes for you, you will need to make sure that that individual is also keeping the detailed, accurate records that you need to make all the difference in understanding the success of your business.

The same thing goes if you wish to hire a bookkeeper to keep track of all of the income, expenses, and other data collected by the people running your service routes for you. The trick is to make sure that these records never fall behind, that they are always complete, and that they are always accurate.

Do not forget to actually use the information that you have collected. Keeping records is only a practical process when you examine and analyze the data that has been collected. Keep a close eye on the performance of each of your machines so that you always know where attention is needed.

Wireline Logging Witness – Roles and Responsibility

The Log witness has a job which encompasses a number of responsibilities:

Coordination of all well-related logging activities – pre-job, during the job, and post-job
Training of any new service company logging engineer on client specific requirements
Interfacing with the Logging engineer, Operations geologist, Well engineer and Drilling Superintendents
Pre-job, during the job, and post-job reporting of logging objectives and operations
Participation in and supervision of on-rig wireline logging operations

After the service company is informed of the upcoming job and a logging crew is selected, a wireline witness is also appointed to cover the job. The log witness is sent the wireline logging program and briefed by the operations geologist or well engineer in the operating company.

The logging witness is considered the leader of the logging service project team consisting of the service company logging engineer, his/her crew and the drilling superintendents on the rig. On board the rig, the initial interactions between the logging witness, drilling superintendents and logging engineer should take place, getting consent on the following issues:

Logging program and objectives
What tools are required and what tools are available
Review and discuss risk assessments and potential safety issues
Preliminary details of the logging plan including expected start date and time
Lessons learned from previous wells

The logging crew have to check all their equipment to ensure all the logging tools are in working condition and no equipment required for the job is missing. The logging engineer must report any tool problems or missing equipment to the wireline witness and the drilling superintendents on the rig. At this point, the logging program might undergo refinement through discussions between the operating company and the service company with the logging witness taking on an advisory role. Logging time estimates, log presentations and pre-job well information sheets are also prepared prior to the job starting. Any discrepany in the estimated logging time forecast should be highlighted to the drilling superintendent to aid forward planning and logistics. When the job commences, the wireline witness has responsibilities which include:

Logging company data acquisition: supervision and quality control
Data formatting and/or reformatting
Downhole sample measurements supervision: Formation testing and coring
Daily job reporting
Ongoing job risk assessment

The 5 Essential Financial Reports You Should Be Asking For in Your Business

A question I often get asked from my business owner clients is “what reports should I be asking for so that I can keep my finger on the pulse on my business”.

Now this does differ slightly from business to business. For example, if you are a retail shop, then you’re going to automatically have daily figures available to you as part of your normal process. However most businesses should be asking for weekly, monthly and quarterly reports.

WHY I NEED TO READ REPORTS!

Before I go through the reports in detail, I know that a lot of people don’t like looking at the figures in their business. And usually this is because they don’t know what it is that they’re looking for. So usually then their accountant or bookkeeper (or receptionist!) gives them a monthly report, they glance at while holding their breath, and then either breathe a sigh of relief if it shows a profit, or they grimace and swear when it shows a loss. But usually by the time they’ve got this report, it’s already too late. The financial status of your business should be at the forefront of your mind every day- not something that you look at once or twice a year when you run out of cash.

REPORT FREQUENCY

The first thing to decide is how frequently you need to see reports. I suggest a minimum of monthly, if not weekly. This can sometimes depend on whether you have a full time accounts person, or whether they only come in once a month.

TOP TIP: DO A YEAR END EACH MONTH

To help you know what’s going on in your business, one of the first things to implement into your business is a culture of having a year end every month. By that I mean… you want to ensure that every revenue figure and expense if recorded according to the month that it’s incurred. If you insist on this type of culture, you will start to receive accurate figures. So think end of year each month and close off all financial data for each month. That way you know that your reports fully reflect the state of your business and you get accurate profit and loss reporting and it can help you to identify trends in your cash flow.

With regards to reporting, if you have a full time person looking after your reports, you should be having a weekly meeting with them to review reports. To make this process easy for you, refer to the ‘Essential Financial Management Templates’ workbook which you can purchase from our website. This workbook has a standard financial meeting agenda that will help you to guide your meeting so that it’s both effective and efficient.

When you are meeting with your accounts person, you want to ensure that you have all the reports up front -before your meeting – so that you have time to go through them and highlight any discrepancies that you can then address during the meeting.

YOUR WEEKLY REPORT PACK

So what information do you need to know if your business is doing well or not? Well your weekly report pack should consist of the following five reports (by the way, a sample copy of each of these reports is also included in the workbook that I mentioned before):

1) A Profit and Loss – this should be provided weekly (if you’re meeting weekly) as well as a Month to Date and a Year to Date report. So that’s actually three reports in total!

2) From there, you would request a copy of your Aged Payables. This report shows a list of all the people that you owe money to, and when it’s due – or if its overdue. If there are any amounts that exceed your suppliers trading terms, you want to know why. If it’s because of cash flow, you then look at your cash flow analysis report to see when they will be paid. To maintain a great relationship with your supplier, you then need to communicate this with them.

3) Another essential report is your Aged Receivables. This is where you can clearly see who owes you money and if they have any amounts outstanding to you. This allows you to follow up on collections way before it becomes overdue. As part of your financial management systems, you should have a standard follow up system. For example – if a client has exceeded their trading terms by 7 days, what happens – do you follow up with a quick phone call to check that they’ve received the invoice. If its 14 days – what happens – and so on.

If you refer to the ‘Essential Financial Management Templates’ workbook that I mentioned before, there’s also a list of demand letters designed to help you when you need to be a little more serious about collecting. But once again, Aged Receivables is essential because you need to see when your money is coming in – so that you can pay your suppliers and employees their wages without having to dip into your own personal cash reserves.

4) This brings me to the next report – a Cash flow analysis. This report should be put together by your bookkeeper and outlines when money is coming in and when it is going out. You can then see if there are any shortfalls so that you can make plans in advance to get this covered. It may be that you need to transfer monies from another account – or it may be that you chase outstanding payments. What you don’t want is to find out when you go to transfer the money is that there’s nothing in the account!

Believe it or not, this is often the most under-utilized financial report – and yet it’s the most important. You wouldn’t believe how many bookkeepers or accounts people don’t do them either. It’s not so much that it’s difficult to produce, but it’s a working document which means that it needs to be regularly updated. But persist with this one, even if your accounts people try a mini revolt over it, because it’s a life saver for your business.

The ‘Essential Financial Management Templates’ workbook that I referred to previously that’s found on our website contains a fantastic cash flow analysis report that will save you and your team a lot of time.

5) The other essential report to have is the Bank Reconciliation. If your bookkeeper is full time, then they can do this weekly by using the online reports from your bank. If its monthly, then they will need to wait for the bank statement to arrive from the bank before they can finalise. However, keep on top of them for this – this report shows that the necessary process has been done to ensure that the month end has been closed off and that the cash in bank and any other payments or receipts are accounted for. Basically a bank reconciliation is done so that its guaranteed that your amounts coming into and out of your bank account are accurately reflected in your accounting software package.

WORKING WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT

I would also recommend requesting that your financial controller automatically sends a copy of your monthly reports to your accountant. This way your accountant can see where you’re headed from month to month. Depending on the size of your business, you could then establish regular meetings with your accountant – whether it’s monthly or quarterly – to discuss those reports and your financial plans for the coming month.

Once you are receiving these reports regularly, you will find that you become much more empowered in your business and your finger is never far from the pulse!

Oxyfresh Home Based Opportunity Could Secure Your Financial Future – An Oxyfresh Review

Oxyfresh a home based business opportunity is a most interesting business at the moment to take a look at. Well, internet whizz kids and sports heroes may be grabbing all the headlines and the hypes, but home-based Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) currently holds the aces. Paul Zane Pilzer, an economist and best-selling author observed in his recent book that the wellness industry is creating more millionaires now than at any other time in history. Meanwhile, virtually all the companies in this sector distribute their products via Direct Selling and Network Marketing. As a result, the independent distributors or network marketers are having a field day.

Why is Network marketing so appealing now! Why? Here are several reasons. For one thing, most people are just now realizing that it just doesn’t make any sense to work for 40 years only to retire on â…” (one-third) of what was never enough in the first place. And for another, stock investment has proven once again to be a high-stake game you should only play if you have a crystal ball and can read it well! As for real estate, well, take at look at the market? The real estate market is a major loss at this time houses are selling for only a fraction of what they where worth a few years ago

Now throw in a unique brand of business leaders, coaches, and a powerful wealth-building system of residual income through multi-level marketing. What you get is a brand new home business opportunity that takes peanuts to start, but which easily catapults thousands from minimum wage jobs to earning millions in a matter of a few years.

Indeed network marketing and home-based businesses have taken the global economy by storm. Meanwhile many companies involved in direct selling are exploring ways of bringing network marketing opportunities into the mainstream.

Oxyfresh for example has set for themselves the goal of making network marketing income opportunities as popular as and on equal footing with, say, equities or real estate investments. They have designed a unique MLM business plan that should generate monthly residual income throughout a distributor’s lifetime, and even beyond-yes, it can be bequeathed.Oxyfresh is a 25-year old company. They manufacture health and wellness products.

They also offer distributors a chance to create financial security for themselves.

As a distributor, you are expected to emphasize the high quality of Oxyfresh products. The company believes-correctly-that direct sales products have to be better than what you can buy at a store. They must be unique in some ways, and should engender consumer-loyalty. It is reported that most of Oxyfresh’s sales revenue comes from repeat-patronage-consumers who have been loyal to their products for 10 to 20 years.

If you are thinking about taking a look at this opportunity here is some fact that you might be interested in. The company believes that network marketing is a people business, where success is predicated on how many dynamic and loyal people you’re able to attract. This means that as a network marketer you should want to learn how to develop good communication, leadership, enrollment, sales, and attraction skills. These are some of the personal development skills that will help you build a strong network marketing business.

Oxyfresh enrollment costs $35. But at the moment it’s free (till December 31st 2009). After your enrollment you’re required to purchase any of $250, $500, or $1000 Starter Packs. Each comes with products and other materials to get you started on the Oxyfresh home-based business opportunity.

Oxyfresh endeavors to run and grow their company in ways that enhance the reputation of direct marketing, they being a member of Direct Selling Association. Their distributors are warned against making claims about the products or income opportunities that the company does not make. Integrity and responsibility are two traits Oxyfresh distributors are encouraged to exhibit.

Is this network marketing opportunity for you? Interestingly, the economist we cited earlier equally stated that “there’s still time to get in on the ground floor and make your fortune in the wellness industry”. He pointed out that the vast majority of opportunities in this sector favor the individual entrepreneur.

It would be fair to for you, if you are interested in MLM to look for ways to cash in on the vast home-based business opportunities that abound in the health and wellness industry. But remember no matter what MLM company you decide to work the key to success in any company is learning how to market yourself and generate daily leads.

An Unusual Way to Get Rich – Create a Flea Market Small-Business Empire With Wholesale Products

FACT: Many people earn $1,000 per day (that’s $104,000 per year) just selling at flea markets and swap meets on weekends. (I’ve actually made more than that on some days.) Most people think we are just a bunch of poor folks trying to make an extra dollar, and that’s exactly what we want them to think.

What do we know that you don’t? What are our secrets? Can you do it?

Yes. Anyone can sell at flea markets and become wealthy…and I’m going to tell you exactly how right here.

Becoming a flea market vendor is easy and affordable. Your expenses will be the cost of your merchandise and space rent. Daily rent for an outside space can be as little as $5-$10 per day. Many people begin by selling used items and move into selling brand new items purchased from wholesale companies. New items outsell used items two to one and have a higher profit ratio.

Most people already have a table or two they can bring with them. I actually began my flea market and swap meet business with only $200 and a couple card tables I borrowed. I now earn thousands of dollars every month without fail. (Of course, the more money you have to buy merchandise, the faster your new business will grow.)

The key is to let your new business grow. Don’t kill it by taking all the profits out of it! I suggest that you have a job or another source of income to cover your living expenses for at least the first six months after starting your new business.

There’s an old adage in this business: ‘The more you have, the more you’ll sell.’ Believe me, it is true! Take that to heart and put all of your profits into buying more merchandise, so you’ll have even more to sell the next weekend.

Who do you think most shoppers will go to, the guy sitting there with four items on a single card table or three spaces across the aisle from him literally loaded with millions of different items? If you think you have enough merchandise, you don’t.

If you use your profits to build your business and buy more merchandise every week it won’t be more than a few months before your sales rapidly increase and you can begin keeping some of the profits for yourself without killing it.

If you live in a northern climate that is cold in winter or a southern climate that is hot and humid during summer, you might consider renting a space inside a flea market building. Yes, your space rent will go up a bit, but you’ll have the advantage of heat and air conditioning (comfortable shoppers spend more money), as well as a secure enclosure for your tables and merchandise during the week when the market is closed.

Once your first small business is running well, use the profits from it to open a second small business at the same flea market or swap meet, selling a different type of merchandise. Expanding is as simple as renting another space and hiring someone to run it for you. Again, your costs will only be merchandise and space rent and whatever you pay your help. (Be good to them and they will be very good to you.) Just as with your first business, put the profits back into your second business and allow it to build.

The profits from two small businesses will allow you to open a third small business with ease. Do the same as you did before and allow your third business to grow. Put the money back into it by purchasing more merchandise.

Then open a fourth, a fifth, a sixth small business at the same flea market. It’s not only possible but almost guaranteed that if you will do that you will create your own small business empire in less than one year and have a yearly income in excess of $100,000 after expenses.

If you just put the profit back into your first new business, it will grow without another penny out of your pocket. The profits will allow you to open a second, a third and so on. You don’t need a small business loan to get started.

Plus, you are not limited to just one flea market or swap meet. There may be other markets within 20 or 30 miles of you, where you can do the very same thing and multiply your earnings.

If you follow this simple yet effective formula it won’t be long before you can stop selling at flea markets yourself and just become a manager, overseeing your small business empire and stepping in to give your employees breaks.

Once you are making a very good income, consider other ways to invest your money to make even more profit, such as opening your own wholesale house and selling merchandise to flea market vendors and make even more.

Flea markets and swap meets are an excellent venue in which the average person may start their own small business and become wealthy by creating a small business empire.

Government Intervention and the Nigerian Economy: Present, Past and Future

For most of its existence since independence in 1960, economic development in Nigeria has been determined by state planning and direct government participation. Inclement policies pursued by successive military regimes amid the rough of tumble of Nigeria’s chaotic past resulted in massive macroeconomic imbalances that are still inherent to Nigeria. The country’s historically agrarian economy was transformed almost overnight with the discovery of vast oil and gas reserves, forcing a culpable overdependence on hydrocarbons that eventually blocked economic diversification. The oil boom of the 1970s brought further devastation to agriculture and traditional livelihoods and ushered in massive unemployment and food shortages across the country. Human development indices had plunged to among of the lowest in the world by the turn of the 20th Century, and the ‘Nigerian Paradox’ of extreme poverty despite substantial national wealth was born. Even today, 54% of Nigeria’s 148 million people live in extreme poverty on a daily income of less than $11.

Government intervention in the economy during military rule was mostly characterised by sporadic and often ill-informed policies that delivered meagre, if any, results. The IMF-funded Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of 1986 was one of the first attempts to relax decades of economic regulation. However, there was little domestic consensus on measures outlined in the programme and the tough market reforms that the state of the economy demanded never really came through. Bureaucratic incompetence and corruption were largely to blame for this bad experience in reforms which also strained Nigeria’s relations with international financial organisations including the World Bank. Some positive signs emerged in the mid 1990s, when trade liberalisation brought down tariff rates and import dependence while opening up the economy to foreign investors. Further, Abuja revoked laws allowing monopoly public sector enterprises in petroleum, telecommunications and power to encourage private participation in important areas. These measures together helped push GDP growth up to 2.5% between 1993 and 1997, reversing an average decline of 2% registered over earlier years2. However, the recovery came at the price of low growth in the non-oil economy, which continued to flounder amid falling demand and low liquidity.

The peaceful transition to civilian governance in 1999 brought with it relative political stability and paved the way for a more aggressive set of reforms. A resurgent Nigeria signed the UN Millennial Declaration for universal basic human rights by 2015 and adopted ambitious plans for accelerated economic growth in a time-bound manner. A number of positive developments have occurred in the Nigerian economy since 2001:

* Under former President O Obasanjo, the government embarked on a massive privatisation drive, disinvesting in several major oil, steel, mining and port operations.

* International reserves saw healthy growth from $41 billion in 2006 to well over $52 billion in 2009. The average inflation rate dropped from close to 18% in 2005 to 11% in 20083.

* Nigerian lawmakers enacted the Fiscal Responsibility Bill in 2007, institutionalising the deregulation of oil prices. A Public Procurement Bill was also passed the same year.

* In 2004, a bank consolidation plan was executed to strengthen financial institutions and improve their credit capacity for private sector businesses.

* Nigeria’s bulk of outstanding foreign debt was conditionally waived off by the London and Paris Clubs, allowing for increased government spending on poverty alleviation programmes.

Perhaps the most optimistic of recent signs have been observed in the non-oil sector, which doubled since 2001 and currently accounts for 7% of GDP. Another success story is the revival of agriculture and its growth to 42% of GDP by 2008. Although oil continues to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, contributing 85% of all revenues, recent governments have wizened up to the idea that the country’s tall ambitions cannot be fulfilled without rapid economic diversification. The answer, given the country’s abundant human capital and natural resources, is rapid business development in the SME space. Nigeria has a great opportunity and an even greater obligation to foment an enterprise revolution that will radically transform its economic landscape.

The following are some of the broad parameters Nigeria must be guided by while formulation economic policy interventions in this regard:

* Creating a central body with responsibility to coordinate all policies relating to start-ups and existing enterprises.

* Creating a mass base of viable enterprises across the non-oil economy by promoting private sector equity participation.

* Reinforcing micro-finance institutions to enhance loan-disbursement capacity for small businesses.

* Cutting down on high operating costs with tax breaks and financial incentives directed at entrepreneurs.

* Removing institutional deterrents that lead most new and emerging enterprises to operate in the informal economy.

* Improving technical support for rural enterprises that continue to operate using outdated practices.

* Improving entrepreneurial productivity through tertiary skills development and vocational training programmes.

Given the vagaries of its economic history, Africa’s second largest economy faces tremendous hurdles in securing a better place for itself in global rankings. Nigeria has not had a particularly impressive track record in terms of timely economic intervention, as the gathering banking crisis demonstrates. What Nigeria needs today are aggressive, pro-active policies that have the full benefit of both its past experiences and its future aspirations!

Why Haven’t Marketers Everywhere Been Told These Facts?

Your Marketing Will Be More Profitable When You Use These

31 Marketing Response-Triggers

Instantly Reach New Levels Of Sales & Profits In Your Direct Mail… Your Internet Marketing… And Your Space Ads.

These Powerful Response-Triggers Are Guaranteed- – Tested and Proven – – To Devastate Your Competition, Lock In Customer Loyalty, And Explode Your Wealth Even If The Whole Country Is Teetering On The Edge Of Recession.

These are the 31 powerful response-triggers I have used for some 25 years to create marketing packages for my clients. These response-triggers have generated hundreds of thousands new customers in as little as a year.

First, some history: The way ad agencies got their start was way back in the late 1800’s… a few guys pre-bought huge blocks of blank magazine and newspaper pages at steep discounts… Then they would go out and sell the pages to business owners at full price and keep the change. One thing led to another and before long they were creating the ads for the business owners, who then bought the page.

Then comes the juicy part… In about 1910 Albert Lasker put the word out on the street. He wanted to know the exact definition of advertising. Lasker was the head of the largest advertising agency in the world at that time.

Over the course of many years, certain marketers keep track of what worked in advertising and what did not. They did this mostly by coupon orders. If advertising “A” brought in more cash orders than advertising “B”… then they would take note. Many factors were considered. Price points. ($9.97 seemed to work better than $9.95, etc.) Offers. (Buy one, get one free- seemed to work better than 50% off) etc.

Before all of these elements were tracked and codified… A scientific approach was developed. Mr. Lasker was still puzzled as to a clear definition of advertising. So the search was on.

In the 1800’s the guys who knew the most about advertising were the various companies that sold patent medicines by mail. Dr. Shoop’s patent medicine was a HUGE marketer at the time. His two leading copywriters were John E. Kennedy and Claude Hopkins.

Kennedy was looking for a new job and had heard that Mr. Lasker was looking for the true definition of advertising. Kennedy showed up one day and sent a note up to Mr. Lasker’s office. The note said…

“I am downstairs in the saloon. I know the definition of advertising. I know that you don’t know. If you would like to know, meet me at the bar downstairs.”

After a quite a few beers, here’s what Mr. Kennedy said to Mr. Lasker: “Advertising is salesmanship multiplied in print.” Today, we would have to say that advertising is salesmanship multiplied by media. Why? Because you can use everything from billboards to web sites. But if you ignore that “advertising is salesmanship” you’re in big trouble.

Below you’ll find my notes on the various response-triggers you must use in your advertising to move your advertising from the “expense” side of the ledger to the “asset” side of the ledger. After all, if you have a salesman who does not sell, you don’t lose too much. But if you have an ad that does not sell, you stand to lose a lot.

Here is the First rule of advertising:

Use a SCIENTIFIC HEADLINE: Get the prospect’s attention FAST.

Far too many ads and web sites don’t use a headline AT ALL. Much less a scientific one. This is a waste. Why? Because the reader wants to know what he’s getting into. His time is valuable. If he really is interested in say… a trip to Florida… he will be more excited to read a message entitled: SPEND 3 DAYS AND TWO NIGHTS IN MIAMI NOW FOR ONLY $199.

FIVE RULES ABOUT HEADLINES:

1. Mention the prospect and his interests.

Use the words YOU or YOUR in your headline. “How You Can…” “Protect Your Family With This New…” If you’re not going to use the word YOU, you can certainly IMPLY it. “Aching Back?” Etc.

2. Promise big benefits. (Sizzle?)

There is a difference between a “feature” of your product or service and a “benefit” to using your product. Every Lexus or BMW has a coat of paint. No one buys a coat of paint. But they do buy “styling”… “beauty”… “luxury”… “Pride of ownership”, etc.

3. Use NEWS to the point.

The whole world is glued to the news. We buy newspapers and log into countless web sites to see what’s new. If there is something NEW about your product or service, people what to hear. Use the words “ANNOUNCING” or “FINALLY”. Many smart marketers make their ads or web sites look and feel like a new article. “DATELINE: FLORIDA” ETC.

4. Provoke curiosity. (If you can do it pertinently.)

This is a tough one. The best ad I know of that used curiosity pertinently was Sackhiem’s ad DO YOU MAKE THESE MISTAKES IN ENGLISH. Many people read the ad because they were curious to see if THEY were making mistakes. In the 1910’s or 20’s the master marketer Claude Hopkins was trying to sell a butter-substitute made of pig fat. He masterfully had the WORLD’S LARGEST CAKE made and took the cake on tour city by city. The crowds to see the world’s largest cake were so huge, city cops were always called in to control the crowds. This was long before TV and American Idol. When the crowds filed by to see the cake, they saw a little sign on the cake “This Cake Was Made With CottoSweet- Not Butter.” (CottoSweet or CottoLean was the butter substitute.) The cake was a curiosity. They sold a lot of that butter substitute.

5. Mention your product(s) in a favorable light.

Here is an Ogilvy headline that uses this idea: AT 60 MILES AN HOUR THE LOUDEST NOISE IN OUR NEW ROLLS ROYCE IS THE ELECTRIC CLOCK. As I recall the story of that ad, it only ran twice in a magazine. But Ford Motor Company spent a year’s worth of advertising money shouting that their car was quieter than a Rolls Royce.

HOW TO AROUSE INTEREST AND CREATE DESIRE.

6. Next: Immediately enlarge on the promise of the headline.

If your headline does its job of capturing the attention of the right kind of people (prospects) you had better keep whetting their appetite by enlarging on the promise.

7. Tell your story in the first paragraph.

You might not get them into the 14th paragraph… so do your job as fast as you can.

8. Emphasize one basic idea.

You cannot sell more than one thing at a time. Unless you’re that store in the little town of Nacusp, Canada that sells goldfish AND computers. Even if you’re a catalog, you must have ONE basic idea. A computer catalog should not sell gold fish.

9. Clearly tell the BENEFITS (Sizzle?) the prospect will gain.

Don’t… Don’t… Don’t… leave it up to the reader to instantly see the benefits he/she will get. Tell them. Tell them plainly. Then, enlarge on the benefits. Most people need a bunch of reasons rattling around in their head to make a buying decision. Why? Because they know that sooner or later someone at the office or the spouse is going to ask them WHY they bought that item. They will need to justify the purchase to themselves and to others. It’s part of life.

1O. Present the selling points to deliver those benefits.

(Present the steak that makes the sizzle believable.) Credibility and belief are heavy concepts in the advertising universe. If they don’t BELIEVE you… you won’t get the sale. In the 1930’s the Marx Brothers set up a table in downtown New York and tried to give away $5 bills. No one would take the money. They felt there must be strings attached. The promise of benefits sounds hollow without PROOF as to HOW the benefits can and will be delivered. If you’re selling PURE water… that wet stuff had better come from 3,000 foot deep wells… or distilled using glass distillers… or whatever.

11. Show that your product(s) is easy, economical, and agreeable to use.

Remember, it’s not just your product or service that you’re selling. You’ve got to sell them on just how easy it is to buy and use. It’s not just an investment of money you’re asking for. You’re asking them to commit to time and energy to buy from you and use your product. Do you have convenient parking? Will I have to buy a new computer to use your software? Do I have to build a bigger garage to park a new Hummer in it? A buying decision sometimes includes many factors that are not readily apparent.

12. Use sex and prestige appeals if you can.

One could argue that almost everything we do has the sex drive behind it. The clothes we wear… the cars we drive… the books we have on our shelf (does anyone have books anymore?) all are because of the image it projects. Diet? – Sex appeal. Pointy-toed shoes? – Sex appeal. Corner office? – Sex appeal. Tony Robbins’ self-confidence tapes? – Sex appeal. Since the early days of man, we get it that if we don’t procreate (sex appeal) there is no future. Our genetic line… will end if we don’t have sex appeal. However, if you’re selling TAX SOFTWARE… you’re out of luck.

13. Use negative inferences. (That is, to show ills avoided by purchasing your product.)

This RESPONSE-TRIGGER has real power. There are two major motivational directions people move into. They either move TOWARD pleasure or they move AWAY from pain. Most SUCCESSFUL marketers use both directions in their marketing. For example: Buy my product and you will increase your income. If you don’t you’ll continue in your frustrating, miserable existence with that nagging feeling that you really should have bought it sooner.

DISTINGUISH YOUR OFFER

14. Favorable comparison with others.

If there is a leader in the field, it might help you to ride on their coattails. Remember the Ford ad campaign mention above… they were comparing themselves with Rolls Royce.

15. Make points of contrast and superiority.

Remember, don’t leave it up to your prospect to see the distinctions. Point it out. Prove it.

16. Use “Only” and exclusive features.

If you’re selling Fords in an average size city, you’ve got 5 or 10 other Ford dealers to compete with. Yes, you are limited to some degree on what you can say about Fords… but your dealership is different right? Is it open till 10 P.M.? Do you offer 3-week trade-in guarantee? Will you double the trade-in value? Find “only” and exclusive features.

17. Make exceptional claims you can support.

Quite often, you can’t make exceptional claims. Why? Because all or most of your competitors are offering the same thing. But, most of your competitors are NOT making those claims. If you make the claim and can support it… they will look like they are being a copy-cat if they imitate your claims.

18. Compliment the prospect if you can.

Attention Homeowners… or… Attention Smart Homeowners. PICK ONE. Everyone feels they are smarter, wiser, better, than the average Joe. In fact, if you flatter your buyer, you get more buyers. Imagine that. If you’re selling diet pills, you don’t say to your prospect, “You dumb fat bastard… buy this.” But you know that don’t you?

CREATE CONVICTION

19. Present the main idea of your selling message three times.

There is something powerful about an idea being presented THREE times from three different angles. Even jokes are often told in a trilogy sequence. When you present your idea three times, the reader has more of a chance to OWN the idea and soon feels like it’s his idea to buy such a good product or service. And if it’s HIS idea, then it’s a GOOD idea.

20. Tell of your product’s popularity… who uses and likes it.

Most of us are terribly afraid of making the wrong decision. So, if everyone is buying this product, it must be good. No one goes into an empty restaurant. It must be empty for a reason. Auctioneers are famous for planting buyers in the audience to get the bidding going. Even my beloved ex-wife… who often tried to tell me that SHE would never fall for the “gimmicks” I use in marketing… suddenly wanted to buy a house that others were making an offer on. Before those offers came in, she couldn’t be bothered with that house.

21. Give bona fide testimonials… and authority’s approval.

Many people go to Barnes and Noble… grab a book and flip it to the back cover to see who else likes this book. They look for names they trust. Also make sure the testimonials are interesting. Lame testimonials could hurt your marketing.

22. Give assurances and proof of your offer… build confidence.

Putting a real time-limit on your offer might add credibility to this idea.

23. Guarantee if you can.

Typically the longer, stronger your guarantee, the more sales you get. A one-year guarantee does not bring more returns and refund requests. A 30-day guarantee is better than no guarantee. I have a client who offered a DOUBLE YOUR MONEY BACK ON THE SPOT guarantee and his sales went up 217%.

24. Make your offer vitally valid… be congruous.

Having a 3 day sale is one thing… but having a SALE due to rain damage or IRS tax liens offers more of a story appeal and is easier to believe and therefore get more action from buyers. WHY is your offer, your offer?

25. Convey the value of your product or service… definitely, positively.

Again, don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Lead them by the hand show them line-by-line, step-by-step… that your offer has the value you say it does. Maybe a column of numbers showing the total savings IF they buy your idea… will help. Break down the numbers showing them it only cost so much per day, or month or year.

GO FOR ACTION NOW.

26. Give your reader good reasons and excuses for buying NOW.

If you’re selling high-ticket items… inflation alone is a good reason to… ACT NOW. Hording all that money under your bed is like lighting a slow, smoldering fire to your money. Every year its purchasing power disappears flicker by flicker. Surely you can find some other reasons to get them to ACT NOW.

27. Make choosing easy… stress ONE item above others you may sell.

If you’re selling three different colors of the same product, tell them which one is the most popular. Help them focus on one buying decision. If you leave it up to them to weed through all the choices, you will lose sales.

28. Tell how, when, and where to get it.

By now they want it… why can’t you move them to the next step by telling them what to do next. “Here’s what you must do.” is a phrase you could use.

29. Name prices and terms… make it easy to buy or order.

Some marketers are afraid to mention prices in their ad or web site. Here are two reasons why you should name your prices and terms.

First- You are wasting their time if you don’t mention price. If you make them call and talk to a salesman, you’ll lose sales. If you don’t tell them the price, they will tend to think it cost more than it actually does. Why? Because when we have NO INFORMATION, we tend to assume the worst.

Second, if you do have a high price, you SHOULD SAY SO and BRAG on it. Most businesses don’t charge enough for their products and services. If you raise your price, it will naturally trigger something in your brain that you had better justify this price and you will naturally be a better marketer.

You’re goal should be to make double-digit year-end profits after all expenses are paid, including owners salary. If you throw in your salary as part of the profits you’re deceiving yourself regarding your profits. From 10% to 25% year-end profits is a reasonable goal. Most business owners scrape by on 3% profits. Or less. That sucks. If you’re afraid to raise your prices, get a job at the post office.

30. Consider a coupon… or direct offer.

The point here is to track your efforts. If you don’t offer coupons, a direct offer tells you whether your ad is working or not. If you run an ad that brings you 100 phone calls and 10 buyers… that’s one thing. If you make a different offer to find out that for the same advertising expense you’re now getting 200 phone calls and 37 buyers… you’ve more than doubled your sales and profits without doubling your ad budget.

Your cost of advertising is one thing. Your cost per lead and cost per sale is a different thing. Coupons and direct offers not only help you keep track of what works, it also tends to bring in more buyers. Why? Because prospects clip the coupon late Wednesday night and call you on Thursday morning. Or, they note the direct offer and respond better than if your offer is vague.

31. Sell NOW as the time… make a bid for business and action.

If you take the time and trouble to get their emotions all worked up to say YES… get them to act now. Tomorrow the kids will be screaming, the doorbell ringing, and many other things will cloud their mind. NOW is the time to act.

If you follow these ideas… several things will happen all at once. Your sales will increase. When your sales increase, your competitors’ sales will decease. It just happens. The “Market Pie” is only so big.

PLUS: Your advertising cost will actually decrease. Why? Because you’ll be lowering your cost per lead and cost per sale for the same media dollar spent. Let’s say you’re spending $10,000 for a full-page ad in a mid-size town newspaper. If you increase your response your true media costs go down for the same amount of buyers coming into your door. That is smart marketing!!!

What is advertising? Advertising is salesmanship multiplied by media. Just because someone can design a so-called web site with flash and fancy graphics doesn’t mean jack when it comes to actually convincing people to part with their hard earned cash.

Use these ideas to increase your sales and profits in any media.

Bless You.

Linwood Austin

801-201-9026

Are There Any Differences Between An Entrepreneur And A Small Business Owner?

We use the terms entrepreneur and small business owner interchangeably. Are they the same or are there any differences? I decided to do some research to get answers to these questions. My findings say an entrepreneur and a small business owner (SBO) are not the same; therefore, we cannot use the titles synonymously.

Although you start out as a small business owner, somewhere along the way you either remain a SBO or you become an entrepreneur. If you are contented with earning enough profits to live a comfortable life and keep your business afloat, chances are you are a small business owner. This type of income replaces your income stream, which you earned from traditional employment. You really are not interested in growing or expanding your business. More than likely you will keep the business in your family.

Maybe you are not satisfied with the status quo, and you are very ambitious and have the drive to go beyond just surviving. You would fit the definition of an entrepreneur. You will take more risks. Entrepreneurs enjoy learning through growing and expanding their businesses. Some establish businesses for the purpose of resale after realizing a certain amount of wealth. It may take a lifetime for a small business owner to earn wealth compared to approximately five years for a successful entrepreneur.

Another difference is how innovative are you. Small business owners are not the type to “think out the box”; whereas, entrepreneurs come up with new ideas, innovations, and products, as well as construct creative, strategic marketing plans.

If you are the type who works in their business, you would be considered to be a small business owner. You are more repetitive. On the other hand, if you tend to strategically work on your business, evolving it, change target markets, if necessary, you are an entrepreneur. As a SBO, you tend to not change markets. In addition, your markets may be more general when compared with entrepreneurs who target markets are more focused.

In regards to staffing, if you are a small business owner, you may have employees, which would involve having to pay employee-related expenses; such as, benefits and taxes. As an entrepreneur, you may choose to work with independent contractors rather than having employees work for you.

There are some of you who tend to have characteristics of both groups. For example, as an entrepreneur, you may choose to keep the business in your family, just like a small business owner, rather than selling it. In addition to having this in common, there are similarities in operating your businesses. Both of you have to do some degree of advertising and marketing, as well as daily administrative functions.

Overall, a notable difference is as a small business owner, you tend to need motivation; whereas, if you can be described as an entrepreneur, you are fuelled by ambition, drive and inspiration. Although similarities exist among the two groups, according to my research findings, the two terms are not interchangeable, and there are significant differences.