Market Archives - TODAY INDIA

Capitalism, Socialism, and the Affordable Housing Market

One of the cornerstones of capitalist economic theory, as taught and practiced in the business, governmental, and academic sectors of the United States of America, is called the “efficient market hypothesis”.

That hypothesis claims that a free market is an “efficient” market, meaning that it perfectly provides for the needs of consumers in a nation, at prices they can afford.

I disagree.

“Efficient market hypothesis” claims that markets are rational, meaning that they will make automatic adjustments in prices, to match supplies of (and demand for) particular commodities (whether they be food, clothing, housing, or gasoline).

However, one of the problems with the efficient market hypothesis, is that markets are not rational, because markets are made by human beings, not computers, and most human beings (from my observation) are not rational.

In fact, from what I’ve witnessed, I would claim that most human beings appear to be famously irrational.

So it would only stand to reason, that markets made by human beings (for things like food, clothing, gasoline, and housing) will not naturally fluctuate with the needs of consumers, but rather, will usually charge prices set as high as the sellers of those various commodities can get away with charging.

But what if thousands of people, in a place like a snow-covered environment, can’t afford to pay what the sellers of housing are demanding to be paid?

Should they merely sleep outside in the snow?

I don’t think so.

Yet many of them do.

Why?

I can’t say definitively, but while visiting the city of Boston, Massachusetts in the Spring of 2012, I had the opportunity to meet a fairly large number of the many, many thousands of homeless people who resided in that city then, and what I found was shocking:

There were what appeared to be, over ten thousand homeless people in that city then, contrasting sharply with the large number of “for rent” signs I saw on various houses and apartment buildings in the city, and it’s various suburbs.

I met former businessmen and women, many of whom had lost their jobs in the mass-company-firings of the recession of the 1990’s and 2000’s, (which apparently caused their companies to permanently downsize their jobs), in what resulted in tens of millions of Americans being put out of work (and in many cases, they and their families being evicted out of their homes).

While learning about the struggles of the homeless in the United States of America, the first thing I noticed is that the formal and informal network set up to help the homeless, in actuality accomplished very little to help in any real, tangible way when it came to housing people whose primary need was just that.

Instead, most of the organizations I contacted, and interacted with, seemed to offer everything but.

Food, clothing, toiletries, (and at a few of the better facilities, phone calls, and occasionally, showers), were often available, but real progress towards attaining permanent housing seemed to be continuously (and maddeningly) elusive, not just for myself, but for almost all of the hundreds of homeless people I met and spoke with.

That lack of the one crucial thing homeless people need the most, appeared to lead to a very high level of despair among many of the dozens of homeless people that I spoke with, and that despair appeared to often led many to engage in self-destructive behaviour, and even angry verbal outbursts.

More depressingly, that despair appeared to be intensified by the self-hatred many homeless people seemed to experience after such (usually-justified, yet often misdirected) outbursts, and many of the people I met seemed to be descending down into a deeper and deeper predicament.

Many began to resort to the habitual use of alcohol or drugs, in an apparent attempt to numb the feelings of resentment and self-hatred that seemed to engulf them.

Then, when those same suffering people went to seek housing, those incidents of self-medication with alcohol or drugs would be included in their “client profile”, and many of them would be shunted off into a “bad client” category, and often be:

1) forced leave the homeless shelters,

2) forced to “meet with the police”,

3) forced to attend burdensome anti-“substance abuse” classes and meetings, (despite the fact that some of them had no place to sleep at night),

or…

4) forced to “leave the immediate vicinity” of the homeless shelter, and go…

where?

As a result, many of the hundreds of homeless people I met in Boston, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, Miami, Florida, San Diego, California, and Los Angeles, California, seemed to find themselves having no choice but to live outside for many months, years (and some, even decades), at a time, sometimes even in the ice and snow.

I met a few men who had spent entire previous, New England winters outside, some in tents in the snow-blanketed woods, and some feebly attempting to sleep on top of heating exhaust vent grates, to escape the bitter (and sometimes deadly), below-freezing, winter night-time temperatures.

It appeared that every few nights in one of the major north-eastern United States cities, someone would die from sleeping outside in the bitter winter cold. In a rare effort to avoid such tragedies, police officers in progressive Cambridge, Massachusetts would drive around, all throughout the night just before, and during, major snow storms, on the lookout for people who had fallen asleep outside.

While exploring the back streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts in the middle of a few of those bitter cold nights, I occasionally saw people bundled up inside cardboard boxes, feebly (and perilously) attempting attempting to survive the night without freezing to death.

Even more shocking, was the fact that most of the major cities I visited (such as Boston, Massachusetts, Miami, Florida, San Diego, California, and Los Angeles, California), all appeared to have their main homeless shelters located in their downtowns, often within close walking distance (and sometimes in sight of) luxury, high-rise, residential condominium towers, many of which had dozens of empty apartments for rent.

So, despite what many of us may have been taught in college economics courses, the fact is, the free market for housing in the United States of America is not at all efficient. In fact, if you explore the intricacies of many major, urban, United States housing markets, you will often find that they are woefully inefficient.

To make matters worse, the extreme contrast between the levels of contentment of the well-heeled, housed urban professionals, and the barely-surviving homeless appeared to lead to levels of hostility that were, not only disheartening, but even dangerous.

As a result of the predictable frustration experienced by those two extremely alienated groups of “have-more-than-enoughs”, and “don’t-have-anythings”, conflicts would often erupt, with the housed scurrying away to hide inside, and the police sometimes arriving to accost and interrogate the homeless, who were usually intimidated back to “wherever they came from”.

As a result, many of the homeless people I met seemed to be developing an increasing level of resentment towards the United States of America, and the wealthy (or those perceived to be).

After 5 months witnessing the social schisms, and other social unrest caused by homelessness and wealth inequality in Boston, Massachusetts, I boarded a bus for Manchester, New Hampshire, where I witnessed the exact same, corrosive social dynamic at work, actively undermining our national unity and sense of connectedness.

Being unable to find sales work in Manchester, New Hampshire, and knowing that the bitter-cold New Hampshire winter was quickly approaching, I boarded a plane on November 3rd, and flew to Miami, Florida.

Upon my arrival in Miami, I hopped onto a bus straight to Miami Beach, where I witnessed the exact same, depressing social inequality, occurring right alongside the winter-long festivities of one of the most lively international tourist hot-spots in the western hemisphere.

While there, I again noticed the same super-luxurious residential high-rise condominiums that I saw in Boston, Massachusetts, many seemingly built in the last decade or so, during the supposed “recession” that saw millions of American workers jobs (and paychecks) offshored to foreign countries, while corporate profits sky-rocketed, sending the Dow-Jones Industrial average, and wealthy peoples bank accounts, to before-unheard of heights.

Even more disturbingly, while in Miami Beach, I noticed that many of the poor homeless women I met seemed to feel compelled to sell their bodies, in order to afford to pay for basic, life’s necessities, such as food, clothing, shelter, or medication.

Many of the homeless people I met there appeared to spend at least half of their time hiding from the police helicopters, cruisers, and all-terrain-vehicles, that appeared to patrol the beaches relentlessly, in an attempt to chase them away from the sight of the well-heeled international visitors who flock to that city all winter long.

When not resting in my tent concealed in the sand dunes adjacent to the awe-inspiring “South Beach”, I spent my days socializing on the seawall running parallel to the beach. While walking by there one day, I met a homeless African-American Iraq war veteran, just returned home from combat.

He appeared to be suffering from a serious case of “Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder”, as a result of having his foot blown off by a suicide-bombers attack on the Humvee caravan he was travelling in, and he appeared to be in terrible daily pain, even though army doctors had somehow surgically re-attached his foot.

He spent his days sitting near the seawall adjacent to the boardwalk, and seemed confused, depressed, and very, very angry at the way he had been used, and apparently abandoned and disposed of, by our countries government and military establishment.

After a few months in Miami Beach, the police presence there persecuting myself, and the other homeless people, became too overwhelming, so I decided to relocate to Hollywood Beach, Florida.

Hollywood, Florida is an interesting city. Most of it isn’t anywhere near the beach, but is inland, being despairingly separated from the beachfront by the “intracoastal waterway”, and so is very humid, though very calm and sociable, inland.

The beach-front itself is almost entirely for tourists. It has a beautiful boardwalk, is very clean and quiet, and is great for:

– families with children,

– those who don’t like (or can’t tolerate) diverse or international crowds,

or

– those who need a break from the faster paced, party beaches, such as Miami Beach.

However, while in the inland part of the city of Hollywood, I met men who revealed to me that one of the homeless shelters there was charging “rent” to people who slept there, even sending disabled people out onto street corners to sell homeless-advocacy newspapers every day, in order to earn the money to pay their rent.

While walking down the street one day, I met a man in a wheelchair with withered legs due to a serious neurological disease. While listening to him speak, he recounted to me that after he had had a disagreement with the manager of the homeless shelter regarding his pain medication, he was unceremoniously evicted out onto the sidewalk a few blocks away, and left there all by himself, even though he couldn’t walk.

Subsequently, the shelter where he formerly resided was seized by the city, and condemned, and the man who operated it was intimidated out of that Florida town for being:

“too nice to criminally-prone homeless people”.

That was the first indication that there is a trend in many warm-weather cities to be hateful and hostile towards homeless people, and the more I investigated the phenomenon, the more disturbed I became.

For example, in both Florida and California, I heard repeated accounts of serious, even murderous violence being repeatedly directed against homeless people, with some cities and towns in Florida appearing to have reached epidemic levels of such repeated outbursts being directed against poor (and sometimes disabled) people living outside, as discussed in this article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/16/florida-homeless_n_4453312.html?temp-new-window-replacement=true

Sadly, such crimes appear to also be on the rise in California as well, as evidenced by this section of the “Huffington Post” news website, which discusses the rising epidemic of violence against the homeless:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/homeless-hate-crimes/?temp-new-window-replacement=true

My belief is, that at least part of the reason for this, is that poor and working-class Americans are so angry and frustrated because of their recent economic difficulties, that they are striking out at convenient, socially-acceptable targets, and in the United States of America, where we worship rich people, poor people within easy reach are becoming the targets of choice.

The worship of rich people, and the resultant demonization and dehumanization of poor people, are just two symptoms of the extreme wage, income, & wealth inequality that exists in the United States of America today.

In fact, from my research, I would estimate that the last time wealth inequality was so unjust in the United States of America, was during the late 1800’s, in an age of income inequality so extreme, that the chief corporation-owning beneficiaries of our collective labors were frequently called “robber barons”.

Because of the refusal of the corporation owners of that time to equitably share the fruits of their corporations (and thus, their workers) efforts, an organized labor movement began to take shape, and by the 1950’s, it managed to secure adequate wages and working conditions for tens of millions of American workers, many of whom still do the bulk of the physical work in this country.

That organized labor movement led to the creation of the often idealized “American Middle-Class”, which many credit for the social stability that came to encapsulate the idea of the “American Dream”.

However, during the 1970’s, a new mentality began to infect the hearts and minds of the collective consciousness of the American intelligentsia, and many economists and business-people began to promote a new world-view, which disturbingly extolled the perverse paradigm that “greed is good”.

In fact, such dangerously infectious slogans were charismatically advocated by the protagonists of movies glorifying such selfish mentalities, as evidenced by Michael Douglas’ “Gordon Gecko”, in the 1987 greed-inspiring movie, “Wall Street”.

From the 1980’s, through the 1990’s, up until the victory of President Barack Obama in the mid-2000’s, this countries “greed-is-good”, and “it’s all about money” paradigms were also advanced by mind-warping, wealth-worshipping television programs, such as:

“Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”,

and

MTV’s: “Cribs”.

As a result, the level of hyper-materialism in the United States of America reached such epidemic proportions, that people who don’t have enough money are no longer merely viewed as “undesirables”, but increasingly, as an entire underclass who are “good for nothing” but to be exterminated.

I believe that this new form of socio-economic fascism represents a very clear and present danger, not only to the millions of homeless people in our country, but also to the tens of millions of us who are merely a paycheck, illness, or missed mortgage payment away from homelessness ourselves.

So, contrary to the idea promoted by generally accepted “free-market” economic theory, the free market for housing in the United States of America does not appear to be at all adequate when it comes to meeting the shelter needs of the people who reside within our nations borders.

And so I believe that our elected government officials have, not only the right, but also the responsibility to intervene, and insure that all of the people dwelling within our nations borders of authority have their basic, housing needs met.

Unfortunately, when broaching such topics in economic discussions, it isn’t uncommon to see some contentious mass media commentators irresponsibly launch socio-economic extremist labels at their opponents, in an attempt to marginalize and demonize them, usually utilizing one of the following nebulous labels:

“Communist”, “Socialist”, “Redistributionist”, “Collectivist”, et cetera…

Yet, very little thought is often invested into what the exact definitions of those terms are.

With that in mind, I’d like to offer my opinion as to what I perceive to be the correct definition and appropriate usage of such socio-economic labels to be:

First, a “communist” is generally viewed as a person who believes in completely equal ownership of the means, and output, of production, of a nations industry.

(In the past, that goal was frequently attained by government mandate (usually through “nationalization” of a nations private corporations (a form of seizure and redistribution generally regarded as unpleasant by most.)).

On the opposite end of the socio-economic philosophical spectrum, we have what are generally called “capitalists”.

Capitalists are those who believe in allowing vastly unequal ownership of the means, and output, of production of a nations industry.

(In recent American history, that philosophy has been pursued almost to the extreme, by unjust recalibration of of our nations tax policy and codes, and has created many tens of millions of “working poor” in our nation (whose ranks appear to be growing by the day)).

Both of those extremes (of Communism, and Capitalism), have generally proven to be very ineffective forms of economic policy in the past, and sadly, they can occasionally result in widespread violence (as witnessed in the cases of both the French & Russian revolutions).

More intelligently, would be a theoretical balance between those two extremes, called “Socialism”.

Socialism, (provided it is not enforced by violence, or accompanied by racial, religious, or ethnically supremacist theories) is usually the best economic approach for a nations economy, as both the extremes of “capitalism”, and “communism” have historically proven to be ineffective models for meeting the material, and spiritual, needs of a nations populace.

Such deficiencies in meeting the needs of a nations populace can sometimes result in:

Violent internal “civil” wars (a.k.a. “revolutions”), as in the case of pre-revolutionary Russia (where a Tsarist aristocracy attempted to forcibly rule the nations repressively unequal feudalistic peasantry-based agricultural economy,

Violent, externally aggressive wars, such as those we are seeing in the modern-day United States of America, the leaders of which appear to be on endless Quixotic quest to (mis)-identify and displace their disenfranchised citizens rage at their increasing economic impoverishment onto convenient, external, foreign targets.

Instead, it might be helpful for our nations leaders to temper our current hyper-capitalist orientation with more socialist economic principles.

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.

Understanding the Cash Only Medical Practice Market

With today’s medical environment so reliant on complicated insurance company regulations and intricate billing procedures, many physicians are looking for niche medical practices that will allow them to maintain their income standards while decreasing their paperwork at the same time. One such niche is a cash only medical practice, which is basically a medical office that does not maintain contracts with insurance companies and instead requires patients to pay cash for medical services rendered. Ending your contracts with insurance companies and building a successful cash only medical practice will likely take some time, and many physicians decide that they need to have a gradual changeover rather than an overnight exchange from an insurance pay to cash pay medical practice. If a cash pay medical practice sounds like it may be the type of office you would like to run, it may be time for you to begin doing some market research to find out if your practice has the potential to be successful:

* What is the condition of your local market? Does your local community have a large number of uninsured or affluent patients? If you do run a medical practice in an affluent community, you may be able to establish a large panel of patients-even patients with insurance-that is willing to pay cash for high quality, efficient medical care. On the other hand, if your local community has a lot of middle or lower-income residents with HMO plans, which do not give any out-of-network benefits, you may find that you have difficulty building a cash-only practice.

* Would your current patients be willing to transition to a cash pay medical practice? It is a good idea to survey your current panel of patients to find out if they would be willing to continue using your medical services if you were to change to a cash only medical practice.

* Should you continue your contracts with the more lucrative insurance companies? Not all insurance companies negotiate unappealing prices with their contracting physicians, and not every insurance firm has unreasonable paperwork requirements. You may choose to work with two or three specific insurers, while asking that patients who do not use these companies pay cash for medical services. It is your medical practice, which means you can choose whom you contract with.

* Which medical services will you provide, and how much will you charge for them? Some physicians find that they are able to see fewer patients with a cash pay medical practice, and they also discover that they are able to focus on the particular medical services that they enjoy. Perhaps you decide to focus on acute medical care rather than chronic ailments, or maybe you will choose to perform fewer diagnostic tests. Whichever services you decide to offer your cash only patients, deciding how much to charge for them will take some research. Ask other physicians, particularly other cash only physicians, in your area how much they charge; there is nothing unethical about doing this as long as there is no discussion about setting collective rates. You may also want to take into account how much your cash pay medical practice will need to net in order for you to cover your overhead expenses.

Precision Market Timing – By The Numbers!

In the next 10 minutes, I’m going to reveal to you what took me over thirty years of intensive eyeball-to-chart research to discover! The road has been long and sometimes bumpy with plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way. And, guess what…it hasn’t ended yet! The more I learn, the more I realize there’s more to learn. So, fasten your seatbelt and experience the excitement I felt on this road of discovery…it’s truly been a ride to remember!

Let’s start at the beginning. I made my first commodity trade in 1968 while a student at the University of Montana working towards a Master’s Degree in Business Finance and Investments. I was fascinated by the leverage you could get on your investment capital by putting up a relatively small margin fee in order to control a much larger quantity of some commodity…leaving open the potential for substantial gains…and by using stops supposedly limited risk. And, since I was a cash-strapped student with a “relatively” small amount to invest, this really appealed to me.

So, one memorable Tuesday afternoon, I skipped gym class and hiked downtown to open my first commodity trading account. I was nervous as a cat…but, I knew it was something I just had to do. The broker was understanding and after about an hour of filling out forms and waiting for an OK from headquarters, I plunked my money down and began what I imagined would be an illustrative career as a “professional” commodity trader. I just couldn’t wait to get started!

Early the next morning, I was chomping at the bit and decided to start off by trading corn futures. Then over the next two weeks, the worst thing that could happen to a beginning trader happened to me…I had three big winning trades in a row! I was convinced I was the King Kong of trading…and frankly couldn’t figure out why everyone told me trading was so hard to be successful at. Then, as you’ve probably guessed…the fourth trade murdered me. I lost everything I had already made plus $200 more than I even had in my account! So much for the supposedly limited risk. You can guess where the book fund for that quarter went! My trading “career” appeared over about as fast as air rushing out of a balloon.

I went away from that experience licking my wounds, but absolutely convinced there was an underlying and identifiable pattern or rhythm in the markets. I could sense it. I knew it was there…but, I had no idea what it was. I wrestled with questions of how such a thing could exist. Or more to the point, since I saw evidence of it’s actual existence…how could I prove it existed? Even though initially I even questioned my own perceptions, I just knew in my bones it was there! I was determined to do whatever it took to identify it, pick it apart and ultimately find out exactly what made it tick.

It was then I realized that if you could discover any sort of regular or consistent pattern in market movements…you would have the key to successful trading! Why? Because you then could trade in sync with the timing patterns controlling market movement. This was certainly a goal worth devoting a lifetime of research to…and, as it turns out…I have!

I started my search by going to the source…the markets themselves! I studied charts from every market I could get my hands on…some constructed from data going back to the start of the Chicago Board of Trade in 1848! I knew that if there was a pattern that repeated itself in the markets, I could find it…given enough time, effort and stacks of charts to look at.

After night after night of painstaking study, a bit of inspiration arrived from somewhere and I came to the conclusion that by simply using daily futures charts…where each vertical bar represents a single trading day, I could possibly detect tradable patterns by identifying reversal points in normal ongoing markets…specifically, reversals that tended to occur on the same number counts over and over again when counting forward in time from any significant high or low point…in the past.

It was about this time that a fellow trader related to me that W. D. Gann, the world famous market timer, was purported to have said “if you want to know how to time the markets…read the Bible three times!”

I had generally studied the writings of Gann and was frankly never able to get much out of his cryptic and obscure ramblings other than to note his focus on time as opposed to price pattern analysis. Nevertheless, this got me to thinking…is it possible that specific number counts where reversal energy is demonstrably exposed…critical time points I had already identified in my relentless search through endless chart examples…is it possible as some sort of confirming device that those same numbers are numbers prominently mentioned in the sacred texts?

Since it was my custom to regularly read in the Bible, I decided to keep a notebook handy to jot down specific numbers mentioned in the Bible as I came across them. I had no real expectations one way or the other, but I was looking forward to comparing the numbers my private research was turning up with the numbers prominently mentioned in the Bible.

So what did I find? Actually, a head scratching puzzle. What I noticed right away after collecting months of references was that there were an amazing number of near misses…numbers from the Bible that were in most cases off by just one number count from the numbers I had already identified through research.

This wasn’t the only thing that bothered me. I’d been in a quandary for years over a quotation from Jesus found in Luke 24:46 which said “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”

With my persistent mindset, I just couldn’t see how Sunday was the third day. It seemed to me that if Christ was crucified on Friday, then Saturday…Sunday… and then Monday should be the third day. It had been a long running and seemingly irreconcilable question in my mind.

Then out of the blue it struck me. To make the biblical order work, you would have to count Friday as day number one! Why this had been so hard for me to see was I suppose understandable. Counting that way was just not how we were taught to count since grade school. Nevertheless, this was a critical breakthrough…since I had now learned how God counts!

The next step was obvious…use the newly learned counting method on the charts I was studying and see how the number counts compared with what I was doing before. I picked up one of my trusty old charts and started counting days forward from an important high point reversal day on the chart.

Immediately, it jumped off the page at me. By adjusting the number count of each newly discovered reversal energy number…by just one day to reflect the new counting method, the correlation between Bible numbers and specific number counts I had already collected were now almost perfectly…in sync!

I say “almost” perfectly because what showed up was a pattern of hits…that is, actual reversal days occurring on the chart that would tend to “hit” (1) on the day just before, (2) right on or (3) the day just after the individual counting number being projected.

This was heady stuff. Clearly, by using the 40 different and proven counting numbers so painstakingly identified through research and confirmed in most cases by biblical references, I could now exactly pinpoint and project into the future perfectly defined and extremely powerful 3 day “reversal zones” or “timing windows”…on any chart for any market…at any time!

It’s important to note that the strongest reversal energy always exhibited itself in the center day of the 3 day zone or window. I don’t know why, but the image of Christ crucified between 2 malefactors came to mind as I worked with this material. And, as it turns out, the idea of a 3 unit zone or window with the most powerful energy focused in the center unit became over time an even more powerful research concept…as we shall soon see.

And here’s another curiosity. Apparently, there’s no way to determine or foretell whether anticipated reversals will be up or down reversals…until you get there. As the market starts to actually trade up or down into the zone or window, then and only then does the market tip it’s hand to us.

And, here’s the really great part…It’s exactly at the critical moment to do something from a market timing standpoint. That is, just before the market reverses…and while concurrently pointing us in the direction the market has just revealed it’s going to go! And, only those that know the language of the markets understand what the markets are saying when they speak.

Amazingly, the markets literally hand us top secret timing information at the critical moment for us to use it for positioning trades in the right direction…and precisely at the right time to be totally in sync with market movement…guaranteed!

Now, here’s how it works. If a market is initially trading down into a 3 day reversal zone, then we should expect a reversal of some consequence to occur to the upside during the period of that reversal zone. The anticipated reversal up is then confirmed on any subsequent day that sees a rally above a previous day’s high. It couldn’t be more simple!

And, conversely, if a market initially trades up into a 3 day reversal zone, we should expect to see a reversal movement to the downside occur. The reversal is then confirmed by any subsequent drop below a previous day’s low.

Another major plus is that this strategy automatically generates a close-in stop or stop/reverse point just on the other side of the recently anticipated and confirmed reversal. This minimizes trade risk tremendously.

It was at this point that it suddenly occurred to me that what was really happening here…in the march of black bars across price charts…was the ongoing record in time of an unbelievable projection process…a process whereby the forward counting of days was tracking some sort of energy ripples radiating forward in time from high and low reversal points in the past.

My research proved this “process” is ongoing. It’s constantly radiating energy off reversal points in the past which projects three day “timing windows” or “reversal zones” into the future…where this reversal “energy” tends to generate new reversal points in interval patterns falling precisely on certain specific number counts…which I now had identified!

But, how could this be? All I could imagine was that some kind of previously unknown wave energy must be radiating off top or bottom reversal points in the past…continually moving out into the future in varying degrees of intensity, set in irregular yet constant intervals…and with enough structured energy to dramatically affect directional turns…in any market…in exactly the same manner and timing count sequence. And all this, at precisely and objectively projected points in time in the future…whew!

Sit back for a moment and think about it. The magnitude of this discovery…let’s say revelation actually, is mind boggling in it’s implication and absolutely astounding in importance! It’s almost as if the curtain has been ripped back and we’re now privileged to look lingeringly at the fabric of space and time…literally, the framework God employs to organize time and event progressions! Shockingly, it would appear that nothing happens by chance!

I knew instinctively that this method of market timing could not be called fundamental or technical analysis…but is rather an entirely new method of market timing analysis which I dubbed temporal analysis since it is based on time instead of price. Indeed, at this point I realized that one of the greatest hallmarks of the newly named Kenison Counting Numbers is the total lack of subjectivity in producing such valuable timing projections.

No guesswork is ever involved. The number counting sequence is simple and easy to understand. You don’t ever need a calculator or computer or any specialized foreknowledge. And, the signals projected are very precise and completely objective. It’s all right there on the chart…exactly where the next reversal energy in the market will be exposed…and correspondingly, exactly where the next projected reversal should be expected!

And get this. Kenison Counting Number projections will never become obsolete. They will continue with absolute objectivity…for all the years of you or your grandson’s trading careers…to pinpoint at or within one day of a specific future number count, exactly where a market reversal of varying degree of magnitude should appear.

How do we know this? Simply because years of exhaustive historical research has proven that whether you’re looking at constructed charts from the last two centuries, the 1970’s or last week, the system would have worked exactly the same in each era…with exactly the same phenomenal results!

And remember, these are the very same timing count numbers confirmed historically and through study of the scriptures to have proven and very definite reversal energy associated with them. Believe me…after learning the Kenison Counting Numbers market timing method, you will never look at a price chart the same again.

I was also extremely gratified to learn through decades of ongoing research that Kenison Counting Numbers work equally well in projecting future reversal points in every market, irregardless of whether it’s a futures, options, stock, forex or cash market…anywhere in the world!

How Kenison Counting Numbers Work…

This totally unique and extremely powerful method’s ability to project important market highs and lows…in the future is uncanny. How does it do it? After decades of personal research, I have identified the exact irregular number sequence the market itself observes. Just count the bars on a price chart forward from any market high or low point in the past and the Kenison Counting Numbers will tell you exactly on which numbers in the sequence you should expect powerful reversal energy to be exposed…in the future…and with a very high degree of reliability! This allows traders to anticipate, confirm and then act on potentially profitable trading turns that others don’t even see coming…or have the slightest idea even exist!

There is nothing subjective about this analysis…it’s entirely objective. It gives you no nonsense exact entry and exit points with close-in and automatic stop loss points. And for the charts you need? They’re free on the internet!

One other thing should be stressed. This is strictly eyeball to chart analysis. No complicated software program or mathematical calculation is ever necessary. With this new life long knowledge, you can spend just moments with a price chart and know with total confidence what your course of action should be…and know with absolute clarity what the risks are…all in advance!

There’s no need to check with anyone first…you’re the expert! Why? Because when you understand this market timing method you’ll know with quiet confidence what the market itself is telling you about current trends and potentially explosive turning points…and exactly when to expect them!

When you see how by simply counting forward and backward in time from important high or low points in the past, you can project important reversal points in the future…believe me, you’ll be hooked! I’ve been hooked now for over 30 years and I’m still fascinated on a daily basis as I watch these turns occur like clockwork in timing windows projected weeks and even months before!

Traders can become expert in using all 40 of the unbelievably powerful Kenison Counting Numbers to project forward in time to exactly where reversal energy will be exposed…in the future!

One of the most impressive Kenison Counting Numbers is represented by Zone 14…especially, when using our simple triangulation techniques in combination with other counting numbers to project powerful conjunction and convergence reversal zones…reversals which begin extremely dynamic high-velocity directional market moves! Other traders marvel at windfall profits that seem to come out of nowhere. Kenison Counting Numbers is the tool that alerts you beforehand thereby allowing you the opportunity to profit from these explosive market moves!

When investors and traders investigate this precision market timing method, they are amazed to discover the natural and irregular rhythm identified in the markets…a rhythm that is constant and traces out exactly the same pattern for all markets worldwide! It’s shocking to see how invariably reversals occur on the same number counts in the Kenison Counting Numbers sequence…over and over again.

And now another amazing fact concerning the Kenison Counting Numbers method…it holds true no matter what time frame you’re looking at! As we already know if you apply the system to a daily chart, you will project daily reversals. But surprisingly, If you also apply it to a weekly chart, you will project weekly reversal points into the future. In fact, the same Kenison Counting Numbers sequence works equally well when applied to monthly, weekly, daily or intra-day charts!

It was exactly at this point that another phenomenal discovery was made. I discovered that you could determine the most likely actual reversal day, week or month within each reversal zone by using the Kenison Counting Numbers to count backward in time from each of the three days, weeks or months within each reversal zone. How does this work? Quite simply, when you count backwards in the fashion mentioned above, you will notice that significant high and low points…in the past…fall exactly on specific number counts in the Kenison Counting Number sequence…but only if you are counting backwards from the most likely actual future day, week or month where the market will reverse! As I witnessed this mirror image or echo effect in action, I realized this is truly a miracle!

This is absolutely astounding when you realize that by counting forward or backwards in time reversal energy is exposed on the same number counts in the Kenison Counting Numbers sequence irregardless of whether you’re counting months, weeks, days or 15 minute intervals on an intra-day price chart! Witness this system in action in real markets in real time and you’ll be totally amazed at the magnitude of this discovery…I guarantee it!

Ways To Market Instead Of Using News Release Services

Years ago, a press release was the best tool to use if you want your story to be picked up by media outlets. This is still what many new business owners believe which is why their first thought in marketing their company is by sending out a press release.

The question is, do journalists actually read them today? People rarely read nowadays so it might be time to consider new ways to market instead of using news release services.

The competition for a journalists’ attention is pretty stiff, almost everyone is vying for the much-coveted pick up by news reporters and be used as their next big scoop.

There are DIY methods that are also effective in getting media mileage. Let’s take a look at some of them.

You need to build relationships with your target journalists and editors. Start coming up with pitches that are personalized. Doing this will show the journalist that you did your homework in researching about them and their publication. It takes time and effort to do this and journalists appreciate this being done for them. A pitch that is targeted to their publications audience is heaven sent because it makes their job a lot easier.

Find out the name of your target journalist and make a pitch that is personal to him or her. Don’t send copy and paste pitches that are impersonal. Know more about the journalist and how your content will help him and the publication that he is working for. Show interest in his work by coming up with an introduction that you have read his work.

Use a subject line that can get attract attention. Don’t use generic “For your information” or “To whom it may concern.”

You can format your email as a blog post or article. Break the ice by being conversational, try to tell a story. Tag your email with keywords and include a link to your company website.

Before you send your email pitch, try to engage the journalist by sending a tweet. You can also turn your email content into one or two tweets. After sending your tweet material, you can follow up with your email pitch.

You can also try sending a message on Facebook. Add known journalists and influencers to your Facebook friends list. Start engaging by following them, liking their posts and commenting.

If you have the guts to do it, you can give a journalist a phone call to see if they are interested with your release. This will save you a lot of time and effort, getting a positive or negative reply will help you focus your efforts to other journalists or build upon what you have already started.

Why not go a step further and meet up with the journalist over coffee and make your pitch face to face. There are journalists who would take advantage of this invitation as a way to get out of their offices.

If you have built a relationship with the right reporter then you can reap the benefits of that relationship by giving an exclusive story. Reporters love getting exclusives which are newsworthy and relevant. Once they write your story there is a huge chance that you will get publicity on a lot of other publications. You get to achieve PR results without having to write a press release.

There is a trend of people preferring to watch videos than reading. There are over 500 million people watching videos on Facebook every day. A quick video can take the place of a free press release distribution and get better results. You can start sharing your video on the various social media platforms for better exposure.

Marketing Under Pressure – A Look at How the Current Economic Climate is Impacting the Way We Market

As recession begins to bite hard, ‘spending’ is the watchword of the moment. While the government introduces financial initiatives designed to encourage higher spending, people and businesses are looking for ways to cut their budgets. Despite the recent reduction in VAT and government appeals to banks to increase lending, businesses can’t ignore the lower revenue figures as customers retreat in large numbers.

In times of financial uncertainty, a review of business operations will highlight those functions deemed non-essential or over-resourced. Historically marketing is usually among the first to be culled. It is not a well understood discipline and invariably its implementation is lacking. By and large, it is seen more as a cost centre than a revenue generator, working to bring new sales leads to the business. Properly conceived, planned and implemented marketing strategies can raise an organisation’s profile in the marketplace, in turn strengthening brand awareness and loyalty, all of which eventually leads to more customers and ultimately more revenue.

That said, here are a few words of warning. Cutting your marketing budget without thought to the business impact can be devastating. Experienced marketers know this but are under pressure to reduce spending nevertheless, and never more so than now. Conversely, there are those organisations that hold marketing up as one of the tenets of business success in all weather. These are the companies that believe if you throw enough money at marketing, eventually more customers will come and the coffers will start to fill. But without a plan behind the intent, this approach is simply a waste of money and potentially fatal to the business. There is another way.

It is accepted wisdom that marketing is essential to a prosperous business. But is it possible to maintain marketing effectiveness on an ever-decreasing budget? To answer this question, we first need to understand three things: what exactly is marketing these days, why is it so important anyway and how is it changing?

MARKETING’S EVER INCREASING IMPORTANCE

To the uninitiated, marketing is a synonym for a wide range of disciplines and activities that somehow fall into the same bucket: advertising, public relations, exhibitions, promotions. It’s true that marketing covers all of these and many others, but what actually is it?

Marketing is essentially project management in disguise and has already been functioning well through outsourcing for a significant period of time. The proliferation of marketing activity, widening supplier resources and the increasingly short term view of the role of the marketing director have all combined to create the right environment for outsourcing marketing from the strategic through the bottom line operational level.

As recently as ten years ago, certain businesses did not need to market themselves as we understand it today. Businesses such as estate agents, housing developers and banks simply opened their doors and customers would come to them, ready to buy. These businesses saw marketing as a way to rise above the competition, but there was still essentially plenty of business for all of them. However, as markets have fractured and changed, the competition has become ever more fierce and new business models are continuously being developed. On top of that, in the current economic climate it is these traditional pillars of the economy that are suffering the most.

In light of these circumstances, marketing has taken on a new importance. It has become paramount not just to business success but also to business survival. Brand presence in itself is no longer enough. It is continuous brand strengthening and communication through robust marketing strategies that forms the foundation.

Ultimately though, marketing is about understanding your customers and your market. What have you got to sell, who are you trying to sell it to, and what is the best way reach them? In addressing these issues, the successful marketing programme will cover market research, define the most appropriate channels to market and the most effective media to reach the right audience, and articulate why the market should buy from them. This last point is the cornerstone to success marketing, otherwise known as the ‘Unique Selling Proposition’

Having outlined what marketing is and why it’s so important, surely it would be simple enough to work out a plan and execute it. Unfortunately for marketers everywhere, this is easier said than done. Why? Because marketing is undergoing radical change.

THE CHANGING FACE OF MARKETING

Since the dawn of the Internet age, online marketing has unfolded at an alarming rate. At no time is this more true than today. With the advent of the so-called ‘Web 2.0’ over the last few years, social networking has seen a proliferation of new tools and online media have opened up new and diffuse channels to market. Marketing today is in many ways unrecognisable from the discipline it was, even ten short years ago.

This change has brought increasing complexity to strategic marketing and planning. Internal marketing departments are being spread more thinly, relying increasingly on a growing list of supporting agencies each dedicated to a particular marketing activity. It has also meant that marketing managers and executives have taken on more of project management role as they supervise and coordinate an abundance of outsourced activities. Similarly, the marketing director’s role has become fundamentally project-based. Marketing directors are often tasked with a series of strategic restructures as the business continually morphs to adapt to its market. This has imbued the role with a short-term outlook, such that today it is unusual for a marketing director to stay with an organisation for more than two years before moving on.

In finding a solution to the challenge of achieving effective marketing on a strict budget, it is worth noting that the prevalent marketing agency landscape developed out of necessity, not through careful planning. Outsourcing on a piecemeal basis is not a cost effective formula. It has been technology driven, not marketing driven. And there are a few fundamental issues with this approach. Firstly marketing executives do not ordinarily make good project managers. They lack the advanced skills required to integrate and synchronise a myriad online and offline activities into a single, mutually supportive workflow.

Outsourcing marketing functions is not a new concept. In fact it is a tried and tested way to quickly reduce costs by moving core functions outside of the organisation. It was first widely applied to customer service through call centres. However sales and marketing departments quickly discovered that if you outsource on a purely tactical basis, it can backfire on your business. It is important to build in strategic processes and controls to maintain service quality. The challenge for marketing is how to achieve quality control across such a diverse and disparate range of activities. One answer could be to combine outsource partners with a project management team. Another approach is to integrate these functions and elevate the outsourcing relationship to a more strategic level. To identify the best approach, we need to understand ‘marketing integration’ and how this can create cost efficiencies.

INTEGRATING OFFLINE AND ONLINE MARKETING

While today every business considers having an online presence as a necessity, tomorrow it will be blogs, giveaway content in the form of PDF reports and email newsletters, online communities and social networking that will become essential to every marketing strategy, programme and campaign and not just the domain of the forward-thinkers.

These new ways of communicating with the market are moving seemingly further and further away from the real world. Aside from keeping up with developments, marketers are faced with the challenge of integrating online and offline channels so that they support and reinforce, rather than contradict each other.

On top of this, technology has levelled the playing field. Now anyone can try their hand at marketing. Publishing a newspaper or magazine is possible with a software programme and a broadband connection. Achieving professional quality media is now accessible to the man on the street. Similarly online marketing is open to everyone. However, the ability to market does not guarantee marketing success. Despite ease of online communication, the availability of tools for fast analysis of market data and the speed of digital delivery, superior marketing implementation can only be ensured when it is backed by a consistent business strategy and coordinated marketing programme. More importantly, integrating traditional offline marketing with the many disparate forms of tactical online activities in a strategic way will be essential to success.

COST EFFECTIVENESS IS MARKETING GOLD

As marketing agencies continue to proliferate and shift towards more and more specialised niches, it begins to make sense to consolidate the mainstream functions within an integrated framework. Logically, however, this would suggest higher internalised costs. To avoid these costs, without compromising effectiveness, suggests moving the mainstream function outside the organisation.

However, this makes little sense if executed at the tactical level. What is needed is a restructuring of the traditional outsourcing model so that the lines of communication are at board level. Strategic public relations and public affairs consultancies have worked this way for many years. The timing and conditions are now right for marketing to adopt this approach: to move from a tactical project management style to a higher-level strategic partnership with their outsourcers.

Put simply, modern outsourced marketing takes the accepted concept of interim management and retained agencies to a higher level. In an outsourced arrangement, highly skilled marketing consultants and managers liaise with specialist agencies to an agreed strategy and budget, in a well-constructed operating process to deliver on planned objectives and targets. By taking an holistic view from a brand perspective, outsourced marketing has the potential to lift the bar on performance and programme integration in a way that traditional marketing management finds hard to achieve within modern cost structures. Key to achieving this is integration of the internal marketing function at the strategic level of the business.

Outsourcing marketing execution is the traditional view taken by organisations when attempting to strip out costs, but within today’s marketing landscape this can only come at the expense of marketing effectiveness. Modern outsourcing should aim for strategic consistency across internal marketing functions. This has the additional benefit of placing overall responsibility and planning at an organisational level rather than with ultimately one departmental representative, the marketing director.

As a contractual arrangement, strategic outsourcing establishes common operating practices and reportage, which work in accordance with KPI measurements and agreed ROI indices. From a marketing perspective the strategic outsource model has the organisational intelligence necessary to achieve a balance mix of online activity and offline in an integrated manner.

CHOOSING A STRATEGIC OUTSOURCED MARKETING PARTNER

As a means of replacing high cost, high turnover internal function with a strategy partnership that communicates at board level, the outsourced marketing model has much offer. It is equally suited to growing companies that have yet to develop a marketing department as those that are downsizing. For those marketers working under the conditions accompanying a merger or acquisition situation, or companies and brands stripped of resource through administration, outsourced marketing also presents an attractive option.

If you decide that outsourced marketing is for you, you’ll want to ensure that you engage an outsourcer that agrees to a planning process that involves clear ROI and KPI objectives. Ideally this will be presented in the form of a marketing dashboard to allow a continuous evaluation performance on the fly. You should also be careful to select an outsource partner that can offer a complementary mix of senior consultants with skills that span all media and marketing channels. Naturally it is also critical that this experience covers both online and offline environments. Finally, it is important to assess whether your outsourcing partner can offer flexibility in its fee structure. For example, can it package a tailored launch service for an all-on cost but also provide supplementary services on a ‘top-up’ basis as and when required?

Cost savings are readily achievable with a fully outsourced marketing function, provided consultation is observed at board level. Since services are rendered on a ‘time block’ basis, it is easy to adjust the marketing resources ‘tap’ to whatever level suits the budget. Provided the partnership is structured correctly, marketing results should not be adversely affected. In fact, the enhanced planning and creative development process that comes through an outsourced arrangement can lead to improved marketing effectiveness and sales performance that proves to be as valuable as lower marketing costs.

Marketing Outsources is the UK’s first specialist organisation, which offers both in company management with external creative and production services to provide full executive resources and a planned programme of activity. Implemented at a substantially lower cost yet with an improved performance, making the most of technology and better planning and faster working.

With Marketing Outsources you get a topflight director just when you need the strategy and creative direction with board level input to overall company growth, backed with experienced marketing managers.

Marketing Outsources can deliver and implement your marketing strategy through a group of expert and experienced suppliers, embracing the benefits of new technology, whilst balancing online and offline spending to optimum effect.

Hindi EBooks, India and the EBook Market Revolution

Market potential for eBook sales in India is immense but are Indians embracing eBooks and how is this influenced?

As at June 2011 a reported 850 million Indians were mobile phone subscribers with a projected rise to 1 billion by 2013 which will rival China.

Reports suggest that approximately 100 million Indians were internet users at the beginning of 2011 which represents a mere 8% of the population but still placed India 3rd in the world league table of users but with one of the world`s lowest internet penetration rates. At June 2011 less than 1% of the population were Broadband users.

Clearly, on a simplistic numbers analysis, the potential for manifold growth of Indian internet consumers is vast but how does this sit with the evolving e-book market?

To date, the volume of Indian eBook purchases has been steady and developing rather than explosive, in line with many other countries who have been slow starters. There have been limiting factors such as prohibitive cost and inaccessibility to e-reading devices, the lack of a broadband service with adequate internet speeds to service fast download and scarcity of published eBook titles due to squabbles between authors and other vested parties and publishers slow to convert their catalogues to the digital version. However, these market dynamics are changing as competition intensifies and more platforms to download and read eBooks are introduced. PC tablets, smartphones and a variety of specialist e-readers are bringing consumer choice to market which can only benefit pricing. As India rolls out its broadband program, faster internet speeds are being integrated. A much wider selection of eBook titles will come to market as eBook publishing houses,authors,agents and retailers reach agreement on the financial fundamentals.

Indians generally have become conversant with developing e-commerce in the form of e-newsletters,e-marketing,e-newspapers and aspects of e-learning. The concept of an eBook presents a different dilemma as it is a personal choice reading medium which does not offer the physical `feel` of a paperback book and, to some, will sit uncomfortably with their traditional reading habits and rationale. Some will be reticent to change and others will embrace. In many respects the eBook revolution mirrors that of the music industry a few years back when it would have been unthinkable to consider that downloading a song or album to an mp3 player could essentially replace the music CD.Could the eBook replace the paperback?

If we examine a sector of the current market say Hindi eBooks you will find a wide range of subject matter both in English and the native Hindi language word covering categories such as Hinduism for children, The Holy books of Hinduism, Hindi early stage learning eBooks for children and a multitude of Hindi verses, poems and scriptures. Educational eBooks download is a particular favorite where medical, accounting and engineering eBooks are popular. The entertainment and leisure industry is also well represented with eBook titles covering Bollywood, cricket, autobiographies, an array of Indian cooking recipe eBooks, fiction and non-fiction, to name just a few.

The current `eBook India` market is being driven by young Indian students, professionals and parents, who recognise that modernity in the shape of digital reading for learning,education and entertainment can co-exist or enhance traditional methods without compromising cultural values, beliefs and faiths. Their recognition of the eBook age lies not only in their thirst for keeping pace with technological advancement (and parity with their children’s development) but also that e-reading passes the practicality and immediacy test-crucial for today’s fast paced world. They see value in the merits of a portable lightweight reading device that can store a whole library of books and can be topped up with a download in minutes. These groups are discerning and driven and will continue to be the catalyst for growth in the eBook market.

Currently the US and UK markets lead the way. Amazon.com reports that the US business has sold 3 times as many eBooks in 2011 as the same period in 2010 and that eBooks are now outselling paper and hard backs combined. Since April 2011, Amazon.co.uk reports that for every 100 hard backs it sells 240 eBooks.

As the ingredients fall into place for the Indian eBook market, the expectation is of rapid consumer growth and whilst there will always be a place for traditional means, digital advancement is unrelenting and all absorbing.

How to Market Your Business During Your Lunch Hour

As a publicist and marketing expert I’ve worked with a number of doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and authors in their marketing efforts. I’ve used practically every form of marketing method from public relations and advertising to internet marketing and direct mail. You name the medium; I’ve done it… that includes banner towing planes, hot air balloons and highway billboards. But when you’re the owner of a small business and captain of your own ship, money is tight and every minute counts so you need to maximize both time and money to the fullest. So, looking at an area that most people just slough off, I am here to tell you how to Market Your Business During Your Lunch Hour.

I’ve come up with a few things you can do over the lunch hour to promote your business. Here we go:

1. Never have lunch alone. Network with top execs, current clients, people who can influence others, everyone from the pastor at the church to the head of the Chamber of Commerce. Make a list and keep your lunch calendar full. Let’s face it, everyone has to eat lunch and if you’re buying most people would eat with anyone!

2. Write one article a week. Everyone has expertise on certain subjects related to their field. Write a 600-1000 word article about a focused topic. First come up with a list of topics you want to write about. Then set a goal to have them completed by a certain date; one a week works for me. If you don’t have time, hire a ghost writer (you still get to put your name on it). Where do you find a ghost writer? Check your local newspaper; chances are there’s a writer who’d like to pick up some extra cash. Can’t work with someone so close to home, go two towns away to that community’s newspaper. Or, check out this online resource at: http://www.writeittight.com. Then publish the articles on the internet using sites like [http://www.arrivenet.com]. Why should you go through all this trouble? It’s simple. People search online for the solution to their problem or for someone or something that can solve their problem. Once someone reads your article they are “pre-sold” on your ability to do the same for them, then they contact you.

3. Create or improve your web site. There’s a ton of business out there online, but if your website looks ancient, then there goes your credibility. So, make sure it’s up to date, has the new articles you just wrote and that you’ve optimized it so search engines can find you. Worse yet, if you don’t have a web site, better spend more than your lunch hour creating one. There’s really nothing more important than creating a web site for your business. Want a top notch site? Check out the web design services at http://www.marketingsuccess.com

4. Take an online marketing class. If you are eating a sandwich at your desk then sign up for Google’s Pay Per Click (PPC) tutorial and become a master at PPC. Go to Google PPC Tutorial and check out how you can generate new leads via your web site using Pay Per Click marketing. Few things you could do with your time will pay bigger rewards.

5. Speak at your local service clubs noon time meeting. Every service club i.e. Rotary, Kiwanis, Women’s Club etc, need a speaker. Even if you talk about your hobby, a charity you support or something outside your area of expertise people are getting to know you. People like to do business with someone they know and can trust. Personally I talk about my hot air balloon flights in Michigan and my exploits around the world. Most people find it very interesting and it allows people to get to know me better.

The Bottom Line: Your lunch hour is a terrible thing to waste. Put it to good use and watch your business grow and prosper.

One more thing. If you think working through your lunch is a little insane then you’ll find a sympathetic ear in a new book by Washington DC business coach Lisa Whaley. The title says it all: “Prisoners of Technology, Time to Get Unplugged!” Lisa says instead of making life easier, technology has introduced complexity. Instead of giving us more time with family, technology has pulled family members away from each other and toward their devices. Maybe she has a point! But, hey I am working through my lunch, how about you?

Internet Marketing Ideas – How to Market Your Business Online

Marketing your business online is one of the important things that businesses can opt these days. With people now searching online for the products they want to buy, and many people are even doing their shopping online. If you want to bring your business online, you have to learn some internet marketing ideas to help you market your business.

Here are some internet marketing ideas that you may want to make use in promoting your business online.

– Create a professional looking website for your business. If you want to attract the attention of online readers and create a good impression for your potential customers, make a website that reflects professionalism. Make sure that you have well-edited website content, colors that are not too glaring but not too dull as well.

– Get yourself a good domain name. With the many heaps of websites now existing on the internet, it is important that your website can be seen easily seen by online readers. A good domain name that represents your business well can be a good marketing idea. You can buy a good domain name with minimal fee including site maintenance.

– Make your website user friendly and easy to navigate. One of the basic considerations in making a good website for your business is to make it easy and convenient for your readers.

– Create a good keyword list. Keywords are your keys to getting noticed online as well. Make sure however that you get the right keyword or key phrases that best describes your business. It is important to note that your keywords can determine your success in promoting our business online, so make sure you research on this aspect. If you opt to advertise your business on the search engines, poor choice of keywords can lose you a lot of money, so make sure you get a good list of keywords for your business.

– Optimize your website for the search engines. If you want to be seen online, one of the basic and most important internet marketing ideas that you should not forget is to make sure that your website is visible in the search engines. Add keyword-rich content, optimize your meta-tags, and advertise on the search engine results page. Google AdWords is one tool to help you promote your website to the search engine results page, but as mentioned, always make sure you have the right keywords for your online advertising.

– Advertise in other related websites. Aside from the search engines, other internet marketing ideas that may be useful in promoting your business online is to advertise online in other people’s websites that are related to yours. If your business is about sports wear and equipment, you may want to advertise your site in sports website.

– Create your business e-mail, set up auto-responders and don’t forget to add a ‘Contact Us’ form in your business website. Another important things in business is to make our customers feel that they can always count on us even after their purchase.

How To Market Your Business Website

When you build a website, you have very powerful marketing collateral that you can use to get more business than you ever thought possible.

It doesn’t matter if you have a bricks-and-mortar business or a completely online business here’s how to market your business website, both online and offline.

Blogging Content

The more relevant content in the form of blogs you can put on your website, the more traffic you’ll get to your website. You don’t want the content to go up all at once. You want it to go a little at a time so that the search engines grab it, and so that you get a steady trickle of traffic every day.

Social Media Networks

When you write a blog post or add any content to your site, let people know on all your social media networks about the new content. Try to make each update to social media slightly unique so that it doesn’t look like just the same thing all the time. Each network has its own unique appearance and personality. Just match your blurbs with each network.

QR Codes

These are those funny square things that you can use your smartphone to take a picture of and grab the information. A QR code can take your customer or contact to a newsletter sign-up page or just your webpage. It’s up to you.

Pay Per Click

All search engines, plus most social media networks, allow you to do some form of pay-per-click marketing. The easiest and best one to use is Facebook. You can design an advertisement and target it in the minutest way possible to get the most convertible clicks.

SEO

Search engine optimization should be your first go-to marketing method for your website. SEO involves ensuring that you have the right content on your site, using the right keywords and in the right order for the best results. SEO also happens off your website and is called off-page SEO. This means that you find ways to produce material that provides a link back to your website.

Sponsorships

Locally and internationally there are always sponsorship opportunities available where you can help put on an event, support a charity, or combine resources with other businesses offering complementary items to your audience. The end result is more traffic to your website.

Marketing your business website is an important part of having a business. If you want people to find out about your business, the website is essential.