Helpful Tips and Facts on Educational Toys

All of us went through our childhood. It is a milestone in our lives where in we are a little less care free and we tend to do the things within our comfort zones. Playing has a considerable impact in our lives. Now, that some of us has assumed the role of a parent, we must understand why kids must play and how they will play as well as how to develop the cognitive faculty of our kids through playing. Read along to find some helpful tips and tidbits about playing and educational toys for our children.

*Playing and Development – The connection in between.

Playing is a very significant factor in the development of our personalities and personhood during the childhood years. Playing can be a perfect method where in kids can practice being a grown up. During plays, children can assume adult roles and grown up responsibilities. Children can have the chance on how to act like adults without the “real responsibilities and risks” o being an adult. They can explore on how to react and interact to situations in conformity to what the society approves and what is right and just. In order for our kids to enjoy playing, toys are available for them to use. These toys are the tools which children use while playing. Anything that a child can safely play with can be a toy.

*Educational toys for a more worthwhile playing

Toys are available in toy stores in shopping centers and department stores. Parents would want to maximize the playing times of their children where in they can develop motor skills as well as the social skills of a child. In the last several years, parents have considered honing the mental and cognitive skills of their children to make playing times a more worthwhile leisure activity. With the desire of the parents to provide the best for their child, an educational toy is more preferred on top of all the wide array of toy options in the market.

*Educational toys in a nutshell

All of us know what educational toys are, but we often wonder what an educational toy is in its strictest sense or definition. Are there any standards to define that a toy can be considered as an educational toy? There is no concrete definition for an educational toy. However, what we came to know about educational toy is that it is a type of a toy which can help the kids to play and learn something while playing. What kids learn with educational toys can benefit them with something which can be of use to them in the future as they grow older. Learning while playing is possible but parents must be present during play times to guide their kids while playing. Parents must control the course of play to keep it educational for their kids.

*Educational toys can work wonders with your child

Educational toys are among the most preferred playing tools for children simply because it can make wonders with how our kids grow up. These types of toys will help kids realize some of the salient points in relating with others, conforming to the rules and strengthen personal beliefs and principles of children. These educational toys can help them comprehend how things work and in solving simple problems, these toys can also develop the movement of the kids in terms of synchronicity of movements as well as physical stamina. Educational toys can help your kids develop their imagination; define the differences among objects and persons.

We have learned a lot when it comes to educational toys. Thus it is best we keep ourselves abreast to helpful tips and facts on educational toys. We can assume our parenting roles in a less stressful way and we can enjoy quality time with our kids through worthwhile play.

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Detecting Home Based Business Fraud

For many people, working from home is an ideal solution to their problems. With jobs seeming harder to come by all the time, taking control of your work and finances seems more and more appealing. Starting a home based business is also ideal for parents with young children, who can thus earn money whilst avoiding high child-care costs. It can also work very well for the disabled. But, you must avoid frauds and deceptions, which are so prevalent on the internet.

The problem is that, as with so many other things, con artists are just waiting to prey on those who just want an independent income. Illegitimate home based businesses are out there in large and growing numbers.

How do you spot these deceptions? Often, the giveaway is unrealistic income figures. Are there people out there who earn thousands of dollars a day? Yes, but those people have worked very hard for it and built up their business over many years. Working from home does not mean you get to work for an hour or two a day and then play the rest of the time. If you want a full time income, you need to put in full time hours, or even more than that. The most common form of deception is to offer to sell you an eBook or a paid newsletter subscription. The scammer says that all of the secrets of his or her success and thousand dollar a day income are in the book. Needless to say, the book likely contains a few feel good comments and nothing useful. Others are trying to sell you a ‘starter kit’ for a ‘lucrative online business’. In most cases you can find all of the information these guys are selling for free.

Affiliate marketing frauds are also common. With these home based business frauds, the victim is conned out of hundreds of dollars in product that they then have to try and sell with no support or assistance. In some cases, the con artist is able to show a few genuine success stories – people who are very good at selling things can genuinely make a good living off the scheme. If you are interested in affiliate marketing, look for a reputable, established company and be aware that it requires a lot of skill and the right personality to be good at sales.

Avoid the classic envelope stuffing fraud. There’s no real job (companies have machines to do this these days), only an illegal pyramid scheme. Also, don’t accept advances on your pay. A lot of the time, they will then demand part of the money back…right before the check bounces.

Follow your instincts. A lot of the time, fraudulent home based businesses are obvious after the fact and the savvy person can learn to detect them easily. If your gut says something is not right, then it is not right. Networking with other people who work at home can help you determine which opportunities are real and which will only end in tears.

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Key Factors to Consider When Starting a Home Based Business Online

There are many home based business options available ranging from taking in laundry right up to trading in stocks and shares. The online business that you choose should focus around three key elements – Time, commitment and resources.Time – How much time do you have to commit to this business? Will you fit this in around your full time job or other commitments? Or will you be taking the plunge and invest all your time into it? Clearly the amount of time that you have to spend on your business will influence your choice.If you are looking at part time opportunities you might want to consider using the internet to start up a business. This way you would only need internet access and a computer to start off. For example you could become an affiliate marketer and earn commission for your sales. You should always do your due diligence and research so you make the right choices for you.If you are planning to go into business full time then there are likely to be more options available to you. If you have decided to start a home based business you are probably looking for something that will fit into your lifestyle. This way you can work when the kids are at school but you can have breakfast with them and read them a story at night. Start by looking at the various options available online.Commitment – Commitment will come if you are really passionate about the journey you are about to embark upon. Do you love the business you are thinking about and does it play to your strengths. This will help you stay committed when you hit obstacles along the way. If you have any doubts about the venture then it probably is not right for you.Resources – Your budget have will impact the choice of business that you can invest in. If you are thinking about an online business then you can take advantage of low cost marketing such as social media and article marketing. Many of the marketing methods online can be utilized for free. Whilst most home based businesses do not require much initial capital, it is wise to reinvest any initial profits that you make into marketing.There are many considerations when you are starting a home based business online, but if you have time, commitment

5 Tips on How to Market a Home Based Business Via Trade Shows

If you are looking for a great way to market a home based business, try becoming a vendor at a trade fair. When you attend a trade show you will be given a table where you get the opportunity to display your product or service to potential targeted customers who have specifically come to the trade show looking for products similar to yours. A Trade show is great because it is typically filled with other business people who understand business and could also be interested in becoming your business partner, so if done correctly it’s an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Since trade shows are filled with business owners if you happen to sell a product these customers will most likely be looking to buy on a larger scale potentially increasing your business volume and inevitably your bottom line. Once you finally make the decision to market your business many people, think that they have to attend those HUGE shows and invest tons of money. That’s not necessarily the case. There are many small local events that may be in your area that could potentially be JUST as effective for your home based business if not better. In fact, many of the smaller local events can be more cost effective, and at times more productive. People are often more eager to stop and talk at your booth for longer periods of time. This will allow you to build a better rapport with your potential client.A great way to find a trade show in your area is to start with a search at your neighborhood Chamber of Commerce. They should have a listing of events in your area. You can then contact the event planners for each event to get specific pricing for the booth spaces.Another idea when looking to market a home based business in your local area via trade shows is to, do a Google search for “trade shows [city]” or “expos [city]“. When you contact the coordinators for these events, ask if they know of any other upcoming events, since they are in the industry they may be better able to point you to some other exclusive events.Now that you are ready to market a home based business at a trade show; here are few tips to help you succeed:1. First impressions are everything; especially when marketing a home based business. Make sure you have a good looking booth. People are naturally attracted to what looks good. Have great attractive colors in your booth, have a large banner or sign so that you are not missed by anyone. Have images and picture stands of different heights to make it look interesting. Not confusing. Have your products displayed neatly on your table so that everything looks well managed and streamlined. Your display will tell a lot about you as a business owner.2. Be fully stocked. Trade shows are mainly business events people may want to purchase your products right there, make sure that your booth is fully stocked with your products. Even if they are not displayed all at once always be prepared for buyers. You can get an idea of how many products to bring by asking the event coordinator the amount of attendee he/she expects. On that same note, be sure to have plenty of brochures, flyers and business cards. That provides information about your business and products. Even if people don’t purchase they will always take a brochure.3. Give the attendee some type of incentive to come to your booth, a good way is to give away some sort of free item, for everyone such as a bowl of candy or free goodie bags with a key chain or pen with your business name on it. People will be more inclined to come to your booth for something free that they are almost guaranteed to get. If you give away a goodie bag for example, it will keep people standing at your booth longer because people will always stand in line for free stuff! It helps to keep people for just a little bit longer.4. Have an inviting and interactive display. If you are allowed to have music, you can have soft inviting music to make people feel relaxed once they get into your booth. Music should be low background music, not load head banging music. Have as many sample products on hand if possible. Do demonstrations, show how it’s used. Make your display and booth interesting. The goal is to have people come in and stay so you have a chance to have a conversation.5. Have a free raffle giveaway. Raffle off a product or service from your business. Have contact information forms, in order to be eligible for the raffle, they have to fill out their information. This way you can capture information of potential future customers or business partners. Include spots for people to mark if they would like to learn more about your product or the business opportunity as well. Make sure to follow up in a timely manner.Events are a FANTASTIC way to collect contact information, get information in to people instantly, and converse with people about your business. If the cost is an issue, consider sharing the booth with another member of your team or another noncompeting business. Just remember, you’ll need to share the leads as well.

Network Marketing Home Business is the Trend of Online Home Based Business Today

There are 2 things home based working moms must consider for an online home based business:-
Superior products or services
Online marketing strategyIt is not easy for home based working moms to work alone especially when they have no experience in running online home based business. Network marketing home business is the solution. They can get superior products as well as learn online marketing strategy from a network marketing group. Network marketing home business has gone one level higher with the internet and technology. With this home business model, one can harness on the power of team besides earning residual income. There are 3 factors to consider before you decide to join a network marketing group:-1. The right products. The products must be superior, affordable, essential and available worldwide. The quality of products must be exceptional, above that of commercial products in the market, but affordable to most people. The products must be essential products that people use daily and there is a growing trend to eco friendly products which are biodegradable and use natural ingredients. If the products are made available worldwide, they can be marketed to a larger group of people.2. A great marketing strategy. The strategy is about marketing products to direct consumers and recruiting them to be loyal consumers. The wider the network, the better it is. With an online marketing strategy, one can market the products to a lot of people worldwide over the net thus widening the network and it is faster too. Tools like Facebook can help one find new prospect whereas Skype provides a platform for one to meet and discuss as well as to educate the prospects on the products via webinar or online presentation.3. A good team. This is more important than the marketing strategy. A good network marketing group recruits committed people to be team members who will build the business together. The group will also conduct meetings and discussion among the members on how to generate leads. Besides that, members will educate each other on the tools like Facebook, blogs, etc. as well as strategies on online marketing. One can gain from the synergy of a good team.There is also the more advance MLM system to generate more leads and to enable a member to become a leader within a short period.

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The Best Home Based Business

What is the best home based business? This is a question that I am sure gets asked on forums and social networking sites throughout the web 1000s of times on a daily basis. What is the best home based business?It sounds like a simple question but the answer is far more complicated than the question. There are numerous factors that can influence the answer to that question. What is the definition of the best? Does the best mean the one that makes the most money, or the one that gives you the most free time, or the one that you can fit around your daily routine?If you are work from home mom, then you need a business that you can fit around the kids. Money is important to you but not as important as time. You need a business that fits in with school runs etc. If you are a young guy then money is probably more important to you than time. You don’t mind spending 16 hours a day on your home based business if you are earning 5k per week.So the best business home based business is only the best if it fits what the individual is looking for in a home based business. Another factor that needs to be taken into account is the cost to set up the business. Most home based businesses can be set up with 100s rather than 100s of pounds. Does the start up costs reflect the earning potential of the business? Is it true that the more you invest in your home based business the more money you are likely to make. I don’t think so, but a business that is started with a few 100 pounds is going to have limitations. At some point you are going to need to re invest more money to grow the business to the stage where it is making 1000s per week.I have started and been involved in many home based businesses, and the best one as far as I am concerned is currency trading, or Forex trading as most people know it. This is a home based business with relatively low start up costs, and it has the potential to make you a lot of money, and the hours are very flexible, so it is suitable for everyone. Its not an easy business to get into though and you have to spend a lot of time studying and learning how to trade correctly. You can do this on your own via the internet. There is lots of free information out there on Forex trading. Or if you want to fast track your learning you can employ a Forex mentor, or join a live trading room.

Small Business – When Government Stacks the Deck Against You

We expect a fair degree of corruption, arrogance and drooling self-interest from our elected officials. After all, in the last 206 years, we have fallen a great distance from the days of the “virtuous republic” that existed-or was thought to exist-in that first decade after the Revolution. Yes, we expect it, but I would have more respect for the operatives, the party-men and the politicos themselves if they could be just a little intelligent about it. The current issue with the Bush Administration, Congress, the SBA and the awarding of a great deal of money earmarked for small business, is a case in point.When Big Business Seems SmallIt is illegal, a felony that comes with fines and a prison term, to try to pass your big business off as a small business to get one of the 23% of Federal contracts reserved for small businesses. Yet, it happens all the time. According to the American Small Business League, a non-partisan watchdog group, some $60 billion in Federal contracts go to major corporations each year. How it happens brings us to the question of how you decide that a business is truly small.Counting HeadsWhat is a small business? How do you measure it? Is it revenue? Sales? Staff size? Any one of these could be a viable measure, but for the most part the matter is decided with staff size. Depending on the industry, you can have a maximum of 1,500 employees and still be considered a small business! (Federal Regulations Title 13, Part 121, Section 201)These larger “small businesses,” with 1,000 to 1,500 employees, deal in oil, aerospace, rail transportation, textiles, and chemical and rubber products. Wholesalers, regardless of their products, are capped at 100; information technology value-added resellers are capped at 150 (a very recent change) while the rest are capped at either 500 or 750. In 2005 (the most recent data available), there were 5,966,069 firms in the U.S. with 500 or fewer employees and they employed 58,644,585 people out of a total employment of 116,373,003. That is 50.3% of the working population working in what could easily be described as legitimately small businesses. If you add up the firms with larger numbers of employees, you find that there are 11,546 of them and that they employ 9,475,180 people, 8.14% of the workforce.Call me crazy, but a firm with 1,000 employees doesn’t seem to be very small to me! It may be small when compared to the giants in its industry, but it is a giant compared with the vast majority of small businesses. In 2004, there was an effort to bring the number of employees down from 500 to 100 for a business to be classified as small. In spite of a great deal of support for the measure-including U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), who said: “By working to change the definition of a small business for government contracts from 500 to 100 employees, federal contracts specifically designed to ensure the success of American small business would go where they belong – to support Americans, not big companies dressed in sheep’s clothing.”-the effort was killed by the SBA itself. That, however, is only the beginning. Another has to do with how small businesses are certified.Finding a Certified Small BusinessThe question of how many employees a small business can have is complicated even further when we see that the government has been rather lax in enforcing the contract award rules for small business. In fact, in 2005, some $49 billion in Federal contracts that were set aside for small business were actually awarded to the 13 largest government contractors. This lax enforcement has led to cases where the small business in question is actually a subsidiary of a much larger company, where businesses have outgrown their small business status, where big business misrepresents itself as a small business and where government procurement offices, such as with the military, simply disregard the rules and do business with who they like.The Small Business FrontTwo of the most prevalent ways that large companies can maintain a small business front are through the legal loopholes that allow a small business to retain its status throughout the life of its original contract-and bid on new business as a small business-no matter how large it grows and even after it is bought out by a large company.In either case, what the company in question is doing is, in fact, legal. Their actions are also limited by the fact that the loophole is based on the length of the small business’ initial contract. For example, if a small business wins a 10-year contract to provide computer hardware, it maintains its small business status for the full 10 years of the contract regardless of how large it grows or if some huge conglomerate buys it. This has been an issue for some time. Consider the following:According to a 2006 report on the U.S. Government Accountability Office: Commerce Information Technology Solutions (COMMITS) Next Generation Governmentwide Acquisition Contract, “We found that many of the 55 COMMITS NexGen contractors have grown significantly or have been acquired by larger businesses and may no longer meet small business size standards. We also found that a significant portion of the task orders intended for the smallest contractors were issued to larger, incumbent contractors.”Incumbent contractors tend to get the lion’s share of the government’s business. A 2004 SBA Office of Advocacy: Eagle Eye Publishers’ Report said that: “Of the top 1,000 small business contractors in FY 2002, Eagle Eye Publishers’ analysis found 44 parent companies it identified as either large firms or ‘other’. Contracts to these two groups taken together had a total value of $2 billion.” The report continued, saying that: “The Department of Defense and the General Services Administration accounted for 79 percent of the contract awards found to have gone to large businesses.” One of the conclusions drawn from the report was: “As a result of this lack of transparency, many awards that should be reserved for small firms go to large firms unchallenged.”Disregarding the RulesRules can be broken either directly, by a willful disregard on the part of those the rules were intended to regulate, such as a company that purposefully misidentifies itself as a small business in order to get a contract; or they can be broken indirectly by a lack of oversight and enforcement that creates an atmosphere in which the rules can be ignored. One of the problems sited against the SBA is oversight. “SBA did not review the majority of reported bundled contracts that we identified, though procuring activities must provide, and SBA must review proposed bundled acquisitions. As a result, 192 contracts identified by procuring agencies as bundled were awarded without SBA’s review. If all of these are actually bundled contracts, a minimum of $384 million would be potentially lost to eligible small businesses, based on minimum dollar reporting requirements of $2 million.” (SBA Office of Inspector General: Audit of the Contract Bundling Process, May 2005) And consider this from the SBA Office of Inspector General: Audit of Monitoring Compliance with 8(a) Business Development Contract Performance, March 2006:”Though SBA delegated 8(a) BD contract execution authority to 26 procuring agencies, SBA did not ensure that procuring agencies monitored whether companies complied with 8(a) BD regulations when completing 8(a) BD contracts . . . SBA has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that companies comply with 8(a) BD regulations”The SBA is the final oversight authority for these contract awards and yet through their lack of enforcement efforts, it is easy for large businesses to slip through. Why is this? There are two likely reasons. The first is that the Bush Administration, when it came into office, cut funding for the SBA. At the end of the Clinton Administration, the budget for the SBA was about $1.1 billion. By 2006 it was down to $456.5 million. Funding has increased since the 2006 low; for 2009, that number has increased to $657 million, mostly due to funding for disaster relief loans; but the agency has nowhere near the budget it used to have. Generally speaking, if you cut funds to an agency, certain things start to slip and that is not a message that the SBA, or the Bush Administration for that matter, want going public.However, it already has.An audit by the American Small Business League (ASBL) and two independent experts showed that even while the SBA was saying that it is a “myth that large companies, including large, multi-national corporations are taking away federal contracts specifically intended for small businesses,” it was discovered that the Bush Administration had in fact included billions of dollars in awards to Fortune 500 corporations and other large businesses in the United States and Europe in its small business contracting statistics. Also, the Bush Administration failed to comply with the congressionally mandated 23% small business contracting goal by including such corporate giants as:
Dyncorp
Battelle Memorial Institute
Hewlett Packard
Government Technology Services Inc (GTSI),
Bechtel
Lockheed Martin
General Dynamics
General Electric
Northstar Aerospace
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Raytheon.
British Aerospace Engineering Systems
Buhrmann NV (Dutch)
Thales (French)
More than that, ASBL’s research also found that the government was forced to systematically increase the volume of contracts awarded to small businesses in order to balance out those that were going to inappropriately large companies. In addition, awards to legitimate small businesses were systematically inflated to equalize the reduction of small business contract dollars awarded to Fortune 500 corporations. The ASBL found that according to SBA numbers, Circle B Enterprises Inc. received $887.5 million during 2005. However, the government’s own figures indicate that Circle B Enterprises Inc. received $287.5 million during 2005, which represents a discrepancy of $600 million. The ASBL audit found several other instances where the contracting numbers of legitimate small businesses were also significantly inflated.The Bottom LineThe government decided to play fast and loose with small business contract money and they got caught siphoning it off to some of the largest companies on Earth. There are those that will only see the damage that this will do to McCain in the fall, yet another Bush Administration failure/debacle/betrayal-whatever you like best. That, however, is not the point. The point is why was the SBA hamstrung and placed in the position it has been in by the Bush Administration? More than that, why has this abuse been allowed to go on for so long? Call me a political cynic-I am from Chicago so I come by it honestly-but the only thing that makes sense to me is that government officials are paying back the people with deep pockets who helped to get them elected and they are doing it at the expense of, well, YOU. True, paybacks are a time-honored political tradition, but by stealing the money from small business, the U.S. Government as a whole turned its back on the overwhelming number of U.S. employers and employees in favor of a handful of major corporations. I urge you, as a small business owner; and you as an employee of a small business, to write your senators and congressmen, and to write to each of the presidential candidates, McCain and Obama, and their respective party chairmen-Republican and Democrat alike, and tell them that you want this to stop. Remember, small business contract set-asides are for YOU, not major corporations. It is time to remind Washington of that.

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How to Know If You Have What it Takes to Be a Home Based Business Owner Answer These 7 Questions

Do you have a home based business or want to start a home based business? Who wouldn’t want to have large amounts of cash pouring in to their bank account from their home office? Who wouldn’t want thousand of loyal customers, to sell products and services to, from the convenience of their home? Who wouldn’t want more time with their family?

This is the joy of having and operating a home based business. There are literally thousands and thousands of people who make money at home and have the quality of life you are looking for. What does it take to be successful at your home based business? Are you the type of person who is ready for a home based business venture? If you are working a job right now and want to transition into having a home based business or if you want to improve your current home base business what does it take?

Answer these 7 questions and grade yourself on how you are doing right now. These questions are about how you can improve your business output. Grade yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) Be as honest as you can it will help you become more successful with your home based business aspirations. Get your paper and pen and let’s begin.

Do you have a big vision?
I have a big vision that drives and keeps me excited about my home based business. I am very excited all the time about my vision and my business. I have written my big vision on paper where I can see it. I know why I work my home based business and I know who it will benefit when I am as successful and produce my vision. Grade yourself 1 to 10

Do you have a big business community network that you work with?
I understand that my network = my net worth. I have a lot of business colleagues that I work with on a daily basis. We utilize and share information so that we can, find untapped markets, open new territories, bring in new customers over night and generate website traffic and share profits. We do not need the help of a bank loan or line of credit to run our home based business. We utilize joint venture strategies to help us all succeed as entrepreneurs. I don’t feel as if I work alone, I am part of a community of entrepreneurs who work together. Grade yourself 1 to 10

Do you have strong self-command?
I do not let any news or challenges stop me from my home based business goals. No one has command over my feelings but me. I tell myself uplifting inspiring thoughts about my ability to run a business from my home everyday. I focus only on the out come I want for me and my family. I spend part of everyday visualizing my big vision and my end results. I follow through on what I say I am going to do that day. Grade yourself 1-10

Do you have a place you can go to get new customers or clients?
When I need new clients I utilize my business community network and am introduced to someone who has a big data base, full of thousands of customer, who is looking for a new product to market to that data base. We create a joint venture and I provide that new product. I receive new clients as well as splitting the profits between myself and my business colleague. I joint venture twice a month so that I build my home base business quickly. Grade yourself 1 to 10

Are you a possibility thinker?
I do not spend time worrying, complaining or fearing about what to do with my home base business. I take action. I am a solution seeker. When I run up against an unknown problem I will explore options and implement those tools and solutions that will catalyze my home base business dreams. I do not indulge in limited negative thinking. I do not let other use lack, limited or negative thinking around me either. I am open to all possibilities and solutions. Grade yourself 1 to 10

Are you organized with your day?
I make a list of what I need to get done for the next day, the night before. I work a schedule just as I would if I were an employee, whether I work full time or part time at my home based business. I make my hourly schedule of when I will work and I stick to it. I know where all my files, papers and tools I will need are. I work effectively during the hours I set aside to work my home based business. I work at the things that will generate cash for me and my family.

Do you utilize marketing strategies that are low cost and effective?
I run my home based business lean and mean. I do not use my resources to buy unnecessary marketing or advertising products when I can joint venture instead. I keep my costs down and my profits high. I know how to get supper affiliates to sell my product at no cost. I know how to optimize the referral market. I do not pay for leads or buy lists hoping to find clients. Grade yourself 1 to 10

The lowest score is a 7 the highest is a 70. You can see by the score and number where you need to improve your home based business skill sets. If you are starting your home based business or scored in the 7 to 55 range you may want to improve your business by learning about what a joint venture is and how you can explode your home based business sales using that tool.

Here is my last challenge to you. Give this test to your spouse and ask them to grade you without any reprisal from you. Then together you are on the same page and can explode your home base business dreams together. Sometimes just finding better solutions can help your home based business thrive.

The Art of Advertising For an Internet Broadcast Station

Running an Internet broadcast station requires a financial commitment regardless of its size. There are monthly expenditures for station operation that include : Internet access, media server bandwidth, studio equipment, computer hardware, and facilities costs.

The amount of money required to run an Internet broadcast station is dependent on the size of the broadcast operation. Some of these finances can be generated from audience donations, or program subscriptions, however this approach normally does not cover all incurred expenses.

Internet based advertising content can provide a reliable source for operating income. Broadcasters can place advertising on the station website, or within the broadcast itself. (This advertising content can be in audio or video format.)

Internet based advertising has matured into a very profitable and respectable business sector. The advertising content can be broad or narrow based. Broad based advertising is well suited for high traffic, large audience broadcast stations. Niche advertising markets have also proven to be very profitable. Niche advertising combined with niche media content has been been able to out perform broad based, high traffic advertising in some instances.

There are several things to consider prior to committing a broadcast station to a particular method of advertising.

These include :

Which media format the station will be offering – audio or video content?
(Advertising can be tailored to fit specific media formats.)

What is the target audience of the Internet broadcast station?
(These demographics are based on the media content that the station broadcasts in addition to analyzing the stations web site traffic.)

Which method of advertising is best suited for the Internet broadcast station’s financial goals?
(Will this be the primary or secondary source of income for station operation?)

Broadcasters should thoroughly research and test various advertising methods before finalizing their choice for a advertising format. A time frame of sixty to ninety days should be allowed for testing different advertising formats. It is very important to document these results, as this will allow the broadcast station to choose the best suited advertising format.

A well planned and executed advertising program can provide both valuable experience and operating income to an Internet broadcast station.

Advertising content for the actual Internet broadcast

Auction advertising
Advertising can be sold through direct Internet auctions. There are several online businesses that offer online auctions.

These include ebay.com and yahoo.com

Internet audio advertising broker
There are several advertising agencies that negotiate and sell audio advertising on affiliate Internet radio stations.

These include netradiosales.com and internetradiomarketing.com.

Internet video advertising broker
There are several advertising agencies that negotiate and sell video advertising on affiliate Internet video stations.

These include brightroll.com, vitalstream.com, instream.com and dynadco.com.

Advertising content for the station website

Video clip
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Monetary compensation is based on people watching web based video clips that contain advertising.

Click to call or text
(Currently Beta Testing)
Monetary compensation is based on people contacting various business partners using Google talk or Skype. The click to call or text message links are placed on web pages.

Contextual Advertising
Banner, image, text or video advertising that is placed on websites. The website content determines which advertising is presented.

These businesses provide webmaster with contextual advertising solutions:

AdSense advertising program
Yahoo advertising program
MSN advertising program

Banner Advertising Programs

Pay Per Click (PPC)
Monetary compensation is based on people clicking banner advertisements.
Banner agencies negotiate the payment per click rate with advertisers.
(Large variety of advertising sources to choose from.)

Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
(This method of banner advertising is best suited for high volume traffic websites.)
Monetary compensation is based on sales of advertising units per web page.
Banner advertising is sold in units of 1000 impressions.

Affiliate program
Monetary compensation is generated by providing referral sales.
(Most web hosting companies provide some form of sales program incentive.)

Website co-branding
Monetary compensation is generated by placing branded graphics or text on websites.

The Finer Points of Internet Auctions

WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?

Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.

The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.

The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.

The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.

HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!

The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.

There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.

Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.

HOW TO WIN!

Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.

The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.

The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.

The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.

HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!

Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.

Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.

Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.

CONCLUSION!

New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.

There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.

It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.

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