Web Financial Marketing

Archive for the ‘Credit And Lending’ Category

For most of my life I have worked for a company and, whilst I have made some good money, I have never felt 100% secure in my position or felt fully rewarded for my efforts. It has always been a dream of mine to have my own business and work for myself.In the early 90’s I made one foray into a business partnership which lasted about a year before I was betrayed by my business partner. In 2001, the company I worked for was putting people off again and, while I was not one of the unfortunate people to be made redundant, it did get me thinking again about my future and so I decided to make a complete break. I had some money and so an early retirement seamed like a possibility if I could find an business opportunity that would suit me.

My plan was to use my technical and teaching skills in the computer industry to contract myself out and thus have control over my work and schedule. I was in no hurry, I could take six months or a year break and then get back to work after a well earned rest. Or so I thought. My timing was lousy. The computer industry was in a slump. Companies were laying people off all around the world and nobody needed my skills any more.So, I was living in Thailand at the time, and I managed to get involved in running a pub and restaurant which was great for a while. Then things got tough. The economy took a dive and my business followed. It’s amazing how fast you get through the money when your business is on the way down. Another attempt to start and run a business met with similar results, again good idea but bad economy and bad timing.

My conclusion is that, even with good ideas, some skills, and money, it is not easy to make a business work and turn a profit and make a good living. The risks are great and there are many unforeseen problems, running your own business requires a lot more knowledge and preparation than meets the eye. I guess that if I had more money, I could keep trying and would eventually succeed but unfortunately I don’t have that luxury.That brings me to the internet. After spending a year or so looking around and trying this and that, I have found that here, with an internet business, it is possible to start very small with very little outlay and build a business that can provide quite a good living. In fact many people are making millions from their internet businesses. Of course, it takes time to learn the ropes and find your particular style of business but, if you take your time and don’t jump in too quickly, there is far less risk than traditional styles of business.

Here are 5 Money-Making ideas to survive the recession.

1. Buy Low, Sell High

There are always opportunities to make extra cash. If there is something, ANYTHING, that you can buy that may be undervalued? Well, it is in your best interest to buy it. You can always resell the undervalued products. Don’t limit your possibilities and do as much research as possible. Comb though eBay, Craigslist, Google, Chic Thrift Stores and any other place where you can purchase items below market value. Look for items that you can buy in bulk that may not be available in your area and sell, sell, sell.

2. Sell Yourself

Do you possess any special talents that might be useful to someone else? Sell what you love to do! Create unique items and market them. Create Mixtapes for your friends. Teach kids how to play ball. Go grocery shopping for elderly neighbors, make a business of it. Be a personal trainer. Can you make beats? Learn How To. Do school assignments for someone else, especially if its something your good at. Stop being lazy, if there is something that you can make at little or no money and gain up to 500% profits, why wouldn’t you do it?

3. Plan Get Aways

You don’t have to travel far from home. Rent a limo, book some hotel rooms and tour the clubs of a close but popular hot spot. You can plan single night trips where you enjoy a night of VIP club hopping. Start with Dinner or a local event such as a concert. Buy tickets, hotel rooms and any other items in bulk whenever possible, add a unique element or theme to the event, plan parties for friends, but most of all keep your promises and have fun.

4. Hook it up

If you have connections to the right people, sell them. Put two people together for a cost. Charge a finders fee. If there is a tangible item (something physical) involved try to bargain with both the buyer and seller. If one of your friends has rims for sale and your other friend is looking for rims. Buy the rims from the seller for the lowest price at which they would sell and sell them to the buyer at a profit. Even if you only make 80 buck$, you didn’t spend a dime.

5. Educate Yourself

There is nothing better to do in these tough times than to educate yourself. Go back to school, learn a trade, pick up a hobby, join in on the ways your friends make money. Try to gain knowledge that will eventually make you money and make you indispensable. Don’t be scared to ask about things that interest you. Get your life in order by taking control of your mind.

“We need to revamp our marketing for our financial advisory practice and start doing something, anything consistently to generate consistent results,” Desperate Marketer wrote in an email.

He continued, “Seminars aren’t generating results for financial advisors in our area. As a matter of fact, we stopped them completely in July, 2007. I need to be building something that will help us stand out and build our client base to support the continuation of our business.”

If Not Seminars, What?

“Seminars aren’t working,” is a familiar complaint. What can work?

A dicey way to build a practice is to grasp at one marketing tool after another in the hopes that the next one will work. The safer, strategic way is to prepare a good road map. That’s where a marketing plan comes in.

The plan starts with your prospects, but not just any prospects. You’re looking for your Ideal Prospects. They are the people you really want to attract, and you don’t care about others who are not like them. A clear portrait of your Ideal Prospects focuses your marketing plan superbly.

A vital question for financial advisors is, “How can I as a financial advisor make my prospects’ lives easier?” This example came from a client, an independent advisor. Recently, she competed with top advisors from Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, and Smith Barney to advise a non-profit foundation in her area.

She won out because she pinpointed the foundation’s needs and answered every one of their questions. The others only guessed. Her service on numerous non-profit boards and her 20 years of experience as an investment management consultant to non-profits routed her competition.