Hot Business & Money Posts

How To: Market a Self Storage Facility

Self-storage may not be a new industry, but it is one that is rapidly reshaping its operations to suit a progressively more modernized customer base. In order to stay competitive with your self-storage facility, you'll need to keep an open mind, embrace current marketing trends, and most importantly, have a well-defined set of marketing goals. Your main focus should revolve around the following points:

How To: Customize Your Business Cards

When we speak of business cards, the first thing that comes into our minds is a white piece of paper with contact information. This is the traditional design – it’s safe and you can never go wrong. But in these contemporary days, the key to getting the market is by grabbing attention. So why settle for safe? Make custom business cards and start getting noticed.

How To: Engage in a Guerrilla Marketing War

Warfare strategies have become an inspiration to different marketing professionals, many of them drawing influence from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. This ancient Chinese text provided treaties on how to effectively manage resources, tactical positioning, and timing attacks. It also states that “..if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss”, a basic concept in which you have to always watch your competitor to anticipate his next move.

How To: Make a Will

Basic Tips on Creating a Last Will and Testament To say that people do not like talking about composing their last will and testament documents is a reasonable assessment. But for preparing what lies ahead in the future, it is necessary to know what it contains and what it does once the owner of the will passes away.

How To: File a Last-Minute 2010 Income Tax Return: Save Money, Get Free Tax Help & More!

Ever since high school, I've been preparing my own taxes. Each year it gets more and more complicated, which results in me filing later and later, avoiding it until I have the time or just can't wait any longer. I even resorted to using TurboTax online to help do some of the grunt work for me these past couple years, but that hasn't stopped me from being lazy about it. I have yet to file my 2010 taxes, but I will very soon. Tomorrow, in fact—before TurboTax raises their prices.

The Secret to Stock Trading: Instant Messaging Swarms

Traders are in a frenzy of instant messaging all day long. The best ones, at least. A recent study says the best traders are the ones that IM the most and the least successful traders were the ones that IM the least. So, it seems like if you can find a way to jump on the bandwagon, you can beat the odds, too. But, what's their secret? Are they passing around insider information?

How To: Sell at Your Local Farmers Market

Are you interested in selling your products at the local Farmers Markets? Many small mom and pop food crafters get started selling their artisan breads, homemade cakes, cookies, pies, biscotti, candy, seasoning mixes or regional barbecue sauces direct to customers who visit local farmers markets and farm stands. What better way to start than with those visiting the local farmers market; a captive audience expecting a wide variety of seasonal fruits and veggies; along with specialty products t...

Practice Makes Perfect: A Quick Tip for Making Money

Entrepreneur Jason Fried is co-founder of 37signals, a successful Chicago-based software and design firm that has doubled its sales every year for the past decade. Although Fried has a degree in finance, making money isn't a skill he picked up in the classroom or a book. Practice makes perfect, and Fried's experience has taught him that excelling at making money is separate from the product or services provided. Understanding the buyer and experimenting with price models are two of Fried's ke...

How To: Patent an Idea (Creating and Selling Your Concepts)

Want to know how to patent an idea, but you just don't know how to go about doing it? It doesn't take a lot of money to get a provisional patent. The real thing you want to know is the process of taking an idea that you have all the way up to getting it patent. I will take you through each step from the beginning when you have that great idea all the way to getting your invention marketed.You Need an Idea (Obviously)Your idea doesn't have to be earth changing. It just needs to be something pe...

Brilliant Business Idea: Sell Cookies Like a Crack Dealer

Sometimes entrepreneurial inspiration comes from the oddest of places— such as, say, down-and-out crack dealer delivery methods. Inspired by HBO's The Wire, Kathleen and Clem of Fat Cookies are attracting a crowd with an atypical model for vending baked goods: oven fresh cookies are lowered via string in exchange for one hoisted dollar (1. pull a string, 2. attach a dollar, 3. get a cookie).

How To: Have a Successful Garage Sale

Junk, junk, junk or so you might think. Remember the saying, your junk can be someone else's treasure! This article is going to guide you through a successful garage sale. With the economy the way it is, more and more people are going to garage sales. They are fun to have and you can earn some extra money.

How To: Advertise Efficiently on Facebook

Marketers from Facebook who design ads for advertisers can ask them to switch over to higher end product in which Facebook would be designing or hosting themes based on their products. This product theme will have a separate scroll area where advertisers (after buying rights from Facebook) can scroll latest development happening in their company or the latest offers with which company is coming out. Through above setup Facebook gets fees for hosting personalized theme as well as providing a s...

How To: Create professional looking business promotional video

In this video, we learn how to create professional looking business promotional video. To make your video more professional, you can first make your video shorter. The shorter the better, which will get your point across more quickly. Videos should be less than a minute and thirty seconds. If you're using a web cam, don't get too far away from it. If you're using a Flip camera, use a tripod and make sure the light source is coming from in front of you. Natural lighting is also nice. Make sure...

How To: Write a vision statement

In this video, we learn how to write a vision statement. A vision statement answers the question "where" and explains where the organization is headed. The characteristics include future casting. Which include where you will be, what you will create, and how you will move forward. It's clear and "visible" so you should be able to see yourself accomplishing the goal. The team should be able to see your vision too, go big! Be descriptive, by having a vision statement that is a single statement ...

How To: Recruit a great staff for your business

In this video, we learn how to recruit a great staff for your business. When hiring, you want to find someone that has great thinking ability and that you have really good chemistry with. You want to be able to get alone with the person and make sure they have experience. If they are the right person, work with them even if they don't have the experience in the field. Just make sure to keep a list of what your values are and what type of person you want to work for you. As soon as you do this...

How To: Write a values statement

In this tutorial, we learn how to write a values statement. First, you will need to think of five to seven values that are important. Make sure these are more than one word and are shared ideas by everyone. There shouldn't be more than seven values, so everyone can remember them. The point is that everyone has values, find something that everyone has in common and guides your behavior as an organization. It may be in your mission statement, but don't worry about it, think of separate statemen...

How To: Write a mission statement

In this video, we learn how to write a mission statement. The mission statement answers the question of what your organization's core purpose is. You will have a great mission statement if you keep it short, memorable, and inspiring. It should also be market focused, knowing who you are serving and what value you are providing. Keep in mind what you want to be remembered for and take that into account when you are writing your mission statement. It should say who you are and be something that...