Direct Sales, Network Marketing & Home Party Plan Blog

First let me start by explaining what the term entrepreneur means; is someone who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. I guess the surefire way to find out if you are an entrepreneur is to give it a try. To be an entrepreneur is to be a creator and a visionary; a person who recognizes opportunities, cultivates a strategy, and creatively organizes resources to turn passion into profit.

Being an entrepreneur means to me that I own my time, I live my life to the fullest without worrying about finances. Being an entrepreneur means loving day in and day out what you have chosen to do whether times are going great for your business or if they are going horrible for your business. Why stay in the dead end job you’ve had for years when you could be making a lot more money and have the freedom of working for you?

When you are in business for yourself; you wear many hats at once: janitor, salesperson, human resources, finance and PR are just a few. Being an entrepreneur means risking everything on your own abilities, so it’s not for the faint of heart. If you think being an entrepreneur means more available time for your family and/or friends you’re wrong.

The entire purpose of working for yourself is that you get to do something that you think is valuable, instead of doing someone else’s bidding. Working for yourself can be an ideal career path, especially in today’s tight job market, but it is also ripe for failure if undertaken without the right tools–and mindset.

Are you willing to get up and work hard every day (most days), even when success seems crazy? Are you a risk taker; seizing the enormous opportunities before you, and taking calibrated risks that will help you make your dreams a reality? Money makes the world go around and starting your own business working for yourself means you have a greater potential to see more money then if you are working for someone else.

When you’re working for yourself you do not have the luxury of relying on people to look after your books, take the phone calls, sell your services and products, design, develop, and market. Being an entrepreneur means thinking about the business all the time, accepting its responsibilities and its failures. Not waiting for things to happen but rather to be the agent of change. Working for yourself is incredibly difficult but with time and patience you can build up a name for yourself and eventually you will find people coming out of the woodwork looking for you rather than you having to seek them out

A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. Working for yourself at home can be lonely because there’s no one to challenge you and push you towards your goals. No matter what type of business you are in, being an entrepreneur means working your butt off and shouldering all the responsibilities. Successful entrepreneurs are risk-takers; being an entrepreneur means having the ability to trust your hunches and acting on them.

Now I realize that the mere mention of the words black Friday is enough to send shivers down many spines. Thus, if you’re thinking about buying a specific item anytime within the next 6 months, black Friday is a great time to do it.

Black Friday is a term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season when major retailers around the country discount products to help kick off the Christmas shopping season.

Today, black Friday is not a crucial source of profit to retailers, but is important in driving traffic into stores. The myth of black Friday is that the Friday is black because shoppers will buy record volume of merchandise on that day and will help retailers be in the black (or be profitable). The other myth associated with this is the fact that black Friday is the busiest shopping season of the year and this is not necessarily true in some years where the Saturday before Christmas can be even busier.

With the recession, it is unclear if consumer confidence has come back, but black Friday is always the day where the most jaded of shopper or consumer will come out from the dark to do some shopping to get black Friday deals. Black Friday is the best day of the year to get good deals at pretty much any big box store (and some small ones), on pretty much anything.

Black Friday is no longer a big surprise for shoppers as many retailers are rolling out their ads early to create some shopping excitement. Black Friday is the super bowl of shopping, as the kickoff to the season approaches they are unflinching in their desire to be first, and they are willing to be bloodied to get what they want.

Black Friday is for die-hard shoppers. I have done cyber Monday as well, but black Friday is more fun. In more modern times the term black Friday comes from a reference that many retailers use to express that black Friday is the first day that they actually turn a profit for the year, although some sources protest that this reference to the term black Friday is perhaps more fantasy than fact.

If you dig into the numbers, black Friday is one of the worst days for retail establishments, not one of the best. Savvy shoppers know black Friday is merely the kick-off for the Christmas and holiday shopping, but not necessarily the best day for bargains… But remember, black Friday is first come first serve so layoff too much eggnog before you go to sleep.

Black Friday is hard for both the consumer and the retailer; they have to handle the huge number of shoppers passing through their doors, as well as make certain that they try to have enough stock of a sale item. Even car companies are offering great sales option and a reviewer has rightly said that black Friday is the best time of the year when you can buy cars and automobile products as it is cheapest during black Friday.

Black Friday is for looking, testing and researching and cyber Monday is for pushing the button to buy. Black Friday is almost upon us yet again, and the one day of the year when bargain hunting is regarded as a national pastime needs to be taken seriously or you’re likely to come away empty-handed.

There is a myth that black Friday is the annual break-even point in American retail sales, but in fact retailers generally break-even, and indeed profit, nearly every quarter.
One final thought to remember is that black Friday is not some magical time where everything you desire is 90% off.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. The irony of good customer service is that over time it will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!

Excellent customer service is the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer’s expectations. Providing excellent customer service is one way a small business can distinguish itself from the competition.

If good customer service is so important to a business’ success, why do so few businesses have it? I think the main culprit in poor customer service is bad company management. When I make decisions about with whom to do business, customer service is at the very top of the list. Customer service is the best advertisement of a business.

Customer service is so important to any kind of business more than ever. Excellent customer service is the key to gaining new customers and customer retention. I agree that customer service is the oldest form of marketing, but these days retail (especially internet retail) establishments need to be reminded of that.

If customer service isn’t number one on your list of priorities, you are gonna lose big. Good customer service isn’t about being nice only when things are going along swimmingly. Customer service is the new marketing; has important insights for how any company – startup or Major Corporation – promotes their product and builds loyalty from their customers.

The key to customer service is not treating people like customers but like people. In the age of social marketing, I think more than ever, customer service is becoming increasingly important. Primarily, customer service is something that many business owners think later and concentrate more on the marketing part. I believe good customer service is the best way to create viral marketing and we all know that there is no better marketing then viral marketing.

Training your staff for consistent and excellent customer service is vital to your survival. As a business owner or manager, you must help everyone understand that customer service is an attitude that governs how we deal with everyone including fellow employees and suppliers. Customer service is a major responsibility and privilege for every company. People often forget that once you get the client that you must keep the client and customer service is the key component.

First, you will want to evaluate whether a Network Marketing business is for you. Network Marketing is an equal opportunity business. It doesn’t require special degrees, unusual talents, and is open to everyone regardless of gender, race or age. However, it’s definitely not for everyone!

Choosing the right company doesn’t guarantee success, but it does increase your odds. Ultimately, your success in network marketing is determined by what you do. It’s all about building a network of people all buying or using the products or services you’re selling. Your job is simple: Provide information about your business, answer questions and objections, make the sale, and follow up, sponsor, train and support.

Go to the corporate website read all about the company.

• How long have they been in business?
• How did the company start?
• What is the drop off rate?
• Are the consumers happy with the product?
• Are there any complaints against the company?
• Are they a member of the DSA (Direct Selling Association)? Why is that important, because the DSA has strict guide lines regarding inclusion into their association.
• Who are the owner/operators?
• Are the consultants happy?

Choosing a company that is not financially sound and well established could end in disaster. An established company will be able to offer much more support and typically a better chance at success than a new company. The fact is that a large number of opportunities for the home based entrepreneur will fail, and drag down a number of poor innocents with it.

You must feel good about the company and the products you will be promoting. Uniqueness in the product also counts, if the product is something that cannot be found in your normal stores and has a market then there is a good chance that you can sell it.

Concentrate and understand the business itself and know the money making potential. Most importantly, always go with your gut instincts and use common sense. If an opportunity doesn’t seem right to you…Don’t Do It! I have yet to come across a “once in a lifetime” opportunity so there is ALWAYS time to take a breather and do some research. Don’t worry, the program will still be there tomorrow.

The question is when you are looking at a network marketing opportunity which is best to work with? Marketing a product or marketing a service. This is really a personal opinion type of question. I have seen people have great success marketing both products and services. It also depends on the personal preferences of a particular individual which would be better for them.

If you are marketing a product you may need to consider if the product will need to be inventoried by you or will it be drop shipped by the company. Another thing that I would look for when it comes to product based companies like this, is this. Are you required to purchase more products than you could reasonably sell or that you could consume yourself?

If so you may just end up in that position of having a garage full of product that you can not seem to unload. Something else to consider is customer service. If your customer is unhappy with the product will the company take back the un-used portion of the product and will it issue a refund to you or your customer?

This is the most crucial part of the decision making. You absolutely have to love the products and believe in them. You’ll want to have a passion for the products you’re going to be selling. If you don’t like the merchandise or believe in the merchandise yourself you’re not going to be able to be a good sales person. The best way to test this of course is to try the product yourself.

Ask the consultant you’re working with for a sample. If samples aren’t available I highly recommend purchasing at least one thing. Being in sales you’re going to have to know you product. The product most sold is the product most recommended. YOU have to be your best own customer.

The really big one for me is the product itself. Is this a product that is somewhat of a fad or a product that people normally use and will continue to use? In other words is this a product that is the “latest, greatest new thing in candles” or latest thing in weight loss?” Is it something your customer is going to need to try for awhile to see if they like it or if it “works” for them? These are just some things to consider when looking at a product based company. Then there are service based companies. These are companies that market services such as telecommunications, energy or health care benefits for example.

The bottom line is that network marketing is a great business to be involved in. Most any of them will work as long as it is a good fit for you. I know that some people have great success marketing candle products or nutritional products and prefer to market those kinds of products just as I know some people that have success marketing services. Like I said at the beginning it is really a personal opinion type of thing. You really need to consider what would be a good fit for exactly what you are looking for in your own home based business.