The mortgage broker will excitedly tell you about the Gov taking Fannie and Freddie and how it’s helping, which I do not disagree with. Some realtors will tell you it’s a buyers market, which I do not agree with.

What my goal is here is to just give you some basics to watch out for before you go making the big buy.

For starters, get an agent! That stands whether you are buying or selling! I never knew the hassles of doing it on my own until I tried. Real estate professionals have the knowledge and more importantly the time (this is their job) to make sure everything is in order. The paperwork and appointments are too much for anyone holding a full time job to deal with.

Also consider your options. The number of homes for sale right now goes to show that it is no ones market. We are almost balanced. And with the strictness of lenders giving a mortgage takes more than just a little research.

Last, BE SURE! If you are doubting your agent ask them questions. If you’re a doubting your lender, look around before signing. If you are unsure of the house, keep looking. I am not saying to over analyze and make things difficult. Before you even look at homes, you should know what you can borrow as well as what you can pay every month. Then, call your realtor, pick out your house, sign your papers, and move in. It really can go that smoothly if you take the time in the beginning.

So Good luck!

However, what I have found from buying currently operational businesses is that you are buying the present owners mistakes and the customer base. You have to stitch up those problems before trying to make a transition. I actually prefer empty shells. You can start fresh with your own ideas and develop your own customer base that will be more devoted to your business practices.

You have 2 options when leasing or buying a location in a strip center that's new or old.

The Pros of finding a location in a new commercial center is that the owner of the complex may be willing to provide you with a build-out. They will actually put in the flooring, the walls, the fixtures, etc to get you in as quickly as possible. This, of course, eliminates the need for contractors, permits, and other rising costs. The Con being once they have all of this completed, will you actually know what to do with it?

There are also Pros and Cons of being next to Anchor stores in a commercial center. The Pro being that those stores will drive traffic to themselves, as well as to you. The Con being, other big name corporate restaurants will be there to, so how will you set yourself apart. Residing in an older commercial strip will place you next to stores that have been there for years that have built up their reputation. However, there may be an older anchor store that is not producing as well as it used to, right next to you.

Picking a free standing building will be very costly however; you can also find these locations to rent as well. The best free standing buildings have all of the same qualities in mind. These locations are easily accessible; they are in high traffic areas; they are highly visible; they stand out; there is an abundance of parking; they are clean and well maintained; the building fits or matches the demographic.

The resources are endless but will you know what needs to be done when you obtain that building.

Use your time wisely.

While you are waiting to open your restaurant you will be visiting the Business and Professional Regulation Board many times, getting Serv Safe certified as a Manager, getting your Sales tax number, FEIN, Structuring your business(INC, LLC, I.E.), filing for a fictitious name, writing plan reviews, buying equipment, hiring employees, and menu planning.
There are so many factors that will influence the success of your location. If you have any further questions, please leave comments and will answer them as soon as I can.
I have been around the business since I was 5 years old. My uncle owns and operated dozens of different types of restaurants. And I worked with him. I have a Culinary Degree, a Hospitality Management Degree, an Accredited Executive Chef certificate, and I just won First and Second Place at the Taste of Mount Dora.

Trust me; this information is a labor of love. Good Luck to all of you.

 

 

More often, real estate agents are also referred to as property “salesmen”. However, compared to the work of typical door to door salesmen or street peddlers, the job of a real estate agent is a little bit more complicated. The product that they offer is not some tiny package which can be placed in a box or delivered by mail. They are not selling consumables, such as food products and drinks which can be easily sold with little sales or marketing skills. The product that real estate agents sell demands more commitment from a customer. For example, buying a house is not an easy decision. Before a prospective customer can make a decision to buy a house, he or she must be fully aware of the features, advantages and disadvantages of the house. He must be fully convinced that he is making the right choice in picking that house, or else the time and money he intends to spend will all be wasted. It is therefore the real estate agent’s role to guide the prospective buyer into making the right choice and eventually reach a firm buying decision.

For the reasons mentioned above, the real estate agent should be highly trained, knowledgeable about what he sells, updated about the developments within his industry, and most importantly, should be skilled at face to face selling. This aspect of face to face selling is very essential because to be able to sell high priced items such as houses, lands and properties, a greater amount of buyer-agent rapport is necessary. While retail sales can be very impersonal, real estate sales is a lot more different. One sales transaction may take one week, one month or even one whole year, depending on the nature of the real estate property being sold. This would mean that it is normal for any real estate agent to meet the same prospect over and over again before they both reach a buying agreement. It is thus important to develop a friendly, positive relationship with the customer.

The real estate agent must be an aggressive salesperson and he must be flexible to different kinds of buyers. He must be able to talk on the same level with his prospects, instead of acting servile and inferior. There are many sales jobs that literally demote people from salespeople to mere order takers. In real estate, agents are not just order takers. They initiate the sale, meaning, they ask questions that probe and uncover the buyer’s needs. After discovering those hidden needs, the real estate agent puts himself or herself in a commanding position by giving the customer various options to choose from. He or she may also recommend options that best fit the client’s needs.

Perhaps the most difficult and exhausting job of a real estate agent is prospecting for new customers. Prospecting is simply the process of finding new prospects for the business. Without prospects, even the most skillful real estate agent will not make a single sale. While the company often provides good advertising to gather prospects, it is still the real estate agent’s responsibility to generate leads on his own. He must be familiar with various lead generation methods and be able to develop a huge list of potential customers. At times, a real estate agent may also opt to do his or her own advertising campaign.

There are a variety of available prospecting methods and strategies to choose from. According to Tom Hopkins, a great real estate salesman, there are two basic categories – referral and non-referral prospecting.

Referral prospecting is a very effective method because it allows the real estate agent to get referrals from his existing buyer’s list. The referrals are already qualified buyers because they belong to the same income bracket as the existing customer. Each time the agent makes a successful sale, he asks for referrals from the happy satisfied customer. The customer then gladly gives the names of some of his friends or relatives who might also be interested in buying a similar property that he has bought. He may even introduce the real estate agent to the referral. Most veteran real estate agents don’t do prospecting anymore because they have already built a huge referral base.

For starting or rookie real estate agents, there is no substitute to non-referral prospecting. This is the act or process of finding and approaching prospects that are not referred to the real estate agent. In this prospecting approach, the chances of making a sale are lower and the risks of rejection are higher. The real estate agent will have to deal with total strangers, which is the main reason for the high probability of failure.

One example of a non-referral prospecting method is “cold calling”. In this prospecting method, the real estate agent either acquires or buys a list of prospects and starts calling them one by one. This method is sometimes called “cherry picking” (Good, 1986), because it requires an agent to make a lot of calls before generating a single prospect. To be able to do an effective cold calling campaign, the agent must be determined, aggressive, has good phone skills, not a quitter and he must have a good list of qualified prospects. For example, calling a list of people who are looking for a house is much more effective than simply calling people from the yellow pages or the national street directory.

Another prospecting method that real estate agents often use is the “ten foot rule”. This means that the agent finds ways to talk to any person who comes within ten feet of him. With the use of personalized calling cards and leaflets, the agent initiates conversations with the strangers that he meets everyday. To enhance the agent’s chances of meeting someone who is qualified to buy a house or property, he makes himself available in places where his ideal customers will likely be found. Attending conventions, social events and joining clubs or organizations are all useful to the real estate agent because it gives him an opportunity to meet different kinds of social contacts who might someday become buyers, or may at least give a referral or two. In Tom Hopkins’ book entitled How to Master the Art of Selling, he said that to be able to constantly generate prospects on a regular basis, a good salesperson should be able to “talk to ten people belly to belly everyday”. (Hopkins, 1982)

There are hundreds of other prospecting methods. Modern technology has given the 21st century real estate agent a great variety of prospecting options. The internet and other such means can all be useful for anyone who is trying to generate new leads for real estate.

Finding prospects is one exhausting job, but approaching and making the initial contact with them is another task! Once the real estate agent finds or meets a good prospect for real estate, he must smoothly guide the prospect to the realizing the possibility of buying property. Using many possible approaches, the agent finds ways to settle an appointment with the prospect with the intention of showing him a sales presentation. To be able to do this, the real estate agent must uncover a specific need of the buyer, or if the buyer is not aware of the need, the agent must make him aware of it. If this need is not present, it is the role and responsibility of the agent to create that need and convince the prospect that he needs to own a real estate property. Qualifying, or the art of finding specific information about the customer with the purpose of determining whether he is a qualified buyer or not, is very important. There is no use of selling to a person who is not qualified. Some factors to be considered during the qualifying stage are ability to pay, ability to make a decision, size of family, and compatibility of the need to the product or service being offered or sold. Finding this information and putting them into consideration are still part of the difficult task of a real estate agent.

It is also the role of a real estate agent to stimulate buying desire. This may be done by presenting what he is selling in such a way that it appeals to the needs and wants of the buyer. It is the responsibility of the agent to magnify the strengths and weaknesses of the property he is selling, and to minimize the problems and disadvantages in the eyes of the prospect. In some cases, the prospect may not know exactly what kind of house he wants or needs, or he may have trouble in making a decision. At any event that a prospect finds difficulty in choosing what’s best for himself, the real estate agent is in a position to recommend a house or property that best suit the needs, buying capability and preference of the buyer. To be able to do this, the agent must be extremely knowledgeable about the various options that he can provide to the customer.

Familiarity with basic laws, policies and rules that apply to real estate will also be helpful to a real estate agent. However, he is not required to be an expert at these laws, policies and regulations. His main expertise should be the ability to close sales. In many real estate companies, the total revenue heavily depends upon the monthly sales turnover generated by real estate agents in the field. Simply put, applying mastery of the sales process is one of the greatest and most important roles of real estate salesmen.

Feedback can be entered at the option of each member for either party involved in any transaction. For example, if a buyer purchases an item on eBay and pays promptly, the seller will normally give positive feedback to the buyer. The same circumstances apply when a seller sells an item to a buyer. If the buyer feels positively about the transaction then he or she will reciprocate with positive feedback to the seller.

Positive feedback is a win, win situation for all parties that are aggressively trying to do business on eBay. The more positive feedback that is received, the better your reputation and the more likely you will be able to enter in many successful business transactions on the site.

Negative feedback, on the other hand, may result from many things. For a few examples; a seller may not ship as quickly as the buyer would like, or the actual item received is not like it was advertised online, or the merchandise was damaged in shipping. A buyer may not pay promptly, or their method of payment may not be satisfactory. Another case of negative feedback may stem from the fact that one party will give the other party negative feedback, so then the second party will give negative feedback in return.

Feedback extortion is also known to happen. One party may want more or different merchandise that is not currently offered in the sale and that party may threaten with negative feedback in order to get the merchandise that they want.

Negative feedback is deadly to your reputation on eBay. You may have many positive transactions with a wonderfully high feedback rating, and then one negative feedback can drastically harm your reputation eBay's former policy was that negative feedback would affect your reputation for the term of your membership. In their latest change in policy, eBay states that negative feedback will affect your reputation for one year. In most cases, a high feedback score is a good sign, but eBay warns that members should always check another member's Feedback Profile to read comments and look for negative remarks.

Here is how the positive and negative feedback ratings affect your overall feedback score:

• +1 point to your Feedback Score for each positive comment and rating left for you
• No points for a neutral comment and rating left for you
• -1 point to your Feedback Score for each negative comment and rating left for you

As you accumulate more positive points, you are awarded different colored stars. Following are the different levels of stars that are awarded:

Yellow star: 10 to 49 points
Blue star: 50 to 99 points
Turquoise star: 100 to 499 points
Purple star: 500 to 999 points
Red star: 1,000 to 4,999 points
Green star: 5,000 to 9,999 points
Yellow shooting star: 10,000 to 24,999 points
Turquoise shooting star: 25,000 to 49,999 points
Purple shooting star: 50,000 to 99,999 points
Red shooting star: 100,000 points or more

Some members who are trying to build their reputation on eBay by acquiring the different levels of stars will specifically look for transactions that are easy and cheap to complete. A cheaply priced item, with free shipping, or greatly reduced shipping will be very attractive to them. They can easily score another positive feedback rating without having to spend too much to do so.

Digital items that can be downloaded are another way for them to achieve higher feedback ratings at little or no cost.

“Digital goods are often reproduced at little to no cost to the seller. On eBay, this creates the potential for feedback manipulation. To preserve the integrity of the feedback system, all goods that can be digitally downloaded or transferred electronically (including e-mail delivery) must be listed using the Classified Ad format in the Everything Else>Information Products category only.”

eBay has specific guidelines set in place in an attempt to thwart feedback manipulation:

“Feedback left or received, including detailed seller ratings (DSRs), where the feedback's primary value is to artificially enhance a member's reputation rather than provide commentary and ratings on genuine transactional experience is not permitted.

Consequently, offering to sell, buy or barter feedback is not permitted. In addition, registering multiple accounts (or working with others) in order to exchange feedback to artificially increase your feedback score is not permitted.

EBay will view the recurrence of listings which are uncharacteristic of a reasonable business model to be in violation.”

Violation of eBay's feedback manipulation policy may result in the following actions:

• Listing cancellation
• Limits on account privileges
• Account suspension
• Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
• Loss of PowerSeller status
• Feedback removal

Threatening to leave negative or neutral feedback for another member unless the other member provides goods or services not included in the original listingBottom of Form

Although I had a good job and the promise of a rewarding career in the future, every morning I felt like a slave to a system that demanded so much of my time. Caught in the maze that I had indeed created for myself, it seemed like there was no escape. But then I had an epiphany, and I put the monotony of that hard life behind me, forever.

First I should say that I'm still a mom, and I still work hard, but gone are the dreaded hours sitting in traffic and the boredom of my old job. My children are happier now, and we spend infinitely more time together as a family. And no, I didn't drop off the grid to live on a commune - I still live in the same house, and I still put in 8 hours a day, same as before, but now I wear comfy clothing and walk my girls to school in the morning. Now I leisurely shop for clothes, take photographs of my finds, and work for a few hours at the computer in the afternoon. And I waste time watching the money come in.

I started my eBay business in January 2007 operating under the user ID Attic*Industry. My target market: twentysomethings with fat wallets and an avant-garde sense of style. It started innocently enough. I bought a mouthwatering flocked 1950's vintage prom dress for $50.00 at a thrift shop in Kingston, Ontario. The dress was gorgeous and I just had to have it, even though it was obvious that it would never fit me. The anguish of spending fifty precious dollars on a decoration for the inside of my closet got to me in a matter of hours, and it was then, for the first time, I considered an ecommerce solution: eBay!

After snapping some digital pictures of the dress, I wrote a passionate, detailed description for potential buyers. I had no difficulty getting my very first item listed on the eBay website; I already had a PayPal account, and so before I went to bed that night Attic*Industry was open for business.

Day one was an eye-opener. You know that famous quote from Ray Kinsella's Field of Dreams, “if you build it, they will come…?” These words came true online. The bids came fast and furious, and from all over the world. On day seven the auction closed and I realized a profit of $310.00. My love of good quality vintage clothing was no longer a burden to my bank account - now it was a terrific boon.

After dabbling for six months and seeing my sales grow exponentially, I decided it was time to put my executive career on hold and sell vintage clothing online full time. After only four months I became a respected PowerSeller with stellar feedback, and in August 2007 I was selected as a finalist for eBay Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year. I can proudly say that I've sold beautiful clothes and fashion accessories to hundreds of people on six continents in over two dozen countries, and all with zero negative feedback.

The good news for you is that the internet is still accepting applications for the next ecommerce success. With eBay the start up costs are minimal. Equipped with a nine year old digital camera, no knowledge of html and no budget, I entered the marketplace and experienced no difficulties finding buyers for my goods.

Top Tips For Selling Online

1. Research your market

   Recognize what buyers are looking for, and how much they will pay for it. Learn to identify what's common and what's rare. Make yourself an expert in one or two categories, and develop the ability to spot each specimen's unique "hidden qualities." This means reading support material, articles and blogs and spending time on eBay watching popular auctions close to learn the true prices of things.

2. Develop exclusive sources of merchandise

   Once you've experimented with online sales and sold off some things you've had lying around the house, you must find the courage to shop for more stuff. "Merch" is what they call it in retail sales, and acquiring good quality unique merchandise is the downfall of many ecommerce businesses - everything from sales tax, broker's fees, transportation and the price of gas will cut into your bottom line. To shop smarter, you have to use the computer. Smart shoppers use their computers to select the best hunting grounds, find parking, and even the cheapest place to buy fuel, in advance.
   
   If you are like me and you buy and sell vintage clothing and fashion accessories, you'll shop at charitable second hand stores like Salvation Army, Value Village, and Goodwill. Use a local search service on your computer to find other discount retail outlets that are liquidating terrific merchandise at rock bottom prices. I use Poynt on Microsoft® Windows Live Messenger�,,� or AIM® to make a map of such stores in my area. Powered by Yellow Pages in Canada and Superpages.com in the United States, Poynt is a great tool for finding used clothing stores outside trendy overpriced neighborhoods. Enter keywords like "second hand", and "used furniture" and "used electronics" and click on the pins as they appear on the corresponding Microsoft® Virtual Earth scalable map interface. Poynt is a whole new way to economize shopping. Another secret: hit the "print screen" button on your computer to screen grab the image and make a handy map to print or send to friends.

3. Get a merchant account

   Get this at PayPal to safely and easily accept payments from your buyers. PayPal was bought by eBay almost five years ago and has since become the ubiquitous payment standard - the word PayPal is now used as a verb. “I'll send the dress when you PayPal the money.”

4. Shoot crystal clear photographs

   Make sure you include at least three different angles of each item you are selling. Amateurs, photograph the objects outside during the day against neutral backgrounds.

5. The online world is a small

   Do unto others as you would have them do unto you: be honest about your merchandise and ship items quickly.

6. Stay focused and don't give up

   It WILL be slow at times, but a consistent presence is always key to building your profile as a reputable business. Remember this is a business, and just like the bricks and mortar firms on main street - you have to keep the shop open and lights on, even if people don't step inside the front door.

7. Be Passionate

   I have found that the more adoring I am, the more expressive I become. Every article of clothing that I truly love seems to benefit from my descriptive praise and enjoys a higher than average final sales price. So be expressive. Use your vocabulary and instead of labeling something "blue", call it “sapphire,” and instead of saying that something has a "tight fit", why not write that it “hugs curves for maximum figure enhancement.” You get the idea.

8. Keep costs low

   When shopping, make sure not to overpay. That $50.00 dress I mentioned at the beginning of this article was an anomaly for me - most times I don't pay over $15.00 for anything.

Lastly, I will write the greatest secret of all - social network your business online as you quest to become an expert in your field. Keep my tips in mind but go forward boldly and indulge your passion, be it for baseball cards or butter churns, glass eyes or rare car parts. Ask yourself: what is stopping you from becoming the next eBay Powerseller?

Recently, a woman called Kelly lost her job from a Burberry factory in South Wales. This was because the company Burberry were moving their factory to China. In China, the laws are more lenient and do not force to give workers good working conditions and there is no minimum wage so the Chinese citizens are desperate for as much money they could get. On the other hand, Burberry argue that their main market is based in Japan. Moving the factory to China reduces the shipping distance helping to make the company greener. This argument implies that globalisation is only good in the point of view of large companies and not to the average person like you or me.

Nonetheless, if globalisation never happened many large companies who choose to sell their goods here will never of been heard of such as Microsoft and McDonalds. Companies like Nike argue that making their goods in TNCs and LEDCs helps boost the countries economy and helps the individual people get money to help feed there families. After all, some money is better that no money. Whereas many “antiglobalisation” groups argue that it is all very well that they have got a job, but they would be spending most of their money on health care to help themselves from the awful injuries they get in the unacceptable working conditions they have to suffer. Transnational companies complain that they get so much abuse when they are not breaking any rules but many people feel that it is unfair and maybe there should be tighter restrictions in countries like China.

Reviewing these arguments I conclude that, to middle class people, globalisation is a great thing which helps us get the best life we want whereas the people below the poverty lines in all MEDCs, TNCs and LEDCs, it could be described unfair and from their point of view, it is only good for the company.

vs

A home, that is! Before you take the plunge, there are many things to consider. This is just a brief glance. The first being how much house can you afford? There are many payment calculators online that allow you to input the taxes, interest rate, length of loan and more and you'll have the number instantly at your finger tips. Keep in mind that the amount the bank approves you for is often greater than in reality what you can afford monthly. You also will want to take into consideration repairs, associations, fees, maintenance and remodeling costs. These can add up to $500 - $100 or greater depending upon your area and age of the home.

You also have to consider the property taxes for the region and any waste removal/recycling fees. Often times, your home can be paid off and you will still be left with a sizable payment due to rising taxes. If you are retired or on a fixed income, be sure to steer clear of high tax states so you will be able to stay in your home.

It is a myth that you need a lot down, that's the good news. The bad news is the less you put down, even 0 down, the greater your payment. And, put less than 20% down and you are on the hook for private mortgage insurance, which does nothing, more than insure the bank's interests in your property. This can add money onto your payment. You can look into splitting up the loans and avoid this unpleasant experience. If you want to have lower payments, you may want to stretch the loan out longer, to say a 30 year mortgage. If you have erratic income you may not want to escrow the taxes and insurance. Meaning, you would want to pay them directly yourself, not have them be part of your payment.

If you don't mind doing some maintenance yourself, a home could be a good solution for you. It will create a lifestyle, somewhere you will raise your family and build memories. Even if you cannot do maintenance, hopefully some family or friends will help you out if you give them a hand. If not, you could join your local Habitat for Humanity or a class at Home Depot. If you do not have time for this, consider hiring a local handyman to help out. Be sure to check references first.

If you aren't a person that needs a yard, much freedom or relishes yard work, try a condominium or “condo” on for size. Don't forget to allow $150 - $300 or more in monthly maintenance costs. And, these might rise over time. But most people who don't want to worry about home ownership like this option, and they can still build equity. Many condos come with amenities and a built-in sense of community. You need to weigh the options. If you have a young family or small family, this may be acceptable to you depending upon the amount of space you need and square footage.

If you have a larger family, most condos are not built large enough to accommodate and then there's the noise and outside factor to take into account. Unless of course they have a play area, that's always a bonus!

Or, should you just keep renting? Contrary to popular belief, it does not always make sense to buy instead of renting. For example, if you buy a home in a depressed or decreasing market value area, you may end up actually losing money and not building the home value for the future you had hoped. And, you can also fall into the trap of tapping into home equity loans too often and end up owing more on your home than it's worth that way.

With renting, you do not have the worries if something breaks down. If you're not handy, no problem, someone else will come and fix it! You also have added security with some type of lease that includes a time clause in it. Take good care of the property, and you'll receive your security deposit refund in time to apply it to your next place.

Realize renting does not always mean you are confined to an apartment. In many areas there are homes, condos, flats and side-by-side units to rent. Just be sure the costs aren't excessive or what you would pay for a home.

There is no one size fits all solution to this dilemma. And, it may change during different stages of your life. You can always move up or out of homes as well, so keep this in mind. Make a list of the pros and cons for the situation you are in now and allow for some changes down the road ahead. You may be surprised at what you come up with when you see it right in front of you. Good luck!

Wait lets skip ahead, you know where I am heading… You have heard this pitch before, and obviously your self publishing, so you know you're on your own.

I self published Mr. Instability through Lulu, it was free and easy. I use the same marketing strategies as listed in this article. I don't consider myself a self published author. I consider myself an independent author, no different than an independent filmmaker. You have to be your own salesman.

I have been an online marketer for about three years and the first two I lost way more than I made. And the commission you make selling a book isn't that much, but that doesn't matter, I will explain later.

When you sell online look at it as a giant mall, a mall with billions of stores with billions of buyers. But, no one will even know your there unless you show them the way. You can be listed on all the book selling websites, Listed on all the distributor list and no sales?

Here is what you do:

Most people run out and get a website, waste of money if you don't use it right.

When I decided to be an online marketer, I got a website and listed everything I was selling on it.

I learned the hard way that if you provide too many choices and options and not the meat and potatoes people get bored.

Most people who write there first book want to go into great length about themselves and about the book. Guess what, they don't know you, never heard of you and don't care.

They are there because something about your book peaked there curiosity.

So instead of marketing your website address, market your link to your online store, where they can briefly read about your book and either put up and buy, or leave.

The link to your online bookstore is probably long so I suggest going to simurl.com and getting a short easy to remember link, and simurl.com tracks clicks.

Websites are good if you are selling lets say a book on how to grow turnips.

What you should do since most websites allow you to add video, is to post an add on craigslist, looking for a production crew and actors, most will work for free as a resume builder.

Film a infomercial featuring you as the expert and show people how to grow turnips and at the end say you have a book its, on the website with more information and helpful tips and they should check it out. So basically don't market the book, market the free infomercial.

Post on Youtube, Myspace, Google video as well as your website, and anyone searching for videos about turnips will see your video, think you're an expert and hopefully buy your book.

Never, let people know your selling something, let them use your website as an educational tool about the subject; pack it full of tips, and advice. And you will be surprised how quickly you start selling books.

For example we did this for my friend who sells security systems, we mad a video on how to do a security survey on your home. It shows us walking around a house with a homeowner “actor” and we told him what to do, and what he could do to make the house safer and my friend just at convenient times kept plugging his security systems.

I am a cop in the real world, so I know how to do a home security survey, never claim to be an expert on something your not, or have an infomercial where your viewers are going to know, you have no clue what your talking about.

You still want a website for your sci fi or whatever, okay. Here is what I suggest, if you plan this to be your only book use www.yourtitle.com if you plan on writing more than one book make the web address your name.

Make only one page, remember the saying “too much info” When you go into a bookstore and you see a book, you can read a chapter the back cover a little author bio, than you make the decision to buy or put down. If you read a lot of the book you may decide you don't like it, but online buyers don't have that luxury to be able to read a few chapters.

If you fill your website with useless information and give too much of the book away some people will lose the spur of the moment purchasing decision. Look at an Amazon storefront, a B&N storefront, they give you a teaser and you either click buy or you move on. But that's where your skill as a writer come in, your title has to smack a potential buyer in the face to get them to pick the book up, read your first chapter and a description that screams Buy me!

Pay per click, this is where I lost most of my money the first two years; I used the two biggest companies. Finally, I sat down with a professional and he taught me how to do it.

He said my biggest problem is that, what I already told you my website was full of useless information, and he suggested, I send the person clicking directly to my storefront where they could put up or shut up. An hour later after doing this I had three sales!

I am very big into ppc, but it can be expensive. So I suggest using smaller ppc search engines like miva and enhance, and others, and leave the big boys alone, unless your book is about something that isn't searched often like how to grow turnips.

When you set up your campaign, please, please link directly to your storefront, unless you have the website with the infomercial.

Another marketing tool I use is Ad Brite and others like it, where you can pay to have your banner, or a text ad placed on other people website.

If you write Sci Fi for example, than there are plenty of Sci Fi websites out there that will sell you some advertising space, the good thing is that these websites have super high traffic and convert sales pretty good.

So, look into that avenue see what websites are listed with these companies, and see if it fits your book.

I use to work in the mortgage industry, A co worker of mine, use to go to the credit boards and forums and post on there about credit issues and answer people questions on what to do and he would slowly working in that he was a loan officer and refinancing was the way to go. He sold a lot of loans doing this. But he was very careful in how he did it so it didn't look like spam.

Go to forums and message boards and become a regular poster and after time and making a lot of friends tell them you wrote a book on the subject. And in your signature put your store front link.

Blogs work great, for example Mr. Instability, where you can keep your customers and fans aware of what's happening.

Social Networking sites you know which ones I am talking about. Here is what I do; I go to a famous person in the field of my book. Let's say Stephen King has a myspace page. What I would do is post a comment saying…Hey Stephen, my book is finally done! Check it out on Amazon. I change the title to “whatever” thanks for everything.

People, who read his comments, will be curious and look your book up on Amazon, or of course your myspace page is your books title and about your book, so they may just check your profile.

Let's talk about how to get sales outside the internet. And ways to promote Guerrilla style.

I was looking for new affiliate opportunities and found a gem, a company that offers 3000 satellite channels for your pc for a one time fee, no monthly charges. I live near a major university, and figured who would buy this. Poor college kids that couldn't afford cable!

So, I made flyers about the 3000 channels etc, grabbed a role of tape and put them up all over campus. I even put a free ad in the college newsletter. I made 523 sales in the first 3 days.

Self publishing companies offer a marketing package; I would get the posters and bookmarks.

Posters, I would go to all the grocery stores in my area or as far as you're willing to go, most have bulletin boards, ask kindly if you could put a poster on it, or just do it. I would go anywhere where I could put up my poster. Create a pocket on your poster and fill it with bookmarkers so people can take them and not forget the link when they get home. People love free stuff. Also, ask the manager if you can hold a book signing outside, one day.

Bookmarks are genius, here is what I would do, go to book stores, and when no one is looking but them on the counter where they are in view of the people purchasing, but not the clerk.

Leave a few on the tables, or the magazine rack. Your book may not be on the shelf but guess what, its still in the store in a round about way.

Do that everywhere you go, gas station etc. Also grocery stores, department stores all sell books, Leave free bookmarks in the racks there as well.

Newspapers, community newsletters get an ad.

Ask everyone and anyone if you can have a book signing in there business, if they say no, ask if you can do it outside the store. If they still say no, ask if you can put up a poster, with a pocket full of bookmarkers, by now they want you to leave them alone so they probably will say yes so you will leave.

Well, there are a million things you can do to sell something, but the goal is to be different than everyone else, be unique.

Always sell as though you're not selling anything…people hate salespeople.

Good luck, and remember, it took you months or years to write this book, to hold it in your hands.

Now spend that same time and energy promoting it, selling it.

Get your name out there.

Be able to print out your sales rank on Amazon, B&N and send it with your next manuscript to agents and say “hey my books sell; I did this on my own”

Send the same letter too the head of B&N screaming my books sell! Stock it on your shelves!

Even if I lost money, and my sales rank was high, I would be happy! Because like I said I am sending letters, to publishers and agents, to take notice and get this book or my next one on the shelves by Christmas!

The simple factor of how much square footage you must have and what modifications must be done to the space in order to make the building appear prosperous. If you own your business location, you are free to make changes in the surroundings as you see fit.

You can set your operating hours to suit the needs of yourself and your customers, and you are able to stay in your location so long as its profitable for you.

A helpful exercise to do in looking at costs is a cash flow analysis. This is a document often required by banks as part of the business plan anyway. You can factor in such things as interest on the mortgage, tax deductions and other property related expenses under either scenario and make a dollars and sense decision.

Location

The obvious location information which is relative to your business, and the type of business you hold cannot be underestimated. You need to take into consideration such location factors as transportation to and from your business; symbiotic relationships between your business and that of your neighborhood. If your business is likely to need expansion room in the near future, that should be factored into your business office location planning.

The overall attraction of the proposed locations which must be considered. You should look at each of the location factors and determine whether they are an advantage or disadvantage and try to maximize the advantages. Is the proposed location basically foot traffic or auto traffic. Are all the amenities available in the building you're considering?

Factors like parking, traffic flow and who your neighbors are will all impact the cost of the building or space you've chosen. If you have a business that has many small items available that the customers need to see up close to enjoy, location the business in an area where there is no place to park would seem to be a sure way to limit the customer browsing.

Leasing for Small Business

For small businesses, leasing the office space is probably the preferred way to house the business. There are a number of advantages for leasing that are not apparent in the purchase of a building. First, you don't have the problem of being unable to sell a building that turns out to be unsuitable for your purposes. You can simply sublet the property and move on to another area.

You are not responsible for any of the repairs or maintenance type costs of the building, except if the lease specifically says so.

If you have a troubled credit situation, you will find it easier to lease a building than to purchase one. Small businesses often don't have the cash resources to purchase a building up front. Their resources need to go toward business establishment, marketing and inventory in most cases.

Before leasing or even beginning the search for suitable space, you should know exactly how much space you require and how long you are likely to be able to utilize the space you may find before your business plan will indicate larger space is suggested. You should have a firm idea of how much cost your budget will support so you won't waste your time looking at space that is beyond your budget.

You should know whether the lease rates will increase and how often. The expectation in many areas of the U.S. is that the basic rate will increase about 8% per year.

The Lease Agreement

The strongest recommendation regarding a lease before it is written is that it would be reviewed and approved by a real estate lawyer. You should personally make sure you have discussed such things as utility costs, particularly after hours utility costs, sometimes landlords get a cost reduction for utilities used in non-peak hours. If your lease costs are based on a variable utility rate, make sure that this is included in the writing of the lease.

Another thing to review is how the shared space with other tenants is distributed. Landlords sometimes provide large tenants a break in their costs of shared space or utilities, but make up the difference in cost be charging smaller space leaser higher costs.

Be sure to read all the fine print on the lease. It's important that you read and understand each clause. Things like allowing for normal wear and tear rather than stating you must leave the property exactly as you found it can be extremely expensive if you don't negotiate for the wording which will benefit you instead of the landlord.

You should also spell out whether or not you can sublet any part of the space. This clause can be very important if you don't need to use all the space originally or if you determine that you've outgrown the space sooner than expected. You will want to be able to sublet the space. This is especially important if the building which you are leasing changes ownership. Anything that is spelled out in your lease can be carried over to the new owner. Anything that is not specified in your lease can be changed by the new owners.

There are literally millions of sellers on Ebay. Even if you have a niche item to sell you can bet there are a hundred if not hundreds of people selling that same item. Unless you have a good marketing campaign or you’re already a well-known seller with an established customer base, you can be buried in pages of what you thought was your niche item and never get a bid. Even if you could afford to use Ebay’s “Feature Plus” feature, which places you closer to the front pages, there are so many people using it you may still only be found ten or twelve pages back. It is my opinion that most people won’t go any farther then five or six pages on an item.

There are lots of other auction sites out there, but even with all the trouble the average seller would have being found on Ebay, you still have a better chance of selling something there then the other auction sites. Buyers know Ebay, buyers are comfortable with Ebay, and buyers know they are protected on Ebay. So even with all the other auction sites out there that don’t charge fees to sellers or buyers, that give sellers less competition and allows them charge less for there items because there are no fees, Ebay is still your best bet to sell your items. To sell your items on the other auction sites would entail a lot of work advertising and getting the word out about where your items are. If you’re going to do that you might as well build your own web site and put all of your efforts on advertising it. At least there there’s no competition.

I sell art on Ebay and I do okay. The reason being is that even though there are a lot of artist selling on Ebay, I do a couple styles of art that very few artist are doing. I do surreal art and comic book superhero paintings. If you do a search for these keywords very few pages come up. Two, three, four at the most so that makes my art very easy to find. The one downside is that not a whole lot of people are looking for this kind of art. That being the case, my sells fluctuate a lot.

In closing, I think in order for the average seller to make any money on Ebay, they most find that rare item that very few if any other sellers are selling. However you most also realize that the reason few sellers are selling it may be because few buyers want it.