11 Moments Of Truth
These moments come when a customer or client
1. Hears someone else praise you or your work.
2. Likes your physical presentation (appearance voice and smile).
3. Is touched intellectually and emotionally by what you say.
4. Recognizes you as a model of who or what the person would like to become.
5. Hears that you care.
6. Thinks he/she will be challenged and get what he/she needs from you.
7. Knows that your fee is above their budget and feels youre worth it.
8. Experiences that you are consistently excellent technically.
9. Is sure that his/her success and wellbeing are your priority.
10. Is able to reach you effortlessly.
11. Can count on you to treat his/her organization with unique needs.
copy;2004 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved
Publishing Guidelines: You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety electronically or in print fre*e of charge as long as you include my full signature file for ezines and my Web site address(http://www.schrift.com) in hyperlink for other sites. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to sandraschrift.com Thank you.
About the writer:
Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to “grow” a profitable speaking business. I also work with business professionals and organizations who want to master their presentations. To find out HOW TO MAKE IT AS A PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER go to http://www.schrift.com/success_resources.htm Join my free biweekly Monday Morning Mindfulness ezine http://www.schrift.com/monday.htm
10 Tips To Make Sure Your Financial Budget Will Succeed
Youve analyzed your past expenses put them into spreadsheets loaded Quicken with all of your data and come up with a budget. Now what? The tough part! You actually have to stick to your budget and put your plans into action. This is easier said than done. In many cases you will have forgotten about your budget and your financial goals 6 months or a year down the road. How do you keep this from happening to you?
Heres how. Make sure you follow some of these tips below so this doesnt happen to you.
1. Create a budget with realistic targets Lets say one of your budget goals is to not eat out for lunch or dinner on a regular basis. If you are honest with yourself you may find this to be an unrealistic goal. Sometimes its a nice break to eat out and have a relaxing rewarding evening. In other words dont set the bar too high. Drastic and unrealistic goals are one of the surefire ways your budget will not succeed.
2. Budget for expenses that dont occur on a routine basis Make sure you give consideration to expenses that occur once a year such as holiday presents birthdays vacations weddings car maintenance costs etc. These expenses dont occur every month and they will bust your budget plans wide open. Make a list of these events on a calendar and put a dollar figure to them. Place them in the month they are expected to occur so you can plan in advance how you will pay for them. The regular routine expenses are not the reason your budget will fail. It is these gotchas that will wreck havoc on your budget if you dont plan for them.
3. Put your budget in writing Take the time to write down your budget plans. Making a mental note of your budget goals is a recipe for failure. Dont assume that your financial future will take care of itself by making a simple mental note to yourself. If you have your budget goals detailed in writing you can review and remind yourself weekly and monthly of your financial goals.
4. If you have a bad month or week dont give up! Lets say you have been reaching your budget goals for three months. In the fourth month for whatever reason you didnt reach your budget goals. Maybe you even stopped trying to stick to your budget! If this happens dont just throw your hands up in the air and admit to failure. Everyone falls off the wagon sometimes. Your budget is a journey. There will be bumps in the road so the key is to realize that everyone makes mistakes. This relates to a story I like about a great old time golfer named Walter Hagen. Before each round of golf he told himself that he would have 4 or 5 bad shots. During the golf round if he hit his ball into a bunker he would tell himself There is one of my bad shots that I was expecting hit the ball out of the bunker and move on. It didnt phase him one bit because he had knew there would be some bad shots in his round.
5. Adjust your budget over time This one is a biggie! It can take months or even years to fine tune a personal budget. When you initially made your budget plans you probably had to guess at some of your figures. They might not have been in touch with the realities of every day life. For example you may have underestimated your monthly grocery or utility bills. If this happens analyze all of the underlying money that was spend in this category to see if your initial estimate was unrealistic. If it was try to come up with a more accurate number and then to stick to that new figure. It is this type of adjustment that is one of the keys to making sure you can stick to your budget.
6. Review your budget every month This is where you will make any adjustments that are needed. Set aside the first day of each new month to review your income and expenditures and match them to your budget goals. By actively reviewing your finances and comparing it to your budget you can adjust your spending habits. This gives you a chance to analyze areas that exceeded your budget expectations and make the adjustments in your spending habits or your budget. The goal here is to not forget about your budget. One tip that has worked for me is to put a printout of my basic budget goals on the refrigerator. That way every day several times a day I would notice my budget goals sheet. I may not read it every time but I notice it and it reminds me that I need to stick to my budget. That is why tip number 3 is so important.
7. Set specific shortterm goals Lets say one of your budget goals is to have all of your credit card bills paid off in two years. If your credit card balances total 20000 that would be 10000 a year. Divide that number further into quarterly reductions in your credit card bills in this case 2500 every 3 months. Now this is a more tangible budget goal to shoot for isnt it? I find that when I divide intermediate and long term goals into shortterm tangible stepping stones I am able to feel a greater sense of accomplishment and am more likely to succeed. This brings us to number eight
8. Reward yourself Thats right! Treat yourself when you reach your some of your shortterm goals. Since your financial budget is really a journey take some time to smell the roses on your way. Sticking to your budget should not be a restrictive unpleasant experience. Not only should you take the time to enjoy your financial accomplishments along the way but use part of your budget for fun things that you enjoy. Just make sure your rewards dont end up breaking your budget!
9. Pay yourself first Im sure that one of your budget goals is to save and invest a portion of your income. One of the keys to make sure you succeed at this is to do what the IRS does with your paycheck take it out of your discretionary income immediately. This way the money is saved away right off the bat. Move the money immediately into a savings or mutual fund account. Many mutual fund companies can setup automatic deductions from your paycheck. Despite your best intentions to save the hectic daily demands of life can reduce the amount you are able to save.
10. Attitude is everything When most people think of a budget they picture restrictions and pain. Almost like a diet. You know what happens with most diets? They dont seem work for long! First if your budget is too strict too restrictive on your spending it wont work either. However you will need to limit your spending in some areas and this will take some adjustment in your attitude. I found that when I am feeling limited and sorry for myself when I cant purchase something that I want I remember my financial goals I set with my budget. I think about the satisfaction I feel when I reach those goals. Over time you find that you dont want to disappoint yourself by breaking your spending goals on a spur of the moment purchase. Now I actually get more pleasure knowing that I am reaching my budget goals when the thought of an impulse purchase crosses my mind.
If you follow these tips your budget plans are more likely to be a great success. By taking some simple steps you will find that living within a budget is not as tough as you imagined. It can actually be fun and rewarding!
About the writer:
Greg Quincy is the publisher of the website www.financialtipsforyou.com offering his insights and tips that he has gained from working in the financial industry and the economic challenges of raising a family.
Copyright copy; 2005 FinancialTipsForYou.com
10 Quick Ways To Start A Business
Are you thinking about starting a home based business?
Great!
Now is the time to stop daydreaming about your plans.
Take hold of your future and realize that dream NOW!
The following are home based business ideas that do not require extensive background training education or startup money.
What you will need is:
Strong Determination.
High Motivation.
Hard Work.
Let’s get started with the list.
1.Teach. That’s right! Teach a course at your local community center college or you might consider setting up a workshop in your home. Use that expert knowledge in fly fishing golf sewing cooking gardening computers accounting writing editing to start a business fast!.
2. Write. Contact your local community paper and offer to write a weekly article on a subject you are very familiar with. One friend who is a herbalist contacted a local paper offering to write an article on spec. The editor was very impressed with the depth of her knowledge ( was clearly shown in the article) and hired her to write a weekly piece.
3. Ghost. Contact local businesses and offer to write riveting eye catching ads for their products or services. Many small businesses are not adept at writing good ad copy. These smaller companies surely require the services of a good copy writer.
4. Tour Guide. If you live in a historic area with many interesting points that tourist would like to visit up close and personal you might consider starting a walking tour. Offer unusual historical tidbits they would not get from the usual tour guides.
5. Secret Shopper. Secret Shopping is a good part time business for stay at home moms students retired folks or just about anyone who wants to make an extra income. It’s simple to get into this business and you can work the hours you want. Basically you will observe the designated business and how they treat consumers. Then you will compile your findings into a written report and submit it to your companies district headquarters via email or regular mail. They will submit your findings to the companies management for further evaluation. Click Below for further information on Secret Shopping Business. http://hop.clickbank.net/?xy123/shop4pay
6. Heh Mr DJ. Like music? Gather together current hit music CD’s and offer your services to DJ at birthday parties graduation parties anniversaries family reunions. Consider specializing in one type of popular music like Classic Rock Seventies Hits Disco Country HipHop.
7. Survey Says. Taking fun online surveys is a great way to make an extra income. Thousands of people are joining this group of home based workers everyday. Many of these companies are paying survey takers from 5 to 100 for giving their opinions on various products services the latest movies music. The trick is to know which companies pay well and promptly. There is still time to get into this business before the market is filled. Click the link below for more info on taking fun surveys for profit. http://hop.clickbank.net/?xy123/survey1183
8. Information. Information is a hot selling commodity on the Internet. So why not write an informative ebook on a popular topic that you have special knowledge on! Publish and sell the ebook online. Visit my website and download the ebook below! How I Started My Own Home Based Business Learn how one Information Specialist Started His Biz Click Here: http://www.geocities.com/smallbizbits/ebooks.html
9. Build It. Offer to build a one or two page website for local business owners to advertise their services. Offer to build and submit the site to search engines and charge a fee slightly lower than competitors to peek interest.
10. Research. All you need is a computer connected to the Internet and a modem and you are in business. There are many businesses that would pay you good money for specialized legal or medical information you will find in databases online.
About the writer:
BB Lee is the editor and the publisher of SmallBizBits Newsletter. Visit Now for unique home based business ideas free ebooks and free newsletter. http://www.geocities.com/smallbizbits. Subscribe: mailto:Smallbizsubscribetopica.com
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