Having multiple streams of income can be equated to McDonalds serving chicken sandwiches even though they’re a burger joint. If you put all your eggs in one basket you’re just looking for trouble. Also, as an affiliate it’s fairly easy to setup multiple streams of income because there is usually an abundance of different programs with decent products available.

Within most niches you’ll probably even be able to find products that complement each other instead of competing with each other. This is an excellent way to bolster your affiliate earnings.

The first order of business is to get your own web site. Something basic will do as you won’t need too much web space. There are very inexpensive hosting plans available today, some as cheap as $3.95 a month.

Next you’ll need a domain name. These are also very inexpensive and can be purchased for under $10 for a whole year.

Your domain name is very important. You’ll want to try to include the name of the niche you’re targeting in the domain name itself if you can and if it’s not too long. If you’re looking at the dog grooming niche for example you may want a name like “doggroomingtips.com” or “doggroomingsecrets.com” or something similar.

The next project on your agenda when attempting to achieve multiple streams of affiliate income should be to create your email capture page.

Your capture page should be your top priority. Consider this your sales page even though you won’t be selling anything in the true sense of the word. By capturing the name and email address of your prospects before sending them to the merchants site you’ll build a list that you can send other offers to whether they purchase from the original merchant or not.

It’s been said many times by the internet’s top marketers, “The money’s in the list”! This rings true for affiliate marketers as well as product creators. You can build a list by writing a special report pertaining to the niche you’re targeting. Perhaps you can write a review of the product you’re promoting or a “top ten” list of reasons to use the product. Offer the report for free so long as your visitor leaves their name and email address. Use a double opt-in autoresponder to protect yourself from unethical folks.

After the prospect has confirmed their address send them to the download page of your special report. And a word of advice - Don’t just send a download link. By sending them to an HTML web page you can sprinkle in links to different affiliate products.

Also, write up 7-10 emails to go out at 2-3 day intervals, each highlighting a different aspect of the main product you’re promoting. Then you can add more emails to go out at 7-10 day intervals exposing your readers to different products in the same niche. Explain how these products complement your main product and why your reader would benefit from the purchase.

By setting up a few of these simple sites offering an array of special reports in one niche you’ll be promoting several different affiliate products within that niche.

Find a variety of other profitable niches to target, repeat the above process and soon you’ll have a whole network of sites funneling prospects into your sales process. The result -You’ll soon have multiple streams of affiliate income in several different niches producing substantial income.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

It’s a great thing because these people have an energy about them. They have an air of making things happen, simply because that’s exactly what they are doing. They don’t necessarily take action without giving things sufficient thought, but they certainly don’t waste time by postponing the action any longer than they should.

It’s as if these action-oriented individuals have no procrastination filter in place. As if it doesn’t even dawn on them that they could postpone taking action. They just go ahead as if it were the only logical thing to do. Of course in many cases that’s exactly what moving into action is: the only logical thing to do. Yet how many times have you found yourself in a situation where, for some strange reason, you didn’t shift into gear immediately? Instead you thought about it for a while and then you decided to make a mental note and pick it up somewhere later in the day or perhaps later in the week. Only to find that whatever it was you intended to do, you never came around to doing it.

Being around an individual that’s action oriented can also be quite embarrassing because it often confronts us with our own habits of procrastinating. Most of us put off many things for a variety of reasons. Actually the word ‘reason’ isn’t really correct in this context. The word ‘excuse’ comes much closer to the truth. Sometimes the excuses are obvious. Making a phone call to someone can be painful if you have to deliver bad news or, perhaps worse, if you expect to be on the receiving end of bad news. However many times people tend to put off little things that really aren’t worth fussing over. Things like setting an appointment with the local car repair shop to get your windshield fixed or cleaning out a desk drawer; actions that would be over and done with in a couple of minutes that we sometimes put off for weeks for no apparent reason.

Without getting into any specific actions it can be said that the tendency to take action leads to better results in business and in life in general. Samuel Golden, a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer stated, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. Early in the twentieth century he was at the cradle of the company that later evolved into Paramount Pictures. A decade later he joined forces with two other Broadway producers to found the Golden Pictures Corporation. This company was eventually purchased by Metro Pictures Corporation forming the well-known Metro-Golden-Mayer.

Samuels statement on the correlation between taking action and good fortune sure rang true for him and it still does to this day for many other people. It just seems that successful people are more inclined to take action. And of course this is no coincidence. Empirical evidence supports the theory that lady luck really does favor the action-oriented man. The more actions you will undertake the more successes you can expect to encounter. Of course you will also encounter your share of so-called failures, but failures are part and parcel of becoming a success.

Anyone that is considered a successful person can tell you that they have undertaken more actions than the average person, probably many more. But somehow they don’t think of it as a chore. Many of them just do it and as a result of that doing they get all the rewards.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

A payday loan is normally a very small loan (under $1,000). Unlike regular loans, payday loans rarely require a credit check. The terms on payday loans are much shorter than other loans and the borrower is usually required to pay back the loan in full within anywhere from two weeks to two months. Payday loans are marketed as a way to get fast cash to hold the borrower over until their next paycheck.

When a borrower applies for a payday loan they are required to present the lender with either a post-dated check or permission to debit their bank account on an agreed upon future date. The finance charge is almost always very high and often comes in the form of a fixed dollar amount as opposed to an interest rate percentage that is found with a standard loan. Many payday loan companies are not licensed or regulated by consumer laws and will charge the borrower the maximum amount that they think they can get. Payday loans are generally very costly for borrowers and should be avoided if possible.

If you do find yourself in an emergency situation where you need to use the services of a payday loan company, then it is absolutely imperative that you repay your payday loan as soon as possible. If you’re unable to repay your loan at the end of the agreed upon term, you’ll be charged hefty fees in addition to the initial finance charge. Payday loans are much more expensive than other borrowing options. The average APR (annual percentage rate) on a payday loan is somewhere around 400%, however, it’s often as high as 5000%! If you have a credit card with available credit, you are almost always better off taking a cash advance from your card, as opposed to getting a payday loan. Even the highest credit card APR out there isn’t nearly as high as most payday loan rates.

Now that you’re aware of the potential pitfalls of payday loans, you can decide whether or not it is the type of loan product that fits your needs. Payday loans can be beneficial if you’re in need of fast cash in a pinch; however, be prepared to pay the price!

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

1. Offer a free newsletter: This is very common and very effective. It is used by virtually everyone who builds an opt-in list of potential buyers of an Internet marketer’s product. The reason everyone uses it is because it is effective. Have your free newsletter prominently seen on your web page.

2. Make your free newsletter easy to get: You must have a “you’d be a fool not to get this newsletter” sentence telling people why and how your newsletter will help them. Make subscribing to it quick and easy.

3. Quality content in your web site: The better the content, the better your ranking in the search engines and therefore the more visitors will come to your website. There is a good chance that many of the visitors of your web page will sign up for your free newsletter.

4. Join forums: Search for and join any forum that is related to your business. Most of these forums allow you to add a signature line directly under your post where you can put a link that goes to your newsletter subscription information.

5. Write articles: You need to establish yourself as an expert in your particular field. And how do you do that? write articles. Your articles will contain useful information and the byline will contain a link to your newsletter subscription.

6. Write an eBook: This will establish you as an expert similar to writing articles. An additional bonus to this technique is many Internet marketers are often looking for freebies they can give to visitors of their website. Your eBook can be one of those freebies. Inside you will have various links back to your site and your free newsletter. Your eBook does not need to win any prizes for literary content nor does it need to be long; just write solid, useful information.

7. Use Co-registration. I saved the best for last. The top marketing experts on the Internet use this secret today. This will build your list rapidly in a short amount of time. What is co-registration you ask? It refers to the practice of referring subscriptions or leads for memberships with another registration process. There are several ways of doing this.

When a visitor signs up for a free subscription or other service, give them the chance on the “thank-you” page to opt-in to another offer. Another way is give the visitors to a website the opportunity to sign up for another opt-in list. These do not need to be your “thank-you” pages or websites. You need to partner up with another web marketer.

The goal here is to find other website owners who you can joint venture with to offer your newsletter along with theirs. Do a search via your favorite search engine and directories for similar offers and contact the people to set up your joint venture.

Here are two additional secrets to this co-registration process. First, make sure you offer more value than the other party involved in your joint venture. Second, offer your leads you get from this process more value than you usually offer by giving them a huge giveaway only available to them.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

The following are 7 guidelines for Powerful Presentations:

1: 80-20 Rule

Realize that 80% of your material must be information your audience already knows. Sound strange? Think of it this way. When we advanced through school each year’s lessons grew from the material from the previous year. For instance we learned the alphabet, then words, then we were able to put sentences together, and then we studied structure, punctuation, grammar, paragraphs…

80% of school is remedial of the previous year. This is how we learn. To make the 80% of the material interesting you need to simply add your own unique personality. Then connect the 80% with the 20% for new material and your audience will be sitting on the edge of their seats. Learning is about seeing known material in new ways and making connections to new material. If these percentages are reversed you will lose you audience in a thick fog of confusion.

2: Know Your Audience

Research your audience. What do they know? What do they want to know more about? When you can answer these two questions you are well on your way to putting together a powerful presentation that leaves them enlightened and feeling good.

Proper Attire and Grooming:

A suit and tie may not be advisable if you are speaking to a “Youth Without Shelter” group. They will likely feel like you are preaching from an “Ivory Tower” perspective. Conversely, ripped jeans and a T-shirt may not be advisable in a business setting.

3: Have a Plan

After you choose a topic decide on how you want to present it. Will you use visual aids? What is your purpose? Maybe you want to inspire some sort of action from your audience like buying your products. Prepare, prepare, prepare… Know your material. There should be no doubt in the mind of your audience that you have earned the right to talk about this subject.

Briefly tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. This will reinforce your message.

4: Practice

The success of becoming good at anything, including public speaking, is practice. Give your presentation in front of the mirror, notice your posture; practice on your family and friends; imagine giving your presentation to a thousand people as you practice.

Does your voice project? Could a person sitting in the back row hear you? Are you using vocal variety including volume, pitch, and tone? How is the pace; too fast, slow, or just right?

5: Over the Top Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm originally meant possessed by the Gods. Ignite passion about your subject into the audience; light their minds and move their bodies with your words and gestures! They should be sitting on the edge of their seats ready to take action at your beckon call. It is difficult to stay tuned-in to a boring, monotone speaker; it is impossible to turn away from somebody possessed with enthusiasm.

6: Make Your Audience Feel Good

Give lots of praise and be personal. Thank them for being there and let them know that you are honored to be addressing them. Tell them a funny story about yourself. Maybe it was when you were on stage one time and flubbed your lines. If you flub your lines any time while speaking, make a quick joke about it and keep going. Remember most of the people in your audience are scared to death of public speaking. After all your preparation and practice it’s time to be natural, human.

7: It’s Not About You

Realize that your presentation is not about you. It’s not even about the presentation. It’s about how the audience responds to the presentation. When you can direct your attention away from your fear and your self-image you will have taken the biggest step toward getting intimate with your audience and delivering the messages in the way that best suits them.

You have to feel into your audience. You have to know when they are drifting, what puts them on the edge of their seats, what they disagree with. This type of connection can only happen if your step out of your own fears and anxieties and into the hopes and dreams of your audience.

Ask a lot of questions. Even rhetorical questions are great. This engages the mind. Understand that when you ask a question, the people in your audience cannot not answer. That’s the way the mind works. Whether they use a physical gesture, answer out loud, or silently the mind will answer. Does that make sense?

To sum up: The most effective speakers jump at any opportunity to speak publicly, they move out of their own insecurities, focus on the audience, and get personally involved with their messages. Practice, practice, practice until you can speak naturally from your heart, then allow your presentation to flow in the direction of their wants, needs, and interests.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

First, always talk to a qualified business attorney (not your family lawyer). There are a lot of laws pertaining to how equity capital can be raised from the public, and the laws change often. You need someone who understands not only these laws, but also how to make sure that any business contracts are written to protect you and your business, especially the fine print.

1. Getting money from relatives. Yes, it can seem like begging, and it’s a difficult thing to have to swallow your pride. Surprisingly, in a recent survey, almost 30% of entrepreneurs said that they raised all or part of the capital they needed through family members. If this is your choice, make sure that you have your attorney draw up a regular business contract. When approaching family members, talk to them about their investment the same way you would any other outside investor. Tell them about how much money they can make, not about how much you need their help. And make sure that you keep to your end of the agreement.

2. Using your savings or credit cards. This is the most common way for entrepreneurs to raise needed business capital. Before choosing this method however, talk with your financial advisor. You want to look at the long-term consequences of using your savings, life insurance or credit cards, especially in the event that your business venture fails, or does not bring in the projected return on investment (ROI). If you do end up financing your project using credit cards, make sure that you shop around first, and find the card that will offer you the best rate and gives you the most “bang” for your buck.

3. Venture Capital and Angel Investors. Before even looking for venture capital, look at your company from an outsider’s point of view. Ask yourself these questions: Does your company have a solid track record? (Most venture capitalists don’t invest in start up companies). Does your company have the potential of becoming very large in the next five to seven years? (People don’t invest in your company out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re looking for a return on their investment — the larger the better.) Does your company own a good percentage of its market, or does it stand to gain a large percentage in the next 12 to 18 months? (Contrary to popular belief, your company doesn’t have to be involved in high tech to attract venture capital). If you can answer yes to the above questions, your next step is to find a venture capital firm whose ideals and goals are in line with yours. Your next step should be to look at your “circle of influence” and see if you know someone who can give you a personal introduction to someone at the venture capital firm. (People invest in people, not just companies.)

4. Potential or Current Employees. Surprisingly, one of the most common ways (especially for new companies) to raise equity capital, is by inviting your potential or current employees the opportunity to become investors. With this method, not only do you get a really committed workforce, but many equity employees are also willing to accept a below-market wage in the beginning (especially if you do the same). There are other benefits, but this choice is not without its pitfalls as well. Again, before going this route, talk to your business attorney, and put policies into place that plan for potential problems. For example, what do you do if an employee’s work becomes substandard? Or an employee quits and goes into competition with you after learning all of the company secrets? Putting a risk management plan into place and considering all contingencies is your best bet for this option.

5. Taking your company public. Although security laws in the U.S. have made it easier for companies to go public, and offer stock as a way to raise needed funds, this is still probably the most risky choice. It is usually not a recommended option for very new or very small companies. Because of the number of legal issues involved, consulting with a knowledgeable attorney beforehand is vital. There is also a lot of stress involved in running a public company, and a considerable loss of autonomy and control. Before making this choice, be absolutely sure that this is the wisest course of action for your business.

No matter which choice you make in looking for equity capital, by planning ahead, doing your homework and following the advice of your attorney, you’ll increase the probability of raising the money you need and making the relationship between you and your investors a profitable one.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Basic steps
The first area that you should make sure that you have in place is the foundation for a successful blog (back to the basics). Here are few things that you should keep in mind:

(1) Make sure your blog has a niche topic so you can make a concerted effort to reach specific blog visitors. For example, if you have a hobby such as collecting rare books, then your main topic should be concentrated on reaching web visitors who need a rare book.

(2) Use categories/tags that are sub-topics of your main topic. Going with the previous niche topic, then good sub-topics would be: authors, genre, illustrated, modern, historic, etc.

(3) Content is key to building traffic to your website. Make sure that your content includes the keywords that you want associated to your niche blog.

Next Steps
Once you have the basics in place, then you need to create a “community” within your blog. Building a “community” means that you want to create a reason for repeat visits by your blog visitors. This will help you in the long run to one day setup a membership website. What does it take to build a “community”? Glad you asked. Below is a short list of things you can do.

(1) Create a way for your web visitors to contribute to your blog. This can be done by allowing them to comment on your blog posts or by allowing them to submit content to be considered for posting to your blog.

(2) Ask your web visitors to submit a link for consideration to be added to your “blogroll” in exchange for them putting a link back to your blog from theirs.

(3) Visit article websites such as www.EzineArticles.com and find articles that are in your niche. You would have to give credit to the author of the article but it is a great way to add content to your website.

Final step
Give your blog visitors a reason to come back by rewarding them for continuously visiting your blog.

(1) Give-away freebies to your blog visitors.

(2) Create a way for them to tell-a-friend about your blog.

(3) Have a contest for guest authors in your niche topic to be guest authors on your blog and ask them to share a link to the article on your blog from theirs.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

“The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy
If you take it logically”

So, let’s look at the problem logically for a minute. Here are four basic ways you can increase your profits:

1. You can charge more for your products or services.
2. You can sell more of your products or services to your existing clients.
3. You can find additional clients.
4. You can find ways to cut back on your business expenses.

“Slip Out the Back, Jack” (Simple ways to save money):

So, if you’re on a shoestring budget (and who isn’t these days?), then obviously you need to do everything you can to save as much money as possible, and make as much money as possible, as quickly and easily as possible. Here are 10 simple ideas you can use:

1. Know your target market. Who are your “ideal” customers?
Where do they shop? What do they read? What solutions are they looking for that your business provides? The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be able to target your promotions towards them, which will increase your bottom line two ways – it will save you spending money on advertising that doesn’t work, and it will increase your sales, because you’re offering your customers what they really want.

2. Get double duty out of any contact with your customers. If you sell products, put your contact information on everything –products, bags, invoices sales receipts. Make it easy for everyone to find you. Give away something free. If you have a Website (and if you don’t, then get one), give your customers something for giving you their contact information. Free Ebooks, reports, or software are all good choices (just make sure it’s relevant to your customers). Anytime you send your customers anything – a product, a newsletter, an invoice –include a coupon or information about your latest products or services. To save money on postage, if you have a brick and mortar store, put a copy of your latest newsletter or an informational flyer in your customer’s bag after each sale.

3. Reward your customers. Set up a reward program. Offer them a reward for anyone they refer who becomes a customer. Or give your customers a free gift when they spend $50 (or whatever amount makes sense in your business). When they’re eligible for the free gift, offer them an upgrade to something bigger or better for a few dollars more. Start a customer loyalty program. Provide “customer only” sales, or promotions. Let your customers earn points, or “magic money” that they can use to redeem your products or services.

4. Get ready for your close-up. When you’re brainstorming about creating a promotion or advertising campaign, don’t forget about your local cable TV channel. You may be pleasantly surprised by how low their rates actually are. Create your own television commercial or infomercial. Although you may not be ready for prime time, you can still target your ad to reach your customers.

5. Get involved in your community. Find a nonprofit organization that is doing work you believe in, and either publicly support their program, or be one of their sponsors for an upcoming event or fundraiser. Use the advertising spot to let people know about the fundraiser (and, incidentally, your business). You could put together an inexpensive ad campaign that will help those in need, increase your visibility and let your potential customers know that you’re supportive and aware of the needs of the community.

“Make a new plan, Stan” (Business Planning Basics):

6. Beef up your business plan. If you don’t have a business plan, make writing one a priority. Your business plan is more than just a way to interest investors. It’s a road map that will help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. That old saying, “If you fail to plan then you’re planning to fail” really is true when it comes to business.

“No need to be coy, Roy” (Ask your customers):

7. Get testimonials from your satisfied clients. But don’t stop there. What about creating your own television commercial that you can run in your store? (With a video camera and a little ingenuity, you could even create your own infomercial that shows customers how to use or get the most out of your products or services. If you’ve got a Website, put an audio testimonial on there. (And don’t forget to include pictures).

8. Speak up. Again, keeping in mind who your ultimate ideal customers are and what their most pressing problems are, write an article, offer a free seminar, or offer to be a speaker at local chamber of commerce or other organization or community meetings. Being perceived as an “expert” is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to get the word out about your business, and bring in more customers.

“Just hop on the bus, Gus” (Expand your business potential)

9. Create joint ventures. Even if your primary business is a brick and mortar one, you can still create a joint venture that will help you save money by sharing the costs for advertising. What about creating a special “sidewalk sale” with other business owners on your street or in your neighborhood? Or finding businesses with complementary products or services to yours, and creating a “package deal”? If your business is only online, look for ways you can partner with other businesses – maybe you could create solo ads and promote each other’s products or services in your mailing lists. There are a lot of ways you can save money and increase your client base if you’re willing to get creative.

“Just drop off the key, Lee” (Provide the key solutions)

10. Let your customers know you know what their problems are. It’s sad but true that your customers don’t care how good your products or services are. They only want to know two things: do you understand what their problems are; and can you solve them. Give your customers the “key” to their problems, and you’ll have evangelistic customers who come back again and again.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

What can a cover letter do?
A good cover letter introduces your business or product, makes a sales pitch and provides a call to action. It arouses interest or curiosity and entices the recipient to read through the rest of your material.

Here are some tips that will help you to write effective cover letters, quickly and easily.

1. Always address your letter to a specific person, and include their job title. Make sure you’ve spelled their name right.

2. Use a “block” letter format, with text justified to the left and double spaced paragraphs. Have someone proofread your letter and watch for spelling and grammatical errors.

3. Keep your letter short — no more than one page. The longer the letter, the less effective it is.

4. Keep your paragraphs short and to the point. Your cover letter needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Most cover letters will be between four and six paragraphs long.

5. In your first paragraph, let the reader know why you are writing. (This is called the opening).

6. In your second paragraph, ask for what you want. If you’re asking for money, make sure you clearly state how much you need and what you plan to do with it. Keep your letter factual and don’t use obvious flattery.

7. In your third paragraph, explain your “why”. This paragraph is your sales pitch, so make it count. Focus on what makes you different from the competition, or why the reader should say yes.

8. Your fourth paragraph is your “call to action.” This paragraph needs to be more than just thanking the reader for taking the time to read your letter. What specifically do you want them to do next?

9. Your promise. This can be included in the fourth paragraph, or depending on the type of cover letter you’re writing, you can make it your P.S. This is how you will keep the lines of communication open. It tells your reader what you will do next. Are you going to call him? Will you be meeting again? Whatever you are going to do, make it specific and time oriented, so that the reader knows he has to do whatever you’ve asked him to do within a certain amount of time. (Make sure that you follow up exactly how and when you say you will).

10. Make it easy for the reader to get in touch with you if you have questions. Include your phone number and/or email address in the last sentence, and let them know that they should call you if they have any questions.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

While specialist advisors are a necessity to assist you throughout your business venture, the following steps will help you to evaluate any franchise opportunity you are considering.

1. KNOW YOURSELF
The first topic of research will be you. Consider your strengths and weaknesses. What is your level of knowledge, where might you need development and are your skills transferable? Will you be able to manage the high level of personal energy required to get yourself started? Are you a team player, or do you prefer to work alone? Will you require staff? Only after you have analyzed the depth of commitment required to start a new business venture will you be in a position to make a specific choice.

2. KNOW YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
The costs of a franchise can vary considerably. While smaller investments can be affordable through personal assets, most potential franchise owners will need to consider additional borrowing. The increase in small business ventures have compelled many banks to have business start up kits, which include information on the requirements of starting a business, self evaluation reports and financial planning forms. No matter how much security you can offer, banks need to be convinced that loans can be serviced. What the proposed business can afford is more important than what you have.

3. KNOW WHAT FRANCHISING IS
Find out all you can about franchising. In particular focus on the unique relationship that exists between franchisees and franchisors. Look for a Franchise Association closest to you to obtain guidance from. Once again the banks can provide a wealth of information in this regard; it is now within their interests to build relationships in an extremely competitive financial environment by providing separate departments that serve the franchise industry. Search the internet, but be aware that different countries will have different compliance issues. Even if you have a preference this early in the game, research is still a vital process that needs to be completed. There is also the chance that research will open up alternatives you may not have previously considered.

4. KNOW THE INDUSTRY
You have already analyzed your skills and knowledge; now look at the different types of businesses that you feel are potentially suitable. Identify the different companies that are offering opportunities in the area. Consider the requirements of the proposed industry and see if it matches your skills and aspirations. It is not necessary for you to have worked in this industry before, but you need to feel comfortable and happy working in this environment. How durable is the potential market? Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? Is it an international franchise or newly introduced to your area? Is the market large enough to sustain a long-term business? Get to know the franchisor. You need to be happy with the industry you will be working in and with the people you will be working with.

5. EVALUTE THE FRANCHISE
Once it is established that you are interested in a particular franchise, information will be sent to you. Read all the information you receive thoroughly noting any first impressions and any initial questions you may have. Discuss and clarify any concerns you have with the franchisor. The size of the franchise should not restrict the availability of information you need regarding the company’s history and profile, market conditions, the franchisees role and the costs involved. Examine company records in detail, check credit references. Closely examine the outline of the franchise particularly the manner in which the franchise is sold and operated. Look at all the details of any commissions’ payable on the sale of the franchise and ask to see references of present franchises and company outlets. Make sure you understand the components that make up the franchise fees.

6. QUESTIONS FOR THE FRANCHISOR
The greatest source of information you will obtain regarding the franchise system is from the franchisor. Prepare for every meeting with your list of items that need to be clarified. Ask all the questions you need in relation to the franchise, products and services. Do not be afraid to ask questions relating to the profitable viability of the franchise. You need to find out the success of the franchise, talk to other franchisees as well. What training and support exists? Is the franchise bound by any code of practice?

7. TALK TO THE FRANCHISEES
The surest method of evaluating any franchise will be to talk to a number of franchisees in existing businesses. In this way, you will get a realistic assessment. What value have they got from their business, both financial and personal? Make sure you chose the franchisees to speak with. You may not get a balanced picture if you speak only to ‘approved’ franchisees. The perspective of international outlets can also be of use, but, remember to consider different conditions, population structures and competition.

8. SPECIALISED FINANCIAL ADVICE
There could be some reluctance on the part of the franchisor to reveal financial projections in case they are viewed as guaranteed. However, what reports are available should provide relevant figures based on the existing climate. Whether the projections you receive are forecasted or guaranteed, an accountant with franchise experience should be able to give you qualified advice. Encourage your accountant to work with the franchisor. The franchisor will be able to offer cash flow, borrowing and overdraft guidelines. Take all the advice you can get. As a new business owner you do not want to start your business under capitalized.

9. SPECIALISED LEGAL ADVICE
It is important to fully understand the terms and conditions of the franchise agreement. Understanding your obligations and the franchisors responsibilities need to be clear from the start. Use a lawyer that specializes in franchise agreements to define legal terms you have difficulty with to save you time and money

10. CHECK WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR
Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you know what the up-front franchise fee includes and what refunds you may expect if you change your mind or fail the training. What are the performance criteria? You must also have a clear understanding of any ongoing costs. You need to know what fees are payable, how they are calculated and what they are for.

To maximize your chances of success it is imperative you do not rush your decision. Check out all aspects before you commit yourself. Be 100% certain that the franchise is right for you before you part with your money.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!