Sunday, July 26, 2009

What To Look For In A Mentor

CUTTING EDGE BUSINESS WITH CUTTING EDGE PRODUCTS

Before deciding to seek out a mentor, you must first determine what you hope to gain from the relationship. That means you need to spend time thinking about both your short and long term goals. Once you're fully clear on where you want to be, the selection process becomes that much easier.

When people think about mentors, they often visualize a classic business setting, where everything is formal and methodical, but mentoring relationships aren't limited to business. The truth is, you may desire a mentor for any number of reasons.

Consider these types of mentors:

Life Guidance. These life mentors are often referred to as "life coaches."

Spiritual Advisors. You can look to a priest, pastor, or friend to mentor you spiritually.

Everyday Mentors. Sometimes we even have unofficial mentors who are simply people we admire in our community or peer group with great ideas on home based business.

Choosing a Mentor

When looking for a mentor, seek someone who possesses the qualities, skills, and experiences you hope to one day have yourself. A mentor should be someone who fits your idea of success, has a positive attitude, and openly shares his or her knowledge with you.

You might want a mentor who's at the pinnacle of success within your field so you can learn from the best. Alternately, you might want to select someone as a mentor who's only slightly higher ranking than you, this way you can learn what you need to help take you to the next level.

Choosing the high ranking executive helps you with long term goals, while selecting the mentor who's closer to your own experience level makes it easier to focus on a specific area of expertise so you can achieve your shorter term goals.

An ideal situation may involve both types of mentors. This way you get a well-rounded experience that allows you to benefit both in the short and long term. Either way, you should find someone who isn't afraid to challenge you to reach your true potential.

Establishing a Beneficial Relationship

When you've selected your mentor candidate, draw up a plan to present to them detailing what you hope to give and receive from the relationship. This will help the potential mentor decide if they can provide you with the experience and knowledge you desire for your home based business ideas.

It's only fair to both of you to be as upfront as possible about your expectations. If you aren't clear on what you hope to gain, the relationship has little chance for success.

Successful Mentorship Begins with You

Once the relationship has been established, actively communicate your needs to the mentor in order to take the sessions in the direction you'd like to go.

You should be in the driver's seat, even though you're the junior party in the relationship. Without providing your mentor with guidance, the mentorship may not be fruitful for you. After all, if you don't let your mentor know what you need, he can't possibly give you what you hope to gain.

It's important throughout the relationship for the mentor to be supportive of your home based business ideas. A good mentor will be patient with you. They'll create an open and welcome environment that allows for earnest questions and concerns while making you feeling safe.

A successful mentorship will enable you to feel more confident, skilled, and knowledgeable. The reward for the mentor will be seeing the results of the positive impact they were able to make on someone else's life.

Follow these tips to find great mentors in any area you'd like to strengthen and enjoy a relationship that brings fruits to your labor and greater life fulfillment to both of you.

William Drapcho
http://ProfitpalsForLife.com

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Dealing With Job Loss

CUTTING EDGE BUSINESS WITH CUTTING EDGE PRODUCTS

With the economy taking a nosedive, many people are landing in the unemployment line. If you've suffered the loss of your job, it's heartening to discover that there are specific actions you can take to cope with this challenge and get back on your feet. You might even consider a home based business idea. Opportunities are endless if you are looking online. If you think your job search will take a while, explore the benefits and advantages to having a home business.

Keep in mind that, while it's certainly distressing to lose your job, it has the potential to bring you an exciting new beginning. The right attitude can help you immensely in seeing this hardship through!

Here are some things you can do in the meantime to minimize the damage and come out on top:

1. Openly discuss your job loss with your spouse. Since this affects both of you, be sure to make plans together and agree on implementing changes in your spending habits to lessen the impact.

* Evaluate where you stand financially. Determine how much savings you can rely on and what bills are coming due around the corner.
* Draw up a short-term financial plan to follow while you figure things out.

2. Check with your employer. Even though your job has ended, the final details are important to your financial future.

* Be sure you understand your insurance options, such as COBRA, so that you and your family can remain covered without any lapses during your search for a new job.

* Ask if you can receive a severance package. If one is available, find out every detail, such as beginning and ending dates for each of the benefits. Account for every dollar closely.

3. Apply for unemployment benefits from your state. Most states offer online applications to help expedite the process and get you enrolled quickly. Unemployment benefits can bring in some much-needed income while you're job hunting.

4. Pull out your resume, dust it off and add your most recent information. Consider posting your resume online on job sites and Craigslist and print plenty of copies to drop off or mail.

* Start your job search by looking online at job boards, forums, and classified ads, as well as applying directly to companies via their websites. The internet allows you to search the entire world right from the comfort of your own home, and can open doors of opportunity that were previously unavailable to you!

5. Develop an unflagging optimism about this opportunity you've been given. Offer positive, affirming thoughts to yourself and your family to keep everyone's spirit high.

* Positive thinking can make a huge difference on how quickly you find the right job. Enthusiasm will impress prospective employers much more than if you sink into a negative outlook and carry it with you unintentionally during interviews.

6. Talk about your unemployment with your kids, too. Your children should know that times are a little tougher and that you need to cut back on spending. Reassure them that things will be okay and use age-appropriate information so as not to stress or scare them.

7. Consider all options. Many times in life, what initially appears to be negative ends up being a blessing in disguise, and losing your job is no exception.

* Perhaps you weren't completely happy with your job, but were hesitant to leave it. Now that the decision has been made for you, you finally have the opportunity to try out a new profession, company or that home based business idea you have been thinking about.

* The possibilities are endless. You can even use a layoff as an opportunity to explore a new area of the country, travel the world for a new job, or work online with one of the many home based business ideas.

You can find success in the face of adversity. As long as you think positively and work hard, don't be surprised if you come out of this entire experience better off than you were before!

William Drapcho
http://ProfitpalsForLife.com

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Starting Your Own eZine Isn't Too Difficult

CUTTING EDGE BUSINESS WITH CUTTING EDGE PRODUCTS

Starting your own eZine can be a lot easier than you think for a home based business idea. This is because in the most basic necessity, all you really need to get started publishing your own paperless newsletter are a wealth of content, auto responder with broadcast feature, and a website (which is optional). You can control the content for your eZine to attract the type of reader you want to build your list. As they say, the money is in the list.
Content

You can compile weeks of content ahead in advance and slowly dispense them to your subscribers. For example, you can compile 100 short tips in one day and dispense 10 tips once a week. In other words, you can compile 10 weeks worth of content in just one day!Article network sites have many articles that you can use for your eZine newsletter.You can have tons of content at your disposal if you belong to an article publishing site.

Auto responder

Your auto responder is your asset. To store your data base of subscribers, and send out your eZine, you will need an autoresponder. Some recommended auto responders include GetResponse.com and aWeber.com.Do a search for other autoresonders and you might find some that are free.Make sure any other autoresponder can handle to traffic and do the things you'll need it to do as you grow.

Website

You may be surprised that this is actually an optional component for this home based business idea. Many publishers of eZines publish without a website! You can however have a website, which could deliver you more subscribers and index your site higher in top Search Engines.If you want to increase your sign-ups, make sure you have an attractive squeeze page or capture page. You can use this to advertise your eZine and capture the information such as name, email address and even phone number.

These are the things you need to get started on publishing your own eZine at its bare minimum. Some eZine publishers only survive with content and an autoresponder, and never use a website. And you can, too! This is your home based business idea, so you control everything. But at least keep these several components as the base that holds it all together.

William Drapcho
http://ProfitpalsForLife.com