How do you pay the rent when business is slow?

How do you pay the rent when business is slow?
Every business has ups and downs, but when you are a
solopreneur, the downs can be devastating! If you don't
have another source of income or if you have used up your
financial reserves, your choices might boil down to j-o-b
or more debt.

Let's explore some alternatives, and fix this before it
goes too far!

I suggest a two-pronged attack with support. The support
is very, very important. Prospects can smell desperation a
mile away - it is very unattractive. Whatever it takes,
stay positive. You can use daily affirmations, pray, talk
to a buddy or a coach, etc. Believe you will bring it back
with all your being. If you don't really believe you will,
perhaps the best thing is for you to go ahead and get a job
- at least part time.

You might also need to tell the people around you to be
positive. This includes your spouse and your parents! Ask
them to just not talk to you about your business if you
think it will be difficult for them to stay positive.

The two-pronged attack involves a balance of actions
affecting the short term and the long term success of your
business. In the short term, you need to pay the rent this
month. In the long term, you need to retire comfortably -
or at least for now, to be able to pay the rent every month
without cutting it close.

In the short term, cash flow should be your only focus. If
you don't already know the quickest way to generate income,
do this exercise: on a spreadsheet, make a list of all your
clients from the last one or two years with the amount of
revenue you received from each in column 2. In the third
column enter where this client came from, then sort this
list by revenue amount.

Now review the list - where did your highest revenue
clients come from? Go back there, do what you do best and
get more clients. In fact, for a few days, be singularly
focused on getting clients. Don't do your bookkeeping or
filing, don't answer every email, you don't even have to
answer the phone - unless it is a prospect who might hire
you. Focus only on getting clients.

If just doing what you do to get clients isn't enough, you
need a promotion. Retailers do this all the time. Create
a great deal with an expiration date. For example, for the
people in your networking group, offer $100 for every
referral who turns into a client for the next 6 weeks.
Call it by a clever name that has something to do with the
season, a holiday or an event. It could be the "I just got
a new dog and she needs professional training" promotion,
or the "My daughter just started college and I have 30 days
to buy her soul back from the devil" sale.

Other promotional execution options, depending on your
previous level of success and pricing strategy, include:
- BOGO - Buy One Get One could be buy one get one free, buy
one get one half price, etc. Could also be buy 2 get one
free.
- % Off - This works best if you can offer a very
attractive % off
- $ Off - This usually works better than % off, depending
on your pricing strategy. Offering 10% off of a $500
product sounds a little wimpy, but a $50 rebate is
attractive! You can't buy a pair of shoes with 10%, but
you can with $50!

When you start to get burned out or have done what you
could for now, you need to plant seeds for the long term,
or at least for the mid term. What do you KNOW will bring
you clients later? What I mean by this is - you can spend
your time rewriting your website pages, but if you are not
certain these actions will bring business, find something
else to do that will.

Examples of comparatively inexpensive strategies that take
longer to bear fruit include networking and publishing
articles online. Public speaking can sometimes take time
to schedule speaking engagements and write a talk. Direct
mail, print and email advertising can be very fruitful and
very expensive. Before investing in these, make sure you
know what you're doing and that you are very targeted.

In summary, you need to be completely confident in the
success of your business, focus on cash flow immediately
and then plant seeds for the future.

----------------------------------------------------
Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is "The Tigress". Get
her FREE Special Report, "Closing the Sale is Not
Complicated!" and her FREE monthly email newsletter at
http://www.TigressCoaching.com .

Make Your Message Irresistible and Clients Will Flock to You

Make Your Message Irresistible and Clients Will Flock to You
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is
trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

To attract clients consistently and with little effort,
your marketing message must be clear and it must stand out.
There's no way around it. If what you say about your
business and what prospects read about it isn't sounding
irresistible to them, they'll move on to the next person.
Guaranteed.

So, your task is to stand out from the pack and to make
prospects really stand up and listen to what you have to
offer. In my opinion, standing out from the pack is easiest
if you have an expertise or a niche. (But you knew that
already.) So, what's stopping you? Well, after having
worked with thousands of people on this issue, I've come up
with 2 reasons why most people don't niche:

They believe they'll turn away opportunities if they go too
narrow. They wouldn't even know where to start (and most
are going about it the WRONG way). Let's start with the
first point.

Believing that you'll turn away clients and opportunities
if you niche is actually completely and utterly invalid. It
comes from a "lack" mindset, one based in fear. Ironically,
the exact opposite is true. When you niche properly, you
get more clients and Client Attraction becomes SO much
easier:

Your marketing message becomes crystal clear. Your
marketing plan is SO much easier (and less costly). People
perceive you as an expert (clients seek out experts). You
get a lot more referrals than generalists do. Strategic
alliances seek YOU out. You can charge more because you
know more. You get sought out by the media (the media loves
experts).

Once you get clear that it's of absolute benefit to you to
niche, your job is to do just that. And that's usually the
daunting part. There are many ways of creating a niche.
Solopreneurs often don't know where to start and if you ask
me, people go about it in the wrong way (that's probably
why it's so frustrating and why they've even stopped trying
to niche). Here's where they're making a mistake.

Most people look on the OUTSIDE for a niche, when they
should be looking on the INSIDE. Instead of TRYING to find
a demographic that is more affluent, or more likely to work
with you and forcing yourself into a particular niche, just
because the numbers look good on paper, look for a
situation or type of person you have an AFFINITY with, who
can recognize that working with you is essential.

Hint: your niche is usually someone like you, who is in the
"before" stage of YOUR own "before-and-after" story. This
is really important. When someone is looking to hire
someone in your industry, they're looking for a SOLUTION to
their biggest problem. Not only that, they're also looking
for reassurance it will work and their mo-ney will be well
spent.

Essentially, many will come to you and pay you (well) to
have you show them how to get to the "after" part of the
story. That's when using your Compelling Story in your
marketing begins to REALLY make a difference in your Client
Attraction. When you can tell your story, show your
struggles, what you did to get over those, and what your
situation is like now (and that you can help them do the
exact same thing and, oh, you've actually got a Proprietary
System that will walk them through it easily) they're SOLD.

Right there, on the spot, they will choose to be your
client. And you haven't even opened your mouth yet! Your
marketing message and materials did all the work for you.
How cool is that?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Instead of looking on the OUTSIDE for your niche, look for
it on the INSIDE. Your best clients may just be the person
experiencing the "before" part of your "before and after"
story. A person in that position will look to you for the
solutions they need and will probably do anything and pay
relatively anything to work with you to get out of their
situation. They'll trust you faster than they would the
average Joe and will look to you as their problem solver
before anyone else.

Use your compelling story to pinpoint your niche. It can be
either a type of SITUATION you're solving or a type of
PERSON you work with. Or it can be both, it doesn't matter.
They key is to have such clarity in your marketing (a
niche) that clients and customers self-select and
pre-qualify themselves to be your client, with little or no
effort on your part. Then, they reach out to you without
you having to do anything. Can you now see how much easier
it is to have a niche? Good. This may just be the start of
a whole new business and in-come level for you.

----------------------------------------------------
You may be having trouble figuring out your own Compelling
Story, Proprietary System, & niche. If so, I recommend
getting a copy of the Client Attraction Home Study System™.
It gives you the most important things to do to figure this
all out easily, & then set up simple, solid marketing
systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and
continually get new clients. Get it at
http://TheClientAttractionSystem.com

3 Powerful Tips for Eliminating Competition from Your Life

3 Powerful Tips for Eliminating Competition from Your Life
In the book for which he's best known, his classic
masterpiece "The Science of Getting Rich", Wallace D.
Wattles wrote:

"... the desire of Substance is for all, and its movements
must be for more life to all; it cannot be made to work for
less life to any, because it is equally in all, seeking
riches and life."

"Intelligent Substance will make things for you, but it
will not take things away from some one else and give them
to you."

"You must get rid of the thought of competition. You are to
create, not to compete for what is already created."

"You do not have to take anything away from any one."

"You do not have to drive sharp bargains."

"You do not have to cheat, or to take advantage. You do not
need to let any man work for you for less than he earns."

"You do not have to covet the property of others, or to
look at it with wishful eyes; no man has anything of which
you cannot have the like, and that without taking what he
has away from him."

"You are to become a creator, not a competitor..."

Now...

Although this concept of creation vs. competition is
certainly simple enough, it's a consistent source of
confusion to many.

I frequently receive questions that usually begin with...

"I'm a __________..."

Indicating what they do for a living...

Followed by something like...

"How can I possibly be successful at what I do without
competing?"

Good question. :-)

And...

The answer is simple...

Do *exactly* as Wallace D. Wattles said to do...

Become a creator, not a competitor!

How do you do that?

Here are three powerful tips that'll help you become a
creator...

And thus...

Totally eliminate competition from your life...

Powerful Tip #1 - Don't start out by setting yourself up in
advance to compete.

People frequently tell me things like...

"I want to be the #1 __________"...

Or...

"I want to be the best __________"...

Or...

"I want to be the greatest __________"....

Or...

"I want to be the richest __________".

Anytime you make a statement similar to any of these,
essentially making your getting what you want contingent on
"beating" someone else, you immediately open the door to
conscious or unconscious acts, however unintentional they
might be, that will prevent someone else from getting what
they want or, even worse, take something away from someone
else that rightfully belongs to them, thereby immediately
inhibiting your creative power and throwing yourself
directly into the open arena of competition.

Powerful Tip #2 - Focus on what you're doing, *not* on what
everyone else is doing.

If your focus is on what everyone else is doing...

Guess what?

You'll end up copying what everyone else is doing...

And place yourself right in the midst of competition.

On the other hand...

If you totally ignore what everyone else is doing and put
your entire focus on looking for new and innovative ways of
doing what you do, you'll open the door to the realm of
creation.

In his book "The Personal Power Course", Wallace D. Wattles
wrote:

"There are ten thousand times ten thousand different ways
of doing everything; and nothing is being so well done but
that there is a better way of doing it yet undiscovered."

Now...

Ten thousand times ten thousand different ways is a whole
heck of a lot of different ways, isn't it?

Sure is!

However...

You'll never even find just one of them if you're focused
on what everyone else is doing instead of on what you're
doing.

Powerful Tip #3 - Put *YOU* into every single little thing
that you do.

You know what...

There's *only* one special, unique *you* and when you put
your special uniqueness into every single little thing that
you do, you instantly set yourself apart from everyone else.

I can easily think of dozens of examples of those who've
done just this, that I could share with you, however
there's one who *really* stands out in my mind...

The late, great Steve Irwin...

Best known as the infamous "Crocodile Hunter".

Steve Irwin was a perfect example of someone who put his
own special uniqueness into every single little thing that
he did.

After the shocking news of his untimely passing, one of the
most frequent comments I heard from the so-called "expert"
commentators on various news programs was that Steve Irwin
was the "real deal", referring to all the others who'd come
since as "wannabes".

Hmmm...

Do you want to be known as the "real deal"...

Or...

Just another "wannabe"?

The choice is yours...

Choose to become a creator, not a competitor!

----------------------------------------------------
Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D.
Wattles and the creator of an amazing website that'll take
you by the hand and guide you step-by-step down Wallace D.
Wattles' proven path to wealth, health, success, happiness,
love, and more... http://www.tonymasesinnercircle.com

Payroll Essentials for New Employers

Payroll Essentials for New Employers
When should an Employer Register for PAYE

An employee is anyone who works on a full time, part time
or casual basis for the business and includes company
directors. Employers should register as soon as possible
when a qualifying employee is appointed and may register up
to four weeks prior to the first employees pay day. You
should register as an employer and operate a PAYE system if
your employee already has other employment, or if the
employee's earnings are equal to or above the PAYE
threshold. The PAYE threshold for 2007-08 is earnings of
£100 per week or £435 per month at which point income tax
and national insurance deductions may be required. These
limits include the value of any benefits in kind that may
be paid.

Employer Registration Information Required

Generally the information to be provided includes the
business name, trading address, type of business, name and
address of the employer, national insurance number and tax
office reference of the employer, contact telephone number
and email address if applying by email., In addition
details will be required of the likely number of employees,
frequency of payment, the date the first employee was
appointed and the first payment date. Also have available
the address where the payroll records will be kept and the
contact details of the person responsible for the payroll.
Where partners are involved details of each partner's
names, addresses, national insurance numbers and tax office
references will be required and the LLP number for Limited
Liability Partnerships. Limited Companies will be required
to supply the address of the company's registered office,
date of incorporation and company registration number plus
details of the directors; names, addresses, contact
telephone numbers, national insurance numbers, tax office
references

How to register as a PAYE Employer

Employers can register for PAYE online at the HMCE website.
Click Employers - Register as an Employer - First steps as
an Employer - scroll down the page until you can click
email which then presents you with online registration form
to complete and send. Alternatively contact HMCE Employer
Helpline at 0845 6070 143.

PAYE and Payroll Records

Accurate payroll records are essential, full stop.
Employers must keep payroll records for both HMCE purposes
and employees. The employee records must include the name
and address of the employee, national insurance number,
date of birth, income tax code, all payments and benefits
made and all deductions for income tax, national insurance
and voluntary deductions. When registering to operate a
PAYE system immediate arrangements should be made to ensure
these records are maintained either by setting up the
records yourself using the help and advice contained in the
Revenue CD-ROM provided to all new and existing employers
or employing a payroll service to produce the records or
using a payroll software package. Various payroll software
packages are available with different degrees of
complexity. The DIY Accounting Payroll Software is an ideal
solution for small employers being written on excel
spreadsheets and in addition to producing the deduction
calculations and payslips the payroll software also
automatically completes an excel copy of the compulsory
HMCE forms significantly easing the administrative burden.

Paying Employees

Employees must be paid the national minimum wage which for
adults was raised on the 1st October 2007 to £5.52 per
hour. Every employee must receive a payslip that shows the
amount of income tax and national insurance deducted from
the gross pay. In addition every employer must also
calculate the employer's national insurance contribution.
If you are an employer and not operating a payroll software
system such as the DIY Accounting Payroll Software then you
must design a payslip to give to your employees to satisfy
legal requirements.

HMCE Payroll Forms

P11 Employees Deductions Working Sheet

The working paper is a record of the weekly or monthly pay
for each employee and the income tax and national insurance
deductions.

P14 End of Year Employees Deductions Summary

Summary of the employee income tax and national insurance
deductions recorded on the P11 deductions working sheet

P35 Annual Employers Return

Summary detailed by employee of the annual totals of income
tax and employee's national insurance deductions and
employers national insurance liability

P45 Details of Employee Leaving

Only available from the Employer's helpline the P45 is a
certificate of the amount paid to the employee and the
income tax deducted during that employment. Every employee
that leaves the employers employment should be issued with
a P45.

P60 End of Year Employees Certificate

The P60 is a certificate of an employees total earnings and
total income tax deducted during the tax year including
previous those of previous employers and also the amount of
national insurance deducted by the current employer and
should be issued to every employee the employer has at the
5th April each year.

Each of these HMCE PAYE forms are automatically completed
by the DIY Accounting payroll software which produces excel
copies of the HMCE forms making the package highly suitable
for both inexperienced employers and those wishing to
minimise the administrative burden payroll can place on an
employer.

PAYE Payments and Online Bonuses

Deductions of income tax, employees national insurance and
employers national insurance must be paid to HMCE each
month, the standard final payment date being the 19th of
the month following the payroll month. If monthly payments
of income tax and national insurance deductions including
employer's national insurance are under £1,500 per month
then employers have the option to pay the amount due to the
HMCE on a quarterly rather than a monthly basis. Payments
of income tax and national insurance to the HMCE can be
made online electronically. At the end of each financial
year, 5th April, every employer must submit the P35 Annual
Employers Return .to HMCE detailing the amounts paid to
each employee and the deductions made for income tax,
employees national insurance and employers national
insurance with the amount that has already been paid to
HMCE in respect of the income tax and national insurance
contributions. Employers with less than 50 employees are
eligible for a tax free online bonus when the P35 Employers
Annual Return is submitted online which has been a tax free
£250 and £150 in recent years.

----------------------------------------------------
Terry Cartwright designs Accounting Software for small top
medium sized businesses
http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk
and Payroll Software packages for up to 20 employees at
http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/payroll.htm

How to get it done when you have a million things to do

How to get it done when you have a million things to do
There's a little activity that can reduce stress, improve
your focus, and save time - in ALL areas of your life.

One common problem many people face is a rampant sense of
confusion. They've got a million things on their minds and
they're trying to remember them all at once. Who can
concentrate under that kind of pressure?

Scattered thoughts can not only make you feel overwhelmed
and confused, they can cause you to forget important
appointments and tasks on your to-do list!

Here is a great practice that can help you keep it all
together much more easily: Plan and prepare ahead of time.

What most of us tend to do is jump into each task without
full awareness of everything that needs to be done. So we
end up veering back and forth as we remember things we need
to do, wasting precious time because we're not prepared.

Perhaps we think that the fastest way to complete a task is
just to get started on it right away. But that is rarely
true.

If you instead take just 15 minutes before beginning work
on a task and jot down some notes about it, then identify
the exact steps you need to take, you'll have a clearer
picture of what needs to be done. Meaning there is much
more chance that it will get done.

Doing this every day can also be incredibly helpful for
ongoing projects! Each day as you get ready to work on the
project, review your notes from the day before and jot down
any new developments that need to be considered. Then
you'll be able to stay focused and accomplish more.

You can also apply this 15-minute preparation activity to
other areas of your life. For example, if your morning
routine is a scattered rush to get everyone out of the
house on time, try setting aside 15 minutes the night
before to get prepared. Gather up keys, books, cell
phones, homework assignments, and anything else you'll need
in the morning. Prepare lunches and get the coffee pot
ready to go (or get a pot that has a timer so it will start
itself in the morning).

Those 15 minutes can prove to be a very wise investment
which repays itself over and over again.

Just a few minutes of preparation goes a LONG WAY toward
reducing stress and can move you much faster towards the
success that you want.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert Greenshields is a marketing success coach who helps
business owners and independent professionals who are
frustrated that they're working too many hours for too
little reward. Sign up for his free Top 7 Time-Saving tips
at http://www.CalmingtheChaoticLife.com

Common Challenges of Home-Based Business Owners and Their Solutions

Common Challenges of Home-Based Business Owners and Their Solutions
Working from home is a dream come true for many
entrepreneurs. It permits you to sell products or services
you truly believe in, set your own hours, work by your own
rules, and it may even allow you to spend more time with
family and friends. But there are also many challenges
involved in operating a business out of your home. Among
these challenges are a multitude of distractions to contend
with, and the difficulty of growing your business while
maintaining its home-based status. The following are
solutions that serve to help home-based entrepreneurs with
some common challenges that they are likely to face:

1) Dealing with constant interruptions. Having more time
for your family and friends may have been one of your
primary goals in working from your home, but unless you set
some boundaries, the distractions that they can cause will
disrupt your workflow and may significantly decrease your
productivity. Inform your friends and family about your
work schedule and insist that they abide by it. Work from
a quiet place in your home, ideally your office if you have
one, but if not, find a peaceful place such as your bedroom
in which to set-up a makeshift office and, if possible,
keep the door closed. During work hours, do not answer
personal calls and advise your family not to disturb you.

2) Managing and entertaining young children. If you have
young children at home, working with them around can be an
extraordinary challenge. Interruptions from very young
children may be unavoidable if you don't have someone there
to care for them while you work. Weigh the cost of hiring
a babysitter at least part-time versus the profits that can
be obtained in the free time gained. If a sitter is not an
option for you, and you have a baby, set-up a playpen with
toys next to your work area. For pre-school children,
puzzles, building blocks, play-dough and coloring books are
great ways to keep them occupied. Be sure to change the
activities or toys every time you work, and take play
breaks or your children will quickly become bored.

3) The business is becoming too large for your home. If
you are becoming too busy to handle all the work yourself,
but you still want to maintain your business' home-based
status, you may want to consider hiring virtual
contractors. By outsourcing some of your duties virtually,
you get the help you need, while avoiding moving your
business out of your home in order to hire employees.
Today, you can outsource just about any task virtually.
Some examples of this are:

- Bookkeepers and Accountants for financial matters
- Virtual Assistants for administrative functions
- Marketing Specialists for search engine optimization and
general marketing
- Web Designers for website design or maintenance

Outsource the tasks you enjoy least, and this will give you
the bonus of enjoying your work more in addition to saving
you time.

4) How to handle necessary absences. Taking a sick day or
2 may not be too detrimental to your business' health, but
what if you need more time to recover from illness, or just
plain need a vacation? If it's possible in your industry,
consider automating your business. Autoresponders can
handle most email inquiries and you may be able to set up
an automated ordering system. If automation is not an
option for your company, you might consider outsourcing to
a Virtual Assistant. Most VAs are business owners
themselves and consequently know the ins-and-outs of
running a business. A Virtual Assistant will be able to
check and respond to emails, handle customer inquiries,
process orders and more.

These are just a few solutions to some of the more
prevalent difficulties that a home-based business owner
might face. A little advanced planning for the management
of distractions and other problems in your business will
help you overcome even the greatest of challenges.

----------------------------------------------------
Kelly Sims is a Virtual Assistant and President of
Virtually There VA Services. To find out how using a
Virtual Assistant can simplify your life and increase your
profitability, visit her website at =>
http://www.virtuallythereva.com . While you're there,
don't forget to sign up for her free monthly newsletter
providing useful information that enhances and simplifies
the lives of busy entrepreneurs.