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In this issue:

1) Tip of the Week

2) FEATURE ARTICLE: Financial Crisis Management Surviving the Hard Times by Marcus P. Meleton, Jr.

3) CLASSIFIEDS

• Traffic Builders
• Business Opportunities

4) FREE Resources

• Recommended Reading

5) MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE: TAKING STOCK by William N Hodges

(this article is being reprinted since it was inadvertently cut off in last week's issue)

"Tip of the Week"

All businesses, regardless of size, need to market their products or services to be successful. The purpose of marketing is to create customers who create cash flow. In tough times we tend to cut back on marketing which cuts back on customers which cuts back on cash flow. This downward spiral can ultimately lead to failure. Therefore, it is imperative that we learn to market effectively, making every ad dollar produce maximum results. With most of us having limited ad budgets, here are a few tips for getting the most bang for your advertising buck:

1. Always ask for some kind of response in your promotional materials, i.e., call an 800#, request more information (use autoresponders that give you the email address of the person making the request), visit my web site, etc.

2. Key all of your ads so you know where your responses are coming from. For email responses ask for different subject lines. For incoming calls advertise different extension numbers for the caller to ask for. If you have the ability to put up web pages, make different URLs for each ad placed.

3. After you key your ad, try different headlines, ad copy, offers, etc. to see what gets greater response. The number of responses will quickly tell you what is working.

4. Offer something of value free to the respondents of your ad, i.e., a booklet, money-making report, audio tape, introductory consultation, etc. For booklets, reports or information packets, make sure the title is clear and offers a practical benefit to the recipient.

More next week on how your ad should look and where to place them.

FEATURE ARTICLE

Financial Crisis Management Surviving the Hard Times By Marcus P. Meleton, Jr.

Most self-made millionaires will tell you that they didn't come by their wealth easily. The story of a millionaire who had several businesses go under before making a fortune and stories of millionaires who made fortunes, lost them and made them again are commonplace. Home-based entrepreneurs also go through tough times running their businesses that requires the exercise of crisis management. There is a lot to learn from the actions people take to overcome or exit a crisis when it hits their business.

Know When Your Business Is In a Crisis

A crisis is when sales in your business is not paying your expenses and you are eating up your savings at a rate that will drive you into bankruptcy. It could be caused by a personal loss or medical problem that affects your capability to do business, sapping the finances of your business.

Step Back And Evaluate

There is a term, throwing good money after bad. It relates to what is called "sunk costs." Once money is spent that cannot be retrieved by selling your products, services, or business, then the worth of the money invested is considered to be zero. Investing more money to retrieve it is like gambling to retrieve losses. It's throwing good money after bad.

Almost everyone at some point must step back and evaluate how they are doing and what the future of the business is. In this situation, evaluate your incomes and expenses and determine what you expect these to be in the future. Evaluate your overhead costs (rent, power, phone), necessary living expenses (mortgage, rent, food, clothes, children) and the variable costs (raw materials, supplies, long distance calls, postage, equipment).

Consider these questions:

¥ Is my business expanding so that the future looks brighter? If the business is new, time must pass to give it a proper chance. If it's mature and not expanding, this is a different case.

¥ Are there changes I can make in my business that will improve my income, (i.e. adding related products, increasing or decreasing prices based on current demand, or improving my product or service?)

¥ Can I cut costs?

Cost Cutting

Look at expenses and find every way to cut them. This process should be conducted in crisis or not.

Determine if advertising generates profit. If an ad or mailing does not recover its costs in sales and expenses, then eliminate the failing methods or improve the advertising copy.

Unique to home business is the fact that business and personal expenses are intermixed. Write all expenses down. Categorize and summarize them monthly. Determine which expenses are unnecessary during a time of crisis, and cut them out (such as expenses for dining out, cigarettes, candy, and vacations). Also consider ways to cut your fixed costs such as reducing phone lines, cutting off 800 numbers, and reducing space costs (storage, office). Consider selling unneeded items.

Evaluate your current credit. Those debts on business credit cards and credit lines are able to be written off on your taxes. Evaluate the interest rates on each outstanding debt. Consolidate your loans on business accounts under the accounts with the lowest interest rates. Obtain a single low interest loan and shift the debt there if possible. All this can cut your interest costs significantly. If you still can't handle the bills, work with the people you owe money to extend out your payments. Loans on old 401K plans, home refinances, or new credit cards offering very low interest rates for debt transferals are options to consider.

Decide Whether To Close Down

If you've already cut expenses to the bone only to maintain a business that loses money each month and if you see little possibility of improving your situation, you have a tough decision to make. We never like to advise people to evaluate closing a business but sometimes it's best to close it and start something else that has better possibilities. The experience you gained on this business will be invaluable in evaluating and operating the next one.

Summary

Even if not in crisis, evaluate your situation, cut costs, and consolidate high interest loans. You will improve your operation and bottom line significantly. If you are in crisis it is this tough time that can forge the strength you have in future endeavors to become a successful home business entrepreneur. --------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Published at http://www.homebusinessmag.com/

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MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE

TAKING STOCK Copyright 1998 William N Hodges, used by permission.

We tend to take it for granted that the new year always begins on January 1. But this is not necessarily true. Many government employees begin their new fiscal year on October 1 and many corporations start their fiscal years at various times. Some people consider their birthdays as the beginning of their new year. I can remember a time when the television industry considered the introduction of the new car models, and the advertising revenue that it brought, as the beginning of the new television season or year.

It really doesn't matter what date you consider the one that starts your year. What matters is that you are ready for it when it comes. To be ready for the new year, a review of what has happened to you in the past year is in order. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you do that review.

1. What have you learned over the past year that you can use to be healthier, happier, and more productive in the year to come? More importantly, how do you plan to use that information to better your lot in life. Keep in mind, knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when it is used. How will you use it?

2. Who are your current friends? The number of friends one has is not nearly as important as the quality of those friends. In choosing friends, you should heed Confucius who said, "Have no friends not equal to yourself." When you have one good friend, you should count yourself wealthy.

3. Has your financial position changed in the last year? True independence comes from a sense of financial security. Financial security does not just happen-it must be planned. Do you have a plan, and is it succeeding for you? Don't hesitate to seek professional advice.

4. How is your physical condition? After 40 especially, the pounds just seem multiply geometrically. Exercise becomes more difficult because of a multiplicity of aches and pains. But a good diet and exercise are your two most valuable allies in your quest to stay healthy. Do you have a diet and exercise plan?

5. Do you have a good mental attitude? A positive attitude is not something that just happens. You have to work at it. As the old song says, "You have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don't mess with Mister in-between." Read, watch, or listen to something positive every day.

John Wayne said, "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." If you have answered the above questions, you've learned something. With that knowledge, you can set a course for a productive, happy, and healthy tomorrow.

Bill Hodges is nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and columnist. If you enjoyed this article, you will enjoy his book Within Your Reach which contains 60 such articles on positive thinking available either in print or a three cassette audio tape. If ordering from your local bookstore, .reference ISBN #0-9622717-0-5, or you may order directly by sending your check for $4.95 USCurrency plus ($1.30 USA $3.00 Other)for the printed book or $20.00 plus ($3.00 USA $6.00 other) for shipping to Hodges Seminars International, P O Box 22 Fairborn OH 45324. Or order by Visa or Mastercharge at his Web site http://www.BillHodges.com

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