WAH Direct Selling Option

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Direct Selling is becoming more profitable in a bad economy. A recent report, that you can download here, states:

In 2010, direct selling companies generated over $125 billion in revenue in 150 countries through more than 75 million men and women who are changing lives serving others. This is the story of direct selling.

 Many products and services fall into the Direct Selling category.  Direct selling is a perfect Work at Home option for stay at home moms and dads alike. As it is back to school time. I thought it was a good subject to cover. Many moms and dads alike are looking to becoming their own boss, using a direct selling product or service.

The top 7 on The Wall Street Journal's list of Direct Selling Companies are: Avon, Natura, Herbalife, Tupperware, Oriflame, Nu Skin, and Primerica.

With the droves of people that are among the long term unemployed, direct selling can be the answer to the end of the job search.

The rebound in the stock market has many investors smiling again, especially those who have put their money in direct selling companies. Many of the top 12 public companies that sell direct have outperformed the average stock return by impressive margins since the market dipped to its low in early 2009.

The face of employment is changing for ever. Technology, and the drive to get the middle class family budget back to a place where families can afford to live.

What does it take to market a direct sell product? It takes drive, passion, and the ability to adapt and learn new skills. Just the same as getting and starting a new job.  Direct selling should be treated as a new job. When you find the right company and product to market, the learning begins.

Before you start, you have to find the right company. Do your due diligence on this one. Research any company  thoroughly before signing up. Look up information on the Better Business Bureau, make sure they are a member of the Direct Selling Association, seek out other distributors, new and old, find out what their experience with the company is. Even search some of the scam reporting sites to read any complaints from distributors. 

Study the business model in the PDF above. Set a schedule, stick to it. Learn a new skill every day.  Most direct selling companies offer extensive training to insure the success of their distributors. The person who you join the opportunity will be your coach and mentor. Take their advise to heart and get to really know them.  Build a lasting, mutually profitable relationship with your sponsor.

The right Direct Selling company can end your JOB search and get your budget back on track. Stop looking for someone else to work for, work for you!

Working at Home is Hard!

How to Stop Wasting Time Online

Does this sound familiar…you sit down at the computer to work and three hours later you’ve accomplished absolutely nothing. Oh, all of your social networking friends are happy you stopped by and you learned a bit by reading a half a dozen blogs. However, time is money and three hours wasted online is lost income. With a few tips and tricks, and a little self-discipline, you can stop wasting time online and get more done!

Know Your Limits

Sometimes interest in a work project fades away. It’s at this point when you may turn to time wasters like social sites. Start paying attention to how long you are able to focus and work productively. It may be only twenty or thirty minutes. When you know your limits you can plan your day a little better.

For example, if you know that you are only able to focus for about thirty minutes before you get antsy, break your work day up into thirty minute segments. In between each work segment, schedule time to do something else. You might clean your office for ten minutes or read a blog post. Give yourself time to play and you’ll be better able to get back to work.

When Are You Most Productive?

Morning people are better able to focus for long periods in the morning. The opposite is true for night people. Know when you’re more productive and better able to focus, and plan to work during that time period. You’ll be less likely to wander and waste time online.

Schedule Time to Browse

There’s nothing wrong with wasting time online as long as it doesn’t interrupt your life or stall your productivity. If you enjoy surfing the net and discovering new ideas and information, set aside time to do it. Schedule it during your non-productive hours. For example, if you sit down to watch television in the evening, surf while you watch TV. Surf during your lunch break or while you’re waiting for an appointment.

A Few Additional Tips and Tricks

1. Turn off your browser while you work. If you don’t need your browser open while you work, close it to reduce temptation.

2. Listen to music. Music can help you stay focused and productive.

3. Try a site blocking service if you really can’t resist temptation. For example, Firefox has a few site blocking add-ons that you can use. They limit your time on a site or block the sites for a designated time period.

4. Sit down with a plan. Decide what you want to accomplish and when you want to accomplish it by.

5. Reward yourself. Once you’ve completed your task, reward yourself. Enjoy some free time, do something you like to do and take a break.

There are temptations all around you. Focus on what you want to accomplish and don’t let those pesky online time wasters distract you. With a plan and a few effective tactics you can stop wasting time online and get more done during your day.

Working from your home is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of concentration and work to avoid the distractions of being at home. There is always something that needs to be done around the house. As we all know, dishes and laundry are never ending in any household!

Time management is vital to any home business. Click here for an Internet Marketers Guide to Time Management.

Black Hat, White Hat, Laws That Effect You

This is really important information for anyone involved in any type of internet marketing for any business. As business professionals, it is vital to our lively-hood to keep up to date on current and future laws and regulations regarding Internet Marketing and the ever changing methods that are used to market online.

I say it all the time, technology is wonderful, when it works right. There are marketers that use what we call "black hat" marketing methods. Now, not all of these marketing methods are illegal, but there are those who abuse tools, and cross the line when it comes to using available tech tools. As with many things in life, when abuse and deception occur,  authorities step in and set rules.
As Internet Marketers, we need to keep up to date on current laws and government regulations. Even government trade laws come into effect with marketing online.


Let's look at a few questions you may have:

Did you know there are countries that U.S. and International businesses are not legally allowed to sell products or services to?

Here is a list straight from the US Department of Treasury:

Sanctions Programs and Country Information

OFAC administers a number of different sanctions programs. The sanctions can be either comprehensive or selective, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to accomplish foreign policy and national security goals

OFAC Sanctions Programs:	Program Last Updated:
Balkans-Related Sanctions	06/30/2011
Belarus Sanctions	08/11/2011
Burma Sanctions	04/17/2012
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)-Related Sanctions	01/06/2011
Counter Narcotics Trafficking Sanctions	05/17/2012
Counter Terrorism Sanctions	05/17/2012
Cuba Sanctions	05/11/2012
Democratic Republic of the Congo-Related Sanctions	11/30/2011
Iran Sanctions	05/01/2012
Iraq-Related Sanctions	01/10/2012
Lebanon-Related Sanctions?	07/30/2010
Former Liberian Regime of Charles Taylor Sanctions	12/14/2010
Libya Sanctions	02/14/2012
Non-Proliferation Sanctions	05/01/2012
North Korea Sanctions	06/20/2011
Rough Diamond Trade Controls?	05/21/2008
Somalia Sanctions	08/04/2011
Sudan Sanctions	02/01/2012
Syria Sanctions	05/01/2012
Transnational Criminal Organizations?	02/23/2011
Yemen-Related Sanctions	05/16/2012
Zimbabwe Sanctions	12/09/2011
Click here for information on SDN List program tags and their definitions

It is a good idea to book mark this Treasury.gov site for future reference. The punishment for trading with sanctioned countries can be up to 30 years in prison.

Do you know that you can be fined or even jailed for breaking some CAN-Spam rules?

Beginning in 2013, Canada will be imposing new email marketing laws. Violation of these laws could net a 10 million dollar fine.  Bill C-28, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (or "CASL", formerly known as the Electronic Commerce Protection Act and the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act) was finalized on December 15, 2010 and is expected to become law by early 2013. Read more here and adjust your email marketing to comply.

Did you know that fines or worse can happen for committing plagiarism? (using other's work or photos without permission, or citing your source)

This is a really simple rule that a lot of internet marketers, black hat and white hat, break all the time. Just as with writing a paper or an article, it is vital that you cite your source. Give credit where credit is due. Do not claim that another persons photo, graphic, or post is yours when you share. The rules that govern the world wide web use the same rules that apply offline.  Like in the sanction section above, I did copy that information, but I did not alter any links or text and I gave a link back to the original post. If you use another business photo or graphic, a credit must be given, and a link back is just the right thing to do.

Quality Link Building Services

Web business site need traffic to make sales. There are many ways to get traffic, including Pay Per Click, link exchanges, and traffic exchanges. Getting your business in the organic links first search page is the best way to get sales and not pay per click.

Building a business on the web involves many aspects of web building and creation. It is not enough to just build a web site and customers will come. There needs to be key ingredients to make a site work and net sales.

FreeLinkBuildingTools.com has the right tools for the job. The services at FreeLinkBuildingTools.com are free. This is a one stop shop to get your business web page on the first page.

Need some quality back links, give either of their link exchange tools and watch your site climb the ranks.

Need some good SEO, they have that covered too. A growing article exchange and a forum for web masters is also available for free, to discuss how to best use these invaluable free tools to boost any web business.

No matter where you are with your web business, FreeLinkBuildingTools.com is a perfect source for getting your site on the first page, without using costly Pay Per Click advertising.

Making Use of Marketing Tools

There are many great tools that can help your internet business get more exposure. Some are "set and forget" little tricks, and others require at least some effort to use effectively. Google, for instance, has a number of things that anyone can use to help contain information overload. Google Alerts is just one of the tools that can make life easier and a little more organized. To set up a Google Alert simply log into your gmail account and go to http://www.google.com/alerts

Once there fill in the form with a keyword or phrase that you  would like to keep up with.

Say you want to keep up with motorcycle events, simply type "motorcycle events" using the quotes, into the "search query" space.

Next you will choose the type of information you want Google to send you. If you are looking for fellow bloggers then you will choose blogs, if you are looking for anything on motorcycle events, then of course choose everything.

You choose how often you would like Google to send you this information, really nice if you don't want a lot of notices.

For how many, it is best to keep the "only the best results" selected.

Finally choose how you want the information delivered to you, Google can email them, or you can subscribe for an rss feed that you can utilize for keeping up in Google Reader http://www.google.com/reader.

Everyone who has a gmail account has access to all of these tools and a lot more. The only trick is to use them.