Wallet Relief Blog

John Delavera is going live TODAY with his annual all-out holiday bonanza, and early birds get the best offer by far. If any of you don’t yet know who John Delavera is, it’s time to find out, as he has one of the best reputations in the business. So all webmasters, online marketers, internet business owners… head on over and check out Santa Deal Time 2008 now! Here’s the link:

http://getwise.info/about/SantaDeal

Season’s Greetings!

Any internet entrepreneur looking to develop his or her own products with the help of Private Label Rights materials (PLR) should know about this. On July 15, 2008 the granddaddy niche-PLR membership site, Nicheology, is raising its price forever, but there is a way to get the current price locked in PLUS avoid the $97 joining fee (through a backdoor link) PLUS get more bonuses to boot (from QiiCart.com). If you’ve been struggling to figure out what to do and where to start, and can’t afford a 100 bucks per month site, then check this out, before July 15! Here’s the page with the backdoor link and bonus offer:

http://QiCute.com/?niches

John Delavera has just opened the gates of his famous annual “Santa Deal Time”, which is truly phenomenal this year.

You want to check it out early, since the price goes up daily for one week, and then he takes it down forever.

Time is money in this case, so check it out now:

http://getwise.info/about/SantaDeal

The Viral Marketing Giveaway 7 just launched, and for a limited time you can instantly download over $18,000 Worth of hand picked online money making and Internet marketing tools–software, ebooks, guides–without spending 1 penny! Grab them here:

Viral Marketing Giveaway 7

Do you want to start a home based business?  Is it your dream to run your own show so that you never again have to listen to your boss?  If this sounds like you, you are in a group of thousands of other people.  It is safe to say that in some point in everyone’s life they dream of running their own business.  The benefits and advantages of having a home based business are many.  If you are lucky enough to ever have this chance you should really revel in it.  Remember, not everybody can be so lucky.

But you are probably asking yourself if you can really have success with a home business.  The answer to this question is simple, yes.  If you know what you are doing and take your time, you can have success running a home business.  Unfortunately, it is not always as easy as it may seem.  You are going to run into problems from the very beginning, and there are going to be times when you think about giving up.

The first thing that you need to do when setting up a home business is to make a decision on what you want to concentrate on.  In other words, WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS GOING TO DO?  This is a question that can sometimes be hard to answer.  The majority of people want to do something that they like, but at the same time they do not know how to get started.  You need to remember that in order for your home business to be a success YOU HAVE TO LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  If you don’t like your home business idea, why move forward in the process?  You will simply end up in the same situation that you are in with your current job.

Also, a successful home business needs time to grow.  You should never think that you are going to take off within a couple days of opening up shop.  It is going to take you a bit of time to get your bearings and take off.  For this reason, patience is very important to the success of your home business.  With patience you will be able to wait out the rough times that are bound to show up time and time again.  No home business starts making big time money in the first day.  But if you take your time you will get to where you want to be.

Overall, you can have a lot of success with a home business.  It may not be easy at first, but as time goes by you will become comfortable with what you are doing.  Sooner or later you will be making profits on your own. 

More people leave the office grind behind to work at home.

Whether downsized, outsourced, or sick and tired of cubicle hell, more people are earning their living by working at home.  The work at home industry is booming with a diverse lot of income earning opportunities.  People of all skill and education levels can find a niche in this market.

Telecommuters

Technology has enabled former office rats to do their work at home.  Armed with a computer, fax, and telephone, employees from back office data entry to management staff are able to perform part or all of their jobs at home.  The telecommuting option is appreciated by workers as it allows them more freedom and control over the work day and more time to spend with families.  Companies find that this set up often improves employee morale and productivity.

Net Work

Earning money via the Internet has become an increasingly popular option in the work at home industry.  Chances are you know someone who sells merchandise on eBay.  Many online merchants are working out of their homes.  The Internet offers a wealth of opportunities for writers to earn a living at the keyboard.  People with an Internet-based career often start on a part-time basis while working their regular office gig.  Once their “web job” takes off, they escape the office grind for full-time work at home.

Home Base versus Home Work

Another option in the work at home industry is a home-based business where you go out in the field to provide services for customers.  This is a wide open opportunity - think of any product or service that people need and, viola, you have a business.  The senior population is exploding.  Start an elder service that helps seniors with light housekeeping, grooming, and transportation.  Two career families and busy folks in general equal a business for you running errands such as shopping, chauffeuring kids, and picking up dry cleaning. 

You can strike out on your own with these home-based businesses or buy a franchise.  Franchises offer a brand name people know and trust along with marketing support from the headquarters office.  Start up costs can be out of reach for a lot of people, however, there are hundreds of franchise options in the work at home industry that will fit with small budgets.

Scam Alert

The Internet and print and broadcast media are full of ads for great-sounding work at home opportunities.  Sadly, the work at home industry is full of scam companies that advertise high income home-based jobs.  Some ads are specific while others are vague and keep you in the dark about the exact nature of the pie in the sky venture. 

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Do your research before you plunge into any work at home opportunity.  Talk with others who are working at home.  Check out franchises or Internet opportunities with the Better Business Bureau.  Despite the scam artists, there are thousands of options in the work at home industry and one of them will suit you.

Sources
funcareers, (funcareers.com)

How many times have you heard about a great home business opportunity?  Probably more than you care to remember.  But to go along with this how many of these home business opportunities ended up being a scam?  Again, probably quite a few.  Hopefully, you were never the victim of any of these scams.  But unfortunately there are others who probably fell for these “opportunities.”  The fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money.  And as long as people continue to get mixed up in this business, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people.

The best way to avoid a home business scam is to thoroughly research each opportunity before you move forward with it.  This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online.  You may get lucky and end up with a good home business opportunity, but chances are that you will not.  Not only will you want to read what is available on the site itself, but you will also want to search for other information as well.  Check with third party review sites and on message boards and forums.  You may find out soon enough that a certain company has been reported as being nothing more than a scam.

You may also want to check with the Better Business Bureau if you are thinking about getting involved with a home business opportunity that you are not sure of.  They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file.  If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs.  But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your research.

Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in.  Can you get them on the phone?  Do they respond to your emails?  If you cannot even talk to a company before you start, there is no chance that they will be around when you need them.  This is one test that you can run early on in order to ensure that you are dealing with a reputable company.  If you do happen to get an employee on the phone ask them questions in order to get some feedback on the company.  Anything that will give you better insight into the home business opportunity is a good question.

Overall, home business scams are all over the place.  Do your part in putting them out on the street by not falling prey.  The best way to do this is through extensive research and questioning. 

If you are retired you have a great opportunity to make money online.  After all, you will have as much time as you need in order to make sure that you are a success.  Unlike other people that try to make money online, you will not have to work another job in order to stay afloat financially.  You can make this work to your advantage, and be making money online before you ever thought possible.

Listed below are a few tips that you should follow if you are retired and looking to make money online.

1. The first thing that you will need to do is make sure that you have enough knowledge of the internet to be successful.  Some retirees never used the internet in the past.  If you do not have experience online there is no reason to give up on your goal.  Simply get connected and start dabbling.  For assistance you may want to purchase a book or two on getting started online.  These will give you basic information on the internet, and what you need to know to get started.  You may also want to take a course at a local community college.  This is a great way of getting first hand instructions from a professional.

2. When you are ready to go, the next thing that you must do is make a decision as to how you want to make money.  Do you want to start an online business?  Or do you want to use affiliate programs to make money?  Some retirees find that the easiest way to make money online is to bring their past work knowledge into their venture.  This way they already have knowledge on the industry.  This is a great option that you should consider. 

3. After getting your business idea in line, you will need to set up a business and marketing plan.  This will help to keep you on track during your quest to make money online.  By having a business plan in place you will be able to stay on track no matter what is thrown at you.  And a marketing plan is very important so that people know you exist.

4. Stay patient when trying to make money online.  Just like anything else you are going to run into problems along the way, and you will probably feel like giving up.  But by staying with your plan, you will reach your goals soon enough.

Overall, retired people can make a lot of money online.  If you are in this situation, you will want to follow the tips above in order to get started.  By doing so you will be on track to making money online, and supplementing your income. 

Do your homework to determine the best affiliate programs for your web site.

Affiliate (aka Associate) programs are a win-win situation for everyone involved.  Internet-based merchants hook up with affiliates to generate traffic to their web sites.  Affiliates get paid if the traffic from their site visits the merchant web page.  The smart Internet entrepreneur does some research to determine the best affiliate programs for her business.

Where to Look

Affiliate networks are the middle man between affiliates and web sites with affiliate programs.  Look for affiliate networks that provide all the tools needed to set up and maintain an affiliate program.  AssociatePrograms.com is a popular directory with information about merchants that pay you to sell their wares.

Commission Junction is a free network that offers access to thousands of the best affiliate programs.  Commission Junction combines all your affiliate earnings (product sales, on-line ads, links) into one monthly check.  One caveat, however, is not to sign up before you are ready to start promoting products, because some programs will disenroll you if you wait six months after sign up to actually get  your sites and promotions up and running (networks do not want to have hundreds or thousands of inactive members cluttering up their affiliate program software and complicating their statistics).

What to Look for

The best affiliate programs will be those that target your customer base.  An on-line florist would get little traffic from a pet supply website.  You want an affiliate whose business is similar or comparable to your product.  Avoid affiliates with low quality products.  Ask to speak to existing affiliates to find out if a company is reputable.

Referral traffic may link to the merchant site and not buy initially but return to make a purchase weeks later.  Look for affiliate programs that remember your site was responsible for that customer.  The best affiliate programs remember you for 60 days by using cookies to tag the customer’s computer when he visits the merchant site.

The best affiliate programs offer reliable support such as ads, logos, and sales advice.  Good programs also provide timely updates on click through sales and earnings, and, respond to questions or problems within 24 hours.

Getting Paid

There are three common affiliate payment plans.  With pay per sale, the merchant pays when the affiliate sends a customer who buys from the merchant’s site.  The payment could be a set amount or a percentage of the sale.

In a pay per click set up, the affiliate is paid based on the number of people who visit the merchant’s web site regardless if a purchase was made.

With pay per lead programs, affiliates are paid based on the number of people who sign up as leads.  A lead would be a visitor who filled out an information page on the merchant web site thus becoming a potential customer.

Multi-level payment plans allow affiliates to earn commission on sales, clicks, or leads from their sites as well as commission based on activity generated by affiliate sites they refer to the merchant site.  Another form of payment is residual commission.  Affiliates continue earning money after the original sale has been made.  This is common in situations where customers pay monthly fees for merchant services.

The best affiliate programs pay at least 25% commission with some going as high as 50%.  Payments should be made at least once a month although some affiliate programs pay quarterly or twice a year.

Honorable Mentions

There are hundreds of good, reputable affiliate programs.  Three that stand out among the best are Neil Shearing’s affiliate program which pays some of the highest commissions and conversion rates; Ken Evoy’s 5 Pillar Program which offers excellent marketing and educational information; and My TemplatesStorage, a good site for web development merchants. Each of these, however, has its own plan details that may or may not be best for you and your situation, so be sure to read up on how any affiliate program works, and what is required for payment.

Sources

“How Affiliate Programs Work,” (howstuffworks.com)
“Best Affiliate Products for Maximum Profits,” (bestaffiliateproducts.com)
“Affiliate Programs,” (buildwebsite4u.com)

Check out the wholesale market for low prices and great deals.

Own a business?  Buy for large groups (scouts, students, family)?  Allergic to paying retail?  Any of these reasons is good enough for you to explore the world of buying wholesale.

Hard Core Buyer or Casual Shopper?

If you always buy large quantities of merchandise, it would be a good idea to obtain a business license and reseller’s license.  Some wholesalers will not sell to you without these permits.

In addition, the licenses are your ticket to trade shows that are not open to the public.  Here, you can find a multitude of items priced below retail.  You can also get on the mailing list for major trade shows.  These events sell everything from furniture to the latest fashions at wholesale prices.

When applying for a business or reseller’s license, make sure you understand what fees, taxes, and bureaucratic red tape are required to keep you out of trouble.  Depending on the state, you may be able to get a reseller’s license for free.  However, you are responsible for collecting sales tax on products sold within the state.  Assess the cost verse expected savings from buying wholesale to determine if it’s worth the trouble to obtain licenses.

To get a business license, you must be in business or planning to start one.  You can legitimize your business status by turning a hobby or talent into a business venture.  For example, a weekend furniture maker sells a few pieces to friends and a business is born.

Even the casual shopper may benefit from obtaining business and reseller’s licenses.  You get access to non-public wholesale events and wholesalers that don’t sell to the general public.  In addition, you can make a little money off the deals you find.  Buying wholesale usually means purchasing large quantities.  While you don’t need three dozen cashmere sweaters, you can keep a few and sell the rest to friends, or, via online auctions and at flea markets.

No License, No Problem

Although business permits give you more access to buying wholesale, you don’t have to have a license to get wholesale prices.  Wholesale businesses often have special times they open to the public.  Prices will be a little more, but you still pay less than retail.  Check the Yellow Pages to find local wholesalers and ask if they have public sale hours.

Consider buying wholesale from liquidators.  Liquidators buy huge quantities of product from manufacturers and retailers.  These items are usually discontinued, damaged, or from a previous season and prices are often below wholesale.  You can find liquidators in the phone book or on the Internet.

The Internet is also a good source for buying wholesale merchandise
especially for those who don’t want to bother with permits and buying in bulk.  Many Internet wholesalers don’t require a minimum purchase.

Another option is to join an association that buys in bulk.  The combined purchasing power of a large group lowers the cost of merchandise.  Warehouse clubs such as Sam’s Club and Costco are another good source for prices that are close to wholesale.

Wholesale Grapevine

Use your network of friends, associates, and family to find wholesale buying opportunities.  Your interior decorator neighbor may grant you access to her wholesale contacts.  The local florist may be willing to let you in on a sweet deal on dried flowers.  Beware though - these folks may require you to engage their professional services in exchange for buying wholesale through them.  Weigh the cost of doing business with them against potential savings from buying wholesale.

Sources

“How to Buy Wholesale,” (ehow.com)
“Five Secrets to Buying Wholesale,” (majon.com)