How To Save BIG In Your Online Business

Copyright © 2005 Willie Crawford Internet Business Success Course http://WillieCrawford.com


When you're first starting an online business, it can be a struggle finding the money to invest in the things that will grow your business most. Only later do you discover things
all the guru's know that could have saved you a small fortune. Here are a few things that will help you save on Internet marketing business necessities.

In order to be in business on the Internet you DO need a website. Hosting that website doesn't need to cost you an arm and a leg. Here are two ways to save:

1) Don't register your domain through your web host. Instead go to a discount registrar. Your web host will charge you up to $40 or more (per year) just to conveniently handle your
domain name registration. You can register or renew your domain name yourself for as little as $8 per year. I've set up a service for my subscribers and clients to do just that at:
http://WillieCrawford.com/domains/

How am I able to offer you such a bargain? I have a domain name reseller account at Wild West Domains. For around $100 per year, practically anyone can become a domain name reseller.
You are charged a wholesale price for domain name registrations (and other services offered on my site above). You decide how much you want to mark up your prices above that. I have
practically no markup because I enjoy helping beginners get off to a good start. I know that you'll be back for other products and services that I offer - after you're a big success :-)

2) Consider getting a web hosting account here:
http://www.profitautomation.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=119107

I have an account that lets me host up to 50 domains for only $109 per month. That equates to about $2 per domain, per month. The $109 package that I have gives me 4400 meg of disk space and 100 gigabytes of monthly bandwidth to spread among my 50 domains in that account any way that I want to.

The account above is intended for people who want to open their own web-hosting business. Basically, you can get one of these accounts and then charge your online or local customers whatever price you choose. Find 50 local customers and charge them $100 each and you've just turned $109 into $5000. That's a nice monthly revenue stream and it's also in-line with what offline businesses expect to pay.

The above account isn't for everyone. It doesn't come with a lot of free tech support. You have to go through some online tutorials and then you're the tech support. If you need help,
you can get it through an online forum or through a trouble ticket system (where you pay by the minute). When one of your customers needs help, their trouble tickets go to you. If you
pass them along to the parent company, you are billed by the minute.

I use the above account to host many of my own domains. I have numerous very simple sites that are only a few pages. Some are only a one-page sales letter. I save a bundle by paying only $2 per month to host these. When you're paying only $2 per month for hosting you don't need to make a lot of sale for a site to be profitable.

Another necessity is basic Internet access. For that I use my local cable company but I also have a backup dialup connection. That account, which offer decent service cost me less than $10 per month. Because I transfer many 30 meg or larger files back and forth regularly, this account probably isn’t robust enough to be my primary. However, my local cable company does sometimes have outages for various reasons. That's when I use this dialup account most. I also use it sometimes while I'm traveling. You can checkout the company I use at: http://47928.yourdialupservice.com/ They offer thousands of local access numbers in the U.S. and Canada.

I have not located a comparable resource for outside the U.S. and
Canada, but will pass it along when I do.

Another way to save big is to get your own merchant account. When you use Paypal or Clickbank, your initial investment may be less. However you pay much higher processing fees, and your less professional appearance DOES cost you sales. Savvy customers who understand Clickbank and Paypal will recognize that you're not processing enough volume to consider a merchant account worthwhile. They may consider you an amateur that they don't want
to risk major purchases with.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't use Paypal or Clickbank when you first start out and you're not confident that your product will even sell. I AM saying that "when you're ready to run with
the big dogs, you need to look like one of them." Top marketers that I know who are processing tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars per month in credit card
transactions use: http://WarriorProcessing.com Take a look at the site and you'll see why it's who we use.

As you get your online business rolling, the other thing you'll need is traffic. When you first get started, the fastest way to get it is from the pay-per-clicks. I use Google AdWords to drive
initial traffic to all of my sites when I need that traffic fast. That allows me to quickly get enough traffic to test and improve my conversion rate. None of the other pay-per-clicks usually
deliver the volume of traffic that I want quickly enough.

After I refine things using Google AdWords, I do set up accounts at some of the other pay-per-clicks. I use Google AdWords at first because I place a very high value on my time and I don't
want to spend months just getting enough traffic to refine the sales process on a single site.

Unless you have lots of free time, I wouldn't waste time on any other traffic source initially EXCEPT for the one I am using right here. Writing and submitting articles to ezines and article
directories has proven the single best source of free traffic for me. It works so well that I've written over 300 articles on various aspect of Internet marketing. To prove that this works,
just enter my name at any search engine. You'll see millions of returns and most of them are simply from my article writing activities.

The other thing that will save you time is studying and practicing copywriting. Minor improvement in your web copy can easily increase your conversion rate by 100 times. Not learning copywriting is practicing false economy for most of us. If only 1 out of every 200 visitors to your site buys and just by changing a headline you can change that to 1 in 20, that shows just how important copywriting is. There have been countless documented cases of people getting improvements this dramatic from minor but important improvement in their web copy.

To learn copywriting, I went through and highly recommend Yanik Silver's Ultimate At-Home Internet Copywriting Workshop. This will be your largest initial expense, but it's a necessary one. Words sell, and if you're not willing to learn to use words properly in your marketing, then you probably shouldn't waste time setting up a website.

You can get all of the details on this course at: http://www.ultimateonlinecopymanual.com

We've just gone over a number of way that you can dramatically cut the expenses associate with operating your online business. I'm willing to bet that I've just told you things that NO ONE else has told you. They aren't all trying to take advantage of you. However, they are hoping that out of ignorance you'll spend more on the same items through them. Save that money and plow it back into growing your business.

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This article is excerpted from Willie Crawford's Revised, Free 20-lesson Internet Business Success Course. To sign up for the entire course today, simply visit: http://WillieCrawford.com

How To Survive With Your Online Business

Copyright © 2005 Jordan Williams
Web Cash Link
http://webcashlink.com


So you decide to start your own Internet business with some
really great products. You have a great looking site and
everything is set up, so you're now ready to jump into the
online shark pool and dominate the Net right?

I know that you're saying "shark pool"? Yes, that’s right
it's truly a shark pool out there. You didn't think it would
be that easy did you? We all have to prepare ourselves for
some big changes that will be happening on the Net.

I have already started seeing the prices for leads, banner
impressions, and other forms of advertising going up as well
as the hundreds of thousands of web pages being added daily
to the search engines. All of this points to one thing. That
we all have more competition on the Internet than ever before
and it will just get worse. So the question is: How can a
small business or even an individual compete on the Internet?
Just because you have a great looking web site or a great
product doesn't mean that you can dominate your market
without some help. What you need is a competitive advantage.
So that is just what I'm going to give you. Just follow some
simple tips in this article and you will soon be running
circles around your competitors.


1) Use ALL Forms Of Marketing

I know that this might sound obvious but most people on the
Internet are only using one or two methods of marketing their
website.

For example some people might just focus on search engine
marketing by spending all their time trying to be listed #1
in a search engine. Then after they spent countless hours on
this, the search engine changes their algorithm and they can
no longer be found. What a waste of time! I am not saying
that you shouldn’t be concerned about search engine
marketing, but that you shouldn’t put all your eggs into one
basket. If you use all avenues of Internet marketing then you
can feel safe that you are getting traffic from several
places and are not relying on just one source. If you would
like to learn more about the different types of internet
marketing you can sign up for eBiz Updates at:
http://www.webcashlink.com/home.html

It’s also important that you stay current and up to date
about any new forms of Internet marketing. The Internet is
constantly changing and there are always new methods of
advertising available. In fact one of the more recent
discoveries in advertising is RSS. RSS is a great marketing
tool to use to get more traffic to your website and more
prospects. If you haven’t got a chance to read about RSS then
you can read all about it here:
http://www.webcashlink.com/rssanswers


2) Add More Value To Your Product or Service

There are so many websites offering the same thing in the
same cookie cutter fashion. In 2005 you really need to set
yourself apart from the crowd and be unique. Just go the
extra mile and increase the value of your product or service.
It really doesn’t even have to be that hard. Just take some
extra time to offer something that your competitors aren’t
willing to offer.

For example if you sell ebooks, why not offer your customers
the option of receiving it as a physical product. Such as in
a DVD, CD, CD-R, or even Audio Format. By making your ebook a
physical product you will drastically improve the value and
you can also charge more for it. This idea is not just for
people who sell ebooks though. You can add value to just
about any product or service that you have. For example, why
not make some joint ventures and offer a huge discount for a
service or product that compliments what your offering. I’m
sure that if you put some thought into it, you can think of
something yourself.


3) Maximize Your Web Sites Profit Potential

Most people are so focused on making money with their own
product that they often forget about other income streams
that they can profit from on their website. For example, have
you thought about publishing ads on your site? I’m sure that
you have noticed that all the big websites on the Net publish
ads, but even small websites can easily increase their
revenue by 20 or 30 percent by publishing ads on their site.
It’s not hard to implement either. Usually you just copy and
paste a code to your website and you can start delivering
targeted ads to your visitors within a few minutes.

How about exit strategies? Are you making any money from the
people leaving your site? Its just a fact of life that
eventually everyone leaves your website. Why not add an exit
popup to your site that directs them to an affiliate program
or even better a web page where they can opt in to your email
list. Also a lot of people just want to find what they’re
looking for quickly without any hassles. So why not add a
search box to your site where people can instantly find what
they’re looking for by typing in a word. There are several
sites that you can earn money by placing a search box on your
site.

I know that these suggestions might seem obvious but if you
actually utilize everything I talked about here you will be
ahead of 90% of the websites out there.



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Jordan Williams
Get the tools, software, and resources to maximize your
online profits!
http://www.webcashlink.com

Earning money from affiliate programs

Copyright 2005 Richard Grady

Affiliate programs allow you to refer visitors/subscribers/customers to someone else's website
and if your referrals purchase anything, you get a commission. For digital products, this can be as much as 75% of the purchase cost!

Used correctly, affiliate programs can be extremely lucrative. Used incorrectly, they will earn you absolutely nothing. I should also add that you don't even need a website to promote affiliate products so they are incredibly flexible. The following tips will help you to use affiliate programs wisely and hopefully, in a way that earns you some money :-)

If you plan on placing affiliate links on your website (or in your newsletter), you should only link to products that are relevant to your own content. It is a complete waste of time linking to irrelvant products just because they pay a high affiliate commission.

Always try and review the products that you link to before making any sort of recommendation - if the product sucks then this will reflect on you.

Don't expect each affiliate link to earn you a fortune within a few weeks. Some affiliate programs won't make you any money at all and it is just a case of testing to see which ones work and which ones don't. Instead of taking the view that you want one program to earn you a thousand
dollars a month, aim a little lower - maybe $50 or $100 - but work with several programs. To illustrate this point, I promote a number of affiliate programs and each one earns me between $150 and $1000 a month. Most of the commission payments I receive are for less than $300 a month BUT I receive lots of them. Last month, these 'small' amount added up to over $3,000!!

The beauty of affiliate programs is that you don't have to deal with customer enquiries, payment collection, delivery, complaints or any of the administration tasks that go with
selling a product - the product owner does all of this for you. Your role is simply to direct traffic to the appropriate site (sure, this is not always an easy thing to do but it does mean that this is the only thing you need to concentrate on).

Ok, so what if you don't have a website?

No problem! There are numerous ways of advertising your chosen affiliate program without the need for a website or newsletter. For example, it is quite common to set up a pay-per-click advertising campaign with a company such as Google Adwords which links directly through your affiliate link to the main product website. The visitors never even pass through your website and as long as you are earning more in affiliate commissions than you are spending in PPC fees, then this really is money for nothing.

From a personal point of view, I have been using affiliate programs to earn money for some time now and I have recently built several small websites specifically to promote affiliate products of one sort or another. I am not looking for these sites to make me huge profits - just
a couple of hundred dollars a month each. But remember, this is a couple of hundred dollars EVERY month for doing NOTHING (once the initial site is set up).

There are so many advantages to promoting affiliate products, not least the fact that you don't need to create your own product in the first place and there are considerable financial rewards if you get it right.


About the Author:

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts),
visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html

Tips for Starting a Home Business

Copyright 2005 Mal Keenan

Starting a home business is a dream that many people share.
You can work according to your own schedule, "fire"
difficult clients, avoid difficult bosses, spend more time
with your family, escape a lot of the daily stress faced by
employees at their jobs, and pursue your own interest more.
It's a big leap from being an employee to working for
yourself, so a little preliminary planning can never hurt.

You will need to look ahead to several areas of your life
to make necessary preparations, before you actually leave
your job. In some cases, such as a layoff, you won't have
that opportunity in advance, but still, these are very
important factors to consider.

Market research and a business plan are essential. Timing
is very important. You will need to think about the type of
business you're starting, current economic conditions, your
financial situation, and the potential market for your
products or services.

If you have no other means of financial support, you should
accumulate some savings to carry you through your business
startup. Most experts typically suggest six months to one
year of living expenses as a cushion. Don't forget that you
will need to provide for benefits you may have received at
a job, such as health insurance for yourself and your
family and funding into a retirement plan. Of course, if
you have a spouse or partner who is employed and is willing
to provide these necessities during your startup phase, you
are that much ahead of the game.

It is important that you choose the business structure
that's best for your business. Each form of business
organization has both legal and tax implications, so be
sure to consult with professionals in this area.

Of course you will want to have a comfortable and quiet
work space. Ideally, it will be out of the mainstream of
activity. This is important not only to reduce noise, but
also psychologically for you and your family, to create a
sense of "at work" and "at home". While some truly start
their home business from the kitchen table, you'll find
that the separation will help you run your business much
more efficiently. Don't forget to allow space for
manufacturing and inventory storage, if your business
involves those things.

Working from home, sometimes long and unusual hours, makes
it very easy to ignore both your physical and mental
health. The usual advice applies - try to eat a proper diet
and exercise, and even if you don't have a family at home,
don't work all the time. Entrepreneurs often report the one
aspect they miss most from having a regular job is the
contact with coworkers, so be sure to maintain a social
life, even if it's only through a business networking or
support group.

Finally, try to surround yourself with positive, supportive
people, hopefully starting with your own family. This will
be a critical part of your support system. It's not always
possible to get "buy in" from your family. Those who love
you the most aren't usually trying to stand in your way -
it's just that working in a home business is something
unknown to them, and like everyone, they tend to be fearful
of something they don't understand. If you find yourself in
this situation, you they don't understand. If you find
yourself in this situation, you may be able find the
support you need in a business networking or mastermind
group.

About the Author:

For An Affordable Home Business You CAN Believe In Click
Below:
http://www.eliteteamireland.com

A Reality Check Is Necessary Before Starting A Home Business

By Kirk Bannerman

I have helped thousands of people start up their own home based businesses using the Internet. Over time, I have come to recognize two of the most important factors for identifying people that should NOT start a home based business.

If a prospective entrepreneur says something like...

"I'm broke and need to make some money...fast!"

or,

"I want to start a home business, but I don't want to spend anything on it until after I start earning some money."

...it is certain that they have not "gotten real" and should not attempt to start a home business under either of those conditions. I refer to them as the "death sentences" for starting a home based business.

Almost equally important is the need to have realistic economic expectations when undertaking a home based business. There is no magic here, folks. A home based business provides many rewards such as working in the comfort of your own home, avoiding a stressful commute, being your own boss, setting your own hours, no dress code, etc., etc., but anyone that is also expecting "instant riches" is sadly mistaken.

There are a tremendous number of home business and work at home opportunities offered on the Internet. Many of these are all hype and try to convince you that you will be making huge amounts of money in very little time (you know, stuff like..."you will be making $5,000 per week, and more, in just a few weeks!"). You should avoid these like the plague...if they were for real everyone would be doing it.

Study the opportunities carefully and select the home business opportunity that seems to fit your own particular style or talents. What is a good choice for one person may be a very poor
fit for someone else. The common thread that applies to everyone is that you must be "for real" (as indicated above) and the business opportunity itself must be "for real".

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Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. For more information visit his website at

Proven Work At Home Business for more details.

Turn Your Passion into Business and Marketing Success

Copyright © 2005 Beth Woodward
Marketing On The Playground(TM) Storybook…eBook
www.marketingontheplayground.com


Words I have heard repeated consistently from successful
entrepreneurs are "... you have to love what you do to be a
success" or "...whatever you do, do what you love." I am here
to validate those words and uphold their significance and
impact.

Have you found you would like something much more gratifying
in your career?

- Branching out into your own business but you’re not
exactly sure what you want to do or,

- Knowing what you want but not very excited about the
marketing part of having a business?

There are many research sources available online or right
in your own community. You will find great statistics and
programs available to help you with your search. I will
provide you with an additional approach. The importance of
following your passions and your strengths is second to
none.

I'll share my experience with you. I wanted to have my own
business, make my own hours and be filled with gratification
in the work (passion) I was providing. In my career search
I found Personal and Professional Life Coaching. It
definitely brought the gratification and passion I was
seeking, however, marketing was the last thing I wanted to
do.

I remember saying to myself, months and even a year into my
business, "who did I think I was that I could leave
corporate life and start my own business? I’m going back to
the work I know." Yes, I knew the work, but it was no
longer satisfying. Thankfully, my inner voice challenged me,
and I began to look inside at my strengths and passions. I
compared what I knew of myself to what I was doing. They
didn't match up.

Four questions came to my mind at that time and continue to
surface periodically:

- What do I want?
- What do I need?
- What was giving me energy?
- What was taking my energy?


After taking a good look at myself, my business, and the
path I was on, I realized the only part of passion I was
following was helping others in their business and even that
was very generic. When I began to follow MY strengths, MY
passions and MY style, a niche was born...Marketing On The
Playground(TM). Here was the turning point: I gave myself
permission to market MY WAY and have since created programs
to help others market THEIR WAY! Isn't it funny how those
things we repel can become something we embrace when we
choose to look at it through different doorways? I knew I
enjoyed humor, play, color, helping women in their business
and being unique. At the time, I just didn't know how to
integrate what I enjoyed into a business, not to mention,
LOVE every minute of it. By focusing on the approach that
works for ME, a fun, dynamic and gratifying business is
evolving.

We have all heard the phrase, "you can't see the forest for
the trees". This seems to be a consistent challenge to all
of us - I’m including myself. Do not discount the most
obvious in your strengths and your foundation. Stop and
look at what you have accomplished, the expertise you have
and the network of professionals you have at your
fingertips. I.E. Have you come from a nursing background
and want to go into your own business? Look at the pieces
you have and develop what YOU want from your background and
foundation. Check out LeaRae Keyes, RN, Executive Director
of www.nurse-entrepreneur-network.org. Take a look
at what she has created from her background and expertise.

Here is another tip for you. Do you think we create our
businesses alone? Even though we have our home offices or
an office space outside of the home, we are human beings –
we need interaction, a pat on the back and different ideas
to bring substance, quality and fun into our lives and our
work. DON'T DO IT ALONE! Create a success team. I have
been meeting with my success team every week for the last
three years. I would not be where I am today without
them.

I cannot say this enough - Whatever you do, do what you
LOVE! Thank you for the opportunity to share these tips
with you - I wish you well in your business journey. Don't
forget; give yourself permission to create your business/passion.
I have no doubt of your success when following your passions
and strengths.

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Beth Woodward, CPCC, CEK (Chief Executive Kid). Beth is the
creator of the popular Marketing On The Playground(TM) Program,
Women's "Brain" -Storming On The Playground(TM), and is the
author of the Marketing On The Playground(TM) Storybook…eBook.
Visit Beth at www.marketingontheplayground.com

Make Extra Money From Home? 10 Proven Ways!

1. Make copies of your web site in many different languages. This will allow foreign speaking people to read your web site and make extra money from home.

2. Give your customers a surprise bonus for buying. When you give customers more than they expect, there is a good chance they will buy from you again and you will make extra money.

3. Send greeting cards offline or online to customers on holidays. You'll get the chance to increase your orders by including your ad inside the card.

4. Market your products or services to your target audience. For example, don't try to sell a football in a cooking magazine. Make extra money from home using this common sense technique.

5. Give people the option of buying other products or add on products when they decide to buy your main product or service at the point of sale.

6. Think of new ways to attract people to buy your products or services. You could add on extra free bonuses, delivery options, payments options, etc.

7. Give other businesses the option of selling your product. It could be a simple joint venture deal or an affiliate/associate program. Help other people make extra money from home

8. Follow-up regularly with all your prospects and current customers. When people see your ad more than once they are more likely to buy.

9. Learn sales ideas from reading and studying other business' advertising and marketing material. It could be ads, brochures, tv ads, sales letters, etc.

10. Educate yourself with new strategies to increase your earnings from home. You could take classes, subscribe to e-zines and magazines, read books or ebooks, etc.

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Martin Boyd publishes HBT News, a bi-weekly informative newsletter dedicated to supporting online Home businesses If you're looking for the #1 rated home business opportunities, the latest resources and helpful support from an honest friend in the business, come by and grab a
F-R-E-E subscription, mailto:twahsb@... http://www.theworkathomesuccessbusiness.com/extra-money-from-home.html

Your Free Home Based Business

By Brian Pratt

If you’re looking to make some extra cash but have little business experience or little money, then starting an online free home based business could be for you.

By beginning with a free home based business you will gain the experience and the capital you will need to really take your earnings to the next level. You will learn what works and what doesn’t. The risk in a free home based business is nothing - so you have nothing to lose!

Any one can be successful with a free home based business but it does take time and lots of it. Having some funding will speed the process up and a good strategy is to use half of your profits towards paid advertising.

The following free home based business requires little knowledge, no financial investment and provides a firm foundation for the future. Here’s what you need to build your own free home based business:

(a) Product

Find a free program with a wide range of products for your free home based business. This way you will be able to experiment with different markets to find the one, which works, for you.

Choose a program, which has been around for more than 10 years. One with the largest possible number of affiliates (or members) and with a step-by-step training program.

The program must provide no cost advertising pages for your free home based business to use.

To start, select a product where you are paid to give something away. As your skills grow, you can move to selling more costly items from your free home based business.

(b) Advertising.

There are a number of advertising options for a free home based business. Traffic exchanges, free advertising directories, blogs and forums are the most widely used. You can also submit articles with your tinyurl (see below) in the bio line at the bottom of the work.

(c) Page or URL Rotator
A URL rotator is a must for an online free home based business. It will allow you to send all your advertising to one place – the rotator. It then shares all the incoming hits amongst the products you have chosen advertise.

Having a rotator allows you to change products without having to go back and change all the advertisements for your free home based business.

There are many excellent free rotators on the web. A good one will provide you information about the number of page hits sent to each product and where the incoming hits came from.

(d) TinyURL
Most page rotators have quite long names. These can be off-putting to prospective customers. So go to a site named www.tinyurl.com. There you can type in a long name. It will be shortened into something which works better with your advertising campaigns (and protect your precious affiliate commission).

Pulling it all together:

1. Load up the page rotator for your free home based business with web pages of all the products you wish to sell. I suggest starting with no more than three.

2. Then create a tinyurl for your page rotator.

3. Place advertisements in every directory you can find

4. Add your link to the bottom of your emails

5. Join every free traffic exchange you can

6. Write and submit an article per week with your tinyurl in the bio line

7. Find a number of active forums and post helpful messages making sure your tinyurl is included in your signature line.

8. Start you own free blog. Put a new entry in your blog at least once per week. Make sure there are plenty of links to your free home based business products from your blog. Always announce your blog updates using the tool at www.pingomatic.com.

Your objective is to get as many links back to your page rotator as you possibly can. The more people who see you links the more traffic to your rotator and the more sales you will make.

There it is, the basis of a free home based business and the start of your online empire.

To your success!

About the Author: Brian Pratt is a 47 year old New Zealander with over 10 years internet experience. He owns a Plug-In Profit site at http://www.bestrealincome.com. If you would like more detail on how to build your own free home based business you can find it there. Brian can be contacted at brian@bestrealincome.com

What Should Your Service Fee Be?

By Karyn Greenstreet

You must decide for yourself whether you will charge foryour services or not. Should you decide to charge, the next question is "what should my fee be?"

1. Determine What You Need To Make When setting fees, part of the calculation is how much you need (and want!) to make. If you first decide how much profit you need to make, you can then determine what to charge in order to make that profit. It's necessary to doa personal and family budget first, to determine the minimum you need to bring into your home each month. In addition to that minimum, add the amount you'd want that would give you the lifestyle you want. If you're just starting a business, you may have to make ends meet with other income or savings, but you need to have a goal of the full amount you want to bring home each month when you havea successful business. While income isn't the only measureof success, NOT making enough money in your business will bring frustration and dissatisfaction.

2. Research Your Fee Options

First, examine carefully your skill level. It is common practice in business to charge based on skill. The more skill and experience you have, the more you charge.

You have several choices on how your services will be billed:

* per hour
* per session (regardless of how long a session lasts)
* per month
* per project
* per "program" (you define what the program includes and how long it lasts)

Next, find out what others are charging for similarservices in your area. You will have a difficult time getting clients if you set your fee at $100 per hour whenother providers in your area are only charging $60 per hourunless you can justify the added value clients will get for the additional cost. One interesting note is that you can charge much more in big cities than anywhere else: in thesuburbs you might be able to charge $60-$75 a session and in New York City charge $150 a session.

Ask others in your industry what they charge. It is not collaboration or price-fixing to simply inquire as to industry norms. Ask your attorney if you have concerns about this area. Another consideration is how much your education cost you. As an example, some massage therapists can spend $4,000 to$6,000 to get their certification. These educationexpenses, as well as other business expenses, need to be figured into the mix when setting fees.

Finally, decide if you will offer discounted fees and how you will apply them. Some people create their fees on a sliding scale, based on what the client can afford. Others offer either full fee or free sessions, with no discountingin-between the two extremes. Some take one or two freeclients per month as a way to give back to the community, or volunteer their services with a local non-profit organization.

3. Determine Your Payment Policies

Decide if the client must pay in advance or if they can pay after the session is complete.

Also decide if you will offer a discount for early payment of invoices. This encourages those clients you invoice to pay their bills early, thereby giving you earlier access toyour cash.Finally, if you will be invoicing clients, determine how much time they have to pay. Typical time periods are 15 days or 30 days after the invoice date. You must be willing to be assertive in collecting past-due accounts and be firm with people who don't pay on time.

For example, if your policy is that payment must be received in your office by the first day of the month, consider warning, then firing, clients who habitually are late in sending in their payment.

EXERCISE - How Many Sessions Do I Need To Do?

For this exercise, you'll need a piece of paper and a calculator.

1. Calculate the income you need to bring into your home (after taxes and expenses) so that you'll have a comfortable life. Don't short-change yourself here; be honest with what you really need.

2. Add 30-35% to that number to figure out the gross incomeyou'll need. This covers taxes and expenses. (Adjust thepercentage if you will have an unusual number of expenses.)

3. Determine the fee you'll charge for one session (hour/program).

4. Divide your total income by the per-session fee to calculate the number of sessions you need to do in a year.

5. Now divide the yearly sessions by 12 to determine how many you need to do per month.

6. Assuming you'll work an average of 20 days per month, divide the total monthly sessions by 20 to figure out how many you'll need to do per day.

For example:

1. Desired Net Income: $35,000

2. Plus 30%: 35,000 x 1.30 = $45,500

3. Per Session Fee: $60

4. Number of Sessions per Year: 45,500 / 60 = 758.33

5. Monthly Sessions: 758 / 12 = 63

6. Average Daily Sessions: 63 / 20 = 3.15

Your Calculations:

• Net Income:
• Plus 30%:
• Per Session Fee:
• Number of Sessions per Year:
• Monthly Sessions:
• Average Daily Sessions:

Now, look closely at that final number. Can you physicallyand emotionally do that many sessions in a day? For instance, if each session is one hour in length (with 15 minutes of rest time in-between sessions), do you have enough time and energy to do that many sessions?

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© 2005 Karyn Greenstreet.

Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert and small business coach. She shares tips, techniques and strategieswith self-employed people to boost clarity and focus,create sustainable motivation, and increase sales andprofits. Sign up for the free 10-week email workshop,"Grow Your Business By Growing Yourself" by sending email to