Cool Rules

This isn't about figuring out who to pitch to or what to wear to the pitch meeting or how to follow up on the pitch. This isn't any part of the "sales tunnel"(mainly because I have no idea how you get to the sales tunnel or how long it takes to get through it  or whether or not you can get reception in there). This is about the message you get across in 15 or 30 seconds that is the pitch.
Which is very simple thing, really. Because there are only two kinds of pitches: those you believe in and those you don't believe in.

Here's how to pitch an idea you don't believe in:
1. Stifle the urge to weep at what you've become; a person who is pitching some idea he or she doesn't believe in.
2. Try not to say "um" too many times.

Here's how to pitch an idea you believe in:
Talk. I'm a magazine editor,  and much of my job involves pitching- either receiving pitches from writers or pitching ideas to my boss. The problem with most pitches I receive    

Only 29% of Filipinos have Internet Access

  Seventy percent of Filipinos don't have access to the internet, says a report from United Nations agency.

  The Broadband Commission for Digital Development recently released its first country-by-country snapshot of the state of broadband development worldwide. According to the report, the Philippine ranked 100 among 177 countries in terms of Internet penetration.
  The report also says that only 15 percent of Filipino households have access to internet, placing the Philippines in the 54" spot in the ranking for developing countries.
  The report says broadband use is accelerating worldwide. Liechtenstein,

Lock the Deal

How to turn daily coupon users into repeat customers.
Since their appearance on the digital scene. Groupon and its clones have gotten more attention than a gaggle of Kardashians. But in the wake of every overhyped Next Big Thing comes backlash. The 2011 Rice University study found that 26.6 percent of businesses actually lost money on daily-deal promotions, attracting one-off bargain hunters rather than the long-term customers. This left business marketers wondering: can daily-deal sites lead to sustainable customer acquisition?

For deals to be effective part of the customer acquisition process, they need to be combined with other best practices.
  Understanding lead-gen costs. Deal sites tend to work best for companies with deep margins on their products, ones that can absorb the cost of the promotion as a loss leader, Johnson says. Gaffo's Muller says his team applies some analysis before running a deal. "We'll say, 'OK, it may $5 in marketing to get a new customer, so we'd be willing to take a $5 loss on one of these deal sites for the chance to acquire more people as regular customer," he explains.
  Communication. While deal sites provides clients with analytics and demographic data, it's usually up to the business itself to capture purchasers' contact information. When deals are redeemed, the business should make a practice of logging the customer's name into a database or point-of sale system so other offers or content can be sent to encourage future purchases.
  Analysis. Not all deal sites are created equal. Muller likes to work with well-established sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, because they usually send him deal information and analytics within 48 hours. Businesses should track results and use the sites that work best for them.
  Customization. One site SocialTwist, helps companies choose a deal or promotion that works best for them, so they're not locked into the 50 percent-off model most sites employ. SocialTwist also integrates social media elements into a promotion, and as a result, customers can like a business's Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, which can lead to longer term interaction.

Success in Flash

Young entrepreneur carves a creative niche with USB drives.

  Finding a cute flash drive for his girlfriend's birthday proved more difficult than Doug Stienstra imagined. At the time a student at The University of Iowa, Stienstra searched the mall and the Internet, disappointing to find that the nontraditional flash drives on the market were unattractive and overpriced. So he took a DIY approach: He bought a fuzzy finger puppet from a toy store and glued it to a standard USB drive. The give was a hit.
  "All of her friends loved the flash drive and started asking me to make one for them," recalls Stienstra, now 23, "I knew I was onto something."

  In 2010, he used the resources at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory on campus to launch a business production and selling the fuzzy finger-puppets drives he now calls Flash Pals (the original name was dataBabies). The drives come in variety of safari animal designs, and a portion of preceeds from each sale is donated to wildlife charities, reflecting Stienstra's love of animals and desire to run a socially responsible business. "I think it's great that I'm able to use my business to have an impact on something I'm passionate about," he says.
  Stienstra invested $2,500 (P105,700) in his startup, using cash awards from business plan and elevator-pitch competitions to cover the cost of trademarks, UPC codes and web design. Additional funding covered production for 640 units. Stienstra not only sold the drives for $20 through his website, but he also offered them on eBay and in gift shops and bookstore in Iowa City.
  At first Stienstra did the manufacturing in his room, attaching finger puppets with glue. "It took hours and hours to assemble them by hand," he recalls. "(But) when I tested the market, there was clearly a demand, so I kept it."
  After graduating last spring, Stienstra moved to Austin, texas. he worked with a community College (ACC) and sought out investors to expand the business. When his initial inventory almost sold out late last year, the accidental entrepreneur knew he needed to change his business model if he wanted it to be sustainable.
  With the help of $5,000 in capital from investor Scott Goyette, an entrepreneur and management professor at ACC, Stienstra began outsourcing the suppliers of Flash Pals to China (manufacturing is done in the United States), which allows him to produce more units for less. He stills sells the drives (now priced at $29.95 each) online and through local negotiating contracts with national retailers.
  "From the minute I saw the business plan and started crunching the numbers. I knew Doug was unto something," Goyette says. "The creative, simple design had obvoius marketing potential."
  Now that Stienstra has seen the sales potential among his target market- tween and teen girls- he is envisioning new markets for Flash pals. He's considering doing branded drives featuring college mascots or pitching the products to zoos and wildlife nonprofits as fundraising incentives.
Source: Entrepreneur Magazine

Opportunities from Hair Blowing

Blowout Bar: A Makati-based hair salon that provides blow-drying services only.

  Inside some of the busiest salons in the United States, you won't see a pair of scissors or a bottle of hair dye. What you will see, however, are women arriving at these salons as early as seven in the morning, clad in corporate attire and clutching their cups of coffee. A quick shampoo and blowout later, these ladies are ready to take on the workday with their hair styled to perfection.
  This American concept of no colors, no cuts, and just blowouts is what Michael Arroyo, 33, and Kristina Picar, 28, have replicated in Makati City. In fact, Blowout Bar is the first of its kind in the Philippines. It came to reality with a P 1-million investment and around a year's worth of hard work and commitment.
  "In 2010, we saw this concept of blowout bars becoming popular in the States, and I had this Eureka! moment to bring it back home. There's always a risk in any business, and the cool thing is we would bring something new to the Philippines-we didn't want to be a "me too' business," says Arroyo.

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  With its mint green and white interiors, sleek bar and modern furniture, Blowout Bas has an inviting and lively atmosphere. In connection with its bar theme, the blowouts are named after alcoholic beverages. For P350 per blowout (regardless of hair length), women can select from best-selling Flirtini for a Victoria's Secret model hairstyle, the Lond Island for a sleek and straight style, and Malibu Rum if casual waves are your preference, or the Cherry Bombshell for a culred and polished look.
  Meanwhile, bureaucratic hurdles are discouraging the duo from adding actual alcoholic beverages to the menu. "As we all know in the Philippines, especially in Makati, it's difficult to get permit to sell and serve alcoholic drinks," adds Arroyo.
  Having been open for months, the duo would like to improve their system, branding and costumer experience. "We want to blow-dry to be synonymous with our brand, "says Picar. "We also want to venture into franchising in the long run.We're trying to make this place more fun for girls, that's why this place doesn't look or feel like a salon."
  Source: Entrepreneur Magazine

The Financial Consulting

  According to a 2011 study by a local life insurance company. most Filipinos don't know enough about investing, following a budget or making a financial plan. They know that they need to save but its not worked into budget. Where there are savings it is normally seen as an end in itself instead of as a means to an end.
  Regina E. Kibir, 66, is a certified public accountant who has practiced financial advising for more than 20 years, and finds it both a profession and responsibility whenever she gives advice. Financial advising is more than about money, she says. "As a financial adviser, you are part of the client's success and failure. As much as possible, supervise them and give the best help. I dig deeper until I get a lot of data about them, even down to their behavior."
  Knowing about bookkeeping and accountancy can help people become financially literate, but even accountants fail at financing when they are just focused on money matters and forget the business world at large. "I had clients that wanted me to be their internal financial adviser. They were hard workers and knew how to make money, but they didn't know how to make it work for them," Kibir says.

How to become one
  Involvement in business like banking and selling insurance has some financial literacy training worked into it, and so do college courses like business administration and accountancy. Some financial consultants get by with business savvy and experience and build a reputation and client base through referrals.
  Still, if you want to get into business of financial consulting, getting trained and certified gives you a competitive edge. Self-regulating bodies like the Registered Financial Planners Institute (www.rfp-philippines.com) and the Institute of Financial Consultants (www.ifcphilippines.com) offer training and certification.

  It is not uncommon for individuals to enter into financial advising as a second or third job. Competition in the field may be stiff, but the rewards--both financial and personal--can be very fulfilling."If the advising involves a multimillion project or transaction, it is common to ask 3 percent to 8 percent of the project cost," Kibir reveals. And where there are satisfied costumers there are repeats and referrals. She says she get clients just by word of mouth. "Satisfied clients make good advertisers."

Keeping your edge
  People in finance know that the market is fickle and that investments strategies should be dynamic. But what can catch even financial advisers unaware is how fast the rules of the game change. "I don't assume to be a know-it-all. I need to be updated. "Surefire solutions' of  yesteryear may be inadequate today," says Kibir. So it pays to keep learning.
  She warns against antiquated financial advice that does not take into account new trends like e-commerce and social networking. When these avenues are ignored, startups become a formidable threat and may even overtake established players. 
Source: Entrepreneur Magazine

Philippine outsourcing industry to post double-digit growth

The Philippine outsourcing industry will post a 15.7-percent growth in revenues this year to $12.7 billion (P537 billion) from $11 billion last year, says consulting firm XMG Capital.
  In a mid-year review released in August, it says the Philippines is among the top beneficiaries  of outsourcing, along with Indonesia and BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China.
  But it says India remains the "pre-eminent outsourcing power," with revenues seen growing to $63.2 billion this year from $59 billion in 2011.
  Close second is China, XMG Capital says, with revenues projected to grow to $58.3 billion in 2012 from $45.7 billion in 2011.

Product Videos Can Sway Online Apparel Shoppers

  People looking for apparel online appear to be increasingly influenced by the product videos they watch when deciding to make a purchase, says market research firm eMarketer.com.
  Citing a study conducted by Google and digital intelligence provider Compete, eMarketer.com says four in 10 online shoppers visited a store or retailer website as a result watching apparel videos online.
  It says customer testimonials and reviews are the most commonly watched videos and consumer-generated videos are not far behind.
  Google and Compete's study also indicates online shoppers are giving time and consideration to video ads while shopping for apparel online. eMarketer.com says.

Quoting Russ Somers, vice president of marketing at video solutions provider Invado, eMarketer.com says video distribution is a big opportunity for apparel brands, particularly on product and brand pages. "Video is an asset that a retailer can use in many places-on the site, social and mobile channels, in-store and e-mail," Somers says in a report.

Questions before making a purchase

Will I? Which one? There are two questions your customers ask themselves and answer every time they deliberate about a purchase. Will I buy a product (or service) in this category? If so, which one will I buy? These two questions are important to consider when when it comes to pricing products and services.
If someone is in the market to buy a new car (Will I? Yes), then she is probably looking at her options (Which one?), if she is not in the market for a new car (Will I? No), then she probably isn't shopping around. Before someone chooses which car to buy (Which one?), she first must decide that she wants a new car (Will I? Yes).

10 Wells of Inspiration

With all the innovative business ideas out there, how is one to compete in the highly dynamic and competitive field of entrepreneurship? How can all these people come out of nowhere and end up with very profitable and exciting ventures? The biggest question now for an entrepreneur is "How do I say relevant?" How do we feed the demands of our minds and hearts that power our very passion to build an enterprise?

Pay attention to details
1. The Dieline (www.thedieline.com)
Ideas-sometimes all they need is a box and a red ribbon. No matter how good a product may be, its presentation and design is integral to selling the idea. The Dieline, billed as the world's No. 1 package design website, is a great place to find inspiration for products, packaging, and branding.
2. The Apple Store
(store.apple.com)
Visit any Apple store and go crazy on all the products they have to offer. Touch them, play with them, and take note of every detail, from its ergonomics, styling, design, color, structure, software, and so on. Maybe you'll find out why lots of people go gaga over Apple products.

Watch and Learn

Pick up money-making lessons from these fictional entrepreneurs from TV, movies, and books.

Max Black and Caroline Channing of Two Broke Girls
Max and Caroline were on the right track even before Martha Stewart told them. "When you're in business for yourself you have to take every situation as a business opportunity." While working as waitresses, they've managed to sell Max's homemade cupcakes at the dinner, catered for a gallery opening and baby shower, and pitched their business to the pastry mogul.

Jerry Maguire of Jerry Maguire
Jerry's mentor Dicky Fox said, "The key to this business is personal relationship." Be thankful when you start your business with a few clients because you can focus on them more. As you foster your relationship with your clients, you build a better, more reputable business that people would have want to be part of.

The Nanny diaries

UrbanSitter: A social media answer for parents seeking reliable, trusted babysitters-- fast.

What it is
UrbanSitter uses Facebook Connect to access, with permission, the networks of parents and sitters and bring the two together. it trawls contacts, groups and "Likes" for sitters known through friends. When a parent needs help on date night, the service spits out a list of possibilities. Parents can review rates, schedule interviews, conducts background checks and book the sitter-all online. like the restaurant reservation service Open Table, the parent is notified immediately after the sitter accepts the gig.

How it started
in November 2010, Lynn Perkins, who has twin boys, had enough. Why was it, she wondered, that she could book an online restaurant reservation in a minutes, yet had to spend hours calling and e-mailing around to find a babysitter? Armed with an idea and her background running online clothing retailer Xuny.com, Perkins turned to Facebook to solve the problem.

Using Social Media and other Cost-Cutting Tricks for More Business Savings

Today, online marketing is one of the fastest growing modes of entrepreneurship. The internet and social media particularly can be use to transform your business and converting your promotion expenses into big savings. Learn and understand the following and do it into your own business.

1. Hire virtual assistance. "Get your business automated; the lesser employees you have, the better," "Employing people who are good at multitasking can save you tons of money."
2. Hire the best and pay them generously. A friend had related a years ago said that their company "was saving millions in taxes every year because they hired a great accountant. This accountant knows the ins and outs of corporate tax legalities. No wonder they're paying her generously.
3. Make friends with experts and ask their advice for free. "I made some quality  friends online and offline-event organizers, accountants, lawyers, graphic designer, and others. On certain occasions, i ask their opinions through calls, text messages, or e-mail. Believe me, I got the answers from them for free. In return, I do the same thing for them."
4. Use social media to advertise online. With people starting to spend more time on the internet, many major brands are shifting their marketing campaigns online through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. "If you can do it right, you're going to save millions in advertising costs."

Knowing how to Invest in the Stock Market

It is another way or probably one of the best way to make your money grow. But before investing to stock market, you should know things about it. It is here where money gets high and down very past, but don't worry, it is normal in this venture, all you have to do is to buy stocks and let it manage by a broker, or if you don't have bigger amount of money you can buy stocks in a company then let the company manage it for you, that is how simple it is. Rather than putting your money in the bank, the bank will invest it to buy stocks and give the little percentage of what your money have earned, compare it if how big your money have earned if you directly invest your money to buy stocks.
Stock market is a venue where brokers buy and sale shares of ownership in a corporation(stocks) and other securities like debt agreement (bonds) or rights to ownership(derivatives)
Companies go to stock market and sell part of their ownership if they want to raise capital without getting a

Business Opportunity and Ideas

I believed that every one want a job, or an extra job. It is time to check your education, skills, and talent. It is also high time to improve them, making them up to date for the present situation.
If you're interested for some business ideas, check what we have and learn them.

• We have online selling. the internet had change some strategies in business, people around the world will have the possibilities to know and get in touch with you through online. You can use Facebook and Twitter to sell if you have interest in selling. Find a need or wants and supply it, it may be new or second hand product. You can be a direct seller or a middle man, there are so many options that you can choose in order to sell and make money. If you have any idea related to this article you can also try it. Discover your self by trying variety of techniques and measures. You may also offer your services through online dealing.
• Another is Editorial Services. although almost all of us had attended school, we have taken up our

How to Earn Through Blogging

There are a lot of things that you must know and do to make your blog earn money. If you want to earn money through blogging, you must be ready to invest money and time. Like business, you will establish name and attract costumers. You will offer different items that are needed, you will show different topics that will provide different needs. If you want to attract internet users and surfers, you must be like a mall that offer different needs and services, make reason for one stay and visit your blog. Stay in current, always post interesting and informative information.

Here are some steps that could help New and Old blogger improve their blogs;

• Plan for a blog name that is line to your favorites and expertise.Start by introducing yourself, relating those interesting events that happen in your life. Share what happen to you daily, just like putting your daily status on Facebook. Start sharing your site on social networks, and update it daily.
• Start reading books, magazines, and newspapers. Subscribe to newsletters that will contribute to you need. Establish a mission and long term goal. Enjoy what you are doing.

How to Buy Wisely.

Buying is getting what is needed and appropriate for the life we have. Buy while we are saving money for future needs and wants.

Here are some ways to buy and save;

• Buy your clothes and other personal needs at sale price so that you can save a lot of money for your dream car.
• Rent cheaper apartment, or low payment for your home so that you will have something with your family to dine in a restaurant, once a week or month.
• Give up unnecessary expenditures and elect something that is better for your health and family.

Goals for Becoming An Effective Motivator.

It may be a talent, but, it is more on acquired skills. Anyone can be a motivator, provided that they must acquire the following;

• Become inspiring, execute command and earn respect. Learn to make your words executable and commanding, of course it will only happen if you have earned the needed respect.
• Become confident, believed in what you're saying. Every follower and listener has sense, if they have observed that you're sharing something that is not factual or unbelievable, then they will ignore and will not listen to you.

The Different Hindrances in Selling.

Before we remove the different hindrances in Selling, let us point them out.

Here are the major hindrances that was pointed out by experts and motivators in selling;

• no demand or need
• no finance or money
• not yet require or no hurry.
• no likes or desire. and
• no confident or trust.

These are the different factors that block and hinders selling. Unless you learned to cope with these hindrances, then you may become successful in the venture of selling.

Let us learn to encounter, persuade, and let them believed and accept what we are offering them.

First, be familiar with your product, goods, and services. Then find prospect that really need your product, evaluate your prospect before approaching them, prepare answers to possible questions that may arise. Identify why, what you offer is really fitting to his need. Remember that you're there to offer help and services for his needs.

Sequential and Simultaneous Progression

Originally, we start from a nice sequence of development. At the start, we are not yet capable of doing things, just like at childhood, we just eat and sleep then wait to grow and develop into a fully grown individual. The sequence from infancy to adulthood is perfect, we appreciate it.

Sometimes the way of life arrange and maintained into sequential form and order. We achieved and acquire necessities one after the other. For some who would accept this form might be interesting. But for those who want to acquire and earn more, it is not practical. Is it necessary to take it one at a time, or it can be gain and acquired simultaneously? 

There are no norms that controls you in acquiring. If you can take and sustain it, get it. In simultaneous progression, it is not needed to learn before you serve, put up a house then have your