Educational Excellence – What Have You Done Lately?

I will say this right up front. I am a product of an excellent public school background, and while I did attend a private school for my senior year, the foundations for learning, education, and wisdom were not affected by anything other than the local school district. I also attended a public state university. But as an adult, I am a homeschooler at heart. Yet none of what I am going to address is meant to criticize any one of those educational choices.

The truth of educational choices is seen in this question. “What have you done lately?”

As an adult, no one has ever asked me where I went to elementary school or high school other than to connect with me on Facebook or to answer the question of where I’m from. No one has cared too much about which college I attended unless they want to presume my favorite football team or playfully engage in some team rivalry. You see, it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is how well I am performing my tasks every day and whether I can be trusted to contribute in meaningful ways to those around me. My school choices don’t matter as much as what I am doing with my education. My school limitations don’t matter as much as my ability to overcome obstacles. What matters is not where I went to school, but how I let school impact me now and how am I using my abilities now.

I think this is a valuable lesson to remind ourselves no matter what educational setting we find ourselves, or our children, being immersed in. What we do with the educational choices is far more significant than the actual choice we make. Some of our choices are affected by geography, income, opportunity, etc., and for that we can’t find fault in the choices that we have to make, or that others make. What we can do is to encourage our students to make the most of the offerings before them. As parents, that is part of our job. As educators, it includes the responsibility to give the best education to our students and the tireless encouragement to see them make use of those offerings.

The ultimate issue in education, whether you are a student, parent, or educator, is what you are doing now to learn and grow more fully into your role. What have you done lately with your skills? No matter the setting, public school, private school, or homeschool, the goal is to prepare students for competency and excellence in their mental, academic and social skills. For many, especially me, the spiritual training of our students is also a priority, if not the ultimate priority. Each of those areas matter, but students can no more rest on their laurels than can we. Once prepared, we must be taking action with those skills. Preparation is always meant to lead to something; it’s not the end goal.

If the greatest description we can give of ourselves is to identify with where we went to school in the past, then we have failed to grow into our potential. Actually, we’ve just failed to grow. Likewise, if we are only preparing our students to attend a particular school, or to have a limited perspective of which types of schools are good, then we are not letting them see the value in their education. Excellence in education should go well beyond the choice of a school, and be about the choice of daily actions. The actions that result from being fully prepared will significantly contribute to excellence around them us adults, and that is how we train our students to make use of their preparations.

So, what have you done lately with your education?

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How To Make Profits Out Of A Home Based Business

How do you make profits out of a home based business? The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to start with yourself… not that business opportunity you saw in an ad, or that your best friend is trying to get you to join. If you want to know the secret to a successful business from home, read on… these five steps will help you decide what sort of business is going to work best for you.

1. What Are You Good At?

Your talents should be the base for any home business venture you start. Maybe you are an artistic person, or creative with words. Perhaps you have a gift for selling, or communicating, or spotting creative solutions to problems. Write down the things that you are good at, and include little things that you may not think are important… they may turn out to be later!

2. What Skills Do You Have?

If you want to make profits out of a home based business, it’s easiest to start with business that requires skills you already have. Skills are different than talents… skills are the things you can do, such as using certain software or drawing. Talents are the things you are born being able to do, but skills are the things you have learned to do, or perfected, over time.

3. Talents = Skills = Business Ideas

Look at your list of talents, and your list of skills. Now, what sort of business could you start with those talents and skills? For example, if you are creative and artistic, and you are skilled at Photoshop or other programs, you may want to start a web design service. If you are talented with details and have strong organizational skills, then perhaps you’d make a great freelance bookkeeper or virtual assistant. Don’t throw out any ideas at this stage, and don’t censor yourself… whatever you come up with, even if it sounds ridiculous, jot it down.

4. Test Your Ideas

Of course, not all ideas will work for a home based business. You won’t be able to have a lot of clients over, or store a lot of products, for example. If you want to work from home, then certain business ideas that require you to go and work on-site may not be suited for you. Cross off anything that doesn’t pass the ‘can do it at home’ test.

5. Profit Potential

If you want to get profits out of a home based business, you need to assess the profit potential of your ideas. Basically, you have to be doing something that people are willing to pay for! Find out how much people are willing to pay for your product or service (in general), and then assess whether or not you can make enough income from that. You want to be able to do more than just pay the bills, you want profit… that’s money over and above what you need to live on. Decide how much you need to live on, and how much more than that you are happy with making, at least at first.

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Find a Home Based Business For Sale That Fits Your Style

When you decide that you want to work from home it can be quite exhausting doing research on what exactly it is that you want to do. You want to find a home based business for sale that is best fit for you, otherwise you may easily tire of your new found career. Each and every person will want something different from their home business. What exactly is it that you want?Compensation
Lets be honest, when you are trying to find a home based business, you aren’t doing it purely for the joy. You want to find the right business that will allow you to make the money you desire, and often times you are looking for something that can top the salary you already make at your regular job. For instance, if you are interested in sales, you will want a company that offers high commissions on high demand products.Training
Home business, especially internet based, is foreign territory for many people. It can be right out scary. There is so much to learn and master. So how do you know you are looking at the right opportunity? When they offer full training, and even more importantly, continued support and mentoring. A program that shows you how to do something once, then throws you out into the big world of business all on your own is probably not your best bet. What would happen if you got confused or misunderstood something? Will there be someone there ready to help you?Convenience
When it comes down to it, you need to have a business that runs as smoothly as possible. You need to be able to access all of your resources as soon as you need them. You should never have to wait to get information, get answers to questions, and especially not have to wait to make money. In my opinion, this is where I would cross out all options that are not internet based. The world wide web is open for business 24/7/365. You can run your business while you sleep if you set it up correctly.Automation
With technology advancing at its current rate, there is absolutely no reason that you can’t have a near fully automated home business. New tools and software are brought to attention every day. These can make it possible for you to make money all day, every day, with minimal effort.A proven system
Some people are fortunate and bring something new to the table and their idea/product blows up and they become instant success stories. However, in the real world of business it does not work like that for most people. You will need to dedicate time and effort to succeed. The only other thing you must have is a proven system that is and has been working already. If you are going to find a home based business for sale, it needs to be something that you can see working.

An 800 Fax Number Gives Your Home Based Business The Image It Needs

An 800 fax number can be an effective way for a home based business to not only streamline operations, but give their company the look and feel of a much larger organization.These numbers are designed much like traditional 800 numbers in that they are paid for on a month to month basis by the owner to a provider. The provider, in turn, supplies the business with a dedicated 1 800 number that can be faxed to by any other company or individual. Pricing for an 800 fax number is usually done on a per page or per minute basis, with a set amount of pages or minutes included in the base price.When a fax is sent to an 800 fax number, the page being sent is analyzed and printed on a fax machine at the home business end. Many providers are able to offer options whereby the number will never ring busy, even if a fax is currently being transmitted. This means that a small business will never miss a fax, something which can doom a start-up or specialty operation.While there are still companies that offer the traditional paper-to-paper 800 fax number option, most also include Internet faxing services. Internet faxing allows a business to have faxes sent to the 800 fax number forwarded on to a number of locations depending on the preference of the owner. Faxes received can be sent directly to a fax machine, or the user can use a fax to email option or Smartphone for instant viewing. In the same way, faxes can be composed online or in an email and then sent out using the Internet fax to anywhere in the world. This allows a business to stay mobile and not be tied to a home office or desk when waiting for an important fax.In addition to the ease of receiving and sending benefits that an 800 fax number offers, there are a number of other significant advantages that such a system can offer a home based business. The first is that, to an outside company or observer, they will not look like a larger, more established business. An 800 number gives no indication of what size of business a document is being faxed to and many multinational and multimillion dollar companies use these numbers to do their business.Combined with a professional website and promotional materials, even a small start-up company can appear large and professional and an 800 fax number can add to that impression. Since a fax with Internet capabilities allows faxes to be received and sent on the go and at any time of the day or night, a home based business can respond just as quickly and effectively as a large one, further confirming its status as a professional operation.

How Do I Take My Home Based Business Opportunity to the Next Level?

Thanks for taking the time to read this article, I know everyone is busy and everyone is surfing around. I really want to get this message across about how I took my home based business opportunity to the next level.If you have a home based business opportunity, are marketing a business opportunity, or trying to build a list I have noticed that a lot of people are doing about it completely wrong. I see many people only creating one-way streets and just treating everyone online as potential eyeballs for their referral links.When I say one-way streets I mean just sending out faceless billboards of your message or opportunity. I’m not saying that it doesn’t work, you can get results, but what you are getting are people who are just thinking, “might as well check this out”.We need to create two-way streets. Because it’s what will take you and your home based business opportunity to the next level. The way we create a two-way street is by creating mutually benefiting relationships.How do you form two-way streets? Good old fashion people skills.What ever happened to formally introduce yourself? “My name is blah-blah, I do this and that, what do you do?” “I have been online for 6 months, how long have you been online?” “Get back to me when you can.” What happened to all that?Look how different and refreshing that sounds compared to, “do you want to make $10,000 a month?”, “Click Here”, “Check This Out”! Do these sound like home based businesses that serious people would click on? I’ve been there and it does get some results, but it’s the lazy man’s way. It only gets you so far.If you are serious about building an income online with a home based business opportunity, you need to have a downline or list of people you can talk to and work with. People you can help, people you can then ask how well you are helping them so you can help them even better next time.Surround yourself with value oriented people who appreciate your value and return value back to you.If you want to approach anyone with a legitimate home based business you should treat them like a person. I get so many random messages from people who are basically asking me to do something without adding their own value, and all that shows me is that all that person has to offer is a link, that is all I see being offered, a link.You should offer more than just a link or home based business opportunity. Don’t just represent a company, represent you, add your social media accounts, share your own personal views, and share your stories.If you already have this mindset you are ahead of the game, and I’ll see you in the Bahamas.

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Low Cost Home Based Businesses

Low cost home based businesses are a popular option in these difficult and uncertain economic circumstances, as many people are looking to earn some extra money to help pay their bills. With the advent of the internet and the possibilities that it opens up for home-based businesses, this is one option that people are actively exploring. They are looking for low cost home based businesses, either because they want to test the waters or simply because they do not have the money for starting up a traditional business such as a franchise. There are thousands of different opportunities that are low cost home based businesses and I will outline some of them below:Accounting services. A person can choose either to provide basic bookkeeping services or more advanced financial services such as preparation of final accounts or tax accounting and advice. A lot of small and medium businesses that cannot afford full-time financial specialists will happily pay for part-time advice. Obviously the more value added by the advice, the higher the level of remuneration. Marketing the services is extremely inexpensive on the Internet if social networking or businesses networking websites are used cleverly. Because marketing on the Internet is often free, this is a genuine low-cost home-based business opportunity.Business planning services. A lot of small businesses realize the importance of business planning but are not equipped to carry out the exercise by themselves. The service offered should be comprehensive ranging from market research to financial projections. Depending on the purpose for which the client requires a business plan, that particular service from the package should be highlighted. For instance, if the plan is required for inviting investment or for raising debt, the presentation and the financial reports should be tailored accordingly. An individual can market themselves online very effectively and take full advantage of this low cost home based business.Writing and editorial services. The proliferation of the Internet has generated considerable demand for content and, as a result, freelancing has become a lucrative proposition. Editorial services consist of activities such as proofreading, indexing and getting books ready for publication either in print or online. Writing services generally include writing SEO-optimized articles for article marketing as well as website content. There is also a considerable demand for freelance marketing copywriters to write promotional and sales copy. There are a number of websites (such as Elance or ODESK) that act as online marketplaces to bring freelancers and prospective buyers together. Buyers post projects on the sites and freelancers bid for them. For certain types of jobs, the website guarantees payment and, in general, their fees are extremely affordable. Operating through these websites can create a genuine low cost home based business opportunity.

Could Starting A Home Based Business Be A Profitable Way For You?

In a time where the economy is chaotic and security in a 9-5 job is something from the past, a lot of people go on the internet to find ways to earn money. It is a fact that people are losing their jobs without having any backup plan, to assist them and their loved ones. And let’s be honest, wouldn’t it be cool if you could build a business from your home in your spare time, while still having your normal job. You then have an extra income if that is what you prefer. I personally believe that starting a home based business is going to be more and more popular over the next few years as it has been for several years. What is fascinating is that in the future, the home based business industry such as Network Marketing will be responsible for generating the most millionaires world wide. This is truly an amazing foresight because it gives the average person the opportunity become financial independent without first having to, go to school for 3-7 years in order to learn the skills required for the chosen vocation. One of the unique and splendid things about starting a home based business is that in the process you can earn while you learn.So, Could starting a home based business turn out to be a profitable investment of time and money..?The fact is that too many people don’t make a respectable seize of money in this industry which result in them leaving the industry. But this doesn’t mean that people are doomed before they even enter the industry. It just emphasizes that you need to make a clear decision and commitment to become successful no matter what it takes and how many struggles you have to over come.See, some of the differences between starting a home based business and getting a normal job is that you receive the exact amount of money equal to what you provide of energy and value to the market, in a home based business. In the majority of jobs you wouldn’t be motivated to work harder than you already do, because you know that you will get them exact same salary as last month.Knowing that this kind of business challenges the way you used to think and that you suddenly have carry all the responsibility yourself, will turn a lot of people off. These kind of people are looking for a safe and secure job but as mentioned before that era is over and if these people don’t make a choice to take full responsibility for their financial future they could sadly wind up losing everything they own.To make it profitable in this industry, you first want to start on a journey of constant and never ending improvement of yourself. By that I mean reading books on self improvement, goal setting, success, sales, prospecting and human psychology. Reading this stuff will give you more awareness of yourself and your surroundings. You will also experience more discipline and clarity as you indulge yourself with this type of knowledge. Second you want to find out what exactly it is that you want or how much money you want to earn and then get to work, right away.. Learn everything that you can get your hands on in the industry, committing yourself to becoming excellent in your particular niche and you are well on your way to make serious profits when starting a home based business.

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The Advantages of Having a Property Management Service

Property assets are good. More people are interested in acquiring their own properties be it for residential or business purposes. The real estate industry has made its mark over the years since people are starting to understand just how important it is to own a property. With the way the economy is going these times, it seems that investors are putting their tabs on real estate rather than on paper assets like stocks. It is indeed risky to venture into something that is unstable, so it is better to opt for that one that can give them leverage in the long run.

There is a report that shows evidence that the demand for rental homes continues to rise in many parts of the world. This increase is also seen on different online real estate websites. The rise in the number of interested individuals is due to the fact that real estate is proven to be a sound investment for capital appreciation and rental income. But just like any other kind of investment, real estate entails much serious and thorough consideration before an individual actually takes out his money and invest. Any interested person should know the different aspects of financing, acquiring, and renting out a piece of property. This is not a mere game of Monopoly.

Consulting a licensed investment property management professional or agency is a good step that novice real estate investors must do. The real estate experts or agencies will address anything that concerns properties in detail and this includes loan financing, tenant search, monthly rental collections, and property sale. Property managers are trained to help property owners or even prospective buyers in order for them to come up with the right choices or decisions. They can also assist the owner with legal matters. Certain issues can arise when someone is not that well-informed in this kind of investment. Be it acquiring or selling a property, property managers can help with the marketing and financing aspects. For instance, they can advise their clients which kind of property is the most ideal to invest in given the current economic conditions. Property management experts know how to negotiate with qualified contractors and designers, and come up with the best deals when the owner decides to make renovations for his property.

For those who want to rent out their properties, rental managers can draw up estimations on how much the property can earn income on different terms (10, 20, 40, or 60 years) depending on the client’s preference. They know how to find the right tenant and go through the trouble of making background checks for prospective tenants, which definitely takes the stress off the property owner.

Importance of Agency in Real Estate Transactions

A very critical concept in California Real Estate Law is the disclosure of agencies. In 1987 legislation was passed to protect home owners in regards to the agency status of their real estate professionals.

Agency is simply the relationship between the principle (the seller or buyer) and the real estate professional. In agency, the professional has a fiduciary duty to look out for the best interests of his/her principle. The fiduciary duty is defined as the ‘duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty, and loyalty in dealings.’

There is a form that is used called the Agency Disclosure form (or AD for short.) This is the very first form that is used in every real estate transaction. It has 1 purpose: it discloses (makes openly known) the 3 types of agency that could happen in a real estate transaction.

1. Agent represents the seller only.

In this agency the agent for the seller represents only the seller. He has a fiduciary obligation to get the seller the best price possible for his home. He also has the fiduciary duty to make sure the seller understands all the forms he must sign. The agent serves to protect and promote the seller. In a fiduciary relationship the agent has an obligation to put the needs of the seller first above his/her own needs. He does not have a fiduciary duty to the buyer but does own the buyer the duty of fair and honest dealings.

2. Agent represents the buyer only.

This is the exact same as above except the agent represents the buyer only and has the fiduciary duty to get the home for the buyer at the best price while protecting and promoting his/her best interests. He only owes the seller the duty of fair and honest dealings.

3. Dual agency: agent represents both the seller and buyer

If a dual agency is formed it must be disclosed and agreed to by all parties of the transaction. A dual agency can never be done in secret. This dual status must be known because an agent will know confidential information about his principles. The disclosure forms states that an agent in a dual agency situation must never reveal confidential information to the other party without written permission.

The agency laws were put into practice to protect home owners and home buyers. It establishes that an agent must put the needs of the principle above his own. The law also makes the declaration of who represents who and in what capacity widely known. There are to be no secrets in a real estate transaction.

Dangers of Dual Agency

In most real estate transactions there is one agent representing a seller (aka sellers agent or listing agent) and another agent representing a buyer (aka buyers agent). However, at times, one agent might end up representing both the buyer and seller. This is called dual agency. It is perfectly legal but also can be filled with challenges. In California law, a dual agency status must be acknowledged and agreed to in writing by all parties.

To understand the potential challenge let’s use this as a scenario:
• The house is informally appraised and the fair market value seems to be $270,000
• The seller begins with a listing price of $275,000
• The real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller: a dual agency

It is not unusual in the beginning of the formation of a contract to purchase that the buyer will have his initial offer price and also a back up price in mind. He might tell his agent to offer $260,000 but would not go higher than $265,000.

If this agent represents both the buyer and the seller how does he approach the seller with that offer? He must tell him there is an offer of $260,000 but cannot reveal anything else without breaking his fiduciary duty to the buyer.

Now the seller does not want to sell the house at $260,000 and asks his agent what he thinks would be a good counter offer? Does the agent knowing the house is worth an estimated $270,000 suggest to him to counter at $270,000 and possibly lose the deal? This would be in the best interest of his seller. But he could also recommend the seller to counter at $265,000 knowing the deal would most likely close. This would be in the best interest of his buyer. He could even say, I cannot tell you what to counter it as which might not make his client too happy. The agents’ fiduciary duties to both of them are in conflict.

Other challenges could crop up when further in the process it comes to other concerns; for example, repairs. The buyer might want a carpet allowance. So the agent needs to represent that need. But he also has the duty to get the most money for the seller. This is just an example of another challenge in dual agency situations.

I do not write this to say that dual agency is bad, wrong, or illegal. It can be done and be done successfully. I write this so people understand that agency clarification is important; do not treat it lightly. If you are potentially in a dual agency situation you must consider all the benefits and challenges.

This is why in California (and in many other states) agency clarification is the first form to be filled out in the real estate process. You want to know exactly who is representing who so you do not reveal information to ‘the other side’ accidently.

Let me finish with an interesting twist; 2 different people working for the same broker also creates dual agency. For example, I am with Century 21 Award. We have 14 offices in San Diego and Orange County with 100′s of agents. I work out of the Rancho San Diego office and let us say I have a listing. A person that I do not know and have never met works for our Award office in La Mesa. That agent could bring a buyer to my listing, the buyers like it, and decide to make an offer. This is a dual agency because we both work for the same broker; Century 21 Award, even though we do not know each other and work out of different offices.

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

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