What To Avoid When Yourre Starting Out

By Sam Ernie Orion

No matter how well versed you are in the brick and mortar business world, its a good idea to understand both the similarities and differences between that and the world of ecommerce. Remember that as the economy takes a downturn, more and more people are looking toward alternatives to the traditional model of doing business. However, while the Internet supplies some great ideas and is a great vehicle to make money, there are at least four mistakes that you want to avoid before you take the plunge into starting your own business.

Dont Rush

First and foremost, all the experts agree that you dont want to rush. Although compared to other enterprises an Internet business is cheaper, there are quite a few bad turns that you can take and some of these spiral. While its true that we all like to hear great success stories and how people have made great money online, you need to be careful and find out exactly how much work was involved. Take the time to look into exactly how this success was achieved before you envision yourself doing the same thing.

Think Like A Boss

Remember too that while the Internet affords great possibilities, theres also a tendency for people to slide into the employee frame of mind. That means that some people make the incorrect assumption having your own business means that they have more freedom and while thats true, you also need to in mind that although you can set your own hours you still need to work at them. Dont think like an employee when youre the boss.

Get The Right Tools

Many people starting a home based web business try to cut corners and get a quick template off the Internet rather than taking the time and investing the money to go to a professional web design company in Los Angeles or where ever they happen to be. That is always a mistake. Even if you wind up with a decent website, you need to market that site and compete for page rankings and you dont get those tools by cutting financial corners before you even start.

Theres a good living on the Internet, but you need to get the best tools and have the right aptitude to make the whole thing work for you. While the medium for business might change, the need for hard work stays the same.

About the Author:

Sam Ernie Orion has been working in pay per click internet advertising for years. His affordable seo services have won him numerous awards.

Setting Up A Tickler File

By Dojo Kuhn

As part of my ongoing GTD Thirty Day Challenge, I wanted to talk about how you should set up a tickler file.

After listening to some of David Allen's conversations, I think he uses 43 folders for his tickler file. The 43 folders are 12 for each month and 31 for each day. If it is January, I'd have 31 folder into the January folder of my months. After each day, I'd take that day's folder and move it behind the next month, in this case February. If it's the 20th, the previous folder for days 1-19 would be behind the February folder now.

What happens when I use my tickler file? If I get a bill that is due on February 3rd, and I want to remember to pay it on that day, I would stick the bill in my February 3rd folder. On February 3rd when I look at my tickler, I'd see the bill and remember to pay it.

I really do not like using 43 folders for my tickler file. For starters, it's hard to remember to check it every day. People then have to remember to check it and they'll start to ask themselves "how do I remember to check my tickler file?" The next reason is it is very bulky and not very portable. Finally, when you move the daily folders behind the next month, you have to remember to move the items in that months folders to the proper day.

If you use GTD though, a tickler file is essential to set up because there are things in the future that you need to remember. The folder type of tickler is perfect if you have a lot of physical type items you use as reminders. For most people, their work doesn't create the kind of physical items that really justify a folder tickler file and I suggest setting up a tickler file differently to address the problems above.

How To Set Up A Tickler File

First, I put a plastic folder in my briefcase called "Waiting For" that holds all of the stuff I might need to remember to check on a future date.

After that, I would create a folder in my email setup called "Yahoo Reminders". If you look at my folder setup in my other article called How To Set Up Your GTD email, you can see how I have this set up. I then filter all of my Yahoo reminders into this folder and they bypass my inbox.

The final component of my tickler file setup is Yahoo calendar. Anything I need to remember on a certain day gets entered as an all day event. An email reminder is associated with the event and a email goes out 2 days before I need to remember to do it. I also have it send me a text as a backup.

In the above example, the bill I got needed to be remembered on February 3rd. I enter the all day event on the third like "Pay very important bill" and by default it sends me an email reminder two days before it occurs. The actual physical bill goes into my "Waiting For" folder in my briefcase.

On the 1st day of February, I get a Yahoo reminder that reminds me about the bill that needs to be paid on the third and it goes directly into my Yahoo reminder folder in my email account. In addition, a text goes out as well giving me a backup on my blackberry in case I can't get to my Yahoo reminder's folder in my email account. I review my blackberry text messages every day and review my reminders folder too as well if I have access to it.

This setup is especially lightweight and extremely portable. It reminds me of everything so I do not have to remember to check. I also don't have to move stuff around in my tickler file. If you don't use email reminders, you really don't have any idea how valuable they can be. My suggestion is use them, even if you use the 43 folders as your tickler file. They will improve your GTD system 100%

Once you learn how to set up a tickler file in this fashion, you'll find it ideal for maximum effectiveness.

About the Author:

Dojo Kuhn has been practicing GTD since 2005. To help you set up their Getting Things Done system, he developed a unique GTD Thirty Day Challenge that you can use to help you set up your system. You can also find a walkthrough of how to set up a tickler file that shows you how he uses a tickler file.

Article Writing; a Great Way to Promote your Website

By Larry Libassi

Article writing is a fast, simple way to promote your website and increase its search engine rankings. All you have to do is write a few articles, send them to some of the hundreds of article distibution websites, and wait for website owners to use them on their sites.

There are three related benefits that accrue to article writers. First, as people continue to see their name on articles, they begin to think of them as authorities. Many very successful business people have built their reputations by writing frequent articles.

Another benefit of article writing is that it will result in increased traffic to the author's website when people reading his or her articles click on the text link in the author's box.

The most important reason to write and distribute articles, however, is that each time a webmaster adds one of your articles to their site you pick up another link. And, the more links there are to your site, the higher your search engine ranking in Google, Yahoo, and MSN. And, if webmasters with sites on the same subject as yours carry your articles, the links you will get from their sites can be especially valuable in improving your search engine rankings. That is why it is important to write articles related to the subject of your website, although articles on any subject can be somewhat helpful in raising the profile of your site.

Be aware that it is the author's box that will describe you and provide the link to your site, so write it as carefully as you write the article itself. The author's box at the end of this article provides a good example and has been very effective for me.

If you adhere to the following guidelines, lots of webmasters will add your articles to their sites, and you'll be well rewarded for your efforts.

1. Be sure your articles are instructive, helpful, and of practical value.

2. Be certain your title creates interest.

3. Webmasters will not add sloppily written, error ridden articles to their websites. Not only should your proofread your article, but you should have someone else do so as well.

4. Be brief. If you can say what you need to 300 words, don't use 500.

5. Remember who your audience is and construct your article(s) accordingly.

Don't get discouraged if all of your articles aren't picked up by hundreds of sites. The more you write the more you will learn about what kinds of articles are most likely to be well received. So, stay at it and you will almost surely be rewarded for your efforts.

About the Author:

Larry Libassi has written dozens of articles to promote educational websites on scholarships, financial aid, college admission, career colleges, graduate schools, and online colleges. He is also an editor for The Big Brain, the Internet's smartest directory.