When it comes to making money on the Internet, one of the best ways to create an income is to monetize your blog. If you already have a blog that you have created and that has traffic, it will likely be even easier as you already have a customer base to start with.

Pay Per Click

There are different programs out there where you get paid when someone clicks on a link.  One such program is Google Adsense, which can easily be added to any blog out there.  You can have it display text ads, banner ads or a combination of these methods.  You can also change the size of the ads, where they display on the blog, and you can change the color scheme so that the ads match your blog.  You can also have your Adsense post to your RSS feed to increase your exposure on it.

Adsense is not the only program like this; you can sign up with several others.   It is best if you already have an established blog before trying to sign up, as these companies do have to approve you.  It can also take a while before you reach payout levels with these programs.  Make sure you check out AdBrite, Chikita, BidVertiser and Yahoo Publisher.

Direct Ads

There are many websites out there that allow people to buy advertising space on their websites or blogs.  This is a service that you could provide on your blog.  How you work this depends on you, you could charge for an ad of a certain size, timeframe or anything else that may work for you.  Check out similar sites to see what types of amounts they charge.  In order to get traffic, you will have to provide value on your site, or else why would people come view your site and then click on a link?

Affiliate Marketing

Many people choose to get into affiliate marketing as a way to get income from their blog.  You can either provide just a link for people to buy the product, and you get a cut, or you may want to write a review, or focus your whole blog on the product, depending on what it is.

Promote Your Own Product

Quite often people create a blog because it allows them to promote your own product, and a blog tends to be more casual and flowing than a website.  You can use your blog to post about all the benefits of your blog, and then include a link directly to being able to purchase the item, and increase your sales.

Paid to Write

Another method of getting paid to blog, is to write content for others.  One of the biggest reasons that a blog fails is that the owner does not have time to provide content.  Offer your services to assist with this aspect, and you will be paid to blog.

While some people have a hard time understanding how a blog can be profitable and help you earn money, with these steps you can start your career of making money with a blog.  At first it may take a while, but as you get established and experienced, you should see your income increase.

About the Authors:

Lena Morrish and Dima Nikolayenko are webmasters and spend most of their time helping people in building a home Internet business. Find clear guidelines on how to make a profitable website in their FREE e-mail course “7 Vital Facts You Must Know Before Starting an Internet Business.”

To grow your business, you may need to think outside the box and outside the borders.

Many small businesses think they aren’t large enough to compete in the world marketplace, but in fact, 97 percent of exporters are small businesses.

Today, nearly 96 percent of the world’s population lives outside the U.S. Two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries.

“Small businesses have a great opportunity to boost sales and profit by exporting, and that will lead to more American jobs and growth,” says Luz Hopewell, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade.

The advantages of exporting include the competitive edge for high-quality innovative U.S. goods and services; an increase in purchasing power in foreign markets resulting from a decline in the exchange rate; reduced dependence on the domestic market; stabilized seasonal market and sales fluctuation; and a reduction in trade barriers.

SBA’s Export Working Capital Program targets loans to small businesses that are able to generate export sales and need additional working capital to support these sales. Since most banks in the U.S. do not lend against export orders, export receivables or letters of credit, SBA provides lenders guarantees of up to 90 percent to ensure that qualified exporters do not lose viable export sales due to a lack of working capital.

The International Trade Loan Program offers term loans to businesses that plan to start or continue exporting or that have been adversely affected by competition from imports.

The Export Express program helps small businesses develop or expand their export markets. The program provides exporters and lenders a streamlined method to obtain SBA-backed financing up to $250,000.

For more information on taking your business global, visit http://www.sba.gov or http://www.export.gov.

It can pay to take your business global, as 96 percent of the world’s customers reside outside the U.S.

Even well-educated and experienced investors can find it difficult to avoid investment fraud.

In fact, studies show that investment fraud victims are typically college-educated males, with above-average income and financial knowledge, who tend to be open to listening to new ideas or sales pitches and may have experienced a recent health or financial setback.

In one such instance, a licensed stockbroker named Steve Sampler invested $40,000 in an oil well deal. In the end, Sampler’s years of experience in the stock market didn’t protect him from being a victim of a scam and he lost the entire investment. “If it can happen to me,” he said, “it can happen to anyone.”

To help combat investment fraud, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, in collaboration with AARP, state securities regulators and noted fraud experts, developed Outsmarting Investment Fraud, a comprehensive, research-based program that arms investors with the tools and knowledge needed to recognize and prevent investment fraud.

The centerpiece of the program is an hour-long documentary, “Tricks of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraud.” Utilizing both humor and compelling stories of real-life victims-including Sampler-and perpetrators, the film explores who is at risk, how fraudsters use persuasion to carry out their schemes and what simple steps investors can take to prevent costly mistakes.

“We found that a majority of investors ages 55 to 65 do not perceive themselves as vulnerable to investment fraud, yet many engage in investment behaviors that put them at risk,” according to John Gannon, president of the FINRA Foundation. “The truth is, regardless of age or circumstance, anyone with money is bound to hear from a fraudster at some point.”

Gannon encourages organizations and individuals working to protect citizens from financial fraud to watch the film and use it to engage those who are most vulnerable to scams. “Even if you are not at risk for investment fraud,” said Gannon, “you probably know someone who is and who could benefit from seeing ‘Tricks of the Trade.’”

The film’s three-part message of risk, persuasion and prevention has been shown to reduce the incidence of fraud by approximately 50 percent.

To order a free DVD of “Tricks of the Trade” or for more information on avoiding investment fraud, visit http://www.SaveAndInvest.org.

How many times have you heard a person say, “it wasn’t my fault” or “I can’t believe someone did this to me” to news of down or lost sales? News flash: everything is your fault (or phrased differently-your responsibility to own). If we truly take responsibility for ourselves and as a leader to our sales teams, everything is our fault, because ultimately we are the only things we can control.

A great leader can never be a victim and just as important a great leader cannot allow people on their team to be victims. We have all heard the phrase “crap happens” (or a variation of it), but how we respond to it (crap) determines whether or not a person is a victim. The same goes for your business, the economy is not causing your business to struggle; rather, how your business is responding to the economy is causing it to struggle.

For those looking for motivation, there are many sayings or famous quotes talking about taking control and not being a victim, for instance, Winston Churchill quipped a favorite, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” However, it takes a lot more than reciting famous quotes and great ideas to be a successful and victorious sales leader. It takes a true commitment, time, strong coaching, a willingness to learn and to take calculated risks and most importantly a refusal to be a victim blaming “the economy.” Despite the economy you can motivate your sales team by taking responsibility and placing the correct emphasis on logical sales goals and market share.

No Room for a Realist in Sales
Sales people don’t need to be realists; they need to be a blind optimist, it is finance’s job to be realists. The finance department needs to be realistic in setting budgets and expenses based on current trends and forecasts to ensure the financial safety of the company. On the other hand the sales people need to only think of how they will achieve their sales regardless of the situation.

When a sales person says “I am not a pessimist, I am realist”, I know one of two things are true: 1) whatever goal or obstacle is causing them to make this statement will stop them from being successful, because they have already accepted it, 2) maybe they accidently came to the sales team from finance, and perhaps they need to go back to finance. This is not a punt on finance by any means; rather it is an understanding that each role and responsibility has its place for a team to be successful. In sales there is no room for realistic goals and realists. This does not mean that a goal should be a pipe dream, it does mean a goal or result should be logical. The difference between logical and realistic is that realistic has limitations based on someone’s experiences and fears and logical deals only with the action and the allotted amount of time.
The question every sales team should answer when they are faced with an obstacle is “what can we do, that does not require any other departments or things we cannot control, to overcome this obstacle, then do it and do it again?” If your life depended on it, could it be done? Great salespeople are visionaries who live a dream and find a way to make things happen.

Market Share vs. Industry Status
There are a lot of companies in today’s economy blaming the economy and the their industry down turn for their results. This year it is the economy effecting sales, 3 years ago it was the competition cutting the prices of their product or service and before that it was the competition had a competitive advantage with something they didn’t have or the customer had no need. The economy is just another reason (excuse) why our sales are not where they need to be. This is not to say that the economy or budget restraints are not a real issue, but they are, and will always be an issue. The goal is the same, to increase sales, but the obstacles have changed. That does not mean there are more obstacles, just different reasons for not closing sales.

Unless a company has over 50% market share, the amount of market share will effects a company’s bottom line more than the industry’s down turn. The solution is to understand how the game has changed and change your game plan to make sure victory is the only solution. For most businesses the solution is to increase market share and that can be done by adding a new market segment or by taking customers from the competition. This requires a different skill set than getting current customers to buy more or account management. This skill set is not new, but it may be a skill that many veteran sales reps or top sales reps have not used in a long time.

The sales leader’s job is to help get the top reps past their egos and back into skill development and training of getting new clients. Watch for the fatal sales team mistake: when a sales leader relies on their top sales people to know what to do because they have been doing it for xx years or because they have always been on top. They will find themselves waiting for the market to change (and perhaps end up closing down completely while they wait), because they don’t change their sales people. To win in sales is to take control of your top sales reps and veteran reps and develop a sales plan and practice.

Victims blame others and situations for where they are in life or their performance and results. Victors and great leaders know that they cannot control every situation; rather they can control their response. We can prepare our best and change when our best is no longer working. Success and failure, both, are just a result of what a person or team does, and not a permanent state unless you chose it. The economy and belief between your ears will affect your success more than any stock market, government or competition.

About the Author:
Nathan Jamail, president of the Jamail Development Group and author of “The Sales Leaders Playbook,” is a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and corporate coach. As a former Executive Director for Sprint, and business owner of several small businesses, Nathan travels the country helping individuals and organizations achieve maximum success. His clients include US Army Reserves, Nationwide Insurance, Metro PCS, State Farm Insurance, Century 21, Jackson National Insurance Company and ThyssenKrupp Elevators. To book Nathan, visit http://www.NathanJamail.com.

We recently contemplated prudent options available to possibly eliminate, or at least minimize, staff reduction levels (Managing Through a Recession: Part 1 – Maintaining Staff Levels). As business owners and managers, an innate sense of compassion leads us to take whatever action available to avoid informing an employee that his services are no longer required. One recommended action was to reduce cost. This sounds like a simple concept that most would feel was under control. But for those who are focused on tactically implementing high-level strategies with monthly, quarterly, and yearly revenue goals and sales quotas; handling administrative, operations and supplier issues; managing employee concerns; and courting “light house” customers; diligent, persistent cost control can lose visibility. In addition to potentially securing staffing levels, cost control initiatives can immediately improve profitability during a recession.

Persistent cost management should have equal attention in a yearly strategy plan as revenue growth. Every area of the business, and those responsible for those areas, must be challenged to participate in improved profitability through cost reduction activities. In an article directed toward physicians operating private practices, Jose DeJesus, MD, states: “If your profit margin is 5%, you can double your company’s profit by reducing expenses in that same amount” (“Cutting Office Supply Expenses”, Physician Entrepreneur).

This installment is intended to assist in generating ideas for and incorporating a strategy to measure the success of cost reduction efforts.

Areas to Reduce and Control Costs

Cost of Sales

This is likely the most difficult area to address for two reasons. First, dealing with the strong personalities often required to be good at sales requires special care. Second, a thorough analysis of the risks and rewards of reducing costs in this area is essential. Due to our reluctance to address excessive sales expenditures, this area is ripe with opportunity to reduce cost and improve profitability.

The sales staff is the last team we want to offend. We need their loyalty and dedicated effort, so a separate meeting with this team is warranted. Susan Greco concisely states the problem of attempting to cut sales expenditures. In “How to Recue Your Cost of Sales,” Greco opens with, “Why would you bite [the] hand that feeds you? That’s a standard argument against training a cost-cutting eye on your company’s sales department.” When revenue is down, it is difficult decision to risk asking our sales staff to be more prudent in spending. A few relatively non-intrusive initiatives can significantly reduce costs, such as fewer client lunches, scheduling travel in advance of penalties, limiting the number of sales and support staff attending certain functions, and implementing a rigid expense review process. These cost-reduction mandates, however painful, are far better than the alternatives Greco discusses: expanding sales territories, salary cuts, and moving to a 100% commission plan.

Since the sales team is a core part of your business, any reduction in cost of sales initiatives should be analyzed with Profit and Loss (P&L) statements prepared by a qualified accountant. Ryan Ellis recommends in “How to Reduce Costs” that analyzing accounting reports is necessary to determine if cutting expenses will bring about the desired results, and this is especially true with reducing the cost of sales. Again, well worth the effort, but proceed with appropriate prudence.

Supply Chain

According to Fawn Fitter in “Four Ways to Trim Your Supply Chain Costs,” there are ways to improve inefficiencies in the short term to reduce supply chain costs. Short-term gains must be compared with long-term strategic plans to avoid additional cost consequences in the future. For supply chain cost reduction, the short-term emphasis is on improving efficiency rather than “reengineering your whole supply chain.”

Fitter lists four ideas to assist with improving efficiencies, and I provide three of them here in consolidated form:

• Analyze and negotiate all expenses, to include consolidating long distance and mobile phone contracts and attempting to improve rates by bundling communications packages, enter purchasing collectives with other companies to improve your ability to demand better volume discounts for raw materials and services, and designating specific suppliers as preferred vendors to assist in obtaining better pricing.
• Outsource based on what, not where. Ignoring the hype around off-shore outsourcing, consider outsourcing non-core aspects of your business to domestic companies. Some outsourcing options are customer service, customer mailings and human resources.
• Streamline shipping. Fitter suggests shipping and freight to be top targets for an efficiency-improving endeavor and points to CombineNet as a web service to assist with strategic sourcing.

Short-term efficiencies must be part of a larger, long-term strategy to protect supply chain partnerships and provide measurable results by which to refine cost reduction activities.

Operating Expenses & Administrative Overhead

This category includes areas of the business that have tentacles reaching every other facet of the business: office rent or mortgage, utilities, employee wages and benefits, advertising, equipment and machinery, legal and accounting fees, warehouse and inventory management and much more. While the sales category is likely the most sensitive area to address, this category is the most complex. Volumes have been written about each subset of this category, so the best advice I can give here is to consider each of these areas and possibly hire a qualified business consultant to assist. A properly qualified consultant can assist with putting together a unified strategy covering all the categories discussed in this segment; however, this category will require the lions-share of effort. Any attempt at a summarized treatment of this category is beyond the scope of this article.

A note of caution: refrain from “slash and burn” actions. Consider the impact any cost-reduction initiative will have on your company and its reputation to customers, suppliers, and employees. In a Blog from January 28, 2009, E-Myth Business Coach advises against quick decisions when contemplating cutting operational expenses. I add that this is a wise approach for all the categories discussed in this segment—especially Operating Expenses & Administrative Overhead.

Office Supplies

Due to the ease with which Office Supply expenditures can be reduced and directly benefit a company’s profitability, this is one area of Operating Expenses & Administrative Overhead I address in this segment.

Pens, notepads, binders, staples, paper clips, tape, and printer paper are all necessary items to run a business. However, according to Jim Brown (“Cutting Costs of Office Supplies”) these small expenses throughout the year can add up to nearly 40 percent of operational expenses—a high estimate, in my opinion, but 20 percent is probably not an overstatement. Having an endless buffet of supplies can lead to a significant amount of waste. Some employees (and I have been part of this crowd) feel such a vast array of new ink pens, date books, and yellow sticky notes are part of the gear a business owner should provide without question. I never knowingly took supplies from the cabinet for use outside of work; however, with such an infinite supply of these office desserts, I never gave a second thought to a lost pen or discarding a slightly used binder. Enough of my confessions.

A new attitude regarding office supplies must be communicated to employees in the same manner described in the first installment of this article—be candid, share the facts, and state expectations. Brown recommends reusing old binders and folders and shopping for supplies during the summer season when many office supply stores offer rebates. Next, regain control of the spoils of the supply cabinet. Perhaps a lock with sign-in access is appropriate. This is assuming you have a central storage location for supplies; if not, centralizing these assets is a good start. “You mean I have to account for the supplies I use to do my job?” could be a question a well-intentioned employee asks. The fair answer is “yes.” Just as one must account for the hours they work, their performance, and other evaluation criteria, the use of office supplies is required.

To summarize the importance of controlling office supply expenses, the author of “Reducing Operating Expenses: Company Purchasing Procedures” makes the argument that it is much easier to reduce yearly office supply costs than it would be to add sales to equate to the same profitability dollars. “It’s not unusual for a company to spend, say, $50,000 a year on supplies. But it’s much easier to reduce these expenses by 10 percent…than it is to generate $100,000 in new sales [to achieve the same $5,000 in additional profit assuming 5 percent profitability].”

What to Do Next

Verify or implement accurate record keeping. An accurate record keeping system is fundamental to realizing long-term benefits from cost management and consistently improving efficiencies. It is impossible to gauge improvements without having known where one started. Consider automating record keeping through readily-available online office management and operations Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Implementing or improving financial record keeping throughout the entire business process provides a foundation from which to build all cost-reduction strategies.

Create a yearly strategy with quarterly goals. Every company I have worked with had yearly revenue targets, sales quotes, and gross margin goals, which are essential criteria to run and measure a profitable business. When the same stringent effort is given to adding cost-reduction goals throughout every facet of the business, profitability is protected and enhanced. Be sure to break out the yearly cost-reduction strategy into quarters with specific, measurable dollar reduction and activity targets. Be as specific as possible. Assign dates and owners to each of the items. Include your leadership team in this strategy session and challenge them to further break out goals for their areas of responsibility with as much detail as possible.

Monitor progress monthly and report on the same. Use the improved record keeping system to generate detailed expense reports for each area of the business. Make sure to capture data specific to key metrics used in the yearly strategy. Measure each area of your business with those responsible for these areas and hold them accountable for reducing costs. Ask hard questions. What specific efforts did we take? Did these efforts generate the expected efficiencies and cost reductions? Did these efforts negatively affect our relationships or reputation? Based on the answers to these questions, develop or modify a list of specific tasks for the next month.

Conclusion

Reducing costs throughout an organization directly improves or protects profitability, especially when sales are flat or declining, which assists a company in maintaining staff levels during a recession. Every dollar saved through cost reduction directly benefits profitability; whereas, increasing sales to generate the same dollar of additional profitability is much more difficult. Each area of the business is open for diligent cost analysis. Hiring a qualified business consultant for this activity can expedite well-organized and measurable short- and long-term strategic plans and assist with analyzing the effects such activities have on long-term relations and reputation. Every business is unique and no single strategy or formula exists to ensure success in this critical area; however, with diligent effort expended to manage costs, profitability and a stable staff structure are possible. Until next time, I welcome your comments.

About the Author:
Tony Burge is the President of Tony Burge Consulting — a senior-level strategic management and marketing professional with nearly 20 years of versatile, proven commercial business experience with an advanced industrial wireless and software development background. For more information, please visit http://www.tonyburgeco.com.

This global economic crisis has claimed numerous banks and financial institutions, brought the largest automotive manufacturers to their knees, and included the largest government intervention in the global markets since the Great Depression.

No business is immune. In recessions such as this one, lending and credit seize up, and the result is lost business and the inevitable bankruptcies that follow. Businesses need capital to finance payroll, purchasing, investment, and a whole list of day to day business costs. Without this available cash, they suddenly find themselves in a weakened position. It seems as though there is no end in sight to the global recession, and the decline in consumer spending.

We have enjoyed years of easily accessible credit. This is true both for the consumer, and the business owner. We abused this power. We allowed ourselves to spend more than we could possibly afford. Living well beyond our means was no longer the exception to the rule, but the only rule. In terms of businesses, we’ve witnessed careless risk taking and its effects on both the global economy, and retirement incomes. The resulting catastrophe was the inevitable economic tsunami that has engulfed us all. Somewhere along the way, both the consumer and the business owner forgot about the importance of due diligence, and best practices.

If you are a business owner, which assets can you liquidate?

Assets are anything that a company can turn into cash. When we look at these assets, we want to concentrate on liquidating those assets of little value to the day to day operations of the company. To give some idea of what this might involve, think of those products in inventory that have not been sold for some time. Could you sell them into other industries, or simply sell the material and metals as scrap? You would be surprised at just how much revenue you can make in the scrap market. You may also find other companies who might be able to put these items to good use. There are all kinds of things you could liquidate to provide yourself with some much needed capital. Take the time to make a list of those things you could sell, and then set a plan in motion to sell them. There are many companies that specialize in purchasing bulk inventory from businesses — and a quick Google search will render a list of such businesses that you can contact. Consider it a garage sale for your business. You will find interested parties.

Could you offer your customers or other enterprises additional services?

In difficult times, companies tend to outsource or subcontract certain functions. Your company may have expertise or even equipment that could help them. What about your IT department? If you were to sell those extra computers, you might also be able to offer some IT services for a small fee. Take the time to look outside your immediate surroundings and find ways to generate extra revenue. Your business neighbors may need your forklift, or company van, or even some of that extra warehouse space. Could you generate some revenue from these sources? Of course you could! There are endless ways to generate that extra revenue. For tax purposes, it is also important to know how the value of those barter exchanges will impact your tax liabilities.

We’ve previously covered stories on bartering, and how it can be a viable option for many small businesses. Before joining a barter club, be sure that you investigate the club’s policies on such things as monthly fees, service charges assessed on trades, and the like. These additional fees can quickly add up, and in some cases, may outweigh the benefits of joining the club.

For most businesses, the difficulties of this recession are like none that have come before. This current economic crisis has put companies out of business, claimed numerous financial institutions, and left the general consumer in a constant holding pattern. It’s time to put best practices to work again for our businesses. Those that do, will surely position themselves as strong and viable should they ever encounter another economic disaster such as this one.

About the Author:
Traci Hayner Vanover is an author, publisher, consultant and publicist, with over 20 years experience in the fields of sales, market research and promotion. Traci’s work has been featured in national magazines, books, ebooks, and websites. She is the publisher of Entrepreneur & Self-Employed Business Journal. When she’s not working on ESBJ, Traci works with private clients as a publicist, copywriter and consultant. You can visit her blog at http://promodiva.com.

by Tony Burge – President, Tony Burge Consulting

From the outset, I acknowledge that in many cases it is not possible to maintain staff levels and the hardest decision a business owner can make-reducing staff-is often required. Every business owner I have met feels responsible, to some degree, for the well-being of his employees. Even at corporate levels, managers of business units make every effort to manage through a recession without reducing head count (even though profitability is the goal of Wall Street, the business is run by real people having real interaction with other people). What can business owners and managers of large business units do to potentially weather the storm of a recession without reducing staff?

Communicate Reality to Employees and Suppliers.
Employees must be made aware of the seriousness of the situation-and not through an email or Memo, please! A one hour presentation focused on the financial situation of the enterprise (not all the details, just a high level review), steps that must be taken to secure solvency, and a request for all to recommit to the success of the business is an effective approach in which I have participated. The majority of the employees take such honesty for what it is, respect the trust shared, and are willing to modify habits and behavior to help the business survive during tough economic conditions. There will always be a small percentage of employees who feel that the owner or business unit manager is out to get them and will not be satisfied regardless of what information is shared-these are the employees that would be first on my cut list, if a cut becomes necessary. They not only impede your ability to maintain staffing levels, they spread negativity to other employees who are struggling to stay positive.

Communicating to employees is probably obvious, but why suppliers? Because part of the process requires negotiating the best terms possible. Terms such as reducing volume levels for discounts, making more favorable payment terms (from Net 30 to Net 45 or Net 60), and flexibility with accommodating spurious order patterns are required.

Diligent Cost Reduction.
During times of surplus, it is nearly universal that costs rise at a faster pace than income. In short, waste is tolerated as we toast one another for a successful deal closed and treat customers to nice dinners and evenings out. With revenues diminishing and operation margins narrowing, it becomes necessary to conduct an exhaustive analysis of all expenses. This is not popular with suppliers and employees, which is why they must understand the seriousness of the situation.

I have been part of organizations that have had very liberal Travel & Living (T&L) Expense policies, use of office supplies, and liberal time off policies (e.g., two-hour lunches, taking half days undocumented, etc.). During a recession, it is essential that cost is minimized and productivity maximized. This is not popular. I know from experience, and I have been on both sides (as a manager and the affected employee). I admit I was not happy about the additional scrutiny given to my expense reports, the lack of pens and sticky notes in the supply closet, and increased responsibility with more pressure to produce and be held accountable for results. However, I appreciated the honesty of the CEO who presented the facts to us in advance. Diligent cost control is absolutely the single-most important activity a business owner or business unit manager can undertake to manage through a recession while minimizing impact to staffing levels.

Increased Diligence in Accounts Receivable.
If we hesitate to ask more prudence from our employees, we really hesitate to add pressure to our customer base to pay as agreed. But this is essential to the health of your business. Your priority is to maintain the health of your business and the concomitant benefits of maintaining staff levels. Part of this responsibility entails diligence in collecting on accounts. The squeaky wheel gets the grease comes in to play. We all dread phone calls (and making them) regarding collecting on receivables, but there is a way to do it without alienating the client base. A small investment in a monthly invoice accompanied by a small promotional brochure takes some of the sting out of the process while keeping your rightful request for payment forefront in their minds. A monthly phone call (or more often as required) can be softened by discussing promotions as well-this instills confidence in the customer that, although late payment is not acceptable, you value their continued patronage.

In the next installment, I will discuss specific cost-cutting and productivity measures that can be taken to improve operation margin when sales are low. Until then, I welcome your comments and stories.

About the Author:
Tony Burge is the President of Tony Burge Consulting — a senior-level strategic management and marketing professional with nearly 20 years of versatile, proven commercial business experience with an advanced industrial wireless and software development background. For more information, please visit http://www.tonyburgeco.com.

There is good news for small businesses looking for contracting opportunities. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is working to make sure small businesses get their fair share of contracting opportunities resulting from the 2009 Recovery Act.

The Recovery Act, The SBA And Contractors
The Recovery Act of 2009 requires all the federal agencies to provide opportunities for small businesses to compete for contracts. To make sure that small businesses are aware of existing opportunities and how to take advantage of them, the SBA is working with its district offices to provide information and guidance.

Readiness Required
For example, while the Recovery Act is a federal program, the projects funded by the act will, in many cases, be administered at the state or local level, with the funds provided directly to state and local governments.

To be competitive, contractors must be “contract ready.” This means they must be registered and certified to do business with the state and local entities awarding the contracts and familiar with their procedures.

Access To Information
All federal government contracting opportunities over $25,000 will be posted on the Web site FedBizOpps (http://www.fbo.gov). Subcontractors can also learn about opportunities directly from prime contractors. These can be identified through the SBA Subcontracting Network at http://sba.gov/subnet/search/index.cfm.

Targeted Assistance
Small businesses can also contact the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in any participating agency procuring services. These offices are designed to assist small businesses with obtaining contracts from agencies and prime contractors.

The SBA And The Act
The SBA has long had a commitment to helping small businesses compete in the market place. Its work with the Recovery Act of 2009 is a logical extension of that work. To learn more, visit SBA.gov.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is working to make sure small businesses get their fair share of contracting opportunities resulting from the 2009 Recovery Act.

The Recovery Act, The SBA And Contractors
The Recovery Act of 2009 requires all the federal agencies to provide opportunities for small businesses to compete for contracts. To make sure that small businesses are aware of existing opportunities and how to take advantage of them, the SBA is working with its district offices to provide information and guidance.

Readiness Required
For example, while the Recovery Act is a federal program, the projects funded by the act will, in many cases, be administered at the state or local level, with the funds provided directly to state and local governments.

To be competitive, contractors must be “contract ready.” This means they must be registered and certified to do business with the state and local entities awarding the contracts and familiar with their procedures.

Access To Information
All federal government contracting opportunities over $25,000 will be posted on the Web site FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov). Subcontractors can also learn about opportunities directly from prime contractors. These can be identified through the SBA Subcontracting Network at sba.gov/subnet/search/index.cfm.

Targeted Assistance
Small businesses can also contact the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in any participating agency procuring services. These offices are designed to assist small businesses with obtaining contracts from agencies and prime contractors.

The SBA And The Act
The SBA has long had a commitment to helping small businesses compete in the market place. Its work with the Recovery Act of 2009 is a logical extension of that work. To learn more, visit http://SBA.gov.

Ken Fisher’s new book, How to Smell a Rat, has struck a cord with novice and professional investors everywhere. In an era of Bernie Madoff-like scams, Fisher brings welcome relief in How to Smell a Rat — a deft delineation of common warning signs to heed and thereby save your financial future.

Fisher has been writing Forbes magazine’s “Portfolio Strategy” column for 25 years. He says investment fraud can strike anyone at anytime. But nearly every investment Ponzi scheme ever perpetrated, including, Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud, could have been easily detected, and more easily avoided.

Using the example of “Everyman Jim,” an investor swimming in shark-filled waters, Fisher gives a clear, fast-paced guide to his principles, such as, “Due diligence is your job, no one else’s.”

Fisher not only tells the reader what to avoid in the shark-infested waters, he gives practical, easy-to-follow examples of investment strategies. Some are from his own firm. He is founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, one of the largest registered investment firms.

The reader who likes stories will be interested in those about Madoff, Allen Stanford and a number of other historical scam artists.

Fisher’s five red flags that should make alert investors back away include:

• Advisors who have access to your money.
• Promises of returns that are too good to be true.
• Mumbo-jumbo that takes the place of explaining investment strategy.
• Information on the fake benefits of exclusivity and other strategies.
• Relying on someone else for due diligence.

Following on the success of last year’s Make A Referral Week, John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, is calling out to small businesses once again to stimulate the economy and create jobs through the act of referrals. During the week of March 8-12, small businesses are being challenged to make 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the power of referrals for small business.

Individuals around the globe are invited to make at least one referral to a small business at http://www.makeareferralweek.com and share the referral details, including information on why they referred a particular business.

The weeklong virtual event also features guest contributors and panelists that will discuss how small business owners and other marketers can utilize the power of referral marketing.

Featured guest experts include David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Chris Brogan, author of Trust Agents, Guy Kawasaki, author of Reality Check, Rohit Bhargava author of Personality Not Included, Dan Schawbel author of Me 2.0, Anita Campbell, publisher of Small Business Trends, Ann Handley, editor of Marketing Profs, Lisa Barrone, Outspoken Media, Scott Allen, author of the The Virtual Handshake, John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, Scott Ginsberg of Nametag TV, Janine Popick, CEO of Vertical Response, and Pam Slim, author Escape from Cubicle Nation.

The highlight of the education series is a live online panel discussion on March 10th at Noon CST featuring Ivan Misner, founder of BNI and author Masters of Networking, Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals and the Go-Givers Sell More, Ben McConnell, author of Creating Customer Evangelists, and moderated by John Jantsch.

Through Make a Referral Week, small businesses have the opportunity to not only refer other businesses, but have their business listed as well. Hundreds of small business will receive added attention and daily events hosted on the site will offer tips and support from experts.