Thinking of starting a home based business? Expert tips!

Home Based Business Guidelines
By Doug Firebaugh

Are you thinking of possibly owning a home business but you are not really sure of what you should look for? After nearly 24 years in this great industry, we have found there are four critical components that you really should consider before ever enrolling into a home business.
 
Most folks will tell you that you should look at the company reputation, line of products, and the pay plan before you ever join a direct marketing company. But we believe there are four things that you should look for to MOVE you to your final decision.

1) A product that moves YOU.  If you are not emotionally moved by your product, the long term success for you and your business will be questionable. You must find a product that gets you really passionate, and also one you would purchase even if it were not part of a direct marketing company. People want to know about the products, but they also want to feel the passion for the product from you.

2)  A compensation plan that moves MONEY. There are many different types of pay plans out there, and all of them are good. But your pay plan must move money to the distributors/consultants easily. It must be a plan that is easily qualified for, has some form of a residual automatic monthly purchase/renewal, and rewards you for working with others to help them succeed as leaders.

3) A sponsoring system that moves PEOPLE. Your company should have a recruiting or sponsoring system in place with webinars or conference calls, a functional website, as well as recruiting CDs and DVDs. And there should also be a professional, quality message being told to the prospect that you can get excited about.

4) A training system that moves RESULTS. You should look for a training program or system that will teach you the basics of the business: prospecting, contacting, presenting, following up, and getting the decision. And also look for more advanced training for growing leaders. This shows a company that wants to grow their people as well as their business.

These are the four things you should look for in a direct marketing company. If there is “movement” in all four of these areas for you, then you could do really well with a home business and help others move into their greatness.

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Weathering the Stress of Change
By Chip Lutz

Change is good!  We know it and accept it as a premise but this phrase becomes empty and tiresome when all we know is change.  In today's world, change comes at us like a "F-5" Tornado - hurtling objects at us so fiercely that we have to hide in the basement for protection and wait for the winds to subside.  When leaders don't make the proper preparations, we find ourselves (and our team) blown more towards "stressed and apathetic" rather than "happy and enthusiastic”!  To shelter your team from the stress and negativity that can emerge from the winds of change (even with the best plan), take refuge in these simple actions for creating a positive environment. 
 
Respect
Just as Aretha Franklin sings, you have to show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and find out "what it means to me."  The fears and negativity that your team face when dealing with change can be calmed when you address them head on.   Finding out what the change means to them will help you adapt, overcome and build rapport.  Respect on the individual basis is proactive (rather than reactive).  Although team members may at first grumble, it will be short lived. Why?!  Because they know that you are a leader that listens and acts rather than one who is easily tossed by elements.  Seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Kindness
"Play nice."  This was something I heard time and time again from my mother while I was growing up and it still applies in my adult life.  A kind word, a good deed, sharing, a simple smile - little things that help people connect, collaborate, and cooperate grow increasingly paramount when facing strong winds.   Agitated leaders who grow impatient and pushy rarely get the desired result.  If they do, the wake of the storm leaves little substance for reconstruction.  Kindness enables the team to stay calm during calamity, build morale, and helps keep a steady rudder. 

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
Any fight is won or lost in our heads long before the battle begins.  Predisposing ourselves to a negative outcome usually results in a self-fulfilling prophecy - failure.  As leaders, we need weather each storm with PMA and predispose ourselves to making it through - unscathed and unharmed (and maybe a little bit wiser from the wear).  PMA is more than just good thoughts - it's positive action.  It's putting the walk to the talk.  Leaders that model PMA will see no decline in momentum when the storm gets rough.  On the contrary, when the high winds come, they will experience the willingness of each team member to collaborate and stay focused on getting through it together.   Keep the PMA - it spreads like wildfire!

Authenticity
Each of us, as leaders, should be like a willow tree.  Strong in our core, firmly rooted in our values, and able to flex up top to keep from snapping as the storm wanes.   Being rooted but flexible allows us to keep decisions in alignment with our values but also meet the needs of the organization and team without hypocrisy.  Change is stressful and, usually, generates more change.  If we "flip flop" and are "loosey goosey" in decision making, it only generates more stress.  Consistency of effort and living in alignment with values demonstrates that there are no hidden agendas, conflicts or contradictions.  Stress and uncertainty call for a leader to be calm and certain.  Stay firmly rooted - you may lose a few leaves but, in the end, you will weather the storm.  Be the "real deal!"

We live in a fast-paced, continually changing world and there is no quick "antidote" for dealing with the stress that accompanies it.  Weathering the storm and preparing for the next round requires a continual effort of thought and action.  Yes, sure and steady wins the race - every time!  These suggestions are YOUR starting place to decrease team anxiety, build rapport, and ensure that everyone gets through it together.   This isn't a dress rehearsal, it's the only life you have - take the risk and step up!