Modern Opportunity

 
 

Business opportunities for Long Island and the world!

 
 

A publication of Lexicon Express, Inc. Francine York, publisher

 

Welcome!
To the March 2004 Edition of
Modern Opportunity Newsletter/Ezine

Thank You for Subscribing to This FREE and Very Informative Monthly Newsletter/Ezine*

Want advertising info on placing a solo ad, ezine ad, or ad on the Modern Opportunity website?
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Read Valarie Young's article..."Hot Business Trends for 2004… And Beyond: Maybe One Will Turn Into a Creative Business Idea for You

Read Andrew Linick's article..."Part II: Direct Mail is More and More Talked About"

Read Rob Spiegel's article...""The Hidden Rule of Positive Thinking " " "

Read Kevin Nunley's article..."Use Email and More to Launch Your New Business "

Read Bob Osgoodby's article..."A Level Playing Field"

Read about Francine York, publisher of Modern Opportunity Website, ezine, newspaper and Expo _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Success Quotes of the Month:

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place."--Nora Roberts

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."--Mark Twain

"Life is not so much a matter of 'finding' ourselves as it is a matter of making ourselves." -- Alan Loy McGinnis, speaker and author

"Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes."--Clare Booth Luce

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Dear Subscribers,

This newsletter is for you, my email "door" is always open, so please feel free to email me directly
with any ideas, comments, topics you would like to read about, etc.... ________________________________________________________________________________________

TIP of the Month

Starting Web Page...using email

If you are sending out a "canned" email or replying to a number of people, do not send it as an attachment in "doc" format. Many people are leery, and rightly so, of opening a file in this format as it can contain a virus.

Most modern email packages allow you to format your message and send it as "rich text e-mail". You can include bold text, color, graphics, etc., so if you want to be fancy, use those features instead.

If you are sending your note to several people such as a joke list, be sure to use Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) otherwise you will be showing every one on your list the email addresses of the others.

And finally, if you are forwarding something someone else sent you, just forward the message and not all that other "junk" that precedes it - having to wade through all that "stuff" to find the message is a real pain.

Tip by Bob Osgoodby, publisher of Tip of the Day

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Hot Business Trends for 2004… And Beyond: Maybe One Will Turn Into a Creative Business Idea for You
by Valerie Young

I always look forward to the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine. That's the issue that features the publisher's annual pick of hot businesses, markets, and trends for smart entrepreneurs - or those who aspire to be.

Some of the high tech businesses cited like mobile gaming or online learning tend to require six and seven figure start up costs. This can seem daunting (although not impossible) for the person just venturing into self-employment. So I've decided to focus on the markets, trends, and businesses that speak to someone operating on a somewhat more limited budget. Let's start with hot markets:

HOT MARKET: Middle-Aged Women

Since I've recently entered my last year in my 40s, I thought it only appropriate to start with this group (although like most boomers, I still have a hard time thinking of myself as anything close to "middle aged"). Not surprisingly, products and services for women in their 40s and 50s that center around anti-aging and menopause are hot. The magazine cites such promising areas as counseling, exercise spas, yoga, smoking cessation programs… any product or service that helps women stay healthy and feel good about themselves - both inside and out.

The reference to smoking cessation got me thinking… Residential treatment facilities for other forms of substance abuse are common- place, but I've personally never seen a retreat, spa, or other residential-type place specifically aimed at people who need help quitting smoking, and who would benefit from doing so outside their home environment. I'm picturing morning walks, meditation, massage, support groups, good food, and of course, lots and lots of punching bags!

HOT MARKET: Toddlers/Tweens/Teens

According to market research firm Packaged Facts, last year 5 to 14 year olds spent $10 billion on food and beverages. Other favorite product areas for kids are sports, fashion, music, and technology. And apparently home décor and remodeling isn't just for adults anymore (who knew?). Stores like IKEA and Pottery Barn are starting to selling home furnishing products aimed at teens.

With baby boomers having more discretionary income with which to spoil their grandchildren, babies and toddlers have also become hot markets. Online start-up ELittle Luxuries offers designer baby furniture and more than 600 other upscale baby items. (http://www.eLittleLuxuries.com)

HOT MARKET: Overweight People

After reading how much kids spend on food and beverages, it's no surprise that 15% of children and teens are overweight. But we adults have them beat. A whopping 64% of Americans are considered obese or overweight. Businesses that offer products and services to help people slim down and develop more healthy habits are the most obvious. But entrepreneurs willing to think outside the "solve the problem" box by looking for ways to make overweight people's lives easier verses trying to fix them, will also do well.

HOT MARKET: Metrosexuals

With the enormous appeal of stylish soccer super star David Beckham and shows like Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy where gay men help straight men with fashion, grooming, home décor, and social skills, a growing number of heterosexual men are allowing themselves to tap into their fashionable side.

One enterprising guy who jumped into the metrosexual market early has seen phenomenal growth. With $20,000 and a dream, Tom Granese launched Regiments, an online store that sells high-end grooming products for men. Less than two years later, Tom opened his first storefront in Dallas with a projected $210,000 in first year in-store sales.

HOT MARKET: Hispanics

The Hispanic market is certainly nothing new - in fact it's made Entrepreneur's list for many years now. The magazine cites opportunities in anything from food and entertainment, to financial services and Web services.

Now let's look at two of Entrepreneur's picks for hot trends in 2004…

HOT TREND: Outdoor Living Spaces

Into gardening or design? According to Joanne Kostecky of the American Nursery & Landscape Association, and president of her own garden design company, the concept of outdoor living rooms that is so popular in the south and some urban areas is beginning to reach the rest of the country. The fact that more consumers are investing in courtyards and elaborate gardens means the gardening and outdoor design businesses are bound to grow!

HOT TREND: Fast-Casual Food

Health and taste conscious consumers on the go are turning to fast- casual restaurants and chains. In my own small town of Northampton, two of the more popular joints are benefiting from the fast-casual boom. One serves upscale burritos (my favorite is the Thai burritos) and the other is a hip soup, salad, and sandwich joint that opened in a greatly remodeled former Taco Bell restaurant. Idea: Back in my old softball days I always wished someone would cater to all those hungry players and fans by starting a high quality food wagon.

Other Hot Trends…

Boating and water sports, the hunger for low- carb foods (a trend being taken seriously by restaurants, grocery stores, and food manufacturers), oils and sauces, and multiculturalism which includes the gay and lesbian markets.

Hot markets and hot trends lead to hot businesses. Here are some of Entrepreneur's picks…

HOT BUSINESS: Children's Enrichment Programs

With so many parents in the workforce, more kids than ever before are engaged in extracurricular and after school activities. If you like the idea of working with kids, you can opt to open a physical location like a gym, dance or art studio, or camp, take your program into the schools, or provide private lessons.

If you think opening your own place is financially out of reach, think again. While $12,000 is no small sum of money, it's a lot less than a lot of people might expect they'd need to shell out to start their own dance studio. But that's how much former dance student turned instructor Archer Alstaettter dug up in cash and credit cards to found Dance Emotion in Irvine, California. That was five years ago. Today Archer's studio has 500 clients and expects 600-plus to be enrolled by spring. You go Archer!

HOT BUSINESS: Home Improvement

Remodeling, refurbishing, and redecorating are all the rage. There are some 30 cable shows on home improvement alone. And home improvement isn't all about décor. Worth noting are businesses that help home owners maximize the space they have as well as those making homes more accessible to an aging population. (To read about a unique, highly successful, and legitimate home business opportunity that matches home owners with reputable home repair contractors go to http://www.ChangingCourse.com/hrnsuccess.htm)

HOT BUSINESS: Yoga & Pilates

According to Entrepreneur, companies are bending over backwards to cater to the growing market of people practicing yoga. Clothes, mats, DVDs, music, and classes aimed at seniors, pregnant women and children as young as three are just a few products and services aimed at this growing market. And with a reported 47 million Americans taking Pilates, a work out that builds abdominal muscles, opportunities abound for gym owners and instructors alike. If you like the idea of teaching Pilates, studio owner Maria Leone recommends starting out by keeping overhead low. She suggests renting space for one-on-one sessions from a small gym or chiropractic office. Fees for a typical Pilates session range from $50 to $70 an hour. Meditate on that!

HOT BUSINESS: Upscale Pet Services

According to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association, Americans spent an estimated $31 billion on pets in 2003. A few of the luxury services cited include pet hotels complete with heated floors, limousine rides, day cruises, and personal shoppers. And apparently the spa trend has extended to the pet world with exfoliating treatments, aromatherapy, liposuction (I kid you not), and chiropractic services.

HOT BUSINESS: Outsourcing

Outsourcing is one of those good new-bad news things. If your job is being eliminated because it's cheaper for your company to outsource functions like HR, accounting, and network security, then outsourcing is a bad thing. Outsourcing is particularly hot in IT - and when it comes to outsourcing jobs overseas, it's also controversial. The good news for freelancers is the federal government plans to open 850,000 jobs to outsourcing, with $85 billion in federal IT contracts to be awarded over the next three years

Other Hot Businesses: Spas, organic foods, online matchmaking, senior care, wireless, tech security, and voiceover IP (VoIP).

If you believe as I do that it's better to be the boss, than to have one, why not make 2004 the year you start putting your entrepreneurial plans into action? You don't have to quit your job or mortgage your home to get the ball rolling. You might resolve to do some research, start putting together a business plan, take a course on marketing, glass blowing, woodworking, web design, or whatever sparks your fancy, get certified to teach yoga, buy a book on how to launch a successful on-line business, start a Barbara Sher style Success Team… or just order a subscription to Entrepreneur. If you don't already subscribe to Entrepreneur you can do so at http://www.Entrepreneur.com. The site also features a ton of free resources for anyone who already is - or dreams of - working for themselves. For other free resources for people who want to start their own businesses visit http://www.ChangingCourse.com/newbiz.htm

Okay, but what if you don't see a trend, market, or business here that speaks to you? Then find the one that does! I had a client who is crazy for horses and photography. It took me all of 30 seconds on http://www.Google.com to find a group called the Equine Photographers Network.

In addition to their conference this February in Florida, the group offers a free public online discussion group with over 700 members who range from top-of-their-field working pros to amateur photographers to magazine editors and writers to horse owners, all interested in improving their equine photography skill and knowledge. Learn all about the Equine Photographers Network at http://www.EquinePhotographers.net.

The way to find the "hottest" business idea for you is to get in touch with the passion that burns the brightest in your heart. Then make 2004 the year resolve to you take those first bold steps on behalf of your dream!

About the Author
"Off the beaten career path" consultant, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at http://www.ChangingCourse.com, offering free resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Redbook, Entrepreneur's Business Start Ups, and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, she's presented her How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are program to thousands of people.

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"Part II: DIRECT MAIL SELLING... Direct mail is more and more talked about "
By Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D.

Direct mail is any com-munications delivered by the postman. It can be an agency newsletter, a product ordered, or a packet of brochures to tease customer interest, possibly with a response card included.

It can be used to increase sales to present customers, to sell past customers, to sell prospects and to help suppliers. It can also bring results within your own organization and accomplish a host of general chores.

Increase sales to present customers.

o Increases demand among present users; friendly, personal reminders, creative suggestions of new uses.
o Keeps customers in the buying habit; spaced reminders, announcements keep accounts active.
o Brings in orders, between other sales calls: important in keeping clients adequately serviced year-round.
o Builds up weak territories: provides pin-point intensity wherever you wish to bolster sales.
o Keeps customers and prospects informed: newsletters and magazines can win intense readership and promote enlightened buying.
o Helps keep your outside sales agents / downline active: reminds them of the advantages of having you / your agency behind them and of selling your products.

Sell past customers.

o Wins back inactives: specific campaigns for this purpose are often most successful.

Sell prospects.

o Brings customers into the agency to buy: friendly, direct appeals telling about opportunities / products / services now available.
o Creates demand for a product or service: sales points appealingly presented, illustrated; consistent use important.
o Promotes credit card affordability: special campaigns aimed at likely prospects.
o Secures sales through you: mail-order marketing can bring you customers from far beyond your home territory.
o Helps keep prospects interested: a series of mailings can link the first inquiry and a sale.
o Drives home sales arguments: educates prospects to your products and service.
o Helps build acceptance: consistent use of mailings breeds familiarity and favorable impressions.
o Develops sales among special groups: often the only sure way of appealing to an important but scattered group.
o Can get your products / services recommended by others: target professional people, experts, specialists whose word reaches many.

Supports your sales reps.

o Paves the way for sales reps: helps procure leads and pre-sell prospects; reduces per-sale costs.
o Opens up new territories: educates prospective new affiliates, customers: produces measurable response.
o Brings prospects to shows: invitations to open houses, trade shows, cruise nights, etc.
o Follow up representatives' calls: important to closing sales, not losing them.
o Follows up shows: satisfies all inquiries fully and quickly.
o Pin-points your prospects: a broadcast mailing draws inquiries from real prospects.
o Distributes sales materials: vital to increasing sales of established products, introducing new products.
o Helps secure new sales reps: interest them in selling you.

Extends the territory.

o Stimulates interest in planned events: advance promotion of a "week," a "day," an opening, a sale: personal appeal important.
o Presents your full story: flyers, brochures, catalogues help most marketing programs.
o Develops territories beyond your own reach: answers staff limitations, transportation difficulties.
o Helps suppliers help their field personnel: boosts your image in their minds, can generate client referrals from dsm's.
o Keeps your reps informed: tells them about plans, available aids, ads to which they can tie in.
o Keeps your reps alert: regular newsletters or bulletins remind them.

In your own organization.

o Educates your employees / downline: your group of representatives are your key sales people: give special stimulation.
o Builds employee moral: newsletters and house magazines keep workers enthusiastic.
o Helps train new employees: sales manuals, indoctrination manuals, bulletins.
o Helps collect accounts: a planned, diplomatic approach keeps accounts current, customers friendly.
o Corrects mailing lists: special mailings, secondary enclosures cover changes.
o Classifies clientele: record all inquiries for permanent list: note customer preferences.

General chores.

o Raises funds: personal appeals to pin-pointed prospective contributors.
o Builds prominence: develops consumer awareness of business if consistently used.
o Builds good will: every mailing should do it: special mailings can be designed just for the purpose.
o Spreads news quickly, uniformly, dependably: new address, phone number, prices, policies, products, services.
o Offsets competition: meets many sudden, localized developments with certainty.
o Tests sales ideas: different presentations tried on different typical lists reveal your strengths, weaknesses.
o Secures important data: questionnaires to prospects, customers, employees.
o Acknowledges sales: often expected, nearly always appreciated: ensured repeat business.
o Welcomes new customers: starts the association off on a continuing, active basis.
o Avoids waste: inquiries from a low-cost mailing show whom to send a costly catalogue.
o Capitalizes on other advertising: enclose reprints to reinforce messages.
o Makes "offers" of other promotional materials: get them to send for brochures: arouse interest, inquiries and sales.

Find Part I of Direct Mail Selling in the February issue of Modern Opportunity newsletter http://www.modernopportunity.com/newsletter5-2-04.html

Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D., heads Linick Group, Inc. specialists in direct mail marketing, promotion and design, imple-mentation and consulting. For a free copy of 49 Questions To Ask Before You Start To Write Direct Mail Copy, and 10 Essential Rules Of Direct Mail, Testing send $2.00 plus a S.A.S.E. to: Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D., Seven Putter Lane, Middle Island, N.Y. 11953, telephone 631.924-3888. ext. Y104, or email

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"The Hidden Rule of Positive Thinking " by Rob Spiegel

I believe in positive thinking. I started toying with the ideas of positive thinking back when I started my first business. 20 years ago, when you launched a company, you were obliged to adopt the tenets of positive thinking, much as you were required to learn the peculiar logic of double-entry bookkeeping. Things haven't changed much in the past two decades, except that software packages make double-entry less mystifying. Positive thinking techniques are still highly encouraged in budding entrepreneurs.

I adopted positive thinking as a doubter. I practiced positive thinking much like the dying non-Christian who takes communion just in case. My doubts centered on that thought that positive thinking wasn't much different than magical thinking: If we all just wish for peace, the world will eventually comply and become peaceful - we'll wear the world down with our insistence in believing in a reality ungrounded in evidence.

Even more disturbing, I worried that positive thinking may be a nasty form of self delusion that could ultimately clothe you into an unreality that could actually prevent success. If I believe as hard as I can that I'm going to succeed - gripping my hands and wishing, wishing, wishing - I might indeed spend too much time hoping and hoping rather than spending that time selling something to somebody.

But thoughts go through your head whether you want them to or not, and if you've taken on the weight of starting a new company, those thoughts are best centered on your belief that you can actually lift the weight. The alternative of negative thinking is as gloomy as it is natural. When you roll up your sleeves and begin the heavy lifting of starting a company, doom thoughts quickly fill your empty brain. Every "NO" from a sales call is a powerful referendum on the very idea that you could successfully launch a business. If you're not thinking positively in the face of rejection, you eventually believe those who are rejecting you, and during the early stages, there's more rejection than acceptance.

So eventually, the techniques of positive thinking became an antidote to the waves of rejection. Rather than using the magical thinking of positive thoughts as an excuse to avoid the next sales call, I used positive thinking to help me make that next call in the face of ongoing rejection. Yes it was self delusion. The actual evidence said I should quit and get a day job. But I made the next sales call, and the one after, and slowly, oh so very slowly, the tide turned.

As things changed and my fledgling business actually began to succeed, I continued practicing positive affirmations. I kept affirming my success and I kept succeeding. Of course, I also made sure to practice the evidenced-based elements of success - create a quality product and deliver over-the-top customer service.

Ultimately, positive thinking becomes a habit. The constant noise in the brain takes on prettier hues than the noise you had previously absorbed from the crazy world. Then something else happens. You begin to shift away from the continuing thoughts of enhancing your own condition. Positive thoughts by their very nature are generous. They are powerful tools to help you prosper, but they are anti selfish.

The final element of positive thinking is positive giving. There's a hidden agenda that lives as the subplot to positive thinking - what you receive is not yours to horde - it's yours to pass. Sometime in the third of fourth book written by a positive thinking guru, you'll begin to find a subtle shift in the thinking, a shift from grabbing to giving. That third or fourth book is usually devoted to tithing as a principle of receiving. You'll find it in Stephen Covey (7 Habits), Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad), all of them.

Positive thinking can help your business succeed. It may be the critical factor. But part of the physics (or metaphysics) of positive thinking is that is changes you, and part of that change involves learning how to take your success and share it - weather in time or treasure.

Rob Spiegel is the author of Net Strategy (Dearborn) and The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to Internet Start-ups (St. Martin's Press). You can reach Rob at robspiegel@comcast.net.

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A Level Playing Field by Bob Osgoodby

The Internet today, gives the smaller players a "level playing field" with some of big guys. If we are to succeed, it is vitally important to recognize what they are doing in their advertising programs.

There are a number of effective techniques for letting your customers know who you are, and what you do. One of the maxims of any advertising campaign is to try to make your company a household word. Many of the major corporations such as Budweiser and Wendy's have discovered how to do this, and we could take a few lessons from them.

First, and foremost, if you are serious about doing business on the Internet, you must have a web site. When visitors arrive there, it should be immediately obvious as to what you actually do. Too many web site developers forget this, and try to impress their visitors with graphics that take to long to load.

Don't forget - people visiting your site have come there for a specific reason. If you don't make it immediately clear what you do, they may just "click away". Any good ad will feature what benefit the person will receive by doing business with you. You want your "brand" to be loud and clear, and not hidden behind a lot of "glitz".

You must have contact information. A picture of you can go a long way to humanizing your web site. People prefer doing business with other people, not a nameless company, without any way of contacting them, other than a form to fill out. You must have a physical address, and preferably a phone number where someone can contact you. The more you can make your potential clients comfortable with you, the better your odds of getting their business.

Verbal content is king. If your copy is not good, you will not succeed. Many web sites simply throw up a few graphics and a few "buzzwords", and wonder why they don't get a good response. People have taken the time to come to your site and are looking for answers. A visitor to your web site, should leave with few, if any unanswered questions.

You web site must immediately tell the public exactly what you do. If it doesn't, you must create a brand, and feature that in all your advertising. It should be the first thing people see if they visit your web site. The web site -http://ListsAreUs.com -gives a good example of this.. On the first page, without having to arrow down, you immediately know what the web site is all about. All of their advertising, which is specific to the market they wish to reach, carries this brand.

If you are to succeed in your online business, you must have a brand that will not only be remembered, but reinforces what you are trying to promote. But that is not all that must be done. Newsletters and Ezines, specific to the market you wish to target are an excellent way to reach potential clients. While your ads should be brief, as people scanning a publication may skip by your ad, it must be compelling. This is where your brand is so important.

A web site with a minimum of information however, will normally not obtain your goals. Face it, you got them to visit your site with your ad, and now they are looking for answers. If they don't find what they are looking for, the odds are they won't come back. While your ad must be brief, here you can (and must) tell the entire story.

Branding is critical to your business. Once you get "your" brand to be a household name for your target market, you are on a level playing field, and well on your way down the road of ecommerce.

Bob has been publishing online since 1996. All the "tricks of the trade" are contained in his latest E-book. Learn how to avoid being shut down by your ISP for Spamming, and where to find "E-mail friendly ISP's. Learn which software packages are available to easily manage and distribute your email. For more information - http://www.adv-marketing.com/business/handbook.htm

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"Use Email and More to Launch Your New Business "
by Kevin Nunley

The smart way to begin a new business is to spend less. Do your research, find the cheap and effective way to do things, then move forward keeping a tight reign on your expenses.

Success often needs time, maybe more time than you anticipated. Far too many businesses move too fast, get in trouble, and give up just when their sales are about to take off.

Here are five ways to use email and more to thriftily start a new business.

1. Know Where Your Sales Are - Before you flip your sign to open, upload your business site, or spend a single penny on marketing, know where your sales are going to come from. Who is your target demographic?

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not knowing who is going to buy from them. Why? Because if you don't know who your customers are, you can't market to them. And if you can't market to them, your business will go out of business.

For instance, if you are starting a business selling athletic gear online, find out not only who wants your products, but who actually buys your products. If your products are meant for kids, you have to market to them as well as their parents. Find out where they spend their time online; what sites they are likely to visit.

Once you get prospects to your site or autoresponder, grab their email address and get permission to send them updates or newsletters from time to time. That repeat exposure over weeks and months is what keeps customers coming back year after year. And nothing lets you do this as cheaply as email.

I own a side business that markets mainly to teens. When a young entrepreneur started a high school discussion site and asked if I wanted to put my banner on every page for just $10 per month, I jumped at the opportunity.

Always consider what problems your target market has and how you can help to solve some of those problems with your products or services.

2. Find Mentors - You aren't the first person to start your own business. Hundreds of thousands of people before you have walked the same path your are about to walk. Take advantage of their experience. Try to talk to a few small business owners who have been in business between 6 months and 5 years. They have been in business long enough to have acquired some substantial wisdom.

Over the years there have been dozens of newcomers who weren't at all shy about asking me questions via email. I was happy to answer them. It's interesting that many of these folks have become the biggest names on the Internet. I'm sure they were sending their email questions to every "guru" they could find. And it paid off in a big way.

One man I knew started his own business with that traditionally masculine, "I'm not going to stop and ask directions" attitude. After he had made some mistakes that almost cost him his business, he decided to talk to some other business owners about their experience. He quickly discovered that his mistakes could have been avoided if he had just stopped to ask directions.

3. Do Your Market Research - Don't just ask your family and friends if they think your business idea is doable. Of course they are going to be more positive than realistic.

Get out and conduct your research with a pen, paper and your legs. You can even call potential buyers and find out their views. This is a great opportunity to make contacts and pre-sell your products or services, as well as find out about your target market.

Again, you will rarely if ever get in trouble for sending personalized emails that ask questions or opinions. Send your questions to every one you can find.

4. Promote Like a Pro - Whether you are starting an online business or a regular business, you have to find the methods of promotion that work for you.

Now, just because your business is online doesn't mean you shouldn't promote offline. You can use anything from billboards to T-shirts, brochures to cable television commercials. Much of your best traffic will come from offline promotion. Many websites are lost in the vast reaches of cyber space, but if you put your URL in front of people's faces, they will seek you out.

If you are starting an offline business, the same idea holds true in reverse. You should combine both on and offline advertising and promotion. Why? Because, even if your business does not exist solely online, you should still have a website. A lot of times, people are curious about your business, but they don't want to call or drop by. That takes time out of their busy schedules. But most people do have time to check out your website to help them decide whether or not they should stop by.

You website can be one of your best methods of promotion. Include your website address on all print advertising, as well as any other media you use to advertise.

5. Expect a Battle - Put yourself in your competitor's position. What would you do if a new business opened up and started stealing your customers? You'd fight back, right? You would increase your marketing efforts, hold special promotions and sales, maybe even tell people negative things about your competition.

Be ready for those things to happen if you are entering a competitive business. Know that you will succeed if you do a better job of giving customers what they want. There is little a competitor can do to defend against someone who is doing a truly good job.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copywriting. See his 10,000 marketing ideas and popular promotion packages at DrNunley.com Telephone: 603-249-9519. or Email Kevin

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A personal message from the publisher...

How I became a proud, single, work at home grandma.

My name is Francine York, publisher of Modern Opportunity Web site and newsletter. I welcome you to what is fast becoming the quintessential business opportunity web site. Not only will you find a wide variety of interesting and profitable opportunities; but you will find services and products as well. Feel free to browse the site and read the many informative articles and columns geared to assisting you in becoming a successful entrepreneur. My email "door" is always open to you; so email me anytime and you will receive a personal reply from me.

And now, about my background and how I came to publish this site and newsletter... Due to budget tightening, my job at a not-for-profit agency was cut back to part time. Because I needed more of an income, I set out looking for a new position. At about the same time, my daughter and son-in-law gave me the wonderful news that they were expecting their first child and my first grandchild! My joy was boundless until the reality of economics deflated my euphoria. My daughter would have to go back to work three months after the baby was born. I started envisioning he/she being cared for by strangers in a day care setting. Fortunately, when I had my three children, I was able to stay at home until the youngest was in full day nursery school; but she could not financially do the same.
EUREKA! It suddenly became crystal clear...I would stay home and care for my grandchild.

First I headed for my financial advisor to review my finances and see if I could do this. He politely and firmly said, "Get a job, send your grandchild to day care like so many others do; sell your house; giveaway your three dogs; and rent a small apartment, then maybe you can afford to stay home." Needless to say, I was horrified and angry. You see, I had recently separated from my husband of many years and could no longer rely on him to help with the income.
The more people told me what a crazy idea this was, the more I was determined to do it! I began looking in the classifieds for home based business opportunities. Most listings were for opportunities for which you needed a great deal of money; and that I would not be able to run from my home. That was not going to do. Unfortunately, at the time, I was not knowledgeable about the myriad business opportunities available which can be operated from the home. Finally, I saw an ad for newspaper for sale. The same week my grandson, Ethan Jacob, was born (May 11, 2002), I became the new owner of a business opportunity newspaper. Since I knew the impact the Internet has on today's existence, I immediately started designing a web site. Today, after a year of changes, improvements, redesign and hard work, the site has grown to over sixty pages with more on the way.

I am a proud, single, work at home grandma now; and loving every minute of it!

To give readers, some info about my educational background...I graduated from Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY with Bachelor and Masters of Science degrees in the field of education. I spent the next four years teaching in a N.Y.C. public junior high school. Coming next was a move to the "burbs" in 1973 followed by the birth of my third child. When he turned four, I returned to teaching in a Brooklyn High School. The commute, the conditions and having a mother who was quite ill caused me to rethink the teaching profession. I decided that I needed a change, a challenge and to be closer to home. My next venture was opening a retail business...a Hallmark card and gift store on Long Island. Fifteen successful years later, that was sold. Not at all ready to sit idly by and watch the world pass me, I sought a new focus. I found a job working for a small marketing company. Since writing was always my hobby-I have been published several times-I was able to write copy, marketing plans, radio commercials and the like. It was during that time, after many years of marriage, that my husband and I decided to separate. The week after my daughter was married, 8/13/00, I lost my job. Luckily, I was hired to do public relations, write press releases, oversee the computer program, assist with development, etc. for the not-for-profit agency at which I had been volunteering as a crisis counselor since 1995.

My story comes full circle...I am here, it's 2003 and I am a very happy stay at home, single grandma whose mission is to offer money-making opportunities, services, products and essential information so others who desire, or need to, will be empowered and able to stay at home; and they will be able to find all the resources necessary to do just that right here...so, WELCOME and much success in your endeavors!

Thank you for your interest in Modern Opportunity... Business Opportunities for Long Island and the world!

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