Business Networking

Went to in interesting Business Network meeting this morning with 4NETWORKING where I met up with other local business people. It was a really good social atmosphere, not pretentious, not regimented, just business people looking to hook up with others in the area.

The one thing that came through from the discussions at the meeting was the problems small businesses have with marketing their products and services especially through the internet. 

all the companies there have or are putting up a web site. Their biggest issue is that nobody knows that they exist. This is mainly because within you chosen field of business there are thousands upon thousands of companies out there all doing a similar product or service as you.

So with this in your mind, how on earth are you going to get to the top of the listings on Google? the simple answer is that without spending considerable money, you're not. 

So what's the options?

Firstly you need to do some analysis on:

1. What your really offering?

2. Who are you offering your service or product to?

3. What is the profit on each sale you make

4. How much of that profit are you willing to spend on marketing?

5. How much cash are you prepared to spend right now to test the options available to you?

6. How much time are you prepared to give to increasing your presence on the internet?

Firstly write all the above down and then write out you answers, most people never do this so prove me wrong and do this exercise.

From this you will get a clearer picture of you position, it will also focus your thoughts. 

So the options:

Increase your internet presence and exposure through cash (Pay your way to the top) or through time. (Less cost, more time in front of the computer)

The Money Route:

Pay an SEO Company to optimise your web site, but be careful here, not all SEO Companies are the same, there are some very good companies that will not let you waste money on unnecessary optimisation and some who will shaft you for every penny they can. Best way to find the good companies is to ask other web site owners who they use or recommend.

Look at Pay-Per-Click campaigns through Google. This works great for some companies, most campaigns fall well short of expectation. If you do this route, do it small to start. Set a budget and stick to it, and most importantly monitor the results. You will soon realise that it is either working or not. By working I don't just mean that you're getting a few sales from it. Do a Profit and Loss analysis to see what the ratio of cost to sale is. 

I bet most of your business comes through recommendation, mine does.

The Time Route

This option cost little or nothing, and for a small company is a great way to start.

Forums

What ever your industry, there are Forums where you can post reply's to questions asked.

The point of this is:

1. Most of the time it's a potential client asking the question.

2. You set yourself up as an expert

3. You should always have a signature at the bottom of any post to a forum with:

a: Your name

b: Your phone number

c: your email address

d: Your web address

4. Within the answer you can put a URL (web address) to your website, or a specific page on your site which could answer the posters problem more fully. If you don't have a page that helps explain the issue then write one first and get it up on your site before answering the forum post.

5. tell them to call you, if they would like to any help with the issue.

6. Explain that you have a service which will help them with their problem, and tell them who to talk to with a phone number.

There are many more FREE ways to promote your business but I will leave them for my next blog entry.

Oh, that brings me to my next tip... Always leave them wanting more.

If you would like to discuss your option and some good advice please fell free to call me on 07867 546 101 we also have a service which can offer an initial consultation to focus on what you need to achieve and how to achieve it in the quickest possible time and then show you how to technically implement those ideas.

Or join our facebook group where we share lots of info like this 

Andy Phillips

andy@businessforlife.co.uk

www.businessforlife.co.uk

Mobile 07867 546 101

It's time to take a good hard look at Property Investing
Succeed where others FAIL!

Over the last couple of months I have heard nothing but doom and gloom about the state of property investing, and I'm wondering why?
It's time for everyone to take stock of the situation and get back on track. Now is a great time to purchase property, but you must have the right attitude, the right mindset.

So lets put some things together to ensure YOUR success.

1.    People always put the purchase of BMV property together with No Money Down. We are working to Simon Zutshi's model which is about Leaving No Money in as opposed to No Money Down.

2.    Buying with deep discount. If you look at what is happening in the market at the moment with prices on the slide. We know it is an economic FACT that property prices will bottom out and rise again. This means simply, that you can achieve discounts in excess of 20% on a regular basis. If you wait until the market shows signs of bottoming out and beginning to rise. These discounts will not be available, or at least not as easy to get.

3.    Use the products that are available today, don't bemoan the loss of Mortgage Express and say it can't be done. Look at what is available and make it work. Using the No Money Left In route you will be able to do these deals, you just need the right mindset.

Here's a plan of action

Book yourself on to Simon'sProperty Magic Live! Event on the4th and 5th of October and get a new lease of life into your property investment business.

This is a full 2-day event, which will change the way you invest. There is a golden opportunity for any Investor who takes advantage of the market as it is today.

The cost is only £497 + VAT and as always Simon provides MASSIVE VALUE to all his students.

For lots more info and to book your place CLICK HERE

It's not surprising that places are going quickly on this event. Simon Zutshi is one of the countries most respected Property Investment speakers and a Property Guru who has offers a no nonsense, real world approach to property investment with leading edge ideas and solutions. We were lucky enough to have Simon speak at one of our events in August "The Truth about BMV and No Money Down" and went down a storm.

My gut reaction says this isn't going to hang around for long...

Why? 

1) He's managed to convince Dolf de Roos to come along, who's pretty much THE world's biggest property expert, and he very rarely comes to speak in the UK (pretty much a couple of times a decade). So there's a 'celebrity factor' which will mean tickets are going to sell like hot cakes.

2) His Death of Property Investing report has generated huge word of mouth for the event. When Simon reveals how to acquire bargain, credit-crunch affected properties without even needing a mortgage (nor cash), it's hard not to talk about it.

3) He's offering 'fast action bonuses' for people who are decisive and sign up fast. But the longer you wait the less bonuses you'll win.

If nothing else, go and read this page to get an insight into the mindset of a professional investor during the Credit Crunch:

To book your place CLICK HERE NOW!

Chancellor raises stamp duty threshold to £175,000

Chancellor raises stamp duty threshold to £175,000

Buyers of homes worth up to £175,000 will not have to pay stamp duty, Alistair Darling has announced, as he promised the country would "get through" the economic downturn.

In a surprise move to try to revive the housing market, the embattled Chancellor said that the £125,000 threshold at which buyers pay 1 per cent stamp duty will be raised from tomorrow and frozen at the new level for one year.

Some see this as a positive move by the Government to stimulate first time buyers, however the stamp duty was never the problem, it has always been the initial deposit which is, and will always be the largest stumbling block.

"If there are no competitive mortgages available then knocking a maximum of £1,750 off a purchase is a complete and utter waste of time," said Michael White, a property lawyer at Dawsons LLP, noting the average property price in London stands at around £375,000.

There is a small advantage to property investors, but in the grand scheme of things what we all need is Lenders to shift the emphasis back to the recognition the use of incentives. I do not think we will get back to the days of No Deposit Finance, however as we are seeing better rates from many Lenders you can bet your life that one will take the plunge soon.

It is no surprise to hear that the only real winners in all of this is the Housebuilders.

Their shares have leapt today at the beginning of this year long Stamp Duty "holiday".

The UK biggest housebuilder 'Wimpey' has seen its share price clime by 8.9% to 61p, while Persimmon's stock rose 11 per cent to 428.5p.

Bovis Homes, Bellway and Barratt Developments also saw their shares jump by 6.4 per cent, 6.9 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively.

Andy Phillips

1 Day Seminar with Dan Peacock and Simon Zutshi

1 Day Seminar with Dan Peacock and Simon Zutshi

Last Sunday we hosted and ran an Event in conjunction with Dan Peacock from JamesPDaniels and Property Guru Simon Zutshi. Dan has spent over 9 years in the Mortgage Industry and has worked with hundreds of property investors helping to finance their deals. He has consistently provided solutions to his clients who work with purchasing property Below Market Value (BMV)

For years Dan has offered products which enabled his client (me included) the opportunity to purchase property with little or no cash into the deal.

Today the market has changed dramatically, Lenders have pulled thousands of mortgage products from the market, making it very difficult to fund these deals anymore.

Because of this there has been a huge amount systems and schemes trying to get around the Lenders criteria to be able to still get into a property with "No Money Down"

The problem is that most of these systems run by scheme operators have implications which most investors do not understand. Implications which could lead to Mortgage Fraud or even evasion of TAX.

The Event last sunday informed the delegates of these implication. Now don't get me wrong, I have looked at lots of these systems and some of them are incredibly well thought out and work very well, however, others are appalling and leave the investor open to legal ramifications which they have no idea about.

Take a look at our report on the day here

Along with Dan Peacock we also had Property Guru Simon Zutshi, Simone spoke about how to take advantage of todays market and looked at some alternative funding solutions.

Simon has also written a fantastic report which you can download free called "The Death of Property Investing" which you can download for FREE Here

This underground report is quietly kicking up a storm on the internet at the moment.

Not least because the author Simon Zutshi is a #1 best-selling property coach, and mentor to hundreds of professional property investors. So when Simon releases a report spelling the Death Of Property Investing, you stop and take notice!

If you want to come to the next event or want more info on all our events email me at andy@businessforlife.co.uk

"Reward for Effort"

We are all striving for that elusive goal of financial freedom. We are all looking for the answer to our prayers. We try and find the secret to unlocking the floodgates that will pour money into our bank accounts, and somehow these miracles never seem to appear.

Some seek it in property, some in internet marketing, others think that putting cash into shares is the answer. I know people who have spent so much money on learning how to become rich and made themselves poor because of it.

The answer is simple, the answer is known to you if you only look.

I have met people who, when introducing themselves say "Hi. I'm John, Im an entrepreneur" and then go on to ask me if I have a business they could tap into..

Stop reading all the books on wealth mentality and then just go back to work. Stop going to seminars and doing nothing about it...

Join the our group on Facebook "Business or life"
Join our Mailing list for regular updates and advice HERE

We offer many ways in which you can increase your income, in the real world. The world where you really have to do stuff, like call people and sell things, or spend time on your computer and work real hard to get a web site together, and market it.

In other words if you want more money then find something you can start in your spare time, focus on it, work hard at getting it right and see your income rise because of your efforts.

There are no easy fixes in life, just old fashioned "Reward for Effort"

We send out opportunities, on a regular basis, which you can increase your income or your wealth simply by doing.....


So here is my invitation to you. Join the group "BUSINESS FOR LIFE" on Facebook or Sign up for our email updates Business for Life WebSite and get your teeth into something REAL....

Amazing week

Wow, this has been a busy and incredibly inspiring week, I have been working on a presentation which my business partner Yvonne Davidson is giving at the Women Entrepreneur Summit which is on 13th July in Manchester. Yvonne will be sharing her experience on the core subject of the importance of having multiple income streams.

 Go to - http://womenentrepreneursummit.co.uk/ to find out more.

We are finalising the event we are running for Dan Peacock which will be held on August 17^th on the incredibly important subject of how to purchase property Below Market Value (BMV) with little of none of your own money, whilst making sure you stay legal and avoid the tax evasion trap. This is a must for all property investors.

 Go to http://businessforlife.co.uk/bmv_event.html to book your place.

We also had a meeting today with a company we are going into Joint Venture with which has an amazing model which we can all share in within the online marketing arena. This project offers a route to anyone looking to make money online. We will be unveiling the program in a few weeks. If you want to get into online marketing as a passive residual income then email me at andy@businessforlife.co.uk and I’ll keep you bang, up to date with the progress.

Revealed - The Truth about BMV and "No Money Down"

The latest event to be held by Dan Peacock will be held on 17th August at the Renaissance Hotel, Bath Road, Heathrow.
This is a 1 day educational seminar covering how the latest spate "No and Low Money Down" deals can be used and the legal and tax implications associated with these new and sometimes untried systems.
Dan Peacock is a well respected, down to earth mortgage broker with 9 years experience in providing mortgages to Property Investors and Professional Landlords.

His reasoning behind holding the event was that many of his clients have been coming to him with property transaction which had inherent problems.

Dan commented "With many of the lenders pulling investment and buy-to-let products, there are lots of new systems. Some systems are on the whole OK, however, the client really needs to understand the implications. It's not too strong to say with some of the systems out there they leave the client exposed to mortgage fraud and in some cases tax evasion".

If you want to book onto this event, tickets are only £97 inc. VAT Click here

Joint Venture - What is is?

There is an old adage, "if you cant beat 'em, join 'em. This in essence is the nature of a joint venture. Joint Ventures are simply a way to significantly increasing your market reach. 

Think of it this way, whatever business your in at the moment you have a client base, or database of clients. Say for argument sake you have a good qualified database of 1000 clients. To increase business revenue, most companies would turn to advertising. But think about it for a second. 

Ask yourself one question. 

what do my costumers need, that I can't provide for them?

When you find the answer, go and find a great company in your area, who can supply your customers. and simply ask for a referral fee.

The added bonus to this is of course, is that the very same company may be able to introduce your business to their client. You would then reciprocate, by offering them a referral fee.

In business terms, a Joint Venture is a mutual business alliance to firstly increase each others client bases. The second beneficial objective could be to enable the 2 companies to join forces to penetrate markets they couldn't consider before. Larger markets or international markets.

For more information please feel free to contact me - andy@businessforlife.co.uk

SAVE MONEY BY LEASING YOUR COMPUTER AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT

WHY should a business lease?

Starting or running a small business can be draining on the wallet. There are so many reasons why any business should seriously consider leasing their office and IT equipment over purchase or rent.

The first one is that leasing improves the companies cash flow. In fact this is the main advantage, it simply frees up cash. Leasing is also easier to finance than purchase. The simple fact is that if you were to contemplate purchasing your equipment with a capital equipment loan from the bank, they would usually want to see the last 2-3 years of financial records. For many new companies this would be prohibitive. 

Keeping pace with Technology

Every business needs to keep pace with the latest equipment available to it and the major advantage leasing provides over purchase is the ability to always have the very best in computers, communications, printers, copiers etc.

Getting what you need, when you need it

When a new big project comes in, you may have to employ more people and furnish them with new equipment, computer and the like. Leasing enable you to get these in fast without massive capital outlay.

I won't even go into the tax benefits, but you should. Speak to your accountant or financial director, you may have a very pleasant surprise..

Andy Phillips