If salon owners would coordinate these basic elements into their ventures they would skip right past most of the problems that other businesses experience.

1. Customers - should I even have to mention that you have to have prospects coming into your shop before you can even start to believe that you have a realistic business. And of course there are all kinds of methods to bring them in the first time.

A bunch of salon owners immediately think that they have to have a decent yellow page ad to compete but if you’ll look at the ads in the phone book, you’d be surprized to see that most look exactly the same. Name of the salon, years in business, what products they promote, and of course the address and phone number. Have you ever thought to look at this? So how an individual decide which one will give the best cut if all the ads look basically the same?

Think about what most people do when they purchase an ad, they let the saleswoman guide them as to what to put on the ad. And that saleswoman only cares about selling ad space not if you get any business. That’s an immediate problem so don’t let the salesperson write your ad.

I’ll tell you a sad but true story of someone I know; he purchased a very expensive ad solely because the saleswoman was pretty, $2100.00 a month on an annual contract all because she distracted him with her looks. And if you’re a woman there’s other ways they distract you.

There are plenty of ways to get new customers in your shop before you commit to a very expensive yellow page contrac. Flyers are easy to make small ads in the paper, value paks, get with the Chamber of Commerce and find out all the new families that are moving into your city. The list goes on and on and a lot of them are not expensive to do but will involve a little time to get going.

Let me say this to all the free spirited stylists that rent a chair in a salon, it’s up to you to bring in new business for yourself. Oh the salon runs its ads sure, but that’s for the whole shop and you aren’t compiling a list of loyal clients to you. And that’s what you just have to have to build your business.

So when I talk about expanding a salon business just wrap your arms around it and claim it for yourself, after all, it is your business.

You might not believe this but most hair stylists under-serve their customers. If you’d like to know how to increase the loyalty of your clients especially in these challenging times get a report on how most hair stylists under-serve their customers. Just click on the link (hair stylists)

Bill Slater
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/how-to-market-your-salon-business-589655.html

One of the biggest mistakes new home-based business owners make is trying to do everything from square one.

You can rest assured that whatever you are attempting to do or build, it has already been done.

Sure, it probably won’t be a mirror image of what you’re doing, but it will have many of the same basic ingredients.

The fastest and easiest way to get your business going and growing is by finding others who have already done what you want to do and learning and benefiting from their efforts.

A local business person recently told me he was in the process of building an autoresponder. Of course, this wouldn’t be a strange thing to be doing if it was a service he plans to sell, but it has nothing to do with his business!

Instead of investing a few hours to explore those autoresponders already in existence, he is investing well more than a hundred hours trying to build one on his own so he can communicate with his customers.

By conducting only a couple of hours research, he would have discovered a variety of outstanding, affordable autoresponder services that are highly sophisticated and subject to continual upgrading and improvement to keep up with ever-changing technology and consumer needs.

Imagine the kind of business he could have generated for himself if he focused those one hundred plus hours acquiring new customers for his business and expanding and improving on his products and services!

Unfortunately, like him, many new home business owners are still of the employee mindset — that they have to work relentlessly and do everything alone.

They haven’t yet developed the entrepreneurial mindset that understands you have to work smarter, not harder.

Another time-consuming task many new business owners take on is spending hours, even days, trying to design the perfect logo. I’m embarrassed to say I spent DAYS searching the Internet for sample logos, looking for ideas, then sitting and drawing possible logo after logo.

Most people have more creative flair in their big toe than I have in my entire body, yet I thought that if I put enough time into it, even though it meant not focusing on increasing business, the perfect logo would reveal itself.

I eventually abandoned the obsession and as soon as I handed the project over to my web designer, I had a new, effective and eye-catching logo within 24 hours.

It was a costly mistake. I had spent so many years working in a support capacity that I didn’t know how to make the shift to a leader capacity and delegate the task.

(Even more important, I later realized, having a logo is waaaay down on the priority scale and doesn’t even have to be considered during the start-up period.)

As you are starting your business, consider the following tasks and ask yourself if someone else could be doing them while you focus on building:

designing brochures and marketing materials

creating your web site

setting up your voice mail and e-mail

purchasing supplies and equipment

stuffing envelopes and taking them to the post office, or delivering flyers

market research

hooking up your new computer, modem, fax and installing software

trouble shooting computer problems

writing articles, reports or white papers

These are not revenue generating activities and if you find them challenging or time-consuming, delegate these tasks to someone else like a family member, co-op student or part-time assistant.

For the more specialized items, seek the input of a mastermind member or business colleague on how they handle those responsibilities. Also, hire or barter with experts in marketing, web design and technology.

Another wheel you don’t need to re-invent is that of processes, particularly in the area of marketing.

Marketing may not be your forte, yet it is the most important element of your business, and this is where many new home business owners bury themselves.

The good news is you don’t have to develop your marketing process by trial and error. Commit several days to studying other businesses both in and outside of your industry. How do they promote themselves? How do they collect leads? How do they convert leads?

In other words, how do they catch the attention of potential customers, get them to express an interest to learn more, and how do they get them to ultimately pull out their wallets and buy?

The quickest and easiest way to create winning processes is to study already successful businesses, then model what they do. Sign up for their newsletters and request additional information. Let them begin a courtship with you and pay attention to what they’re doing. Buy a product or two and see what tools they use to keep inviting you back for more.

This doesn’t mean copy them word for word or action by action, but assimilate what works, mould it to your specific business and add the essential ingredient of uniqueness that allows you to stand out from the crowd.

These are just three simple strategies you can start with today to get on the fast-track to home business success.

Again, here they are in a nutshell:

Uncover what has already been created or invented, then implement or install. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Think like a business owner, not an employee. Delegate, hire or trade.

Model the processes of others who have already achieved the level of success you’re seeking. They’ve already made the mistakes for you and know what works.

Incorporate these strategies and you will shave hours and dollars from your start-up curve and begin reaping the rewards faster than you ever thought possible.

Chuck Davis
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/simple-strategies-to-build-your-homebased-business-faster-and-easier-107442.html

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is critical in business. The emotions that leaders, employees, and customers feel impact the bottom line of companies and the effectiveness of government and non-profit organizations.

In their Harvard Business Review article, “The Service-Profit Chain,” Hesket et. al. identified a chain of factors driving profitability in a company. Their factors revealed that effective leadership is critical to profitability. The emotions that leaders experience impact the climate and culture of an organization as a whole. More specifically, leaders’ emotions impact

- What employees feel
- The satisfaction employees experience with their company and their work
- How loyal they are and their willingness to give extra effort.
- How productive and efficient they are.

How employees feel and perform their work impact how customers feel, how satisfied they are with both products and services, and ultimately how loyal a customer is to the company or organization. And how loyal customers are has a direct impact on the bottom line and profitability of an organization.

Notice that the foundational element in this set of relationships is leadership. It does not say CEO or Executive Vice President or Director. It says leaders. The in-charge person in every work team, every manager, and every individual in the organization is a leader. Self-leadership is one of the most important factors to focus on in skill development. Whether at work or at home, self-leadership is the internal ability to lead oneself to make the best decisions or choices throughout the day moment-to-moment.

Both positive and negative emotions impact everyone in organizations and the customers they serve. For example, negative emotions may result in poor performance, high stress, increased conflict, low morale, lack of trust and teamwork, more errors, poor quality, increased turnover and more. In turn, these problems may decrease customer satisfaction and increase customer complaints and defection. Ultimately, profitability can be negatively impacted.

Impact:

We can discover the significant impact negative emotions can have on the organization by asking a few questions relating to these problems:

- Which of these problems have you experienced in your organization?
- What is the impact on performance, business objectives, and key initiatives?
- What could your organization achieve if these problems were minimized?

Value of Developing Emotional Competence:

The critical value of developing the Emotional Competence of leaders is supported by additional research. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, examined competency studies of 200 large global companies and reported the following results in the Nov./Dec., 1998 Harvard Business Review:

“When I calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ, and emotional intelligence as ingredients of excellent performance, emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all levels.”

His conclusions about senior leaders were even more telling…

“When I compared star performers with average ones in senior leadership positions, nearly 90% of the difference in their profiles was attributable to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive abilities.”

Impact on the Bottom Line:

Several studies reveal a direct impact of the organization’s leadership on its bottom line. In the same HBR article (see above), Goleman shares the following findings:

“David McClelland found that when senior managers had a critical mass of emotional intelligence capabilities, their divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%. Division leaders without that critical mass under performed by almost the same amount.”

In his book Primal Leadership, Goleman, et. al. provides further evidence of the impact of emotional intelligence on the organization’s profitability:

“A study found that the more positive the overall moods of people in the top management team, the more cooperatively they worked together - and the better the company’s business results.”

“In a study of nineteen insurance companies, the climate created by the CEOs among their direct reports predicted the business performance of the entire organization: In 75% of the cases, climate alone accurately sorted companies into high versus low profits and growth.” (Cited in Primal Leadership - research by David McClelland, “Identifying Competencies with Behavior-Event Interviews,” Psychological Science 9, 1998 and David Williams, “Leadership for the 21st Century,” Life Insurance Leadership Study, 1995.)

The Results:

The effects of EI skill development are far-reaching. They go beyond just leadership competencies or management skills. It’s difficult to identify any other organizational improvement intervention that has the potential to positively impact so many organizational problems concurrently. EI skill-building training enhances and complements other values-based and principle-centered programs by providing practical “how-to’s.” EI skills are foundations skills enabling people to improve the “how” of achieving results.

EI training results can be significant. During post-program impact interviews, participants have reported improvements that range from 15% to 35% increased teamwork, 20% to 35% increase in personal productivity, 20% to 40% reduction in stress and worry, and similar improvements in personal motivation, management of emotional reactiveness, work/life balance, creativity and more.

Byron Stock
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/emotional-intelligence-the-business-case-711078.html

It’s a well known fact that women put the needs of their family in front of their own needs. With our way too busy lives it’s tough to become a fitness woman but you really need to make it a priority and take some time for yourself.

As we get older our metabolism slows down and which means those extra pounds can show up much quicker but worse yet they tend to stick around. Being overweight isn’t healthy so it’s important that you become that fitness woman who makes sure your daily routine includes eating a healthy diet, getting sufficient exercise, and making sure you get a good nights sleep.

More and more fitness centers are recognizing that offering onsite childcare is a smart business and it’s great for you. No worrying about finding childcare or you’ll feel a lot less guilty when you know your kids are having fun while you take that time out.

As a fitness woman you should also consider exercising with your children. There’s no better role model than yourself and the younger you start with the better. With very young children you can push them in their stroller while you jog or walk. The fresh air’s great for them too!

Chasing the kids around the back yard with a game of tag or perhaps a game of soccer with the older kids, or just plane keeping on top of the toddler is a great way for the fitness women to get a little exercise with no fees attached. Be creative - the level of activity is dependent on the age of the kids. The fresh airs good for all of you and what a relaxed way to burn up a few calories.

Fitness women know how to prioritize their time so that they can get that little bit of time for themselves to get their exercise in. It may mean laundry waits a day or the dishes don’t get washed right away but these women recognize that if they do not take care of themselves they will become run down or maybe even sick. You deserve that little bit of time for yourself. Just 30 minutes will leave you refreshed. You’ll be doing a lot for your mind, body, and soul. When your family sees how much it helps you they will be ready to help out with those chores.

A fitness woman will need to stay motivated over time and continue to keep her workout time on top of her priority list. In fact to keep to your commitment mark your exercise time right in your day timer so no matter who wants to schedule something during your time that block of time is gone - period - treat it like you would any other appointment.

Almost all of us have a couple of friends that would love to become a fitness woman too so consider asking them to join you on a walk or run. It’s a great way to keep yourself motivated too. Together you form an excellent support team. You can share your trials and tribulations.

We are women hear us roar! So make sure you take time to become a fitness woman and take care of yourself.

Ramone Stevenson
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fitness-woman-bring-fitness-into-your-life-135049.html

What is your opinion here Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation Gunning down people in our streets and distributing illegal drugs throughout our communities ?WASHINGTON, Feb 24, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —- The leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) in Texas and one of his enforcers were found guilty this afternoon on multiple charges related to their participation in a large scale narcotics and firearms trafficking conspiracy, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. Specifically, the two men were found guilty for their roles in the May 4, 2008, murders of a pregnant female and another bystander.

"Gunning down people in our streets and distributing illegal drugs throughout our communities, these gangs spread violence and addiction wherever they go," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "We will not allow their repugnant acts to go unpunished. Today, a jury of Texas citizens sent a message loud and clear to would-be gang members — we can and we will hold you accountable for your crimes."

"For more than a week, this jury listened to testimony concerning the movement of a large amount of drugs and guns throughout the state of Texas by members of the Latin Kings criminal organization," said James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. "Not only did this gang pollute the streets of Texas with dangerous drugs, as a result of their heinous actions, two adults, one of whom was pregnant, were brutally murdered with an assault rifle. We are proud that we, along with the hard-working members of the agencies that contributed to this investigation, have brought civilized justice to otherwise uncivilized gang wars. This office is proud to have assisted the Department of Justice’s Gang Unit in the successful prosecution of these criminals."

Jose Robledo Nava, aka "Chino," 31, of Lubbock, Texas, and James Johnathan Cole, aka "Blitz," 19, of Lamesa, Texas, were each found guilty by a federal jury in Lubbock on two counts of using a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and one count of a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. The jury also found Nava guilty on one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms and one count of possession of stolen firearms.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/texas-gang-members-guilty-multiple-murder-narcotics-firearms-charges/

The main function of a government is to protect it’s people! Our government not only does nothing to protect us from scum like this but even goes as far as to aid them as well as other illegal aliens! It’s a disgrace!

I need to decide whether to take business studies or economics for A Level. I want to run a business when I’m older which I have already started. Which would be the most helpful for running a business??
Thankyou.

business studies is more related to your goals./