Category: Home Based Bussines

Juice Plus Scam Or Legitimate Home Based Business

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Juice Plus is one of the more larger Health and Wellness companies out there and the demand for their products appear to be growing despite some wailing ‘Juice Plus Scam’. But is Juice Plus the right opportunity for you and is it really a scam? Read this article to find out if it’s worth your precious time.

What Is Juice Plus?

Juice Plus is a line of dietary supplements that contain fruit and vegetable extracts with added vitamins and other nutrients.

Juice Plus was introduced to the world in 1993 and the owners decided that it would be best to sell these products through Direct Sales or Multilevel Marketing.

Juice Plus is advertised as ‘The Next Best Thing To Fruit And Vegetables’ as you can imagine this has created controversy and has attracted the attention of consumer watchdog organizations who say this kind of advertising is misleading.

I’d just like to say at this point, from a business stand point this may actually be good. Having a product that attracts and creates controversy has worked well for this company so far by attracting attention to it.

Products

The Primary products in this line of branded dietary supplements are Orchard Blend and Garden Blend. Orchard blend is a powder based fruit juice and garden blend is a powder based vegetable juice. These products can be bought at a cost of $167 for 4 month supply.

Other supplement products in this line include, Vineyard blend a powder based berry/grape juice, gummies, meal replacement powders, soft chewables, capsules, chewable tablets, Juice Plus Thins(wafers) and even a vitamin formulation for cats and dogs.

There have been criticism from some that go along the lines of ‘this doesn’t work’ or ‘there is no scientific evidence’. First understand that these products are SUPPLEMENTS and are meant to be supplemental to what you are doing now.

In the 21st century we live a hectic lifestyle and don’t have enough time to pay attention to the ins and outs of healthy eating. Juice Plus solves a problem, it negates the need of having to boil vegetables and buy fruits day in and day out(that being said you should eat fruit and vegetables when you can).

Using supplements like this can help all of us reach the 5 a day and bridge the nutritional gap between what we should be eating everyday and what we do eat everyday.

Business Model

The business model revolves around MLM or Multi level Marketing for those that don’t like acronyms.

Products are sold and marketed through independent distributors who receive sales commissions form sales made.

Ranging from 6% for enrolling 5 customers in 30 days to 14% for enrolling 20 customers in 30 days.

Some Of The Things I Don’t Like

This is an MLM company and as such takes a long time for real financial dreams to come to realization. Most people don’t treat MLM for what is is, something that accrues net worth over time much like a mutual fund or a cd.

With that being said however the compensation plan leaves something to be desired. 6% for enrolling 5 customers in 30 days? That is challenging even for the most taxing of industry comp plans.

Couple this with the fact that 99% fail in this industry and you quickly come to understand that most people don’t have the tenacity of a bull headed and thick skinned slick rick-salesman.

So instead of tackling this problem the training provided is the thing that makes everyone fail in the first place.

Posting Flyers, 3-foot rule prospecting, meetings, buying leads, cold calling are effective methods reserved for a select few and when I say a select few I mean it, how is 1%.

However…..you can make this work for you if you can get people asking you about your business on a daily basis. That’s right anyone in Network Marketing worth their salt know that it is far more effective to attract people, become the hunted instead of the hunter.

This is called Attraction Marketing and all the top earners use this method. When you attract people they go into business with you and not your company.

When you set yourself apart from all the peddlers that are marketing replicating websites and offering a business opportunity on the front end then you are a leader.

If you use Attraction Marketing it won’t matter if your company is shut down or you have people leaving your downline because you’ll have a constant flow of leads coming to you on a daily basis by providing leadership.

The Juice Plus scam doesn’t actually exist. The reason most people fail is that they pursue this business in the same way as the 1% at the top. It’s time to stop cold calling and prospecting every man and his dog on the streets.

Attraction Marketing is the way forward.

Star Wars And Psychology Embracing The Dark Side

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A few evenings ago, some friends and I decided to watch the latest Star Wars film, Return of the Sith. This film got me thinking about a concept that is key to much of the hypnotherapy that I do, and is an excellent example of how not to lead one’s life.

Much of what makes the Star Wars story so alluring is the puzzling change that occurs in Anakin Skywalker. How is it that a man can turn from supremely good to the embodiment of evil? We’re led to love Anakin the Jedi and hate the same man, only a few days later. It is both puzzling and troubling. What is even more puzzling (and perhaps troubling) is that, on the surface, it seems that Anakin’s love for Padm is what leads him, ultimately, to the dark side.

This is an excellent example of the way the Jung claims that the human shadow works. The shadow, according to Jung, is a huge portion of our personality that we disown. We disavow it, and lock it away. Once it is locked away, it becomes destructive. We can see this in many ways: a person who denies something about themselves turns to self-destructive behaviors such as excessive drinking, or even worse, becomes violent. It is commonly accepted that many anti-social behaviors have their roots in a person’s inner conflict.

Anakin’s inner conflict is severe. He lives like a Jedi which is, more or less, a monastic life. So many of the other Jedi do this very well and Anakin fails. He fails the moment he starts to let his shadow express itself. What has been locked up for so long has grown vicious, and now consumes and destroys him. The image of Anakin locked into the hood of Darth Vader shows that he has really become consumed; he shadow has gotten loose; all that is good about him has been destroyed.

There is a lesson to be learned from this; and it’s a lesson that goes back thousands of years. There are parts of us that we, or society, don’t like. We have instincts, desires and urges that are, in some ways, unacceptable. It is only natural that we should try to repress them by doing so we can be accepted by those around us. Unfortunately, when we oppress what we don’t like about ourselves, it causes problems. It is the root of many neuroses and other problems in our lives.

The solution to this problem seems simple and is a monumental task: we must strive to make ourselves whole. That means, when we feel an urge to do something unacceptable, we must step back and examine that urge. We have to figure out what is at the root of that urge, and we have to integrate it into our lives in a positive way. We must understand that we are good and that applies to everything about us. Something that has been shoved aside and allowed to become bitter and vicious is simply a natural part of us gone bad, and it is incumbent upon us to address that. In order to live good, healthy and happy lives, we have to embrace our dark side.

If Anakin Skywalker (and the Jedi) were to embrace the Dark Side in a healthy way, they would be more powerful than ever. They would feel emotions,love, anger, fear, and hate and all of those emotions would be in proper perspective. Additionally, they would have access to the power that all of these emotions affords their adversaries, the Sith. Keeping the ill effects of some human emotions at bay does not help the Jedi at all; it just leads to dramatic outbursts of those same emotions. The lesson here is simple and very important: embrace your dark side in a healthy way, and you will be happier and more powerful.

Find the Probability of Success for Any Online Home Based Business Opportunity

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Like baseball, if you miss all three, you are out.
You can not know what you do not know.
If it was indecision, there was something you could have done.
Peter Drucker defines opportunity this way:

“Opportunity in the market place is because of a process of convergence of forces that were previously not together.
The essential forces Peter Drucker did not individually identify as converging will be enumerated and discussed in this article.
This article will describe these five essential forces that must be in place for any online home based business opportunity to be successful.
They are universal, abstract, and independent of business type.

A simple analytical method to evaluate these essential elements and arrive at a numerical figure of merit will be presented.
You will arrive at a numerical rating for the relative strength for the Probability of Success (S) for any online home based business opportunity you care to evaluate.
This will remove emotion from the decision process.
All five forces must be present simultaneously.
They must all be in the right place at the right time to create a successful online home based business opportunity.
They are like the spokes in a wagon wheel.
Each factor dramatically affects the success of any online home based business opportunity.
If there is no convergence, there is nothing you can do to make the business a success.

Opportunity presents itself only when all these forces are in simultaneous alignment.
The order in which they are presented is no indication of their relative values.

This method is not buried in concrete.
When you finally establish a value, stick with it.
For example, if you decide leadership has a maximum value of 2 or 5, stick with it on any online home based business opportunity you wish to evaluate.
In this case, Leadership has been arbitrarily assigned a maximum value of 2.

1.
A viable online home based business opportunity must have very deep pockets or be owned by a company with very deep pockets, preferably a parent company that has already gone through the growth cycle and has the funds to support the new growth.
Products (D) (Maximum = 20)

Leading Edge Product Technology (Maximum = 5)

R&D

Proprietary (No other place to get it)

Competitive

Product Quality (Maximum = 5)

Quality, like Reliability, must be built into the design and process.

Product Fills a Recognizable Need (Maximum = 5)

There should be a clear need for your product or service.
There may be very little demand for 78 rpm vinyl records.

Trends (R) (Maximum = 20)

Demographic Trends (Maximum = 10)

As individuals, we can not create a demographic trend.
The “Baby Boomers” are the largest market in history.
When the first of these babies were born, a powerful demand for baby products materialized.
As these babies started shaving, Gillette started making huge profits.
As these babies began to have babies, the Mini-Van became desirable.

Economic Trends (Maximum = 10)

Individuals do not create an economic trend.
Real estate is sensitive to interest rates.
Cosmetics, on the other hand, are virtually immune to economic downtrends and would be assigned a high number.
If your online home based business opportunity is immune to economic trends assign a high number.
In an online home based business opportunity, the mantra is Timing, Timing, and Timing.
Timing, like trends, is also beyond your control.
There is nothing you can do to improve timing.
If timing is present assign a high number based upon the following criteria.
Formulation Phase: (Maximum = 20)

This is the phase where research and development are just completed.
This region is characterized by slow, deliberate growth.
It is defined as the region of the growth curve where income from sales is less than $50 million per year.
It requires forethought and knowledge.
It requires due diligence on your part to study the online home based business opportunity and arrive at your estimate of the strength of the five essential force ingredients of a successful online business venture.

B.
This is the point which will determine ” When”.
From this point onward, the curve rises ever so steeply.
If you are not on board at this time, your online home based business opportunity will quickly leave you behind.

C.
If you have exercised your desire, ability, and motivation, you have already become a participant before your online home based business opportunity reaches momentum.
There is nothing you can do to stop the momentum which is now building beneath you.
It is like a giant wave that carries you to the pinnacle of success.
For example, you could buy Microsoft stock now, but the big opportunity is already over and it will never come back again.
If you find your online home based business opportunity near the top of the curve, near stabilization (defined below), assign timing a number closer to one.
Stabilization

This is the area where the exponential growth has died out.
Sales are good, but sales are not increasing exponentially.
The curve is relatively flat, and growth has slowed to a value similar to the development phase.
It is passed.
There is no online home based business opportunity.

Compensation (K) (Maximum = 20)

Leverage (Maximum = 10)

If you trade time for money, you will never get ahead by investing one increment of your time for one increment of income.
You will get by, but you will never get ahead.
That is done by leveraging yourself.
Paul Getty stated this clearly when he said:

“I had rather have one percent of a hundred people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts”.
g.
If you can leverage yourself, assign a number closer to 10.

Override (1)

If you receive override compensation on the efforts of others, assign a value of 1, otherwise zero.

Residual (2)

If you can build your equity to the point that you have residual compensation from your previous efforts, assign a value of 2.

Define the Possibility for Success (P) as being totally dependent upon the sum of the five prime forces required for a successful business (above).
The only thing you will do is evaluate each ingredient and assign it a strength value.
Assign each one of the five ingredients a value from zero to 20 according to the instructions presented above.
) You have determined all the values for C, D, R, T, and K.

Add up all five of your separate evaluations.
Let M be limited to a number between zero and one with zero being the worst case and one being the best case.
Determine this multiplier number by self-evaluating your desire, ability, and motivation.
Too many people say “I don’t have the time.
Successful people do not have time—they make time.
But unto thine own self be true.
The probability for success is 100 percent.
It is no longer a question of “If”.

Get on board this online home based business opportunity fast

Use this procedure one each online home based business opportunity that you wish to evaluate and compare.

To find out more about an opportunity please check out this website: http://tinyurl.com/3hc6gmr

Even Small Home-Based Business Can Benefit From Unique Phone Numbers

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If you are launching a small home-based business, there are cheap 1300 numbers that can make your company seem larger than life. It does not matter if you are working from behind a small desk in your kitchen. As long as you have a phone that this number can piggyback on, then you are all set to go and do business with the big boys. The main reason why this number works is because it helps conceal both the size and location of your business. Aside from this, a 1300 number is affordable, especially if you are serving a specific area.

Numbers that improve professionalism

When you direct your mobile phone to a 1300 number, you give others the impression that you are a large corporation rather than a person holding a mobile. Having this number also encourages customers to pick up the phone and call you. On a psychological level, most Australians are hesitant to call a landline or mobile phone number. This is because these numbers are hard to remember and make your business seem like an amateur or fly-by-night operation.

Call Costs

Unlike 1800 numbers, calls that are made to a 1300 number are split between the receiving party (the business) and the caller (client). When calling from a landline, the client pays the cost of a local call (which is around 30 cents). If they happen to call you from a mobile phone, the call cost is then determined by their mobile carrier. From the business end of things, you will pay a monthly fee for the use of the number (starting at around $50). After that, pricing tends to get complex as Telco companies will charge different plans and rates.

A typical scenario

The first 20 minutes are free for calls made from a local landline to your landline. After which, a per-minute charge will apply. This makes it affordable if most of your customers are local. For calls made from a mobile or long-distance landline, the free minutes do not apply. Instead, you are charged a per-minute fee that is similar to 1800 numbers. For calls that are routed to your mobile phone, the costs are also the same as calling an 1800 number. There might also be a minimum charge for calls that are made from landline or mobile phone.

If you want an effective marketing tool that can put your company out there, why not invest in cheap 1300 numbers? With a number like this, you get great flexibility, no matter how big or small your business may be.

Top Tips For Becoming A Home Based Travel Agent

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Of all the home-based business possibilities, it’s hard to imagine one that’s more fun or potentially profitable than operating a home-based travel agency.

Not only do you get the enjoyment of sending people off on their dream vacation, but you earn a good commission for selling services that you do not have to actually provide yourself. What could be better than that?

If you’d like to become a home-based travel agent, and enjoy discounted or even free trips for yourself as well, then the following Top Tips For Becoming A Home Based Travel Agent will get you started in the right direction.

1. Affiliate with a legitimate host agency that has all of the required certifications.

The most successful home-based travel agents are independent contractors who work with a host agency. You use the host agency’s resources and established relationships to tap into their network of travel vendors and suppliers. It’s important that your host agency has the proper industry credentials and that they have a program in place that allows you to use those credentials in order to establish yourself as a legitimate travel agency.

As a home based travel agent you need certain credentials like the CLIA card. CLIA stands for the Cruise Line Industry Association. This industry-recognized credential allows you special agent rates on discounted cruises and offers a whole array of benefits to you and your customer.

To be recognized as a travel agency most host agencies are usually bonded and accredited through ARC/IATAN. ARC was established by the travel industry to provide prompt, efficient, and secure distribution and settlement of travel purchased in the U.S. IATAN-International Airlines Travel Agent Network endorses travel agents and provides the IATAN ID card, which identifies you as a U.S.- based travel sales professional.

If you are considering working with a host agency that doesn’t provide you with their IATAN/ARC number, and other required credentials, move on and select one that does.

2. Choose a host travel agency that provides comprehensive training

Even though you are an independent home-based travel agent, you still need professional quality training so you know how to operate in the travel industry as well as what you are and are not allowed to do.

Getting up-to-date on the best places to travel, tourism trends, and how to fulfill the needs of your customer is vital to your travel business. You want to choose a host travel agency that offers comprehensive training and courses on various travel services, products, marketing, etc.

For some host agencies, taking a course or training is necessary in order to be eligible for certain travel credentials. And, although it is not required to book travel, your job will go much easier and you’ll develop more repeat business, if you are well-trained and well-informed.

3. Choose a host travel agency that will help you promote your business.

Don’t choose a travel company that does not offer some assistance with marketing your travel business. The best ones will offer a turn-key website or online booking engine for your clients to use when booking their travel.

Even better are the travel companies that also provide you with automated marketing tools such as auto responders to handle email campaigns and promotions.

You’ll save money, and gain more customers, if you partner up with a host travel agency that provides ready-made templates to print business cards, postcards, flyers, etc. These are all the tools in your marketing arsenal that will help you get the word out about your home-based travel business.

4. Choose a host travel agency that handles ALL of the travel details for you.

Most host agencies handle all the booking and routine travel details for your clients, but what happens if a name is misspelled on a plane ticket or your customer wants a refund? Find out what type of customer support is available and read their policies carefully before you sign on as a home-based travel agent.

At a minimum, look for:

How long your host agency has been in business and if they are reputable.
24/7 telephone support, not just e-mail or web-based.
Clear and easy-to-understand refund and cancellation policies.
A track record of speedy resolution to customer service issues.

5. Choose a host travel agency with a fair commission policy.

Notice that money is not mentioned as the #1 thing to look for when you’re choosing a host travel agency. Sure, the commission is important; it’s how you get paid. But the best commission policy in the world does you no good if the host travel company that you choose to partner with is not aboveboard and honest.

Once you have found a travel company that meet the requirements of items 1-4, it’s time to check their commission policy. Here’s what to look for:

Make sure that you know exactly how much commission you earn on every travel product you offer through your host agency. Be sure to find out if you earn commissions for add-on sales like trip cancellation insurance or lost luggage insurance. The best host travel agency partners pay you a piece of everything you sell.

Be sure you know what their commission chargeback policy is when a client cancels a trip or seeks a refund.

Find out at which point your commission actually gets locked in. Is it when the sale is made; when the client debarks on their trip, or when they return?

Find out how long it takes to get paid. Some agencies pay Net 30, some pay longer. Whatever the payment period is, make sure you can live with it.

6. Choose a host travel agency with the best perks for you

The opportunity to go on a FAM trip is the most appealing benefit to travel agents. FAM trips are short for familiarization trips’. These are special trips specifically for the travel agent. These trips are offered by hotels, cruise lines, convention and visitor bureaus, and tour companies.

The intent of the trip is to familiarize the agent with the product or service so that they can then sell the service or product to their clients. By experiencing the product, agents can sell it more effectively.

These trips are either totally free or have a small cost involved to cover the expense of the trip. These FAM trips are offered at a huge discount compared to what it would cost to the average consumer. If your host agency doesn’t offer FAM trips, you should think about finding one that does.

Also, since you will be working out of home and on your own, medical insurance plans or group coverage plans are sometimes offered. Check to see if the agency you are considering has a group plan that you can buy into. Group plans are usually less expensive than buying medical insurance on your own.

Some final thoughts

Owning your own travel business means you can take advantage of many tax breaks. Deductions are allowed for you initial investment, home office expenses, cell phone and land lines, automobile, computer, fax machine, insurance, and other equipment. In addition, when you travel anywhere in the world, it’s a business expense!

Overall, becoming a home-based travel agent has some major perks and benefits. The important thing is to find a good host agency and become familiar with your product so that you can offer the best travel experience for your customers. Doing this will keeps a consistent flow of repeat and new business coming your way.

Good luck and Bon Voyage!