MySpace

If you haven't heard of Myspace.com just think of it as a big networking and social site. Basically Myspace gives you your own space on the web. You can have a MySpace website as well as a blog on MySpace.

Now the reason that I am writing about them here is that I notice that a lot of bands have Myspace sites where they post their music, post about their latest CD releases and post about where their bands will be playing. It's a great site to get noticed! So if you have a band or are a lone singer and you don't have a MySpace page you should seriously consider getting one. You don't have to pay anything - registering for your own MySpace page is free. Now if you're new to Myspace then you might have some problems starting to configure your page as you would like it but there is helpful information there.

And just in case you're wondering - Yes I do have a Myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/Roseb44170

Now even if you're not a band you should consider having a Myspace page simply because of its networking possibilities. Myspace isn't only for bands. You will see that all types of people have a MySpace page - teenagers, older people and just regular people - they all have a MySpace page. And as time goes on people will ask to be added as your "friends" and you can ask to added as a "friend" when you find a Myspace member that you would like to be friends with. MySpace has over a million members now so that means that the site is very popular. You can build up a network of social friends, professional friends and so on. Lots of people advertise about their business on MySpace and you can use the site to advertise and talk about your own business. You can post bulletins about your business, add pictures of your products and/or talk about your services - all to a site that has over a million members!

You can even get famous having a MySpace page! There was a woman on Dr. Phil's show who has a very popular MySpace page.

But the point is that having a MySpace page increases your visibility and shows you (and your business) to a whole new set of people. The more resources you use to show your business the more your business will be seen!

Adsense Consultant?

Just in case you don't know what Adsense is let me give you a little basic info.

Adsense is a part of Google (and I'm sure you know who/what Google is). Adsense puts advertising on your webpage or blog and you earn revenue/money when people click on the advertisements. Basically speaking what you do is sign up for an Adsense account and then you are given coding to put on your website or blog. Now how much you will make will depend on a lot of things like how popular your website or blog is but the bottom line is that you can actually get paid (via check or deposited into your bank account) by having a website or blog.

Now what I find interesting is that people want to join adsense but they are having so much difficulty with it. That is where YOU can come in. If you are fairly proficient with html and adding codes then this is a career that you should consider and believe me a lot of people are having problems with their adsense. You can even show them how to get more traffic to their sites and help show them how to better optimize their sites.

It's not as farfetched as you might think!

Search Engine Optimizer?

Not "Search Engine Optimization" but "optimizer!

What is that? It is a person that knows about how to make your website(s) show higher on the search engine rankings.

This is definitely a career/job that one can do from home but only if one knows what they are doing! I actually just saw a post from someone that is willing to pay someone to optimize their website. Of course they weren't offering a lot in the way of acutal payment amounts but you should know that people that do this kind of work are quite (rightly so) well paid! For example I know of one company that will charge $200 per page as far as to optimizing that page for the search engines. This is a skill that I myself can do as well and if you know about how to make a webpage rank higher in the search engines then this is a skill that you too have.

Basically speaking this is a business that you can start from home. Although it may sound complicated you only need to use your own webpage as your marketing tool. If you know how to get people to your website then you know how to get people/visitors to another person's website!

Have You Ever Wondered What Happens When Government Grants Go Unclaimed?

The government allocates a certain amount of grant monies to the individual states. If that grant money is not used then it is sent back to the government. If the money is sent back too many times then the grant programs that this money is for are re-assessed - meaning that the grant programs could be cancelled altogether!

The Fastest Way To Make Money.......

Untapped Potential

The Fastest Way To Make Money
The Best Way To Make Money

(Subtitled: Inventors, Inventions and Funding)

Part Two

The best way to getting funding is to take what you love to do and find funding for it. Chances are what you love someone else loves it too!

I think that this is the harder of the two routes to take but I also think that it is the most worthwhile of the two routes. When you are working on something that you love, that “love” will show through. There are countless real-life stories about inventors inventing something that meant something close to them, not being able to find the funding, funding it themselves and THEN receiving funding for it!

What if you don’t have the money to fund it yourself? Then you will have to seek the funding from somewhere else. That “somewhere else” will depend on your invention itself. Who would benefit most from your invention? Would it be the government, the private sector or a specific industry? Then that is where you should be seeking your funding.

There is NO way around it – YOU HAVE TO DO SOME LEGWORK!. In its most simplest process compile a list of those who would benefit the most from your invention. Then you have to contact them. The internet makes this a much more simpler and faster process – USE IT! Contact them and find out what is their procedure that you will have to go through to make a presentation. If they are not interested then fine (it’s their loss), go on to the next name on your list!

It is a bother but it is a necessity that you have a presentation plan. You have to have something on paper to present to them! You have to show them why (and how) your invention will benefit them and why they should invest their money in it.

As far as grant-funding programs are concerned, the process is a little bit different. Each program has its own set of rules for applying for funding and you will have to comply with each and every one of them INDIVIDUALLY! You can’t fill out an application for one funding program and then submit it everywhere BECAUSE YOU WILL GET REJECTED!

*As a side note I should also mention that the funding is not just limited to the actual production of the invention. Funding is also provided for RESEARCH! That means that there are funding programs that actually exist to research the viability of a product (or invention)

Singer Wanted!

Did you know that there are contests out there that don't require you to be a professional singer? Indeed some of these contests specifically state in their rules that you can't be a professional singer!

There was one contest going on where the grand prize was $75,000! The deadline was this month and you could send your submissions via email or regular snail mail.

Contests like these go on all the time. Why? Sometimes its a publicity kind of thing and some companies are looking for that next great talent! And you could be one of them. One of the good things about these kinds of contests is that you don't have to be a professional singer!

Inventors And Getting Grants For Your Inventions!

Untapped Potential

The Fastest Way To Make Money


The Best Way To Make Money

(Subtitled: Inventors, Inventions and Funding)

Part One

The fastest way to make money is to find a need and fill it. So how does this apply to inventors seeking funding? The same principle applies. The fastest way to getting funding is to find a need and fill it. The more the need, the more (and faster) the funding!

Where is the “need” today? One is military! With the current war going on and the President’s strong stance in continuing the war, almost anything that will help to win the war or make the efforts to win the war go more smoother is wanted and is needed! That can mean anything from designing better (and/or more effective) weapons to designing better provisions for soldiers (ie food preservation/storage, products to help “in the field”). There are countless examples of big companies getting government contracts relating to the war “effort”.

Where does this leave the individual inventor? It leaves him (or her) to fill in the needed “gaps”. Moreover, there are always gaps. How do I know this? Because I read the newspaper, I listen to the radio and TV. I also research the government’s website on a regular basis. Packed with government grant programs, these websites list what “gaps” need to be filled.

Another “need” is finding an alternative resource of energy! Did you know that there is a government grant program in place that awards $40,000 in grant funding to U.S. citizens. There is special consideration given to individual inventors and small businesses that are U.S. owned for inventions that show promise in the energy-related field? That is just ONE government grant program! Another awards $200,000 for the development of the product!

Flying!

One of the most basic tools that you should have as part of your own/home business itenerary is a flyer!

I'm currently reviewing a flyer now. Although it has many bad points, the one good thing going for it is that there is a flyer! Every business should have a flyer and that includes the business that you want to start.

Getting back to the flyer that I am currently evaluating it is not very professionally done. It is a flyer for a computer-repair business. It is a black and white flyer with a picture of the kinds of work and services that the business does. My most major complaint about the flyer itself is that the content is too crowded together. There are a lot of things that this flyer is trying to say and the only problem is that there is not enough space to say it.

So when you are designing a flyer for your business take into consideration the amount of space that you will have to work with. It is always best to design your flyer first by designing it by hand. Then you can make additions, corrections or take content out.

Your first flyer should be as simple and basic as possible. You can see some of my flyer designs by going to my designs page. Basically speaking your flyer shoud have 3 basic sections. The top, the middle and the bottom. The content should be your basic business information, a picture of some kind and then the content that talks about what your business does.

Now you can design your own flyer or get someone else to design it for you. If you can't afford to have a flyer designed for you then just take the time to sit down at your table and design a simple flyer for your business. If you don't know how you want to design your flyer there are things that you can do that will help to give you ideas on how you want your flyer to look. Using your computer you can design a flyer using the most basic of programs that already have come with your computer. I can design a very professional-looking flyer using the "write" program that came with my PC and you can do that too!

Pictures that you put on your flyer can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. I can design a professional-looking picture using the simple "paint" program that came with my computer. Here's a word of advice! Try to use an original picture! You don't want to face being sued because you used someone's picture without their permission!.

Designing your own flyer is one of the things that you can do when starting your own business!

If You Don't Want To Believe Me.......

Here is a quote from The Small Business Informer

Several grants from the government actually go unclaimed each and every year for different reasons. The main reason is that most just don't know the government grants are accessible. Some people are discouraged about the application process for free grants primarily because they've been given incorrect information about the process. Other people don't apply for grants because they are frightened about the unknown.

Of Course Grants Are Not Just For Individuals.....

Government grant programs are not just for individuals of course. Remember what I said about grant programs being put in place to help fill a need or raise the awareness of something? The following is just an example of a grant program for just that reason:

The most recent $3 trillion budget includes $175 million for what Peters called a “congestion relief strategy” that would target congestion in cities, ports, borders, airports, and interstates. Beginning this spring the federal government plans to dole out $230 million in grants for localities to build electronic toll systems to help ease congestion and steer traffic into using “peak-pricing” tolls to spread out traffic.

Basically what this means is that localities can apply for this grant money to help ease the burden of congestion as far as traffic is concerned.

This information came from:

Logistics Management

Grant Programs For The Individual Artist?

Please do not let people convince you that there are no grant programs for the individual artist! There is one grant program that is open to artists in one of the major cities. These grant awards range from $1000 to $5000 and they go to the individual artist. Some of the requirements are that you be at least 18 years of age and you must be a resident of the city. For this particular grant program the deadline is March 15th but you can find out more information about this grant program by calling the phone number that is specified or by going to their website.

One of the interesting things about this particular grant program is that the city itself is providing free grantwriting workshops to help the artists that want to apply for this grant program. The website provides a phone number and the applications are provided online.

So don't let anyone tell you that there are no grant programs for individual artists because they are wrong.