Why Online Education Is Not For Everyone

Much of online education has been centered on the market of those who are seeking college degrees. It seems that online education if a “hot” process to become a part of. A person sees that he can get a college education sitting at the kitchen table in his pajamas. He won’t have to get dressed and to a class. He can study when he wants to instead of on a class schedule.

Corporate employees who need to complete training classes can get those class requirements met by taking an online offering. Administrators see online education as a way to deliver courses more cost-effectively. Teachers are thinking they had better figure out how to teach online because their jobs may be in jeopardy with current funding cuts to schools across America.

Is Online Education For Everybody?

Since the use of the word “everybody” is all inclusive, the answer is “No.” So, let’s consider just what a person needs to make if work for his particular needs. Self-discipline and initiative are essential to the success of one’s online education. You sign in regularly, spend hours sitting at your computer, develop a schedule and stay with it. If you are going to be successful, then you’d better make some strong commitments. Just make those commitments one time and do not ever allow yourself to think, “Do I really want to do this today?”

Not everybody has the self-discipline to complete online classes. About 50% of those who start drop out or are just unable to complete the program.

Teachers may have to spend hours to prepare the real-time instruction required. They are already busy in their jobs. They may have a technological learning curve to master before they are any good at online teaching. I could be overwhelming for them.

Administrators who think online education reduces the overhead of on-site buildings and computers may not recognize the tremendous task that managing online education will become for them. They think that classes can be much larger and more students will benefit. That simply is not true because with the high level of interaction that occurs in online classes, an instructor cannot possible manage more than 20 students per session.

Courses in academics may lend themselves well to online instruction; however, courses involving hands-on learning require expensive simulations to become a part of the online class. Even so, they do not replace classroom and laboratory instruction.

Institutions and cultures differ. Learning for students with disabilities is unique to each of them. There are even some cultures which disapprove of technologies which place them in the world of electronics. Others object for moral, philosophical or religious reasons.

Online education opportunities are not possible for many who aren’t able to afford computers and internet and headsets and the cost of programs online.

This author has for several years been an online teacher for K-8 students where the learning plans were prescribed and presented to both student and teacher at the same time. In this environment, three students worked with a teacher for one hour. Each was in need of constant feedback and support, which, in a traditional classroom, a teacher can more easily provide. Most of the online students were those with special needs.

These kiddos’ parents or a corporation pay at least $50 an hour to participate. The teachers are paid $10 for that hour, regardless of their expertise. Children who are not tech savvy and who are so distractible that they can hear your stomach growling when you are in another room were expected to benefit from online education. Of all the students teach online, perhaps 20% could actually handle the program.

Online education is not for everyone. Secure your education in the way that works for you.

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Daily Planner Home Based Business: How to Stay Organized and Productive

There are a number of reasons why over 95% of all home based entrepreneurs fail. I believe the top three are as follows: 1) A lack of good marketing 2) A lack of needed mentorship 3) A lack of good organization. The third may surprise many, but anyone who actually makes a decent living from a home based business knows it is true. I struggled for months when I first started working from my home office. I left my fifty-five hour a week management position to be at home with my children and learned that regardless of what type of business you are in, juggling your personal and professional life can be difficult. For the home based business owner I believe it is much more so. This article is an explanation of the daily planner system that I use, which allows me to stay focused, motivated, and productive!

Your daily planner should achieve five basic goals.

1) It must have the flexibility to be practical (especially if you have small children)

2) It must have the structure to keep you focused and working every day

3) It must allow you to schedule tasks, meetings, follow ups etc. down to the hour

4) It must allow you to document the achievement of tasks as you successfully finish them

5) It must allow you to quickly roll over time and tasks into the future as needed

I have reviewed many different programs for daily planning over the last year; however, I have found that there is simply no need to get fancy. Your goal should be to make process of planning as easy as possible. This will make it much more likely that you will actually use the system. After trying out several different daily planners, I honestly just use my Microsoft Works calendar. Any program or calendar that gives the ability to view by month, week, and day will work.

Here is an overview of the process.

1) I use the monthly, weekly, and daily, view. On the first of every month I print of the monthly calendar and make sure it is coordinated with my personal obligations and wife’s calendar. Once it is good to go, I pin it up in my home office.

2) Every Saturday afternoon I build my next week by filling my tasks on the weekly view. This allows me to get a good picture of my week. I schedule my time in. For me it’s four hours a day. And four hours on Saturday. This time I fiercely defend as the time I need to do my job; however, if I need to reschedule it I do.

3) Every morning I print off my day on the daily view. At night I roll over any tasks or time that was unfulfilled and reschedule it for the next day. Sometimes I need to push it out a few days.

I have learned that you must schedule your time and tasks in writing. My advice is to become your own boss. You can call it your inner parent and child if you wish, but either way one must develop a disciplined way of working to succeed at home. You must treat your home based job as a real job, or you will not make any money working from home. I have worked with hundreds of home based entrepreneurs over the last year, and the topic of organization and good planning regularly comes up. Using a good daily planner will help you stay focused and balance your business obligations with your personal life.

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A Home Based Business That Mom Can Really Rely On

New to the concept of a home business? Are you new to the home based business mom idea? Just coming out of the cut-throat corporate world? If you are or even if are aren’t, a turnkey home business for moms is the ideal way to accommodate your hectic lifestyle, while making tons of money. There are however a few important factors that need serious consideration and re-consideration before you make that final leap of faith, as it will determine whether your home business will succeed or fail.First-hand experience- Yes, I’m also a mother with a home -based business, which thus makes me fully educated on the concept of home based businesses that mom’s really rely on. In light of my role as a mom with first-hand experience, I’ll now discuss three vital areas give consideration to when in search of the perfect home based business mom also known as the Turnkey home based business system:Automatic money generation- The very first thing for mommy’s to remember is, the purpose of technology is to make your life easier and that any automation tools relating to your business should be downloaded and mastered as soon as possible. Proper knowledge of automation tools will result in more money as well as more time on your hands to spend with your kids and hubby.Get paid for work you’ve not done- Believe it or not, you can get paid for work you’ve not done or work you’ve done only once. Yes, its true! No jokes! Turnkey will provide you with the level of freedom that will seem almost to good to be true.Let others do the work for you – Why do the work is someone else can do it for you? Outsourcing complicated, no fun jobs to someone whose more proficient to handle it, will not only save you time but tons of effort. Motivation is often lacking in a home based businesses especially if the work is difficult and boring, this will however be much less so if you are able to outsource all the difficult and boring parts you really don’t enjoy to someone else.

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Steps to a Solid Foundation For a Home Based Business

Having a successful home based business is really made of several hundred steps. These are a few that can help you as a guide line. There is no simple repeat system out there. Every home based business is different. What will you for you may not work for the next guy. What worked for you this month may not be the same as what is needed for next month. In order to have a successful online business you will need to keep up with the changing of the internet times. New technology improves monthly and if you are not up on it you can be left behind. What works for someone who is the first to sell a product may not work in a few months when there a few thousand marketers, marketing the same product.Take traffic generation, It is completely different now than it was a year ago and is not a hugely profitable strategy as it was a few years ago. These are only a guide line and a few simple steps that you need to do to run a successful home based business. They are truly to be used as a foundation only.1. Develop or find a product.Find a product that people are going to want. An old product that you can buy the resell rights to for free or cheap is more than likely not going to meet today’s customer needs. You really have 2 choices. Either pay for the rights to sell a product or find an affiliate marketer and make a percentage off that product.2. How can your costumers view your presentation and product.If you develop or buy the rights to a product, you are going to have to develop a website as well. A few tips here: Purchase you own domain name and pay to have your domain name and site hosted by a professional hosting company with a good reputation. If you use a free company and they go bankrupt you will be back to square one without a website.3. Once your site is running, you need to develop a sales page and a web copy.Besides on who to use for hosting, developing a sales page is the next important thing you can do. You might want to invest in a copy writing course unless you have experience in writing sales pages. You will need to spend some money to learn this skill. You will not make any money like the rest of them out there if you try to wing it. Getting knowledge will help you in the long run that will help you getting sales or names. People will buy because the site they are visiting does the best job of convincing them to buy that product they are looking for.4. Traffic source.When starting out in a home based business, you might be on a shoe string budget, and that’s alright. Assuming you have been willing to spend some money on copy writing skills and a hosting company. This might be an area you can skimp out on. If you have no money to advertise or the time to find low cost advertising, a home based business may not be the right thing for you. Low cost traffic generation is a time consuming thing. After you start to make some money, do not pocket it. Use it for paid traffic generation. With out reinvestment into paid traffic generation you will surely fail. Article writing for all the article directories is a good way of free advertising.5. After getting traffic to your home based business, you will want to try and keep track of where that traffic comes from. You also want to track costs. If you are paying more for advertising than what they are purchasing, you may want to change something.6. By following this pattern and rinse and repeating. By keeping diligent on cost and records as well as where your traffic is coming from. You will develop a profitable home based business.This is not a get rich quick type business. It will take time and hard work. However by starting with a solid foundation you are well on your way.Cheers to your success.

Home Based Business Surprise! Making Money From Home is Not Being Hurt by the Recession

Home Based Business Trends Defy the Overall EconomyThe news over the course of the last year has been grim. Every day we hear more bad economic news. Industries once believed to be rock solid are begging for bailouts. Unemployment numbers are through the roof. Growth is nonexistent. It’s a sad situation for so many people.However, some home business people have been able to escape the economic downturn. The limiting rules that seem to govern others’ economic situations don’t seem to apply to this particular portion of the population. Who are we talking about? Who’s positioned outside of the economic crisis?”The fortunate group consists of those who are building Internet-based home businesses”.Home based business is escaping many of the ugly economic challenges dominating the headlines. That’s happening for a few reasons.First, unlike other sectors of the marketplace, the Internet is consistently growing by leaps and bounds. The user base continues to grow with each passing day. The technology improves significantly every few months.Connection speeds are accelerating. While other markets shrink, the Internet continues to explode. This gives home based business operators a great deal of reach and a series of opportunities others don’t have.Second, even though overall consumer spending may be down, the amount of online spending is up. It’s bucking the trend.That’s because resistant to the once exotic idea of buying online is disappearing and because so many people are realizing that they can secure better prices by buying from online vendors who have a much lower overhead than their brick and mortar counterparts.When you take a broad look at what’s happening with Internet business and contrast it with what’s been happening to the economy at large, it’s really quite startling.While so many people continue to struggle in the traditional workplace and with jobs in sectors that are feeling a severe pinch, home based businesses are taking advantage of new opportunities and are providing many of their owners with their best years on record.Just “hopping online” isn’t a guarantor of success, however. It’s just a crucial first step. In order to succeed with online business, you will need to develop the right skills and a certain base of knowledge. While no experience or special training is necessary to get started, you will want to secure and follow a proven blueprint for web-based business success.Starting with a detailed, expert plan will enable you to get the ball rolling right from the beginning, saving you a great deal of time and allowing you to avoid many common setbacks. If you’ve been looking for a way out of the economic downturn, look online. It’s the one part of the economy that’s consistently outperforming expectations.The forces making online home businesses so successful are powerful and they won’t be going into decline any time soon.This could be the perfect time to stop fighting with a weak economy and to move on to something bigger and better.

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Popular Home Based Business Opportunities

Being an employee myself who worked in an office previously, I know why there are a lot of people who consider grabbing a home-based business opportunity. The management of your company, along with its policies, can sometimes be too discouraging and demoralizing.Probably the lure of the weekly paycheck has prevented you from taking that step ahead to becoming your own boss of your home-based business. However, there are still those times when you think that your salary does not seem to satisfy your ‘soulful’ needs. You want to be free to do anything you want. You want to have your own rules and regulations. And with this, a work at home opportunity can offer many advantages.However, if you are still at the stage where you do not know which path to take for your Internet home-based business, here are some suggestions.Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network MarketingMLM or network marketing is one of the popular means of earning money at home. One example of a business that usually employs the network marketing method is a company that sells food supplements and nutritional shakes. In fact, my brother’s sister-in-law joined one. Today, she seems really happy and healthy. No complaints about her income either!But of course, other than the health industry, there are many other industries you can make money from. One example is the travel industry which provides exciting products and benefits.Article Writing

Article writers are in-demand on the Internet. Since Search Engine Optimization (SEO) now requires regular updates on websites, website owners usually hire writers to create fresh website content for them. This way, the website will be able to generate more traffic and sales leads.
If you have the knack for writing, it can be easy to earn money in this field. Sometimes, all you need to do is post an advertisement on the Internet offering your services and clients may just swarm toward you asking you to write for their business.
This may seem too good to be true. But probably, if you have the right contacts, or you are with the right kind of people, you can never go wrong with this job. Just always remember that utilizing your contacts is the name of the game.
FreelancingProfessionals have already discovered the opportunities which the Internet has been offering them. Aside from job opportunities for programmers and website developers, businesses, particularly small ones, are now hiring professional accountants, business consultants and even finance analysts.Since finding a regular office job may be difficult nowadays, some professionals land a job they didn’t expect-an online freelancing job. Due to the degree of competition in job interviews, the chances of securing an attractive job has lessened in recent times.However, this might be a blessing in disguise. Although local companies may not hire you, Internet businesses can provide you with a lot of clients. Even though each job may only last a few weeks, the good news is that there are often plenty of potential clients who will be happy to hire you.So if you are looking for a home-based business in Australia or elsewhere, the key is to effectively utilize your skills and promote yourself. For you, a home-based business may be just what the doctor ordered!

Introduction To Home Based Businesses

Question – Just what is a “Home Based Business?”Answer – Any business you can run from your home. You don’t need a storefront or office with a public address. You operate your business from your home (or where ever). But make no mistake – it is a business and must be treated like one.Question – How does a “Home Based Business” operate?Answer – The business sells the owners products or services – or promotes other people’s products or services, and gets paid a commission if the product or service is sold. You could sell a product you make yourself (crafts for instance), or you could sell products that you buy wholesale and sell retail on an internet store, or even on eBay. You could sell a service in which you have experience (bookkeeping for instance) to local businesses, or to a larger business audience using the internet (and Quickbooks, using the bookkeeping example) to deliver your service. Your business could be promoting other people’s products or services (known as Affiliate Marketing) and receiving a commission if the product or service is ultimately purchased. With the internet, almost anything you have some experience in can be turned into a business you can run from your home.Question – How much does it cost to start a Home Based Business?Answer – Very little. In fact, some Home Based Businesses can be started (but probably not grown) with absolutely no start-up cost. The typical Home Based Business can be started with the cost of business name registration (varies by state), cost of a domain name (about $10) a website host ($8 – $10 per month – usually including a do it yourself website development program), an autoresponder for email marketing ($19 per month for the best), and – if you are selling your own products – a full eCommerce website or store (usually about $30 A month) plus any program you might need to deliver a service (Quickbooks for Bookkeeping for example) which you might already have on your computer. Too much? – reduce costs by starting with a free autoresponder (like Mail Chimp) or free do-it-yourself website program like KompoZer.Question – How much can I expect to make?Answer – it’s up to you! But – keep in mind that despite the claims made by many internet “Gurus”, there is no such thing as a “get rich quick” or “three clicks to a $1,000. Dollar a week income” program. Realistically, plan this as a part time venture (keep your day job if you have one) until you master the learning curve, and build a list of potential customers. If you earn enough to pay the rent or mortgage in the first few months you are doing good. After you learn the ropes the sky is the limit – it all will depend on you!Question – What does it take to be successful?Answer – a Business Plan, built on a solid platform (yes, you will need a business plan, even for a Home Based Business). I like to compare the platform itself, to a three legged stool:• The back leg (supporting most of the weight) is a broad curved leg that is your WHY or reason for being in business (why am I in business for myself? How will life be different and better when my business is successful?). Warning – if your WHY is not big and strong enough you will fail.• The two front legs are one leg called Skills – and a second leg called Inspiration/Motivation. You will need some internet marketing skills (don’t worry – they can be learned for free) and also something that you can depend on to inspire and motivate you to keep going through what will be a long learning process, and probably a few failures along the way, on the road to a successful business.We will discuss all this in more detail in future Articles on Home Based Businesses.

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Advantages of Employing a Property Management Firm

Managing your property can be a Herculean job. It requires time, effort and management skills. These are some reasons you should seek help from a professional source. There are several expert property management firms that are more than competent to handle all issues. All you need to do is hire an efficient firm to manage the type of property or portfolio, and then sit back and relax.

Proficient & Experienced

They can manage everything from condos to apartments to individual houses. They take care of all issues regarding your property. You will be free from the hassles of maintenance, security of your property, handling taxes and bad debts, issues arising from late payment, etc.

Customized Services

A special feature of their services is that the firms will do as much as you ask them to do; neither more nor less. However, you can even avail their full service package and become an “absentee owner”. Before renting out your property, property management firms can provide you with all details of the prospective tenants so due diligence can be exhausted on the prospective tenant. This way you can choose with caution and care who is staying in your property.

Expertise and Knowledge

Through their expertise, the firms are able to enhance the value of your property and bring you the best possible deal whenever you are looking to rent out your property or even planning to sell it. The firms employ only the best professionals in the business. They have a thorough knowledge of the different aspects of property management. They are more than capable in pricing your property correctly, thus ensuring that you do not make a bad investment. Years of experience with different property assets has taught them exactly what makes the customers happy. This makes them expert at customer service. They would maintain your property in a way that it stays attractive to potential customers or prospective tenants.

Market Knowledge

Being professionals in the field, the property management firms are also aware of the real estate markets much better than you. Thus, they can save you from a bad deal which you might have otherwise made on your own. Their knowledge of fair price puts at ease customers and tenants alike. The tenants can stay assured that the property is not being overpriced and the owner will be certain that they are getting a proper price for their property.

Know about fee

The fee charged may vary in some ways. Some property management firms charge a percentage of the rent received. Many of the property management firms charge a moderate fee of 8-12%. Some others prefer charging on a per-unit basis. It all depends upon how much responsibility you want them to take up.

Selecting the firm

It is important to choose your property management firm wisely. Make sure that they are experienced enough to take care of your property. For your satisfaction you can also consult other property owners who have availed the help of property management firms and be certain about the kind of service they provide.

How To Invest and Make Money From Home

Learning how to invest and make money from home might apparently feel like a scam but it is really easy. All you need is a thorough research and clear financial goals to make the most of your investments. You need to understand that even the smallest investment comes with its own risks and as an investor you have to take risks to make steady gains. The higher the risks the greater the gains!

In this article, we will take a quick look at some of the essentials that you need to check prior to investing all your money.

Investor profile – This is probably the most neglected yet the most significant aspect that determines the failure or success of your investment. To invest and make money from home, you need to dig deeper into your investor profile. Knowledge about your investor profile will help you to find out the different types of investments that you can consider. Some of the important elements of your investor profile are the duration, returns, liquidity and risk. The duration will tell you about the time period you will like to invest for and the returns will let you know whether you want a fixed income or steady growth. Liquidity will tell you whether you will able to access your money easily or not and the risks will give you an idea of the risks involved in different types of investments.

Investment ways – There are a variety of investment ways open to you, so that you can invest and make money from home. For instance, you can invest through your bank for the term deposits or you can choose a sharebroker to invest in shares and bonds. At the same time you can even invest in properties through a real estate agent. Prior to investing with any of them, you should carry out your own research on the various types of investment markets.

Financial goals – You need to find out what exactly you want to achieve through your investment. You need to find out the time period for which you can afford to part away with your money and at the same time you have determine whether you are looking at an income or you want to see your funds grow over a period of time. All this will guide you in etching out the perfect investment strategy with an eye on accomplishing the financial goals that you have set.

Investment advisor – There are many companies as well as investment consultants who can guide you in making the right investment decision. In order to lower your investment risks, you need to hire a good investment advisor. An efficient advisor will tell you the right places to put your money in and all you have to do is pay up a small fee for their services. With an efficient investment advisor at your side you can easily invest and make money from home without any hassles.

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

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